JP4842098B2 - Manufacturing method of electric double layer capacitor - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an electric double layer capacitor, and more particularly to a method for manufacturing an electric double layer capacitor having a step of inspecting charge / discharge characteristics.

As an electric double layer capacitor, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, a cell stack formed by stacking a plurality of package cells in a predetermined stacking direction, a spring for pressing the cell stack in the stacking direction, etc. The thing which accommodated this press member in the housing is proposed. As a housing, a housing formed in a box shape by assembling a plurality of frame members has been proposed, and these frame members are fastened by using a plurality of fixing tools such as bolts and screws.
Japanese Patent No. 2987162

  By the way, an electric double layer capacitor is inspected (hereinafter referred to as “characteristic inspection”) to determine whether or not it has a desired charge / discharge characteristic before being put on the market.

  However, in the above-described electric double layer capacitor, in order to replace this package cell with a new package cell, for example, when it is confirmed as a result of the characteristic inspection that the specific package cell does not have a desired charge / discharge characteristic. The frame must be disassembled, and the bolts already fastened must be removed. However, there is a problem that it takes a lot of labor to loosen and remove the bolt once tightened.

  In view of such a problem, in order to facilitate the replacement work of the package cell, etc., the frame is temporarily fixed using a temporary fixing jig before the characteristic inspection. When it is confirmed that the package cell has desired charge / discharge characteristics, it is conceivable to fasten the frame with bolts.

  However, if a temporary fixing jig is used in addition to the fastening bolt, even if it is confirmed that each package cell has the desired charge / discharge characteristics, the temporary fixing jig removal work and the bolt Therefore, there is a problem that the efficiency of the manufacturing work is extremely poor.

  In addition, since the characteristic inspection is performed in a state where the stacked package cells are pressed from both sides in the stacking direction, in order to temporarily fix the cells with sufficient strength to withstand the reaction force of the spring corresponding to the pressing force, Thus, it is necessary to use the temporary fixing jigs, and it takes time and labor to attach and remove the temporary fixing jigs, which further deteriorates the work efficiency.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing an electric double layer capacitor that can easily replace cells as necessary after the characteristic inspection and can efficiently perform the manufacturing operation.

In order to solve the above problems, a method for producing an electric double layer capacitor according to the present invention includes:
A substantially box-shaped housing that accommodates a cell stack formed by stacking a plurality of package cells in a predetermined stacking direction, and a pressing member that presses the cell stack in a predetermined pressing direction parallel or substantially parallel to the stacking direction. In the method of manufacturing an electric double layer capacitor, wherein the housing includes a frame member pressed by the pressing member and another frame member fastened to the frame member by a predetermined fixture.
The cell stack and the pressing member are accommodated in the housing, and one of the two frame members is disposed at a position that can be fastened to the other frame member, and the two frame members overlap each other. The fixing tool so that it can be pulled out from the outside of the housing along the penetrating direction so that the fixing tool penetrates in a predetermined penetrating direction perpendicular to or substantially perpendicular to the pressing direction. A temporary fixing step of temporarily inserting into the joining portion from the outside of the housing;
After the temporary fixing step, an inspection step for inspecting the characteristics of the electric double layer capacitor;
When the result of the characteristic inspection is good in the inspection step, the fastening is fastened by a predetermined fastening operation from the outside of the housing, and the two frame members are fastened at the joining portion. And a process.

  According to the method for manufacturing an electric double layer capacitor of the present invention, since the same fixture is used for temporarily fixing and fastening the frame members of the housing, the result of the characteristic inspection performed with the frame members temporarily fixed is good. Since the frame member can be fastened only by permanently fixing the fixture in the temporarily fixed state, the manufacturing operation can be performed efficiently.

  In addition, since the fixing tool in the temporarily fixed state penetrates the joint portion of the frame member in a penetrating direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the pressing direction in which the pressing member presses the cell stack inside the housing, the pressing force Even if a reaction force of the pressing member corresponding to the above, that is, a pressing direction or a force in the direction opposite to the pressing direction is applied to the fixing tool via the frame member, the fixing tool is unlikely to come off from the joint portion. Accordingly, since the number of fixtures necessary for maintaining the temporarily fixed state can be reduced, the labor of the temporary fixing operation and the final fixing operation can be reduced.

  In addition, since the fixture in the temporarily fixed state can be pulled out from the outside of the housing along the penetrating direction, if the result of the property inspection performed in the temporarily fixed state is not good, the frame member can be easily removed, The replacement work of the package cell can be easily performed.

  Furthermore, by using blind rivets as temporary fixing and fastening fixtures, the temporary fixing work and fastening work of the frame member can be easily performed from the outside of the housing, and the work efficiency can be improved.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, for the purpose of facilitating understanding of the invention with reference to the drawings, for example, “upper”, “lower” are used as necessary when explaining the positions and arrangements of the members shown in the drawings. , “Left”, “right” or other terms including those terms. However, these terms are used for the purpose of facilitating understanding of the invention, and should not be used to define the technical scope of the present invention.

  1 to 3 show the appearance of an electric double layer capacitor manufactured by the manufacturing method of the present invention. As shown in the figure, an electric double layer capacitor 1 of the present invention includes a substantially box-shaped housing 2, a cell stack 3 housed in the housing 2, and the cell stack 3 parallel or substantially parallel to the stacking direction. A pressing member 4 (see FIG. 9) that presses in a predetermined pressing direction, and a circuit board 5 fixed to the outside of the housing 2.

  The housing 2 includes a top plate 11 of an upper frame that forms an upper surface of a quadrangle (for example, a rectangle or a square), a peripheral wall 12 of an outer frame that forms four sides of front, rear, left, and right, and a bottom plate 13 of a bottom frame that forms a bottom surface. (See FIG. 3).

  As shown in FIG. 4, the top plate 11 is formed of an electrically insulating material (for example, insulating resin), and includes two terminal holes 15 and a plurality of connecting holes 16 that penetrate the upper surface and the lower surface. I have. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, external lead-out terminals (positive terminal, negative terminal) 17 and 18 are fixed to the terminal hole 15. The connecting holes 16 are arranged at equal intervals in the vicinity of a pair of opposing ends.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the peripheral wall 12 includes a first frame member 20 and a second frame member 21. As shown in FIG. 2, the first frame member 20 includes three consecutive side walls of the four side walls, that is, a pair of opposing side walls 22a and a side wall 22b that connects the pair of side walls 22a to each other. Form. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the second frame member 21 forms the remaining one side wall 22c of the four side walls. The first frame member 20 and the second frame member 21 are fastened by a blind rivet 70. The configuration of the blind rivet 70 will be described later.

  In the embodiment, each of the first frame member 20 and the second frame member 21 is formed by bending a single metal plate.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the first frame member 20 includes a plurality of top plate connecting portions 23 that protrude inward from the upper ends of a pair of opposing side walls 22a. A screw hole 24 is formed in each top plate connecting portion 23. The side wall 22a has a plurality (three in the embodiment) of connecting holes 25 at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction at the end away from the side wall 22b. The connection hole 25 has a larger diameter than an outer diameter of a sleeve 72 of a blind rivet 70 to be described later, and has a smaller diameter than an outer diameter of a flange 74 of the blind rivet 70.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the side wall 22 b that connects the side walls 22 a has a bottom flange 26 that protrudes inwardly from its lower end, and the bottom flange 26 includes a plurality of bottom plate fixing holes 27. As shown in FIG. 9, the second frame member 21 includes a pair of side flanges 28 and a bottom flange 29 that protrude inward from the left and right ends and the lower end. A plurality of connecting holes 30 are formed in the side flange 28 with the same interval as the interval of the holes 25 of the first frame member 20 in the vertical direction. The connection hole 30 has a circular shape having the same or substantially the same outer diameter as a sleeve 72 of a blind rivet 70 described later.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the bottom plate 13 is made of a rectangular metal plate or resin plate, and has a plurality of gaps in the vicinity of one side end portion with the same interval as the holes 27 of the bottom flange 26 of the first frame member 20. A screw hole 31 is formed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the circuit board 5 is fixed to the outside of the housing peripheral wall 12. However, the circuit board 5 can also be provided on the back side of the top plate 11 (inside the housing) and on the top surface or bottom surface of the bottom plate 13.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the cell stack 3 is configured by stacking a plurality of package cells 41 in a predetermined stacking direction. In the embodiment, the cell stack 3 is configured by stacking ten package cells 41, but the number is not limited.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, each package cell 41 has a substantially rectangular bag-shaped container package 42. The package 42 is made of a laminated flexible sheet having at least an innermost layer and an outermost layer made of a film made of an electrically insulating material, and a positive electrode collecting electrode 43 and a negative electrode collecting electrode 44 from the upper film joint. Is protruding. Although omitted from the drawing, a laminate in which a plurality of collector electrodes each having a polarizable electrode mainly composed of carbon are superimposed on both sides via a separator is accommodated in the package 42 together with an electrolytic solution. The positive electrode terminal and the negative electrode terminal of each collector electrode are connected to the positive electrode collector electrode 43 and the negative electrode collector electrode 44, respectively. As shown in FIG. 8, the plurality of package cells 41 configured in this way are connected in series by connecting the positive electrode collector electrode 43 and the negative electrode collector electrode 44 of the adjacent package cell with a connection terminal 45.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in the embodiment, the restriction portions 47 are formed by bending the vertical joint portions 46 positioned on the left and right sides of each package cell 41 substantially at right angles along the stacking direction. Therefore, in the cell stack 3, each package cell 41 is restricted from moving in the horizontal direction by other package cells 41 in the horizontal direction orthogonal to the stacking direction. Therefore, the cell stack 3 can be easily handled.

  Although not shown in detail, the pressing member 4 is a member that presses the cell stack 3 to limit the expansion of the polarizable electrode of the package cell 41. Specifically, for example, a pressing bag, a leaf spring, or the like is used. A coil spring or the like is used.

  Next, the configuration of the blind rivet 70 used for fastening the first frame member 20 and the second frame member 21 will be described. As shown in FIG. 11, the blind rivet 70 includes a sleeve 72 having a flange 74 at one end, and a shaft 78 fitted into the sleeve 72 so as to protrude from both ends of the sleeve 72. The shaft 78 has a large-diameter portion 80 having a diameter larger than the inner diameter of the sleeve 72 at a tip portion protruding from an end portion on the opposite side to the end portion provided with the flange 74 in the sleeve 72. A method of fastening the first frame member 20 and the second frame member 21 using the blind rivet 70 will be described later.

  A method for manufacturing the electric double layer capacitor 1 having the above-described configuration will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 3, the bottom plate 13 is attached to the first frame member 20. At this time, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the screw 55 is screwed into the screw hole 31 of the bottom plate 13 through the hole 27 of the bottom flange 26 provided in the first frame member 20, thereby The bottom plate 13 is fixed to the member 20. A square buffer plate 56 (see FIG. 3) made of metal or resin may be provided inside the central side wall 22b constituting the first frame member 20.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 8, the cell stack 3 in which a plurality of package cells 41 are stacked and electrically connected is accommodated inside the first frame member 20. In this state, the bottom of the cell stack 3 is supported by the bottom plate 13.

  Next, the collector electrode of one and the other package cells 41 constituting the outermost layer of the cell stack 3 (collector electrode not connected to the collector electrode of the adjacent package cell) is led out to the other of the top plate 11 and the other. Each of the top plates 11 connected to the terminals 17 and 18 and electrically connected in this way is disposed on the peripheral wall 12, and a plurality of screws 58 are screwed into the screw holes 24 of the peripheral wall 12 through the holes 16 of the top plate 11. Threaded onto.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 9, the second frame member 21 is disposed at a position capable of being fastened to the first frame member 20 so that the cell stack 3 and the pressing member 4 are accommodated in the housing 2. The second frame member 21 is temporarily fixed to the first frame member 20.

  Specifically, the second frame member 21 is opposed to the pressing member 4 in a state where the side flange 28 of the second frame member 21 is positioned inside the opposing side wall 22a of the first frame member 20. It presses toward the cell laminated body 3 and temporarily fixes.

  For this temporary fixing, a blind rivet 70 for fastening the first frame member 20 and the second frame member 21 is used. As shown in FIGS. 9 to 11, the blind rivet 70 is disposed so that the flange 74 is exposed to the outside of the housing 2, and on the side of the side wall 22 a constituting the first frame member 20 and the second frame member 21. The first frame is formed from the outside of the housing 2 so that the sleeve 72 penetrates through a predetermined penetration direction perpendicular to or substantially perpendicular to the pressing direction (arrow A direction shown in FIG. 11) through the joint portion where the part flange 28 overlaps. The hole 20 of the member 20 and the hole 30 of the second frame member 21 are inserted and temporarily fixed.

  Since the blind rivet 70 in the temporarily fixed state passes through the joint portion between the first frame member 20 and the second frame member 21 in a direction perpendicular to or substantially perpendicular to the pressing direction, the pressing member corresponding to the pressing force Even when the reaction force 4, that is, a force in the pressing direction or a direction opposite to the pressing direction is applied to the blind rivet 70 via the frame members 20, 21, the blind rivet 70 is difficult to come off from the joint portion.

  Further, in the temporarily fixed state, as shown in FIG. 11, the diameter of the hole 30 of the second frame member 21 is the same as or substantially the same as the outer diameter of the sleeve 72. The relative movement with respect to the member 21 is restricted. On the other hand, since the diameter of the hole 25 of the first frame member 20 is larger than the outer diameter of the sleeve 72, the blind rivet 70 is relatively relative to the first frame member 20 in the pressing direction (the arrow A direction in the figure). Movement is permitted within a predetermined range.

  Therefore, in the temporarily fixed state, when the second frame member 21 is pressed in the direction opposite to the pressing direction by the pressing member 4, the second frame member 21 moves slightly in the direction opposite to the pressing direction together with the blind rivet 70. If the blind rivet 70 cannot move relative to the first frame member 20, when the second frame member 21 is pressed by the pressing member 4, the blind rivet 70 and the second frame member 21 are moved together. The blind rivet 70 is subjected to a large load by the second frame member 21 that cannot move but receives the reaction force of the pressing member 4 corresponding to the pressing force and tries to move in the direction opposite to the pressing direction. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, even if the second frame member 21 is pressed in the direction opposite to the pressing direction by the pressing member 4, the blind rivet 70 moves together with the second frame member 21, thereby The load received by the blind rivet 70 from the second frame member 21 can be reduced, and the temporarily fixed state can be maintained well.

  Next, a characteristic inspection is performed to confirm whether or not the electric double layer capacitor 1 has a desired charge / discharge characteristic. At this time, the circuit board 5 is electrically connected to the cell laminate 3, but the circuit board 5 is attached to the housing 2 after a characteristic inspection is performed and a good result is obtained.

  The characteristic inspection is performed while the cell stack 3 is pressed by the pressing member 4, but as described above, the joint portion between the first frame member 20 and the second frame member 21 is temporarily in a state in which the blind rivet 70 is difficult to come off. Since it is stopped, the temporarily fixed state is appropriately maintained even during the characteristic inspection.

  As a result of the characteristic inspection, when it is confirmed that the electric double layer capacitor 1 does not have a desired charge / discharge characteristic, the second frame member 21 and the top plate 11 are removed from the first frame member 20 to cause poor performance. The package cell 41 is exchanged. When removing the second frame member 21, the blind rivet 70 can be easily pulled out from the outside of the housing 2, so that the replacement work of the package cell 41 can be easily performed.

  When the replacement operation of the package cell 41 is completed, the top plate 11 electrically connected to the cell stack 3 is attached to the first frame member 20, and the second frame member 21 is temporarily fixed to the first frame member 20. . Further, the cell stack 3 and the circuit board 5 are electrically connected, and the characteristic inspection is performed again.

  As a result of the characteristic inspection, when it is confirmed that the electric double layer capacitor 1 has a desired charge / discharge characteristic, the blind rivet 70 is finally fixed by a final fixing operation from the outside of the housing 2, and the first frame member 20 And the second frame member 21 are fastened together.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the actual fastening operation of the blind rivet 70 is performed by pulling the protruding portion 82 of the shaft 78 protruding from the one end of the sleeve 72 to the outside of the housing 2 with a riveter 90. By this permanent fastening operation, the end portion of the sleeve 72 disposed inside the housing 2 is crushed by the large-diameter portion 80 of the shaft 78, so that the outer diameter is expanded and the shaft 78 protrudes. Portion 82 is cut. The sleeve 72 deformed in this manner sandwiches the first frame member 20 and the second frame member 21 with a strong force by the deformed portion 76 and the flange 74, so that the two frame members 20 and 21 are fastened. Is done.

  Finally, the circuit board 5 is attached to the outside of the first frame member 20 to complete the electric double layer capacitor 1.

  According to this manufacturing method, the first frame member 20 and the second frame member 21 can be easily fastened by permanently fastening the blind rivet 70 that has been temporarily fastened. Can be manufactured.

  In the above description, the cell stack 3 in a state in which a plurality of package cells 41 are connected by the connection terminals 45 is accommodated in the housing 2, but the efficiency of the work of replacing the package cells 41 when the result of the characteristic inspection is not good. In consideration, at the stage of housing in the housing 2, the package cells 41 are electrically connected using another temporary connection jig instead of the connection terminals. The package cell 41 may be connected using the connection terminal 45 in a state where it has been confirmed that it has discharge characteristics, and the top plate 11 may be fixed.

  The present invention has been described with reference to the above-described embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the invention described in the claims.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the top plate 11 is fixed to the first frame member 20 with the screws 58 has been described, but the top plate 11 is also the blind rivet 70 as in the second frame member 21. May be used to temporarily fix and fasten the first frame member 20.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the hole 25 of the first frame member 20 is a circle having a larger diameter than the outer diameter of the sleeve 72 of the blind rivet 70. However, the hole 25 is not necessarily circular. For example, the long hole may be long in the horizontal direction (the pressing direction by the pressing member 4). That is, the hole 25 may be formed so that the width in the pressing direction by the pressing member 4 is larger than the outer diameter of the sleeve 72, and the shape thereof is not particularly limited.

  Furthermore, instead of the configuration in which the width in the pressing direction of the hole 25 of the first frame member 20 is larger than the outer diameter of the sleeve 72, the width in the pressing direction of the hole 30 of the second frame member 21 is changed to the sleeve. It is good also as a structure made larger than the outer diameter of 72. Furthermore, the present invention does not prevent the width in the pressing direction of both the hole 25 of the first frame member 20 and the hole 30 of the second frame member 21 from being larger than the outer diameter of the sleeve 72.

  In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the blind rivet 70 is used for temporarily fixing and fastening the first frame member 20 and the second frame member 21 has been described. However, the frame members 20 and 21 are temporarily fixed. As a fixing tool used for fastening, in a temporarily fixed state in which the frame members 20 and 21 pass through the overlapping joint portion, the fixture can be pulled out from the outside of the housing 2 along the penetration direction, and from the outside of the housing 2 Fixing tools other than blind rivets can be used as long as they can be permanently locked by a predetermined locking operation.

It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance seen from the upper direction of an electrical double layer capacitor. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance seen from the upper direction of an electrical double layer capacitor. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance seen from the downward direction of an electrical double layer capacitor. It is a perspective view which shows a top plate. It is a perspective view which shows a baseplate. It is a perspective view which shows a package cell. It is a perspective view which shows a package cell. It is a perspective view which shows the state which accommodated the cell laminated body in the housing. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the state which assembles | attaches a 2nd frame member to a 1st frame member. It is a perspective view showing the state where the 2nd frame member was temporarily fixed to the 1st frame member. It is sectional drawing which expands and shows the principal part of the state shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the process of fastening a 1st frame member and a 2nd frame member.

Explanation of symbols

1: Electric double layer capacitor
2: Housing,
3: Cell laminate,
4: Press member,
20: Another frame member (first frame member),
21: A frame member (second frame member) pressed by the pressing member,
70: Blind rivet,
72: Sleeve,
74: Flange of sleeve,
76: Deformed part of the sleeve,
78: shaft,
80: Large diameter part of the shaft,
82: Projecting part of the shaft,
90: Riveter.

Claims (3)

A substantially box-shaped housing that accommodates a cell stack formed by stacking a plurality of package cells in a predetermined stacking direction, and a pressing member that presses the cell stack in a predetermined pressing direction parallel or substantially parallel to the stacking direction. In the method of manufacturing an electric double layer capacitor, wherein the housing includes a frame member pressed by the pressing member and another frame member fastened to the frame member by a predetermined fixture.
The cell stack and the pressing member are accommodated in the housing, and one of the two frame members is disposed at a position that can be fastened to the other frame member, and the two frame members overlap each other. The fixing tool so that it can be pulled out from the outside of the housing along the penetrating direction so that the fixing tool penetrates in a predetermined penetrating direction perpendicular to or substantially perpendicular to the pressing direction. A temporary fixing step of temporarily inserting into the joining portion from the outside of the housing;
After the temporary fixing step, an inspection step for inspecting the characteristics of the electric double layer capacitor;
When the result of the characteristic inspection is good in the inspection step, the fastening is fastened by a predetermined fastening operation from the outside of the housing, and the two frame members are fastened at the joining portion. And a process for producing the electric double layer capacitor. The fixing device includes a sleeve provided with a flange at one end, and a protruding portion that is fitted into the sleeve so as to protrude from both ends of the sleeve and protrudes from an end opposite to the one end of the sleeve. A blind rivet including a shaft having a large diameter portion larger than the inner diameter of the sleeve,
In the temporary fixing step, the connecting portions respectively formed at the joint portions of the two frame members so that the flange is exposed to the outside of the housing and the sleeve penetrates the two frame members. Insert the blind rivet into the hole and temporarily fix it.
In the fastening step, the projecting portion of the shaft that protrudes from the one end of the sleeve to the outside of the housing is pulled by a riveter so that the opposite end portion of the sleeve disposed inside the housing is removed from the outside. 2. The two frame members are fastened by being crushed and deformed by the large-diameter portion of the shaft so that the diameter is increased, and sandwiched between the deformed portion of the sleeve and the flange. The manufacturing method of the electrical double layer capacitor as described in 2 ..   3. The electric double layer capacitor according to claim 2, wherein a width in the pressing direction of the connection hole in at least one of the frame members is configured to be larger than an outer diameter of the sleeve. Production method.

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