JP2002199611A - Rechargeable battery mounting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely prevent a battery from suffering damage by an inappropriate charging condition. SOLUTION: This rechargeable battery mounting device A which mounts a rechargeable battery C and is capable of charging the rechargeable battery C in a state connected to a charger body disposes a heat-transfer terminal 6 abutting to a negative pole C1 of the rechargeable battery C, a thermal element 7 next to the heat-transfer terminal 6, and a heat output part 8 which outputs the sensed temperature of the thermal element 7 as an electrical signal.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rechargeable battery mounting device capable of charging a rechargeable battery in a state where the rechargeable battery is mounted and connected to a charging device main body. Such a rechargeable battery mounting device is configured such that when the rechargeable battery is mounted and connected to the charging device main body, a charging current is supplied to the rechargeable battery to perform charging. In general, a rechargeable battery hardly generates heat even when it is supplied with a charging current when it is not fully charged.However, when a charging current is further supplied to a fully charged rechargeable battery and becomes overcharged, It is known that heat is generated by electrolysis of the electrolyte inside the rechargeable battery. Also, due to erroneous charging of the dry batteries by mistake,
It is also known that fever occurs.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of rechargeable battery mounting device,
A thermal output device for measuring the ambient temperature inside the rechargeable battery mounting portion for mounting the rechargeable battery for the purpose of preventing overcharge of the rechargeable battery and erroneous charging of the dry battery, and obtaining an output based on the temperature. There has been known a device which includes a unit for determining a charging current supply stop timing for the rechargeable battery from an output of the unit.

[0003]

However, according to such a rechargeable battery mounting device, in order to detect the ambient temperature of the rechargeable battery mounting portion, a dry battery or a rechargeable battery (hereinafter referred to as a rechargeable battery) mounted on the rechargeable battery mounting portion is required. Even if the battery (which is simply referred to as a battery) becomes overcharged or mischarged (hereinafter referred to as an inappropriate charging state) and generates heat, it cannot be immediately known that the battery is in a high temperature state. This is because the heat of the battery is insulated by the exterior of the battery or the like and tends to be hardly conducted to the atmosphere in the battery mounting portion, and the atmosphere of the battery mounting portion is completely sealed. Not necessarily because of diffusion by airflow, being susceptible to cooling, and if the inside of the rechargeable battery mounting part is not uniformly heated, the heat is not accurately reflected on the thermosensitive element,
Even if the battery becomes improperly charged, it is quickly detected,
There was a problem that it was not possible to appropriately determine whether to stop charging current supply. For this reason, there has been an inconvenience that damage to the battery cannot be prevented with good responsiveness.

[0004] Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a rechargeable battery mounting device that can more reliably prevent a battery from being damaged due to an improper charging state in view of the above problems.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided a rechargeable battery mounting apparatus for charging a rechargeable battery in a state where the rechargeable battery is mounted and connected to a main body of a charging device. A heat transfer terminal for contacting a negative electrode of the rechargeable battery, a heat-sensitive element connected to the heat transfer terminal, and outputting a temperature sensed by the heat-sensitive element as an electric signal. The point is that a part is provided. Further, it is preferable that the thermosensitive element is a thermistor.

[Operation and Effect] In other words, if a heat transfer terminal is provided in contact with the negative electrode of the rechargeable battery, the temperature of the rechargeable battery can be directly conducted from the negative electrode to the heat transfer terminal. Therefore, it is insulated by the exterior of the battery or the like, and heat to be transferred from the battery to the atmosphere of the rechargeable battery is blocked or diffused.
Without causing inconvenience such as cooling, the heat of the battery can be quickly transmitted, and by connecting a heat-sensitive element to the heat transfer terminal, the heat of the battery is reliably transmitted to the heat-sensitive element. Be transmitted. Then, the heat-sensitive element converts the temperature sensed by the heat-sensitive element into an electric signal, and a heat output section is provided so that the electric signal can be output, so that a charging circuit for charging the battery functions. In such a case, based on the output, it is determined whether or not the battery functions as a rechargeable battery, whether or not the power supplied to the rechargeable battery has reached a full charge, and the like. , It is possible to control to stop the supply of the charging current. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the battery from being overheated due to charging the dry battery or overcharging the rechargeable battery and being damaged, with good responsiveness.

In the case where it is desired to control the battery temperature as described above, overheating due to erroneous charging of the dry battery and overheating due to overcharging of the rechargeable battery must be controlled at a temperature of at most about 60 ° C. Because there are many things, 60
It is preferable to select a heat-sensitive element that enables accurate temperature measurement in the temperature range up to about ℃. Use a thermistor that meets such conditions and is widely available at low cost and easily available. However, it can be said that it is preferable in terms of manufacturing cost and precision measurement.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of a gas detector A with a charging function as a rechargeable battery mounting device and a charger B as a charging device body of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the gas detector A includes a hot-wire semiconductor type gas detection element 1, and outputs a gas based on the characteristics of the gas detection element 1 based on the output from the gas detection element 1. The apparatus is provided with a gas detection circuit 2 that knows the concentration of carbon oxide gas, the concentration of hydrocarbon gas, or the type of gas, and outputs an alarm output according to the concentration and type. In addition, a power supply unit 3 for supplying power to the gas detection circuit is provided, and a charging circuit 4 for supplying a charging current to the power supply unit 3 when the rechargeable battery C is attached to the power supply unit 3 is freely connectable. A pair of charging terminals 5 are provided. further,
When a rechargeable battery C is mounted on the power supply unit 3, a heat transfer terminal 6 that contacts the negative electrode C1 of the rechargeable battery C is provided, and a heat sensitive element 7 is connected to the heat transfer terminal 6, Thermal output terminal 8 for outputting the temperature sensed by thermal element 7 as an electrical signal
Is provided.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the charger B is provided with a charging seat portion B1 to which the gas detector A is fitted and received.
In the state where the gas detector A is fitted to the charging seat portion B1, a power supply terminal 9, a heat input terminal 10 and a heat input terminal 10 are provided at positions facing the charging terminal 5 and the heat output terminal 8, respectively.
Are disposed so as to be electrically conductively connected to each other.

As shown in FIG. 3, the gas detection circuit 2 incorporates the gas detection element 1 in a bridge circuit,
The bridge output is configured to be freely output to an output unit 11. The output unit 11 determines whether or not the concentration of the detected gas has reached an alarm level based on the bridge output. And a control unit 11c for controlling the alarm operation lamp 11b. These gas detection circuits are printed on a circuit board 12 provided inside the gas detector A.

The power supply unit 3 includes an anode terminal 1 electrically connected to an anode C2 of the rechargeable battery C when the rechargeable battery C is mounted.
3 and a negative electrode terminal 14 electrically connected to the negative electrode C1 of the rechargeable battery.
Is configured to be connected to the circuit board 12 and to supply power to the gas detection circuit 2 and the output unit 11.

The heat transfer terminal 6 is made of aluminum and may be made of a high heat transfer metal material having a high heat conductivity such as copper.

As the thermal element 7, a thermistor such as a metal oxide NTC is used. In addition, another thermistor such as PTC, a posistor, a thermocouple, a bimetal, a temperature-sensitive ferrite, or the like can be used. What is necessary is just to apply in the well-known form used as the heat sensitive element 7.

As shown in FIG. 1, the rechargeable battery C has a negative electrode C1 whose outer casing is peeled to expose a metal portion, and the heat transfer terminal 6 is elastically connected to the negative electrode C1. And serves to transfer heat when the rechargeable battery is overcharged, and to transfer the heat to the thermosensitive element 7. The thermal element converts the transmitted heat into an electric signal, and sends an electric signal based on the heat of the battery from the heat output terminal 8 as a heat output unit to the heat input terminal 10 on the charger B side.

As shown in FIG. 4, the charging circuit 4 includes a current control circuit 15 for supplying a current to the power supply terminal 9 and a power supply circuit 16, and a microcomputer control for controlling the current supply by the current control circuit 15. A charger 17 is provided in the charger B, and a charging current is freely supplied to the power supply unit 3 provided in the gas detector A. When the charging terminal 5 and the power supply terminal 9 are connected to each other, and the heat output terminal 8 and the heat input terminal 10 are connected to each other, the microcomputer control unit 17 sends the charge from the current control circuit 15 to the power supply unit 3. The charging current is supplied to the battery C so that the rechargeable battery C
Charge. When the charging circuit 4 is operating,
The output from the thermosensitive element 7 is monitored, and this output is
If the rechargeable battery C indicates that the temperature of the rechargeable battery C has reached 60 ° C. or higher, the microcomputer control unit 17 controls the current control circuit 1
The supply of the charging current from the battery 5 is stopped, and the rechargeable battery C is monitored so as to prevent overcharge.

Further, even when a dry battery is inserted into the power supply unit, the heat-sensitive element receives heat from the heat transfer terminal, so that the microcomputer control unit 17 controls the current control circuit 15 based on the heat. Is controlled, erroneous charging of the dry battery can be prevented. Incidentally, since a dry battery usually has an outer package on the negative electrode portion, if the erroneous charge of the dry battery is to be detected only by monitoring with heat, or if a rechargeable battery having an outer package on the negative electrode portion is to be used, the heat transfer is required. The terminal 6 is preferably brought into contact with a portion of the negative electrode of the dry battery which is not covered with the outer package. In addition, other known methods can be used in combination for the detection of the dry battery.

[Other Embodiment] Another embodiment will be described below. The charging circuit is provided in the charger, but may be provided in the gas detector. Further, the rechargeable battery mounting device is not limited to the gas detector, and may be an audio device, an imaging device, or the like. The heat output unit 8
As an example, an electric signal based on heat sensitivity is output to the charger side, but when the main part of the charging circuit is on the rechargeable battery mounting device side, the electric signal controls the operation of the current control circuit. In such a case as well, a portion that outputs an electric signal to the current control circuit is generally referred to as a heat output portion.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded plan view of a gas detector.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a gas detector and a charger.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a gas detection circuit.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a charging circuit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A Charger mounting equipment B Charging device main body C Rechargeable battery C1 Negative electrode 6 Heat transfer terminal 7 Thermal element 8 Heat output section

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Toshiyuki Doi 1-5-20 Kaigan, Minato-ku, Tokyo Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 5G003 AA01 BA01 CB01 FA04 GC05 5H030 AA03 AS20 FF22

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A rechargeable battery mounting device capable of charging a rechargeable battery in a state where the rechargeable battery is mounted and connected to a main body of a charging device, wherein a heat transfer terminal contacting a negative electrode of the rechargeable battery is provided. A rechargeable battery mounting device, comprising: a heat-sensitive element connected to the heat transfer terminal; and a heat output unit for outputting a temperature sensed by the heat-sensitive element as an electric signal. 2. The rechargeable battery mounting device according to claim 1, wherein the heat-sensitive element is a thermistor.