JP2001297799A - Electrolyte leakage testing device and testing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the quality of electrolyte leakage test. SOLUTION: An ultraviolet ray 12 is radiated to a secondary cell 50 from a radiation part 2, and a detecting part 3 detects a fluorescence radiated from fluorescent material in an electrolyte 51 leaked on the surface of the secondary cell 50 by the reaction with the ultraviolet ray 12. Existence of leakage of the electrolyte is judged at a signal treatment part 4 depending on the amount of the detected light.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrolyte leakage inspection apparatus and method for detecting the presence or absence of battery leakage.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, demand for not only primary batteries but also secondary batteries such as lithium-ion batteries and nickel-metal hydride batteries has increased with the development of mobile devices such as mobile phones and personal computers and the practical use of electric vehicles. I have. On the other hand, if electrolyte leakage occurs in these batteries, the equipment may be damaged. Therefore, development of batteries having excellent sealing properties and preventing electrolyte leakage has been desired. For this reason, when developing or mass-producing batteries, there is a demand for improving the quality of inspection for electrolyte leakage.

However, conventionally, it has been considered that it is difficult to automate the inspection for electrolyte leakage. For example, if the surface of the battery is photographed using a CCD camera and the presence or absence of electrolyte leaking to the surface of the battery is determined by image processing, when the battery case is cleaned, Since both the attached washing water and the electrolyte are almost transparent liquids, they cannot be accurately distinguished from each other, and the contrast of the image is affected by the lighting, the camera angle, the pattern of the battery surface, etc. Is not accurately determined.

For this reason, the conventional inspection for electrolyte leakage has been performed manually or visually or by smell.

[0005]

However, when inspecting for electrolyte leakage manually, there is a great burden on the operator, and there is a risk of injury when touching the electrolyte. In addition, it was difficult to visually discriminate between the washing water and the electrolytic solution attached to the surface of the battery.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an electrolyte leakage inspection apparatus and an electrolyte leakage inspection apparatus capable of realizing an accurate electrolyte leakage inspection and contributing to an improvement in inspection quality. An object of the present invention is to provide an inspection method.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention according to a first aspect of the present invention is an electrolyte leakage inspection apparatus for inspecting an electrolyte leakage of a battery. Irradiation means for irradiating the battery, detection means for detecting light emitted from the electrolyte in response to light from the irradiation means,
Determining means for determining the presence or absence of electrolyte leakage of the battery based on the amount of light detected by the detecting means.

In the present invention, the battery is irradiated with light reacting with the electrolyte, the light emitted by the reaction of the electrolyte leaking to the surface of the battery is detected, and the leakage of the electrolyte of the battery is detected based on the amount of light. The presence or absence of the electrolyte can be reliably detected, regardless of the amount of the leaked electrolyte, and the light emitted by the reaction of the electrolyte can be accurately detected. Can be. Further, it is possible to accurately discriminate between the washing water attached to the surface of the battery and the leaked electrolyte.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the electrolyte leakage inspection apparatus according to the first aspect, the irradiating means irradiates an ultraviolet ray.

In the present invention, by irradiating the battery with ultraviolet rays, the fluorescent substance in the electrolyte leaked to the surface of the battery is excited and emits fluorescence in a specific wavelength range. If the means is provided with an optical filter that transmits light in this wavelength range, fluorescence from the electrolyte can be detected separately from disturbance light, and the presence or absence of electrolyte leakage can be accurately determined.

The present invention according to claim 3 provides the invention according to claim 1 or 2
In the electrolyte leakage inspection device described above, the detection is performed when the battery is charged or discharged.

In the present invention, by detecting light due to the electrolyte leaking from the battery while the battery is being charged or discharged, the internal pressure of the battery increases due to the charging or discharging, and In a state where the liquid leakage easily occurs, the electrolyte leakage of the battery can be inspected.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electrolyte leakage inspection method for inspecting an electrolyte leakage of a battery, wherein the step of irradiating the battery with light reacting with the electrolyte, Detecting the light emitted by the electrolyte and determining the presence or absence of electrolyte leakage based on the detected light amount,
It is characterized by having.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the electrolyte leakage inspection method according to the fourth aspect, the step of detecting the light detects when the battery is being charged or discharged. I do.

In the electrolyte leakage inspection method according to the present invention, even if the amount of the electrolyte is small, it is possible to reliably determine the leakage of the electrolyte, and it is possible to determine the amount of the cleaning water adhered to the battery surface. It can be accurately distinguished from the electrolytic solution. In addition, electrolyte leakage can be inspected in a state where electrolyte leakage during charging or discharging is likely to occur.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electrolyte leakage inspection apparatus according to a first embodiment.

The electrolyte leakage inspection apparatus shown in FIG. 1 includes an irradiation unit 2 for irradiating a secondary battery 50 to be inspected with ultraviolet rays 12;
A detector 3 for detecting fluorescence 13 emitted from the fluorescent substance in the electrolyte 51 leaked from the secondary battery 50 by being excited by the ultraviolet light 12, and processing a detection signal c from the detector 3 to detect the electrolyte leakage. A signal processing unit 4 for determining the presence or absence, and a control unit 1 for controlling operations of the irradiation unit 2, the detection unit 3, and the signal processing unit 4
It is a structure which has.

The irradiation unit 2 includes a light source 20 such as a xenon tube,
The control unit 1 includes an irradiation optical filter 21, a light projecting lens 22, and a power source of a light source 20 (not shown).
The light source 20 generates pulsed ultraviolet light 12 in accordance with the light emission command signal a from the camera, and irradiates the ultraviolet light 12 to the secondary battery 50 within the irradiation range 11 through the irradiation optical filter 21 and the light projecting lens 22. The irradiation range 11 includes the secondary battery 50.
May be narrowed down to a portion where electrolyte leakage is likely to occur, or the whole secondary battery 50 may be used.

The detecting section 3 includes an optical sensor 30 such as a photomultiplier.
, A detection optical filter 31, a light receiving lens 32, and a power supply of an optical sensor 30 (not shown).
The fluorescent light 13 and other disturbance light from the electrolytic solution 51 in the light receiving range 14 are received via the optical lens 32 and the optical filter 31 for detection, and converted into an electrical detection signal c by the optical sensor 30 for signal processing. Output to section 4.

The signal processing unit 4 removes a dark level due to disturbance light from the detection signal c. The signal processing unit 4 integrates the corrected detection signal for a certain period of time, and according to a hold command signal e from the control unit 1. The configuration includes a peak hold unit 41 that holds a peak value, and a determination unit 42 that determines the presence or absence of the electrolyte 51 based on an output signal of the peak hold unit 41.

The determination section 42 has a configuration including a normal comparator (comparator), and determines the presence or absence of electrolyte leakage by comparing the output signal of the peak hold section 41 with a set reference value. The result of the determination is displayed. In addition, O corresponding to the presence or absence of electrolyte leakage based on the determination result
An N / OFF signal is generated and output to the outside.

The control section 1 generates a timing signal for controlling the operation of each section, and sends a light emission command signal a to the irradiation section 2.
After the detection command signal b is output to the detection unit 3 and the reset signal d is output to the signal processing unit 4, a hold command signal e is output to the signal processing unit 4 with a delay of a fixed delay time T.

The irradiation optical filter 21 is a filter that passes only the absorption wavelength of the electrolytic solution 51 out of the light from the light source 20, and this wavelength is adjusted to the ultraviolet light 12.

The detection optical filter 31 is a filter that passes only the fluorescence wavelength from the electrolytic solution 51, and this wavelength is adjusted to the fluorescence 13.

At this time, since the absorption wavelength and the fluorescence wavelength are different, it is possible to prevent the irradiation light irradiated from the irradiation unit 2 from being detected as disturbance light.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the detection timing of the fluorescent light 13 in the detection unit 3 and the state of the processing in the signal processing unit 4.

When the control section 1 outputs a light emission command signal a to the irradiation section 2, the irradiation section 2 outputs the pulsed ultraviolet rays 12.
Is emitted, and the light transmitted through the irradiation optical filter 21 is irradiated to the secondary battery 50 through the light projection lens 22 within the irradiation range 11.

The light emission command signal a is also output to the signal processing section 4 as a reset signal d, and the signal processing section 4 resets the output signal of the peak hold section 41 holding the peak value of the integration result.

Electrolyte solution 51 leaking to the surface of secondary battery 50
If there is, the fluorescent substance in the electrolytic solution 51 is excited by the ultraviolet light 12 and emits the fluorescent light 13 after a very short time.

The detector 3 receives the fluorescent light 13 and other disturbance light from the electrolytic solution 51 within the light receiving range
The optical sensor 30 converts the light received through the optical filter 30 into an electrical detection signal c, and outputs the detection signal c to the signal processing unit 4.

The signal processing section 4 includes a dark level correction section 40,
The dark level 35 due to the disturbance light is subtracted from the detection signal c, and the signal is sent to the peak hold unit 41 as a signal of only the change due to the fluorescence 13. Here, the dark level correction unit 40 uses the low-frequency removal filter to change the dark level 35 that changes slowly.
It works to get rid of.

The peak hold unit 41 integrates the signal sent from the dark level correction unit 40 in accordance with the rising timing of the hold command signal e output from the control unit 1 with a delay time T after the reset signal d. To start. The integration is performed only during the ON period of the hold command signal e, and the holding of the integration result up to that time is started in accordance with the fall timing of the hold command signal e.

The determination section 42 determines that there is electrolyte leakage when the output signal of the peak hold section 41 is larger than the set reference value, and determines that there is no electrolyte leakage when the output signal is smaller than the set reference value.

Secondary battery 50 for which inspection for electrolyte leakage has been completed
Is transported out of the irradiation area 11 by a conveyor or the like by a belt conveyor or the like, and a secondary battery to be inspected next is transported into the irradiation area 11.

The control unit 1 continuously and repeatedly outputs control signals such as the light emission command signal a and the hold command signal e to the respective units according to the internal clock as described above. In this way, the electrolyte leakage inspection of the secondary battery 50 is continuously performed.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the secondary battery 50 is irradiated with the ultraviolet light 12, and the fluorescent light 13 generated by the reaction of the electrolytic solution 51 with the ultraviolet light 12 is detected. By determining the presence or absence of electrolyte leakage of 50, it is possible to reliably detect the fluorescence 13 regardless of the amount of the leaked electrolyte 51, so that it is possible to accurately determine the presence or absence of electrolyte leakage. Can be.

In particular, accurate inspection of electrolyte leakage can be performed irrespective of the state of cleaning water attached to the surface of the secondary battery 50 or the pattern of the surface of the secondary battery 50.

In addition, since the inspection for electrolyte leakage is performed based on the detected intensity level of the fluorescent light 13, the inspection for each cell can be performed in a short time, and an efficient inspection can be performed.

Further, since the dark level corresponding to the disturbance light is removed by the dark level correcting section 40, it is possible to inspect the electrolyte leakage in a place other than the dark room.

In this embodiment, the secondary battery 50 is used as a test object. However, the present invention is not limited to the secondary battery, and a primary battery may be used.

The dark level correction section 40 of the signal processing section 4
The peak hold unit 41 and the like can be variously modified. For example, before the irradiation unit 2 irradiates the ultraviolet light 12, the detection unit 3 detects a dark level due to disturbance light in advance and holds the dark level by the dark level correction unit 40, and the irradiation unit 2 detects the dark level.
The held dark level may be subtracted from the detection signal c detected when the light is irradiated.

The light source 20 may be a laser light source instead of a xenon tube. In this case, the irradiation range 11
And the irradiation intensity can be increased, and a high-precision inspection of a specific portion can be performed.

Further, the control unit 1 may output a control signal such as a light emission command signal in accordance with a signal from the transfer device when the secondary battery 50 is transferred to the irradiation area 11 by the transfer device. .

[Second Embodiment] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electrolyte leakage inspection apparatus according to a second embodiment. As a feature, a charging / discharging unit 60 is provided, and the charging / discharging unit 60 is operated in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 1.
In addition to being able to check for electrolyte leakage while charging or discharging the battery, an alarm is provided by an alarm unit 61 provided at the output stage of the signal processing unit 4 when an electrolyte leakage is detected. I did it. In addition, the same components as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The charging / discharging unit 60 is generally used at the time of manufacturing a secondary battery. The charging / discharging unit 60 applies a voltage to the secondary battery 50 to charge the battery, and extracts a current to discharge the battery. Are switched at predetermined time intervals. The charging and discharging are performed as an activation process of the electrodes of the secondary battery 50.
It is also performed as a test.

On the other hand, at the time of charging and discharging, a chemical reaction occurs inside the secondary battery 50 to increase the internal pressure, so that the electrolyte is likely to leak.

Focusing on this point, in the present embodiment, when the charging / discharging section 60 is charging or discharging the secondary battery 50, the electrolyte 51 leaking from the secondary battery 50 is exposed to the ultraviolet rays 1
The detection unit 3 detects the fluorescence 13 emitted in response to the signal 2, and the signal processing unit 4 determines whether or not the electrolyte leaks.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, when the charging / discharging section 60 is charging or discharging the secondary battery 50, the fluorescent light 13 emitted from the electrolyte 51 leaked from the secondary battery 50 is detected. With this configuration, it is possible to inspect for electrolyte leakage in a state where electrolyte leakage is likely to occur, thereby improving the quality of the inspection.

According to the present embodiment, the secondary battery 5
At the time of charge or discharge of 0, the inspection of electrolyte leakage and the activation and test of the electrodes can be performed simultaneously, and the time required for these inspections and processing can be reduced.

[0051]

As described above, according to the electrolyte leakage inspection apparatus and method of the present invention, the battery is irradiated with light that reacts with the electrolyte, and the electrolyte leaking to the surface of the battery reacts. Light emitted from the battery and the presence or absence of electrolyte leakage in the battery is determined based on the amount of light, so that light emitted by the reaction of the electrolyte can be detected regardless of the amount of leaked electrolyte. Therefore, the presence or absence of electrolyte leakage can be accurately determined, and the cleaning water attached to the surface of the battery and the leaked electrolyte can be accurately determined,
As a result, the quality of the test can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electrolyte leakage inspection device according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a detection timing of fluorescence 13 in a detection unit 3 and a state of processing in a signal processing unit 4;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an electrolyte leakage inspection device according to a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 control unit 2 irradiation unit 3 detection unit 4 signal processing unit 11 irradiation range 12 ultraviolet light 13 fluorescence 14 light reception range 20 light source 21 irradiation optical filter 22 light projection lens 30 optical sensor 31 detection optical filter 32 light reception lens 40 dark level correction unit 41 Peak hold part 42 Judgment part 50 Secondary battery 51 Electrolyte 60 Charge / discharge part 61 Alarm part a Light emission command signal b Detection command signal c Detection signal d Reset signal e Hold command signal

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Norikazu Kurihara, Inventor 2-24-24 Harumi-cho, Fuchu-shi, Tokyo Toshiba FA System Engineering Co., Ltd. (72) Shingo Sekiguchi 2-chome Harumicho, Fuchu-shi, Tokyo 24-1, Toshiba FA System Engineering Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 2G043 AA03 CA03 DA05 EA01 JA02 KA03 KA09 LA02 MA01 NA01 NA13 2G067 AA22 BB15 CC02 DD11 5H028 BB11 BB17 5H030 AA06 AS14 FF51 FF66

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An electrolyte leakage inspection device for inspecting electrolyte leakage of a battery, comprising: an irradiation unit for irradiating the battery with light reacting with the electrolyte; and an electrolyte reacting to light from the irradiation unit. An electrolyte leakage inspection device comprising: a detection unit configured to detect light emitted by the device; and a determination unit configured to determine presence / absence of electrolyte leakage of the battery based on a light amount detected by the detection unit. 2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said irradiating means irradiates ultraviolet rays. 3. The electrolyte leakage inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit detects when the battery is being charged or discharged. 4. An electrolyte leakage inspection method for inspecting an electrolyte leakage of a battery, comprising: irradiating the battery with light that reacts with the electrolyte; and emitting the electrolyte in response to the light. A method for detecting electrolyte leakage, comprising: detecting light; and determining whether electrolyte leakage has occurred based on the detected light amount. 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the step of detecting the light is performed when the battery is being charged or discharged.