Patent Application
20110279219
The present invention relates to a protection element for, in case that an overcurrent or an overvoltage is applied to an electronic device or the like, allowing a soluble conductor to cause a blowout exerted by a heat of such an overcurrent or overvoltage and then to shut off a current.
Conventionally, a protection element which is mounted on a secondary battery device or the like is employed as the one that has a function of preventing an overvoltage as well as an overcurrent. This protection element is formed so that: a heating element and a soluble conductor made of a low-melting metal member are laminated on a board; the soluble conductor is blown out due to an overcurrent; and in case that an overvoltage is generated as well, power is supplied to the heating element in the protection element and then the soluble conductor is blown out due to a heat of the heating element. Blowout of the soluble conductor takes place due to goodness of wettability relative to a connected electrode surface at the time of blowout of the soluble conductor that is a low-melting metal. The low-melting metal that has been blown out is attracted onto an electrode, and as a result, the soluble conductor is broken and then a current is shut off.
On the other hand, with downsizing of an electronic device, such as a portable device, in recent years, a protection element of this type has been needed to be downsized or reduced in thickness; and there has been a further demand for operational stability and fastness. As a means therefor, there is provided the one in which a soluble conductor of a low-melting metal member is disposed on an insulation board; the disposed soluble conductor is sealed with an insulation cover; and a flux is coated onto the soluble conductor. This flux is adapted to prevent oxidization of a surface of the soluble conductor, and is provided so that the soluble conductor blows out speedily and stably at the time of heating the soluble conductor.
Such a protection element has a structure shown in
In addition, a protection element having a soluble conductor which is sealed with an insulation cover has a structure disclosed in Patent Document 1. In this protection element, a space in which a fused metal gathers on an element at the time of blowout of the soluble conductor is small due to reduction in thickness, and thus, in order to ensure drawing of the fused metal into each electrode portion, a metal pattern with its good wettability relative to the fused metal is provided at a site which is face-to-face opposite to each electrode on an interior face of the insulation cover so that the fused metal is speedily drawn into each electrode forming portion.
Moreover, as disclosed in Patent Document 2, there is proposed the one in which: a flux is coated onto a soluble alloy piece in order to prevent a difference in operation temperature; and a belt member of groove or glass for preventing wetting and spreading of a fused alloy is provided at the periphery of an electrode to which a soluble alloy is connected.
In the aforementioned one shown in
That is, as shown in
Further, as in the invention set forth in Patent Document 1, in a structure in which a metal pattern is formed on an insulation cover, or alternatively, as in the invention set forth in Patent Document 2, in a structure in which a groove or a belt member is provided at the periphery of an electrode, a flux on a soluble conductor cannot be stably retained. Moreover, in a method of forming a metal pattern on an insulation cover, in the structure disclosed in Patent Document 1, there is a need to print the metal pattern after molding the insulation cover, and then, material costs increase. Similarly, in the structure disclosed in Patent Document 2 as well, a belt member of groove or glass must be provided for preventing spread wetting of a fused alloy at the periphery of an electrode to which a soluble alloy has been connected, which increases in cost. In addition, in the structure of Patent Document 1, when an insulation cover side causes a thermal deformation or the like, a distance from the insulation cover becomes shorter, whereby the metal pattern of the insulation cover and the electrode may be shorted.
Moreover, while it is essential to stably retain a position of the flux 9 at a center part as described above, there has been a demand to check to see if the flux 9 stays at the center part or if the flux per se is coated, since its internal state cannot be identified after the insulation cover 4 has been put.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described background art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a protection element which is capable of stably retaining a flux provided on a soluble conductor at a predetermined position and is capable of checking a retention state of the flux, enabling a speedy blowout of the soluble conductor in the event of an abnormality.
The present invention is directed to a protection element including: a soluble conductor which is disposed on an insulation baseboard and is connected to an electric power supply path of a device targeted to be protected, to cause a blowout by means of a predetermined abnormal electric power; an insulation cover which is mounted on the baseboard with the soluble conductor being covered via a predetermined space; and a flux which is coated onto a surface of the soluble conductor and is positioned in the space, the protection element being adapted for, in case that the abnormal electric power is supplied to the device targeted to be protected, allowing the soluble conductor to blow out and shut off a current path thereof, wherein: an opening portion made of a through hole is formed at the insulation cover in opposite to the soluble conductor; the flux comes into contact with a peripheral edge part of the opening portion; and the flux is provided on the soluble conductor so as to be retainable at a predetermined position in the space.
The opening portion is made of an opening portion of a large diameter, which is formed at a center part of the insulation cover and is formed in face-to-face opposite to a center part of the soluble conductor. Further, the opening portion may be coated with a transparent film.
In addition, the opening portion may be formed in plurality at the insulation cover. Further, a plurality of the opening portions may be coated with a transparent film.
According to a protection element of the present invention, an opening portion is provided at an insulation cover, thus enabling a flux to be retained reliably stably at a peripheral edge part of the opening portion. In this manner, in particular, in a case where a flux with its low degree of activity (such as a halogen-free flux) is used, it is possible to prevent uneven distribution of the degree of activity due to bias of the retention state after coating the flux, and in blowout operation of a soluble conductor, in particular, in heat generation operation characteristics of low electric power, an operational distortion can be remarkably reduced. Moreover, by employing the halogen-free flux, it becomes possible to provide a protection element with its small environmental burden. In addition, the opening portion is provided at the insulation cover, thereby making it possible to visually check the flux for internal appearance.
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of a protection element of the present invention will be described with reference to
Here, as a material for the baseboard 11, any kind of material may be employed as long as it has an insulation property, and for example, an insulation board employed for a printed wiring board, such as a ceramic board or a glass epoxy board, is preferable. Moreover, a glass board, a resin board, an insulation processing metal board or the like can be employed according to its appropriate usage, whereas a ceramic board with its superior heat resistance and its good thermal conductivity is further preferable.
As the electrodes 12, 21 and the conductor layer 17, there can be used a metal foil such as copper or a conductor material whose surface is plated with Ag—Pt, Au, or the like. In addition, there may be employed: a conductor layer or an electrode obtained by coating and firing an electrically conductive paste, such as an Ag paste; or alternatively, a metal thin-film structure obtained by evaporation or the like.
As a low-melting metal for the soluble conductor 13, any kind of material can be employed as long as it is fused at a predetermined electric power, and as a material for fuse, a variety of low-melting metals which are publicly known can be used. For example, a BiSnPb alloy, a BiPbSn alloy, a BiPb alloy, a BiSn alloy, a SnPb alloy, a SnAg alloy, a PbIn alloy, a ZnAl alloy, an InSn alloy, a PbAgSn alloy or the like can be employed.
A resistor forming the heating element 15 is obtained by coating and firing a resistance paste made of an electrically conductive material such as ruthenium oxide or carbon black and an inorganic binder such as glass or an organic binder such as thermosetting resin. In addition, this resistor may be formed by printing and firing a thin film of ruthenium oxide or carbon black or by means of plating, evaporation, or sputtering, or alternatively, may be formed by attaching or laminating a film of these resistor materials, for example.
The insulation cover 14 that is mounted on the baseboard 11 is formed in a box shape which opens at one side face part, and is put on the baseboard 11 with a predetermined space 18 being formed relative to the soluble conductor 13. On the insulation cover 14, a concentrically circular opening portion 20 is formed at a position which is opposite to a center part of the soluble conductor 13. The opening portion 20 is formed so that a projection position for the baseboard 11 surrounds a center part of the heating element 15.
As a material for the insulation cover 14, any kind of insulation material may be employed as long as it has heat resistance which is resistive to a heat at the time of blowout of the soluble conductor 13, the insulation material having a mechanical strength which is suitable for the protection element 10. A variety of materials such as board materials employed for printed wiring boards, such as glass, ceramics, plastics, or glass epoxy resin, for example, can be applied. Further, an insulation layer such as an insulation resin may be formed on a face which is face-to-face opposite to the baseboard 11, by employing a metal plate. Preferably, a material with its mechanical strength and its high insulation property like ceramics is preferable, since it contributes to thickness reduction of the entire protection element as well.
On an entire surface of the soluble conductor 13, a flux 19 is provided in order to prevent oxidization of the surface. As the flux 19, a halogen-free flux which does not have a halogen element such as boron is preferable. The flux 19 is retained on the soluble conductor 13 by means of surface tension, and is housed in the space 18; and as shown in
Next, as an example of employing the protection element 10 of the embodiment in an electronic device, an overcurrent or overvoltage protection circuit 26 of a secondary battery device will be described with reference to
Electrode terminals of a secondary battery 23 which is a device targeted to be protected, such as a lithium ion battery, for example, are connected between the output terminals A1 and A2, and electrode terminals of a device such as a battery charger, although not shown, which is to be used to be connected to the secondary battery 23, are connected to the input terminals B1 and B1.
Next, a protection operation of the protection element 10 of the embodiment will be described. In a secondary battery device such as a lithium ion battery; on which the overcurrent or overvoltage protection circuit 26 of the embodiment has been mounted, if an abnormal voltage is applied to the output terminals A1 and A2 at the time of power charging thereof, an inversed voltage which is equal to or greater than a breakdown voltage is applied to the Zener diode ZD at a predetermined voltage which is set to be abnormal, and then, the Zener diode ZD is made conductive. By making the Zener diode ZD conductive, a base current ib flows into a base of a transistor TR, whereby a transistor Tr is turned on, a collector current is flows into the heating element 15, and then, the heating element 15 generates a heat. This heat is transmitted to the soluble conductor 13 of a low-melting metal on the heating element 15, the soluble conductor 13 blows out, and then, an electric conduction between the input terminal B1 and the output terminal A1 is shut off, preventing an overvoltage from being applied to the output terminals A1 and A2.
At this time, the flux 19 is retained at the center part of the soluble conductor 13, and blows out speedily and reliably at a predetermined blowout position. In addition, in case that an abnormal current flows toward the output terminal A1 as well, the soluble conductor 13 is set so as to generate a heat and then blow out due to the current.
According to the protection element 10 of the embodiment, the opening portion 20 is provided at the insulation cover 14, making it possible to check to see if the flux 19 reliably stays at a center part through the opening portion 20. Further, the flux 19 is retained at a peripheral edge part of the opening portion 20, enabling the flux 19 to be stably retained at a predetermined position of the center part of the soluble conductor 13. In this manner, in particular, in a case where a flux 19 such as a halogen-free flux with its low degree of activity is used as well, unstableness of the flux action due to bias or distortion of a coating state of the flux 19 can be prevented, ensuring blowout of the soluble conductor 13.
Next, a second embodiment of a protection element of the present invention will be described with reference to
The opening portions 22 may be formed at the periphery of the opening portion 20 of its larger diameter, according to the first embodiment, which is formed at the center part of the insulation cover 14.
By means of the protection element 10 of the embodiment as well, like the above-described embodiment, the flux 19 is reliably retained at a predetermined position, ensuring blowout operation of the soluble conductor 13. Further, a retention state of the flux 19 can be visually checked by naked eyes through the opening portions 22, enabling easy and reliable product check.
Next, a third embodiment of a protection element of the present invention will be described with reference to
By means of the protection element 10 of these embodiments as well, in addition to the advantageous effects that are similar to those of the above-described embodiments, the retention state of the flux 19 can be visually checked by naked eyes, and moreover, the film 24 serves to prevent dust or the like from adhering to the flux 19 through the opening portions 20, 22 or from entry into the protection element.
The protection element of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and an opening portion as a through hole may be provided at an insulation cover, irrespective of any shape or number thereof. As a material for the flux or insulation cover, any kind of material can be selected as long as it functions properly.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-011198 | Jan 2009 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2010/050336 | 1/14/2010 | WO | 00 | 7/20/2011 |
