JP2587761Y2 - Lead-acid battery display - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a display device for displaying the liquid level and specific gravity of an electrolytic solution of a lead storage battery.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 5 shows an example of a display device of a conventional lead storage battery.

The display device 1 shown here has a rod-shaped transparent body 4 mounted so as to penetrate the upper wall 2 of the lid of a lead-acid battery and forming an inverted conical portion 3 at the lower end. In addition, a float 6 that changes a display mode seen through the transparent body 4 by a floating operation caused by a change in specific gravity of the electrolytic solution 5 in the battery case is disposed below the transparent body 4. Float 6
Has a rotating shaft 7 passing through the eccentric position, and the rotating shaft 7
A pair of brackets 8 and 9 extending downward from the transparent body 4
It is rotatably supported by.

The float 6 has a proper display section 10 and an incorrect display section 11 distinguished by, for example, color coding. When the specific gravity of the electrolyte 6 is equal to or more than the appropriate value, that is, when the lead storage battery is fully charged, the float 6 has the appropriate display portion 10 upward as shown by a solid line in FIG. When the specific gravity of the electrolyte 5 is less than the proper value, that is, when the lead storage battery needs to be charged, the improper display portion 11 is turned upward as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. They are chosen to face. Therefore, when the float 6 is viewed from above the transparent body 4 through the transparent body 4, the specific gravity of the electrolytic solution 5 is determined based on whether the proper display portion 10 or the inappropriate display portion 11 is visible. Can be.

The display device 1 can also display whether or not the level of the electrolyte 5 is within an appropriate range. That is, when the electrolyte 5 runs short and the liquid surface is located below the lower end of the transparent body 4, as shown in FIG. Is specularly reflected (specular reflection) on the surface of the transparent body 4 and returns to above the transparent body 4 again. Therefore, when the electrolyte 5 runs short, the float 6 cannot be seen through the transparent body 4, and a whitish display can be given based on the reflection of the light 12.

In the case of the conventional transparent body 4, when the inverted conical portion 3 is formed, the apex angle 13 is almost without exception.
Was at a right angle, that is, 90 °. The reason is as follows. That is, as shown in FIG.
Is 90 °, the light 12 incident parallel to the transparent body 4 returns to the upper end of the transparent body 4 again parallel to the transparent body 4 when it is specularly reflected by the surface of the inverted conical portion 3. As a result, the whitish display indicating the shortage of the electrolyte 5 can be made brighter.

[0007]

However, the above-described display device 1 has a problem that it is relatively difficult to give a sufficient size to the display by the float 6. That is, in order to enlarge the display by the float 6, it is sufficient to simply increase the float 6. However, considering the structure shown in FIG. 5, it is difficult to simply increase the float 6 itself. Can not. This is because if the float 6 is increased, the distance between the pair of brackets 8 and 9 must be increased. In such a case, the through hole 14 for receiving the transparent body 4 provided in the upper wall 2 of the battery lid is required. Must be bigger. However, increasing the size of the through-hole 14 requires designing the battery case of the lead storage battery.
Often difficult. In addition, the lower end of the transparent body 4 and the float 6 must be arranged in a limited space in the battery case, and for such a reason, the float 6 cannot be simply enlarged.

[0008] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a display device of a lead-acid battery which can enlarge the display by the float without increasing the float.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided a rod-shaped transparent body which is mounted so as to penetrate an upper wall of a lead-acid battery lid and has an inverted conical lower end, and is disposed below the transparent body. And a float that changes the display mode seen through the transparent body due to the floating and sinking operation that occurs in response to the change in the specific gravity of the electrolyte in the battery case, and the material of the transparent body is a relative refraction of light of the electrolyte with respect to the transparent body. It is directed to a lead-acid battery display device selected to have a rate of less than one.

In this invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned technical problem, the apex angle of the inverted conical portion at the lower end of the transparent body is set to less than 90 °.

The transparent body is made of, for example, an acrylic resin. When the transparent body is made of an acrylic resin, the apex angle should be less than 90 ° and more than 46.2 °. Is preferred.

[0012] The inverted conical portion at the lower end of the transparent body may be configured to include an upper half portion and a lower half portion having different apex angles. In this case, the apex angle of the upper half is smaller than the apex angle of the lower half and less than 90 °.

[0013]

In the present invention, as described above, the material of the transparent body is selected so that the relative refractive index of light of the electrolytic solution to the transparent body is less than 1, but the optical property of such a transparent body is selected. Properties apply to most clear solids. And
The transparent body giving such a relative refractive index has an image magnifying function similar to that of the convex lens in the inverted conical portion, and in this regard, first, the float is enlarged. This means that
The same applies to the conventional display device 1 shown in FIG.

In the present invention, as will be apparent from the following description, the apex angle of the inverted conical portion at the lower end of the transparent body is 9
Since the angle is less than 0 °, the image magnification of the float can be increased as compared with the case where the apex angle is 90 °.

[0015]

Therefore, according to the present invention, the float can be made to appear larger through the transparent body as compared with the case where the apex angle of the inverted conical portion is 90 °. Therefore, the display of the specific gravity of the electrolytic solution is more easily seen.

According to the present invention, if the size of the display of the float is the same as the case where the apex angle of the inverted conical portion is 90 °, the float can be made smaller.
Therefore, this is advantageous for a display device which must be arranged in a limited space in the battery case.

The transparent body is made of an acrylic resin, and the apex angle of the inverted conical portion exceeds 46.2 °. When the angle becomes 46.2 ° or less, the inverted conical portion in the electrolytic solution is formed. This is because total reflection occurs on the surface of the part and the float cannot be seen.

When the inverted conical portion includes an upper half and a lower half having different apex angles, as described above,
The apex angle of the upper half is made smaller than the apex angle of the lower half and less than 90 °, and thus, the inverted conical portion is made to include the upper half and the lower half. For example, the height of the entire inverted conical portion can be reduced. Therefore, with such a configuration, the display device can be arranged in a limited space in the battery case without any problem.

When the apex angle of the inverted conical portion is less than 90 ° as in the present invention, the reflection in the above-described embodiment shown in FIG. 6 does not occur. For this reason, the legibility of the display when the electrolyte is insufficient must be sacrificed to some extent. However, if air is in contact with the inverted conical portion and the apex angle is at least less than 90 °, light incident on the transparent body is first totally reflected on the surface of the inverted conical portion, and the float Because it does not reach, the float will not be visible from above the transparent body. Therefore, when the electrolyte is insufficient, the float can not be seen, so that this state can be grasped.

[0020]

FIG. 1 is a view corresponding to FIG. 5, showing an embodiment of the present invention.

The display device 21 shown in FIG. 1 is, like the display device 1 shown in FIG. 5, mounted so as to penetrate the upper wall 22 of the lid of the lead-acid battery and has an inverted conical portion 23 at the lower end. A transparent body 24 is provided. More specifically, the transparent body 2
4, a male screw 25 is formed near the upper end, and the upper wall 2 is formed.
A female screw 27 is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 26 provided in the second hole 2. At the upper end of the transparent body 24, a large-diameter head 28
The transparent body 24 is attached to the upper wall 22 by screwing the male screw 25 into the female screw 27 with the packing 29 sandwiched between the head 28 and the peripheral edge of the through hole 26.

Below the transparent body 24, an electrolyte 3 in a battery case is provided.
0 due to the floating / sinking operation that occurs in response to a change in specific gravity of 0
A float 31 that changes the display mode seen through the display 4 is arranged. The float 31 has a rotating shaft 32 passing through its eccentric position.
The rotation shaft 32 is rotatably supported by a pair of brackets 33 and 34 extending downward from the transparent body 24. The float 31 includes a proper display unit 35 and an incorrect display unit 36 distinguished by, for example, color coding.

When the specific gravity of the electrolyte 31 is equal to or more than an appropriate value, that is, when the lead storage battery is in an appropriate charged state, the appropriate display portion 35 is displayed as shown by a solid line in FIG. Conversely, when the specific gravity of the electrolyte 30 is less than an appropriate value, that is, when the lead-acid battery needs to be charged, the improper display portion 36 is directed upward as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. Is chosen.

The configuration described above is substantially the same as that of the display device 1 shown in FIG. This embodiment is characterized in that the apex angle 37 of the inverted conical portion 23 at the lower end of the transparent body 24 is less than 90 °. Thus, the apex angle 37 is 90
By setting the angle to be less than ゜, when the float 31 is viewed from above the transparent body 24, it can be made larger than when the apex angle is 90 °. This is shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing a state where the inverted conical portion 23 of the transparent body 24 is located in the electrolyte 30. FIG. 2 schematically shows the float 31 as a flat plate. Also, in FIG. 2, FIG.
Are shown in a state where the inverted conical portion 3 of the transparent body 4 shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 2, when transparent body 24 is made of a transparent solid such as acrylic resin, for example, the relative refractive index of light of electrolyte 30 with respect to transparent body 24 is less than 1. Therefore, the light 38 reflected by the upper surface of the float 31 and traveling parallel to the transparent body 24 and visible from above the transparent body 24 exhibits refraction as shown in FIG. Gives an image of the size. On the other hand,
Inverted conical portion 3 having a vertical angle 13 of 90 ° indicated by a chain line.
Then, the light 40 reflected from the float 31 shows refraction as shown by a broken line, and then travels in parallel with the transparent body 24, so that an image having a size as shown by the double-headed arrow 41 is given.

Therefore, as can be seen by comparing the lengths of the double arrows 39 and 41, when the float 31 of the same size is viewed through each of the transparent bodies 24 and 4, the apex angle 37 is less than 90 °. The transparent body 24 having the inverted conical portion 23 can have a larger image of the float 31 than the transparent body 4 having the inverted conical portion 3 having the apex angle 13 of 90 °.

On the other hand, the image of the size indicated by the double-headed arrow 39 provided by the transparent body 24 having the inverted conical portion 23 having the apex angle 37 of less than 90 ° is converted to the inverted conical portion 3 having the apex angle 13 of 90 °.
In the case where the provision is made by the transparent body 4 having the shape shown in FIG. 2, a float 31a having a size as shown by a one-dot chain line in FIG. 2 is required.

As described above, the display device 21 according to the embodiment of the present invention has a lower floating element 3 than the conventional display device 1.
1 is excellent in the image enlargement function. However, since the apex angle 37 of the inverted conical portion 23 is not 90 °, the reflection in the mode shown in FIG. 6 does not occur, and the display indicating that the electrolyte solution 30 is insufficient becomes slightly dark. There is. However, this drawback is not fatal and does not cause a significant problem in practical use. This will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the lower end of the transparent body 24 when the electrolyte 30 is insufficient, that is, when the inverted conical portion 23 of the transparent body 24 is in contact with air. It is. When the transparent body 24 is viewed from directly above, visible light is light that travels substantially parallel to the transparent body 24, for example, light 42. The light 42 is provided by light 44 that is specularly reflected at the surface of the inverted conical portion 23, that is, at the interface between the inverted conical portion 23 and air. Light 44 is provided by light 46 reflecting at an incident point 45 at another location on the inverted conical portion 23. Light 46 is incident 45
In this case, not all are specularly reflected, and a part of the light is transmitted through the surface of the inverted conical portion 23 as shown by the broken line. Light 46
Is given by light that is incident from the upper end of the transparent body 24 and that has undergone several reflections on the side surface of the transparent body 24. As described above, when the amount of the electrolyte 30 is insufficient, the light incident from the upper end of the transparent body 24 repeatedly reflects on the surface of the transparent body 24 even if not all of the light is finally reflected. As shown in FIG. 2, light traveling substantially parallel to the transparent body 24 from the lower end to the upper end of the transparent body 24
4 can be seen from directly above. Such light is
Gives a whitish display.

On the other hand, the light 47 that has entered the transparent body 24 from the float 31 repeatedly reflects on the side surface of the transparent body 24,
Although it reaches the upper end of the transparent body 24, it does not advance in parallel with the transparent body 24, so that the float 31 cannot be seen from directly above the transparent body 24. Therefore, when the electrolyte 30 is insufficient, the float 31 cannot be seen, and this state can be reliably grasped.

As described above, an acrylic resin is often selected as the material of the transparent body 24. This is because the acrylic resin has a high transparency and a property that can withstand the electrolytic solution 30. The absolute refractive index of this acrylic resin is 1.4938, while the absolute refractive index of the electrolytic solution (sulfuric acid) 30 is 1.3 when the specific gravity is 1.30.
75, and the absolute refractive index of air is 1.0002
92. Therefore, the relative refractive index of the electrolytic solution 30 to the acrylic resin, that is, the transparent body 24 is 0.920, and the relative refractive index of air to the transparent body 24 is 0.60.
70.

Therefore, when light travels from the transparent body 24 toward the electrolytic solution 30, the incident angle θ at the interface becomes sin θ
= 0.920, that is, θ = 66.9 ° or more, total reflection occurs. Therefore, in order for the float 31 to be visible when the inverted conical portion 23 is in the electrolyte 30, the incident angle θ must be smaller than 66.9 °. In order to make the incident angle θ smaller than 66.9 °, the apex angle 37 of the inverted conical portion 23 is set to (90 ° −66.9 °) × 2.
= 46.2 °.

On the other hand, when light travels from the transparent body 24 to the air, when the incident angle θ at the interface is sin θ = 0.670, that is, θ = 42.1 ° or more, total reflection occurs. Therefore, when the inverted conical portion 23 comes into contact with air due to lack of the electrolyte 30, the apex angle 37 of the inverted conical portion 23 should be
(90 ° -42.1 °) × 2 = 95.8 ° or less. However, the condition of 95.8 ° or less is necessarily satisfied by satisfying the condition of less than 90 ° in the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows an inverted conical portion 4 at the lower end of a transparent body 48 included in a display device according to another embodiment of the present invention.
9 is enlarged.

The inverted conical portion 49 has an upper half 50 and a lower half 51, and the apex angle 52 of the upper half 50 and the apex angle 53 of the lower half 51 are different from each other. And the upper half 5
The apex angle 52 of 0 is smaller than the apex angle 53 of the lower half 51 and less than 90 °.

According to this embodiment, the height of the inverted conical portion 23 is increased by setting the apex angle 37 to less than 90 ° as in the above-described embodiment, so that the apex angle 53 is relatively large. The formation can be suppressed by forming the lower half portion 51. Nevertheless, since the apex angle 52 has the upper half 50 of less than 90 °, the function of magnifying the float is not compromised.

In the above-described embodiment, the apex angle 53 of the lower half portion 51 is arbitrary as long as the condition that the apex angle 52 of the upper half portion 50 is satisfied. However, this lower half 5
If the apex angle 53 of 1 is selected to be 90 °, when the electrolyte is insufficient, reflection occurs in a manner as shown in FIG. 6 described above, so that this electrolyte shortage state can be displayed more brightly. .

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the inverted conical portion 49 is constituted by the upper half portion 50 and the lower half portion 51. However, the inverted conical portion is further divided and the top of each portion is divided. The angle may be changed stepwise. Further, the inverted conical portion may have a peripheral surface obtained by rotating an arc so that the apex angle changes continuously.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the floater 31 in which the floating operation that occurs in response to the change in the specific gravity of the electrolyte 30 appears as a rotation is exemplified. For example, a spherical member that moves relatively vertically in a predetermined passage may be used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional front view showing a display device 21 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing a lower end portion of a transparent body 24 shown in FIG. 1, showing how a float 31 is seen in comparison with a conventional transparent body 4;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged schematic front view showing a lower end portion of a transparent body 24 shown in FIG. 1, showing a state in which an electrolyte is insufficient.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged schematic front view showing a lower end portion of a transparent body 48 included in a display device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional front view showing a conventional display device 1.

6 is an enlarged schematic front view showing a lower end portion of the transparent body 4 shown in FIG. 5, and shows a state where an electrolyte is insufficient.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 21 Display apparatus 22 Top wall 23,49 Inverted conical part 24,48 Transparent body 26 Through hole 30 Electrolyte 31 Float 37,52,53 Vertex angle 50 Upper half 51 Lower half

Claims (3)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A rod-shaped transparent body which is attached so as to penetrate an upper surface wall of a lid of a lead storage battery and has a lower end in an inverted conical shape, and an electrolytic solution disposed below the transparent body and in the battery case. A float that changes the display mode seen through the transparent body by a floating operation that occurs in response to a change in the specific gravity of
The material of the transparent body is selected such that the relative refractive index of light of the electrolytic solution with respect to the transparent body is less than 1. In the display device of the lead storage battery, the inverted conical portion at the lower end of the transparent body A display device for a lead storage battery, wherein the apex angle is less than 90 °. 2. The transparent body is made of an acrylic resin,
The display device of a lead-acid battery according to claim 1, wherein the apex angle is an angle of less than 90 ° and exceeding 46.2 °. 3. A rod-shaped transparent body which is attached so as to penetrate an upper wall of a lid of a lead storage battery and has a lower end in an inverted conical shape, and an electrolytic solution disposed below the transparent body and in the battery case. A float that changes the display mode seen through the transparent body by a floating operation that occurs in response to a change in the specific gravity of
The material of the transparent body is selected such that the relative refractive index of light of the electrolytic solution with respect to the transparent body is less than 1. In a lead-acid battery display device, the inverted conical portion at the lower end of the transparent body is , Including an upper half and a lower half having different apex angles, wherein the apex angle of the upper half is smaller than the apex angle of the lower half and less than 90 °. , Lead-acid battery display device.