Patents Examined by Miriam Stagg
  • Patent number: 10522807
    Abstract: Rechargeable electrochemical battery cell having a housing (1), a positive electrode (11), a negative electrode (10) and an electrolyte (9) which contains SO2 and a conducting salt of the active metal of the cell, wherein at least one of the electrodes (11) is enveloped by a sheath (13) made from a glass fiber textile material, the areal extent of the sheath (13) made from glass fiber textile material being greater than the surface area of the electrode (11), so that the glass fiber textile material extends beyond the limit (14) of the electrode, the electrode, and two layers (15, 16) of the glass fiber textile material which cover the electrode (11) on both sides are connected to one another at the edge of the electrode (11) by an edge connection (17).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2019
    Assignee: INNOLITH ASSTE AG
    Inventors: Markus Borck, Laurent Zinck
  • Patent number: 10522799
    Abstract: A battery pack that reduces a temperature difference between single cells and can increase a battery capacity per volume and a container provided with the same are provided. A battery pack 100, includes: a battery module 10 including a plurality of single cells 1 arranged in parallel in a line; and a partition member 20 provided on a side surface of the battery module 10 and forming a flow channel 21 through which a gas for exchanging heat with the plurality of single cells 1 is flowable, and the partition member 20 is provided so that the gas flowing through the flow channel 21 and at least two single cells 1 exchange heat and is inclined with respect to a direction orthogonal to an arrangement direction of the plurality of single cells 1 arranged in parallel in a line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2019
    Assignee: HITACHI, LTD.
    Inventors: Nae Hisano, Shin Yamauchi, Mitsutoshi Honda, Hidekazu Fujimura, Kenji Takeda
  • Patent number: 10516145
    Abstract: An exemplary battery assembly includes an endplate of a battery array, and an enclosure wall secured directly to the endplate from outside an open area of a battery pack enclosure. An exemplary method of securing a battery array includes positioning a battery array within an open area of an enclosure and, from a position outside the open area, securing an endplate of a battery array directly to a wall of a battery pack enclosure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2019
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Scott Benedict, Brent Zapczynski, Michael Reibling, Eid Farha, Patrick Daniel Maguire
  • Patent number: 10516161
    Abstract: A negative electrode active material includes a silicon-containing alloy represented by: SixSnyMzAa (A is unavoidable impurities, M is one or more transition metal elements, x, y, z, and a represent values of percent by mass, and 0<x<100, 0<y<100, 0<z<100, and 0?a<0.5 and x+y+z+a=100). The silicon-containing alloy has a lattice image subjected to Fourier transform processing to obtain a diffraction pattern. A distance between Si regular tetrahedrons is 0.39 nm or more when the distance between Si regular tetrahedrons in an amorphous region calculated from a Fourier image obtained by subjecting a diffraction ring portion present in a width of from 0.7 to 1.0 when a distance between Si regular tetrahedrons is 1.0 in this diffraction pattern to inverse Fourier transform is 10 nm or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2019
    Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tomohiro Kaburagi, Manabu Watanabe, Nobutaka Chiba, Humihiro Miki, Makoto Tanimura
  • Patent number: 10511035
    Abstract: A method and system for high temperature fuel cell system or electrolysis cell are disclosed which include recirculating a fraction of gas exhausted from at least one of sides an anode side and a cathode side; accomplishing a desired flow rate of the recirculated flow by using an ejector via at least one primary feedstock fluid to a nozzle of the ejector, which nozzle has a convergent-divergent flow channel through which fluid is expanded from an initial higher pressure to lower pressure; providing supplementary fluid to the nozzle of the ejector; regulating respective ratio of the fluids of the ejector to maintain a desired motive flow and pressure at the nozzle of the ejector in order to accomplish desired recirculated flow rate; and cutting off the supplementary fluid when a level of system loading is the primary feedstock fluid alone maintains desired flow and pressure at ejector inlet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2019
    Assignee: CONVION OY
    Inventor: Tuomas Hakala
  • Patent number: 10505184
    Abstract: A negative electrode active material for electric device is used which includes a silicon-containing alloy having a structure in which a silicide phase containing a silicide of a transition metal is dispersed in a parent phase containing amorphous or low crystalline silicon as a main component and a predetermined composition and in which a ratio value (B/A) of a diffraction peak intensity B of a silicide of a transition metal in a range of 2?=37 to 45° to a diffraction peak intensity A of a (111) plane of Si in a range of 2?=24 to 33° is 0.41 or more in an X-ray diffraction measurement of the silicon-containing alloy using a CuK?1 ray.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2019
    Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Humihiro Miki, Tomohiro Kaburagi, Manabu Watanabe, Nobutaka Chiba
  • Patent number: 10497957
    Abstract: A fuel cell system comprising a fuel cell stack, an evaporator for evaporating a mixture of methanol and water to be forwarded through a catalytic reformer for producing portions of free hydrogen. The fuel cell stack being composed of a number of proton exchange membrane fuel cells each featuring electrodes in form of an anode and a cathode for delivering an electric current. The system provides an enhanced catalytic reformer for a fuel cell system, which enables a compact design of the reformer for integration into a flat, rack mountable system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2019
    Assignee: SERENERGY A/S
    Inventors: Anders Risum Korsgaard, Mads Bang
  • Patent number: 10476046
    Abstract: A flexible battery is provided. A flexible battery according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention comprises: an electrode assembly; and an exterior material for encapsulating the electrode assembly together with an electrolyte, wherein the exterior material includes a first pattern part and a second pattern part for contraction and relaxation at the time of bending, which are formed on at least one surface of the exterior material, and the first pattern part and the second pattern part have different patterns.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2019
    Assignee: AMORGREENTECH CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Seung Yun Rho, Won Gil Choi, Hyeon Woo Cho, Ju Hee Jang, Hyeong Tak Noh
  • Patent number: 10468684
    Abstract: A composition and method of preparation of mixed valence manganese oxide, nickel-doped mixed valence manganese oxide and cobalt-doped mixed valence manganese oxide nanoparticles as well as tri-manganese tetroxide, nickel-doped tri-manganese tetroxide and cobalt-doped tri-manganese tetroxide nanoparticles for use as electrodes for aqueous energy storage devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: The University of New Hampshire
    Inventor: Xiaowei Teng
  • Patent number: 10446849
    Abstract: Provided is a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery that allows a current cutoff mechanism to operate appropriately while maintaining high battery performance. The nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery according to the present invention includes: a battery assembly provided with a positive electrode having a positive electrode active material layer retained on a positive electrode current collector, a negative electrode and a separator; a battery case housing the electrode assembly together with a nonaqueous electrolyte; and a current cutoff mechanism. The positive electrode active material layer includes a positive electrode active material and a conductive material. A compound containing a saturated cyclic hydrocarbon group is retained in at least a portion of the conductive material. The content of the compound containing a saturated cyclic hydrocarbon group is 0.5% by mass or more based on a value of 100% by mass for the total solid content of the positive electrode active material layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2019
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hideyo Ebisuzaki, Masaru Ishii, Hiroshi Hamaguchi, Toru Nakai
  • Patent number: 10403908
    Abstract: Provided is a fuel cell stack structure. The fuel cell stack structure includes first and second cell modules and first and second separation plates. In each of the first and second cell modules, one or more fuel cells generating electricity are stacked, and each of the fuel cells includes an electrolyte layer, and a cathode layer and an anode layer formed on both surfaces of the electrolyte layer, respectively, and generates electricity. The first and second separation plates are electrically connected to the first and second cell modules, respectively, and each separation plate has an air hole and a fuel hole at edges to provide an air including oxygen and a fuel gas including hydrogen to the cathode layer and the anode layer, respectively. At least one separation plate has a sealing unit for sealing the air hole and the fuel hole, and has a protruded convex at a different part from the sealing unit to improve an electrical contact with the other separation plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2019
    Assignee: MICO CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Sung Jin Choi, Chong Sik Lim, Ki Moon Han, Song Ho Choi
  • Patent number: 10396411
    Abstract: A traction battery assembly for a vehicle is provided. The traction battery assembly may include a battery cell array having a plurality of battery cells. A thermal plate may be positioned beneath the battery cells and be configured for thermal communication therewith. The thermal plate may define a plurality of channel configurations within the thermal plate. Each of the channel configurations may correspond to one of the battery cells and include an inlet and outlet on a same side portion of the thermal plate. An inlet plenum may be in communication with the inlets and an outlet plenum may be in communication with the outlets. The channel configurations and plenums may be arranged such that fluid exiting the inlet plenum enters the channel configurations via the outlets and fluid exiting the outlets enters the outlet plenum and not into the inlet of another one of the channel configurations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2019
    Assignee: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Vivek Amir Jairazbhoy, George Albert Garfinkel, Neil Robert Burrows
  • Patent number: 10396389
    Abstract: A fuel gas supply path in a fuel cell stack includes in series a first path, a second path, and a third path. In the second path, two inlets of the fuel gas in each of power generating cells included in the second path are located at a first position PA and a second position PB, and the position of one outlet of the fuel gas in each power generating cell is located at a third position PC. In the third path, an inlet of the fuel gas in each of power generating cells included in the third path is located at a position coinciding with the third position PC when the power generating cells are viewed in the stacking direction, and an outlet of the fuel gas in each power generating cell is located at a position between the first position PA and the second position PB.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2019
    Assignee: NGK SPARK PLUG CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Shunsuke Tsuga, Takafumi Shichida, Tetsuya Morikawa, Nobuyuki Hotta
  • Patent number: 10374213
    Abstract: A liquid reserve battery including: a collapsible storage unit having a liquid electrolyte stored therein; a battery cell having an inlet in communication with an outlet of the collapsible storage unit, the battery cell having gaps dispersed therein; a first pyrotechnic material disposed adjacent the collapsible storage unit such that initiation of the first pyrotechnic material provides pressure to collapse the collapsible storage unit to heat and force the liquid electrolyte through the outlet and into the gaps; and one or more heat exchangers disposed between the outlet of the collapsible storage unit and the inlet of the battery cell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2019
    Assignee: OMNITEK PARTNERS LLC
    Inventor: Jahangir S Rastegar
  • Patent number: 10374255
    Abstract: Provided is a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery in which the following are housed in a battery case: a nonaqueous electrolyte, a boron atom-containing oxalato complex compound, and an electrode assembly in which a positive electrode having a positive electrode active material and a negative electrode having a negative electrode active material are disposed facing each other. Here, a coat containing boron atoms originating from the oxalato complex compound is formed on the surface of the negative electrode active material, and the amount BM (?g/cm2) of the boron atom as measured based on inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopic analysis and the intensity BA for a tricoordinate boron atom as measured based on x-ray absorption fine structure analysis satisfy 0.5?BA/BM?1.0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2019
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tomohiro Nakano, Satoshi Goto, Tomohide Sumi, Hideki Sano
  • Patent number: 10367205
    Abstract: A secondary battery includes a base material, an intermediate layer including a carbon material on the base material, and an active material layer on the intermediate layer. A secondary battery including an intermediate layer may improve adhesion between the base material and the active material layer, thereby reducing the risk of separation of the active material from the base material and improving the reliability and lifetime of the secondary battery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2019
    Assignee: Samsung SDI Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jun-Sik Kim, So-Ra Lee, Sung-Soo Kim, Soo-An Song, Jeong-Soon Shin
  • Patent number: 10312544
    Abstract: The method for manufacturing a particulate electrode active material provided by the present invention uses a carbon source supply material prepared by dissolving a carbon source (102) for forming a carbon coating film in a predetermined first solvent, and an electrode active material supply material prepared by dispersing a particulate electrode active material (104) in a second solvent that is compatible with the first solvent and is a poor solvent with respect to the carbon source. The carbon source supply material and the electrode active material supply material are mixed and a mixture of the electrode active material and the carbon source obtained after the mixing is calcined, thereby forming a conductive carbon film derived from the carbon source on the surface of the electrode active material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hideyuki Yamamura, Seishu Komune, Yasuaki Yamaguchi
  • Patent number: 10270123
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are liquid-cooled battery systems configured to prevent cell-to-cell thermal propagation. In one embodiment, a system includes a section configured to generate and store electrical energy through heat-producing electro-chemical reactions. A cooling system may be configured to generate a flow of a liquid coolant through the battery system to remove heat produced by the battery. Cooling fins may be configured to receive the flow of the liquid coolant through a primary coolant channel and to transfer heat from the battery to the liquid coolant. The cooling fins may also include a secondary coolant channel configured to be at least partially filled with a melting material configured to obstruct the liquid coolant from exiting through the aperture at temperatures below a temperature threshold. When the melting material melts, it permits some of the liquid coolant to exit the cooling fin and wet and cool the adjacent battery section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2019
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventors: Boris Schilder, Horst Mettlach
  • Patent number: 10230137
    Abstract: A method and a system of estimating core temperatures of battery cells in a battery pack can include several steps. In one step, a surface temperature of one or more battery cell(s) is received, a current of the one or more battery cell(s) is received, an inlet temperature of coolant provided to the battery pack is received, and a flow rate or velocity of the coolant is received. In another step, estimations are made including those of a cell-lumped internal electrical resistance of the battery cell(s), a cell-lumped conduction resistance between a core and a surface of the battery cell(s), and a cell-lumped convection resistance between the surface and the coolant. In yet another step, an estimation is made of a core temperature of the battery cell(s) based upon the received and estimated values of previous steps.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2019
    Assignees: The Regents of the University of Michigan, The United States of America, by Sec. of the Army
    Inventors: Xinfan Lin, Yi Ding, Matthew P. Castanier, Anna G. Stefanopoulou
  • Patent number: 10193114
    Abstract: An electricity storage device includes: a plurality of batteries juxtaposed in a first direction, each battery having on a first side a gas discharge valve that discharges a gas produced inside the battery; and a cooling path formed between the plurality of batteries that face each other in the first direction, constructed to convey a coolant that cools the batteries, and an intake opening for taking in the coolant on a second side that is an opposite side to the first side in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction and a discharge opening for discharging the coolant taken in on at least one of sides in a third direction orthogonal to the second direction and to the first direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2019
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Koichi Nagamine, Masahiko Kitamura