Patents Assigned to Saft
  • Method and system for managing the charging of a rechargeable battery comprising several branches of electrochemical elements connected in parallel
    Patent number: 9762077
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method and a system for managing the charging of a rechargeable battery by a voltage control or by a current control comprising a plurality (n) of branches connected in series, each branch comprising a plurality (p) of electrochemical elements connected in parallel. Each electrochemical element exhibits a charging profile (PC) comprising at least one plateau zone directly followed by a sloping zone in which the variation of the voltage as a function of the state of charge in the plateau zone is on average at least ten times less fast than the variation of the voltage in the sloping zone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2017
    Assignee: SAFT
    Inventors: Philippe Desprez, Sebastien Benjamin, Ali Zenati, Gerard Barrailh
  • Electric energy storage system comprising an inverter
    Patent number: 9762055
    Abstract: The invention relates to an electric energy storage system, comprising an inverter (6), several associations (21, 22), of an electric energy storage unit (1, 2) in series with a bidirectional chopper (3, 4), connected in parallel to a same input of the inverter (6), on the side of their chopper (3, 4), characterized in that at least one bidirectional chopper (3, 4), associated with an electric energy storage unit (1, 2) that can be charged and discharged asymmetrically, is sized asymmetrically for the charge and discharge of said associated storage unit (1, 2).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2017
    Assignee: SAFT
    Inventors: Younes Jaoui, Christophe Morin
  • COMPENSATION SYSTEM FOR SWELLING OF ELECTROCHEMICAL CELLS
    Publication number: 20170244088
    Abstract: The invention resolves the problem of swelling of sealing electrochemical cells of prismatic format when they are assembled side by side in a grouping box by proposing a battery comprising at least two electrochemical cells (1a, 1b) of prismatic format, wherein the electrochemical cells are separated by a rigid wedge (2) having a hardness greater than or equal to 90 Shore A according to the standard ASTM D 2240 and by a flexible wedge (3) having a hardness of up to 60 Shore A according to the standard ASTM D 2240, the rigid wedge and the flexible wedge being electrically insulating.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 17, 2017
    Publication date: August 24, 2017
    Applicant: SAFT
    Inventors: Alexandre NARBONNE, Jérôme CALMEJANE
  • Positive electrode material for lithium-ion battery
    Patent number: 9722244
    Abstract: A compound of formula Li4+xMnM1aM2bOc wherein: M1 is selected from the group consisting in Ni, Mn, Co, Fe and a mixture thereof; M2 is selected from the group consisting in Si, Ti, Mo, B, Al and a mixture thereof; with: ?1.2?x?3; 0<a?2.5; 0?b?1.5; 4.3?c?10; and c=4+a+n·b+x/2 wherein n=2 when M2 is selected from the group consisting in Si, Ti, Mo or a mixture thereof; and n=1.5 when M2 is selected from the group consisting in B, Al or a mixture thereof; and n=0 if b=0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2017
    Assignees: SAFT, UMICORE
    Inventors: Christian Jordy, Georges Caillon, Thierry Hezeque, Stephane Levasseur, Nina V. Kosova, Evgeniya T. Devyatkina
  • Method of semi-solid state fermentation for producing surfactin from a mutant strain of subsp
    Patent number: 9689017
    Abstract: Surfactin is produced from Bacillus subtilis ssp. containing sfp gene (lipopeptide biosurfactants produced by fermentation). Production of surfactin at present is mainly by liquid fermentation, but the production costs are high due to difficulty in purification resulted from addition of the defoaming agent during the production process. Therefore, present invention conducts physical or chemical mutation on Bacillus subtilis subsp. isolated from Thailand seawater shrimp ponds and screens for the mutant strain of Bacillus subtilis subsp. based on sfp gene expression and then produces surfactin from the mutant strain by semi-solid state fermentation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2017
    Assignees: Saft Biotechnology Com. Ltd.
    Inventors: Jenn-Kan Lu, Yi-Peng Lin, Hsin-Mei Wang
  • Nickel supercapacitor engine starting module
    Patent number: 9666379
    Abstract: This invention relates to a supercapacitor assembly having an asymmetric supercapacitor, a diode, and a switch in parallel with the diode. The asymmetric supercapacitor has at least one positive electrode, at least one negative electrode, and at least one separator impregnated with an electrolyte. The diode has an anode and a cathode, the cathode being electrically connected to the supercapacitor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2017
    Assignee: SAFT AMERICA
    Inventor: Carl Postiglione
  • Asymmetrical supercapacitor with alkaline electrolyte comprising a three-dimensional negative electrode and method for producing same
    Patent number: 9666381
    Abstract: An asymmetrical supercapacitor including an alkaline electrolyte, at least one separator, at least one positive electrode including a nickel-based hydroxide and a nickel-based current collector, and at least one negative electrode including a nickel-based current collector and having a porous three-dimensional structure. Some pores are open, the mean diameter of the open pores being greater than or equal to 100 ?m and being less than or equal to 300 ?m and two contiguous open pores (1, 2) communicate by at least one opening (5) the mean diameter of which is greater than or equal to 35 ?m and less than or equal to 130 ?m. The three-dimensional structure includes a mixture including at least one activated carbon, at least one electron-conducting additive, and a binding agent including at least one elastomer polymer and at least one thickening polymer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2017
    Assignee: SAFT
    Inventors: Stephanie Chevalier, Melanie Dendary, Patrick Bernard
  • MEANS FOR WEDGING AN ELECTROCHEMICAL GENERATOR IN POSITION IN A BATTERY
    Publication number: 20170149033
    Abstract: Seal (3) comprising at least two deformable shells (1,1?), each one of the shells containing a component and comprising a membrane, characterized in that bringing the component contained in one shell (1) into contact with the component contained in another shell (1?) causes the mixture of the components to crosslink. Use of the seal for wedging electrochemical generators in position in a battery, particularly lithium generators.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 16, 2015
    Publication date: May 25, 2017
    Applicant: SAFT GROUPE SA
    Inventor: Benoît TURBE
  • NI-CD BATTERY WITH A STATE OF CHARGE INDICATOR
    Publication number: 20170141436
    Abstract: A battery made up of nickel-cadmium cells includes an indicator for displaying a state of charge comprising sensors for performing continuous measurements of voltage and current and of temperature of the battery, a memory storing at least a history of charge/discharge, a predefined reference voltage, current and temperature, and the measurements and history determined, and a control unit for determining an operation mode of the battery and determining a correction to be applied to the voltage and current measured, calculating a theoretically available capacity of the battery depending on the operating mode and the correction, determining a need for recalibration of the theoretically available capacity of the battery enabling a capacity actually available of the battery to be calculated, and based on the capacity actually available, defining the state of charge of the battery.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 15, 2016
    Publication date: May 18, 2017
    Applicant: SAFT
    Inventors: Kévin GIRARD, Jean-pierre TEXIER, Dominique LACOMBE, Xavier TRIDON, Pascal LAVAUR
  • Thermal management system for a battery system
    Patent number: 9620827
    Abstract: A battery system includes a plurality of electrochemical cells provided within a housing. The battery system also includes a thermal management system configured to provide at least one of heating or cooling to the electrochemical cells. The thermal management system includes a solid state coating having a first metal and a second metal different from the first metal. The solid state coating is configured to pass a current therethrough to create a temperature differential across a first surface of the solid state coating and a second surface of the solid state coating to provide the at least one of heating or cooling to the cells.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2017
    Assignee: Johnson Controls—SAFT Advanced Power Solutions LLC
    Inventors: Gary P. Houchin-Miller, James S. Symanski, Craig W. Rigby, Thomas J. Dougherty
  • ELECTRONIC CONNECT/DISCONNECT DEVICE AND METHOD FOR A HIGH VOLTAGE BATTERY
    Publication number: 20170093194
    Abstract: An electronic connecting/disconnecting device for a high voltage unit for storing electrical energy designed to be charged and discharged asymmetrically, in particular a battery arranged as part of an electrical circuit is provided. The device includes a charging switch and a discharge switch arranged in parallel and dimensioned asymmetrically for charging and discharging the unit for storing electrical energy, the charging switch being adapted to block, in a first direction of passage, an electric current flowing therethrough, this first direction of passage being opposite to a second direction of passage in which the discharge switch is adapted to block an electric current passing therethrough, the device being able to be activated when a physical magnitude of an electrical current flowing through the circuit is greater than a predetermined threshold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 20, 2016
    Publication date: March 30, 2017
    Applicant: SAFT
    Inventors: Younes JAOUI, Jean-Yves CLOTES, Benoit VASSELIN, Stephane MONSINJON
  • DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MAKING A BATTERY SAFE
    Publication number: 20170012274
    Abstract: A safety device (19) for a battery (12) being designed so that an electrical connector (18) can be connected to the positive (14) and negative (16) electrical terminals of the battery (12) in a first (A+, A?) or a second (B+, B?) connection position, the safety device (19) being adapted to be selectively positioned in a first or a second safety position so that only the desired connection positions are accessible to an electrical connector (18). A battery including the safety device or a set of such batteries and a method for making such a set of batteries safe.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 6, 2016
    Publication date: January 12, 2017
    Applicant: SAFT
    Inventors: Alexandre NARBONNE, Christophe DOS REIS
  • Lithium-ion battery containing an electrolyte comprising an ionic liquid
    Patent number: 9543617
    Abstract: A lithium-ion battery containing: a positive electrode, a negative electrode, an electrolyte comprising: an organic solvent chosen from the group comprising carbonates, linear esters of a saturated acid, or a mixture thereof, an additive capable of forming a passivation film on the surface of the negative electrode, at least one lithium salt, at least one ionic liquid for which the percentage by weight in the electrolyte is greater than or equal to 20% and less than 50%; a separator for which the apparent contact angle between the surface thereof and the electrolyte is less than 20°.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2017
    Assignee: SAFT
    Inventors: Clemence Siret, Lucas Caratero, Philippe Biensan
  • Bypassable battery modules
    Patent number: 9525290
    Abstract: A battery system may include a plurality of battery modules connected in series. A battery module of the plurality of battery modules may include a cell stack array, a first solid state switch and a second solid state switch arranged in a half bridge configuration and configured to operate in a complementary fashion, and a solid state driver connected to both gates of the first solid state switch and second solid state switch and configured to turn on and off the first solid state switch and the second solid state switch. Further, the cell stack array is configured to be active when the first solid state switch is on and the second solid state switch is off, and configured to be bypassed when the first solid state switch is off and the second solid state switch is on.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2016
    Assignee: SAFT
    Inventor: James G. Snyder
  • Negative electrode for asymmetric supercapacitor having a positive electrode based on nickel hydroxide and an alkaline electrolyte and method for making same
    Patent number: 9502185
    Abstract: The object of the invention is an electrode comprising a continuous current collector (1) wherein 50% or more of the surface of said collector has a roughness Ra1 comprised between 0.8 and 15 ?m, measured for a base length comprised between 2 and 200 ?m, said collector being coated with a mixture (2) comprising active carbon having a specific surface area greater than or equal to 500 m2/g and a binder comprising a mixture of at least one cellulosic compound and at least one styrenic copolymer. The object of the invention is also an asymmetric supercapacitor comprising at least one electrode according to the invention. The invention also relates to a method for making a carbon electrode for an asymmetric supercapacitor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2016
    Assignee: SAFT
    Inventors: Stéphanie Chevalier, Mélanie Dendary, Philippe Desprez
  • Current collector for an electrochemical cell
    Patent number: 9496557
    Abstract: A current collector for an electrochemical cell includes a member having an outer member and an inner member coupled to the outer member by a plurality of flexible arms configured to allow the inner member to move relative to the outer member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2016
    Assignee: Johnson Controls -SAFT Advanced Power Solutions LLC
    Inventors: Jason D. Fuhr, Gerald K. Bowen, John P. Dinkleman, Thomas J. Dougherty, Waterloo Tsutsui, Christopher M. Bonin
  • METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MANAGING THE CHARGING OF A RECHARGEABLE BATTERY COMPRISING SEVERAL BRANCHES OF ELECTROCHEMICAL ELEMENTS CONNECTED IN PARALLEL
    Publication number: 20160301219
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method and a system for managing the charging of a rechargeable battery by a voltage control or by a current control comprising a plurality (n) of branches connected in series, each branch comprising a plurality (p) of electrochemical elements connected in parallel. Each electrochemical element exhibits a charging profile (PC) comprising at least one plateau zone directly followed by a sloping zone in which the variation of the voltage as a function of the state of charge in the plateau zone is on average at least ten times less fast than the variation of the voltage in the sloping zone.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 1, 2014
    Publication date: October 13, 2016
    Applicant: SAFT
    Inventors: Philippe DESPREZ, Sebastien BENJAMIN, Ali ZENATI, Gerard BARRAILH
  • System for pre-charging a capacitor by a battery
    Patent number: 9466997
    Abstract: There is provided a system for pre-charging a capacitor by means of a battery, including a switch and an element for limiting charging current of the capacitor, said switch and said limiting element being connected whereby a charging current from the battery to the capacitor may pass through said switch and said limiting element, which is characterized in that the limiting element for limiting the charging current of the capacitor is an energy transfer device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2016
    Assignee: SAFT
    Inventors: Guillaume Dinand Da Silva, Serge Maloizel
  • METHOD FOR MECHANICAL TREATMENT OF AN ELECTRICAL CONNECTION PART FOR A SECONDARY CELL
    Publication number: 20160285068
    Abstract: In a connecting part for connecting electrodes of an electrochemical cell to a current output terminal of the secondary cell, the connecting part has a surface at least a portion of which includes a plurality of indentations regularly spaced in two directions in the plane defined by the surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 28, 2016
    Publication date: September 29, 2016
    Applicant: SAFT
    Inventors: Alexandre BEUGNON, Jerome BOISSOUT
  • Method for determining a state variable of an electrochemical cell using complex impedance at radioelectric frequencies
    Patent number: 9453884
    Abstract: A method is provided for determining a state variable such as aging of an electrochemical cell comprising an electrode plate group, that includes analyzing at least a portion of a response spectrum of the electrochemical cell to application of an electromagnetic wave in a frequency ranging from 10 kHz to 10 GHz, so as to determine an indicator of the value of the state variable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2016
    Assignee: SAFT
    Inventors: Alain Patin, Patrice Fleureau, Philippe Desprez, Loïc Reboussin