JPH0419961A - Battery - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To save an operator labor by disposing a water supply tank in the upper portion of the inside of a battery liquid container, and also providing a float valve on the bottom face of the water supply tank, and providing a switching valve for selectively opening and closing an air hole and a feed water opening. CONSTITUTION:During the normal use of a battery, a switching valve 22 closes a feed water opening 20 and opens an air hole 18. When the battery is charged with electricity from the above state, gases generated by electrolysis of a battery liquid 15 are discharged from the air hole 18. As the battery is charged, the level of the liquid 15 is lowered below a set liquid level 16 but in this case a float valve 17 is lowered and a water supply opening 14 is opened so that pure water 13 is automatically supplied to a battery liquid container 10 from a water supply tank 11. When the amount of the pure water 13 in the tank 11 is decreased the switching valve 22 is actuated to open the feed water opening 20 of the tank 11 and pure water is supplied from the feed water opening 20. Then pressure within the tank 11 is raised by feeding of water and the pure water 13 pushes the valve 17 down and tends to flow into the liquid container 10 but the air hole 18 is closed by the valve 22 and the valve 17 is kept closing the water supply opening 14 and the liquid level of the liquid container 10 does not exceed the set liquid level.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a battery used as a power source for automobiles, etc., and in particular, to a battery that can always maintain a constant liquid level to prevent liquid leakage during charging. It is related to batteries.

[Prior Art] As shown in FIG. 10, a conventional general battery contains a battery solution (electrolytic solution such as dilute sulfuric acid) 1, an electrode 2 that electrochemically interacts with the battery solution 1, and a battery. It is mainly purified from the battery liquid tank 3. Further, a liquid inlet 4 is provided at the upper part of the battery liquid tank 3, and the battery liquid is injected and water is refilled through the liquid inlet 4. When the battery is in use, the liquid port 4 is closed by a liquid plug 5 to prevent liquid leakage. During charging, the battery liquid 1 in the Panteri liquid tank 3 generates gases such as hydrogen and oxygen by electrolysis, so the liquid stopper 5 is provided with an air hole for discharging the generated gas. Furthermore, the head of a float 6 for checking the source state of the battery fluid 1 is arranged in the fluid inlet 4 .

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] As mentioned above, the liquid port 4 of the battery liquid tank 3 is normally closed by the liquid stopper 5, but when checking the liquid state,
- Open the liquid stopper 5 and check how the head of the float 6 comes out. Also, when refilling water, it is necessary to open the liquid tap 5 each time. Furthermore, when refilling water due to carelessness, Vl
There is also the risk of overflowing battery acid containing acid.

Incidentally, since a battery used in an automobile or the like is constructed by assembling a plurality of batteries shown in FIG. 10 as single cells, a plurality of battery liquid tanks, liquid ports, etc. are provided. For this reason, the above-mentioned liquid source confirmation work and water replenishment work are very time consuming.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve such conventional technical problems.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a battery liquid tank, a battery liquid injected into the battery liquid tank, and a battery liquid tank whose upper end is immersed in the battery liquid. In a battery equipped with an electrode protruding from the top surface, a water replenishment tank for storing pure water is placed in the upper part of the battery tank, and a water replenishment port provided at the bottom of the water tank is used to set the battery fluid. A float valve is provided below the liquid level and closes the refilling port when the battery liquid reaches the set liquid level, and an air hole provided in the battery liquid tank and a float valve provided in the refilling tank are provided. It is characterized by the provision of a switch valve that selectively opens and closes the water supply port.

[Operation] In the above configuration, when the battery fluid drops below the set fluid level, the float valve opens the water replenishment port of the water replenishment tank, so the pure water in the water replenishment tank is automatically complemented into the battery fluid tank, and the battery fluid can always be maintained at the set liquid level.

Further, the switch valve opens the air hole and closes the water supply port during normal use, and closes the air hole and opens the water supply port when water is supplied to the refill tank. Therefore, when water is supplied,
Since the inside of the battery liquid tank is sealed, even if the pressure inside the refilling water tank increases, the float valve will not be pushed open and pure water will not flow into the battery tank.

[Embodiments] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, in the battery according to the present invention, a water replenishment tank 11 is provided above the internal space of the battery tank 10 at a position where it does not interfere with the electrodes 12. A water replenishment port 14 is formed on the bottom of the water refill tank 11 for supplying the internal pure water 13 to the battery liquid tank 10. It is arranged to be located below the position 16. A float valve 17 is provided in the water replenishment port 14. This float valve 17 generates buoyancy due to the battery fluid 15, and closes the refilling port 14 when the pantheli fluid 15 reaches a set fluid level 16.

An air hole 18 is formed in the upper part of the battery liquid tank 10 and communicates with the inside of the battery liquid tank 10 via an air passage 19. The air hole 18 is provided to release hydrogen and the like generated during charging. Further, a water supply port 20 is formed in the upper part of the water replenishment tank 11, and a water supply port 20 is formed in the upper part of the water replenishment tank 11.
It communicates within 1. This water supply port 2° is the water replenishment tank 11
This is for replenishing pure water. A switch valve 22 is provided between the air passage 19 and the water supply passage 21.
0 are selectively opened and closed.

Although the Sui-Sochi valve 22 is schematically shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, various configurations of the switch valve 22 are possible.

For example, the switch valve 22a shown in FIG. 4 is of the rotary type, and has a circular plate 25 having two holes 23 and 24 as shown in FIG. 5 arranged so as to cross the air passage 19 and the water supply passage 21. An operating shaft 26 is attached to the center of the circular plate 25, and its upper end protrudes from the top surface of the battery. Further, a torsion coil spring 27 is arranged between the operation @ 26 and the battery, and in an unloaded state, the position of one hole 23 of the circular plate 25 is adjusted to the air path 11!
1i19. At this time, the water supply passage 21 is closed by the surface of the circular plate 25. When the upper end of the operating shaft 28 is pinched and rotated in the direction of the arrow against the spring force of the torsion coil spring 27, the other hole 2 of the circular plate 25 is opened.
4 is water supply expert F! Coinciding with @21, the water supply passage 21 is opened, while the air passage 19 is closed.

6 to 8 show rotary switch valves 22b of other embodiments. In this embodiment, the edges of the air passage 19 and the water supply passage 21 facing the circular plate 25' protrude toward the circular plate 25', and this protrusion 28 is formed on the circular plate 25'; In this point, it differs from the switch valve 22a shown in FIG. 4. In addition, a gasket 3 is provided at the tip of each protrusion 28.
0 is attached and slidably contacts the circular plate 25'. With such a configuration, the circular plate 25
' movement range is limited, making it possible to reliably arrange the porous holes 23, 24 in the predetermined passages j9, 21, and
The gasket 30 can prevent fluid leakage.

Furthermore, FIG. 9 shows a third embodiment of the switch valve. This switch valve 22c is integrally attached to the first valve body 31 arranged at the water supply port 20 and the first valve body 31, and is connected to the air passage! 819 and the second valve body 32 that crosses the valve body 819. Normally, the first valve body 31 is pressed against the valve seat surface of the water supply port 20 by the tension spring 33 to close it. At this time, the through hole 34 provided in the second valve body 32 aligns with the air passage 19, and the air passage 19 is opened. 1st
When the valve body 31 is pushed down against the tension spring 33, the water supply port 20 opens and the second valve body 32 is lowered to block the air passage 19. Note that numerals 35 and 36 are gaskets, which can maintain airtightness within the water replenishment tank 11.

Next, the operation of the battery according to the present invention will be explained.

When the battery is normally used, the switch valve 22 closes the water inlet 20 and opens the air hole 18, as shown in FIG. Further, when the battery fluid 15 is at the set fluid level 16, the float valve 17 closes the refilling port 14. The float valve 17 is designed in consideration of the relationships among its own buoyancy, the atmospheric pressure acting on the liquid level of the open battery liquid tank 10, and the force exerted by the pure water 13 in the sealed water replenishment tank 11. It is designed so that the water replenishment port 14 can be reliably closed.

However, assuming that the float valve 17 is not closed sufficiently due to the presence of dirt, etc., a semi-permeable membrane 40 is installed at the water replenishment port 14.
is provided to allow the flow of pure water 13 from the refill tank 11 to the battery liquid layer 10, but the refill tank 11 for sulfuric acid molecules
It is preferable to prevent the backflow of /\.

When charging is performed from this state, the battery fluid 15 is electrolyzed to generate hydrogen and oxygen, and the generated gas is released into the air hole 18.
is discharged from. Additionally, the liquid level of the battery fluid 15 drops below the set liquid level 16 as it is being charged, but in this case, as shown in FIG. is automatically replenished into the battery liquid tank 10. When the battery fluid 15 returns to the set liquid level 16, the float valve 17 closes the water replenishment port]4 and stops water replenishment. During this water replenishment, the battery fluid 15 is agitated by the flow of water, which has the advantage of preventing uneven concentration of the battery fluid.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the pure water 13 in the refilling tank 11 decreases, the switch valve 22 is operated to
The water supply port 20 is opened and pure water is supplied from this water supply port 20. At this time, the pressure inside the refilling water tank 11 increases due to the water supply, and the pure water 13 pushes down the float valve 17 and tries to flow into the battery liquid tank]0, but the air hole 18 of the battery liquid tank 10 is connected to the switch valve 22. Therefore, the float valve 17 maintains the refilling port 14 in a closed state, and the liquid level in the battery liquid tank 10 does not exceed the set liquid level.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, when the battery fluid in the battery tank decreases, pure water is automatically replenished from the water replenishment tank and the liquid level is always maintained at the set level, thereby improving the battery performance. becomes stable. Furthermore, since the battery fluid is stirred during water replenishment, uneven concentration of the battery fluid can be eliminated and performance deterioration can be prevented.

In addition, there is no need to check the liquid level, and by providing a water replenishment tank, the frequency of water replenishment can be maintained without reducing the amount of time required for the operator. In particular, this effect is extremely large in the case of a battery consisting of a large number of single cells.

Furthermore, when putting pure water into the refill tank, even if this water overflows, it is safe because sulfuric acid will not flow out unlike in conventional batteries.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 to 3 are schematic illustrations of the battery according to the present invention, with Figure 1 showing the normal usage state, Figure 2 showing the state of water replenishment to the battery tank, and Figure 3 showing the state of water supply to the water replenishment tank. show,
FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a first embodiment of the switch valve used in the battery of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a circular plate in the switch valve of FIG. 4, and FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view showing the inside of the switch valve shown in FIG. 6, FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the circular plate in the switch valve of FIG. 6, and FIG. A cross-sectional view showing a third embodiment of the switch valve, and FIG. 10 are schematic explanatory views showing a conventional battery. In the figure, 10... Battery liquid tank 11... Refilling water tank 12.
・Electrode 13・Pure water 14・Water replenishment port
15・Battery fluid 16・Setting liquid level 17・Float valve 18・Air hole 20・Water inlet switch valve

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a battery comprising a battery liquid tank, a battery liquid injected into the battery liquid tank, and an electrode that is immersed in the battery liquid and has an upper end protruding from the upper surface of the battery liquid tank, an upper part of the battery liquid tank is provided. A water replenishment tank is placed in which pure water is placed, and a water replenishment port provided on the bottom of the water refill tank is placed below the set liquid level of the battery fluid, and when the battery fluid reaches the set liquid level. A battery comprising: a float valve that closes the water replenishment port; and a switch valve that selectively opens and closes an air hole provided in the battery tank and a water supply port provided in the water tank.