SECONDARY BATTERY CAPABLE OF AUTOMATICALLY SUPPLYING AN ELECTROLYTE REFILL

摘要

The present invention to a secondary battery (100) in which an electrolyte refill is supplied automatically, in order to prevent decreases in volume and increases in specific gravity of the electrolyte caused by gases produced during charging. The secondary battery (100) may include: a main cell (120) that includes a positive electrode (122) and a negative electrode (124) and contains an electrolyte (128); an auxiliary cell (140) connected with the main cell (120); a case (110) that houses the main cell (120) and the auxiliary cell (140); a vent (132) that connects the main cell (120) with the atmosphere; a gas passageway (152) configured to equalize pressure levels in the main cell (120) and the auxiliary cell (140); and an electrolyte refill passageway (154) through which an electrolyte refill in the auxiliary cell (140) may pass to the main cell (120) at or above a particular pressure level. When the volume of the electrolyte (128) is decreased and the specific gravity is increased due to the production of gases by the dissociation reactions of the electrolyte (128) during charging, the electrolyte refill may be supplied automatically to replenish the electrolyte (128).