Abstract: A leak retardant automotive battery includes a housing containing a plurality of cells that each have a filling plug and a battery cover closing the housing above the cells. The battery cover includes a central blockage that divides the housing into two compartments that each contain a set of cells. The cells in each compartment are connected by vent holes in the battery cover that are respectively connected to associated vent cap assemblies so as to separately vent each compartment through its associated vent cap assembly.

Abstract: A battery pack which is constituted by a plurality of lithium secondary batteries and which can prevent performance deterioration and has a long life is provided. The battery pack is manufactured by connecting in series four lithium ion batteries in which a lithium cobaltate is used for a positive active material and an amorphous carbon is used for a negative active material. In the battery, a percentage of the difference between positive electrode charging capacity and negative electrode charging capacity to capacity of the lithium secondary battery was set to 6%. The SOC difference among the four batteries was adjusted to 6 points or less. Even a battery having a low SOC is full charged, lithium oversupplied does not exceed a lithium amount capable of being occluded by a negative electrode at a battery having a high SOC, and thereby the active material does not deteriorate.

Abstract: A battery performance monitoring system anticipates the sudden fall of battery output. The system measures the battery voltage at a time point when the discharge current of a battery becomes smaller than the reference current value or at a time point when the current to the load which is connected to the battery becomes smaller than the reference current value, and judges the battery to be abnormal if the difference of the measured battery voltage from the approximate formula in regard to the current-voltage relation in the former half of a same discharge event becomes out of the reference range.

Abstract: The present invention is to provide a non-aqueous electrolytic solution secondary battery which has high safety while maintaining high capacity and high power. A cylindrical lithium-ion battery 20 is provided in a battery lid which is a portion of a battery container with a cleavage valve 11 which cleaves at a predetermined pressure, and includes an electrode winding group 6 prepared by winding a positive electrode, a negative electrode and a separator, connection portions for connecting the electrode winding group 6 to respective electrode terminals, and non-aqueous electrolytic solution therein. As a positive electrode active material, lithium manganate where the amount of elution of manganese into the non-aqueous electrolytic solution is 5% or less based on the lithium manganate in a region where an electrode potential to metal lithium is 4.8V or more is used. As a negative electrode active material, graphite in/from which lithium ions can be occluded/released according to charging and discharging is used.

Abstract: An electric power steering apparatus including a reduction mechanism 5 for transmitting an output of a steering assist motor 1 to a steering mechanism through a worm 3 and a worm wheel 4, in which the worm wheel 4 is formed by a thermosetting synthetic resin filled with a sheet 6 of aramid fibers having a low attacking property to a counter member and an effect of improving the abrasion resistance of the synthetic resin. Even when the reduction mechanism is used in an engine room or the temperature of the reduction mechanism is raised by frictional heat with heightening power, the reduction mechanism is durable, and further the gears have excellent abrasion resistance and toughness and improved durability.

Abstract: Lower order control devices control plural battery cells configuring plural battery modules. An input terminal of the low order control device in the highest potential, an output terminal of the low order control device in the lowest potential, and a high order control device are connected by isolating units, photocouplers. Diodes which prevent a discharge current of the battery cells in the battery modules are disposed between the output terminal of the low order control device and the battery cells in the battery module on the low potential side. Terminals related to input/output of a signal are electrically connected without isolating among the plural low order control devices.

Abstract: A non-aqueous electrolytic secondary battery that can prevent a drop in the power even in a large current discharge is provided. Porosity of a separator is larger than or the same as porosity of a positive electrode mixture and a porosity of a negative electrode mixture. Particularly, the porosity of the positive electrode mixture is 20% to 50%, the porosity of the negative electrode mixture is 20% to 50%, and the porosity of the separator is 20% to 60%. The separator becomes rich in the volume of the electrolytic solution that infiltrates into interfacial aperture between the separator and the negative electrode. When the large current discharge is carried out in a short time, lithium-ions are released/occluded from the electrodes and the electrolytic solution can gain the released/occluded lithium-ions with a small interfacial resistance.

Abstract: A storage battery includes a rolled, laminated battery element made up of two groups of electrode materials composed of positive and negative electrode materials, laminated together through separators, an outer sheathing enclosing therein the laminated battery element, a spindle around which the laminated battery element is wound and rolled up so that the spindle and the laminated battery element are fixedly connected to each other. One axial end of the spindle is constrained in the axial direction of the laminated battery element by the bottom of the outer sheathing, while the other axial end of the spindle is elastically supported by an upper lid portion hermetically covering the opening end, so as to stably support the laminated battery element by the spindle and to prevent displacement of the laminated battery element from its set position even during application of vibrations to the storage battery.

Abstract: A cylindrical lithium-ion battery 20 accommodates a winding group 6, is structured by winding a positive electrode using lithium manganate (Li1+xMn2−xO4 or Li1+xMn2−x−yAlyO4) having an average particle diameter of primary particles in a range of from 0.1 &mgr;m to 2 &mgr;m as a positive electrode active material and a negative electrode using amorphous carbon as a negative electrode active material via a separator, and a non-aqueous electrolytic solution within a battery container 7.

Abstract: A vented-type leak-resistant motor cycle battery comprising a housing in which a plurality of cells are mounted, a battery cover sealed to an upper end of the housing in a liquid tight manner so that the battery cover overlies the cells each having a vent chamber, a filling hole and a filling plug and a vent chamber cover sealed to the battery cover in a liquid tight manner, the battery cover being provided with a vent line extending in a longitudinal direction of the battery cover in flow communication with the spaces above the cells and having an exit end tilted upwardly toward the outside and a vent cap assembly being fitted to the vent line at the tilted exit end.

Abstract: A polished-piece holder is provided that does not easily stick or adsorb to a polishing pad of a polishing apparatus and reduces occurrences of production line troubles and therefore the number of failed polished pieces. A single sheet of a thermosetting resin impregnated fiber substrate or a laminated sheet formed by laminating a plurality of sheets of the thermosetting resin impregnated fiber substrate is formed under heat and pressure into a plate. The thermosetting resin impregnated fiber plate is then processed to form a polished-piece holder for holding pieces to be polished. The evaluation portion has a certain length in a direction of the average line. The thermosetting resin impregnated fiber plate has a surface roughness with a maximum wave height Ry of 10 &mgr;m or greater over an almost entire area of the surface layer.

Abstract: The present invention provides a non-aqueous electrolytic solution secondary battery which can obtain stable power regardless of a depth of discharge and which can detect residual capacity easily. Graphite particles G having a predetermined particle diameter and petroleum pitch are mixed with and sintered at approximately 1000° C. in the atmosphere of inert gas, then cracked and sieved out to obtain binding particles C having a desired particle diameter which the graphite particles G are bound with an amorphous carbon A. A winding group is formed by winding a negative electrode in which the obtained binding particles C is used as negative electrode active material and a positive electrode which lithium manganate is used as positive electrode active material through a separator. An apparent density is increased by the amorphous carbon C bound among the graphite particles G.

Abstract: The present invention provides a lead-acid storage battery characterized by excellent properties of high percentage charge performande and chargeability subsequent to a long-term disuse by improving the characteristics of lead sulfate and solubility from lead sulfate to lead and ensuring smooth charging reaction of anode activator.

Abstract: The present invention provides a lead-acid storage battery characterized by excellent characteristics in high percentage charge percentage by improving the conductivity of lead sulfate and its solubility into lead and ensuring smooth charging reaction of anode activator, and a carbon material characterized by excellent chargeability for providing the aforementioned lead-acid storage battery.

Abstract: A gear made of fiber reinforced resin which is capable of being increased in durability and mechanical strength, as well as gear cutting characteristics. The gear is manufactured by arranging ring-like reinforcing fiber substrates and a metal bushing in a molding die and pouring thermosetting resin into the die to impregnate the reinforcing fiber substrates with the resin. The reinforcing fiber substrates are made by winding up a cylindrical body obtained by knitting an aramid fiber yarn along a central line thereof and then forming it into a ring-like shape. The reinforcing fiber substrates are pressed in a cold die so as to approach to a shape of the molding die, to thereby be formed into a rectangular shape in cross section. Then, the reinforcing fiber substrates are received together with the metal bushing in the molding die and then the thermosetting resin is poured into the molding die.

Abstract: A non-woven fabric comprising a principal component of para-aramid fiber chops bonded with each other by a binder, the para-aramid fiber chops having a mixture of (a) poly-p-phenylene-3,4′-diphenylether-terephthalamide fibers and (b) poly-p-phenylene-terephthalamide fibers and having a blend ratio by weight of (a)/(b)=10/90˜90/10 and preferably (a)/(b)=30/70˜70/30.

Abstract: A polished-piece holder capable of preventing a polished piece from taking scratches, being increased in wear resistance, thickness accuracy, warpage resistance and dimensional stability, and preventing a deterioration in polishing accuracy. The polished-piece holder includes a core layer and a wear-resistant surface layer laminated on at least one of front and rear surfaces of the core layer. The core layer is constituted of at least one thermosetting resin impregnated fibrous layer and the surface layer is likewise constituted of a thermosetting resin impregnated fibrous layer. The thermosetting resin impregnated fibrous layer constituting the surface layer is subject to heating and pressurizing, to thereby provide a prepreg wherein a nonwoven aramid fiber substrate is impregnated with thermosetting resin.

Abstract: The present invention is to provide a base material for a laminate having a high strength, reduced thickness, and light weight. In the present invention, a base material is prepared by incorporating a thermosetting resin binder into a non-woven fabric of para-aramid fibers prepared by a wet type paper making, and then heating a plurality of the resultant non-woven fabric sheets under pressure. The non-woven fabric sheet comprises 95 to 70 mass % of the para-aramid fibers and 5 to 30 mass % of the thermosetting resin binder.

Abstract: An electric power steering apparatus including a reduction mechanism 5 for transmitting an output of a steering assist motor 1 to a steering mechanism through a worm 3 and a worm wheel 4, in which the worm wheel 4 is formed by a thermosetting synthetic resin filled with a sheet 6 of aramid fibers having a low attacking property to a counter member and an effect of improving the abrasion resistance of the synthetic resin. Even when the reduction mechanism is used in an engine room or the temperature of the reduction mechanism is raised by frictional heat with heightening power, the reduction mechanism is durable, and further the gears have excellent abrasion resistance and toughness and improved durability.

Abstract: A multi-cell structure battery (1A) comprising: a plurality of columnar cells accommodated in a casing (11); bus bars (23A, 23B) to connect respective terminals of the cells; signal transmitting wires (16) to connect the respective cells to an external device; a cell holder (12) to hold the cells; and a covering (13) fixed to the cell holder so as to oppose against the terminals of the cells, the bus bars being disposed on an inner surface of the covering opposed to the terminals of the cells and the signal transmitting wires being disposed in an outer surface of the covering.