JPH1116562A - Oil-immersed pressure equalizing battery and method of manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide an oil-immersed pressure equalizing battery and a method for manufacturing the same, which can prevent the sealing performance of a connector portion from being impaired even when repeatedly exposed to a high pressure. A pair of through holes (11) are provided in a recess (19) of a connector housing (10), and terminals (12) are fixed by a hermetic seal (24). After the potting resin 20 is poured into the recess 19 to make the height of the recess 19 about half, the connector housing 10 is placed under a reduced pressure atmosphere. Then, the air bubbles mixed in the potting resin 20 during the injection operation are degassed, and the first unit seal layer 20A is formed. After the resin reservoir 21 is pushed into the recess 19, the operation of injecting the potting resin 20 and the operation of reducing the pressure are performed twice more, thereby forming the second and third unit seal layers 20B and 20C. The manufacture of the connector 8 thus manufactured is completed.

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 battery and a method of manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 3 shows a structure of a connector 50 of a conventional oil-immersed pressure equalizing battery (not shown). This connector 5
0 is provided with a connector housing 53 provided with a recess 52, and two through holes 53A are provided therein. The two terminals 51 are inserted into the through holes 53A, and the potting resin 54 is filled and cured in the recess 52 side. By the way, the oil-immersed equalizing type battery provided with such a connector 50 is mounted on, for example, a submarine for deep sea exploration, and is designed to withstand pressure in preparation for use under high pressure. For this reason, the connector 50 is repeatedly used between the atmospheric pressure state and the high pressure state.

[0003]

However, when the connector 50 is manufactured under atmospheric pressure, bubbles 55 are mixed in the potting resin 54 with the work of filling the recess 52 with the potting resin 54. It may be cured as it is. When such a connector 50 shifts to a high pressure state, the bubbles 55 are crushed, and a part of the potting resin 54 is deformed. Then, as the oil-immersed pressure equalizing type battery is repeatedly used, there is a concern that a crack may be caused due to such deformation of the potting resin 54 and the sealing property of the potting resin 54 may be impaired. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an oil-immersed equalizing battery and a method of manufacturing the same, which can prevent the sealing performance of the connector portion from being impaired even when repeatedly exposed to high pressure. There.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an oil-immersed pressure equalizing type battery in which a plurality of cells are arranged in an outer shell, and the inner and outer surfaces of the outer shell are pressurized. Receiving the fuel cell, the cell is partitioned through a deformable partition wall, the insulating oil is stored in the outer shell, and the cell and the external circuit are connected via a connector provided in the outer shell. The connector, wherein the terminal penetrates and supports the terminal in a connector housing in an insulated state and the potting resin injected into a recess located inside the outer shell of the connector housing and solidified. In what is configured by embedding a portion located inside the outer shell, the potting resin is configured by laminating a unit seal layer that has been solidified by decompression treatment after injection. And butterflies.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the upper end of the recess of the connector housing is provided around a portion of the terminal of the connector located inside the outer shell. A resin reservoir cylinder extending beyond is provided, and a plurality of unit seal layers are laminated in the resin reservoir cylinder.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing an oil-immersed pressure equalizing battery, wherein a plurality of cells are arranged in an outer shell, and the inner and outer sides of the outer shell are partitioned via a partition which can be deformed under pressure. Insulating oil is stored in the outer shell, and the cell and the external circuit are connected via a connector provided in the outer shell, wherein the connector is
A portion of the terminal located inside the outer shell by potting resin solidified by injecting and solidifying the terminal through the connector housing in a recessed position located inside the outer shell in the connector housing. A method for manufacturing an oil-immersed pressure-balanced battery configured by embedding a potting resin, wherein the potting resin is injected a plurality of times, and the potting resin injected after each injection is placed in a reduced-pressure atmosphere. .

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the terminal is penetrated and supported in the connector housing in an insulated state, and the potting resin is embedded in the recess located inside the outer shell. At this time, since the potting resin is depressurized after being injected into the recess, the bubbles at the time of injection are degassed outside the potting resin by the depressurization process. Thus, the potting resin hardens while air bubbles remain in the resin as in the related art, and the resin does not crack during repeated exposure to high pressure and atmospheric pressure.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the unit seal layer made of the potting resin is laminated in the resin reservoir extending beyond the upper end of the recess. For this reason, the potting resin can be formed higher, and the sealing property becomes better.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the potting resin is injected into the recess in a plurality of times and is placed in a reduced-pressure atmosphere after the injection, bubbles in the potting resin are degassed under the reduced-pressure atmosphere. Thus, even if the high pressure state and the atmospheric pressure state are repeated, the potting resin is not damaged due to the repeated cavitation and return of the internal bubbles.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a cutaway view of a part of an outer shell 2 of an oil-immersed pressure equalizing battery 1. The oil-immersed pressure equalizing battery 1 is configured to be repeatedly usable under high pressure, such as a submarine for deep sea exploration, and is used under a pressure from 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 plurality of cells 3 are housed inside the outer shell 2 and a high voltage is secured by connecting them in series. An insulating oil 4 is stored around the unit cell 3. A pressure equalizing device 5 having an elastically deformable ladder 6 is provided below the outer shell 2. The ladder 6 covers the lower surface opening 2A of the outer shell 2 in a diaphragm shape. 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 inward to apply the external pressure to the inside. Tell

On the side of the outer shell 2, a power distribution box for storing power distribution equipment such as a connector 8, a breaker and a fuse box (not shown) for connecting the oil-immersed pressure equalizing type battery 1 to the outside. 9 is provided in communication with the inside of the outer shell 2. The connector 8 is provided in a pair of upper and lower parts, and is attached to a mounting hole 9A provided on the outer wall surface 17 of the power distribution box 9 (see FIG. 2). A ring groove 25 is recessed at the outer edge of the mounting hole 9A, and an O-ring 26 for waterproofing is fitted therein. Also, three bolt holes 18 are provided at equal intervals on the edge of the mounting hole 9A.
The connector 8 includes a connector housing 10 and a plurality of terminals 12 that penetrate through a through hole 11 provided in the connector housing 10. The terminal 12 is made of a conductive metal and is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape having a diameter slightly smaller than the mounting hole 9A. The front end portion is formed in a hemispherical shape to form the connection end portion 12A, while the rear end portion is formed from the end surface. An electric wire fixing hole 12B that is hollowed inward is formed. The core portion of the electric wire W connected to the cell 3 is inserted into the electric wire fixing hole 12B and soldered. The terminal 12 is inserted into the mounting hole 9A, and is supported by the hermetic seal 24 in an insulated state penetrating the connector housing 10.

The connector housing 10 includes a base portion 13 located at an intermediate portion, and cylindrical portions 14 and 15 projecting from the base portion 13 in the front-rear direction. The base portion 13 is formed in a disk shape having a diameter larger than the mounting hole 9A, and its outer edge portion is made slightly thinner than the inside of the cylindrical portions 14 and 15, and a bolt hole 18 of an outer wall surface 17 is provided there. A bolt hole 16 is provided at a position corresponding to. Bolts 22 are inserted through these three sets of bolt holes 16 and 18, and tightened and fixed with nuts 23 from the inside of the outer wall surface 17. A pair of through holes 11 are provided in the base portion 13 inside the cylindrical portions 14 and 15. By the way, the cylindrical part 14,1
5, the outer cylindrical portion 15 protruding outside the outer wall surface 17 is protruded higher than the connecting end portion 12 </ b> A at the tip of the terminal 12. On the other hand, a recess 19 formed by the inner cylindrical portion 14 and the base portion 13 projecting inward is filled with, for example, an epoxy-based potting resin 20 for sealing the pair of terminals 12. When the potting resin 20 is filled, a cylindrical resin reservoir 21 is arranged in the recess 19 in advance.

The resin reservoir 21 is formed of a thin synthetic resin into a cylindrical shape having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the recess 19, and is higher than the height of the peripheral wall of the recess 19. The resin reservoir 21 improves the sealing performance by covering up to the rear side of the connecting portion between the terminal 12 and the electric wire W with the potting resin 20. Next, a method of manufacturing the connector 8 configured as described above will be described. First, the connector housing 10 to which the terminal 12 is fixed by the hermetic seal 24 is placed with the recess 19 facing upward. Next, the potting resin 20 is poured into the recess 19. At this time, the height of the potting resin 20 is set to be about half the height of the recess 19. When the entire connector housing 10 is placed in a reduced-pressure atmosphere of, for example, 200 mHg, bubbles mixed into the potting resin 20 during the injection work are expelled into the outside air, and the unit seal of the first layer of the potting resin 20 without bubbles is formed. Layer 20A is formed. Here, the resin storage cylinder 21 is gently pushed into the potting resin 20 from above the unit sealing layer 20A so that air bubbles do not enter the potting resin 20.

Next, a second injection of the potting resin 20 is performed. At this time, the potting resin 20 is injected until it reaches just near the end of the inner cylindrical portion 14.
After the injection, the connector housing 10 is again placed in a reduced-pressure atmosphere to expel air bubbles mixed in the potting resin 20 and cured in that state.
0B is formed. Further, a third injection of the potting resin 20 and a pressure reduction process are performed. Potting resin 2
0 is poured to the upper end of the resin reservoir 21 and the connector housing 10 is placed in a reduced pressure atmosphere. When the potting resin 20 cures, a third unit seal layer 20C is formed,
After all, the three unit seal layers 20 </ b> A to 20 </ b> A
The manufacture of the connector 8 in which the OCs are sequentially stacked is completed.

The connector 8 thus manufactured is assembled into the mounting hole 9A from outside the outer wall surface 17. Prior to assembly, the O-ring 26 is fitted in the ring groove 25. The bolts 22 are inserted into the three bolt holes 16 and 18 and tightened with the nuts 23, thereby completing the assembly of the connector 8. As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the potting resin 20 is decompressed after being injected into the recess 19, bubbles during the injection are degassed to the outside of the potting resin 20 by the depressurization process. Thus, the potting resin is hardened while bubbles remain in the resin as in the related art, and the resin is prevented from being cracked during repeated operation under high pressure and atmospheric pressure.

In the present embodiment, the unit sealing layer 20C made of the potting resin 20 is laminated in the resin reservoir 21 extending beyond the upper end of the inner cylindrical portion 14 of the concave portion 19. 20 can be formed high along the electric wire W, and the sealing performance is further improved. The diameter of the resin reservoir 21 is smaller than the diameter of the recess 19 and is formed of a thin synthetic resin. Therefore, at a position higher than the inner cylindrical portion 14, the electric wire W
Since the resin storage cylinder 21 is easily elastically deformed together with the potting resin 20 following the bending in the left and right directions in the drawing, it is assumed that the wire W is strongly bent during the wiring work in the power distribution box 9. Also, the phenomenon that the potting resin 20 in this portion is separated from the electric wire W is less likely to occur, which contributes to further improvement of the sealing property.

In order to cover the connecting portion between the terminal 12 and the electric wire W to the rear side with the potting resin 20,
It is not unthinkable to use a connector housing having an inner cylinder that is higher than the inner cylinder 14 of the present embodiment. However, when the electric wire W is filled and hardened with the potting resin 20 only by the connector housing having high rigidity, the filled portion of the resin and the electric wire W may peel off when the electric wire W is swung right and left. . Further, in the present embodiment, since the diameter of the resin reservoir 21 is smaller than the diameter of the recess 19, there is an advantage that a sufficient sealing can be achieved with a small amount of the potting resin 20. In addition, as described above, the potting resin 2 is
Since the connector housing 10 has a configuration in which 0 is stacked high, a general-purpose product in which the height of the inner cylindrical portion 14 is low can be used as the connector housing 10, which also contributes to cost reduction.

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) After the potting resin 20 is injected into the recess 19, the potting resin 20 is placed in a reduced-pressure atmosphere. The pressure at this time is not limited to 200 mHg, and may be any pressure that expels bubbles in the potting resin 20. (2) The number of injections of the potting resin 20 does not depend on three times. It may be twice or more than four times. (3) A potting resin 20 is provided below the resin reservoir 21.
May be provided so that the gas can pass through the inside and outside of the resin storage cylinder 21.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the connector.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of a conventional connector.

[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) 8 ... Connector 10 ... Connector housing 12 ... Terminal 19 ... Concave 20 ... Potting resin 20A-20C ... Unit seal layer 21 ... resin reservoir

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of cells are arranged in an outer shell, and the inner and outer of the outer shell are partitioned through a partition which can be deformed under pressure, and insulating oil is stored in the outer shell. The cell and the external circuit are connected to each other via a connector provided on the outer shell, wherein the connector allows a terminal to be penetrated and supported by the connector housing in an insulated state, and the connector housing includes In the terminal configured by embedding a portion of the terminal located inside the outer shell body with a potting resin injected and solidified into a recess located inside the outer shell body, the potting resin is injected after the injection. An oil-immersed pressure equalizing battery comprising a stack of unit seal layers solidified by decompression treatment. 2. A resin reservoir tube extending beyond an upper end of the recess of the connector housing is provided around a portion of the terminal of the connector located inside the outer shell. 2. The oil-immersed pressure equalizing battery according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of unit seal layers are laminated. 3. A plurality of cells are arranged in an outer shell, and the inner and outer sides of the outer shell are partitioned through a partition which can be deformed under pressure, and insulating oil is stored in the outer shell. The cell and the external circuit are connected to each other via a connector provided on the outer shell, wherein the connector allows a terminal to be penetrated and supported by the connector housing in an insulated state, and the connector housing includes A method for manufacturing an oil-immersed pressure equalizing battery comprising a portion of the terminal, which is located inside the outer shell, embedded by a potting resin injected into a recess located inside the outer shell and solidified. A method of manufacturing the oil-immersed pressure equalizing battery, wherein the potting resin is injected a plurality of times and the potting resin injected after each injection is placed in a reduced pressure atmosphere.