INSULATION FAILURE INSPECTING APPARATUS, INSULATION FAILURE INSPECTING METHOD USING SAME, AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL

• US 20120186071A1
• Filed: 09/29/2010
• Published: 07/26/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dai Nippon Printing Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Dai Nippon Printing Company Limited
• Inventors: Yamashita, Takanori, Okushita, Masataka, Akita, Hirohisa, Akiyama, Noboru
• Granted Patent: US 9,076,601 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 29/593
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/12 Testing dielectric strength or breakdown voltage ; Testing or monitoring effectiveness or level of insulation, e.g. of a cable or of an apparatus, for example using partial discharge measurements; Electrostatic testing G01R31/08, G01R31/327 and G01R31/72 take precedence; measuring in plasmas G01R19/0061; measuring dielectric constants G01R27/2617; ESD, EMC or EMP testing of circuits G01R31/002
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/1263 of solid or fluid materials, e.g. insulation films, bulk material; of semiconductors or LV electronic components or parts; of cable, line or wire insulation
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/3865 related to manufacture, e.g. testing after manufacture
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/52 Testing for short-circuits, leakage current or ground faults
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 11/06 with one of the electrodes allowing ions to be reversibly doped thereinto, e.g. lithium ion capacitors [LIC]
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 11/14 Arrangements or processes for adjusting or protecting hybrid or EDL capacitors emergency protective circuit arrangements specially adapted for capacitors, and effecting automatic switching in the event of an undesired change from normal working conditions H02H7/16; emergency protective circuit arrangements for limiting excess current or voltages without disconnection H02H9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 11/20 Reformation or processes for removal of impurities, e.g. scavenging
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 11/80 Gaskets; Sealings
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 11/82 Fixing or assembling a capacitive element in a housing, e.g. mounting electrodes, current collectors or terminals in containers or encapsulations
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/0525 Rocking-chair batteries, i.e. batteries with lithium insertion or intercalation in both electrodes; Lithium-ion batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/058 Construction or manufacture
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/48 Accumulators combined with arrangements for measuring, testing or indicating the condition of cells, e.g. the level or density of the electrolyte constructional details of current conducting connections for detecting conditions inside cells or batteries, e.g. details of voltage sensing terminals, H01M50/569
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/13 Energy storage using capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 70/50 Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49004 including measuring or testing of device or component part

Abstract

Disclosed is a method for manufacturing an electrochemical cell, wherein an insulation failure product can be accurately rejected, and an electrochemical cell can be used again after the insulation failure inspection. In the method for manufacturing the electrochemical cell (1), which is configured by hermetically housing an electrochemical cell main body (20) such that the leading end of a metal terminal (21) protrudes to the outside of the outer housing (10), an impulse voltage is applied between the metal terminal (21) and a metal foil layer (12), the waveform of the voltage applied to the capacitance between the metal terminal (21) and the metal foil layer (12) is measured, and the insulation failure inspection step is performed.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing an electrochemical cell in which an electrochemical cell main body including a positive electrode composed of a positive electrode active material and a positive electrode current collector, a negative electrode composed of a negative electrode active material and a negative electrode current collector, and an electrolyte filled between the positive electrode and the negative electrode is hermetically housed in an outer packaging body formed by sequentially laminating at least a metal foil layer and a heat-sealable resin layer so that a tip end of a metal terminal that is connected to each of the positive electrode and the negative electrode protrudes to an outside, the method comprising:

an insulation failure inspecting step in which an impulse voltage is applied between the metal terminal and the metal foil layer, and a waveform of a voltage applied to a capacitance between the metal terminal and the metal foil layer is measured.

2. The method for manufacturing an electrochemical cell according to claim 1, wherein

the insulation failure inspecting step is performed after the metal terminal is held in a sandwiched manner by the outer packaging body and a holding portion where the metal terminal is held is heat-sealed and before the electrolyte is filled in the outer packaging body.

3. The method for manufacturing an electrochemical cell according to claim 1, wherein

the insulation failure inspecting step is performed after the electrolyte is filled in the outer packaging body.

4. The method for manufacturing an electrochemical cell according to claims 1, wherein

the insulation failure inspecting step is performed by measuring a value of a hold voltage held by the capacitance between the metal terminal and the metal foil layer immediately after the voltage application is halted and a value of the hold voltage held by the capacitance between the metal terminal and the metal foil layer after a lapse of a predetermined time from the halt of the voltage application.

5. The method for manufacturing an electrochemical cell according to claim 1, wherein

a voltage of 10 V or lower is used as a voltage to be applied between the metal terminal and the metal foil layer.

6. The method for manufacturing an electrochemical cell according to claim 1, wherein

in a heat-sealing step in which a peripheral edge portion of the outer packaging body is heat-sealed so that the mutually opposed heat-sealable resin layers are bonded to each other, a margin region not to be heat-sealed is left unsealed on an outer peripheral side relative to a heat-sealing region, and

in the insulation failure inspecting step, an impulse voltage is applied between a portion of the metal foil layer lying in the margin region and the metal terminal.

7. An insulation failure inspecting apparatus, comprising:

a voltage generation unit that applies an impulse voltage to a subject of measurement; and

a voltage measurement unit that measures a variation with time of a voltage held by the subject of measurement.

8. The insulation failure inspecting apparatus according to claim 7, wherein

the voltage generation unit applies a voltage of 10 V or lower.

9. The insulation failure inspecting apparatus according to claim 8, wherein

a connection terminal that connects the insulation failure inspecting apparatus to a subject of measurement has a holding portion for holding the subject of measurement in a sandwiching manner, and

the holding portion has a sharp-shaped portion that bites into the subject of measurement through a base layer formed on a surface of the subject of measurement.

10. An insulation failure inspecting method using the insulation failure inspecting apparatus according to claim 8, comprising:

with respect to an electrochemical cell in which an electrochemical cell main body including a positive electrode composed of a positive electrode active material and a positive electrode current collector, a negative electrode composed of a negative electrode active material and a negative electrode current collector, and an electrolyte filled between the positive electrode and the negative electrode is hermetically housed in an outer packaging body formed by sequentially laminating at least a metal foil layer and a heat-sealable resin layer so that a tip end of a metal terminal that is connected to each of the positive electrode and the negative electrode protrudes to an outside,

applying an impulse voltage between the metal terminal and the metal foil layer, and

measuring a value of a hold voltage held by a capacitance between the metal terminal and the metal foil layer immediately after the voltage application is halted and a value of the hold voltage held by the capacitance between the metal terminal and the metal foil layer after a lapse of a predetermined time from the halt of the voltage application.