JPH0148612B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a storage battery and a resistance welding machine for manufacturing a storage battery.

Conventionally, when connecting ears of the same polarity arranged in a row of cell plate groups housed in the cell chamber of the storage battery case, a comb-like jig was applied to the ears while replenishing lead. A common method is to form a single ear group connection strap with molten lead using a burner, etc.
In this method, firstly, it is cumbersome to insert each lug of the electrode plate between the comb teeth of the comb-like jig, and secondly,
If the burner heats too much, the selvage will melt and melt, and if it heats too little, the weld will be defective.The welding process requires considerable skill, and cannot be automated, resulting in poor work efficiency. There are drawbacks.

It is also known to press a conductive strap onto the upper end of the ear of the electrode plate, insert a jig between the ears, and resistance weld the ear to the conductive strap in order to prevent the ear from bending due to the pressure. However, it is troublesome to insert the jig between the ears and has the disadvantage of poor work efficiency.

The present invention solves these conventional drawbacks and provides a method for connecting the straps of battery battery electrode plate ears with simple equipment and work without requiring any skill. The electrode plate group 1 is stored in a chamber 14, and the battery case 12 has a plurality of cell chambers 14 partitioned by a partition wall 13. , 3a so as to cover one side of the ears 2a, 3a, and then the metal strap 4 is connected to the metal strap 4 by resistance welding on the one side of the ears 2a, 3a where the metal strap 4 is in contact. It is characterized by connecting the ear groups 2a and 3a. Furthermore, the present invention provides a resistance welding machine for manufacturing storage batteries used to carry out this method, and is a resistance welding machine equipped with a pair of electrodes 6 and 7, the pair of electrodes 6 and 7 having a longitudinal shape. A large number of intervening projections 10 are formed on the inner surface of at least one electrode 6, and the intervening projections 10 are characterized in that they are interposed between the ears 2a, 3a and the ears 2a, 3a during welding.

Embodiments of these inventions will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show one row of connection methods of the storage battery plate lug group of the present invention, 1 indicates a cell plate group,
The cell electrode plate group 1 is made up of a plurality of cathode plates 2... and a plurality of anode plates 3 alternately superposed one on top of the other with a separator 18 in between, and the cathode plate group is arranged in a line on one side of the upper surface. The cathode ear group 2a of the anode plate group is aligned in a line on the other side of the protruding one, and the anode ear group 3a of the anode plate group.
...is a prominent structure, no different from the conventional cell plate group.

The connection method of the present invention is applied to each of the cathode ear groups 2a... and the anode ear groups 3a... before or after the cell plate group 1 is housed in the battery case.

That is, according to the present invention, a metal strap 4 typically made of lead or a lead alloy is prepared in advance to have the same length as the ear group 2a or longer than the ear group 2a.
Place it on top of the . In this embodiment, a metal strap 4 having an L-shaped cross section has a horizontal wall portion 4a that is connected to an ear group 2a.
It is fixed to the upper surface of the ear group 2a so that its vertical wall portion 4b comes into contact with the side surface of the ear group 2a. In this state, the resistance welding electrodes 6 and 7 of the resistance welding device 5 are arranged on both sides of the ear group 2a, and one positive electrode 7 is attached to the outer surface of the vertical wall portion 4b of the metal strap 4. The strap 4 can be connected to the ear group 2a by pressing the negative electrode 6 against the other side of the ear group 2a and applying electricity from the power source 8. Preferably, these electrodes 6, 7 both have longitudinal abutment surfaces that cover the entire length of the ear group 2a, as shown. Therefore, the connection of this law is
Of course, this can be done either before or after housing the electrode plate group in the battery case.

The metal strap 4 is preferably provided with protrusions 9 that come into contact with each of the ears 2a, as shown in the third figure, in order to increase the current density on the surface that comes into contact with the ears 2a.

In the illustrated example, the protrusion 9 is formed into a protrusion that extends in the direction in which the ears 2a are aligned and is perpendicular to each ear 2a, so that the protrusion 9 reliably contacts each ear.

Thus, the metal strap 4 having an L-shaped cross section is
It has a high mechanical strength, and a strap connection with high mechanical strength can be obtained.

If the electrode plate lugs 2a are thin, for example around 1 mm, when the lugs 2a are pressurized from both sides with the electrodes 6 and 7, the lugs tend to twist, and as a result, the specified pressure cannot be obtained. , there is a risk of welding defects.

In order to prevent this, the present invention provides an interposition that fits into the gap between each ear group 2a on the inner surface of the electrodes 6 and 7 that abuts the side surface of at least one ear group 2a, as shown in the fourth figure. A large number of protrusions 10 are formed. As shown in the figure, these intervening protrusions 10 are provided with concave grooves 11 that are open at the lower end of the inner surface of the electrode 6 and are received in the side and upper surfaces of the upper end of each ear 2a of the ear group 2a in the length direction. is formed between each of the grooves 11, 11. When the width of the intervening protrusion 10 is made somewhat smaller than the gap between the ears 2a, it can be easily inserted.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show another embodiment, in which the inter-cell connections are formed at the same time as the cell electrode plate tab groups are connected. 12 is a battery case; 13 is a partition wall that partitions the inside of the battery case 12; 14,1
Reference numeral 4 indicates cell chambers on both sides of the partition wall 13, and in the cell chambers 14, 14, cell electrode plate groups 1, 1 are placed, respectively, on one side of one of the cell electrode plate groups 1, for example, by a conventional method. The cathode lug group 2a... and the anode lug group 3a on one side of the other cell electrode plate group 1 are accommodated so as to be lined up with the partition wall 13 in between. According to the above connection method of the present invention, a common metal strap 4 is applied to these ear groups 2a...3a...of different polarities, and they are bonded into one body by electric resistance welding, thereby making it possible to simultaneously obtain inter-cell connection. It is something. More specifically, on the upper edge of the partition wall 13 on the side of the ear groups 2a...3a... aligned in the above line, these cathode ear groups 2a are placed.
. . . A through hole 15 is provided through which a metal strap 4 having an L-shaped cross section is inserted and is long enough to straddle and engage the anode ear group 3a. The through hole 15 is a notched through hole 15 that opens at the upper end of the same L-shaped cross section as the metal strap 4.
6 are lined up on the same line as the ears 2a, and the corners 1
Preferably, the intermediate portion of the metal strap 4 is lockingly supported at 6. Therefore, the through hole 1
The metal strap 4 inserted into the partition wall 13 and fixed to the corner 16 is fixed to the cathode and anode ear groups 2a...3a...on both sides of the metal strap 4, and in this locked state, in the same manner as above, Clamp these ear groups 2a...3a... with resistance welding electrodes 6, 7 from both sides,
Electricity is applied under that pressure. In such a case, both cell chambers 1
Each ear group 2 of the cell plate groups 1 and 1 in 4 and 14
A, 3a can be connected to the metal strap 4 at the same time, and the ear groups 2 of mutually different polarities can be obtained.
The so-called cell-to-cell connections of a and 3a are also performed via the intermediate portion 4a of the metal strap 4, and as in the past, a burner and molten lead are used for the ear group of the cell plate group in the cell chamber. After the ear group straps are formed, the step of connecting the opposing cell connection ears provided on the ear group straps of mutually different polarities to each other by resistance welding or the like through holes in the partition wall is omitted. At the same time, the connection between the cells is made by one common metal strap connected to the ear groups 2a and 3a, which simplifies the structure of the connection between the cells, increases mechanical strength, and provides a good storage battery. bring.

The narrow gap between the through hole 15 of the partition wall 13 and the metal strap 4 passing through it is sealed by injecting a sealant such as resin or adhesive. However, in the case of a battery without a free electrolyte, that is, in a type of battery in which the electrolyte is held in the electrode plate group, this may be left as is.

Furthermore, in FIG. 5, the present method is also applied to the anode plate lug group 3a on the other side of the cell electrode plate group 1 in the intermediate cell chamber 14, and these lug groups 3a and other partition walls 13 are separated. Similarly, for the cathode plate lug group 2a on the other side of the cell plate group 1 in the other cell chamber 14 adjacent to the cell chamber 14, the corresponding long metal straps 4 having an L-shaped cross section are attached to the partition wall 13. The ear groups 2 are brought into engagement and abutment through the through holes 15, and in this state, the ear groups 2
Metal strap 4 is attached to b and 2a by electric resistance welding.
At the same time, the connection between both cells is completed.

FIG. 7 shows yet another modification. To bring the metal strap 4 into contact with the electrode tab group 2a in advance,
As described above, in addition to the means for directly contacting the lug group 2a, the cathode plate lug group 2a on the 1 side of the cell plate group 1 in the cell chamber 14 at the end of the battery case 12 is placed on the opposite wall surface in the direction in which the cathode plate lug group 2a is arranged In the illustrated case, a locking groove 1 is provided on the inner surface of the end wall of the battery case 11 and the wall surface of the partition wall 13, the inner edge of which is located on the same line as the side surface of the ear group 2a or inside the ear group.
7, 17 are provided open on the upper surface, and the grooves 17, 1
Both ends of the metal strap 4 are fitted into the ear group 7, and the metal strap 4 is supported in contact with both sides of the ear group 2a by these grooves 17, 17, and in this state, the metal strap 4 is attached to the ear group 2a. electrical resistance welding. In this way, it is not necessary to perform resistance welding connections while holding the metal strap by hand or with a separately provided holding device to keep it in contact with the ear group, and the welding work can be performed easily and reliably. This is advantageous because it eliminates manufacturing costs such as equipment costs.

Although not shown, a cathode terminal pole post is implanted in this metal strap 4.

The anode plate lug group 3a on the other side of the cell electrode plate group 1 in the cell chamber 14 has a longitudinal metal strap 4 inserted through the through hole 15 of the partition wall 13, as in the embodiment shown in FIG. The cells are connected to the cathode plate lug group 2a of the cell electrode plate group 1 in the adjacent cell chamber 14 through the cell chamber 14.

In this way, according to the present invention, a metal strap is placed in contact with the ear group along one line of the electrode plate group so as to cover one side of the ear, and then the metal strap is placed on the one side of the ear that is in contact with the metal strap. Since the metal strap and the ear group are connected by resistance welding, the work is easier than the conventional method of manufacturing the ear group connecting strap while melting lead with a burner.
It has the effect of making it possible to automate ear group connections without requiring any skill, and also eliminates the hassle of inserting a jig between the ears, unlike the conventional method of pressing a conductive strap onto the top of the ear. This has the effect of improving work efficiency. In addition, the electrode of the resistance welding machine
Since the electrode plate is configured in a longitudinal shape extending along the ears of the electrode plate, and a large number of intervening protrusions are formed on the inner surface of the elongated electrode that comes into contact with the ears of the electrode plate, the intervening protrusions fit into the gaps between the ears. This has the effect of preventing the ears from twisting when pressurizing the ear group from the inside with an electrode, thereby preventing a predetermined pressure from being obtained and resulting in poor welding.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a front view of one example of implementing this method, Fig. 2 is a side view thereof, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one example of a metal strap used in this method, and Fig. 4 is a main part of another embodiment. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another embodiment, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view of still another embodiment. 1...Cell electrode plate group, 2...Cathode plate, 2a...Cathode plate lug, lug group, 3...Anode plate, 3a...Anode plate lug, lug group, 4...Metal strap, 4a...Metal middle part of strap, 5...resistance welding device, 6,
7... Electrode, 8... Power supply, 9... Protrusion, 10...
Intervening projection, 13...partition wall, 15...through hole.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Storing the electrode plate group 1 in the cell chamber 14 of the battery case 12,
The battery case 12 has a plurality of cell chambers 14 partitioned by a partition wall 13, and the ear groups 2a and 3a arranged in one line of the electrode plate group 1.
A metal strap 4 is brought into contact with the ears 2a, 3a so as to cover one side of the ears 2a, 3a, and then the metal strap 4 and the ear group are connected by resistance welding on the one side of the ears 2a, 3a that the metal strap 4 is in contact with. A method for manufacturing a storage battery, characterized by connecting 2a and 3a. 2. The method of manufacturing a storage battery according to claim 1, wherein the metal strap 4 has an L-shaped cross section. 3 The metal strap 4 is attached to one of the ears 2a and 3a.
The method for manufacturing a storage battery according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that a protrusion 9 is provided on the surface that abuts the side surface. 4. The partition wall 13 has a locking groove 15 that is open upwardly formed at the upper end, and the metal strap 4 is elongated and is attached to the lug group 2a of the electrode plate group 1 in the adjacent cell chamber 14. 3a. The method for manufacturing a storage battery according to claims 1, 2, and 3, characterized in that the storage battery is connected across 3a. 5. A resistance welding machine equipped with a pair of electrodes 6, 7, the pair of electrodes 6, 7 being formed in a longitudinal shape, at least one of the electrodes 6 having a large number of intervening protrusions 10 formed on its inner surface, A resistance welding machine for manufacturing storage batteries, characterized in that the intervening protrusion 10 is interposed between the ears 2a, 3a and the ears 2a, 3a during welding.