JPH0294254A - Storage battery - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the occurrence of stress at a junction between cells when an electrode plate is expanded by setting the thickness of an independent electrode current collecting section electrically and mechanically connecting positive (or negative) electrode plates constituting a strap to the thickness bendable upward. CONSTITUTION:A strap 8 on the positive electrode side is constituted of a current collecting section 11A electrically and mechanically connecting electrode plates 5a together and having the thickness bendable upward and a connection section 13 integrated with it and having a junction 12 between cells. A strap 8 on the negative electrode side has negative electrode plates 5b and is likewise constituted. Cells are connected in series by the connection with the strap 8. Current collecting sections 11A and 11B are bent upward against the vertical expansion of the electrode plate 5 due to the temperature rise and corrosion, the deformation of the junction 12 between cells is prevented, the corrosion due to the infiltration of an electrolyte is prevented, and the mechanical life of a battery is extended. A slit 14 provided between the current collecting section 11 and the connection section 13 is also effective.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a secondary battery containing an electrolyte and an electrode plate, and particularly to the structure of a storage battery used for automobiles and the like.

[Prior Art] As a conventional storage battery of this type, there are those shown in FIGS. 3 to 5.

FIG. 3 is an overall perspective view showing a conventional storage battery, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a main part taken along cutting line X-x in FIG. 3. Moreover, FIG. 5 is a front view of the main parts showing the mutual connection state of the straps.

In FIGS. 3 and 4, the main components of the storage battery are a battery case 1 serving as a battery container and an anode plate 5a built in the battery case 1.
and an electrode plate 5 such as a cathode plate 5b, and a separator 6 made of an insulator interposed between the anode plate 5a and the cathode plate 5b.
, and an electrolyte 9, and the electrode plates 5 such as the anode plate 5a and the cathode plate 5b and the electrolyte 9 are used in a lead-acid battery or an alkaline storage battery, and the anode plate 5a is composed of P 1) 02 , N
! 203, the cathode plate 5b is made of Pb, Fe, Cd, etc., and is placed on a saddle 7 made of an electrical insulator R@ on both sides of the bottom surface of the battery case 1. Further, the electrolyte 9 is
2SO4 or NaOH is used, and the material of the battery case 1 is synthetic resin, glass, etc. The lid of the battery case 1 constitutes the upper part of the battery case 1, and is made of synthetic resin, an insulating mixture, or the like. A terminal 2 disposed on the top surface of the battery case 1 is an anode terminal, and a terminal 3 is a cathode terminal, which are connected to an anode plate 5a or a cathode plate 5b within the battery case 1. Further, on the top surface of the battery case 1, a liquid port stopper 4 having a communication hole in the center is arranged for each cell unit. The liquid port plug 4 is for supplying electrolyte and distilled water, and the communication hole of the liquid port 4 is for discharging hydrogen gas and the like.

The cells are interconnected by straps 8 shown in FIG.

In FIG. 5, the straps 8 are connected to each other by electrically and mechanically connecting the anode plates 5a or the cathode plates 5b to each other, and more specifically, to the lattice constituting the electrode plates 5, each connected to an independent electrode current collector. 11A or electrode current collecting section 11B, and the respective independent electrode current collecting section 11A or electrode current collecting section 11B.
The inter-cell connecting portion 13 includes an inter-cell connecting portion 12 which is formed integrally with the cell partition portion 1a and is inserted into the communication hole of the cell partition portion 1a to connect with an adjacent cell. That is, the anode side slap 8 is formed integrally with the electrode current collecting section 11A that electrically and mechanically connects the anode plates 5a to each other, and is formed integrally with the electrode current collecting section 11A, and is connected to the communication hole of the cell partition section 1a. It is composed of an inter-cell connection section 13 having an inter-cell connection section 12 that is inserted into the cell and connected to an adjacent cell. Moreover, the strap 8 on the cathode side is formed integrally with the electrode current collecting part 11B that electrically and mechanically connects the cathode plates 5b to each other, and is inserted into the communication hole of the cell partition part 1a. It is composed of an inter-cell connection section 13 having an inter-cell connection section 12 that connects adjacent cells.

Therefore, the slip wrap 8 on the anode side collects the current from each anode plate 5a at the electrode current collection part 11A that electrically and mechanically connects the anode plates 5a to each other, and It is connected to the strap 8 on the cathode side of the adjacent cell via the connecting part 12.

Similarly, the strap 8 on the cathode side branches the current to the cathode plates 5b by an electrode current collector 11B that electrically and mechanically connects the cathode plates 5b to each other via the inter-cell connection part 12 and the inter-cell connection part 13. By connecting each cell with the strap 8, the cells are connected in series.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, when the conventional storage battery is placed under high temperature conditions, the anode plate 5a and the cathode plate 5b expand in volume. In particular, in a storage battery used in a vehicle, when the vehicle is placed in the scorching sun, the battery also becomes hot. At this time, the anode plate 5a and the cathode plate 5b of the storage battery expand in volume. Specifically, the lattice forming the electrode plate 5 expands in volume. The vertical expansion of the electrode plate 5 placed on the saddle 7 lifts the electrode current collector 11A and the electrode current collector 11B upward. The strap 8 has an electrode current collecting section 11
A, 11B, an inter-cell connection part 12, and an inter-cell connection part 13 are integrally formed, and among them, electrode current collection parts 11A, 11
Since B and the inter-cell connection portion 13 are sufficiently solidly formed by casting in consideration of current capacity, the vertical expansion of the electrode plate 5 directly causes stress in the inter-cell connection portion 12 .

Furthermore, the electrode plates 5 that constitute the storage battery corrode as they are repeatedly charged and discharged. This corrosive material is PbO1pbo2, P
bSO4, which causes the electrode plate 5, more specifically, the lattice forming the electrode plate 5, to expand in volume.

Therefore, in a storage battery loaded in a vehicle that has been running in a city for about two years, when the vehicle is placed in the hot sun, the vertical expansion of the electrode plate 5 will be about 2 to 5 mm.

Such vertical expansion of the electrode plate 5 directly causes stress in the inter-cell connecting portion 12, causing the inter-cell connecting portion 12 to expand and creating a gap between the cell partition portion 1a and the inter-cell connecting portion 13. The electrolytic solution 9 enters into this gap, and the inter-cell connection part 1
Corrode 2.

In particular, in a storage battery loaded in a vehicle, repeated vertical expansion of the electrode plate 5 causes the inter-cell connection portion 12 to
The battery expands and corrodes, eventually leading to rupture, which ends the mechanical life of the storage battery.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a storage battery in which the stress at the inter-cell connection portion that connects the cells is reduced.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The storage battery according to the first invention includes independent electrode current collectors that electrically and mechanically connect the anode plates or the cathode plates to each other, and the independent electrode current collectors. In a strap consisting of an inter-cell connection part that is integrally formed and has an inter-cell connection part that passes through a cell partition part and connects to an adjacent cell, the thickness of the electrode current collecting part can be bent upward. That is.

The storage battery according to the second invention includes independent electrode current collectors that electrically and mechanically connect the anode plates or cathode plates to each other, and is formed integrally with the independent electrode current collectors, and has a cell partition. In a strap consisting of an inter-cell connection part having an inter-cell connection part that is inserted and connected to an adjacent cell, at the boundary between the electrode current collecting part and the inter-cell connection part,
A slit is provided to allow the electrode current collector to curve upward.

[Function: In the first invention, the thickness of each independent electrode current collecting portion that electrically and mechanically connects the anode plates or cathode plates constituting the strap is such that it can be bent upward. Because of this, expansion of the electrode plate due to temperature rise and corrosion can be counteracted by curving the electrode current collector.
No stress is generated in the inter-cell connections that connect adjacent cells.

In the second invention, the connection between adjacent cells is made by inserting each independent electrode current collecting part that electrically and mechanically connects the anode plates or cathode plates constituting the strap through the cell partition part. Since a slit is provided at the boundary between the cell-to-cell connection section and the cell-to-cell connection section to allow the electrode current collector to bend upward, the electrode plate is prevented from expanding due to temperature rise and corrosion. This can be accommodated by bending the electrode current collecting section, so that no stress is generated at the inter-cell connection section that connects adjacent cells.

[Example] Next, the present invention will be explained in detail.

The basic structure of the storage battery according to the embodiment of the present invention is the same as that of the conventional storage battery shown in FIGS. Differences from the storage battery of the embodiment of the present invention will be mainly explained. In the drawings, the same reference numerals and symbols as those in the conventional example indicate the same or corresponding parts as those in the conventional example.

FIG. 1 is a front view of main parts showing how the straps of a storage battery according to the first embodiment of the present invention are connected to each other, and FIG. 2 is a front view of main parts showing how the straps of a storage battery according to the second embodiment of the invention are connected to each other. It is a diagram.

In FIG. 1, the strap 8 electrically and mechanically connects the anode plates 5a or the cathode plates 5b to each other, and more specifically, the strap 8 connects the anode plates 5a to each other or the cathode plates 5b to each other. It has a power section 11B. Also,
Each independent electrode current collector 11A or electrode current collector 1
1B, and is inserted into the communication hole of the cell partition part 1a to connect with adjacent cells.
The inter-cell connection section 13 has an inter-cell connection section 13.

The electrode current collector 11A that electrically and mechanically connects the anode plates 5a to each other or the electrode current collector 11B that electrically and mechanically connects the cathode plates 5b to each other has an intercell connection portion 13 having an intercell connection portion 12. However, at this time, the inter-cell connection part 13 having the inter-cell connection part 12 is made to have a strong structure, and the electrode current collection part 11A or the electrode current collection part 11B is formed by taking into consideration the current capacity. The thickness is such that it can be bent upward. For example, current capacity and mechanical strength are set by making the cross-sectional shape thinner and wider.

That is, in this embodiment, the anode side slap 8 is attached to the anode plate 5.
(a) An electrode current collecting part 11A that is electrically and mechanically connected to each other and has a thickness that can be bent upward; It is composed of an inter-cell connection section 13 having an inter-cell connection section 12 that is inserted through and connected to an adjacent cell. Further, the strap 8 on the cathode side electrically and mechanically connects the cathode plates 5b to each other, and is integrated with the electrode current collecting part 11B, which has a thickness that can be bent upward. The inter-cell connecting portion 13 has an inter-cell connecting portion 12 that is formed and inserted into a communication hole of the cell partition portion 1a to connect with an adjacent cell.

Therefore, in the strap 8 of this embodiment, the current from each electrode plate 5 is collected or divided by the electrode current collecting parts 11A and 11B that electrically and mechanically connect the electrode plates 5 to each other, and the inter-cell connection part 13 and It is connected to the straps 8 of adjacent cells via inter-cell connections 12, resulting in the cells being connected in series.

At this time, when the electrode plate 5 expands in the vertical direction due to temperature rise and corrosion, the displacement caused by the expansion can be absorbed by curving the electrode current collectors 11A and 11B upward, so that connections with adjacent cells can be avoided. No stress is generated in the inter-cell connections 12. Therefore, since the inter-cell connection portion 12 is not deformed, a gap is less likely to be formed between the cell partition portion 1a and the inter-cell connection portion 13, and electrolyte solution 9 is prevented from entering and corroding the inter-cell connection portion 12. can. As a result, the mechanical life of the storage battery can be extended.

Incidentally, according to the inventors' experiments, the electrode current collector 11A,
11B and the gap between the cell partition part 1a and the inter-cell connection part 13 when a predetermined temperature change is repeated, as shown in FIG. The gap characteristics with the connecting part were 1q.

From this characteristic, by forming the electrode current collecting parts 11A and 11B to a thickness that allows them to be bent upward, displacement due to expansion of the electrode plate 5 can be absorbed, so that the inter-cell connecting part 12 that connects adjacent cells can be It can be seen that no stress is generated.

In FIG. 2, the strap 8 has independent electrode current collectors 11A or 11B that electrically and mechanically connect the anode plates 5a or the cathode plates 5b to each other. Further, the cell partition part 1 is formed integrally with the independent electrode current collecting part 11A or the electrode current collecting part 11B.
It has an inter-cell connecting part 13 having an inter-cell connecting part 12 which is inserted into the communication hole a and connects with an adjacent cell.

The electrode current collector 11A that electrically and mechanically connects the anode plates 5a to each other or the electrode current collector 11B that electrically and mechanically connects the cathode plates 5b to each other has an intercell connection portion 13 having an intercell connection portion 12. However, at this time, the inter-cell connection part 13 and the electrode current collecting part 11A or the electrode current collecting part 11
A slit 14 is formed at or near the boundary with B. The slit 14 has a substantially V-shape or a substantially U-shape so that the opening is wide when viewed from the side, and can be easily bent upward. Preferably, the slit 14 is formed at a bent portion between the inter-cell connection portion 13 and the electrode current collecting portion 11A or the electrode current collecting portion 11B in order to facilitate current capacity and upward bending at the boundary between the two. It is good to have one.

That is, the strap 8 on the anode side of this embodiment is attached to the anode plate 5a.
The electrode current collector 11A and the slit 14 are integrally formed with the electrode current collector 11A and are electrically and mechanically connected to each other, and the electrode current collector 11A is inserted into the communication hole of the cell partition 1a to connect adjacent cells. The cell-to-cell connection section 13 has an inter-cell connection section 12 that performs the cell-to-cell connection section. Further, the strap 8 on the cathode side is formed integrally with the electrode current collecting part 11B, the slit 14, and the electrode current collecting part 11B that electrically connects the cathode plates 5b to each other, and communicates with the cell partition part 1a. It is composed of an inter-cell connecting portion 13 having an inter-cell connecting portion 12 which is inserted into a hole and connected to an adjacent cell.

Therefore, when the electrode plate 5 expands in the vertical direction due to temperature rise and corrosion, by bending the electrode current collectors 11A and 11B upward with the slit 14 as a boundary, the displacement due to the expansion can be absorbed. No stress is generated in the inter-cell connecting portion 12 that connects the cells. Therefore, since the inter-cell connection portion 12 is not deformed, a gap is less likely to be formed between the cell partition portion 1a and the inter-cell connection portion 13, and electrolyte solution 9 is prevented from entering and corroding the inter-cell connection portion 12. can. As a result, the mechanical life of the storage battery can be extended.

By the way, although the slit 14 in the second embodiment is provided at the boundary between the electrode current collecting parts 11A, 11B and the inter-cell connection part 13, when carrying out the present invention, the electrode current collecting part 14 is provided to the slit i. Since it is sufficient that the portions 11A and 11B can be curved upward, it is sufficient to provide the portions near the boundary between them.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, the storage battery of the first invention includes independent electrode current collectors that electrically and mechanically connect the anode plates or the cathode plates to each other and the independent electrode current collectors. A space 1 consisting of an inter-cell connection part that is integrally formed and has an inter-cell connection part that is inserted through a cell partition part and connects with an adjacent cell.
~ In the wrap, the thickness of the electrode current collecting part is set to a thickness that allows it to be bent upward, so that expansion of the electrode plate due to temperature rise and corrosion can be counteracted by bending the electrode current collecting part. No stress is generated in the inter-cell connections that connect adjacent cells.

Therefore, since the inter-cell connections are not deformed, gaps are less likely to form between the cell partitions and the inter-cell connections, which prevents the electrolyte from entering there and corroding the inter-cell connections. can extend the mechanical life of the

Further, the storage battery of the second invention includes independent electrode current collectors that electrically and mechanically connect the anode plates or the cathode plates to each other, and a cell partition that is formed integrally with the independent electrode current collectors. In a strap consisting of an inter-cell connection part having an inter-cell connection part which is inserted through and connected to an adjacent cell, at the boundary between the electrode current collecting part and the inter-cell connection part,
Since a slit is provided to allow the electrode current collector to curve upward, expansion of the electrode plate due to temperature rise and corrosion can be countered by curving the electrode current collector. No stress is generated in the inter-cell connection portions that connect cells.

Therefore, since the inter-cell connections are not expanded, gaps are less likely to form between the cell partitions and the inter-cell connections, preventing the electrolyte from entering there and corroding the inter-cell connections, and can extend the mechanical life of the

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view of main parts showing how the straps of a storage battery according to the first embodiment of the present invention are connected to each other, and FIG. 2 is a front view of main parts showing how the straps of a storage battery according to the second embodiment of the invention are connected to each other. Fig. 3 is an overall perspective view showing a conventional storage battery, Fig. 4 is a sectional view of main parts taken along cutting line X-X in Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 is a front view of main parts showing the mutual connection state of conventional straps. Figure, 6th
The figure shows the relationship between the thickness of the electrode current collector and the gap between the cell partition and the intercell connection. In the figure, 1a: Cell partition part 5: Electrode plate, 5a: Anode plate
5b: Cathode plate 8 wrap 11A: Electrode current collecting section 11B: Electrode current collecting section 12: Inter-cell connection section 13: Inter-cell connection section
14: Slits 1~. In addition, in the figures, the same reference numerals and the same symbols indicate the same or equivalent parts. Patent applicant Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) An anode plate and a cathode plate disposed in a battery containing an electrolyte, a separator disposed between the anode plate and the cathode plate, and an electromechanical method that connects the anode plates or the cathode plates to each other. independent electrode current collecting parts each formed with a thickness that allows it to be bent upward; and a connection between adjacent cells formed integrally with the independent electrode current collecting parts and inserted through the cell partition part. What is claimed is: 1. A storage battery comprising: an inter-cell connection section having an inter-cell connection section for performing the following steps. (2) An anode plate and a cathode plate disposed in a battery containing an electrolyte, a separator disposed between the anode plate and the cathode plate, and an electrically and mechanically connected anode plate or cathode plate between each other. independent electrode current collecting parts each formed with a thickness that allows it to be bent upward; and a connection between adjacent cells formed integrally with the independent electrode current collecting parts and inserted through the cell partition part. and a slit provided at a boundary between the electrode current collector and the intercell connection to allow the electrode current collector to curve upward. A storage battery characterized by: