BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This patent application pertains to battery testing, and more particularly to a multi-chamber, independent, explosion-proof, fireproof, isolation box in which batteries are placed for testing so that a battery explosion is contained within one chamber without disrupting testing in other chambers within the box. The temperature in each chamber is controlled independently of other chambers within the box.

2. Description of the Related Art

Batteries are being used more and more frequently in people's daily lives. Batteries generally need to be tested before use to determine whether they are up to standard, including voltage internal resistance, capacity, overcharge, over discharge, and short circuit tests. During the tests, the batteries may explode, burn, and even endanger the safety of the workers. Therefore, when testing batteries, protection measures are needed, such as an explosion-proof safety test box. Existing test boxes are generally one large box, and many batteries are placed together in the box. If an abnormality such as an explosion or burning occurs in the testing of the charge and discharge of any individual battery, it will damage adjacent batteries and equipment within the box. In addition, existing test boxes can only regulate the internal temperature of the one single cabinet, and cannot meet the specific environmental temperature required for different types of batteries or different temperature conditions on the same type of batteries. Therefore, the requirements for running tests on batteries in different temperature environments cannot be performed at the same time, which greatly reduces work efficiency. At the same time, the wiring in the existing test boxes is complicated. Each battery holder in the box needs to be connected by a wire or cable, which is inserted through wiring channels on the side walls of the box, and then connected to the battery holders one by one. Connecting the wiring is very cumbersome, and wires can easily get crisscrossed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A battery testing apparatus is provided that includes a box having opposing front and back sides, opposing top and bottom sides, opposing left and right sides and inside dividing walls, where the inside dividing walls and the sides of the box define at least one chamber and preferably at least two chambers. The box preferably includes a skeletal frame, and the front side of the box is generally open. A separate, and preferably hingeless, door, encloses each chamber. A battery testing apparatus is mounted directly or indirectly to each door and received within its respective chamber. The battery testing apparatus preferably includes at least one latch for each door for fastening each door to the box, preferably where each door has an inside wall that defines a front side of its respective chamber and an opposing outside wall, preferably where each battery testing apparatus is attached directly or indirectly to the inside wall of its respective door, preferably where each battery testing apparatus comprises a battery wiring assembly that includes a battery holder, a circuit board, a first terminal for connecting a battery to the circuit board, a second terminal connected to the circuit board and mounted directly or indirectly to the inside wall of its respective door and a socket mounted on or received in the outside wall of its respective door, preferably where the socket is electrically connected to the second terminal and thereby electrically connected to the circuit board and the first terminal, thereby providing an electrical connection between a battery testing machine located outside of the box and a battery received in the battery holder, preferably where the door, the side walls of the box and the inside dividing walls define the respective chamber for the door and are resistant to damage from an explosive event during testing of a battery in the respective chamber, and preferably where an explosive event or a fire in one chamber does not affect another chamber. The battery testing apparatus preferably further includes means for regulating and controlling the temperature in each chamber, preferably where each chamber can be maintained at a separate and different temperature.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an integrated and modular multi-chamber, independent, explosion-proof, fireproof, isolation box capable of performing isolated tests on individual batteries to prevent an explosion in a single independent explosion-proof chamber from affecting batteries being tested in other chambers in the same box. The present invention provides an integrated and modular multi-chamber, independent, explosion-proof, fireproof, isolated temperature control box in which the temperature in each explosion-proof chamber is regulated independently. The present invention also provides an integrated and modular multi-chamber, independent, explosion-proof, fireproof, isolated, cooling-plate box, which provides more efficient temperature control of batteries in each explosion-proof chamber.

The multi-chamber, independent, explosion-proof, fireproof, isolation box includes a box body, within which are multiple independent explosion-proof chambers, and each of the explosion-proof chambers includes an explosion-proof door. A battery wiring assembly is fixed on the inner side wall of each explosion-proof door. A plurality of independent explosion-proof chambers are arranged within the box body, and each explosion-proof chamber is isolated from each other without interference, thereby limiting damage in an unexpected situation that would otherwise result in a chain reaction. The battery wiring assembly can be set up for different models, sizes and types of batteries. By replacing the battery wiring assembly in the explosion-proof chambers, batteries of different sizes, models and types can be tested. The battery wiring assembly and the explosion-proof door are integrated into one body, and the battery in each explosion-proof chamber can be replaced independently without interfering with ongoing tests in other explosion-proof chambers.

Regarding the explosion-proof doors, one may generally think of a door as being hinged or being mounted with hinges, but the doors of the present invention are preferably not hinged. An explosion-proof door and its battery wiring assembly is more like a drawer that slides into a cabinet, where the cabinet has multiple compartments or chambers for receiving multiple drawers. The structure of the box body, the explosion-proof chambers and the explosion-proof doors with battery wiring assemblies can be compared to a kitchen cabinet that has multiple drawers. A kitchen cabinet for several drawers can be described as a cabinet box with several compartments for receiving drawers. A drawer for the kitchen cabinet can be described as including a drawer box and a front panel on one side of the box. The drawer is slid into one of the compartments such that the drawer box is received inside the compartment, and the front panel of the drawer abuts the cabinet box. If a drawer includes a drawer box and a front panel on one side of the box, then in the present invention, the battery wiring assembly can be thought of as the drawer box, and the explosion-proof door can be thought of as the front panel. The box body of the present invention can be thought of as the cabinet box. The explosion-proof chambers can be thought of as the compartments in a kitchen cabinet that receive the drawers.

The box body of the present invention preferably has opposing front and back sides, opposing top and bottom sides, opposing left and right sides and inside dividing walls, where the inside dividing walls and the sides of the box define at least two chambers, and where the front side of the box is generally open. The box body may include two, four, six, eight or more chambers including an odd number of chambers. Each of the explosion-proof chambers preferably has a volume of less than 5 dm 3, and preferably, there are preferably no fewer than two explosion-proof chambers per safety test box, thereby fully utilizing the internal cabinet space of the safety test box. The integrated and modular design also allows for more flexibility and maneuverability.

The battery wiring assembly includes a first connection terminal with a supporting circuit board and a second terminal for connecting an external test line through a socket on the outer side of the explosion-proof door. By arranging the socket of the second terminal on the outer side of the explosion-proof door, it ensures airtightness within the explosion-proof chamber. Furthermore, a sealing strip can be placed along the edge inside of all the explosion-proof doors. Upon closing the door, pressure on the seal completely seals off the explosion-proof chamber, so any battery fire can be quickly extinguished due to the exhaustion of oxygen.

The second terminal is situated on the inner side of the explosion-proof door, and the socket portion of the second terminal is mounted in a window opening on the explosion-proof door. After a battery is installed on the battery wiring assembly, the battery wiring assembly is slid into a chamber until the explosion-proof door closes against the frame around or the front side of the chamber, thereby placing the battery in a sealed chamber. After the battery is inserted into the explosion-proof chamber, a wire or cable can be plugged directly into the second terminal through the socket located on the outer wall of the explosion-proof door, thereby making wiring very convenient and also substantially reducing the probability of wiring errors.

The present invention also provides a multi-chamber, independent, explosion-proof, fireproof, isolated temperature control box. In addition to the test box described above, a temperature adjusting device is separately provided in each explosion-proof chamber so that the temperature in each explosion-proof chamber can be independently controlled, and multiple batteries needing different temperature requirements can be tested at the same time, which greatly improves the efficiency of the battery tests.

Each explosion-proof door is preferably provided with a pressure relief valve. When an explosion occurs in the explosion-proof chamber, the pressure in the explosion-proof chamber is sharply increased, and the pressure relief valve can be used to relieve pressure, thereby effectively reducing the damage caused by the explosion. A left and a right rotary lock are disposed on the explosion-proof door, and each rotary lock includes a main body portion and a rotating locking lever. The main body portion is mounted on the explosion-proof door, and the rotating knob on the main body portion controls the locking mechanism of the rotating locking lever, thereby locking the explosion-proof door.

A sealing and insulating layer is preferably disposed on the inner side of the explosion-proof door to maintain temperature. Vent holes are arranged on the sealing and insulating layer, which are connected to or in fluid communication with the pressure relief valve to allow timely, immediate pressure relief when an explosion occurs. An air deflector is installed in the explosion-proof chamber, which separates the temperature adjusting device and the battery wiring assembly.

In one embodiment, the temperature adjusting device is an air conditioning device, such as a semiconductor refrigeration sheet; and the air deflector is provided with an inlet grille and an outlet grille. A heat exchange port is positioned on the sidewall of the explosion-proof chamber for outward heat exchange of the air conditioning device. A temperature control wiring board is installed in the back of the test box away from the explosion-proof door, preferably vertically on the back side of the box body. The temperature control wiring board is provided with multiple wiring ports, to which the temperature adjusting device is plugged into. To install the temperature adjustment device, one simply removes the explosion-proof door and the battery wiring assembly and then slides the temperature adjustment device into the explosion-proof chamber and plugs it into the corresponding wiring port. In this way, if the temperature adjustment device is damaged, it can be quickly replaced.

In order to improve the compactness and stability of the overall structure, the temperature adjustment device can be configured as a semiconductor refrigeration sheet. In comparison to other forms of temperature adjustment devices, this design can reduce the overall volume, improve space utilization, be easily assembled, and be convenient to carry.

The present invention also discloses a multi-chamber, independent, explosion-proof, fireproof, isolated, cooling-plate box, which is different from the above-mentioned temperature control box in that the temperature regulating device comprises a semiconductor refrigeration sheet, which can be located close to, but away from, the explosion-proof door. The tested battery can directly contact the cooling plate, which can substantially improve the heat exchange efficiency.

In addition, the cooling plate device is preferably fixedly mounted on a side of the battery wiring assembly away from the explosion-proof door, thereby forming a modular fixed structure with the explosion-proof door and the battery wiring assembly. Simultaneously, the cooling plate device is preferably connected to the circuit board; the battery wiring assembly preferably includes a third connection terminal for plugging into a connection port, whereby the cooling plate device is preferably connected to the temperature control wiring board. The modular combined structure of the explosion-proof door, the battery wiring assembly and the cooling plate device is preferably connected to the temperature control wiring board through the third terminal. Furthermore, the third terminal is mounted on the back side of the circuit board away from the explosion-proof door and is located at a position aligned with the wiring port. The modular fixed structure can be directly fed into the explosion-proof chamber, and the third terminal can be directly connected to the wiring port.

The surface on the side of the cooling plate facing the explosion-proof door is preferably an inclined surface, and a heat dissipation grille is preferably disposed on the inclined surface. The lower end of the metal cooling plate is preferably fixed to the circuit board, and the arrangement of the inclined surface increases the heat conduction area, which is more favorable for heat conduction to the horizontal plate of the cooling plate, thereby further improving the heat exchange efficiency.

The cooling plate further includes a horizontal plate extending toward and close to the door. Through this structure, a very effective heat conduction surface can be provided to the battery under test, and the tested battery can be directly in contact with the heat conduction surface to exchange heat directly, which is more efficient than indirect heat exchanged through air as a heat conduction medium through the temperature control box. The heat conduction surface is not limited to flat surfaces. The cooling plate can also be shaped to form a cavity for the tested battery, which increases the surface area through which a battery can directly exchange heat. If an explosion occurs in a single explosion-proof chamber, and the corresponding explosion-proof door, battery wiring assembly and cooling plate device are all damaged, the assembly can be modularly disassembled and replaced. Since the cooling plate is made of a metal material, the explosion inside the explosion-proof chamber can be effectively prevented from affecting the temperature control wiring board on the rear side of the chamber.

Compared with the existing technology, the present invention provides a plurality of independent, small, explosion-proof chambers, which are isolated from each other and independent of each other, which can effectively limit the chain reaction and the expansion of damages in an unexpected situation, limiting loss, and improving safety in battery testing. At the same time, independent temperature control of each explosion-proof chamber greatly improves the testing efficiency of the temperature control box and the cooling box, and the modular structure can also effectively improve recovery from an explosion and wiring efficiency and can reduce wiring errors.

A single-chamber, explosion-proof box that employs the advantages and benefits for battery testing that are disclosed herein is also within the scope of the present invention. One embodiment of the present invention is a battery testing apparatus, comprising: a box having opposing front and back sides, opposing top and bottom sides, opposing left and right sides that define a chamber, where the front side of the box and the chamber is generally open; a door for the chamber, wherein the door abuts or slides into the front side of the box and seals the chamber; a battery testing apparatus mounted directly or indirectly to the door, where the battery testing apparatus is received within the chamber; and a latch for fastening the door to the box and sealing the chamber. The temperature control devices, the electrical connectivity and the modularity described herein can be used to make and use the single-chamber, explosion-proof box.

