Container for the storage and/or transport of batteries and the use of such a container

Abstract

Container for the transport or storage of batteries, the container having an internal storage space having a volume, the container comprising walls surrounding the storage space on all sides, the container having a lid to close the storage space, wherein, in a state wherein the storage space is closed by the lid, the lid constitutes a top wall of the storage space, wherein one or more of said walls are provided with one or more openings for venting -gas under pressure from the storage space to the outside air, the one or more openings having a total surface area of at least 1.0 square centimeter per liter volume of the storage space, wherein a layer of flame-retardant material extends over the one or more openings, the flame-retardant material being made of steel fibers or mineral fibers.

Claims

1. A container for one or both of the transport or the storage of batteries, the container having an internal storage space, the storage space having a volume, the container comprising walls surrounding the storage space on all sides, the container having a lid to close the storage space, wherein, in a state wherein the storage space is closed by the lid, the lid constitutes a top wall of the storage space, wherein one or more of said walls are provided with one or more openings for venting -gas under pressure from the storage space to the outside air, the one or more openings having a total area of at least 1.0 square centimeter per volume of the storage space, wherein a layer of flame-retardant material extends over the one or more openings, the flame-retardant material being made of steel fibers or mineral fibers.

2. The container of claim 1, wherein the layer of flame-retardant material has a mass that is at least 0.75 grams per liter of volume of the storage space.

3. The container of to claim 1, wherein the flame-retardant material is a mineral wool or a steel wool or is a textile made of steel fibers or mineral fibers.

4. The container of claim 1, wherein the flame-retardant material has a porosity of at least 50% by volume.

5. The container of claim 1, wherein one or more of said openings are grouped into one or more groups, the layer of flame-retardant material being a common layer extending over said openings in a group, wherein at least 15% of the surface area of the wall at the location of a said group consists of said openings.

6. The container of claim 1, wherein the respective one or more walls at the location of the one or more openings is multi-layered with at least three layers, wherein a first layer and a second layer are both provided with said one or more openings, wherein a third layer is formed by the layer of flame-retardant material, wherein the layer of flame-retardant material is arranged between the first layer and the second layer.

7. The container of claim 1, wherein the container is designed to withstand an internal pressure of at least 15,000 Pa above atmospheric pressure.

8. The container of claim 1, wherein the one or more openings are provided in the lid, the lid being provided with an upright ridge which surrounds said openings in the lid.

9. The container of claim 1, wherein the lid comprises a lid body in which the one or more openings are provided, and comprises a cover plate spaced apart from the lid body above the one or more openings.

10. The container of claim 9, wherein one or more passages are provided between the lid body and the cover plate at least a part of the edges of the cover plate.

11. The container of claim 10, wherein the total area of the passages is greater than the total area of said one or more openings.

12. The container of claim 1, wherein the lid is provided with a seal for sealing a gap between the lid and the remainder of the container, wherein the seal is made of a fire-resistant sealing cord.

13. The container of claim 1, wherein the volume of the storage space is 10 liters or more.

14. The container of claim 1, wherein the steel fibers or mineral fibers have an average diameter which is at most 0.5 mm.

15. The container of claim 1, wherein the one or more openings have an individual area ranging between 0.04 cm.sup.2 and 9 cm.sup.2.

16. Use, for the storage or transport of batteries, of a container, the container having an internal storage space, the storage space having a volume, the container comprising walls surrounding the storage space on all sides, the container having a lid to close the storage space, wherein, in a state wherein the storage space is closed by the lid, the lid constitutes a top wall of the storage space, wherein one or more of said walls are provided with one or more openings for venting -gas under pressure from the storage space to the outside air, the one or more openings having a total surface area of at least 1.0 square centimeter per liter volume of the storage space.

17. The use according to claim 16, wherein the container comprises walls surrounding the storage space on all sides, the container having a lid to close the storage space, wherein, in a state wherein the storage space is closed by the lid, the lid constitutes a top wall of the storage space, and wherein one or more of said walls are provided with one or more openings for venting gas under pressure from the storage space to the outside air.

18. A method for storing or transporting batteries, wherein a container of claim 1 is used, wherein batteries are placed for transport or storage in said internal storage space.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the container comprises walls surrounding the storage space on all sides, the container having a lid to close the storage space, wherein, in a state wherein the storage space is closed by the lid, the lid constitutes a top wall of the storage space, wherein one or more of said walls are provided with one or more openings for venting gas under pressure from the storage space to the outside air, wherein the respective one or more walls at a location of the one or more openings is multi-layered with at least three layers, wherein a first layer and a second layer are both provided with said one or more openings, and wherein a third layer is formed of flame-retardant material, in which the layer of flame-retardant material is arranged between the first layer and the second layer.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the container comprising walls surrounding the storage space on all sides, the container having a lid to close the storage space, wherein, in a state wherein the storage space is closed by the lid, the lid constitutes a top wall of the storage space, wherein one or more of said walls are provided with one or more openings for venting gas under pressure from the storage space to the outside air, and wherein the lid comprises a lid body in which the one or more openings are provided, and comprises a cover plate spaced apart from the lid body above the one or more openings.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0047] In order to clarify the invention, a preferred embodiment of a container according to the invention is described below, with reference to the following figures, wherein

[0048] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a container according to the invention;

[0049] FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a component of the container of FIG. 1;

[0050] FIG. 3 shows the same component as FIG. 3, with a part cut away;

[0051] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the component of FIG. 2; and

[0052] FIG. 5 shows a part of a portion of the component of FIGS. 2 to 4 in a plan view and on a larger scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0053] The container 1 of FIG. 1 is a so-called ASP container. The container 1 mainly consists of a base part 2 and a lid 3. The container 1 is made of galvanised steel, with the exception of the components indicated below as being made of a different material.

[0054] The base part 2 has four closed side walls 4 and a closed bottom wall, of which two closed side walls 4 are visible in the figure, and has an internal storage space defined by the side walls 4 and the bottom wall. The storage space has a volume of approximately 520 L.

[0055] The base part 2 is provided on its bottom side with a chassis 5 with legs 6 and with spaces 7 to provide access for the forks of a forklift truck. The base part 2 is provided on its top side with guides 8 in order to provide space for the legs 6 of another identical container 1 such that the containers 1 can be stacked.

[0056] The lid 3 is hingedly connected to the base part 2 by means of hinges 9, such that the lid 3 can open and close, and is provided with locks 10 to lock the lid 3 in a closed state, as shown in FIG. 1.

[0057] The lid 3 is shown in more detail in FIGS. 2 to 5.

[0058] The lid 3 mainly consists of a lid body 11 and a cover plate 12 which is mounted on top of the lid body 11. In said closed state, the lid body 11 forms the top wall of the storage space.

[0059] The lid body 11 is provided on its bottom side with a groove 13 which provides space for a seal. The seal is formed by a length of fire-resistant sealing cord 14 which can withstand a temperature of 750° C., the ends of which are joined together to form a closed ring.

[0060] In the lid body 11, two rectangular recesses 15 are provided, each having a width B of 362 mm and a length L of 605 mm.

[0061] In each of the recesses 15, a multi-layer structure is provided, consisting of a perforated lower steel plate 16 of 2.5 mm thickness, a layer of steel wool 17 with a thickness of 10 mm, made of stainless steel i.e. inox, and a perforated upper steel plate 18 of 2.5 mm thick. The lower steel plate 16 and the upper steel plate 18 form partial walls of the lid body 11, which provide mechanical strength to the lid body 11 and which keep the layer of steel wool 17 in the desired position.

[0062] The lower steel plate 16 and the upper steel plate 18 are provided over their entire surface area with a regular pattern of openings 19, the openings 19 being square with a side Z of 10 mm and spaced apart by a distance A of 4 mm, with other words, have partition walls with a width of 4 mm.

[0063] Therefore, the lower steel plate 16 and the upper steel plate 18 have a permeability of 51%, which corresponds to (10 mm/(10+4) mm).sup.2′

[0064] The structure of the openings 19 is shown in FIG. 5.

[0065] When the lid 3 is closed, the openings 19 in the lower steel plate 16 are located exactly below the openings 19 in the upper steel plate 18.

[0066] The openings 19 have a total passage area of 2*362 mm*605 mm*51%, which corresponds to 2234 cm.sup.2.

[0067] The steel wool is made of fibers with an average diameter of 30 μm. The layer of steel wool 17 has a mass of 1,200 g/m.sup.2 at the mentioned thickness of 10 mm, and a free volume between the fibers of 98.5 volume %. The total mass of steel wool was 526 grams.

[0068] An upright ridge 20 with a height of 2 cm is arranged on three sides around each of the recesses 15.

[0069] The cover plate 12 is shaped like a truncated pyramid with a very low height. The cover plate 12 has a front edge 21, which faces the closures 10, a rear edge 22, which faces the hinges 9, and two side edges 23. The edges 21, 22, 23 of the cover plate 12 are spaced 6 cm from the lid body 11 and the centre of the cover plate 12 is spaced 7.6 cm from the lid body.

[0070] At the corners between the front edge 21 and both side edges 23, and in the middle of the side edges 23, the cover plate 12 is provided with spacers 24 through which there are passages 25 between the lid body 11 and the cover plate 12. The total area of these passages 25 is approximately 850 cm.sup.2.This is less than the surface area of the openings 19. The reason for this is that it has been found that the smoke released during a battery fire is deposited on the layer of flame-retardant material 17, as a result of which its permeability can decrease significantly during a fire.

[0071] At the rear edge 22, which is not visible in the figures, the cover plate 12 is provided with a complete, downwardly extending rear wall of 6 cm height which is welded to the lid body 11, such that there are no passages 25 at the location of the rear edge 22 between the lid body 11 and the cover plate 12.

[0072] The cover plate 12 prevents rainwater from entering the storage space via the openings 19.

[0073] Because said rear wall of the cover plate 12 is welded against the raised edge 20, an upright ridge is obtained which runs completely around each recess 15 and which is formed partly by said rear wall and partly by said upright edge and which prevents water, located on the lid body 11, from entering the openings 19.

[0074] The container 1 is designed such that the container 1 can withstand an internal pressure of 132,000 Pa above atmospheric pressure without damage and without the lid 3 opening.

[0075] The container 1 has been tested with a content of 400 kg lithium batteries that were ignited by heating. Temperatures were measured internally in the container 1 that varied from 500° C. to 700° C., depending on location and point in time.

[0076] The hot burning reaction gas that is generated during such an ignition could flow out quickly through the openings 19 more than sufficiently, such that no damage occurred to the container 1. This hot gas flowed through the layer of steel wool 17 and was thereby cooled, such that the flames were extinguished by cooling and no flames emerged outside the container 1. The temperature of the reaction gas escaping via the openings 19 did not exceed 215° C. The layer of steel wool 17 thus acts as a flame-retardant layer for the burning reaction gas. The maximum pressure measured internally was 15,000 Pa above atmospheric pressure.

[0077] Due to the seal 14, no gas could escape from the container 1 via a route other than the openings 19. This means that all the gas was vented through the openings 19, which are provided with the flame-retardant layer 17, such that also along the transition between the base part 2 and the lid 3, no flames could escape from the container 1.

[0078] As a result, this container 1 is eminently suitable for the safe transport of used batteries on a road vehicle or a rail vehicle and the safe storage of used batteries, because no explosion of the container 1 will occur and because no flames escape the container 1.