JPS6249699B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a storage battery case, and more particularly, to a method for manufacturing a storage battery case having a rigidity suitable for large to ultra-large size storage battery cases.

Large to extra-large storage batteries are generally used for stationary use as backup power sources or independent power sources.
In particular, storage batteries that are attracting attention recently are batteries that can be used to charge electricity late at night to improve the efficiency of electricity consumption. In addition, electric power is used as a power source for applications where an internal combustion engine cannot be used, and in this case,
Storage batteries will occupy an important position as an independent power source. Such storage batteries are required to be large or very large, and accordingly, storage battery containers are also large or very large.

Large to extra large storage battery containers as described above have conventionally been manufactured from ebonite. However, a storage battery case made of ebonite not only takes time to manufacture, but also has the disadvantage that it is considerably heavy.

On the other hand, recently, synthetic resins have been increasingly used as materials for storage battery containers. Among these, polypropylene is particularly suitable as a storage battery case material because it has excellent electrolyte resistance such as chemical resistance and heat resistance. However, when a large or extra-large storage battery case as described above is made of synthetic resin such as polypropylene, it is extremely difficult to obtain a storage battery case with satisfactory strength due to its low rigidity. It was hot. Currently, some storage battery containers are constructed with a wall thickness of 20 to 25 mm, but as the wall thickness increases, the curing time is extremely long, and there are also quality problems such as "sink marks" and bubbles. There are many problems with molding technology, which increases product costs.

Further, as mentioned above, even if a storage battery case is made of polypropylene with a considerable wall thickness, the weight ends up being large, as in the case of ebonite, and it is desired to improve this point.

Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a storage battery case which can advantageously reduce the weight.

The present invention is characterized in that it includes the following steps in order to solve the above-mentioned technical problems. That is, (1) the step of preparing an interior material made of an electrolyte-resistant material such as olefin resin, which defines the inner surface shape of the electrolyte storage portion of the storage battery case having an opening at the top; and (2) the above-mentioned steps. a step of preparing a preformed body made of a collection of reinforcing fibers in a shape that wraps the outer surface of the interior material; (3) bringing the interior material whose outer surface is wrapped with the preformed body into contact with the inner surface of the interior material; (4) arranging the male wall surface in the mold defining a male wall surface and a female wall surface separated by a predetermined distance from the outer surface of the interior material with the preform sandwiched therebetween; Into the space formed between the wall surface and the female wall surface and filled with the preform, an uncured material is poured from the bottom of the storage battery container with the opening of the storage battery container facing upward. (5) curing the uncured resin; (6) containing the reinforcing fibers; and (5) curing the uncured resin. The present invention is characterized by the step of taking out a storage battery case including an exterior material made of a hardened resin and the interior material in contact with the inner surface of the exterior material from the mold.

In this invention, when resin is injected into the space between the outer surface of the interior material and the female wall surface of the mold, the resin flows to fill the preformed body made of a collection of reinforcing fibers, and also flows into the interior material. They come into contact. Therefore, a storage battery case is obtained in which the interior material is covered with the exterior material containing reinforcing fibers.

The invention will now be explained in detail in connection with the illustrated embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of an example of a storage battery case obtained by implementing the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view along line - of FIG. 1, also showing the lid.

The storage battery container 1 shown here is intended to be a large or extra-large storage battery container, and its dimensions are 50.
It measures approximately 120 to 150 cm in height.
Its structure is composed of an interior material 2 and an exterior material 3. The interior material 2 is a part that comes into direct contact with the electrolyte, and is made of an olefin-based synthetic resin such as polypropylene that has excellent electrolyte resistance. The exterior material 3 provides rigidity to the storage battery case 1 and is made of synthetic resin containing reinforcing fibers. The interior material 2 also solves the problem of electrolyte permeation of the exterior material 3 made of such a material.

A large or extra-large storage battery case 1 is often provided with a step 4 for suspending an electrode plate (not shown). Further, a step 7 for positioning the lid 6 may be formed around the opening 5 of the storage battery case 1. Although the lid 6 is also shown as being comprised of an interior material 2 and an exterior material 3, this is only because it is preferred;
Since the electrolyte does not reach the lid 6, such a configuration in the lid 6 is not necessarily required. Note that the connection between the storage battery case 1 and the lid 6 is achieved by pitch, adhesive 8, or other methods.

A saddle 9 is formed at the bottom of the storage battery case 1 . Ribs 10 are formed on the inner side surface of the storage battery case 1. These saddles 9 and ribs 10 are for positioning the electrode plates within the storage battery case 1.

Next, a method for manufacturing the storage battery case 1 as described above will be explained.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the interior material shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. Since the interior material 2 defines the inner surface shape of the storage battery case 1, the steps 4, saddle 9, and ribs 10 are formed as they are. The interior material 2 is most preferably integrally molded from polypropylene or the like. However, if this integral molding is difficult due to the above-mentioned dimensions, it may be molded in parts and later joined together to form the shape as shown in FIG. Some examples will be explained below.

First, it is divided into a lower part and an upper part, which are divided along the cutting line 11 in FIG. It is conceivable to mold the individual parts separately and join them later. In this case, not only injection molding but also blow molding or rotary molding can be advantageously used, particularly for the portion below the cutting line 11. In particular, when the molded part can be constructed integrally, as in the case of blow molding or rotational molding, it is preferable that at least the part at a height that the electrolyte solution surface reaches is integrally molded. in this case,
The above-mentioned cutting line 11 may be set further above the position shown in FIG. Note that, if possible, it is of course preferable that the entire interior material 2 be integrally blow molded or rotary molded. Heat welding is advantageously used when joining separately molded parts together. During this heat welding, resin protrudes from the welded portion, but it is preferable to leave this as it is at least on the outer surface. The reason for this will become clear from the explanation below. Alternatively, there may be a method in which the two left and right parts cut only along the cutting line 12 are individually molded and then joined later. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 8, for a storage battery case in which something equivalent to the stage 4 is not formed, two parts divided by a cutting line 13 extending in the diagonal direction of the opening 5 are molded. , this may be joined later.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the outer surface of the interior material shown in FIG. 3 is wrapped with a preformed body made of a set of reinforcing fibers. FIG. 5 is an illustrative cross-sectional view illustrating a method for manufacturing the preform shown in FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 4, a preformed body 15 made of a set of reinforcing fibers 14 is formed in advance into a shape that follows the outer surface of the interior material 2. As shown in FIG. However, since the preform has a certain amount of leeway against deformation of its shape, it is not necessarily necessary to shape the preform to match the outer surface of the interior material 2. The preform 15 is formed, for example, as shown in FIG. Vacuum suction is applied to the inside of the cage 16, which has an outer surface shape corresponding to the desired shape of the preform 15. A large number of ventilation holes 17 are formed in a distributed manner on the surface of the cage 16. In this state, for example, 50
When spraying glass fiber of mm, reinforcing fiber 14
are distributed in layers along the outer surface of the cage 16. When the reinforcing fibers 14 are formed to an appropriate thickness, spraying an adhesive allows the aggregate of the reinforcing fibers 14 to maintain its shape along the outer surface of the cage 16. The preformed body 15 thus obtained is placed over the outer surface of the interior material 2 to wrap it, as shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view corresponding to the cross section taken along the line - in FIG. 1, showing the relationship between the mold and its molding space in the uncured resin injection process. The interior material 2 whose outer surface is covered with the preform 15 is placed in a mold. This mold has a male wall surface 18 that contacts the inner surface of the interior material 2, and a preform 1 from the outer surface of the interior material 2.
5 and a female wall surface 19 separated by a predetermined distance. Of these, 18 male walls
is defined by the outer surface of the male mold 20. The female wall surface 19 is defined by the inner surfaces of a first female mold 21 and a second female mold 22, which are divided into two left and right parts. It is preferable that the mold is divided into the first female mold 21 and the second female mold 22 because the distance traveled by the preform 15 and the mold while being displaced from each other becomes shorter in the operation of closing the mold. When the relatively soft preform 15 rubs against the mold over a relatively long distance, the preform 15 may be damaged. In this regard, in the case of FIG. 6, in the closing operation of the first female mold 21 and the second female mold 22, the preform 15
Since the distance between the two parts can be kept to a minimum, the preformed body 15 will not be damaged, which is preferable.

The shape of the space 23 formed between the male mold 20 and the female molds 21, 22 corresponds to the shape of the exterior material 3 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. female type 2
1 and 22, there is a passage 24 leading to the space 23.
is formed. The passage 24 is provided with a nozzle 25 through which uncured resin is injected. The uncured resin is injected from the bottom of the battery case 1 in the vertical relationship shown in FIG. 6, that is, with the opening 5 of the storage battery case 1 facing upward. Preferably, it is injected in an upward direction. In this way, air bubbles are advantageously prevented from remaining within the preform 15 when the uncured resin is injected. When the uncured resin contains the reinforcing fibers 14 and fills the space 23, the nozzle 25
Injection of uncured resin is stopped.

As the uncured resin, for example, unsaturated polyester resin is used. This unsaturated polyester resin is a thermosetting resin and is cured by heat or a suitable catalyst. In this way, the reinforcing fiber 14
When the resin containing the molds 20, 21,
22 is separated, and the storage battery case 1 is taken out from therein.

FIG. 7 shows a part of FIG. 6 in an enlarged manner. Referring to FIG. 7, a plurality of protrusions 26 are formed on the outer surface of the interior material 2. As shown in FIG. This protrusion 26 is preferable in terms of increasing the bonding force with the resin that constitutes the exterior material 3. The shape of this protrusion 26 is arbitrary and can be modified as described below.

First, as described above, when the interior material 2 is partially molded and then thermally welded, the resin that protrudes from the welded portion can be used in place of the protrusion 26. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, when the interior material 2 is obtained by joining parts divided by the diagonal cutting line 13, the protrusions 2
6 can be formed by extending diagonally. This is because the direction in which the protrusion 26 protrudes coincides with the direction in which the molds for molding each part of the interior material 2 are separated, and the portions divided by the diagonal cutting line 13 are the protrusions of the protrusion 26. This means that it is possible to move the mold in the direction of Such obliquely oriented protrusions 26 will further increase the bonding force between the interior material 2 and the exterior material 3.

FIGS. 9 and 10 each show other examples of how the interior material is formed.

FIG. 9 shows that the stage 7 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is
An example formed of only the interior material 2 is shown. Therefore, the lid 6 is positioned on the step 7 realized by the thickness of the interior material 2.

FIG. 10 shows that the interior material 2 may not be formed almost to the upper end of the exterior material 3. That is, the interior material 2 can perform its original function if it is formed to at least extend beyond the liquid level 27 of the electrolytic solution. According to such a configuration, the dimension in the height direction of the interior material 2 can be shortened, and even if this is integrally molded, the molding can be made somewhat easier.

Although the interior material 2 described above is made of polypropylene, it may be made of other olefin resins, such as polyethylene, or a mixture thereof. In addition, reinforcing fiber 1
A typical example of the material 4 is glass fiber, but other fibers such as carbon fiber may also be used. Furthermore, although unsaturated polyester resin was used as the uncured resin, other thermosetting resins and thermoplastic fibers may also be used.

Furthermore, the interior material 2 can also be made of rubber. As the rubber, neoprene rubber or natural rubber is advantageously used. Rubber interior material 2
When constructing a box-shaped interior material 2, two methods are used: one method is to glue sheets of vulcanized rubber to create the box-shaped interior material 2, and the other is to pour unvulcanized rubber into a mold and vulcanize it in this state to create the box-shaped interior material 2. One possible method is to obtain Material 2. In short, the material constituting the interior material 2 is not limited to olefin resin or rubber, but may be any material as long as it has electrolyte resistance.

Furthermore, if the interior material 2 of the storage battery case 1 and the interior material 2 of the lid 6 are positively joined by adhesion or welding, there is no need to worry about the electrolyte leaking, and the liquid tightness can be further improved. can do.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to form a large or ultra-large storage battery case with a small wall thickness. The resulting wall thickness is, for example,
The total thickness of the interior and exterior materials can be approximately 5 to 10 mm. Therefore, a lightweight storage battery container can be obtained, and a storage battery using this can also be made lighter. Furthermore, the interior material achieves electrolyte resistance, and the exterior material increases the rigidity of the storage battery case, so all properties required for a storage battery case are satisfied. Furthermore, it does not require any complicated labor to combine the preformed body made of a collection of reinforcing fibers with the interior material, or to place the preformed body combined with the interior material in this way in a mold. . Therefore, if a desired number of interior materials and preforms are prepared in advance, the subsequent manufacturing process can proceed efficiently and productivity can be increased. Further, since the exterior material of the obtained storage battery case does not have any joints from the side surface to the bottom surface, the strength is particularly increased at the corner portion between the side surface and the bottom surface. Further, since the external shape of the exterior material is given by the female wall surface of the mold, the finish of the exterior surface becomes beautiful. In addition, when forming the exterior material, uncured resin is poured upward from the bottom of the storage battery case with the opening of the storage battery case facing upward in the space filled with the preform. Since the resin is once injected, the exterior material can be formed without allowing air bubbles contained in the preformed body made of a collection of reinforcing fibers to remain in the uncured resin. In addition, when considering the required curing time, storage battery containers made of interior and exterior materials can be manufactured more efficiently and with stable quality compared to storage battery containers that are molded in one piece. It can be done with

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of an example of a storage battery case obtained by implementing the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view along line - of FIG. 1, also showing the lid. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the interior material shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the outer surface of the interior material of FIG. 3 is included in a preformed body made of a set of reinforcing fibers. FIG. 5 is an illustrative cross-sectional view illustrating a method for manufacturing the preform shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a sectional view corresponding to the cross section taken along the line - in FIG. 1, showing the relationship between the mold and its molding space in the uncured resin injection process. 7th
The figure shows a part of FIG. 6 on an enlarged scale. FIG. 8 is a plan view of the interior material showing another example of molding the interior material and another example of forming protrusions. FIGS. 9 and 10 each show other examples of how the interior material is formed. In the figure, 1 is a storage battery container, 2 is an interior material, and 3 is a storage battery container.
1 is an exterior material, 5 is an opening, 14 is a reinforcing fiber, 15 is a preformed body, 18 is a male wall surface, 19 is a female wall surface, 2
0 is male type, 21 and 22 are female type, 23 is space, 25
26 is a nozzle, 26 is a protrusion, and 27 is a wall surface.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An interior material made of an electrolyte-resistant material that defines the inner surface shape of the electrolyte storage portion of a storage battery case having an opening at the top is prepared, and reinforcing fibers having a shape that wraps the outer surface of the interior material are provided. a male wall surface that contacts the inner surface of the interior material;
disposed in a mold defining a female wall surface separated by a predetermined distance from the outer surface of the interior material with the preform sandwiched therebetween, and between the male wall surface and the female wall surface in the mold; Injecting uncured resin upward from the bottom of the storage battery container with the opening of the storage battery container facing upward into the space formed in the space and filled with the preform, Thereby, reinforcing fibers are contained in the uncured resin, the uncured resin is cured, and an exterior material made of a resin that is cured and contains the reinforcing fibers and the interior material in contact with the inner surface of this exterior material. A method for producing a storage battery case, comprising steps of taking out the storage battery case from the mold. 2. The method for manufacturing a storage battery case according to claim 1, wherein the interior material is an olefin resin. 3. Claim 1, wherein the interior material is rubber.
A method for manufacturing a storage battery container as described in . 4. The method for manufacturing a storage battery case according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the reinforcing fibers are glass fibers. 5 Claims 1 to 4 in which an unsaturated polyester resin is used as the uncured resin.
A method for manufacturing a storage battery case according to any of the above. 6. The method for manufacturing a storage battery case according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the mold portion defining the female wall surface is divided into two in the vertical direction of the storage battery case. 7. Claims 1 to 6, wherein a plurality of protrusions are distributed and formed on the outer surface of the interior material.
A method for manufacturing a storage battery case according to any of the above.