JPH08110268A - Temperature sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide the temperature sensor, which can be arranged in a slight gap without impairing thermal response characteristic and has the excellent mechanical strength and durability. CONSTITUTION: A plurality of communicating parts 3 are formed on a bandshaped part. Lead wires 5a and 5b of heat sensitive elements 5 are connected to one-end parts of slender metal plate leads 4a and 4b, which are extending to the communicating parts 3. Heat sensitive parts 5c, the lead wires 5a and 5b and the slender metal plate leads 4a and 4b except outgoing terminals are insulated and coated with insulating sheets 6 and 6'.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of a battery surface when a secondary battery such as a nickel-cadmium storage battery or a nickel-hydrogen storage battery used in home appliances is charged.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A secondary battery may have a short battery life when it is charged when the temperature rises due to a chemical reaction or the like inside the battery during rapid charging or when the ambient temperature is low, or when the ambient temperature is high. As a method of solving the physical problem, it is necessary to detect and control the upper limit and the lower limit of the temperature that can be charged by the temperature sensor. Conventionally, as a temperature sensor for detecting the surface temperature and the like of such a secondary battery, for example, there is a temperature sensor disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-17869 proposed by the present applicant. This temperature sensor has a taper portion that extends obliquely at a certain angle in the direction close to each other on the upper part of a pair of lead portions formed from a lead frame, and a chip component composed of a thermosensitive element such as a thermistor is placed in the gap formed by the taper portion. It has a structure in which it is sandwiched, these electrodes and the tapered portion are soldered, and the chip component and the sandwiched portion are insulated and coated so as to cover them. Such a temperature sensor is mounted so as to be brought into contact with the space inside the battery pack or the surface of the battery pack, and detects the battery surface temperature or the ambient temperature during the quick charging time to control the charging time.

[0003]

However, when the temperature sensor is arranged in a space or a gap in the battery pack, a flat plate-shaped chip thermistor component is vertically clamped in the gap of the tip clamping portion of the lead frame. However, since the tip end portion of the temperature sensor with the insulation coating is large and cannot be formed flat, it is difficult to arrange the temperature sensor on the surface of the battery in the battery case. Therefore, the conventional temperature sensor has a drawback that it cannot accurately detect the temperature of the battery surface because it has to be arranged in the space inside the case. Furthermore, the conventional temperature sensor has a drawback that it is an obstacle to miniaturization of the battery pack because the heat-sensitive portion of the temperature sensor is large in shape.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, is small in size and can be disposed in a small gap in a battery pack without impairing thermal response, and has excellent mechanical strength and durability. It is intended to provide a temperature sensor.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the first temperature sensor of the present invention is such that one end of each of a pair of elongated metal plate-shaped leads is an external lead-out terminal and the elongated metal plate-shaped lead is used. A heat-sensitive element lead is joined to the other end of each of the leads, and the heat-sensitive portion of the heat-sensitive element and the lead, and a part of the elongated metal plate-shaped lead are covered with an insulating sheet. is there. Further, the temperature sensor is characterized in that a connecting terminal portion is provided at a tip portion of a pair of elongated metal plate leads. Further, in the temperature sensor, an opening is provided at a portion corresponding to the heat-sensitive portion of the heat-sensitive element of at least one of the insulating sheets attached so as to sandwich the heat-sensitive element. Further, in the temperature sensor, a notch or a recess is formed in at least one place of the insulating sheet.

In the second temperature sensor of the present invention, one end of each of the pair of elongated metal plate leads is used as an external lead terminal,
A heat-sensitive element is arranged between the elongated metal plate leads, and the lead of the heat-sensitive element is joined to the other end of each of the elongated metal plate-like leads, and the heat-sensitive portion of the heat-sensitive element and its leads and the elongated metal plate-like shape. It is characterized in that a part of the lead is covered with an insulating sheet. The second temperature sensor of the present invention is
One end of each of the pair of elongated metal plate leads is used as an external lead terminal, and the other end of each of the elongated metal plate leads is a bent portion that is bent inward, and a heat-sensitive element is arranged between the elongated metal plate leads. Then, a lead of a heat-sensitive element is joined to the other end of each of the elongated metal plate-like leads, and the heat-sensitive portion of the heat-sensitive element and its lead and a part of the elongated metal plate-like lead are covered with an insulating sheet. It is characterized by that. Further, the temperature sensor is characterized in that an adhesive is adhered to all or a part of either one of the front and back surfaces of the insulating sheet. The temperature sensor is characterized in that a polyimide resin sheet is used on one side and a polyester resin sheet or a Teflon resin sheet is used on the other side as insulating sheets.

[0007]

According to the temperature sensor of the present invention, the heat-sensitive portion of the heat-sensitive element and its lead are insulated and covered with an insulating sheet to form a flat shape, and the heat-sensitive portion is brought into close contact with the object to be detected. For example, the battery pack or the like can be installed in a small gap without providing a special space inside the case, and the temperature of the detected object can be quickly responded to and accurately detected. Further, the temperature sensor of the present invention can be manufactured in a state in which the lead frame is used up to the step of incorporating the heat sensitive element, the manufacturing step of covering and insulating with the insulating sheet, and the final cutting step. Its dimensional accuracy is high, and by taping the leads led out to the outside of the temperature sensor, it becomes a component that can be incorporated into a printed circuit board or the like by an automatic component insertion machine. Further, the temperature sensor of the present invention has an advantage that the convex shape of the heat-sensitive portion of the temperature sensor can be eliminated by providing the opening in the insulating sheet, and since the surface of the heat-sensitive portion can be made flat, the heat-sensitive portion is not covered. It can be brought into direct contact with the sensing body. Further, in the temperature sensor of the present invention, by providing a part coated with an adhesive on one side of the front and back of the insulating sheet, the part can be attached to the object to be detected, which facilitates the assembly process. In the temperature sensor of the present invention, a heat-resistant resin sheet can be used for the contact surface of the object to be detected, and an insulating sheet having high mechanical strength such as tearing can be used for the opposite surface.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A temperature sensor according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a temperature sensor of the present invention, showing a state in which temperature sensors are arranged in series. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a temperature sensor in which the temperature sensors connected in series in FIG. 1 are individually separated. In FIG.
A indicates a lead frame. The lead frame A is formed by means of chemical etching or pressing on a strip-shaped metal plate made of a material such as stainless steel, kovar, nickel or nickel alloy. The lead frame A has a strip portion 2 having sprocket holes 1 formed at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction.
A plurality of parallel elongated metal plate leads 4a, 4b extending from the strip portion 2 at right angles via a pair of continuous portions 3 are provided.

The ends 5d of the lead wires 5a and 5b of the thermosensitive element 5 are soldered or welded to the respective tips of the pair of elongated metal plate leads 4a and 4b. Lead wires 5a, 5b and glass-coated heat-sensitive part 5
c and the elongated metal plate-shaped leads 4a and 4b are partially exposed, and the other portions are sandwiched between the insulating sheets 6 and 6'and are pressure-contacted and adhered for insulation coating. The heat-sensitive element 5 is a spherical glass-coated bead-type thermistor element having a diameter of about 0.5φ.

Next, the manufacturing process will be described.
First, the pawl of the automatic feeder is engaged with the sprocket hole 1 and the lead frame A is fed. Lead frame A
The heat-sensitive element 5 is positioned at a portion corresponding to the pair of elongated metal plate leads 4a and 4b.
The ends 5d of a and 5b are welded or soldered to the elongated metal plate leads 4a and 4b, respectively. Subsequently, the lead frame A in which the heat sensitive element 5 is incorporated is sent to an insulating coating process by an automatic feeding device, and elongated metal plate leads 4a, 4 are formed.
The lead frame A is pressure-bonded so as to be sandwiched between the insulating sheets 6 and 6 ′ while leaving a part of b (external lead-out terminal portion). After that, the process proceeds to a cutting process with an automatic feeder to cut the elongated metal plate leads 4a and 4b from the continuous portion 3, and
By cutting the insulating sheets 6 and 6 ', the temperature sensor shown in FIG. 2 is formed.

Next, the shape of the heat-sensitive portion will be described with reference to FIG. 3A and 3B are cross-sectional views taken along line XX of the temperature sensor of FIG. In FIG. 3A, the insulating sheet 6'is made flat and the insulating sheet 6 is pressure-bonded and adhered so that one side of the heat sensitive portion 5c projects.
In (b), the insulating sheets 6 and 6'are pressure-bonded and covered so that the heat-sensitive portion 5c projects uniformly.

Next, another embodiment of the temperature sensor according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure,
In the lead frame B, a sprocket hole 1 is provided in a strip portion 2, a pair of continuous portions 3 extend in a direction perpendicular to the strip portion 2, and extend to the continuous portion 3 to extend elongated metal plate leads 4a, 4b.
Is provided. Connection terminals 7 are provided at the tips of the elongated metal plate leads 4a and 4b, and the ends 5d of the lead wires 5a and 5b of the heat sensitive element 5 are soldered or welded to the connection terminals 7. The heat sensitive element 5 is made of elongated metal plate leads 4a, 4
Except for the external lead-out terminal (b), insulation sheets 6 and 6'are pressure-bonded and insulation-coated. Elongated metal plate lead 4
The external lead terminals a and 4b are welded or soldered to the electrode portion of the detected object. The width of the external lead-out terminal may be set according to the electrode portion of the detected object, but the connecting terminal portion 7 is formed in the portion of the thermosensitive element 5 to which the lead wires 5a and 5b are connected. There are various widths of the elongated metal plate leads 4a and 4b according to the customer's request. If the width is narrow, as shown in the embodiment of FIG. It is necessary to use the terminal portion 7.

Next, another embodiment of the temperature sensor according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b).
The same figures (a) and (b) show elongated metal plate leads 4a and 4b.
This is an example in which the heat-sensitive portion 5c of the heat-sensitive element 5 is arranged between them. In FIG. 1A, a sprocket hole 1 is provided in a strip portion 2, elongated metal plate leads 4a and 4b are provided through a pair of continuous portions 3, and elongated metal plate leads 4a,
After the heat sensitive portion 5c of the heat sensitive element 5 is arranged between the 4b, the ends 5d of the lead wires 5a and 5b are soldered or welded to the elongated metal plate leads 4a and 4b, respectively. Insulation sheet 6,
At 6 ', the insulating sheets 6 and 6'are pressure-bonded and bonded, leaving a part of the elongated metal plate leads 4a and 4b. Then, the continuous portion 3 is cut off, and the insulating sheets 6 and 6'are cut to form individual temperature sensors. According to this embodiment, the heat-sensitive portion 5c of the heat-sensitive element 5 is covered with the insulating sheets 6 and 6'between the elongated metal plate leads 4a and 4b, and the strength of the heat-sensitive portion can be increased as compared with the above-described embodiment. it can. Further, the thickness of the elongated metal plate leads 4a and 4b is set to the heat sensitive portion 5c of the heat sensitive element 5.
By making the thickness to be approximately the same as the diameter of, it is possible to make it even flatter.

The temperature sensor shown in FIG. 1 (b) is formed by surrounding the heat sensitive element with a slender metal plate-shaped lead to further enhance the mechanical strength of the heat sensitive portion. In the same figure (b), D
Is a lead frame. In the lead frame D, a sprocket hole 1 is provided in a belt-shaped portion 2, and an elongated metal plate-shaped lead 4 is provided via a pair of continuous portions 3 extending at right angles from the belt-shaped portion 2.
a and 4b are provided. The pair of elongated metal plate-shaped leads 4a and 4b have bent portions 4 so that their tip portions face each other.
c is provided. After the heat-sensitive portion 5c of the heat-sensitive element 5 is arranged between the elongated metal plate leads 4a and 4b, the lead wires 5a and 5b are soldered or welded to the bent portions 4c, respectively. Insulating sheets 6 and 6'are used to form elongated metal plate leads 4a and 4
The insulating sheets 6 and 6'are pressure-bonded and attached while leaving a part of b.
After that, the connecting portion 3 is separated and the insulating sheet 6,
6'is cut to form individual temperature sensors.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the heat sensitive portion 5c of the heat sensitive element 5 is provided between the elongated metal plate leads 4a and 4b, and the insulating sheets 6 and 6'are covered and protected. . Therefore, the covering-protected heat-sensitive element 5 can further increase the strength. In particular, in the embodiment of FIG. 5 (b), the lead wires 5a and 5b of the heat-sensitive element 5 are welded to the bent portion 4c,
Since the heat sensitive element 5 is surrounded by the elongated metal plate leads 4a and 4b, the heat sensitive surface is sufficiently mechanically protected.

Next, an embodiment in which the temperature sensor is further flattened will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b). These embodiments are applicable to all the above embodiments. In the figure (a), the insulating sheet 6 and the heat sensitive portion 5 are provided.
An opening 8 that is slightly larger than c is provided, and in the same figure (b), openings 8 and 8'are provided in the insulating sheets 6 and 6 '. The gap between the opening and the heat-sensitive part is filled with an adhesive and the heat-sensitive part 5
It may be a structure for fixing c. If the diameter of the heat sensitive portion 5c of the heat sensitive element 5 is substantially equal to the thickness of the two insulating sheets 6 and 6 ', a flat plate temperature sensor can be formed. In the temperature sensor of FIGS. 5A and 5B, the thickness of the elongated metal plate leads 4a and 4b and the heat-sensitive portion 5 of the heat-sensitive element 5 are set.
If the diameters of c are equal, a flat plate temperature sensor can be obtained. Further, if the diameter of the heat-sensitive portion 5c is equal to the thickness of the insulating sheet 6, a flat plate-shaped temperature sensor can be similarly formed. Even if the thicknesses of the elongated metal plate-shaped leads 4a and 4b and the diameter of the heat-sensitive portion 5c of the heat-sensitive element 5 are different, it is necessary to flatten the surface of the insulating sheet in the portion bonded to the detection object. Is shown in FIG. 3 (a) or FIG. 6 (a), (b).
The contact surface can be made flat by coating the heat sensitive portion as shown in FIG.

Further, in the above embodiment, the material of the insulating sheets 6 and 6'is a polyimide resin sheet which is a heat resistant resin as the material of the insulating sheet which contacts the heat generating portion, and the insulating sheet of the other surface is polyester. By using a resin sheet or a Teflon resin sheet, mechanical strength can be increased while maintaining heat resistance. Further, the temperature sensor is not limited to the bead type thermistor element as in the above embodiment, but may be any heat-sensing element having a flat plate shape. For example, it goes without saying that a thin film thermistor or a ribbon thermocouple may be used. Also, the elongated metal plate leads are used as connection terminals, and the interval and the width of the elongated metal plate leads may be set to the width according to the customer's request. Further, in the above embodiment, the insulating sheet on the side where the external lead-out terminal of the temperature sensor is provided is provided with a recess or a notch, and further, an opening is provided at the tip of the notch so that the mutual outside It is preferable that the insulating sheet is not easily torn even if the lead-out terminal (lead) is pulled. Further, in the above embodiment, by applying an adhesive to the whole or a part of the front or back surface of the insulating sheet of the temperature sensor, after the adhesive application surface is adhered to the surface of the detected object, Positioning of the temperature sensor can be facilitated. It is obvious that this adhesive application surface may be formed by a double-sided tape, for example.

[0018]

As described above, the temperature sensor of the present invention is
It is composed of a strip portion and a pair of parallel lead frames extending in a direction perpendicular to the strip portion. The lead wire of the heat-sensitive element is joined to this lead portion and insulation-coated with an insulating sheet. Not only the workability is remarkably improved as compared with the method of manufacturing each of them, but also the dimensional accuracy of the temperature sensor can be enhanced. Further, since it is possible to manufacture the insulating sheet in a state where the lead frame is used up to the manufacturing step of covering and insulating the heat-sensitive portion, and further to the final cutting step, there is an advantage suitable for automation. Moreover, it becomes extremely mass-producible, and the dimensional accuracy of the temperature sensor is high,
As an advantage on the user side, there is an advantage that it is possible to perform automatic assembly using an automatic component inserting machine by taping the leads of the temperature sensor.

Further, since the temperature sensor of the present invention is a flat temperature sensor in which the heat-sensitive part and its leads are insulation-coated with an insulating sheet, when the heat-sensitive part is fixed to the detected object, the temperature-detected object and Since the parts are in close contact with each other and the heat from the temperature detection target can be reliably absorbed, the temperature of the temperature detection target can be accurately detected. Therefore, since the temperature sensor is flat,
There is an advantage that it can be installed in a small gap without providing a special space inside a case such as a battery pack, and an advantage that the temperature of an object to be detected such as a battery can be detected quickly and accurately. Further, the temperature sensor of the present invention can be made flat by eliminating the convex shape of the heat-sensitive part of the temperature sensor by providing an opening in the insulating sheet, and the heat-sensitive part is in direct contact with the object to be detected. There is an advantage that the temperature of the object to be detected can be accurately detected. Furthermore, in the temperature sensor of the present invention, the insulating sheet is insulation-coated with a heat-resistant resin sheet or a resin sheet having a relatively high mechanical strength, which can increase the mechanical strength without impairing the detection sensitivity, and By providing the notch, there is an advantage that the mechanical strength can be further enhanced. Further, the temperature sensor of the present invention is formed so that the heat-sensitive portion of the heat-sensitive element is surrounded by the elongated metal plate-shaped leads, which has an advantage that the mechanical strength of the heat-sensitive portion can be increased. Further, in the temperature sensor of the present invention, since the insulating sheet is coated with the adhesive, positioning is easy and workability such as lead welding of the temperature sensor is easy.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a temperature sensor according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where the temperature sensor shown in FIG. 1 is individually separated.

3 (a) and 3 (b) are cross-sectional views showing different embodiments corresponding to the cross-section taken along line XX of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the temperature sensor according to the present invention.

5A and 5B are plan views showing another embodiment of the temperature sensor according to the present invention.

6A and 6B are cross-sectional views showing another embodiment corresponding to the cross section taken along the line XX of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A to D lead frame 2 strip portion 3 continuous portion 4a, 4b elongated metal plate lead 5 heat sensitive element 5a, 5b lead wire 5c heat sensitive portion 5d joint 6,6 'insulating sheet 8, 8'opening

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A pair of elongated metal plate-shaped leads has one end as an external lead terminal, and a lead of a heat-sensitive element is joined to the other end of each of the elongated metal plate-shaped leads. A temperature sensor comprising a lead and a part of the elongated metal plate lead covered with an insulating sheet. 2. The temperature sensor according to claim 1, wherein the pair of elongated metal plate-shaped leads are provided with connection terminal portions at their tip portions. 3. The temperature sensor according to claim 1, wherein an opening is provided in a portion corresponding to the heat-sensitive portion of the heat-sensitive element of at least one of the insulating sheets attached so as to sandwich the heat-sensitive element. . 4. The temperature sensor according to claim 1, wherein at least one location of the insulating sheet has a notch or a recess formed therein. 5. A thermosensitive element is disposed between the elongated metal plate-shaped leads, wherein one end of each of the pair of elongated metal plate-shaped leads is used as an external lead-out terminal, and the heat-sensitive element is provided at the other end of each of the elongated metal plate-shaped leads. A temperature sensor characterized in that a lead of an element is joined and a heat-sensitive part of the heat-sensitive element and its lead, and a part of the elongated metal plate-like lead are covered with an insulating sheet. 6. A thermosensitive element comprising a pair of elongated metal plate leads, wherein one end of each of the elongated metal plate leads is an external lead terminal, and the other end of each of the elongated metal plate leads is a bent portion that bends inward. Of the elongated metal plate-shaped leads, the leads of the heat-sensitive element are joined to the other ends of the elongated metal-plate-shaped leads, and the heat-sensitive part of the heat-sensitive element and its leads, and a part of the elongated metal-plate-shaped leads are insulated sheets. A temperature sensor characterized by being coated with. 7. The temperature sensor according to claim 1, wherein an adhesive is attached to all or part of one surface of the insulating sheet. 8. The insulating sheet comprises a polyimide resin sheet on one surface and a polyester resin sheet or a Teflon resin sheet on the other surface.
The temperature sensor according to any one of 1.