Battery terminal inspection apparatus, inspection method, and cylindrical dry battery

• US 8,040,109 B2
• Filed: 06/23/2006
• Issued: 10/18/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: FDK Energy Company Limited (Fujitsu Limited)
• Original Assignee: FDK Energy Company Limited (Fujitsu Limited)
• Inventors: Yamazaki, Tatsuya, Tsuchida, Yuji, Kuniya, Shigeyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, SANG H
• Application Number:
  US12/223,220
• Publication Number:
  US 20100103423A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,943 Days
• Field of Search: 356/402, 356/445, 320/112, 320/137, 320/132, 250/370.13, 250/370.14, 324/426, 324/132, 324/427, 324/430, 429/180, 429/181, 429/100
• US Class Current: 320/137
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/57 Measuring gloss
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/548 on opposite sides of the cell
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 6/08 with cup-shaped electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 6/5083 Testing apparatus

Abstract

Poor contact on a terminal face that is likely to especially occur with a dry battery with low electromotive force can be appropriately inspected and suppressed. Moreover, the inspection can be highly efficiently performed in a non-contacting state. Also, a cylindrical dry battery in which the poor contact on the terminal face is certainly suppressed is provided. An apparatus 50 that inspects an electric contact at an outer surface of a positive terminal 12 and a negative terminal 32 of a dry battery 10, includes: a light-emitting section 51 that makes a light incident on a part to be measured on a terminal face of the battery; a light-receiving section 52 that detects a reflection state of the light from the part to be measured, and a measurement processing section 55 that quantifies gloss level of the part to be measured based on detection with the light-receiving section 52, wherein evaluation data of the electric contact is obtained with measurement values of the gloss level.

Claims

1. A battery terminal inspection apparatus that inspects a contact failure at an outer surface of a positive terminal and a negative terminal of a dry battery, comprising:

a light-emitting section that makes a light incident on a part to be measured of the outer surface;

a light-receiving section that detects a reflection state of the light from the part to be measured; and

a measurement processing section that digitizes the reflection state of the light from the part to be measured based on detection with the light-receiving section,

wherein evaluation data of the contact failure is obtained with measurement values of the reflection state of the light.

2. A battery terminal inspection apparatus, wherein

according to claim 1, gloss level, as the reflection state of the light from the part to be measured, is measured with a received light quantity of a reflected light and the evaluation data of the contact failure is obtained with the measured received light quantity.

3. A battery terminal inspection method, wherein

regarding a positive terminal and a negative terminal of a dry battery, an increase of contact resistance due to an oxide film generated on the outer surface thereof or dirt of adherents such as oil is inspected using an apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.

4. A battery terminal inspection method, wherein a received light quantity of the reflected light is measured in the following measurement conditions, by using a digital color differentiation sensor as an apparatus according to claim 1 or 2

[Measurement Conditions]

Colors of light source:

red LED, green LED, blue LED

Sensor type;

red LED, green LED, blue LED light source reflecting type photoelectric sensor attached with amplifier

Distance from a sensor heard to a sample;

20 mm

Angle;

at right angles to the sensor head

Measuring spot diameter;

3.5 mm

Measurement time;

0.5-1 minute

Standard color face setting;

the received light quantity is 300 on a specular surface

Measurement condition;

still.

5. A cylindrical dry battery, wherein an average received light quantity at an outer surface of a positive terminal and a negative terminal is within a range of 20-60 by the received light quantity (300 in a specular surface) that is to be measured with the inspection method according to claim 4.