JPH11288743A - Battery characteristic evaluation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a battery characteristic evaluation device easily and high precisely evaluating the characteristic without spoiling an outward appearance, etc., of the battery to be evaluated. SOLUTION: This battery characteristic evaluating device has a pair of measuring terminals 2a, 2b respectively contacted with a positive electrode terminal 1a and a negative electrode terminal 1b of a battery to be evaluated 1, a performance measuring circuit 3 including a measuring instrument 3a and a shunt resistance 3b electrically connected with the other ends of the measuring terminals 2a, 2b and measuring/ evaluating the characteristic of the battery to be evaluated 1 contacted with the measuring terminals 2a, 2b, and an inductance component absorbing circuit 4 let into and added to the performance measuring circuit 3 and absorbing an inductance component generated when the measuring terminals 2a, 2b are separated from the battery to be evaluated 1. In this device, when the positive electrode terminal 1a and the negative electrode terminal 1b of the battery to be evaluated 1 are contacted with and separated from the measuring terminals 2a, 2b, the inductance component generated on the side of the performance measuring circuit 3 is absorbed and removed, thus spark discharges are avoided. That is, good electrical connection is formed without damages of the electrode terminal surfaces.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a characteristic evaluation apparatus capable of easily and accurately evaluating the characteristics of a battery.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A battery such as a nickel-hydrogen battery, a nickel-cadmium battery, or a lithium-ion battery,
It is widely used as an operating power supply for various equipment systems. For example, among batteries of this type, a secondary battery can semi-permanently secure and store power by a charging operation and drive (discharge) a load using the secured or stored power as a power source repeatedly. It is built into various equipment systems as a powerful power supply.

[0003] Incidentally, the quality and reliability of the above-mentioned batteries are regarded as important when they are marketed and put into practical use as in the case of other products. Therefore, from the viewpoint of quality control in the manufacturing process or quality assurance in product sales, characteristic evaluation (characteristic test) of the battery capacity of the battery, the open circuit voltage of the battery, the internal resistance of the battery, etc. is appropriately performed.

FIG. 3 schematically shows an embodiment of the conventional characteristic evaluation, in which the tips of a pair of measuring terminals 2a and 2b are pressed against the positive terminal 1a and the negative terminal 1b of the battery 1 to be evaluated. The performance terminals 3a and 2b are electrically connected to each other, and a performance measuring circuit 3 including a measuring device 3a and a shunt resistor 3b electrically connected to each other is connected between the measuring terminals 2a and 2b. The characteristics of the evaluation battery 1 are measured and evaluated.

[0005]

In the above-mentioned conventional characteristic evaluation means, the good contact / conductivity of the tips of the measuring terminals 2a, 2b with respect to the positive terminal 1a and the negative terminal 1b of the battery 1 to be evaluated. Is a prerequisite. However, in practice, the positive electrode terminal 1a surface and the negative electrode terminal 1b surface of the battery 1 to be evaluated,
Further, since the tips of the measuring terminals 2a and 2b are easily covered with an oxide film or an insulating film, there is a possibility that an electrical contact failure may occur. For example, even if the tips of the measuring terminals 2a and 2b are pressed into contact with the surfaces of the positive terminal 1a and the negative terminal 1b, if the tips of the measuring terminals 2a and 2b are insulated and coated, the positive and negative terminals Contact resistance occurs between the surfaces in contact with the surfaces 1a and 1b, resulting in poor contact, making it impossible to perform highly accurate measurement and evaluation.

As a solution to such a problem, (a) the shape of the tip of the measuring terminals 2a, 2b is sharpened, or (b) the tip of the positive terminal 1a or the negative terminal 1b is strongly pressed or slid. Attempts have also been made to ensure contact (avoid poor contact) by damaging the intervening oxide film or insulating film. However, all of these solutions tend to scratch the surface of the positive electrode terminal 1a and the surface of the negative electrode terminal 1b of the battery 1 to be evaluated, so that the appearance of the battery may be impaired.

The present inventor has further studied the generation of an oxide film on the end surfaces of the measuring terminals 2a and 2b, and has found that the following phenomena are significant. That is, the tips of the measuring terminals 2a, 2b are positive and negative terminals 1a,
At the moment of contact with the surface 1b, and at the moment when the tips of the measuring terminals 2a, 2b separate from the surfaces of the positive and negative terminals 1a, 1b, by the action of the inductance component of the performance measuring circuit 3 including the measuring instrument 3a,
Spark discharge occurs between the battery 1 to be evaluated and the measuring terminals 2a and 2b. This spark discharge causes the measurement terminal 2
It was confirmed that the surfaces such as the tips of a and 2b were covered with an oxide film, which caused poor contact.

The present invention has been made on the basis of the above findings, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a battery characteristic evaluation apparatus capable of easily and accurately evaluating characteristics without impairing the appearance of a battery to be evaluated.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a pair of measuring terminals to be brought into contact with a positive terminal and a negative terminal of a battery to be evaluated, respectively, and the other end of the measuring terminal is electrically connected, A performance measuring circuit including a measuring instrument and a shunt resistor for measuring and evaluating the characteristics of the battery to be evaluated with the measuring terminal in contact therewith, and interposed / attached to and from the performance measuring circuit to connect and disconnect the measuring terminal and the battery to be evaluated. And an inductance component absorbing circuit for absorbing an inductance component generated at the time.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a pair of measurement terminals to be brought into contact with the positive electrode terminal and the negative electrode terminal of the battery to be evaluated, respectively, and the other end of the measurement terminal is electrically connected. A performance measuring circuit including a measuring instrument and a shunt resistor for measuring and evaluating the characteristics of the battery under test, and an inductance component that is interposed / attached to the performance measuring circuit and absorbs an inductance component generated when the measuring terminal and the battery under test are connected and disconnected. A battery characteristic evaluation device, comprising: an inductance component absorption circuit that performs the above-described operation; and a pulse output circuit that is electrically connected to the measurement terminal and applies a pulse voltage between the measurement terminals.

That is, the apparatus according to the present invention provides a performance measuring circuit including a measuring machine for measuring and evaluating the characteristics of the battery to be evaluated by bringing the measuring terminals into contact with the positive electrode terminal and the negative electrode terminal of the battery to be evaluated. The main point is that a filter circuit for absorbing the inductance component is additionally provided and, if necessary, a circuit for applying a pulse voltage is additionally provided.

Here, the inductance component absorbing circuit is:
Between each measuring terminal connected to the terminal of the performance measuring circuit including the measuring instrument and the Chatton resistance;
In this configuration, a plurality of inductance elements are inserted in series, and at least one resistance element and a capacitor element are inserted in parallel between wirings in which the inductance elements are inserted in series. As described above, the inductance component absorbing circuit employs a configuration in which the resistance element and the capacitor element are paired with the inductance element, and the capacitance of the inductance element is determined by the number of pairs and the configuration of the performance measurement circuit including the measuring instrument. , The resistance value of the resistance element, the capacitance of the capacitor element, and the like are appropriately selected.

On the other hand, when a circuit for applying a pulse voltage is provided, the magnitude of the pulse voltage and the time for applying the pulse voltage depend on the state of the contact (contact) interface between the measurement terminal and the electrode (positive / negative) terminal. , That is, the material of the oxide film or insulating film,
It is set appropriately depending on the thickness and the like. The diameter and length of the measuring terminal are appropriately determined according to the shape and dimensions of the battery to be evaluated.

The battery to be evaluated with the device according to the present invention is basically a cylindrical type (cylindrical type) or a rectangular cylindrical type (prismatic type) as long as it has a positive terminal and a negative terminal capable of contacting a pair of measuring terminals. (Shape), a disc shape, a square plate shape, and the like. The types of batteries include, for example, manganese batteries, nickel cadmium secondary batteries, nickel hydrogen secondary batteries, and lithium ion secondary batteries.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the positive electrode terminal and the negative electrode terminal of the battery to be evaluated are separated from and connected to the measuring terminal, the inductance component generated in the performance measuring circuit including the measuring machine is easily absorbed, removed or alleviated. Therefore, the occurrence of spark discharge between the interfaces facing each other is prevented. That is, it is possible to avoid the possibility that the tip of the measurement terminal is covered with the oxide film due to the spark discharge, and it is possible to form and maintain good electrical contact. Therefore, it is possible to always accurately evaluate the characteristics of the battery to be evaluated without causing damage to the contacting positive electrode terminal surface, negative electrode terminal surface, and the like.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since a pulse voltage is applied to the measuring terminal which is brought into contact with the positive terminal and the negative terminal of the battery to be evaluated, an oxide film formed on the interface in contact with the measuring terminal can be easily formed. And selectively breaks down to form and maintain good electrical contact. Therefore, a good electrical connection can be easily formed without causing damage to the positive electrode terminal surface, the negative electrode terminal surface, and the like that are in contact with each other. Can be.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of a battery characteristic evaluation apparatus according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 1, reference numerals 2a and 2b denote a pair of measurement terminals, the ends of which are in contact with the positive terminal 1a and the negative terminal 1b of the battery 1 to be evaluated, respectively. Here, a pair of measurement terminals
2a and 2b are, for example, nickel-plated brass having a diameter of 5 to 10 mm and having a facing surface formed into a conical shape.

Reference numeral 3 denotes a measuring instrument 3a to which the other ends of the pair of measuring terminals 2a and 2b are electrically connected, and which measures and evaluates the characteristics of the battery to be evaluated with the measuring terminals in contact therewith, and a shunt 3. This is a performance measurement circuit including the resistor 3b. Here, the performance measurement circuit 3 is a shunt resistor inserted
A method is adopted in which a short-circuit current is passed through 3b to measure and evaluate the battery capacity of the battery 1 to be evaluated, the open circuit voltage of the battery, the internal resistance value of the battery, and the like. For example, a general voltmeter is provided.

Further, reference numeral 4 denotes an interposition / attachment between the other end of the measuring terminals 2a and 2b and the performance measuring circuit 3 including the measuring device 3a. The measuring terminals 2a and 2b are connected to the battery 1 to be evaluated. Electrode terminal 1
This circuit absorbs the inductance component generated in the performance measuring circuit 3 when the contact is made with the contact a or 1b (at the moment when the contact is made). Here, the inductance component absorption circuit 4
A pair of wiring systems in which the inductance elements 4a, 4a ', 4b, 4b' are connected in series;
Each pair of 4a 'and 4b' is formed of a pair of a resistance element 4c and a capacitor element 4d (interposed) connecting the wiring systems in parallel, and a pair of a resistance element 4c 'and a capacitor element 4d'.

That is, while the inductance component generated in the performance measurement circuit 3 is primarily absorbed by the inductance elements 4a and 4a 'and the inductance elements 4b and 4b' for each wiring system, the resistance component (resistance A pair of the element (element) 4c and the capacitor element 4d and a pair of the resistor (resistance element) 4c 'and the capacitor element 4d' are relaxed and absorbed as a whole, so that generation of spark discharge can be avoided. In order to obtain such functions and effects, the capacitance of the inductance elements 4a, 4a ', 4b, 4b' is reduced to about several μH,
The resistance values of the resistors 4c and 4c 'are set to about several tens of kΩ, and the capacities of the capacitor elements 4d and 4d' are set to about several hundred μF.

Next, an example of the characteristic evaluation of the battery by the characteristic evaluation apparatus having the above configuration will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, a JIS standard HR type nickel-metal hydride alkaline secondary battery 1 prepared in advance is connected and set with the ends of the measuring terminals 2a and 2b to the positive terminal 1a and the negative terminal 1b. In this state, the inductance component generated in the performance measurement circuit 3 including the measuring device 3a and the shunt resistor 3b is
The inductance component absorption circuit (spark discharge prevention circuit) 4 easily absorbs or mitigates the occurrence of spark discharge, and secures normal contact and contact. Therefore, the reliability is higher than the measurement by the conventional device. It was confirmed that the battery characteristics with high evaluation could be evaluated.

Also, after the characteristic evaluation, when the ends of the measuring terminals 2a and 2b are separated from the corresponding electrode terminals 1a and 1b, the inductance component generated in the performance measuring circuit 3 is
It is easily absorbed by the inductance component absorption circuit (spark discharge prevention circuit) 4. That is, instantaneous spark discharge due to separation of the measuring terminals 2a and 2b is prevented.
Oxide film formation at the tips of the measurement terminals 2a and 2b and the like is avoided (the clean surface is maintained), and highly accurate or highly reliable battery characteristics can be continuously evaluated.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of a battery characteristic evaluation apparatus according to a second embodiment. The basic configuration, operation, and the like are the same as those in the first embodiment, and the description of the overlapping parts will be omitted.

That is, the battery characteristic evaluation device according to the second embodiment is further characterized in that a pulse output circuit 5 is additionally provided. Here, the pulse output circuit 5 is electrically connected to the other end of the measurement terminals 2a and 2b,
The pulse output from the pulse output circuit 5 is applied to a pulse control circuit 6.
It is configured to be controlled by. The pulse output circuit 5 generally outputs a pulse having a pulse width (waveform) of 20 to 100 μsec and a pulse voltage of about 5 to 30 V. Both terminals 1a and 1b of the battery 1 to be evaluated and a measurement terminal It outputs a pulse sufficient to destroy and remove the oxide film at the contact interface with the tip of 2a, 2b.

On the other hand, the pulse control circuit 6 determines the state of the interface between the electrode terminals 1a and 1b of the battery 1 to be evaluated and the tips of the measuring terminals 2a and 2b, in other words, the presence or absence of an oxide film on the contact interface. The pulse output by the pulse output circuit 5 is appropriately adjusted and controlled according to the degree or the like. In other words, considering the oxidized or dirty state of the surfaces of both electrode terminals 1a and 1b and the oxidized or dirty state of the tips of the measuring terminals 2a and 2b, etc.
Adjust the pulse voltage or pulse waveform applied to a and 2b.

In the characteristic evaluation of the battery by the characteristic evaluation apparatus having the above-described configuration, for example, as shown in FIG.
While the tips of a and 2b are in contact with and set to the positive terminal 1a and the negative terminal 1b, a pulse voltage is applied from the pulse output circuit 5 to the measuring terminals 2a and 2b while being controlled by the pulse control circuit 6. In the characteristic evaluation by this characteristic evaluation device, the inductance component generated in the performance measuring circuit 3 including the measuring device 3a and the shunt resistor 3b is easily absorbed or mitigated by the inductance component absorbing circuit (spark discharge prevention circuit) 4, and the spark discharge is performed. Is avoided and normal contact and contact are ensured, so that the battery characteristics can be evaluated with higher reliability than the measurement by the conventional device. In addition, at this time, even if both electrode terminals 1a and 1b of the battery 1 to be evaluated are coated with a thin insulating film, the insulating film is destroyed and the surface is cleaned, so that the accuracy and reliability can be more easily improved. Battery characteristics can be evaluated.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above examples, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, not only the material of the measuring terminal, but also the measuring instrument can be appropriately changed or combined in accordance with the characteristic (evaluation purpose) to be evaluated.

[0030]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the positive electrode terminal and the negative electrode terminal of the battery to be evaluated are connected to and separated from the measuring terminal, the inductance component generated on the performance measuring circuit side is absorbed and removed, and the spark is generated. Discharge is avoided. Therefore, the contact surface such as the tip of the measuring terminal due to the spark discharge is not oxidized, and the possibility of electrical contact failure due to the insertion of an oxide film or the like is completely eliminated. That is,
A good electrical connection is formed without damaging the electrode terminal surface and the like, so that the characteristics of the battery to be evaluated can always be accurately evaluated, and a highly reliable battery can be provided.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the combined use of a pulse voltage easily destroys an oxide film or the like on the contact interface and forms a clean contact. Since the characteristics can be evaluated, it greatly contributes to the supply of highly reliable batteries.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a main part of a battery characteristic evaluation device according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a main part of a battery characteristic evaluation device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of a conventional battery characteristic evaluation method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Battery under evaluation 1a ... Positive electrode terminal 1b ... Negative electrode terminal 2a, 2b ... Measurement terminal 3 ... Performance measurement circuit 3a ... Measurement device 3b ... Shunt resistance 4 ... Inductance component absorption circuit 4a, 4a ', 4b, 4b' ... inductance element 4b, 4b '... resistor 4b, 4b' ... capacitor element 5 ... pulse output circuit 6 ... pulse control circuit

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A pair of measurement terminals which are respectively brought into contact with a positive electrode terminal and a negative electrode terminal of a battery to be evaluated, and the other end of the measurement terminal is electrically connected to the battery to be evaluated. A performance measuring circuit including a measuring instrument and a shunt resistor for measuring and evaluating characteristics; and an inductance component absorbing circuit interposed / attached to the performance measuring circuit and absorbing an inductance component generated when the measuring terminal and the battery under test are connected and disconnected. And a battery characteristic evaluation device comprising: 2. A pair of measurement terminals to be brought into contact with a positive electrode terminal and a negative electrode terminal of a battery to be evaluated, respectively, and the other end of the measurement terminal is electrically connected to the battery to be evaluated. A performance measuring circuit including a measuring instrument and a shunt resistor for measuring and evaluating characteristics; and an inductance component absorbing circuit interposed / attached to the performance measuring circuit and absorbing an inductance component generated when the measuring terminal and the battery under test are connected and disconnected. And a pulse output circuit electrically connected to the measurement terminal and applying a pulse voltage between the measurement terminals.