JPH1116608A - Oil immersed pressure equalization type battery and its charge and discharge device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an oil immersed pressure equalization type battery capable of making it easy to detect an amount of an electrolyte. SOLUTION: On an upper surface of a cell 3, an sensor attaching hole at an peripheral wall of which a female screw is provided is formed, and there to a level sensor 14 for detecting a liquid surface level of an electrolyte 11 is attached. The liquid level sensor 14 has such a constitution that two pieces of electrodes 16, 17 are provided in an inside of a tubular protection tube 15, and detects if the liquid surface level of the electrolyte 11 is above a normal lower limit liquid level N under the atmospheric pressure. The two electrodes 16, 17 made from alkaline-proof nickel are formed so as to have different lengths, respectively, and the electrode 16 having downwards longer is extended to the vicinity of the protection tube 15 end. A shorter one 17 of the electrodes 16, 17 for detecting the electrolyte is attached so as to hang down to the nearly middle position of the protection tube 15. The end position of the electrode 17 for detecting the electorlyte is set so as to come just at the normal lower limit liquid level N.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an oil-immersed pressure equalizing type battery and a charge / discharge device therefor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 6 shows an oil-immersed pressure equalizing battery 50. The oil-immersed equalizing battery 50 is used under high pressure, for example, as a power source of a submarine for deep sea exploration, and accommodates a plurality of cells 51 in a battery tank 52.
An insulating oil 53 is stored in the battery tank 52. When the oil-immersed equalizing battery 50 is exposed to high pressure, the insulating oil 53
Penetrates into the unit cell 51 to eliminate the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the unit cell 51, thereby increasing the pressure resistance.

[0003]

The oil-immersed pressure equalizing battery 50 is configured to be used repeatedly as a secondary battery, and the electrolytic solution inside the unit cell 51 decreases as such use progresses. If the liquid level is lower than the lower limit liquid level, the insulating oil 53 may adhere to the internal separator or electrode. Then, some of the electrodes do not react, and the capacity of the unit cell 51 decreases. In order to prevent such a situation, it is necessary to confirm that the liquid level of the electrolytic solution of the cell 51 is higher than a specified level when charging and discharging the oil-immersed equalizing type battery 50. There is. Conventionally, the upper lid of the battery tank 52 must be opened to check the liquid level, and the internal cells 51 have to be visually inspected, which takes a long time for the confirmation. Was. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an oil-immersed pressure equalizing battery that can easily confirm the amount of an electrolyte. It is an object of the present invention to provide a charging / discharging device for an oil-immersed pressure equalizing type battery capable of detecting a decrease in the pressure.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an oil-immersed pressure equalizing type battery comprising a unit cell in which positive and negative battery electrodes and an electrolyte are accommodated in a battery container. It is arranged in the outer shell, and the inside of the outer shell is partitioned from the outside through a partition deformable by receiving pressure from the outside, and insulating oil is stored in the outer shell, and the outside of the outer shell is When the pressure rises, by insulating the insulating oil into the battery container from an oil immersion inlet provided at the upper part of the battery container, the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the unit cell is eliminated, and the pressure resistance is increased. A liquid level sensor provided with an electrolyte detection electrode capable of contacting the electrolyte is provided at an upper portion in the battery container, and the lower end of the detection of the electrolyte by the electrolyte detection electrode has a normal lower limit of the electrolyte under atmospheric pressure. Position or higher Characterized in that it is set.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the separator located between the positive and negative battery electrodes in the unit cell extends upward from the battery electrode to move ions between the electrodes. The liquid level sensor is provided with a liquid-permeable protective cylinder surrounding the electrolyte detection electrode, and the liquid level sensor is inserted inside the battery container from above and the protective cylinder Is arranged so that the lower end thereof is in contact with the ion movement restricting portion of the separator, and a tapered insertion guide portion is provided at the lower end of the protective cylinder.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a charging / discharging apparatus for an oil-immersed pressure equalizing type battery, in which a unit cell having positive and negative battery electrodes and an electrolytic solution accommodated in a battery container is disposed in an outer shell. The inside of the body is partitioned from the outside through a deformable partition wall under pressure from the outside and insulating oil is stored in the outer shell, and when the external pressure of the outer shell increases, the battery container By injecting the insulating oil into the battery container from an oil immersion inlet provided at an upper portion, the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the unit cell is eliminated to charge and discharge an oil-immersed equalizing type battery that has been made pressure-resistant. A charging / discharging circuit for charging and discharging the unit cell; and an electrolyte detection electrode provided at an upper portion in the battery container and capable of contacting the electrolyte, wherein the detection lower end of the electrolyte detection electrode is large. Normal lower limit of electrolyte level at atmospheric pressure A liquid level sensor set above, a continuity measuring circuit for detecting that the electrolytic solution comes into contact with the electrolytic solution detecting electrode of the liquid level sensor, and a liquid level of the electrolytic solution by the continuity measuring circuit. And an abnormality notification circuit for notifying an abnormality in the liquid level of the electrolytic solution on condition that it is detected that the liquid level is lower than the lower detection end of the electrolytic solution detecting electrode.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the oil-immersed pressure equalizing type battery is pressurized, the deformable partition wall is deformed inward by the external pressure, and the insulation stored in the outer shell body. Oil penetrates from the oil immersion inlet at the upper part of the unit cell and pressurizes the electrolyte in the unit cell from the upper layer, thereby eliminating the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the unit cell. The cell is provided with a liquid level sensor that detects the liquid level of the electrolytic solution, and the lower end of the detection of the electrolytic solution is set to the normal lower limit liquid level of the electrolytic solution at atmospheric pressure. If the liquid level is equal to or higher than the normal lower limit liquid level, the detection lower end of the electrolyte detection electrode will be immersed in the electrolyte,
Electric current flows through the electrolyte. However, when the liquid level of the electrolytic solution is lower than the normal lower limit liquid level, no current flows because the detection lower end of the electrolytic solution detecting electrode does not contact the electrolytic solution.
This makes it possible to detect the lack of the electrolyte. For this reason, it is not necessary to inspect the cell level of the electrolytic solution by visually observing the unit cell as in the related art, and the inspection can be speeded up.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when attaching the liquid level sensor to the unit cell, the lower end portion of the protective cylinder is inserted from above the separator. At this time, since this portion is formed as a tapered insertion guide portion, the insertion operation is easily performed, and the separator is not damaged.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the charge / discharge circuit discharges and charges the oil-immersed pressure equalizing type battery. At this time, if the liquid level of the electrolytic solution in the cell is lower than the normal lower limit liquid level, the continuity measuring circuit detects the abnormal state because the electrolytic solution detecting electrode of the liquid level sensor does not contact the electrolytic solution and detects the abnormal condition. The notification circuit notifies the liquid level abnormality. As described above, it is possible to detect an abnormality in the liquid level of the electrolyte during the operation of charging and discharging the oil-immersed pressure equalizing battery.

[0010]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows an oil-immersed pressure equalizing battery 1 with a part of an outer shell 2 omitted. The oil-immersed pressure equalizing battery 1 is configured to be repeatedly usable under high pressure, for example, in the deep sea, and is used while being immersed in seawater. The oil-immersed pressure equalizing type battery 1 is covered with a hollow outer shell 2, and a gas release valve 7 for discharging gas stored inside is provided at an upper portion thereof. A connector 39 for connecting the oil-immersed equalizing battery 1 to the outside, and a power distribution box 8 for accommodating power distribution members such as breakers and fuses (not shown) are provided on the side of the outer shell 2. ing. The connector 39 provided in the power distribution box 8 is used in connection with a charging / discharging device 30 described later for charging / discharging the oil-immersed equalizing battery 1.

A plurality of cells 3 are housed inside the outer shell 2, and an insulating oil 4 is stored around the cells 3. A pressure equalizing device 5 having an elastically deformable pladder 6 is provided below the outer shell 2. The ladder 6 is configured so as to cover the lower surface opening 2A of the outer shell 2 in the form of a diaphragm. When the oil-immersed pressure equalizing type battery 1 is exposed to a high pressure, the ladder 6 is deformed so as to be depressed and the external pressure is reduced. Tell The cell 3 is made of a silver zinc oxide battery, and a plurality of cells are connected in series so that a high voltage required for operation of the submarine can be secured. As shown in FIG. 2, the unit cell 3 has a pair of battery electrodes 10 made of silver oxide or zinc inside a rectangular cylindrical battery container 9 (only one is shown in FIG. Are provided with a positive electrode and a negative electrode.) A predetermined amount of the electrolyte solution 11 is injected therein, and a separator 12 that regulates a short circuit of the battery electrode 10 is provided.

A gas-liquid separator 13 is provided at the upper part of the battery container 9 and an oil immersion inlet (not shown) is formed therein so that the insulating oil 4 can enter the battery container 9. When the equalizing type battery 1 is exposed to high pressure and the insulating oil 4 is pressurized,
Due to the pressure, the insulating oil 4 penetrates more into the battery container 9 from the oil inlet. That is, as the external pressure increases, the electrolyte 11 in the battery container 9 is compressed and its level decreases, whereby the pressure inside and outside the unit cell 3 becomes uniform and the pressure resistance is increased. Here, the normal liquid level of the electrolytic solution 11 is set so as to exceed the normal lower limit liquid level indicated by the reference symbol N shown by a solid line in FIG. 2, and the normal lower limit liquid level (N)
When the submarine dive to the maximum depth at the time of, the liquid drops to a liquid level indicated by a dashed line H in FIG. 2 (normal lower limit liquid level of the electrolyte under the maximum external pressure).

The gas-liquid separator 13 is for preventing the electrolyte 11 from being discharged to the outside as the gas inside the battery container 9 comes out as bubbles. Further, the separator 12 is provided with an ion movement restricting portion 12A extending above the upper end of the battery electrode 10 so that excessive movement of ions in the electrolytic solution 11 at a position beyond the battery electrode 10 is achieved. Is regulated. As described above, the level of the electrolytic solution 11 rises and falls due to the external pressure. However, the upper end portion of the ion movement restricting portion 12A is lower than the normal lower limit level H of the electrolytic solution under the maximum external pressure. It is set as follows.

A sensor mounting hole 18 having a female screw on the peripheral wall is provided on the upper surface of the unit cell 3, and a liquid level sensor 14 for detecting the liquid level of the electrolytic solution 11 is provided therein. Attached (see FIG. 3). Liquid level sensor 14
Are two electrodes 1 inside a protection tube 15 formed in a cylindrical shape.
6 and 17 for detecting whether or not the liquid level of the electrolytic solution 11 is above the normal lower limit liquid level N under the atmospheric pressure. A fitting portion 19 is formed in a cylindrical shape at the upper part of the liquid level sensor 14, and the lower part thereof is provided with an external thread which is slightly narrower than the upper part and can be fitted to the female thread of the sensor mounting hole 18. Also, the fitting portion 19
An electrode mounting hole 19A is opened at the center of the electrode, and the two electrodes 16 and 17 are held in a suspended state by the resin 21 embedded in the electrode mounting hole 19A.
Note that lead wires W are soldered to the electrodes 16 and 17, respectively, and are connected to an external circuit through the connector 39 of the distribution box 8 described above.

A plurality of electrolyte passage holes 15A are provided at the upper and center positions of the protective cylinder 15 to allow the electrolyte 11 to enter. The distal end (lower end) of the protective tube 15 is opened, and a tapered insertion guide 15B is formed. When the liquid level sensor 14 is mounted in the sensor mounting hole 18, the insertion guide 15 </ b> B of the protection cylinder 15 is positioned below the upper end of the ion movement restricting part 12 </ b> A of the separator 12. The two electrodes 16 and 17 made of alkali-resistant nickel are formed so as to have different lengths, and the electrode 16 that hangs longer extends almost to the vicinity of the tip of the protective tube 15. . Also,
The shorter electrolyte detection electrode 17 is attached so as to hang down to a substantially intermediate position of the protection tube 15. The distal end position of the electrolyte detection electrode 17 is set to be exactly the position of the normal lower limit liquid level N. As shown in FIG.
An insulation tube 17A made of polytetrafluoroethylene for insulation is fitted around the periphery of the tubes 6 and 17. In addition,
Although not shown, the electrode 16 is similarly configured by fitting an insulating tube. An O-ring 20 is provided on the upper surface of the sensor mounting hole 18 so that the liquid level sensor 1
By attaching the fitting portion 19 of 4 to the battery container 9, the both can be sealed in a liquid-tight manner.

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of the charging / discharging device 30 of the oil-immersed pressure equalizing type battery 1. As shown in FIG. The charging / discharging device 30 includes a charging circuit 31 for charging the oil-immersed pressure equalizing type battery 1, a discharging resistor 32 as a discharging circuit, a charging / discharging control circuit 33 for controlling charging / discharging operation, and a continuity measuring circuit 34.
And an abnormality notification circuit 35.
And is connected to the oil-immersed pressure equalizing type battery 1. In addition, the charging circuit 31, the discharging resistor 32, and the charging / discharging control circuit 33
Configures the charge / discharge circuit 40. A connector 39 which can be connected to the connector 38 of the charging / discharging device 30 is provided on the side of the oil-immersed equalizing type battery 1, where the output terminal of the cell 3 and the two electrodes 16 and 17 of the liquid level sensor 14 are provided. It is possible to connect. The continuity measuring circuit 34 measures the continuity between the two electrolyte detection electrodes 16 and 17 of the liquid level sensor 14, and outputs a normal liquid level signal Snor when a current flows between the two electrodes 16 and 17. It outputs to the charge / discharge control circuit 33, and outputs an abnormal liquid level signal Sabn to the charge / discharge control circuit 33 and the abnormality notification circuit 35 when no current flows.

When a charge start switch (not shown) is turned on, the charge / discharge control circuit 33 detects the remaining capacity by measuring the terminal voltage of the oil-immersed pressure equalizing type battery 1, and when the remaining capacity is equal to or higher than a predetermined value. Closes the discharge switch 36 provided in series with the discharge resistor 32 to completely discharge the oil-immersed pressure equalizing type battery 1. Then, when the oil-immersed pressure-balanced battery 1 is completely discharged, the discharging switch 36 is opened and the charging circuit 31 is operated to start charging the oil-immersed pressure-balanced battery 1, and the charging operation is continued until the fully charged state. . When the charge / discharge control circuit 33 receives the liquid level abnormality signal Sabn from the continuity measurement circuit 34, the charge / discharge control circuit 33 does not start the discharge / charge operation described above. , The abnormality notification circuit 35 outputs a warning sound from the speaker 37.

Next, the operation and effect of the embodiment constructed as described above will be described. In order to charge the oil-immersed equalizing battery 1 placed under the atmospheric pressure, the connector 38 of the charging / discharging device 30 is connected to the connector 39 of the power distribution box 8 and the charge start switch is turned on. Then, first, the continuity measurement circuit 34 detects whether or not a current flows between the electrolyte detection electrodes 16 and 17 of the liquid level sensor 14. When the liquid level of the electrolytic solution 11 in the cell 3 provided with the liquid level sensor 14 is higher than the normal lower limit liquid level N, the lower ends of both electrodes 16 and 17 of the liquid level sensor 14 are placed in the electrolytic solution 11. The continuity measurement circuit 34 sends a current level signal S to the charge / discharge control circuit 33 because the current flows through the electrolyte 11.
Output nor. Then, after the oil-immersed equalizing battery 1 is completely discharged as described above, charging is performed by the charging circuit 31.

On the other hand, at the start of charging, when the liquid level of the electrolyte 11 is lower than the normal lower limit liquid level N, the lower end of the electrolyte detection electrode 17 is located above the liquid level of the electrolyte 11. Located in the insulating oil 4. Therefore, both electrodes 16, 1
Since current does not flow between the terminals 7, the continuity measurement circuit 34 outputs the liquid level abnormality signal Sabn, and the abnormality notification circuit 35 drives the speaker 37 to emit an abnormality notification sound. This warns that the electrolytic solution 11 is lower than the normal lower limit liquid level N, so that charging may be restarted after taking necessary measures such as replenishment of the electrolytic solution 11. As described above, according to the present embodiment, the liquid level sensor 14 for detecting the liquid level of the electrolytic solution 11 from the upper part of the unit cell 3 is attached, and the electrolytic solution detecting electrode 17 of the liquid level sensor 14 is at atmospheric pressure. In electrolyte 1
When 1 is at a liquid level equal to or higher than the normal lower limit liquid level N, a current flows between the electrode 16 and the liquid. However, the electrolyte 1
When the liquid level of 1 is lower than the normal lower limit liquid level N, the detection lower end of the electrolyte detection electrode 17 does not come into contact with the electrolyte 11, so that no current flows, thereby detecting an electrolyte shortage. For this reason, it is not necessary to visually observe the unit cell and observe the liquid level of the electrolytic solution unlike the related art, and the charging operation can be performed accurately and quickly.

In the structure of this embodiment, when the liquid level sensor 14 is attached to the cell 3, the lower end of the protective cylinder 15 is inserted from above the separator 12, but the tip of the protective cylinder 15 is tapered. Insertion guide 15
Since it is B, the insertion operation can be easily performed, and the separator 12 is not damaged. The electrodes 16 and 17 of the liquid level sensor 14 are formed of nickel, and an insulating tube 17A made of polytetrafluoroethylene is provided around the electrodes 16 and 17 so that the electrodes 16 and 17 come into contact and malfunction. Is preventing that. In addition, electrolyte 1
Even if 1 is strongly alkaline, the electrodes 16 and 17 are made of nickel and the insulating tube 17A is made of polytetrafluoroethylene, so that corrosion by alkali can be prevented for a long time. . Further, the longer electrolyte detection electrode 1 of the liquid level sensor 14 is used.
6 is set so as to be sufficiently lower than the normal lower limit liquid level N under the atmospheric pressure, and the detection lower end of the shorter electrolyte detection electrode 17 is set at the normal lower limit liquid level N under the atmospheric pressure.
Therefore, in order to manage the detection accuracy, only the position of the lower end portion of the latter electrolyte solution detection electrode 17 needs to be managed, and the position of the former electrode 16 is a highly accurate position. No management is required. Therefore, compared to the case where the positions of the lower ends of the two electrodes are the same,
The advantage is obtained that the precision control of the product can be easily performed.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the followings are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. (1) In this embodiment, the liquid level sensor 14 has two electrodes 1
6 and 17 are provided, the liquid level sensor 14 is provided with only the electrolyte detection electrode 17, and it is detected whether or not conduction is secured between the battery electrode 10 and the electrolyte detection electrode 17. It may be a liquid level sensor. By doing so, the number of parts for the liquid level sensor can be reduced. (2) The abnormality notification circuit 35 is not limited to the configuration in which the speaker 37 is driven to perform the abnormality notification by sound. For example, the abnormality notification circuit 35 may be configured to intermittently drive a lamp to emit a flashing signal of light. You may. (3) In the present embodiment, the position of the electrolyte detection electrode 17 and the position of the normal lower limit liquid level N are set at the same height. However, the position of the electrolyte detection electrode 17 may be set to be higher than the normal lower limit liquid level N, and an abnormality may be notified in a preliminary manner when the electrolyte 11 decreases.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view of an oil-soaked equalizing battery according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of an upper portion of a unit cell.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of a liquid level sensor.

FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view of a tip portion of an electrolyte detection electrode.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a charge / discharge device.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway side view of a conventional oil-immersed pressure equalizing battery.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Oil-immersion equalizing type battery 2 ... Outer shell 3 ... Single cell 4 ... Insulating oil 6 ... Prada (partition wall) 9 ... Battery container 10 ... Battery electrode 11 ... Electrolyte 12 ... Separator 12A ... Ion movement regulation part 14 ... Liquid level Sensor 15: Protective cylinder 15B: Insertion guide 17: Electrolyte detection electrode 30: Charge / discharge device 34: Continuity measurement circuit 35: Abnormality notification circuit 40: Charge / discharge circuit N: Normal lower limit liquid level under atmospheric pressure

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A unit cell in which a battery container contains positive and negative battery electrodes and an electrolytic solution is arranged in an outer shell, and the outer shell has a partition which can be deformed by receiving pressure from the outside. Insulating oil is stored in the outer shell of the battery, and when the external pressure of the outer shell increases, the insulating oil is supplied to the battery from an oil immersion inlet provided in an upper part of the battery container. In an oil-immersed pressure equalizing battery in which the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the unit cell is reduced by infiltrating into the container, a liquid level including an electrolyte detection electrode capable of contacting the electrolyte is provided at an upper portion in the battery container. A sensor is provided, and the lower end of detection of the electrolyte by the electrolyte detection electrode is set so as to be located at or above the normal lower limit liquid level of the electrolyte under atmospheric pressure. Pressure battery. 2. A separator located between the positive and negative battery electrodes in the unit cell has an ion movement restricting portion extending above the battery electrode and restricting ion transfer between the electrodes.
The liquid level sensor is provided with a liquid-permeable protective cylinder surrounding the electrolyte detection electrode, and is inserted from above the battery container into the inside so that the lower end of the protective cylinder is in contact with the ion movement restricting portion of the separator. The oil-immersed equalizing type battery according to claim 1, wherein a tapered insertion guide portion is provided at a lower end of the protective cylinder. 3. A unit cell in which a battery container contains positive and negative battery electrodes and an electrolytic solution is disposed in an outer shell, and the outer shell has a partition which can be deformed by receiving pressure from the outside. Insulating oil is stored in the outer shell of the battery, and when the external pressure of the outer shell increases, the insulating oil is supplied to the battery from an oil immersion inlet provided in an upper part of the battery container. A charge / discharge circuit for charging / discharging the unit cell, by infiltrating into the container to eliminate the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the unit cell, and to charge and discharge an oil-immersed pressure equalized battery having a pressure resistance. An electrolyte detection electrode provided at an upper portion in the battery container and capable of contacting the electrolyte, wherein a lower detection end of the electrolyte detection electrode has a normal lower limit liquid level of the electrolyte at atmospheric pressure or higher. A liquid level sensor set to: A continuity measuring circuit for detecting that the electrolytic solution comes into contact with the electrolytic solution detecting electrode, and that the liquid level of the electrolytic solution is lower than the detection lower end of the electrolytic solution detecting electrode by the continuity measuring circuit. And an abnormality notification circuit for notifying an abnormality in the liquid level of the electrolyte on the condition that the pressure is detected.