JP6650495B2 - Battery pack and method of fixing battery electrode terminals - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method of fixing the batteries pack, the electrode terminals of the battery.

  A secondary battery used as a power source for portable electronic devices, vehicles, and homes usually has a battery element having a configuration in which a positive electrode and a negative electrode are alternately and repeatedly overlapped with a separator interposed therebetween, and an outer case that contains the battery element and an electrolyte. including. Then, electrode terminals (a positive electrode terminal and a negative electrode terminal) connected to the positive electrode and the negative electrode, respectively, extend outside the outer case. In this battery, the electrode terminal functions by being connected to an external connection member. As an example, as shown in FIG. 9, the electrode terminals 22 of the battery 20 are sandwiched by alligator clips 21, and the metal alligator clips 21 in contact with the electrode terminals 22 are electrically connected to an external circuit or the like via a wiring cable 23. There is a configuration to connect to each other.

In the configuration having the alligator clips 21, it is necessary to manually open and close the individual alligator clips 21, so that the work time is long and the workability is poor. Although not shown in detail in FIG. 9, the crocodile clip 21 has a plurality of teeth, and each tooth substantially contacts a plurality of points of the electrode terminal 22 so that the electrode terminal 22 is Since gripping is generally performed, gripping reliability is low. Such an alligator clip 21 cannot grip the electrode terminal 22 by surface contact, and it is difficult to hold the electrode terminal 22 in parallel. In addition, any external force or vibration applied to the battery 20 or long-term use may further reduce the gripping force of the alligator clip 21, thereby lowering the reliability of contact with the electrode terminal 22. In this case, the electric resistance may increase and the performance of the battery 20 may decrease, and there is a risk that arc discharge occurs in the alligator clip 21. The alligator clip 21 can grip the electrode terminal 22 but cannot hold the entire battery 20 and cannot prevent the battery element from tilting. Rather, the gripping force of the alligator clip 21 acts on only a part of the battery 20, which may cause the battery element to shift or float. If the gripping force of the alligator clip 21 is increased, the electrode terminals 22 sandwiched between the alligator clips 21 may be damaged. In addition, since the excess length of the wiring cable 23 connected to the alligator clip 21 may be caught by other members, it must be carefully and appropriately routed, and handling is troublesome.
Patent Literature 1 discloses a charge / discharge device for a thin secondary battery having a clip-type connection terminal. This clip type connection terminal also has the same problem as the alligator clip shown in FIG.

  Patent Documents 2 to 4 disclose a connector having an elongated plate-shaped upper holding plate, a lower holding plate, and a spring as configurations for solving the problem of the configuration having the clip. In this connector, the electrode terminal is inserted into the gap in a state where the lower holding plate is pushed down by a pressing member or manually against the urging force of the spring to widen the gap between the upper holding plate and the lower holding plate. Then, the pressing is released, the gap between the upper holding plate and the lower holding plate is reduced by the biasing force of the spring, and the electrode terminal is held between the upper holding plate and the lower holding plate. At least a metal portion is formed on the lower holding plate, and the held electrode terminals are electrically connected to the metal portion.

  In Patent Literature 5, a pair of damping members each having a connection portion are arranged on a planar fixed base portion, and the fixed base portion is bent so as to sandwich an electrode terminal of the battery to form a pair of damping materials. There is disclosed an assembled battery in which both damping members are opposed to each other and contact the electrode terminals from above and below.

  Patent Literature 6 discloses a battery module in which electrode terminals are sandwiched by movement restriction members located above and below electrode terminals. In this battery module, the electrode terminal is electrically connected to a bus bar provided separately from the movement restricting member by screwing or welding.

JP 2000-58135 A JP 2009-300193 A JP 2011-60817 A JP 2011-69744 A JP 2013-243061 A JP-A-2004-55348

  In the configurations disclosed in Patent Literatures 2 to 4, when the upper holding plate, the lower holding plate, and the electrode terminals sandwiched therebetween are all located in parallel, it is possible to hold the electrode terminals satisfactorily. is there. However, it is difficult to keep them all parallel. If the upper holding plate 24 and the lower holding plate 25 are positioned parallel to each other as shown in FIG. 10 and the electrode terminals 22 are inclined with respect thereto, the force for holding is equal to the electrode terminals 22. Not biased. That is, since the upper holding plate 24 and the lower holding plate 25 contact the electrode terminals 22 by point contact or line contact instead of surface contact, the reliability of holding the electrode terminals 22 is low. Then, there is a possibility that the electrode element 22 may be damaged such as bending by the biased force. In addition, any external force or vibration applied to the battery 20 or long-term use may further reduce the holding force of the sandwiching plates 24 and 25, increase the electric resistance, and lower the performance of the battery 20. In addition, there is a risk that arc discharge occurs in both holding plates 24 and 25. In order to correct the electrode terminals 22 to be in a parallel posture by the upper holding plate 24 and the lower holding plate 25, an excessive force must be applied to the electrode terminals 22. The risk of deformation and displacement increases.

  In addition, since the lower holding plate 25 is movable with respect to the upper holding plate 24 for inserting and holding the electrode terminals 22, the upper holding plate 24 and the lower holding plate 25 are always positioned exactly parallel to each other. It is difficult to keep. In other words, the lower holding plate 25 is guided by a column or the like, but the lower holding plate 25 moves from the position parallel to the upper holding plate 24 by the amount of play necessary to enable the movement of the lower holding plate 25. May shift. If the upper holding plate 24 and the lower holding plate 25 are not parallel, a biased force is applied to the upper and lower surfaces of the electrode terminals 22, which may cause deformation and displacement of the electrode terminals 22. These problems are the same even when the upper holding plate 24 is configured to be movable with respect to the lower holding plate 25.

  As described above, in the inventions described in Patent Documents 2 to 4, it is difficult to firmly hold the electrode terminal 22 without causing deformation or displacement, and the performance of the battery 20 due to an increase in electrical resistance is accordingly increased. May decrease.

  In the invention described in Patent Literature 5, the damping material prevents the vibration applied from outside the assembled battery from being transmitted to the thin battery. However, Patent Literature 5 does not consider holding the upper holding plate, the lower holding plate, and the electrode terminals all in parallel, so that the reliability of electrical connection and mechanical fixing of the electrode terminals is sufficient. Not very expensive. The damping material provided for preventing vibration must be provided above and below the electrode terminals.

  In the invention described in Patent Literature 6, the electrode terminals are held by the movement restricting members made of an elastic material, and electrical and mechanical connections are made by screwing or welding. According to this configuration, the reliability of holding is high, but the configuration is complicated and the assembling work is very complicated, and it is difficult to disassemble or reassemble when a failure occurs.

It is an object of the present invention, provides high electrical connection and mechanical reliability of the fixation of the electrode terminals, and the relatively simple der Ru batteries pack assembly operation, and a method of fixing the electrode terminals of the battery Is to do.

The battery pack of the present invention includes a battery element configured by stacking a positive electrode and a negative electrode via a separator, an outer case for housing the battery element, and one end connected to the positive electrode or the negative electrode and the other end outside the outer case. A battery having electrode terminals extending to
A lower contact portion and an upper contact portion provided so as to face the lower contact portion; at least one of the upper contact portion and the lower contact portion has an electrode terminal and an electric terminal; A connection portion is provided that is electrically connected, at least one of the upper contact portion and the lower contact portion is supported by an elastic member, and fixes the electrode terminal in a state where the elastic member is elastically deformed. Mechanism and
With
The electrode terminal of the battery is sandwiched between the upper contact portion and the lower contact portion, and is electrically connected to the connection portion.

The method of fixing the electrode terminal of the battery by the lower contact portion and the upper contact portion facing the lower contact portion according to the present invention includes a method of fixing the electrode terminal of the lower contact portion facing the upper contact portion. Arranging the electrode terminal on the upper side, including contacting the upper contact portion with the electrode terminal, and pressing the electrode terminal against the lower contact portion,
The battery has a battery element in which a positive electrode and a negative electrode are overlapped with a separator interposed therebetween, an outer case for housing the battery element, and an electrode terminal having one end connected to the positive electrode or the negative electrode and the other end extending outside the outer case. And
The lower contact portion is provided on a substrate,
At least one of the upper contact portion and the lower contact portion is supported by an elastic member so that the posture can be changed,
In the step of arranging the electrode terminals, the outer case is arranged on the substrate and the electrode terminals are placed on the lower contact portion,
In the step of pressing the electrode terminal against the lower contact portion, the electrode terminal is electrically connected to the connection portion provided on at least one of the upper contact portion and the lower contact portion, and the elastic member is elastically deformed. The posture of at least the surface of the lower contact portion facing the upper contact portion is changed according to the pressing force applied from the upper contact portion via the electrode terminal, and the upper contact portion and the lower contact portion are changed. Sandwiches the electrode terminals.

According to the present invention, the electrical connection and the mechanical reliability of the fixation of the electrode terminal is high, provides a Ru batteries pack relatively simple der assembly work, and a method of fixing the electrode terminals of the battery Can be.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of an inspection device including the electrode terminal fixing mechanism of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view illustrating a main part of the electrode terminal fixing mechanism illustrated in FIG. 1. It is a side view which shows the principal part of the fixing mechanism of the electrode terminal of related technology. It is a side view which shows the principal part of the modification of the fixing mechanism of the electrode terminal shown in FIG. It is a side view which shows the principal part of another modification of the fixing mechanism of the electrode terminal shown in FIG. FIG. 11 is a schematic plan view illustrating a main part of still another modified example of the electrode terminal fixing mechanism illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view and a sectional view of a main part of a battery pack including the electrode terminal fixing mechanism of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a modified example of the battery pack shown in FIG. 7. It is a schematic perspective view of the inspection device including the fixing mechanism of the electrode terminal of related technology. It is a side view which shows the principal part of the fixing mechanism of the electrode terminal of related technology.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an inspection apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention including a fixing mechanism 1 for a battery electrode terminal. The fixing mechanism 1 includes a substrate 2, a lower contact portion 3 provided on the substrate 2, and an upper contact portion 4 provided to face the lower contact portion 3. I have. The upper contact portion 4 is attached to a rotating body 5, and an operating section 6 for rotating the rotating body 5 is attached to the rotating body 5. Therefore, the upper contact portion 4 can be pushed down toward the lower contact portion 3 by operating the operation portion 6 manually or by a driving unit (not shown). The upper contact portion 4 is provided with a connecting portion 4 a made of a metal foil or the like on a surface facing the lower contact portion 3. The connection part 4a is connected to an external circuit via the wiring cable 11. The lower contact portion 3 is disposed on the substrate 2 via a cushion member 7 made of an elastic member, for example, rubber.

  In this embodiment, in order to electrically connect and mechanically fix the pair of electrode terminals 9 of the battery 8 respectively, two lower contact portions 3 are arranged side by side, and two upper contact portions 3 opposed thereto are arranged. The contact part 4, the rotating body 5, and the operation part 6 are arranged.

A method of fixing the electrode terminal 9 by the fixing mechanism 1 will be described.
First, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A, a gap is left between the upper contact portion 4 and the lower contact portion 3. Then, the battery 8 is placed on the substrate 2, and the electrode terminals 9 of the battery 8 are inserted into the gap between the upper contact portion 4 and the lower contact portion 3. Therefore, the operating unit 6 is operated to rotate the rotating body 5, and the upper contact part 4 is pushed down toward the lower contact part 3. As a result, the upper contact portion 4 comes into contact with the electrode terminal 9 and presses the electrode terminal 9 against the lower contact portion 3. In the present embodiment, since the cushion material 7 is elastically deformed, the lower contact portion 3 is changed according to the pressing force applied from the upper contact portion 4 via the electrode terminal 9 as shown in FIG. Posture changes.

To explain this point, as shown in FIG. 2A, the upper contact portion 4 has a portion where the distance to the lower contact portion 3 is short (a portion where the turning radius is small) due to the difference in the turning radius. And a portion where the distance to the lower contact portion 3 is long (a portion having a large turning radius).
If the posture of the lower contact portion 3 does not change, as shown in FIG. 3, the upper contact portion 4 comes into contact with the electrode terminal 9 and the lower contact portion 3 in a biased manner. The upper contact portion 4 has a portion that contacts the electrode terminal 9 and the lower contact portion 3 and a portion that does not contact. As a result, the reliability of the sandwiching of the electrode terminals 9 and the electrical connection is reduced. If the upper contact portion 4 presses the electrode terminal 9 against the lower contact portion 3 with a larger force, a portion of the upper contact portion 4 that does not contact the electrode terminal 9 and the lower contact portion 3 may occur. However, the electrode terminals 9 may be excessively bent and damaged.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, since the lower contact portion 3 is supported by the cushion material 7, when the upper contact portion 4 presses the electrode terminal 9 against the lower contact portion 3, the cushion material 7 becomes elastic. The lower contact portion 3 is deformed and changes its posture in accordance with the upper contact portion 4. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2B, the posture is changed so that the electrode terminal 9 and the surface 3a of the lower contact portion 3 are parallel to the upper contact portion 4, and the bias of the force is suppressed. And equalize. As a result, the upper contact portion 4 and the lower contact portion 3 are brought into surface contact with the electrode terminals 9, and as a result, the adhesion is good and the reliability of the sandwiching is increased. Furthermore, since the connection part 4a provided in the upper contact part 4 and the electrode terminal 9 are in surface contact, the reliability of the electrical connection is high. In addition, since the force applied from the upper contact portion 4 is absorbed to some extent by the elastic deformation of the cushion material 7, the risk of breakage due to excessive force applied to the electrode terminal 9 is small.

  With such a configuration, in the inspection device shown in FIG. 1, the battery 8 is arranged on the substrate 1, the electrode terminals 9 are sandwiched between the upper contact portion 4 and the lower contact portion 3, and the connection portion 4 a Is electrically connected to An external circuit connected to the electrode terminal 9 of the battery 8 via the connection portion 4a and the wiring cable 11 can accurately perform voltage measurement, current measurement, and the like for checking the performance of the battery 8.

  FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b) show a modification of the fixing mechanism shown in FIG. 2, in which a metal coil spring 10 is used as an elastic member instead of a rubber cushion member 7, and a lower contact portion 3 is used. Is shown. Also in this modification, as in the case of using the cushion material 7, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the upper contact portion 4 presses the electrode terminal 9 against the lower contact portion 3, the coil spring 10 becomes elastic. It deforms and changes its posture so that the surface 3a of the electrode terminal 9 and the lower contact portion 3 is parallel to the upper contact portion 4. Thereby, the upper contact portion 4 and the lower contact portion 3 and the electrode terminals 9 are in surface contact with each other, so that the adhesion is good, and the reliability of sandwiching and the reliability of electrical connection are increased. In addition, since the coil spring 10 absorbs the force, there is little danger of the electrode terminal 9 being damaged due to excessive force. In the example shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the upper contact portion 4 has a large turning radius in a portion near the battery 8 (right side in the drawing), so that it is difficult for the upper contact portion 4 to contact the lower contact portion 4. Therefore, when the coil spring 10 that can be elastically deformed so that the lower contact portion 4 is inclined so that the side closer to the battery is positioned higher than the side farther from the battery, the upper contact portion 4 becomes the electrode terminal 9 and the lower portion. This is preferable because it can relatively easily contact the side contact portion 3 relatively evenly.

  FIGS. 5A and 5B show a configuration in which the lower contact portion 3 itself is formed of an elastic material as still another modification of the fixing mechanism. In this modification, as shown in FIG. 5B, when the upper contact portion 4 presses the electrode terminal 9 against the lower contact portion 3, the lower contact portion 3 itself is elastically deformed, and the electrode terminal 9 itself is elastically deformed. The posture is changed so that 9 and the surface 3 a of the lower contact portion 3 facing the upper contact portion are parallel to the upper contact portion 4. Thereby, the upper contact portion 4 and the lower contact portion 3 and the electrode terminals 9 are in surface contact with each other, so that the adhesion is good, and the reliability of sandwiching and the reliability of electrical connection are increased. Further, since the force is absorbed to some extent by the elastic deformation of the lower contact portion 3 itself made of an elastic material, there is a small risk that an excessive force is applied to the electrode terminal 9 to cause breakage. According to this configuration, since there is no need to separately provide a member (the cushion member 7, the coil spring 10, and the like) for supporting the lower contact portion 3, the configuration is simple and the manufacturing is easy.

  Although not shown, the lower member for fixing the lower contact portion 3 to the substrate 2 is made of a rigid body, and the lower contact portion 3 located thereon and facing the upper contact portion 4 is made of an elastic material. The formed configuration can also be used. In this case, although the lower contact portion 3 is substantially vertically inverted from the configuration shown in FIG. 2, the same effect as described above can be obtained.

  In the modified example shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, a connection portion 12 electrically connected to the electrode terminal 9 is provided not on the upper contact portion 4 but on the lower contact portion 3. The unit 12 is composed of a plurality of (two in the configuration of FIG. 6A, four in the configuration of FIG. 6B) divided pieces 12a. According to this configuration, even if the electrode terminal 9 is distorted, the divided pieces 12a can be displaced somewhat independently from each other, so that the reliability of the connection between the electrode element 9 and the connection portion 12 is improved. high. This configuration is particularly effective when the lower contact portion 3 itself is formed of an elastic material because the divided pieces 12a are easily displaced independently of each other.

  The embodiment shown in FIG. 1 can be incorporated in a fixing mechanism of a battery housed in a battery pack or a fixing mechanism of a battery for measuring electric characteristics or the like of the battery, but the present invention is limited to such a configuration. Not done. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the present invention is applied to a battery pack (battery module) 13. As shown in FIG. 7 (a), the battery pack 13 has a plurality of batteries 8 arranged in a plane on a battery housing 14, and the battery housing 14 is composed of an upper cover 15 and a lower cover. It is sandwiched between the body 16. Although not shown in FIG. 7A, as shown in FIG. 7B, the upper cover 15 has an upper contact portion 4 having a connection portion 4a, and the lower cover 16 has a cushion material. Lower contact portions 3 supported by 7 are provided, respectively. The connection portion 4a can conduct to the outside of the battery pack 13 by a wiring pattern (not shown). With this configuration, the reliability of the sandwiching and electrical connection of the electrode terminals 9 inside the battery pack 13 is high, and the risk of the electrode terminals 9 being damaged is small.

  In the modification shown in FIG. 8, a function of stably holding the battery element 18 in the outer case 17 of the battery 8 is added to the configuration shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B. The battery 8 constituting the battery pack 13 of the present embodiment has a configuration in which a battery element 18 which is a laminate of electrodes (a positive electrode and a negative electrode) and a separator is housed in an outer case 17 together with an electrolytic solution (not shown). The outer case 17 is made of a flexible film, and the flexible films covering the battery element 18 partially overlap with each other, and the overlapped portions are joined to each other, so that the battery element 18 and the electrolytic solution are sealed. Case 17 is completed. One end of the electrode terminal 9 is connected to the battery element 18 inside the outer case 17, and the other end extends outside the outer case 17. In the modification shown in FIG. 8, the lower contact portion 3 and the cushion member 7 below the lower contact portion 3 come into contact with the joining portion 17 a of the flexible film from below, and the battery element 18 of the battery element 18 is interposed via the flexible film. It extends toward the battery 8 (rightward in FIG. 8) to a position adjacent to the side end 18a.

According to this configuration, as in the configuration shown in FIG. 7, the reliability of the sandwiching and electrical connection of the electrode terminals 9 inside the battery pack 13 is high, and the risk of the electrode terminals 9 being damaged is small. Further, an additional effect is obtained that the lateral displacement of the battery element 18 in the outer case 17 is suppressed by the lower contact portion 3 adjacent to the side end 18a of the battery element.
In addition, it is not limited to the structure shown in FIG. 8, and only the upper contact part 4 or both the upper contact part 4 and the lower contact part 3 contact the joint 17a of the flexible film, and Alternatively, it may be configured to extend toward the battery 8 (to the right in FIG. 8) to a position adjacent to the side end 18a of the battery element 18 via a flexible film.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the posture of the lower contact portion 3 can be changed according to the force applied from the upper contact portion 4 via the electrode terminal 9, and thus the surface of the upper contact portion 4 can be changed. The electrode terminals 9 and the surface 3a of the lower contact portion 3 can all be held in parallel. Thereby, both the electrical connection and the mechanical fixing of the electrode terminal 9 can be enhanced in reliability. Further, a part of the force applied from the upper contact portion 4 is absorbed by a member (such as the cushion member 7 or the coil spring 10) supporting the lower contact portion 3 or the elastic deformation of the lower contact portion 3 itself. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the electrode terminal 9 from being damaged due to excessive force. Moreover, screwing and welding are not required for electrical connection and mechanical fixing of the electrode terminals 9, so that the configuration and the assembling work are relatively simple.

Reference Signs List 1 battery electrode terminal fixing mechanism 2 substrate 3 lower contact portion 4 upper contact portion 4a connection portion 7 cushion material (elastic member)
8 Battery 9 Electrode terminal 10 Coil spring (elastic member)
12 Connecting part 12a Divided piece 13 Battery pack 17 Outer case 17a Joint part 18 Battery element 18a Side end

Claims (6)

A battery element configured by stacking a positive electrode and a negative electrode with a separator interposed therebetween, an outer case for housing the battery element, and one end connected to the positive electrode or the negative electrode and the other end extending outside the outer case. A battery having an electrode terminal,
A lower contact portion, and an upper contact portion provided to face the lower contact portion, and at least one of the upper contact portion and the lower contact portion has the A connection portion electrically connected to the electrode terminal is provided, and at least one of the upper contact portion and the lower contact portion is supported by an elastic member, and the elastic member is elastically deformed. A fixing mechanism for fixing the electrode terminal ,
With
The battery pack, wherein the electrode terminal of the battery is sandwiched by the upper contact portion and the lower contact portion and is in contact with the connection portion to be electrically connected. 2. The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the connection portion includes a plurality of divided pieces, and two or more of the divided pieces are in contact with and electrically connected to the electrode terminals . 3. A method of fixing an electrode terminal of a battery by a lower contact portion and an upper contact portion facing the lower contact portion,
Arranging the electrode terminals on a surface of the lower contact portion facing the upper contact portion,
Contacting the upper contact portion with the electrode terminal, and pressing the electrode terminal against the lower contact portion;
Including
The battery includes a battery element in which a positive electrode and a negative electrode are overlapped with a separator interposed therebetween, an outer case for housing the battery element, and one end connected to the positive electrode or the negative electrode and the other end extending outside the outer case. And the electrode terminal that is out,
The lower contact portion is provided on a substrate,
At least one of the upper contact portion and the lower contact portion is supported by an elastic member so that the posture can be changed,
In the step of disposing the electrode terminals, disposing the exterior case on the substrate and placing the electrode terminals on the lower contact portion,
Pressing the electrode terminal against the lower contact portion, electrically connecting the electrode terminal to a connection portion provided on at least one of the upper contact portion and the lower contact portion, By elastically deforming the member, at least the surface of the lower contact portion facing the upper contact portion is changed in posture according to the pressing force applied from the upper contact portion via the electrode terminal, A method for fixing an electrode terminal of a battery, wherein the electrode terminal is sandwiched between the upper contact portion and the lower contact portion. In the step of pressing the electrode terminal against the lower contact portion, a surface of the lower contact portion facing the upper contact portion is a surface of the upper contact portion facing the lower contact portion. The method for fixing an electrode terminal of a battery according to claim 3 , wherein the electrode terminal is made parallel. The connecting portion is composed of a plurality of divided pieces,
The electrode terminal of the battery according to claim 3 or 4 , wherein in the step of pressing the electrode terminal against the lower contact portion, two or more divided pieces are brought into contact with the electrode terminal to be electrically connected. how to. Forming the outer case of the battery by partially overlapping the flexible films in a state where the battery element is covered with a flexible film, and joining the overlapped portions to each other; Is extended from the joint between the flexible films to the outside of the outer case,
At least one of the upper contact portion and the lower contact portion is brought into contact with the joining portion of the flexible film, and the flexible film is attached to a side end of the battery element in the outer case. The method for fixing an electrode terminal of a battery according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the electrode terminal is adjacent to the electrode terminal via a wire.

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