Battery Electrolyte Supply Device Sealing Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing plants for electrochemical battery formation, particularly for lead-acid batteries, face challenges in reducing labor times for positioning and removing supply devices, adapting to different battery models, ensuring optimal sealing, and maintaining efficiency during the electrochemical formation process.
Innovation Solution
A plant with a supply device featuring a tubular body with a grip portion and an end portion that can be easily inserted and removed, equipped with an abutment element, pressure element, and elastically deformable sealing elements, allowing for quick and secure attachment to battery openings regardless of thread size and depth, and a lever mechanism for compressing the sealing elements to ensure a reliable seal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional supply devices with separate ring nuts and tubular bodies are used, then the devices can be removed and replaced with caps, but the positioning and removal operations become complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the ring nut and tubular body into a single integrated supply device. The tubular body is directly formed with external threading on its outer surface, eliminating the need for a separate ring nut component. This integration allows the entire device to be positioned and removed as one unit, significantly simplifying operations and reducing labor time compared to the conventional two-component system that required sequential assembly and disassembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated supply device serves multiple functions: it provides structural support, creates sealing engagement with the battery cover opening, and enables electrolyte solution circulation. The external threading on the tubular body itself provides both the mounting function (replacing the ring nut) and the connection function (replacing the tubular body), making the device universally applicable without requiring model-specific ring nuts for different battery types.
2Adaptability or versatility
If supply devices are designed for specific battery models with dedicated threads, then optimal sealing is achieved, but the devices cannot be used for different battery models
Solution Approach 1:
The supply device features external threading directly formed on the tubular body, allowing it to be adapted to different battery models by selecting appropriate threading parameters during manufacturing. This universal design enables a single device structure to serve multiple battery types while maintaining reliable sealing through the elastic deformable sealing elements that can accommodate variations in opening dimensions and thread characteristics across different models.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs elastic deformable sealing elements that can change their physical parameters (shape, size) in response to compression forces. When the supply device is screwed into the battery cover opening, the sealing elements deform elastically to conform to the specific geometry of that opening, ensuring optimal sealing for each battery model regardless of thread size or depth variations. This parameter adaptation maintains sealing reliability across different battery types.
3Productivity
If high currents are used during electrochemical formation, then charge time is reduced, but temperature of electrodes and electrolyte increases
Solution Approach 1:
The supply device enables continuous circulation of electrolyte solution through the battery cells during the electrochemical formation process. By maintaining constant fluid flow, the system continuously removes heat generated by high current charging, allowing sustained high-current operation without temperature buildup. This continuous action permits productive high-current charging while preventing thermal damage to the active material.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution significantly reduces labor times for device positioning and removal, ensures adaptability to various battery models, maintains optimal sealing, and facilitates easy maintenance while ensuring efficient electrolyte solution circulation and temperature control during the electrochemical formation process.
Implementation Method 1
detti elásticamente deformabili, disposti in modo da ottenere, quando compressi dall'elemento di pressione, una dilatazione perimetrica e di aderire al coperchio per guarnigione
Implementation Method 2
in which its temperature characteristics are controlled with a heat exchanger
Implementation Method 3
the electrolyte solution is made to circulate in an external circuit, in which its temperature characteristics are controlled
Data Source
AI summary
Plant for the electrochemical formation of batteries, which comprises means (7) for feeding an electrolyte solution to battery cells (2), return means (8) for extracting the electrolyte solution from the cells and a plurality of devices (9) for supplying the electrolyte solution to the cells of the batteries (2). Each of the supply devices (9) is provided with: -a tubular body (10), having preferred extension along a longitudinal direction (X) and comprising an end portion (11) adapted to be inserted in an opening (4) of the cover (3) of one of the batteries (2); -an abutment element (20) fixed to the end portion (11) of the tubular body (10) and having an annular abutment face (24) being extended around said end portion (11); -a pressure element (21) mounted on the end portion (11) of the tubular body (10), and having an annular pressure face (25) facing the abutment face (24) of said abutment element (20) and being extended around said end portion (11);-at least one elastically deformable sealing element (22), mounted perimetrically on the end portion (11), interposed between the annular abutment face (24) and the annular pressure face (25). The pressure element (21) is movable with respect to the tubular body (10) between a compression position, in which it causes the compression of the sealing element (22) and its perimeter expansion via elastic deformation, and a rest position. The device also comprises a lever (23) constrained to the tubular body (10) and actuatable to act on the pressure element (21) in order to move it between the rest position and the compression position. The sealing element (22) is susceptible to obtain a seal between the tubular body (10) and the cover (3) when the end portion (11) of the tubular body (10) is inserted in an opening (4) of the cover (3).