JPH0773866A - Electrolyte injection method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an electrolyte injection method with fast electrolyte injection time and no electrolyte splash by injecting the electrolyte with centrifugal force applied to the electrolyte. CONSTITUTION:An electrolyte injection device having the following constitution is used. A drive 6 for generating centrifugal force and a disk-like rotating part 5 which rotates in a horizontal direction by the drive 6 are installed. Plural battery supporting members 2 whose each upper end is axially, rotatably supported in a fulcrum 5b installed along the outer circumference of the disk-like rotating part 5 are hung from the circumference of the disk-like rotating part 5. A battery inserting jig 3 which holds a container 1a of an objective battery 1 with the opening upward is installed at the lower end of the battery supporting member 2. An electrolyte injection nozzle 4 which is to be inserted into the opening of the container 1a of the objective battery 1 held in the battery inserting jig 3 is installed. An electrolyte is injected in such a way that the objective battery 1 assembled by accommodating an electrode group in the container 1a is inserted into the battery inserting jig 3, and the electrolyte injection nozzle 4 is inserted so as to form a specified gap between the opening of the container 1a and the electrode group, then the electrolyte is fitted in the electrolyte injection nozzle 4, and the disk-like rotating part 5 is rotated.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for injecting an electrolytic solution into a battery.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a battery manufacturing process, the electrolyte injection process is one of the important processes that influence the performance of the battery. In addition, the process of injecting the electrolytic solution took a long time and had a great influence on the entire manufacturing process. Therefore, various injection methods have been studied conventionally, and the following methods are known as typical examples.

(1) A method in which the electrolytic solution is divided into several times and poured into a container. (2) A method in which a negative pressure is applied in the container in which the electrode is inserted and the electrolytic solution is injected into the container. (3) A method of pouring the electrolytic solution into the container while applying vibration to the battery. (4) A method of injecting the electrolytic solution into the container while applying centrifugal force to the battery.

[0004]

The method (1) is a method of injecting an electrolyte solution which has been widely used in the past, but in the case of a battery in which the electrolyte absorption rate is slow in this reinjection method, It is necessary to increase the number of times the electrolyte is dispensed. Therefore, a liquid injection device is required for the number of times of dispensing, a wide device space is required in the manufacturing process, and there is a problem that space efficiency and work efficiency are reduced.

The method (2) is an effective method for shortening the injection time of the electrolytic solution, but it requires a large apparatus and may cause the electrolytic solution to scatter during the injection of the electrolytic solution. Not only does this cause a problem in liquid leakage resistance, but there is also a problem that the scattering of the electrolytic solution adversely affects the manufacturing process after the liquid injection process.

The method (3) can simplify the equipment,
There was a problem similar to the method (2) in that the electrolytic solution was scattered when the electrolytic solution was injected. The method (4) can shorten the injection time and can relatively simplify the injection device, but like the methods (2) and (3), it may cause the electrolytic solution to scatter, resulting in (2) ，
There was a problem similar to the case of the method of (3).

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electrolytic solution injection method in which the injection speed is high and the scattering of the electrolytic solution does not occur.

[0008]

A method of injecting an electrolytic solution according to the present invention includes a drive unit for generating a centrifugal force, a disc-shaped rotating unit that is rotated horizontally by the drive unit, and an outer periphery of the disc-shaped rotating unit. A battery support part having a plurality of upper ends rotatably supported by a fulcrum provided along the disk support and suspended around a disk-shaped rotating part, and an injectable battery provided at the lower end of the battery support part. The battery insertion jig that holds the container with the opening facing upward, and the container of the liquid-to-be-injected battery that is held by the battery insertion jig that is disposed above the battery insertion jig in the battery support part. Equipped with a liquid injection device that has an electrolyte injection port that is inserted into the opening, and insert the liquid injection battery that houses the electrode group in the container into the battery insertion jig, and then insert the liquid electrolyte injection port into the liquid injection device. Insert into the opening of the battery container with a certain gap between it and the electrode group, and then inject the electrolyte. Injecting a predetermined amount of the electrolyte within, then, it is characterized by the pouring giving centrifugal force to the electrolyte injected by rotating the disc-shaped rotary portion.

[0009]

With this injection method, the electrolytic solution injected into the electrolytic solution injection port is exposed to centrifugal force when the centrifugal force is applied by the gap provided between the electrolytic solution injection port and the electrode group of the battery to be injected. It becomes easy to enter the liquid-filled battery container, and the liquid-filling time is shortened, and the stagnation time of the liquid electrolyte in the liquid-electrolyte inlet is shortened, and as a result, scattering of the liquid electrolyte can be prevented.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view of a liquid injection device according to the electrolytic solution injection method of this embodiment, FIG. 2 is a plan view mainly of a disk-shaped rotating part and a battery support part of the liquid injection device, and FIG. It is a partial cross section which shows the structure of the injection part of the same injection device not shown in FIG. Further, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the liquid-to-be-injected battery, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the liquid-to-be-injected battery and the electrolyte solution inlet.

In these drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes a liquid-to-be-injected battery, and the liquid-to-be-injected battery 1 has a battery insertion jig 3 provided on a lower end surface 2a of a battery support 2 with an opening of a container 1a directed upward. Is inserted and retained. Further, an electrolyte solution inlet 4 is provided above the battery support jig 2 where the battery insertion jig 3 is provided, that is, above the opening of the container 1a of the liquid receiving battery 1. The electrolyte injection port 4 is composed of a funnel 4a, a nozzle 4b, and a moving base 4c, which are shown in detail in FIG. 3, and can be moved up and down along the two guide bars 2b of the battery supporting portion 2 via the moving base 4c. Is possible. Then, it is usually pulled downward by the spring 2c on the lower end surface 2a side, and comes into contact with a preset stopper 2d on the guide bar 2b of the battery supporting portion 2 to define the position. The upper end portion of the battery support portion 2, that is, the upper end portions of the two guide bars 2b are pivotally supported on an axial fulcrum 5b of a support tool 5a provided along the outer circumference of the disk-shaped rotating portion 5 which can rotate horizontally. The battery supporting portion 2 is suspended around the disk-shaped rotating portion 5. In this embodiment, four battery supporting parts 2 are suspended around the disk-shaped rotating part 5. The disk-shaped rotating unit 5 is driven by a rotating shaft 6d via a motor 6a, a bevel gear 6b, and a bevel gear 6c of a drive unit 6 to rotate horizontally.

The liquid injection section 7 supplies the electrolytic solution to each electrolytic solution inlet 4, and as shown in FIG. 3, the electrolytic solution tank 7a for storing the electrolytic solution and the electrolytic solution in the electrolytic solution tank 7a are stored in the electrolytic solution tank 7a. A dispenser 7b composed of a small pump for collecting a predetermined amount and discharging it to the electrolytic solution inlet 4, a discharge nozzle 7c for supplying the electrolytic solution sent from the dispenser 7b to the electrolytic solution inlet 4 and these components. It is composed of a connecting tube 7d.

An example of the liquid-to-be-injected battery 1 in which the electrolytic solution is injected by the liquid injection device of the embodiment having such a structure is a positive electrode plate 1 whose main active substance is nickel hydroxide as shown in FIG.
b and a negative electrode plate 1c containing hydrogen-absorbing alloy as a main active substance, and a separator 1d made of polyolefin interposed between the both electrode plates are spirally wound to form an electrode group, and the electrode group is formed at the bottom with an insulator. 1f is housed in a container 1a in which it is inserted, and an asphalt-based sealant 1f for improving the sealing property of the battery is provided inside the stepped portion at the top of the container 1a.
Is a nickel-hydrogen secondary battery coated with.

In order to inject the electrolytic solution into the battery 1 to be injected, the electrolytic solution inlet 4 is connected to the guide bar 2 of the battery supporting portion 2.
After being pulled up against the pulling force of the spring 2c along b, it is inserted and held in the battery insertion jig 3 so that the opening of the injected battery 1 faces upward. When the liquid-to-be-injected battery 1 is inserted and held in the battery insertion jig 3 and then the electrolytic solution inlet 4 is released, the electrolytic solution inlet 4 is lowered by the pulling force of the spring 2c,
The nozzle 4b of the electrolyte injection port 4 is the container 1a of the battery 1 to be injected.
Enter the opening of the. Then, the moving table 4c of the electrolytic solution inlet 4 comes into contact with the stopper 2d set on the guide bar 2a of the battery supporting portion 2 and stops, and the position of the tip of the nozzle 4b is automatically defined. The position is set so as to maintain a predetermined gap g (0.5 to 1.0 mm) with the electrode group of the liquid injection target cell 1 in order to improve the dischargeability of the nozzle 4b.

After that, a predetermined amount of the electrolytic solution is injected into the funnel 4a of the electrolytic solution inlet 4 through the electrolytic solution tank 7a, the dispenser 7b and the discharge nozzle 7c. At this time, the nozzle 4b
Since a gap g is provided between the tip of the nozzle and the electrode group of the liquid-to-be-injected battery 1, and therefore the tip of the nozzle 4b is in an open state, part of the electrolyte injected into the funnel 4a is part of the electrode group. Infiltrate between.

When the electrolytic solution has been injected into the funnel 4a of the electrolytic solution inlet 4, the disk-shaped rotating portion 5 is rotated by the rotating shaft 6d via the motor 6a of the driving portion 6, the bevel gear 6b, and the bevel gear 6c. . The lower part of the battery supporting part 2 is outside the disk-shaped rotating part 5 so that the battery supporting part 2 is parallel to the disk-shaped rotating part 5 about the shaft-shaped fulcrum 5b by the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the disk-shaped rotating part 5. Move in the direction. At this time, a centrifugal force acts on the electrolytic solution in the funnel 4a of the electrolytic solution inlet 4, and the electrolytic solution is injected into the electrode group in the container 1a of the injected battery cell 1 through the nozzle 4b in a short time. To be done.

After that, the rotation of the disk-shaped rotating portion 5 is stopped after a lapse of a predetermined time, and the liquid-to-be-injected battery 1 is pulled out from the battery inserting jig 3 of the battery supporting portion 2 to complete the liquid-injecting operation. As described above, according to the liquid injection method of the embodiment, a gap g is provided between the tip of the nozzle 4b of the electrolyte injection port 4 and the electrode group of the liquid-to-be-injected battery 1 to open the tip of the nozzle 4b. Because of the presence of the centrifugal force, the electrolytic solution easily enters the liquid-to-be-injected battery 1 when the centrifugal force is applied, and the liquid injection speed can be increased.

When the nickel-hydrogen secondary battery used in the embodiment is injected with an electrolyte solution having a specific gravity of 1.308 KOH and a liquid volume of 2.81 cc, the injection time is the same as the injection method of the embodiment and the conventional method. The method was compared with the method in which the electrolytic solution in (1) was dispensed in plural times. As conditions for the method of the example, a disk-shaped rotating part 5 having a diameter of 200 mm and a length from the shaft-shaped fulcrum 5b to the lower end surface 2a of the battery supporting part 2 of 100 mm was rotated at a rotation speed of 700 rpm. As a result, the injection was completed in 30 seconds. On the other hand, in the case of the conventional method of dispensing the electrolytic solution in plural times, it takes 25 to 30 minutes. Further, in the case of injecting liquid, in the conventional method, the electrolytic solution adhered to the step portion of the container 1a of the liquid-to-be-injected battery 1 to which the sealant 1f is applied, which deteriorates the sealing property of the battery. The example method did not cause such a problem. The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment,
Modifications can be made without changing the gist.

[0019]

According to the present invention, there is provided an electrolytic solution pouring method in which the liquid pouring time can be greatly shortened as compared with the conventional liquid pouring method and the electrolytic solution does not scatter, so that the reliability of the battery is not impaired. can do.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a liquid injection device according to an electrolytic solution injection method of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view mainly showing a disk-shaped rotating portion and a battery supporting portion of the liquid injection device.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross section showing a structure of a liquid injection part of the liquid injection device.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a liquid-to-be-injected battery.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the liquid-to-be-injected battery and the electrolyte solution inlet of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Battery to be injected, 1a ... Container, 1b ... Positive electrode plate, 1c ... Negative electrode plate, 1d ... Separator, 1e ... Insulator, 1f ... Sealant, 2 ... Battery support part, 2a ... Lower end surface, 2b ... Guide Bar 2c ... spring 2d ... stopper 3 ... battery insertion jig 4 ... electrolyte injection port 4a ... funnel 4b ... nozzle 4c ...
Moving table, 5 ... Disk-shaped rotating section, 5a ... Supporting tool, 5b ... Shaft fulcrum, 6 ... Driving section, 6a ... Motor, 6b ... Bevel gear, 6
c ... Bevel gear, 6d ... Rotating shaft, 7 ... Liquid injection part, 7a ... Electrolyte solution tank, 7b ... Dispenser, 7c ... Discharge nozzle, 7d ...
tube.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A drive unit that generates centrifugal force, a disk-shaped rotating unit that is rotated in the horizontal direction by the drive unit, and an upper end portion that is rotatably attached to a fulcrum provided along the outer periphery of the disk-shaped rotating unit. A plurality of battery supporting parts that are axially supported and are suspended around the disk-shaped rotating part, and a container of the liquid-to-be-injected battery that is provided at the lower end of the battery supporting part are held with their openings facing upward. It has a battery insertion jig and an electrolyte solution injection port which is disposed above the battery insertion jig in the battery support part and is inserted into the opening of the container of the injected battery held by the battery insertion jig. A liquid injection device is provided, and the liquid-to-be-injected battery in which the electrode group is housed in the container is inserted into the battery insertion jig, and then the electrolytic solution inlet is connected to the electrode group at the opening of the liquid-to-be-injected battery container. Insert a predetermined gap between them and then insert a predetermined amount of electrolysis into the electrolyte injection port. A method for injecting an electrolytic solution, which comprises injecting a liquid, and then rotating the disk-shaped rotating portion to give a centrifugal force to the injected electrolytic solution.