JPH11176399A - Airtight terminal for nonaqueous electrolyte battery - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent glass hermetic sealing from being cracked by minimizing thermal expansion when filling and sealing, by fusing low fusion point glass with a low fusing temperature for a seal between an outer metal ring and a metal pin terminal. SOLUTION: A metal lid 2 attached to an upper end of a battery case 1 is treated as an outer metal ring member, and a metal pin terminal is fixed by insulation sealing in its center. A concentrical fitting hole 2a is formed in a center part of the metal lid 2. The metal pin terminal 3 is inserted in the fitting hole 2a of the metal lid 2 after low fusing point glass 4 is engaged. The metal pin terminal 3 is inserted in a lower part of the metal lid 2 and a carbon jig to cover a lower opening part of the fitting hole 2a in its neighborhood is placed. This assembly body is heated for about 20 minutes at about 550 deg.C. The low fusing point glass 4 is fused, but since the lower opening part of the fitting hole 2a is blocked by the carbon jig, the low fusing point glass 4 is filled for sealing between the metal lid 2 and the metal pin terminal 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hermetic terminal in which a metal pin terminal is attached to an outer ring metal member by insulating and sealing in a non-aqueous electrolyte battery.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A battery is provided with an airtight terminal for connecting the positive and negative electrodes of an internal power generating element to an external circuit. The airtight terminal needs to insulate and attach the metal pin terminal to an outer ring metal member made of a metal cover material or the like of the battery case, and to seal the attachment portion to hermetically seal the inside of the battery case.
Therefore, for example, when both the metal pin terminal and the outer ring metal member are made of stainless steel, the metal pin terminal is inserted into the mounting hole of the outer ring metal member with a gap therebetween, and high melting point glass is sealed between these. The insulating sealing may be performed by filling to form a glass hermetic seal.

[0003] By the way, in a nonaqueous electrolyte battery, since the electromotive force is high (4 V or more), it is preferable to use an aluminum material for the positive electrode for electrochemical stability, and to form a metal pin terminal and an outer ring metal member. If either is the positive electrode,
It is common to use an aluminum material for this. However, aluminum material has a particularly large coefficient of thermal expansion,
When an aluminum material is used for at least one of the metal pin terminals and the outer ring metal member to insulate and seal with a high melting point glass, when the high melting point glass is melted at a high temperature and cooled and solidified, the coefficient of thermal expansion with the aluminum material is reduced. The difference may cause cracks or the like. For this reason, the conventional non-aqueous electrolyte battery uses a flexible resin packing for the insulating sealing of the hermetic terminal so that it can cope with the difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion from the aluminum material.

[0004]

However, in the hermetic terminal using the conventional resin packing, the resin is liable to deteriorate due to long-term use or use in a high-temperature environment.
There is a problem that the sealing is incomplete and a liquid may leak.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and uses a glass hermetic seal made of a low-melting glass having a high coefficient of thermal expansion between a metal pin terminal and an outer ring metal member to thereby achieve a coefficient of thermal expansion. It is an object of the present invention to provide a hermetic terminal of a non-aqueous electrolyte battery in which a crack or the like does not occur even when an aluminum material having a large diameter is used.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a metal pin terminal is attached to an outer ring metal member by insulatingly sealing the outer ring metal member. In an airtight terminal of a nonaqueous electrolyte battery using an aluminum material for at least one of the metal pin terminals,
The metal pin terminal is insulated and sealed by filling and filling low melting glass between the outer ring metal member and the metal pin terminal.

According to the first aspect, a low melting point glass having a low melting temperature is used for the glass hermetic seal between the outer ring metal member and the metal pin terminal. On the other hand, even if an aluminum material is used, the thermal expansion at the time of sealing and filling can be relatively small, and it is possible to prevent cracks and the like from occurring in the glass hermetic seal.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the outer ring metal member is made of an aluminum material.

A second aspect of the present invention is directed to a case where the metal pin terminal serves as a negative electrode terminal and an aluminum material is used for the outer ring metal member. The outer ring metal member may be a positive electrode terminal or may be insulated from the positive and negative electrode terminals.

The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the metal pin terminals are made of stainless steel.

[0011] Claim 3 shows a case where a stainless steel material is used for the metal pin terminal serving as the negative electrode terminal.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the metal pin terminal is made of a nickel-iron alloy material.

A fourth aspect of the present invention relates to a case where a nickel-iron alloy material is used for a metal pin terminal serving as a negative electrode terminal.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the metal pin terminal is made of an aluminum material.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is directed to a case where an aluminum material is used with the metal pin terminal on the positive electrode side. The outer ring metal member may be a negative electrode terminal, or may be insulated from the positive and negative electrode terminals.

The invention according to claim 6 is characterized in that a layer of high melting point glass is formed on at least one end of the low melting glass filled and filled.

When the low-melting glass is filled and filled between the outer ring metal member and the metal pin terminal, the low-melting glass is usually melted by attaching a heat-resistant jig such as carbon to at least one end. Let it. However, since the low-melting glass easily adheres to the jig, if a layer of the high-melting glass is arranged between the low-melting glass and the jig, the adhesion can be prevented. Further, by disposing the high melting point glass inside the battery case, it is possible to prevent the battery electrolyte from directly contacting and corroding the low melting point glass.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a hermetic terminal of a nonaqueous electrolyte battery, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the hermetic terminal.

As shown in FIG. 1, the hermetic terminal of the nonaqueous electrolyte battery according to the present embodiment has a metal cover member 2 attached to the upper end of a battery case 1 as an outer ring metal member, and a metal pin terminal 3 in the center thereof. The following describes a case in which is attached by insulating sealing. As shown in FIG. 2, the metal cover member 2 is a disk-shaped outer ring metal member made of a pure aluminum material (for example, A1070), and has a concentric mounting hole 2a formed at the center. The metal pin terminal 3 is made of a stainless steel material (for example, SU
S329J2 or SUS304), and has such a thickness as to fit into the mounting hole 2a of the metal lid member 2 with a sufficient gap.

The metal pin terminal 3 is fitted with a low-melting glass 4 and fitted into the mounting hole 2 a of the metal cover 2. As the low melting point glass 4, for example, a low melting point glass “ASF1950FC” mainly composed of PbO manufactured by Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. is used. The outer diameter is fitted in the mounting hole 2 a of the metal lid 2, and the metal pin terminal 3 is formed on the inner diameter. It is used by forming it into a ring shape that fits. Below the metal cover 2, a carbon jig (not shown) for fitting the lower portion of the metal pin terminal 3 and closing the lower opening of the surrounding mounting hole 2a is arranged.

The metal pin terminal 3 fitted with the metal cover 2 is heated to 500 ° C. for 20 minutes in a nitrogen atmosphere.
Then, the low-melting glass 4 is melted, but the lower opening of the mounting hole 2a is closed by a carbon jig. As shown in FIG.
And filled between them. Since the metal lid made of an aluminum material has a large coefficient of thermal expansion, using a low-melting glass having a large coefficient of thermal expansion does not cause a large difference in shrinkage due to cooling after encapsulation. The hermetic seal can be insulated and sealed between the metal cover member 2 and the metal pin terminals 3 without generating cracks or the like.

In this manner, when the metal pin terminal 3 is insulated and sealed to the metal cover member 2 via the low melting point glass 4 to form an airtight terminal, the negative electrode of the power generating element (not shown) is connected to the metal pin terminal via a lead or the like. After the connection to the battery case 3, the periphery of the metal lid member 2 is attached to the upper end opening of the battery case 1 by welding or the like to complete the non-aqueous electrolyte battery. At this time, the metal cover member 2 may be connected to the positive electrode of the power generating element, or may be insulated from a separately provided positive electrode terminal.

According to the hermetic terminal of the non-aqueous electrolyte battery having the above-described structure, the space between the metal cover member 2 using aluminum material and the metal pin terminal 3 is insulated and sealed by the low-melting glass 4 having a low melting temperature. Cracks and the like can be prevented from occurring in the glass hermetic seal made of the low melting point glass 4.

In the above embodiment, the metal pin terminals 3
Stainless steel was used as the material, but a nickel-iron alloy (for example, 52Ni-Fe) or a heat-resistant steel bar (for example, SUH44) was used.
6) can also be used. In the above embodiment, a pure aluminum material is used for the metal lid member 2. However, an aluminum material of an aluminum alloy can be used.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the aluminum material is used for the metal lid member 2 has been described. However, the metal pin terminal 3 may be used as the positive electrode terminal, and an aluminum material (for example, A1070) may be used for this. In this case, when this is used as the positive electrode terminal, a stainless steel material or the like is used for the metal lid member 2. If the positive electrode terminal is not used, an aluminum material can be used.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a hermetic terminal of a non-aqueous electrolyte battery, and FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the hermetic terminal. FIG.
Components having the same functions as those of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 3, the hermetic terminal of the nonaqueous electrolyte battery of this embodiment also has a metal cover member 2 attached to the upper end of a battery case 1 as an outer ring metal member, and a metal pin terminal 3 in the center thereof. The following describes a case in which is attached by insulating sealing. As shown in FIG. 4, the metal lid member 2 and the metal pin terminals 3
Has the same configuration as the first embodiment. Further, the same low melting point glass 4 is used. However, in this embodiment, a sufficiently thin ring-shaped high-melting glass 5 having the same inner and outer diameters as the low-melting glass 4 is fitted between the low-melting glass 4 and the carbon jig below. High melting point glass 5
Preferably, the thermal expansion coefficient is close to that of the low melting point glass 4.

The metal pin terminal 3 in which the low-melting glass 4 and the high-melting glass 5 are overlapped and the metal cover member 2 is fitted is
Heat to 500 ° C. for 20 minutes in a nitrogen atmosphere. Then, the low-melting glass 4 is melted and filled between the metal cover member 2 and the metal pin terminals 3 in the mounting hole 2a in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

When the low melting glass 4 is melted, it is also fused to the high melting glass 5 to form a layer of the high melting glass 5 at the lower end of the glass hermetic seal. Here, in the case of the first embodiment, since the high melting point glass 5 is not used, there is a possibility that the low melting point glass 4 comes into direct contact with the carbon jig and is fused thereto. Further, in order to prevent the fusion, it is necessary to set the low-melting glass 4 so as not to come into direct contact with the carbon jig. However, in the case of the present embodiment, the high-melting glass 5 is interposed between the low-melting glass 4 and the carbon jig, and the high-melting glass 5 is not completely melted by heating at 500 ° C. There is no danger of fusing to the tool. Moreover, if the electrolyte contains hydrogen fluoride or the like, the low-melting glass 4 may be eroded, but in the present embodiment, the high-melting glass 5 is provided inside the battery case of the low-melting glass 4. Because of the interposition, there is an advantage that the low-melting glass 4 does not come into direct contact with the electrolytic solution.

When the hermetic terminal is formed by sealing the metal pin terminal 3 to the metal lid member 2 through the glass hermetic seal composed of the low-melting glass 4 and the high-melting glass 5 as described above, the first embodiment will be described. Similarly to the case, after connecting the positive and negative electrodes of the power generating element, the periphery of the metal lid member 2 is attached to the opening at the upper end of the battery case 1 by welding or the like to complete the nonaqueous electrolyte battery.

According to the hermetic terminal of the non-aqueous electrolyte battery having the above-described structure, the space between the metal cover member 2 and the metal pin terminal 3 is insulated and sealed with the low melting point glass 4 having a low melting temperature. The use of an aluminum material for any of the metal pin terminals 3 can prevent cracks and the like from occurring in the glass hermetic seal. Moreover, since a layer of the high melting point glass 5 is formed at the lower end of the glass hermetic seal, fusion to the carbon jig can be prevented, and the low melting point glass 4 can be prevented from being attacked by the electrolytic solution. become.

In this embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, at least one of the metal cover member 2 and the metal pin terminal 3 may be made of an aluminum material, and the material of the other metal is arbitrary. It is.

In the first and second embodiments, the metal cover member 2 is used as the outer ring metal member. However, if the metal pin terminal 3 is insulated and attached, the cover member is necessarily used. No need.

[0035]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the hermetic terminal of the nonaqueous electrolyte battery of the present invention, the glass hermetic seal between the outer ring metal member and the metal pin terminal has a low thermal expansion coefficient. Since the melting point glass is used, it is possible to obtain an aluminum hermetic terminal for a battery which has almost no breakage such as a crack or a crack in the glass layer and has excellent insulation and sealing properties. In addition, since aluminum or an aluminum alloy can be used for the material and an aluminum material can be used for the battery case, it is possible to obtain a lighter battery as a whole.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1, showing a first embodiment of the present invention, is a longitudinal sectional view of a hermetic terminal of a nonaqueous electrolyte battery.

FIG. 2, showing the first embodiment of the present invention, is an exploded perspective view of a hermetic terminal.

FIG. 3, showing a second embodiment of the present invention, is a longitudinal sectional view of a hermetic terminal of a nonaqueous electrolyte battery.

FIG. 4 shows the second embodiment of the present invention, and is an exploded perspective view of a hermetic terminal.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Metal lid material 3 Metal pin terminal 4 Low melting glass 5 High melting glass

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A non-aqueous electrolyte battery in which a metal pin terminal is attached to an outer ring metal member by insulating sealing and sealing, and wherein at least one of the outer ring metal member and the metal pin terminal uses an aluminum material. A hermetic terminal for a non-aqueous electrolyte battery, characterized in that the metal pin terminal is insulated and sealed by filling low melting glass between the outer ring metal member and the metal pin terminal. 2. The hermetic terminal of a non-aqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 1, wherein the outer ring metal member is made of an aluminum material. 3. The hermetic terminal of a non-aqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 2, wherein said metal pin terminal is made of a stainless steel material. 4. The hermetic terminal for a non-aqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 2, wherein the metal pin terminal is made of a nickel-iron alloy material. 5. The hermetic terminal for a non-aqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 1, wherein the metal pin terminal is made of an aluminum material. 6. The non-aqueous electrolyte battery according to claim 1, wherein a layer of a high-melting glass is formed on at least one end of the low-melting glass filled and filled. Airtight terminal.