JP2004158209A - Battery structure - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a battery structure useful as a power source for an emitter of the float for fishing in which a voltage serving its purpose is obtained with a simple structure. <P>SOLUTION: An LED 12 for emitting light is installed at the tip of a fishing float 10, and cylindrical copper-made anodes 18a, 18b and cylindrical magnesium alloy-made cathodes 20a, 20b are arranged through cotton-fiber water-absorptive gauze 22a, 22b around the core material 16 holding the LED 12. A floating body 28 by which an upper and a lower cells are separated and electrically insulated is arranged between the upper cell 24 which is positioned over the water and the lower cell 26 which is dipped in the water. The anode 20a of the upper cell 24 and the cathode 18b of the lower cell, and the cathode 18a of the upper cell 24 and the anode 20b of the lower cell are connected by a wiring 30 and connected in series structure and thus supply voltage to the LED 12. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a battery structure that generates electric power by using excess water as an electrolyte by throwing it into water, and more particularly, is preferably used as a power source for transmitting light-emitting floats and salvage signals using seawater as an electrolyte. The present invention relates to a battery structure.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, a battery known as a seawater battery is a voltaic battery in principle. In general, the materials constituting the positive electrode include compounds such as silver chloride, lead chloride, copper chloride, copper iodide, and potassium persulfate, and the materials constituting the negative electrode include magnesium, aluminum, zinc, and the like. The metal or an alloy based on these is used, it is put into seawater at the time of use, it comes into contact with the water, it becomes an electrolyte, and it starts generating electricity, if it is stored in a state where it does not come in contact with moisture Since self-discharge does not occur, long-term storage is possible.
Since such a battery starts power generation by being put into seawater, it is useful, for example, as a power source of an LED (light emitting diode) that emits light for fishing and an automatic transmitter for a salvage signal. In general, even if a seawater battery has a structure in which a plurality of cells are connected, since the electrolyte is common and each cell is short-circuited, the seawater battery has a substantially parallel structure, which is more practically required. If a high voltage is to be obtained, a means for boosting is required. Means for increasing the pressure of the seawater battery include, for example, arranging the cells in a plurality of mutually insulated container structures that separate each cell in order to take a series structure of electrodes, and that the container has a specific structure in water. A method of preventing a short circuit between adjacent cells by maintaining the direction (for example, Patent Document 1), a material having a greatly different ionization tendency as an electrode constituting a cell, specifically, carbon is used as a positive electrode and a negative electrode is used. (For example, Patent Document 2 etc.) is known.
However, the former method has a problem that a complicated structure is required for the container, and it is difficult to maintain a stable position in the direction of the container for insulating the cells. Then, there is a problem that carbon is difficult to process and it is difficult to obtain a compact cell having a shape suitable for the purpose, and further, there is a problem that carbon is very expensive as compared with a metal-based material.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-2000-123845
[Patent Document 2]
JP-A-7-302598
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
An object of the present invention is to provide a battery structure which is useful as a power source of a floating light emitting body for fishing or a tribulation rescue signal, which has a simple structure and can obtain a voltage according to the purpose when applied underwater. is there.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present inventors have conducted intensive studies and as a result, have found that the above object can be achieved by using a buoyant body having a simple structure to separate the two cells and holding the two cells underwater and on the water surface, respectively. And completed the present invention.
[0006]
That is, the battery structure of the present invention has a cell composed of a positive electrode and a negative electrode that generate power using water as an electrolyte, and the cell is mounted on the upper and lower sides, and the upper and lower cells are electrically connected. Having a buoyant body that insulates, a wiring connecting the positive electrode and the negative electrode constituting the upper and lower cells, and a water-absorbing material located at least between the positive electrode and the negative electrode in the upper cell. It is characterized by.
Also, as the positive electrode material of the cell used here, silver or copper, and its alloy or its metal compound, and as the negative electrode material, magnesium or aluminum, and its alloy or its metal compound are preferable. For example, among them, as the negative electrode material, a magnesium alloy excellent in workability is preferable.
[0007]
According to the configuration of the present invention, when the battery structure is applied in water, the upper and lower cells are always held above and below the water surface by the buoyant body. Even if there is a movement, the possibility of short-circuiting with each other is extremely low, and stable supply of electricity can be achieved with a simple structure. Further, by interposing the water-absorbing material between the electrodes in at least the upper and lower cells, even if the water-absorbing material is temporarily separated from the water that is the electrolyte, the water retained in the water-absorbing material can be used as the electrolyte. , A stable supply of electricity can be maintained.
[0008]
Further, according to the aspect of the present invention, the negative electrode decreases with time, whereby the life of the battery can be visually detected. In addition, although the cathode electrode is consumed, the cathode electrode is not consumed, and the electrolyte is infinite as long as the structure is in seawater. By switching to a new one, it is possible to continue using the device while keeping the other structure as it is, and there is also an advantage that it is useful for effective use of resources.
[0009]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to specific examples.
FIG. 1A is a schematic perspective view showing one embodiment of a fishing float 10 using the battery structure of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a schematic sectional view thereof. A light emitting LED 12 is attached to the tip of the float 10. The fishing float 10 has a light-emitting LED 12 at the tip, a balance weight 14 at the other end (lower end), and a cylindrical copper material around a core 16 for holding the wiring of the light-emitting LED 12. The water-absorbing gauze 22a, 22b woven with a low density of cotton fibers is disposed so that the positive electrodes 18a, 18b are on the inside and the cylindrical magnesium alloy negative electrodes 20a, 20b are on the outside. . Between the upper cell 24 located on the water surface and the lower cell 26 located in the water, there is a buoyant body 28 that isolates the upper and lower cells and insulates the cells from each other. Are located. By the action of the buoyant body 28 and the weight 14, the upper cell 24 is always positioned above the water surface, and the lower cell 26 is adjusted so as to be positioned underwater. In this embodiment, a cover 32 is provided for fixing the electrodes and the like, protecting the inside of the structure, and improving the durability. Seawater is applied to the cover 32 on the water-absorbing woven fabrics 22a and 22b inside the battery. An opening 34 for permeating or evaporating excess water is provided.
The positive electrode 20a of the upper cell 24 and the negative electrode 18b of the lower cell 26, and the negative electrode 18a of the upper cell 24 and the positive electrode 20b of the lower cell 26 are schematically shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, two cells are connected to each other in a series structure by a wiring 30 to supply a voltage to the LED 12.
[0010]
In this embodiment, the upper and lower cells 24 and 26 have the same configuration, but need not necessarily have the same configuration. For example, since the upper cell 24 is located on the water surface, it is stable that a water-absorbing material (in this embodiment, water-absorbing cotton gauze) 22a is interposed between the positive electrode 20a and the negative electrode 18a. Although necessary for electric power, since the lower cell 26 is positioned so as to be entirely in contact with the seawater, which is an electrolytic solution, as long as the positive electrode and the negative electrode in water are arranged close to each other, water absorption is particularly difficult. Since no intervening raw material is required, the shape of the lower cell can be different from that of the present embodiment.
[0011]
As materials for the positive electrode and the negative electrode in the seawater battery structure of the present invention, substances having different ionization tendencies may be appropriately selected from known electrode materials. More specifically, silver or copper and its alloy or its metal compound are exemplified as the positive electrode material, and magnesium or aluminum, and its alloy or its metal compound are exemplified as the negative electrode material. You.
In addition, as the electrode material, a material having excellent workability and extensibility is used to reduce the thickness of the electrode material per unit volume so as to increase the surface area of the electrode, or to form the thinned electrode material into an arbitrary shape. Processing can be performed easily. For example, as the negative electrode material, a magnesium alloy such as a Mg-Li-based, a Mg-Al-Zn-based, or a Mg-Zn-Zr-based is particularly preferable because of its excellent workability.
[0012]
In this embodiment, the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the upper cell are both cylindrical, but the shapes of the positive electrode and the negative electrode are also arbitrary, for example, they are laminated in a plate shape via a water-absorbing material. Each of them may be a thin sheet, both of which are laminated via a water-absorbing material, and formed into a cylindrical shape having a spirally wound layer structure.
Further, in the lower cell, as described above, it is not always necessary to interpose a water-absorbing material between the positive electrode and the negative electrode, and thus the cylindrical positive electrode and the negative electrode are simply laminated at a predetermined interval. Alternatively, a plate-like positive electrode and a negative electrode may be arranged at a predetermined interval, or may be a spirally laminated one. Of course, a water absorbing material may be interposed between the two.
[0013]
The shape and material of the buoyant body 26 can be arbitrarily selected as long as the cell has a size and buoyancy capable of positioning the upper cell on the water surface and the lower cell in the water. The size and material of the buoyant body at this time are determined by the shape, size and weight of the cell. That is, since the upper cell must be located on the water surface and always separated from the water surface to some extent, it is designed to have a size and buoyancy that can achieve this. The material of the buoyant body 26 may be formed of a structural material having a low specific gravity, for example, a foamed resin represented by urethane foam, wood, or the like, or may be a hollow formed body of resin, metal, or the like. Among these, a foamed resin or a resin hollow body is preferable from the viewpoint of durability and workability.
[0014]
The water-absorbent material is a cloth, non-woven fabric, paper, or a water-insoluble water-absorbent polymer such as water-absorbent fiber or crosslinked polyacrylic acid, which is mainly composed of water-absorbent fibers such as cotton and rayon. What is held between the sheets can be used. From the viewpoint of power generation efficiency, the water-absorbing material is preferably composed of a material having excellent water retention and a low density while having sufficient voids. For example, a low-density woven fabric such as gauze or a gauze-like long fiber A dry nonwoven fabric or the like is preferably used.
As a wiring connecting the positive electrode and the negative electrode, a generally used wiring material may be used as long as it has a structure insulated from seawater as an electrolyte.
[0015]
A fishing float 10 as shown in FIG. 1 (A) is once submerged in seawater when it is thrown into seawater, and then the upper cell 24 is positioned on the sea surface by the function of the buoyant body 28, and When immersed in water, the water-absorbing material 22a absorbs and retains moisture, and the lower cell 26 located in seawater also generates electricity using seawater as an electrolyte, and the upper cell 24 and the lower cell 26 Electricity is supplied from the seawater batteries connected in series to the LEDs located above the water surface, and the LEDs emit light.
Here, seawater is used as the electrolytic solution. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and water such as tap water or river water, which can move ions, that is, water containing an electrolyte capable of generating power can be used. If so, even when fresh water is used as a solvent, it can be used as an electrolyte to generate power. For this reason, the effect of the present invention can be obtained by putting the battery structure of the present invention into excess water capable of generating power.
[0016]
In this embodiment, if the frames for fixing the positive electrode and the negative electrode in the upper and lower cells are provided above and below the buoyant body, and each electrode is made detachable by the fixing frame, only the negative electrode is consumed as described above. When the power generation is stopped by replacing the negative electrode with a new one, the power can be easily reused, which is preferable.
In this embodiment, the cover 32 is used for protecting and fixing the electrodes, but the method for fixing the electrodes is not limited to this.
[0017]
FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing another embodiment of the fishing float 36 using the seawater battery structure of the present invention. In this embodiment, a water-absorbing water-guiding structure for continuously supplying seawater, which is an electrolytic solution, to the water-absorbing material 22 a of the upper cell is provided, and the entire structure is covered with a protective cover 38. In this water guide structure, the water-absorbing material 22a is further extended from below to the outer peripheral direction through a guide path provided inside the buoyant body 28, and the extended end portion is the outer peripheral end portion of the buoyant body 28. Has been reached. The guide path of the buoyant body 28 is provided such that the opening at the outer peripheral end thereof is near the water surface. At this opening, the extended end of the water-absorbing material 22a comes into contact with seawater and exists in the upper cell. Seawater is continuously supplied in the upper direction of the water absorbing material 22a. At this time, the conductivity of the water-absorbing material 22a extended through the guide path in the buoyant body 28, that is, the wiring connecting the upper and lower cells, is completely different from the conductivity of the water-absorbing material 22a. Since the low wiring flows selectively, there is no fear that the upper and lower cells are short-circuited by the water guiding structure.
Further, the protective cover used here has, in addition to the openings 34 on the front and bottom surfaces for the purpose of evaporating water as in FIG. 1 described above, seawater adjacent to the opening on the outer periphery of the buoyant body 28 on the taxiway. An opening 40 that can pass through is provided.
[0018]
As described above, the seawater battery structure of the present invention can connect cells in series with a simple configuration, and can supply sufficient power for emitting light of an LED and transmitting a rescue signal. Use is wide.
[0019]
【Example】
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to Examples, but the present invention is not limited thereto.
(Example 1)
The fishing float 10 as shown in FIG. 1 is formed by using copper as the positive electrodes 18a and 18b, an Mg-Li alloy as the negative electrodes 20a and 20b, and interposing cotton gauze as the water absorbing materials 22a and 22b therebetween. Then, a buoyant body 28 was formed using polyurethane foam, and a plastic cover 32 for fixing the electrodes was attached to the outside. When this float was thrown into seawater, the fishing float 10 was once submerged in the sea, and within a few seconds, the upper cell 24 was stably positioned on the seawater surface, and the LED 12 disposed at the tip emitted light. When the electromotive force at this time was measured, it was about 3.0 V, and it was found that the power required for light emission of the LED 12 was secured.
[0020]
【The invention's effect】
ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to the battery structure of this invention, the voltage according to the objective is obtained by pouring in water with a simple structure, and the outstanding effect that it is useful as a light source of a fishing float and a power source of a tribulation rescue signal. To play.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1A is a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of a fishing float using a battery structure of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a schematic sectional view thereof.
FIG. 2A is a schematic perspective view showing one mode of a fishing float provided with a water guiding structure, and FIG. 2B is a schematic sectional view thereof.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 Fishing float 12 Light emitting LED
18a, 18b Copper positive electrode (positive electrode)
20a, 20b Magnesium alloy cathode (cathode)
22a, 22b Water-absorbing gauze made of cotton fiber (water-absorbing material)
24 Upper cell 26 held on water surface Lower cell 28 immersed in water Floating body 30 insulating upper and lower cells Wiring

Claims (2)

A cell composed of a positive electrode and a negative electrode that generates power using water as an electrolyte,
A buoyant body that electrically insulates the upper cell held on the water surface and the lower cell immersed in water, wherein the cell is attached to the upper and lower sides, respectively.
Wiring connecting the positive electrode and the negative electrode constituting the upper and lower cells,
A water-absorbing material located between the positive electrode and the negative electrode in at least the upper cell,
A battery structure having: The positive electrode of the cell attached above and below is formed of silver or copper, and an alloy or a metal compound thereof mainly containing magnesium or aluminum, and the negative electrode is an alloy or a metal compound thereof mainly containing it. The battery structure according to claim 1, wherein the battery structure is formed by:

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