JP7587951B2 - Charging and discharging device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a charging/discharging device that charges and discharges multiple secondary batteries.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, rechargeable secondary batteries such as lithium ion batteries and nickel-metal hydride batteries have come to be widely used in electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and other electrical products.
In manufacturing this battery, as with conventional rechargeable batteries, a charge/discharge test is carried out on the manufactured battery to inspect whether the battery satisfies predetermined performance and characteristics before it is shipped.
This charge/discharge test is performed by arranging multiple secondary batteries in the thickness direction and housing them on a tray, and connecting the power source of the charge/discharge device (charge/discharge power source) to the terminals (positive and negative electrodes) of each secondary battery via charge/discharge probes.
However, the multiple secondary batteries contained in the tray are not necessarily arranged evenly (at the same pitch). For example, some of the multiple secondary batteries may be arranged so that they are in contact with each other or have gaps between them, which may result in the terminals of some secondary batteries being unable to connect to the charge/discharge probe.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a charging/discharging device that includes a plurality of charging/discharging units each having a power supply terminal for one or more sets of secondary batteries, and that is attached so as to be slidable in the direction in which the secondary batteries are arranged. It also describes that the charging/discharging units are formed with profile teeth that fit between spacers that sandwich the secondary batteries one by one and position them relative to the secondary batteries.
Patent Document 2 discloses a charging/discharging device which includes a number of spacers respectively arranged at the front and rear of a number of unit cells in the stacking direction, the protruding dimensions of the spacers increasing stepwise from the front to the rear in the stacking direction of each unit cell, support members for supporting a number of probes arranged in a row parallel to the stacking direction of each unit cell and configured to be displaceable in the stacking direction of each unit cell, and a locking portion formed on the support member and a protruding portion corresponding to this locking portion are overlapped by a predetermined dimension and the size of the spacers decreasing stepwise from the front to the rear in the stacking direction of each unit cell.

Patent Document 3 discloses a charging/discharging device equipped with a contact unit that moves each contact probe at equal intervals in response to the movement of each positive electrode terminal and each negative electrode terminal that accompanies the expansion and contraction of each secondary battery during charging and discharging.
Patent Document 4 discloses a charge/discharge tester that adjusts the pressing force of a pressing mechanism in accordance with the expansion and contraction of a secondary battery during a charge/discharge test, thereby limiting the positional fluctuation of the positive and negative terminals and holding multiple secondary batteries at a predetermined pitch.
Patent document 5 discloses a charge/discharge testing device in which separators are held slidably in the longitudinal direction of a battery tray base and arranged alternately with secondary batteries, the separators having partition sections arranged along the width direction of the secondary batteries and guide sections provided on both sides of the partition sections, and when pressed with a pressing means, the guide sections of adjacent separators come into contact with each other, holding each secondary battery and each separator at a fixed distance from each other, and absorbing the expansion and contraction of each secondary battery due to charging and discharging through the elastic deformation of each partition section, thereby limiting the expansion of each secondary battery above a specified amount.

Patent No. 5312000 JP 2013-219986 A Patent No. 6461401 Patent No. 6644230 Patent No. 6490287

However, the above-mentioned conventional techniques still have the following problems to be solved.
The technology of Patent Document 1 requires a complicated configuration of the charge/discharge unit and a spacer having a shape corresponding to the profiling teeth. In addition, the profiling teeth are easily worn because they are configured to fit between the spacers, and therefore require frequent maintenance.
In the technology of Patent Document 2, since the shapes of the multiple spacers are not all the same, if the spacers are placed in the wrong locations, normal operation will not be possible.
The technology of Patent Document 3 requires that the contact probes be moved at equal intervals in accordance with the movements of the positive electrode terminals and the negative electrode terminals, resulting in a complex configuration.
The technique of Patent Document 4 requires the pressing force of the pressing mechanism to be adjusted in accordance with the expansion and contraction of the secondary battery, resulting in a complex configuration.
In the technology of Patent Document 5, the separator has a partition portion and a guide portion, and the expansion and contraction of each secondary battery due to charging and discharging is absorbed by the elastic deformation of each partition portion, so the separator needs to be made of a specific material and the structure is complicated.

The present invention was made in consideration of these circumstances, and aims to provide a charging/discharging device that can be simplified in configuration and has improved maintainability compared to conventional devices.

A charge/discharge device according to the present invention that meets the above-mentioned objective includes a plurality of chargeable/dischargeable secondary batteries that are arranged in a thickness direction and housed in a tray, and a first charge/discharge probe and a second charge/discharge probe are connected to a positive electrode and a negative electrode of each of the secondary batteries, respectively, to charge and discharge the secondary batteries,
a first magnetic attraction body is provided on the first and second charge/discharge probe sides, and a second magnetic attraction body is provided on the secondary battery side to be paired with the first magnetic attraction body, the first magnetic attraction body being provided in a plurality of first magnetic attraction bodies along a thickness direction of the secondary battery;
The first and second charge/discharge probes and the positive and negative electrodes of the secondary battery are positioned by the magnetic attraction force between the pair of the first and second magnetic attracting bodies.

In the charging/discharging device according to the present invention, the first and second charging/discharging probes and the positive and negative electrodes of the secondary battery can be positioned by arranging the pair of the first magnetic attraction body and the second magnetic attraction body in contact or with a gap due to the magnetic attraction force.

In the charging/discharging device according to the present invention, it is preferable that the first magnetic attraction body is provided on the side of the first and second charging/discharging probes for each pair of the first and second charging/discharging probes, or for each group of multiple pairs of the first and second charging/discharging probes divided into multiple groups.

In the charge/discharge device according to the present invention, both of the first and second magnetic attracting bodies may be magnets.
The magnets on the first and second charge/discharge probe sides and the secondary battery side are preferably arranged with their south poles and north poles alternately arranged along the thickness direction of the secondary battery.

In the charge/discharge device according to the present invention, one of the first and second magnetic attraction bodies may be a magnet, and the other of the first and second magnetic attraction bodies may be a magnetic body.
The magnet may be an electromagnet.
It is also preferable that the magnet is provided with projections and recesses.

In the charging/discharging device according to the present invention, a spacer is disposed between adjacent secondary batteries housed in the tray, and the second magnetic attraction body is preferably provided on the spacer.

In the charging/discharging device according to the present invention, the first magnetic attraction body may be a magnet, and the second magnetic attraction body may be a connection part having the magnetic properties of the secondary battery.

In the charging/discharging device according to the present invention, it is preferable that the first magnetic attraction body is movable along the thickness direction of the secondary battery, and that the first and second charging/discharging probes move relative to the positive and negative electrodes of the secondary battery as the first magnetic attraction body moves due to the magnetic attraction force, thereby performing the positioning.

The charging/discharging device of the present invention has a first magnetic attraction body on the first and second charging/discharging probe side and a second magnetic attraction body on the secondary battery side, and the first and second charging/discharging probes and the positive and negative electrodes of the secondary battery are positioned by the magnetic attraction force of the paired first and second magnetic attraction bodies.This allows accurate positioning without complicating the configuration of the first and second charging/discharging probes or using comb teeth, as in the conventional case.
Therefore, the configuration can be simplified and maintainability can be improved compared to the conventional art.

(A) to (C) are respectively a plan view, a front view, and a side view of a secondary battery that is charged and discharged by a charging/discharging device according to one embodiment of the present invention, (D) to (F) are respectively a plan view, a front view, and a side view of a spacer used when storing the secondary battery in a tray, and (G) to (I) are respectively a plan view, a front view, and a side view showing the secondary battery attached to the spacer. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which secondary batteries to be charged and discharged by the charge/discharge device are accommodated in a tray. FIG. 1A and 1B are a plan view and a side view, respectively, showing the secondary battery housed in a tray. 1A to 1C are explanatory side views showing a connection state between a charge/discharge probe pin and a secondary battery of a charge/discharge device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4A to 4C are front views illustrating the connection state between the charge/discharge probe pins of the charge/discharge device and a secondary battery. 13A to 13C are explanatory side views showing the connection state between a charge/discharge probe pin and a secondary battery of a charge/discharge device according to a modified example. 1A to 1C are a plan view, a front view, and a side view, respectively, of a secondary battery that is charged and discharged by a charge/discharge device according to another embodiment of the present invention. 4A to 4C are front views illustrating the connection state between the charge/discharge probe pins of the charge/discharge device and a secondary battery.

Next, with reference to the attached drawings, an embodiment of the present invention will be described for understanding the present invention.
As shown in Figures 1 to 5, a charge/discharge device 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention is an apparatus that simultaneously charges and discharges (charge/discharge test (charge/discharge inspection)) a plurality of secondary batteries 11 (here, 10 batteries) that can be charged and discharged, with the batteries 11 arranged in the thickness direction and housed on a tray (transport tray) 12, and connects first and second charge/discharge probes 15, 16 to the positive electrode 13 and negative electrode 14 of each secondary battery 11, respectively. Note that, as shown in Figures 1 (A) to (C), the secondary battery 11 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape with wide surfaces on both sides in the thickness direction.
The details are explained below.

4(A) to 4(C) and 5(A) to 5(C), the charge/discharge device 10 has a charge/discharge shelf (not shown) provided with a storage section 17 for storing the tray 12. In this storage section 17, above the multiple secondary batteries 11 arranged side by side on the tray 12, first and second charge/discharge probes 15, 16 are arranged as a pair and capable of contacting the positive electrode 13 and negative electrode 14 of each secondary battery 11, and the first and second charge/discharge probes 15, 16 are connected to a power source (charge/discharge power source).
It should be noted that one power source is used for one secondary battery 11, and the maximum number of secondary batteries 11 that can be accommodated and arranged in one tray 12 is the same as the number of power sources. There are various types of secondary batteries, such as lithium ion batteries and nickel metal hydride batteries, but there is no particular limitation as long as they are rechargeable and dischargeable batteries.

The storage section 17 is provided with a lifting means 18 for raising and lowering the first and second charge/discharge probe pins 15, 16 relative to the tray 12 in which the secondary battery 11 is stored. The lifting means 18 has a lifting section main body 19 arranged along the thickness direction of the secondary battery 11, a plurality of mounting sections 20 provided at equal intervals in the longitudinal direction of the lifting section main body 19, and abutment sections 21 provided on both sides in the width direction of each mounting section 20 so as to be slidable up and down.
The first and second charge/discharge probe pins 15, 16 are provided on the mounting portion 20 with their axes aligned in the vertical direction, and a first magnet (an example of a first magnetic attraction body) 22 is provided on the lower end surface of each abutment portion 21 (the first magnet 22 is provided for each of the paired first and second charge/discharge probe pins 15, 16). Note that, in a free state, the first and second charge/discharge probe pins 15, 16 are provided on the mounting portion 20 such that the lower ends of the first and second charge/discharge probe pins 15, 16 are located above the lower end surfaces of the respective abutment portions 21.

As shown in Figures 2, 3(A) and (B), the tray 12 is composed of a rectangular bottom plate 23, side plates 24 erected at both ends of the longitudinal direction of the bottom plate 23 (in the thickness direction of the secondary battery 11), and a connecting shaft 25 connecting the opposing side plates 24 at their upper ends, and the secondary battery 11 can be inserted and removed through the opening at the top.
2, 3(A) and 3(B), spacers 26 are disposed between adjacent secondary batteries 11 housed in the tray 12. Note that there are no particular limitations on the spacers 26 as long as they are made of an insulating material.
1(D) to (I), the spacer 26 has a height similar to that of the secondary battery 11 excluding the positive electrode 13 and the negative electrode 14, a width greater than that of the secondary battery 11, and both sides in the width direction protrude to one side, forming a U-shape (concave cross section) in plan view. In this manner, the secondary battery 11 is disposed in a recess 27 formed in the spacer 26. Specifically, the inner width of the recess 27 is slightly wider than the width of the secondary battery 11, and the depth of the recess 27 is slightly deeper than the thickness of the secondary battery 11.

For convenience, Figure 2 shows the secondary battery 11 attached to the spacer 26 and housed in the tray 12; however, in reality, multiple spacers 26 (the maximum number of secondary batteries 11 that can be housed in the tray 12) are housed and arranged in the tray 12, and a secondary battery 11 is housed in each recess 27, resulting in the state shown in Figures 3 (A) and (B).
1D-1I, 3A, and 3B, second magnets (an example of a second magnetic attraction body) 28 that are paired with the first magnets 22 provided on the abutment portion 21 of the lifting means 18 are provided on both upper sides of the recesses 27 (secondary batteries 11 inserted into the recesses 27) of the spacer 26. For this reason, when viewed from above, the pair of first magnets 22 provided on the first and second charge/discharge probe pins 15, 16 sides and the pair of second magnets 28 provided on the secondary battery 11 side are provided in the same number of pairs (10 pairs in this case) as the maximum number of secondary batteries 11 that can be accommodated in the tray 12, located on both sides in the width direction of each secondary battery 11.
The first magnet 22 and the second magnet 28 are attracted to each other by magnetic attraction, and one of the first and second magnets 22, 28 is a south pole and the other is a north pole.

In use, first, as shown in Figures 2, 3(A) and 3(B), the tray 12 containing the multiple secondary batteries 11 inserted into the recesses 27 of the spacers 26 is housed in the housing section 17 as shown in Figures 4(A) and 5(A). As a result, the secondary batteries 11 are placed below the first and second charge/discharge probes 15 and 16 provided on the lifting means 18 as shown in Figure 4(A).
A plurality of pairs of first magnets 22 are provided on the lifting means 18 at the same pitch along the thickness direction for each of the first and second charge/discharge probe pins 15, 16, while a plurality of pairs of second magnets 28 are provided on a spacer 26 housed and arranged so as to be horizontally movable within the tray 12. For this reason, the positive electrode 13 and negative electrode 14 of the secondary battery 11 that contact the first and second charge/discharge probes 15, 16 are shifted in the length direction of the tray 12 as shown in FIG.

4(B) and 5(B), the lifting means 18 is lowered toward the secondary battery 11 housed and arranged in the tray 12. At this time, the magnetic attraction force between the first magnet 22 provided on the abutment portion 21 and the corresponding second magnet 28 attracts the second magnet 28 to the first magnet 22, and after the spacer 26 moves inside the tray 12, the first magnet 22 and the second magnet 28 come into contact with each other.
As a result, the secondary battery 11 moves within the tray 12 so that the positive electrode 13 and the negative electrode 14 of the secondary battery 11 overlap with the first and second charge/discharge probes 15 and 16 in a plan view, thereby positioning the positive electrode 13 and the negative electrode 14 of the secondary battery 11 with respect to the first and second charge/discharge probes 15 and 16. Note that, once this positioning is performed, the first magnet 22 and the second magnet 28 do not necessarily need to be in contact with each other, and may be arranged with a gap (for example, about 0.1 mm to several mm) therebetween.

Here, it is preferable that the first magnet 22 is movable along the thickness direction of the secondary battery 11 according to the position of the second magnet 28 .
Specifically, by making each of the multiple mounting parts 20 movable individually along the lifting unit main body 19, the first and second charge/discharge probe pins 15, 16 and the first magnet 22 which are integrally provided on each mounting part 20 can be made movable along the lifting unit main body 19.
As a result, even if a plurality of spacers 26 each having a second magnet 28 provided thereon are housed and arranged at different intervals within the tray 12, the first magnet 22 provided on the abutment portion 21 is attracted to the second magnet 28 due to the magnetic attraction force between the first magnet 22 and the corresponding second magnet 28, and after the mounting portion 20 moves along the lifting portion main body 19, the first magnet 22 and the second magnet 28 come into contact with each other.
Therefore, the first and second charge/discharge probes 15, 16 provided on each mounting portion 20 move so as to overlap in a planar view with respect to the positive electrode 13 and negative electrode 14 of the secondary battery 11 arranged in the recesses 27 of each spacer 26, thereby positioning the first and second charge/discharge probes 15, 16 with respect to the positive electrode 13 and negative electrode 14 of the secondary battery 11.

Next, as shown in Figures 4 (C) and 5 (C), by further lowering the lifting means 18, the lifting section main body 19 is lowered, and the first and second charge/discharge probes 15, 16 attached to the attachment section 20 can be brought into contact with the positive electrode 13 and negative electrode 14 of the secondary battery 11, respectively.
Then, the same or different charge/discharge tests are performed on each power source according to a preset test program.
After charging and discharging the secondary battery 11 in the above manner, the lifting means 18 is raised, whereby the lifting section main body 19 is raised and the first and second charge/discharge probes 15, 16 are separated from the positive electrode 13 and negative electrode 14 of the secondary battery 11, and the lifting means 18 is further raised, whereby the first magnet 22 is separated from the second magnet 28. Here, the first magnet 22 is separated from the second magnet 28 by the weight of the spacer 26 (secondary battery 11, etc.) against the magnetic attraction force.

The first magnet of each pair may be configured with an S pole or an N pole, and the S pole and the N pole may be arranged alternately along the thickness direction of the secondary battery. In this case, the second magnet of each pair may also be configured with an N pole or an S pole corresponding to the first magnet, and the N pole and the S pole may be arranged alternately along the thickness direction of the secondary battery. This allows for more accurate positioning because a repulsive force acts between the magnets adjacent in the thickness direction.
Furthermore, although the surfaces of the first and second magnets described above are smooth, they can also be made rough (with irregularities), which makes it easier to maintain contact between the first magnet and the second magnet and enables more precise positioning.
Furthermore, an electromagnet that is magnetized by passing electricity through it can be used for either or both of the first and second magnets.
Furthermore, a magnet may be used for one of the first and second magnetic attracting bodies, and a magnetic body (ferromagnetic body) may be used for the other. The magnetic body may be iron oxide, chromium oxide, cobalt, ferrite, non-oxidized metal magnetic body (oxide), etc.

Next, a charge/discharge device 10a according to a modified example will be described with reference to Figures 6(A) to 6(C). Note that the basic configuration of the charge/discharge device 10a is substantially the same as that of the charge/discharge device 10 described above, and therefore the same members will be denoted by the same reference numerals.
A lifting/lowering means 18a is provided in the storage section 17 of the charge/discharge shelf of the charge/discharge device 10a for raising and lowering the first and second charge/discharge probe pins 15, 16 relative to the tray 12 storing and arranging the secondary battery 11. The lifting/lowering means 18a has a lifting/lowering section main body 19 arranged along the thickness direction of the secondary battery 11, a plurality of mounting sections 20a, 20b spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the lifting/lowering section main body 19, and abutment sections 21 provided on both sides in the width direction of each of the mounting sections 20a, 20b so as to be slidable up and down.

The multiple pairs of first and second charge/discharge probe pins 15, 16 are divided into multiple sets, and each of the mounting parts 20a, 20b is provided with each set of the first and second charge/discharge probe pins 15, 16. Specifically, the mounting part 20a is provided with two sets of the first and second charge/discharge probe pins 15, 16, and the mounting part 20b is provided with three sets of the first and second charge/discharge probe pins 15, 16.
The mounting portion 20a has an abutment portion 21 slidably provided on one side of the mounting portion 20a (here, at a position corresponding to the first and second charging/discharging probes 15, 16 on the left side), and the mounting portion 20b has an abutment portion 21 slidably provided on the other side of the mounting portion 20b (here, at a position corresponding to the first and second charging/discharging probes 15, 16 on the right side) (i.e., the abutment portion 21 is provided to include at least both thickness-wise ends of the secondary battery 11).

In this way, the abutment portion 21 is arranged at intervals along the thickness direction of the secondary battery 11, and therefore the second magnet 28 that pairs with the first magnet 22 provided on the lower end surface of the abutment portion 21 is also arranged at intervals along the thickness direction of the secondary battery 11.
Specifically, a second magnet 28 is provided on a spacer 26 into which a secondary battery 11 to which the first and second charging/discharging probes 15, 16 located on one side (here, the left side) of the two pairs of first and second charging/discharging probe pins 15, 16 provided on the mounting portion 20a is inserted, and a second magnet 28 is provided on a spacer 26 into which a secondary battery 11 to which the first and second charging/discharging probes 15, 16 located on the other side (here, the right side) of the three pairs of first and second charging/discharging probe pins 15, 16 provided on the mounting portion 20b is inserted (i.e., the second magnet 28 is provided on some of the spacers 26).

In use, first, the tray 12 containing the multiple secondary batteries 11 is placed in the container 17 as shown in FIG. 6(A).
6(B), the lifting means 18a is lowered toward the secondary battery 11 housed and arranged in the tray 12. At this time, the magnetic attraction force between the first magnet 22 and the second magnet 28 attracts the second magnet 28 to the first magnet 22, and the spacer 26 on which the second magnet 28 is provided and the spacer 26 located in the vicinity of this spacer 26 move within the tray 12, after which the first magnet 22 and the second magnet 28 come into contact with each other.
As a result, the secondary battery 11 moves within the tray 12 so that the positive electrode 13 and negative electrode 14 of the secondary battery 11 overlap with the first and second charge/discharge probes 15, 16 in a planar view, and the positive electrode 13 and negative electrode 14 of the secondary battery 11 are positioned with respect to the first and second charge/discharge probes 15, 16.

Here, it is preferable that the first magnet 22 is movable along the thickness direction of the secondary battery 11 according to the position of the second magnet 28 .
Specifically, by making each of the multiple mounting parts 20a, 20b individually movable along the lifting/lowering part body 19, the first and second charge/discharge probe pins 15, 16 and the first magnet 22 provided integrally with each mounting part 20a, 20b can be made movable along the lifting/lowering part body 19. In this case, it is preferable to provide the abutment part 21 on the mounting part 20b slidably at the center in the thickness direction of the mounting part 20b (here, at a position corresponding to the first and second charge/discharge probes 15, 16 in the center among the three pairs of first and second charge/discharge probe pins 15, 16).
As a result, the first and second charge/discharge probes 15, 16 provided on each mounting portion 20a, 20b move so as to overlap in a planar view with respect to the positive electrode 13 and negative electrode 14 of the secondary battery 11 placed in the recesses 27 of each spacer 26, thereby positioning the first and second charge/discharge probes 15, 16 with respect to the positive electrode 13 and negative electrode 14 of the secondary battery 11.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6 (C), by further lowering the lifting means 18a, the lifting section main body 19 is lowered, and the first and second charge/discharge probes 15, 16 attached to the mounting sections 20a, 20b can be brought into contact with the positive electrode 13 and negative electrode 14 of the secondary battery 11.
Therefore, the number of pairs of first and second magnets 22, 28 can be made smaller than the number of secondary batteries 11, further simplifying the device configuration.
The number of pairs of the first and second charge/discharge probe pins 15, 16 divided into a plurality of sets is not particularly limited as long as the positive electrode 13 and the negative electrode 14 of the secondary battery 11 can be positioned relative to the first and second charge/discharge probes 15, 16, and may be, for example, about four or five pairs. In this case, the spacer may be configured to have a plurality of accommodation holes (through holes) capable of accommodating the secondary batteries, corresponding to the above-mentioned sets.

Next, a charging/discharging device 30 according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 7(A) to 7(C) and 8(A) to 8(C). Note that the same members as those in the charging/discharging device 10 described above are given the same reference numerals and detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.
The secondary battery 11a charged and discharged by this charging/discharging device 30 is a bolted battery having a rectangular parallelepiped shape with wide sides on both sides in the thickness direction, a positive electrode 13a and a negative electrode 14a at the upper end, and a bolt (an example of a connecting part having magnetic properties) 31 provided on each of the positive electrode 13a and the negative electrode 14a. The bolt 31 is attached to the positive electrode 13a and the negative electrode 14a at the center side in the width direction of the secondary battery 11a in a state of protruding upward. In this secondary battery 11a, the parts other than the positive electrode 13a, the negative electrode 14a, and the bolt do not have magnetic properties, and the bolt 31 becomes a second magnetic attracting body.

A lifting means 32 is provided within the storage section 17 of the charge/discharge shelf of the charge/discharge device 30 for lifting the first and second charge/discharge probe pins 15, 16 relative to the tray 12 in which the secondary battery 11a is stored.
The lifting means 32 has a lifting section main body 19 arranged along the thickness direction of the secondary battery 11a, a plurality of mounting sections 33 arranged at the same pitch in the longitudinal direction of the lifting section main body 19, and abutting sections 21a arranged in the widthwise center of each mounting section 33 so as to be slidable up and down. On both sides in the widthwise direction of the mounting section 33, first and second charge/discharge probe pins 15, 16 are provided with their axes aligned vertically, and a first magnet 22 is provided on the lower end surface (on the side of the first and second charge/discharge probe pins 15, 16) of each abutting section 21a. The first magnet 22 is arranged between the first charge/discharge probe pin 15 and the second charge/discharge probe pin 16 in a plan view.

In use, as shown in Fig. 8(B), the lifting means 32 is lowered onto the secondary battery 11a accommodated and arranged in the tray 12 shown in Fig. 8(A). At this time, the bolt 31 of the secondary battery 11a is attracted to the first magnet 22 by the magnetic attraction force between the first magnet 22 and the bolt 31, and the first magnet 22 and the bolt 31 come into contact with each other. Specifically, the secondary battery 11 moves within the tray 12 so that the positive electrode 13a and the negative electrode 14a of the secondary battery 11 overlap with the first and second charge/discharge probes 15, 16 in a plan view, and the positive electrode 13a and the negative electrode 14a of the secondary battery 11 are positioned relative to the first and second charge/discharge probes 15, 16.
Here, by making each of the multiple mounting parts 33 movable individually along the lifting part body 19, it is also possible to make the first and second charge/discharge probe pins 15, 16 and the first magnet 22, which are integrally provided with each mounting part 33, movable along the lifting part body 19. As a result, the first magnet 22 is attracted to the bolt 31 of the secondary battery 11a by the magnetic attraction force between the first magnet 22 and the bolt 31, and the first magnet 22 and the bolt 31 come into contact with each other, thereby positioning the first and second charge/discharge probes 15, 16 with respect to the positive electrode 13a and negative electrode 14a of the secondary battery 11.
As a result, as shown in Figure 8 (C), by further lowering the lifting means 32, the lifting section main body 19 is lowered, and the first and second charge/discharge probes 15, 16 attached to the mounting section 33 can be brought into contact with the positive electrode 13a and negative electrode 14a of the secondary battery 11.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the configurations described in the above embodiments, and includes other embodiments and modifications that are conceivable within the scope of the matters described in the claims. For example, the case where the charging/discharging device of the present invention is configured by combining part or all of the above-mentioned respective embodiments and modifications is also included in the scope of the rights of the present invention.
In the above embodiment, the first magnet (first magnetic attraction body) is made to correspond to the positions of the first and second charge/discharge probes, and the second magnet (second magnetic attraction body) is made to correspond to the position of the secondary battery. However, if the attachment positions of the multiple first and second charge/discharge probes relative to the lifting means, etc., and the arrangement position of the secondary battery relative to the tray are respectively determined (if the multiple first and second charge/discharge probes are attached immovably to the lifting means, etc., and the secondary battery is contained and arranged immovably within the tray), the first magnet can be provided without corresponding to the positions of the first and second charge/discharge probes, and the second magnet can be provided without corresponding to the position of the secondary battery (for example, the second magnet can be provided on the tray).

In the above embodiment, a case has been described in which the first and second charge/discharge probe pins are lowered relative to the tray in which the secondary battery is housed when the first and second charge/discharge probe pins come into contact with the secondary battery (positive electrode and negative electrode). However, the tray in which the secondary battery is housed may be raised relative to the first and second charge/discharge probe pins that are fixedly disposed.
In the above embodiment, the case where the number of secondary batteries accommodated in the tray is 10 has been described; however, this is not particularly limited and the number may be less than 9 (for example, 5 or more) or more than 10 (the upper limit is, for example, about 30). However, as the number of secondary batteries accommodated in the tray increases, the positions of the positive and negative electrodes of the secondary batteries become more likely to shift relative to the positions of the first and second charge/discharge probes, and therefore the effect of the present invention becomes more pronounced when there are a greater number of secondary batteries.

10, 10a: charging/discharging device, 11, 11a: secondary battery, 12: tray, 13, 13a: positive electrode, 14, 14a: negative electrode, 15: first charging/discharging probe, 16: second charging/discharging probe, 17: storage section, 18, 18a: lifting means, 19: lifting section body, 20, 20a, 20b: mounting section, 21, 21a: abutment section, 22: first magnet (first magnetic attractant), 23: bottom plate, 24: side plate, 25: connecting shaft, 26: spacer, 27: recess, 28: second magnet (second magnetic attractant), 30: charging/discharging device, 31: bolt (connection section), 32: lifting means, 33: mounting section

Claims (10)

A charging/discharging device for charging/discharging a plurality of chargeable/dischargeable secondary batteries, which are arranged in a thickness direction and housed in a tray, by connecting first and second charge/discharge probes to positive and negative electrodes of each of the secondary batteries,
a first magnetic attraction body is provided on the first and second charge/discharge probe sides, and a second magnetic attraction body is provided on the secondary battery side to be paired with the first magnetic attraction body, the first magnetic attraction body being provided in a plurality of first magnetic attraction bodies along a thickness direction of the secondary battery;
each of the first magnetic attraction bodies is individually movable along a thickness direction of the secondary battery in accordance with a position of the second magnetic attraction body with which it is paired;
a charging/discharging device characterized in that the first and second charging/discharging probes move relative to the positive and negative electrodes of the secondary battery due to the magnetic attraction force between the pair of the first magnetic attraction body and the second magnetic attraction body, the first and second charging/discharging probes are positioned relative to the positive and negative electrodes of the secondary battery , and the first and second charging/discharging probes are connected to the positive and negative electrodes of the secondary battery, respectively . The charging/discharging device according to claim 1, characterized in that the positioning of the first and second charging/discharging probes and the positive and negative electrodes of the secondary battery is performed by arranging the pair of the first magnetic attraction body and the second magnetic attraction body in contact or with a gap due to the magnetic attraction force. The charging/discharging device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the first magnetic attraction body is provided on the side of the first and second charging/discharging probes for each pair of the first and second charging/discharging probes, or for each group of a plurality of pairs of the first and second charging/discharging probes divided into a plurality of groups. The charge/discharge device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that both the first and second magnetic attraction bodies are magnets. The charging/discharging device according to claim 4, wherein the magnets on the first and second charging/discharging probe sides and the secondary battery side are arranged with S poles and N poles alternately arranged along the thickness direction of the secondary battery. A charging/discharging device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that one of the first and second magnetic attracting bodies is a magnet, and the other of the first and second magnetic attracting bodies is a magnetic body. The charging/discharging device according to claim 4 or 6, characterized in that the magnet is an electromagnet. The charging/discharging device according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that the magnet has projections and recesses. The charging/discharging device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that a spacer is disposed between adjacent secondary batteries housed in the tray, and the second magnetic attraction body is provided on the spacer. 3. The charge/discharge device according to claim 1, wherein the first magnetically attracted body is a magnet, and the second magnetically attracted body is a connection portion having magnetic properties of the secondary battery.

Images