JPS5814535Y2 - Storage battery display device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a display device for a storage battery, and more particularly to a display device for a storage battery provided for monitoring the amount and concentration of electrolyte.

The amount of electrolyte in a storage battery must always be maintained at a constant level.

That is, if the amount of liquid is large, it will cause leakage, and if the amount of liquid is small, the active substance on the electrode plates will change to lead sulfate, causing the storage battery to stop functioning.

Also, even if the liquid volume is appropriate, its concentration (specific gravity)
Unless it is appropriate, the performance of the storage battery cannot be improved.

In order to display the amount of electrolyte, a transparent rod-shaped (or pipe-shaped) body made of methacrylic resin or styrene resin is prepared, one end of which is shaped like a point, and this is inserted into the electrolyte surface. The other end is exposed to the cover of the storage battery.

This utilizes the optical properties of the rod-shaped body, and when the tip of the rod-shaped body does not reach the electrolyte surface, the rod-shaped body receives light from outside the battery due to total internal reflection and shines white, causing the electrolyte to reach the surface of the rod. When immersed, total reflection is prevented only in the immersed area, and that area becomes black.

That is, the black portion changes depending on the cross-sectional shape of the rod-shaped body where the electrolyte surface is located.

Therefore, when the amount of electrolyte is insufficient, the entire area appears white; as the amount of electrolyte increases, the area that appears black increases; and when a sufficient amount of electrolyte is reached, the entire area appears black.

Furthermore, in order to display the concentration of the electrolytic solution, the concentration is first determined by its specific gravity.

Therefore, the specific gravity, that is, the concentration is displayed by the ups and downs of a member having a predetermined specific gravity.

The specific gravity of the electrolytic solution is correlated with the voltage of the storage battery, and the specific gravity has been conventionally measured in order to monitor the discharge state and charging state of the storage battery.

That is, measuring the specific gravity is significant in order to detect the over-discharge state of the storage battery and the completion of charging.

Therefore, the main object of this invention is to provide a display device for a storage battery that utilizes the above-mentioned principle and allows the user to visually check the amount and concentration of the electrolyte solution in a more easily readable and therefore error-free manner.

Other objects and features of this invention will become clearer from the detailed description given below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view taken along line I-1 in FIG. 2, and FIG. 2 is a plan view.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the storage battery includes a battery case body 1 and a lid 2, which are joined by a method such as thermal welding.

The lid 2 is provided with a through hole 4 for receiving the electrode rod 3 connected to the electrode plate (not shown), and an appropriate sealing member 5 is filled in the hole 4 to seal the electrode rod 3 in a liquid-tight manner. to hold.

The end of this pole bar 3 becomes the terminal of the storage battery.

The lid 2 is also provided with a liquid port 6 for replenishing the electrolytic solution, which is normally tightly closed by screwing a liquid port stopper 7 through, for example, a rubber backing 7a.

Further, the lid 2 or the liquid port plug 7 is provided with a gas release hole (not shown) to appropriately release gas generated during charging.

The storage battery is filled with electrolyte up to a predetermined level.

The display device of this invention is the part A of the liquid spout 7 or the direct lid 2.
It is provided in part B etc. of

FIG. 3 is a front view of the display device of this invention installed in part A of the liquid port stopper 7, and FIG. 4 is a side view of the same.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, a transparent rod-shaped body 8 made of methacrylic resin, styrene resin, or the like is inserted onto the central axis of the liquid spout 7 and fixed to the liquid spout γ.

This rod-shaped body 8 is configured to be hollow, and an optical fiber bundle 9 made into a bundle, for example, is inserted into this hollow portion.

Then, the upper end of the rod-shaped body 8 is exposed on the upper surface of the liquid port plug 7,
The optical fiber bundle 9 is guided from the upper surface of the liquid spout 7 to any other arbitrary location.

The lower end of the rod-shaped body 8 forms a pointed end 8a.

With the configuration described above, the amount of electrolyte can be displayed.

FIG. 5 a y b + c schematically shows different display modes depending on the liquid amount.

FIG. 5 shows the upper end surface of the rod-shaped body 8 observed from above the storage battery when the optical fiber bundle 9 is cut along the upper end surface of the rod-shaped body 8.

With reference to FIGS. 3 and 5, typically three types of display modes are realized.

First, when the liquid level of the electrolyte is equal to or higher than the level La, the fifth
Display the state in figure a.

When the liquid level of the electrolyte is below the level Lc, Fig. 5C
Display the status of.

When the electrolyte level is between levels La and Lc, an intermediate state between Figure 5a and Figure 5C is displayed, and when the liquid level is at level Lb, for example, the state shown in Figure 5 is displayed. Show status.

The reason for the difference in display as described above is that when light from the outside passes through the rod-shaped body 8, the medium in contact with the outer surface of the rod-shaped body 8 changes, and the relative refractive index that occurs at the boundary surface changes. be.

That is, if the medium in contact with the rod-shaped body 8 is air, total reflection will occur at the tip 8a, but if the medium is an electrolytic solution, the relative refractive index will be large and no total reflection will occur.

Therefore, since light passes through the part immersed in the electrolyte, the light passes through the cross-sectional part (shaded part) of the rod-shaped body 8 where the electrolyte surface is located, as shown in FIG. Objects in can be seen through.

Note that the state shown in FIG. 5a, that is, the electrolytic solution level is above level La (for example, indicated by the liquid level).

), the liquid level is normal.

As described above, if the electrolyte level is normal, objects below the rod-shaped body 8 can be seen through the rod-shaped body 8.

Therefore, a mechanism for displaying the specific gravity of the electrolytic solution is provided at this transparent position.

Referring again to FIGS. 3 and 4, a pair of shaft members 10 are provided near the flat end of the rod-shaped body 8, and the pair of shaft members 10
The axes of the rod-like bodies 8 are aligned in the diametrical direction and are opposed to each other.

A float 11 having a U-shaped cross section is rotatably supported by a pair of shaft members 10.

The float 11 is selected such that its specific gravity has a relative relationship with the specific gravity of the electrolyte.

The rotation of the float 11 is controlled by the floating motion of the float 11 itself, and the state shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is the state in which the float 11 is sunk.

The detailed structure of this float 11 will be described below.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing only the float 11, and the seventh
The figure is an exploded view of the float 11.

As shown in FIG. 6, the float 11 has a partially cylindrical shape,
A through hole 12 for receiving the shaft member 10 is provided at the central axis of the cylinder.

As shown in FIG. 7, the float 11 is disassembled into three parts, each of which is joined together and integrated.

Of these three parts, the intermediate member 13 located in the middle is made of a material colored red, for example, and the end members 14 and 15 located on both sides are made of a material colored green, for example.

A notch 16 is appropriately provided in the intermediate member 13, and this notch 16 is provided in each member 13, 14, . . . as shown in FIG.
15 form a through hole 1T when integrated.

This through hole 17 allows the electrolyte to pass through.

In this way, on the inner peripheral surface of the float 11 formed in a partially cylindrical shape, the first display surface 18 that displays red, for example.
is realized by the intermediate member 13, and a second display surface 19 displaying green, for example, is realized by the end members 14.15.

The first display surface 18 and the second display surface 19 are arranged adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction of the inner circumferential surface of the float 11, that is, their mutual boundary lines extend in a direction intersecting the circumferential direction. become.

FIG. 8 shows only the lower end of the rod-shaped body 8, with the float 11 floating.

FIG. 9 is an illustrative view showing a preferred example of use of this invention.

FIG. 10 is a graph showing the relationship between the specific gravity of the electrolytic solution (for example, 20° C.) and the appropriate range in the following types of storage batteries.

FIG. 11 schematically shows a typical display mode in the usage example of FIG. 9.

First, referring to FIG. 10, the appropriate specific gravity is 1.26 in normal times, but when it is discharged and reaches 1.20, charging is required.

If this progresses and the value becomes 1.10 or less, it is a dangerous situation.

Furthermore, when charging is completed, the battery charge is approximately 1.28.

In this way, the state of the electrolyte in the storage battery can be determined by its specific gravity, and it will be understood that the so-called permissible range has an upper limit (1, 28) and a lower limit (1, 20).

Focusing on the above-mentioned phenomenon, for example, the specific gravity of the float 11 is set to 1.
If it is set to 20, it will float when the specific gravity of the electrolyte becomes greater than 1.20 (Fig. 8), and sink when it becomes less than 1.20 (Figs. 3 and 4).

Referring to FIG. 9, an optical fiber bundle 9 inserted into the rod-shaped body 8 (FIG. 3) and forming a part of this rod-shaped body 8 is bifurcated, and one end surface thereof is connected to the light source device 20. The other end surface 22 is provided so as to be exposed on the display panel of the display section 21.

In this way, the light from the light source device 20 travels through the optical fiber bundle 9 in the direction shown by the arrow, and the tip end 8 of the rod-shaped body 8
a, the reflected light passes through the optical fiber bundle 9 again and is guided to the end surface 22 in the display section 21 in the direction of the arrow.

FIG. 11 shows the display mode on the end face 22 described above.

First, FIG. 11a shows a case where green G is displayed on the end face 22, and this is the display of light reflected from the second display surface 19 of the float 11.

This is because the float 11 floats as shown in Figure 8.
This corresponds to a state in which either end of the rod-shaped body 8 comes into contact with the side surface of the rod-shaped body 8 and further rotation is prohibited, and the specific gravity of the electrolyte is 1.
It shows when it is larger than 20, that is, when it is within the permissible range.

FIG. 11 shows a case where red R is displayed on the end face 22.

This corresponds to the state in which the float 11 is sunk as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, and the reflected light from the first display surface 18 is displayed.

When these two display modes are obtained, it can also be seen that the liquid level of the electrolyte is normal.

FIG. 11C shows a case where white W is displayed on the end surface 22.

This is the case when the liquid level of the electrolytic solution is below the level Lc (FIG. 3), and the light from the light source device 20 is totally reflected at the tip 8a of the rod-shaped body 8 and reaches the end surface 22.

At this time, it can be seen that the amount of electrolyte solution is insufficient.

In addition, in FIG. 11C, the entire end surface 22 is white W.
However, according to the explanation given with reference to FIG. is reasonable.

In the embodiment described above, the specific gravity of the float 11 was chosen to be 1.20.

Alternatively, the specific gravity of the float 11 may be selected to be 1.28.

At this time, for example, the first display surface 18 is colored green, and the second display surface 19 is colored red.

In this way, when the specific gravity of the electrolytic solution is smaller than 1.28 (appropriate), the float 11 sinks, the green color is displayed on the first display surface 18, and the specific gravity of the electrolytic solution is larger than 1.28. (when it is inappropriate), the float 11 floats and the second
The red color on the display surface 19 will be displayed.

Further, the display mode is not limited to red or green, and may be other colors, or may be characters, figures, symbols, or patterns.

Further, in order to realize the first display surface 18 and the second display surface 19, the intermediate member 13 and the end members 14 and 15 are made of a pre-colored material, but the present invention is not limited to this and can be made of a material of one color. After integrally forming the float 11 as shown in FIG. 6, members having different display modes may be attached to the inner peripheral surface thereof.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, a part of the transparent rod-shaped body 8 is made up of an optical fiber bundle 9 to enable remote display, but without limiting this, the rod-shaped body 8 is made solid, For example, a display method close to the storage battery may be adopted such that the display is viewed from above the storage battery.

Although the main feature of the display device of this invention is to display the specific gravity as described above, the rod-shaped body made of a transparent material has an additional function of displaying the amount of electrolyte. have

In order to further improve this liquid level display function, although the lower end of the rod-like body is shaped into a point in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and the lower end may be made into a flat surface.

As described above, according to this invention, the specific gravity of the electrolytic solution, etc. can be displayed in an easy-to-read manner.

In addition, since the float is formed in a partially cylindrical shape and the display surface is located on its inner peripheral surface, a constant distance can be maintained according to changes in the display mode, and the amount of reflected light hardly changes. Therefore, it is possible to always perform display at a substantially constant brightness, thereby preventing erroneous viewing.

In addition, in this invention, the display surface of the float has the second display surface located on both sides of the first display surface, so the display mode can be adjusted as appropriate regardless of the direction of rotation that occurs as the float rises and falls. In addition, when the float floats, one end of the float comes into contact with the side of the rod-shaped body and further rotation is prohibited, so the rotation that occurs as the float rises and falls. There is no need for a structure for predetermining the direction of movement or a structure for regulating the rotation that occurs in response to the floating movement of the float within a certain range, and the configuration can be simplified.

In addition, since the first display surface and the second display surface are arranged adjacent to each other on the inner peripheral surface of the partially cylindrical shape having the rotation axis as the central axis, it is possible to rotate the float having the display surface. The space required is not very large, especially in the vertical dimension.

This means that two types of display modes are possible while freely rotating the float, even if there is not a very deep space below the surface of the electrolyte.

Therefore, even when the distance from the top surface of the electrode plate immersed in the electrolyte to the electrolyte level is not very large, such as in the case of a small storage battery, the storage battery display device of this invention can be advantageously installed. can.

In particular, if glass wool protrudes from the top surface of the electrode plate group, such glass wool may become entangled with the float and impede the rotation of the float. If no great depth is required, this interference by glass wool need not be taken into account.

In addition, in this specification, the term "optical fiber" should be interpreted as a transparent body for transmitting light therein, and of course includes generally understood thin filament-like fibers. It should be pointed out that this term also includes relatively thick transparent rod-shaped bodies.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 are illustrative views of a storage battery to which the storage battery display device of this invention is advantageously applied; FIG. 1 is a sectional view taken along line 1-1 in FIG. 2; is a plan view. FIG. 3 is a front view of the display device of this invention installed in part A of the liquid port stopper 7, and FIG. 4 is a side view of the same. FIGS. 5a, b, and c schematically show different display modes depending on the liquid amount. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing only the float 11, and the seventh
The figure is an exploded view of the float 11. FIG. 8 shows only the lower end of the rod-shaped body 8, with the float 11 floating. FIG. 9 is an illustrative diagram showing a preferred example of use of this consideration. FIG. 10 is a graph showing the relationship between the specific gravity of the electrolytic solution (for example, 20° C.) and the appropriate range in the following types of storage batteries. 11a, b, and c schematically show typical display modes in the usage example of FIG. 9. FIG. In the figure, 8 is a transparent rod-shaped body, 9 is an optical fiber bundle, and 10
1 is a shaft member, 11 is a float, 12 is a through hole, 18 is a first display surface, 19 is a second display surface, and L is a liquid level of an electrolytic solution.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] 1. Includes a rod-shaped body made of a transparent member, one end of the rod-shaped body is exposed on the upper surface of the storage battery, and the other end is immersed in an electrolytic solution. a float provided on a path of light passing from the one end of the rod-shaped body to the other end of the rod-shaped body and reaching the electrolytic solution; The float is rotatably supported by a rotating shaft that extends and faces in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the light, and the specific gravity is selected so that it floats or sinks, that is, rotates, according to changes in the specific gravity of the electrolytic solution, and the float has a partially cylindrical inner circumferential surface with the rotational axis as the central axis, and the inner circumferential surface includes one first display surface and two second display surfaces having mutually different display modes, The first display surface and the second display surface are adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction of the inner circumferential surface, that is, their mutual boundary lines extend in a direction that intersects the circumferential direction. The two display surfaces are arranged in this order, so that when the float sinks, the first display surface is located on the path of the light, and when the float floats, either end of the float is located on the path of the light. The second display surface is configured to be in a state in which it comes into contact with a side surface of the rod-shaped body and is prohibited from further rotation, and the second display surface is located on the path of the light, and the second display surface is positioned on the path of the light; A display device for a storage battery, in which display is performed using reflected light of the light obtained at an end. 2. The display device for a storage battery according to claim 1, wherein the other end of the rod-shaped body has a pointed shape. 3. The storage battery display device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the display mode of the first display surface and the second water surface is changed by color-coding. 4. The storage battery display device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the rod-shaped body includes an optical fiber.