Chemistry: electrical current producing apparatus – product – and – Current producing cell – elements – subcombinations and... – Electrode
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-08
2001-07-17
Brouillette, Gabrielle (Department: 1745)
Chemistry: electrical current producing apparatus, product, and
Current producing cell, elements, subcombinations and...
Electrode
C429S059000, C429S083000, C429S089000, C429S120000, C429S148000, C429S156000, C429S158000, C429S160000, C429S175000, C429S177000, C429S149000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06261719
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a battery-connecting plate, and more particularly to a battery-connecting plate for connecting an assembly of so-called rectangular batteries in series, the batteries, each with a positive and a negative electrodes at opposite end surfaces thereof, being juxtaposed with their positive and negative electrodes reversed in an alternating manner. The battery-connecting plate can connect the electrodes if there is a small difference in pitches between them, so as to facilitate the mounting of the battery-connecting plate to the batteries as well as its production.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, an increasing number of electric vehicles and hybrid cars, which require a high-voltage, high-power source, have been produced as eco-friendly automobiles. For use with such automobiles, a technique has become important by which to gather a large number of small batteries in a downsized assembly.
FIG. 20
shows a conventional battery assembly
50
and a pair of front and rear battery-connecting plates
54
,
55
which connect in series the positive and negative electrodes
52
,
53
of the assembled rectangular batteries
51
.
The rectangular batteries
51
each has the positive and negative electrodes
52
,
53
in the form of a bolt (or nut) projecting at the front and rear end surfaces. The rectangular batteries
51
are held together, with their positive and negative electrodes
52
,
53
reversed in an alternating manner, and wound around by a belt
56
to be fixed together.
The front battery-connecting plate
54
, as shown in
FIG. 21
, includes a base plate
57
of synthetic resin, and one-hole busbars
58
and two-hole busbars
59
incorporated in a row arrangement in the base plate
57
by insert molding, the one-hole busbars
58
being located at the left and right ends of the base plate
57
and the two-hole busbars
59
therebetween. The “one-hole busbar”
58
herein means, as shown in
FIG. 23B
, a busbar provided with one electrode receiving hole
60
for passage therethrough of the above electrode
52
or
53
, and the “two-hole busbar”
59
means, as shown in
FIG. 23A
, a busbar provided with two such holes
60
. The battery-connecting plate
54
also includes an open/close cover
62
attached via hinges
61
to the upper edge of the base plate
57
, which covers the base plate
57
after it is fixed with nuts
63
to the battery assembly
50
to prevent a short and the like. Denoted
64
is a resilient lock piece with a locking throughhole
64
a
and
65
is a corresponding lock projection.
The rear battery-connecting plate
55
, as shown in
FIG. 22
, is of the same structure as the battery-connecting plate
54
except that it has no one-hole busbars
58
, and includes a base plate
57
′ of synthetic resin, a row of two-hole busbars
59
incorporated in the base plate
57
′ by insert molding and an open/close cover
62
′ attached via hinges
61
to the upper edge of the base plate.
In the conventional battery assembly
50
, the pitch A′ between neighboring electrodes has greater tolerances toward the left and right ends of the battery assembly
50
due to a deviation in the width A between rectangular batteries
51
themselves combined with a deviation in centering the positive and negative electrodes
52
,
53
on their respective batteries
51
. Accordingly, with the battery-connecting plate
54
,
55
of one-piece structure, its incorporated busbars
58
,
59
tend to have their holes
60
deviated in position from their corresponding electrodes
52
,
53
, resulting in an awkward mounting of the battery-connecting plate
54
,
55
to the battery assembly
50
.
As a means of solving the above problem, there can be mentioned a method in which, as shown in
FIG. 21
, the hole
60
at one end of the front battery-connecting plate
54
is selected as a reference hole, and tolerances of the distances A′,
2
A′,
3
A′ . . . nA′ (n=13 in the illustrated example) from the reference hole to the holes
60
of each electrode
53
,
52
,
53
. . . are made as close as possible to improve the manufacturing dimensional accuracy. This, however, results in a cost increase.
As a second means, a method can be mentioned in which, as shown in
FIGS. 23A and 23B
, the diameter of the holes
60
of the two-hole and one-hole busbars
59
,
58
is made sufficiently larger than the electrodes
52
,
53
. This, however, reduces the contact area with the electrodes
52
,
53
, possibly resulting in heat generation due to an increase in resistance and an unstable electrical connection.
As a third means, a method can be mentioned in which the rectangular batteries
51
themselves are produced with an improved accuracy in their width dimension A and the centering of their electrodes
52
,
53
and their closer tolerances are maintained. This, however, also leads to a cost increase.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention has been accomplished to overcome the above drawbacks of the related art and an object of this invention is to provide a battery-connecting plate which, apart from the problem of improving the precision of the width dimension of the rectangular batteries themselves and of the centering of their positive and negative electrodes, absorbs a small pitch difference between electrodes of a battery assembly and can be easily mounted on the battery assembly, thereby enabling an easy production of the battery-connecting plate.
In order to attain the object, according to this invention, there is provided a battery-connecting plate for connecting batteries in series, the batteries, each with a positive and a negative electrodes at opposite ends thereof, being assembled in a row arrangement with the positive and negative electrodes reversed in an alternating manner, which comprises: a base plate of synthetic resin; connection portions each having a busbar provided on the base plate, the busbar having a predetermined number of holes for passing therethrough of a corresponding number of the positive and negative electrodes for connection with the base plate; and a pitch adjusting means provided on the base plate at every predetermined number of the connection portions for adjusting a deviation in position between the electrodes and the holes of the busbars.
Preferably, the pitch adjusting means comprises a slit provided in the base plate, the slit opening at one end thereof to one longitudinally-extending edge of the base plate, an escape hole provided in the base plate at the other end of the slit, and a resilient portion formed by that part of the base plate located at a side of the escape hole opposite the slit.
Preferably, the pitch adjusting means comprises a slit provided in the base plate to separate it into sections and a pair of hinges linking the sections at opposite longitudinally-extending edges of the base plate.
Preferably, the base plate comprises a row of subdivided base plates, the connection portions are each formed at a respective one of the subdivided base plates, and the pitch adjusting means is provided at every one of the connection portions and comprises a resilient hinge linking neighboring ones of the row of subdivided base plates.
Preferably, the resilient hinge is located at a side opposite the batteries and apart from the base plate.
Advantageously, the connection portions comprise first connection portions each having as the busbar a first busbar having two holes and a second connection portion having as the busbar a second busbar having one hole, the second connection portion being located on one side or opposite sides of the first connection portions.
Advantageously, the connection portions each further comprises a window provided in the base plate in which the respective busbar is fixedly mounted.
Advantageously, the respective busbar is fixedly mounted in the window by insert molding.
Advantageously, the battery-connecting plate further comprises a voltage detecting terminal attached with a signal line, conne
Ikeda Tomohiro
Saito Satoshi
Armstrong Westerman Hattori McLeland & Naughton LLP
Brouillette Gabrielle
Yazaki -Corporation
Yuan Dah-Wei D.
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