JPH1012215A - Insulating plate for battery - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely mount a sheet in a battery can by an automatic machine, and eliminate erroneous decision of inspection after mounting, by forming a crimp surface of fixed roughness in both obverse/reverse surfaces of an insulating plate mounted in the battery can. SOLUTION: In an insulating plate 13 formed with a crimp surface 131 of 1 to 5μmRZ roughness in both obverse/reverse surfaces, a through hole 20 for passing of an electrolyte is formed. In both surfaces of a belt-shaped negative electrode collector 2, a negative electrode active material 3 is applied, a dried and cooled negative electrode 4 and a dried cooled positive electrode 8, applying a positive electrode mix 7 to a belt-shaped positive electrode collector 6, are piled to be wound to form a winding unit, it is received to a battery can 10 mounting a bottom insulator 9, after positive/negative electrode leads 11, 12 are connected, the insulating plate 13 is mounted, from this top, an electrolyte is injected into the battery can 10, through a gasket 14, the battery can 10 is calked, a battery cover 15 mounting a safety device 14 is fixed, to be sealed, a battery 1 is obtained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an insulating plate for a battery, and more particularly, to a battery can, such as a lithium ion secondary battery, nickel-cadmium storage battery, nickel-hydrogen storage battery, etc. The present invention relates to a surface shape of a battery insulating plate manufactured through a process of mounting an insulating plate on an upper portion and injecting an electrolytic solution into a battery can from above.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, an insulating plate of a cylindrical lithium ion secondary battery is manufactured by punching a predetermined size into a disk shape from the substrate. 5A and 5B are a front view and a back view of the manufactured insulating plate 50. FIG. As shown in this figure, conventionally, the insulating plate (insulator) has a mirror surface 501 on the front side and a textured surface (uneven surface such as a wrinkle) 502 on the back side due to the relationship between raw materials or processing.
It consists of. In the insulating plate 50, through holes 51 for passing an electrolyte are provided at appropriate intervals. A large number of disc-shaped insulating plates manufactured as described above are put into a funnel-shaped shooter, aligned, and then cut out one by one.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of cutting out an insulating plate. As shown in this figure, a large number of manufactured insulating plates 50 are put into a funnel-shaped shooter 60 without distinguishing between front and back, and are placed one by one by vibration. The sheets are extruded one by one by the cutting device 62. This cutting device 62
Is composed of an escape 621 for pushing out one insulating plate 50 protruding from the lower outlet 61, and an air cylinder 622 for allowing the escape 621 to advance and retreat in the direction of the arrow. The insulating plate 50 pushed out by the cutting device 62 is sucked and moved by the vacuum chuck, and is mounted on the upper part of the cylindrical battery can containing the positive and negative electrode plates.

[0004]

However, as shown in FIG. 5, the above-mentioned conventional insulating plate has a mirror surface on the front side.
Since the back side is a textured surface, when a large number of insulating plates 50 are randomly placed in the funnel-shaped shooter 60 without being arranged in the order of front and back, the surfaces of the upper and lower insulating plates in this,
That is, the mirror surfaces 501 may overlap each other. In this case, many defective products are generated in the insulating plate 50 extruded from the lower outlet 61 by the cutting device 62.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of a defective product. FIG. 7A shows the mirror surfaces 501 of the upper and lower two insulating plates 50.
Are defective when they are stuck together and forced out by the cut-out device 62 as they are to be taken out. FIG. 7B shows the mirror surface 501 of the upper and lower two insulating plates 50.
Are stuck to each other, and only one of them
This is a defective product when it is forcibly pushed out by 2 and bent out. FIG. 7C shows a case where the mirror surfaces 501 of the upper and lower two insulating plates 50 are adhered to each other, and only one of them is forced out by the cutout device 62 and is cut out or scratched and is taken out. Is defective.

When a defective product as shown in FIG. 7 is generated, the insulating plate 50 is sucked and moved by a vacuum chuck, and when the insulating plate 50 is mounted on the upper part of the cylindrical battery can containing the positive and negative electrode plates, the insulating plate is removed. Troubles such as stacking or stacking failures or failure to mount due to a vacuum mistake occur, which lowers the line operation rate.

Further, since the mirror surface 501 of the upper and lower insulating plates 50 and the embossed surface 502 of the conventional insulating plate overlap in the funnel-shaped shooter 60, even if the above-mentioned inconvenience does not occur, the vacuum chuck is used. In some cases, it may cause inconvenience in an inspection when the battery is mounted on an upper part of a cylindrical battery can containing positive and negative electrode plates. In other words, before sealing the battery can to complete the battery, it is checked whether an insulating plate is attached to the upper part of the cylindrical battery can, and after the insulating plate is attached, it is poured into the battery can from above. An inspection is performed to determine whether or not the impregnated electrolyte has been reliably impregnated.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view schematically showing the former inspection. The former inspection is performed by the optical sensor 80 using the insulating plate 5.
0 to the insulating plate 50 depending on the intensity of the reflected light.
Is determined, the reflectance is different between the mirror surface 501 on the front side of the insulating plate 50 and the grained surface 502 on the back side.
0 has a textured surface 502 (the reflectance is １ ／ of the mirror surface 501).
), It may be erroneously determined that there is no insulating plate 50. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of the latter inspection. In the latter inspection, a pair of probes 90 is placed just above the insulating plate 50 and the water drops 9 on the insulating plate 50 are removed.
A checker 92 checks whether or not the pair of probes 90 is short-circuited depending on the presence or absence of the electrolytic solution 1. The presence or absence of the electrolyte impregnation is determined.
In the case of (1), water drops 91
1 to 2 drops remain, so that most of the electrolyte is impregnated and there is no problem as a product. May be determined.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned disadvantages of the related art, and enables an automatic machine to securely mount only one sheet on an upper portion in a battery can.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an insulating plate for a battery that can eliminate erroneous determination of a test after mounting.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a battery insulating device characterized in that both sides of an insulating plate mounted in a battery can are formed with surfaces having a constant roughness. Provide a board. According to the insulating plate having the above configuration, it is put into a funnel-shaped shooter without aligning the front and back,
Even if they are stacked one by one due to vibration, the upper and lower insulating plates are composed of surfaces with constant roughness on both sides, so that the upper and lower insulating plates stick to each other Therefore, when the shooter is pushed out from the lower outlet of the shooter by the cutting device, the shooter is surely pushed out one by one without breaking or cutting.

Further, the insulating plate pushed out by the cutting device is sucked and moved by the vacuum chuck, and is mounted on the upper part of the battery can containing the positive and negative electrode plates. Then, the presence or absence of the impregnation of the electrolyte from above the insulating plate is determined by the probe and the checker. In the inspection for the presence or absence of the insulating plate using an optical sensor, the insulating plate is composed of surfaces with a certain roughness, so the reflectance is the same regardless of which surface is up. There is no mistake in determining the presence or absence. In addition, in the inspection of the presence or absence of electrolyte impregnation from above the insulating plate with a probe and a checker, either side of the insulating plate is upward because the insulating plate is composed of a textured surface with a constant roughness. Also, since the impregnation of the electrolyte is ensured, the determination of the presence or absence of the impregnation of the electrolyte is not erroneously made.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In a preferred embodiment,
The constant roughness is set to 1 to 5 μmRz.

[0013]

1 is an overall structural view of a cylindrical lithium ion secondary battery to which an insulating plate of a battery according to the present invention is applied. This battery 1 has a negative electrode 4 formed by applying carbon 3 as a negative electrode active material to both surfaces of a copper foil 2 as a strip-shaped negative electrode current collector, drying and cooling, and a separator 5 made of a strip-shaped polypropylene film. And a positive electrode 8 formed by applying a lithium composite oxide 7 as a positive electrode mixture to an aluminum foil 6 as a belt-shaped positive electrode current collector, drying and cooling the same, and winding the rolled body over polypropylene. The battery case 10 is housed in a battery can 10 having a bottom insulating plate 9 made of, and the positive and negative leads 11 and 12 are connected, and a top insulating plate 13 made of polypropylene is mounted. Is injected into an organic solvent, the battery can 10 is caulked via a gasket 14, and the battery cover 15 on which the safety device 14 is mounted is fixed and sealed.

A series of operations until completion of the battery 1 is generally performed by an automatic machine. Therefore, non-defective products must always be supplied to the insulating plates 9 and 13. If the insulating plates 9 and 13 are not mounted in the battery can 10, there is a risk of short-circuiting. To prevent this, the presence or absence of the insulating plates 9 and 13 is inspected before sealing. After the top insulating plate 13 is mounted on the upper part of the battery can 10, the presence or absence of the electrolyte is inspected before sealing.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are a front view and a rear view, for example, of a top insulating plate 13 shown in FIG. 1 manufactured by stamping out a polypropylene substrate having both surfaces formed into a crimped surface in advance by pressing. It is. The insulating plate 13 has a textured surface 131 on both the front and back surfaces. This textured surface 131 is
If the grain is too large, a vacuum mistake may occur during the suction movement by the vacuum chuck. In addition, the textured surface 131 is difficult to absorb the electrolytic solution whose grain is too fine, and thus needs to have a roughness that facilitates absorption. The roughness is preferably 1 to 5 μmRz. In the insulating plate 13, through holes 20 for passing an electrolytic solution are formed at appropriate intervals.

A large number of the disc-shaped insulating plates 13 manufactured as described above are put into a funnel-shaped shooter, aligned, and cut out one by one, as in the above-described conventional example.
In this case, even if the insulating plates 13 are put into a funnel-shaped shooter without aligning the front and back surfaces, and the upper and lower insulating plates 13 are placed one by one by vibration, the upper and lower insulating plates 13 have a constant roughness on both surfaces. Because it is composed of the textured surface 131 of
The upper and lower insulating plates 13 do not stick to each other. Therefore, when the upper and lower insulating plates 13 are pushed out from the lower exit of the shooter by the cutout device, non-defective products without breaks or cuts are surely pushed out one by one.

Further, since the insulating plate 13 pushed out by the cutting device is constituted by a textured surface 131 having a constant roughness so as not to cause a vacuum mistake, the insulating plate 13 is reliably attracted to the vacuum chuck. After being moved and mounted on the upper part of the battery can 10 of FIG. 1 containing the positive and negative electrode plates, the presence or absence of the insulating plate is determined by the optical sensor, and the presence or absence of the impregnation of the electrolytic solution from above the insulating plate by the probe and the checker. Is determined. That is, before the battery can 10 is sealed and the battery is completed, it is checked whether or not the insulating plate 13 is mounted on the upper part of the cylindrical battery can 10, and after the insulating plate 13 is mounted, the battery is An inspection is performed to determine whether the electrolytic solution injected into the can 10 has been reliably impregnated.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view schematically showing the inspection by the former optical sensor. This inspection is performed using the optical sensor 30.
Illuminates the insulating plate 13 and determines the presence or absence of the insulating plate 13 based on the intensity of the reflected light. However, since the insulating plate 13 has both surfaces formed of a textured surface 131 having a constant roughness,
Since the reflectance is the same irrespective of which surface is up, there is no mistake in determining whether or not the insulating plate 13 is present.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing an outline of the inspection by the latter probe and checker. This inspection is performed by placing a pair of probes 40 directly above the insulating plate 13 and checking with a checker 41 whether or not the pair of probes 40 is short-circuited by water droplets on the insulating plate 50. The presence or absence of impregnation is determined. However, since the insulating plate 13 has both surfaces formed of the textured surface 131 having a constant roughness, water droplets remain on the insulating plate 13 regardless of which surface is up. In addition, since the electrolyte is completely impregnated, the checker does not erroneously determine that the insulating plate 13 is defective because the pair of probes 40 is short-circuited by water droplets. With this configuration, the impregnation of the electrolyte is ensured regardless of which side is up, so that the determination of the presence or absence of the impregnation with the electrolyte is not mistaken.

In the above embodiment, the case where the insulating plate is mounted on the upper part in the battery can is mainly described, but the same can be said for the insulating plate mounted on the lower part in the battery can. The description is omitted. In the above embodiment, the lithium-ion secondary battery is described as a battery to which the insulating plate is applied.However, the insulating plate according to the present invention is a nickel-cadmium storage battery, a secondary battery such as a nickel-hydrogen storage battery, and further, It is also applicable to primary batteries such as lithium primary batteries.

Further, in the above embodiment, the cylindrical battery is described as the battery to which the insulating plate is applied. However, the insulating plate according to the present invention is not limited to a disk shape. Is also applicable.

[0022]

As described above, in the present invention, since the front and back surfaces of the insulating plate to be mounted on the upper part inside the battery can are made of a surface with a constant roughness, the funnel-shaped shooter can be used without making the front and back surfaces uniform. Even if they are put in a stack and they are stacked one by one, the upper and lower insulating plates do not stick to each other. Thus, when the insulating plate is pushed out from the lower exit of the shooter by the cutting device, non-defective products without breakage or breakage are surely pushed out one by one, and the yield is improved.

Further, when the insulating plate pushed out by the cutting device is adsorbed by the vacuum chuck and moved to be mounted on the upper part of the battery can containing the positive and negative electrode plates, both sides of the insulating plate cause a vacuum mistake. Since it is composed of a textured surface with no constant roughness, it can be moved to a predetermined position without falling off, regardless of which surface is up, and the yield can be improved from this point as well.

Further, in the inspection for the presence or absence of the insulating plate by the optical sensor, since the insulating plate has both surfaces formed of a textured surface having a constant roughness, the reflectance is the same regardless of which surface is up. Therefore, there is no mistake in determining the presence or absence of the insulating plate. Furthermore, in the inspection for the presence or absence of the electrolyte impregnation by the probe and the checker, since the insulating plate is made of a textured surface with a constant roughness, no water droplets remain on the insulating plate, so the determination is wrong. Nothing. Thus, a stable inspection without malfunction can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall structural diagram of a cylindrical lithium ion secondary battery to which a battery insulating plate according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a front view and a back view of an embodiment of the insulating plate according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of inspection for the presence or absence of an insulating plate by an optical sensor.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view schematically showing an inspection of a degree of impregnation of an insulating solution into an insulating plate by a probe and a checker.

FIG. 5 is a front view and a back view of a conventional insulating plate.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which an insulating plate is cut by a cutting device.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of a defective insulating plate.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view schematically showing an inspection of the presence or absence of an insulating plate by an optical sensor.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view schematically showing an inspection of a degree of impregnation of an insulating solution into an insulating plate by a probe and a checker.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: battery, 2: copper foil, 3: carbon, 4: negative electrode, 5: separator, 6: aluminum foil, 7: lithium composite oxide,
8: positive electrode, 9: bottom insulating plate, 10: battery can, 11:
Positive electrode lead, 12: negative electrode lead, 13: top insulating plate, 14: gasket, 15: battery cover, 20: through hole, 3
0: Optical sensor, 40: Probe, 41: Checker, 131: Textured surface

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An insulating plate for a battery, wherein both the front and back surfaces of the insulating plate to be mounted in the battery can are constituted by a textured surface having a constant roughness. 2. The insulating plate for a battery according to claim 1, wherein the constant roughness is 1 to 5 μmRz.