Hello Scott, You did not mention the type of battery you are using but I am guessing it is Lithium Ion??
In this case I don't think there really is any easy way to guarantee safety of a rechargeable Lithium Ion battery pack without extensive testing to current International Standards. Just an FYI the International Regulatory bodies are in the process of revising the current standards to try to make them more stringent due to concerns related to recent field issues. In addition to the UL standards you mentioned I would look at the IEC/EN requirements such as IEC/EN62133. I don't believe there is a energy limit in the UL or IEC/EN standards for required compliance. Japan (implemented in November 20, 2008) and Korea (effective January 1, 2010) have also passed new laws regulating Lithium Batteries where any battery which has an energy density greater than 400W/L must meet specific construction and test requirements. Batteries below this energy density level are exempt. Korean requirements are similar to Japan's Here are the links for the Japan regs http://www.meti.go.jp/policy/consumer/seian/denan/lithium/080703/law.pdf http://www.meti.go.jp/policy/consumer/s ian/denan/lithium/080703/cabinet_order.pdf http://www.meti.go.jp/policy/consumer/s ian/denan/lithium/080703/ministerial_ordinance.pdf http://www.meti.go.jp/policy/consumer/s ian/denan/lithium/080703/technical_requirements.pdf There are also International shipping regulations which have energy level limits and testing requirements. The manufacturer of the cell should be able to provide you with an appropriate test report. To satisfy the testing requirements for the shipping regs. http://www.iata.org/nr/rdonlyres/480246 4-c9a3-4e19-aa94-38ae5472ddf4/0/guidanc documentonthetransportoflibatt_2009v21.pdf Hope this helps.... Regards, John Tyra Manager Product Safety Group Bose Corporation The Mountain, MS-450 Framingham, MA 01701-9168 phone: 508-766-1502 fax: 508-766-1145 From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Scott Xe Sent: Thursday, July 09, 2009 10:38 AM To: [email protected] Subject: How to determine if battery-operated product is safe or not We have an USB rechargeable battery-operated video clip/MP3 player. As battery-operated products do not fall into LVD directive, what can we apply the basis to determine the product safe or not? Looking at historical safety hazard reports on the market, there was not much any recall on this type of products except the explosion of rechargeable battery pack. However, the possible explosion of rechargeable battery pack cannot be picked up by LVD directive or dedicated UL1642/2054 battery cell/pack standards. Otherwise, Sony did not need to recall millions of battery packs and the said standards are not required the review. What is potential hazard do we need to look at this type of products? As the safety hazard is tied with power energy, is there any reference that there is no safety concern if the power energy is below certain level? Thanks, Scott - This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to <[email protected]> All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc Graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. can be posted to that URL. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas <[email protected]> Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: <[email protected]> David Heald: <[email protected]> - This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to <[email protected]> All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc Graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. can be posted to that URL. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas <[email protected]> Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: <[email protected]> David Heald: <[email protected]>
