Patents Examined by Angela Martin
  • Patent number: 7405023
    Abstract: The present invention provides an alkaline dry battery which has excellent heavy load and intermediate load discharge characteristics, and in which reduction in light load discharge characteristic is suppressed. In the alkaline dry battery comprising: a negative electrode; an alkaline electrolyte; and a positive electrode comprising manganese dioxide and a graphite powder, the positive electrode is added with an additive selected from the group consisting of Ti(OH)4 and Ti(OH)2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 29, 2008
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Mitsuji Adachi, Takayuki Umebayashi, Yasuhiko Shoji
  • Patent number: 7399554
    Abstract: A hybrid rechargeable lithium battery, which includes a plurality of high power rechargeable cells, having nano-particles therein, and high energy density rechargeable cells, with the high energy cells recharging the high power cells. The battery preferably includes a low volt parallel charger to simultaneously and individually charge both the high power and high energy cells, through a protective device. All cells are then discharged in series at high voltage, and are individually protected from over discharge. A rechargeable battery having both high power and high energy density cells is thus provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2008
    Inventor: Joseph B. Kejha
  • Patent number: 6620540
    Abstract: The fuel cell stack has a horizontal laminate of a plurality of fuel cell units and separators, each fuel cell unit being constituted by an electrolytic membrane sandwiched by an anode and a cathode, and fixing members disposed horizontally on both sides of the laminate, the laminate and the fixing members having a plurality of holes penetrating therethrough in a lamination direction, each hole receiving an insulator-coated rod for fastening the laminate in a lamination direction, an insulator surface of the insulator-coated rod being substantially in contact with an inner surface of each hole of the laminate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2003
    Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Narutoshi Sugita, Yoshinori Wariishi
  • Patent number: 6106978
    Abstract: An improved non-aqueous electrolyte cell according to this invention includes a negative electrode which is a composite sintered body of a carbonaceous sintered material retained on an expanded metal mesh collector. The expanded metal mesh has a sheet thickness T, a mesh long width center distance LW, a mesh short width center distance SW, a mesh long width maximum opening, a; and a mesh short width maximum opening, b, all carefully specified to obey predetermined conditions in order to provide improved secondary cells having high energy density. The expanded metal mesh collector has a specified configuration to prevent carbon layer cracking and/or separation of the carbon layer, caused by shrinkage of the carbon layer on sintering or by expansion/shrinkage of the carbon layer during charging and discharging, to secure stable cell characteristics.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2000
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Yoshiaki Takeuchi
  • Patent number: 6099991
    Abstract: An electrode excellent in high-rate discharge characteristics is provided by increasing the adhesive strength of the conductive core material to the sintered nickel porous body which form the sintered type substrate. The electrode of the present invention uses a sintered substrate containing a part wherein the diameter of the pores of the sintered nickel porous body becomes successively smaller from the joining interfaces of the conductive core material toward the outside surfaces of the substrate. The region wherein the diameter is greater than in other parts preferably ranges within about 1/5 of the substrate thickness starting from both surfaces of the core material toward the outside surfaces of the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2000
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Toru Inagaki, Hiroki Takeshima, Kazushige Sugimoto, Hideo Kaiya
  • Patent number: 6071650
    Abstract: A battery electrode substrate which is constituted of a porous metallic body structure having communicating pores at a porosity of at least 90% and an Fe/Ni multilayer structure wherein the skeletal portion of the porous metallic body is composed mainly of Fe and has an Ni covering layer on the surface thereof while pores communicating with the inside and outside of Fe skeletal portion exist in the Fe skeletal portion and the inside of the pores is covered with Ni. The electrode substrate is produced by applying an iron oxide powder of at most 20 .mu.m in an average particle size on a porous resin core body; heat treating the core to remove an organic resin component while simultaneously sintering Fe to obtain a porous Fe body; and then covering the Fe skeletal portion with Ni by electroplating. In this process, the iron oxide can be used in combination with carbon powder. Further, a nickel porous sintered body can also be produced using nickel oxide in place of iron oxide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 1998
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2000
    Assignees: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Keizo Harada, Kenichi Watanabe, Shosaku Yamanaka
  • Patent number: 5962164
    Abstract: The instant invention is an electrolyte additive for use with lead acid batteries containing antimony. The electrolyte additive consists of a mixture of natural oil such as white mineral oil or a hydro cracked and treated oil with naphthenic oil, a zinc free rust and oxidation inhibitor and an ethylene-propylene copolymer. The electrolyte additive is placed above the plate cells in lead acid batteries having antimony to inhibit gassing and misting with an ancillary benefit of increasing performance and durability of the battery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 5, 1999
    Assignee: Valany Import Export Inc.
    Inventor: Yves Lajeunesse