Battery

Abstract

A battery is adapted such that a nickel hydroxide particle group constituted of a number of nickel hydroxide particles filled in a void part of a positive electrode substrate contains, at a ratio of 15 wt % or less, small-diameter nickel hydroxide particles each having a particle diameter of 5 μm or less. The positive electrode substrate is configured such that a front-surface-side nickel layer and a back-surface-side nickel layer are made larger in thickness than a middle nickel layer, and an average thickness B of either the front-surface-side nickel layer or the back-surface-side nickel layer, which is thicker one, and an average thickness C of the middle nickel layer satisfy a relation of C/B≧0.6.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification illustrate an embodiment of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the objects, advantages and principles of the invention.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a front view of a battery in an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a right side view of the battery of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the battery of FIG. 1, taken along a line A-A in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of an electrode plate assembly of the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of part of the electrode plate assembly, circled with a dotted line B in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of part of a positive electrode plate of the embodiment;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view of part of a middle nickel layer of the positive electrode substrate in the embodiment;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view of part of a back-surface-side nickel layer of the positive electrode substrate in the embodiment;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view of part of a negative electrode plate of the embodiment;

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view for describing a method of manufacturing the positive electrode substrate of the embodiment;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged sectional view of part of a nickel-coated urethane substrate of the embodiment;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged sectional view of part of the positive electrode substrate of the embodiment;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged sectional view of part of the front-surface-side nickel layer of the positive electrode substrate (before compression) of the embodiment;

FIG. 14 is an enlarged sectional view of part of the back-surface-side nickel layer of the positive electrode substrate (before compression) of the embodiment; and

FIG. 15 is an explanatory view for describing a method of manufacturing the negative electrode plate of the embodiment.

Claims

1. A battery comprising a positive electrode plate including: a positive electrode substrate made of nickel and including a nickel skeleton of a three-dimensional network structure having a void part formed of a number of pores three-dimensionally connected, the positive electrode substrate having a front surface and a back surface, anda nickel hydroxide particle group including a number of nickel hydroxide particles filled in the void part of the positive electrode substrate;wherein the nickel hydroxide particle group includes, at a ratio of 15 wt % or less, nickel hydroxide particles each having a particle diameter of 5 μm or less, andthe positive electrode substrate is configured such that, assuming that the positive electrode substrate is divided into five regions in a thickness direction, a region closest to a positive-electrode-substrate front surface is a front-surface-side nickel portion, a region closest to a positive-electrode-substrate back surface is a back-surface-side nickel portion, and a middle region is a middle nickel portion,the front-surface-side nickel layer forming the nickel skeleton constituting the front-surface-side nickel portion and the back-surface-side nickel layer forming the nickel skeleton constituting the back-surface-side nickel portion are larger in thickness than the middle nickel layer forming the nickel skeleton constituting the middle nickel portion, andan average thickness B of either the front-surface-side nickel layer or the back-surface-side nickel layer, which is thicker one, and an average thickness C of the middle nickel layer satisfy a relation of C/B≧0.6.

2. The battery according to claim 1, wherein each of the nickel hydroxide particles contains magnesium in a solid solution state in a crystal of the nickel hydroxide particle.