Patents Examined by Barbara Gilliam
  • Patent number: 9954215
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates battery with an integrated power management system and scalable cutoff component, the battery system including a battery housing with first and second voltage output terminals, a plurality of rechargeable battery cells within the battery housing and having first and second voltage terminals; a power management system for generating an external control signal and an internal control signal based upon monitored operating parameters of the plurality of rechargeable battery cells, said external control signal for controlling an external power source and/or an external load, said power management system forming an integral part of the battery system; and a cutoff switch circuit within the battery housing and for making and breaking a conductive path between the first voltage terminal of the plurality of battery cells and the first voltage output terminal of the battery housing in response the internal control signal from the battery management system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2018
    Assignee: A123 Systems, LLC
    Inventor: Brian J. Pevear
  • Patent number: 9923182
    Abstract: An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a structure that contributes to increasing the capacity density. A secondary cell according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a plurality of periodic unit structures that are arranged on a first surface. Each of those periodic unit structures includes a positive electrode layer and a negative electrode layer, each of which projects away from the first surface, and a solid electrolyte interposed between the positive electrode and negative electrode layers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2018
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Miyuki Nakai, Satoshi Shibata, Emiko Igaki, Hirofumi Fujita
  • Patent number: 9917302
    Abstract: An electrode active material for a lithium secondary battery, a method of preparing the electrode active material, an electrode for a lithium secondary battery which includes the same, a lithium secondary battery using the electrode. The electrode active material includes a core active material and a coating layer including magnesium aluminum oxide (MgAlO2) and formed on the core active material. 1s binding energy peaks of oxygen (O) in the electrode active material measured by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) are shown at positions corresponding to 529.4±0.5 eV, about 530.7 eV, and 531.9±0.5 eV, and a peak intensity at the position corresponding to 529.4±0.5 eV is stronger than a peak intensity at the position corresponding to about 530.7 eV.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2018
    Assignee: Samsung SDI Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Chang-Ui Jeong, Sung-Hwan Moon, Jae-Hyuk Kim, Yury Matulevich, Hee-Young Chu, Myung-Hwan Jeong, Jong-Seo Choi
  • Patent number: 9917325
    Abstract: The disclosed embodiments provide a battery cell which includes a set of jelly rolls enclosed in a pouch. Each jelly roll includes layers which are wound together, including a cathode with an active coating, a separator, and an anode with an active coating. The battery cell also includes a first set of conductive tabs and a second set of conductive tabs. Each of the first set of conductive tabs is coupled to the cathode of one of the jelly rolls, and each of the second set of conductive tabs is coupled to the anode of one of the jelly rolls. At least one of the first set and one of the second set of conductive tabs extend through seals in the pouch to provide terminals for the battery cell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2018
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Ramesh C. Bhardwaj, Taisup Hwang, Richard M. Mank
  • Patent number: 9909823
    Abstract: A system for controlling thermal conductivity between two thermal masses is disclosed. The system includes a first conduction body in thermal contact with a heat source and a second conduction body in contact with a heat sink. A thermal expansion component operatively connects to the first conduction body and moves the body between first and second positions at a predetermined temperature. In the first position the first conduction body is spaced apart from the second conduction body, thermally isolating the heat source from the heat sink. In the second position the first conduction body thermally contacts the second conduction body, and conducts heat from the heat source, through the conduction bodies and into the heat sink. Related methods are also described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2018
    Assignee: Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation
    Inventor: Michael J. Andres
  • Patent number: 9899658
    Abstract: A high current fuse with a short time constant is provided for use in an electric vehicle. The fuse is designed to exhibit thermal characteristics that are similar if not substantially identical to those of the wire bond interconnects used in the vehicle's battery pack. As a result, the system does not go into an overheat protection condition when the system is subjected to repetitive high current cycles, such as those common during aggressive and/or spirited driving.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2018
    Assignee: ATIEVA, INC.
    Inventors: Richard J. Biskup, Jean-Philippe Gauthier
  • Patent number: 9899677
    Abstract: A positive active material for a rechargeable lithium battery including a lithium metal oxide represented by the following Chemical Formula 1, a method of preparing the same, and a rechargeable lithium battery including the same. LiaMeM?kO2??Chemical Formula 1 In Chemical Formula 1, Me is NixCoyMnz, M? is Mg, Al, Fe, P, or a combination thereof, 0.955?a<1.05, 0.001?k?0.1, 0.5<x?0.65, 0.1<y?0.25, 0.1<z?0.25, x+y+z+k=1, M? is doped at a Li site and at least one of Ni, Co, and Mn sites, M? is doped in an amount at 0.1 mol % or 10 mol % or between 0.1 mol % and 10 mol % based on the total amount of Ni, Co, and Mn, and a doping mole ratio of M? doped at the Li site with respect to a Me site is in the following range: about 0.001?ALi/AMe?about 0.5.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2018
    Assignee: Samsung SDI Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ji-Hyun Kim, Do-Hyung Park, Seon-Young Kwon, Min-Han Kim, Yu-Mi Song, Kyoung-Hyun Kim
  • Patent number: 9896555
    Abstract: Preferred embodiments of a freestanding, heat resistant microporous polymer film (10) constructed for use in an energy storage device (70, 100) implements one or more of the following approaches to exhibit excellent high temperature mechanical and dimensional stability: incorporation into a porous polyolefin film of sufficiently high loading levels of inorganic or ceramic filler material (16) to maintain porosity (18) and achieve low thermal shrinkage; use of crosslinkable polyethylene to contribute to crosslinking the polymer matrix (14) in a highly inorganic material-filled polyolefin film; and heat treating or annealing of biaxially oriented, highly inorganic material-filled polyolefin film above the melting point temperature of the polymer matrix to reduce residual stress while maintaining high porosity. The freestanding, heat resistant microporous polymer film embodiments exhibit extremely low resistance, as evidenced by MacMullin numbers of less than 4.5.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2018
    Assignee: Amtek Research International LLC
    Inventors: Richard W. Pekala, Srinivas Cherukupalli, Robert R. Waterhouse
  • Patent number: 9899641
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, there is provided a battery. The battery includes a metallic outer can, a wound electrode group, a positive electrode-lead, a negative electrode-lead, a positive electrode insulating cover, and a negative electrode insulating cover.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2018
    Assignee: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA
    Inventors: Tatsuya Shinoda, Hideyuki Ishii, Kengo Kurata, Yoshiaki Asami, Tsutomu Matsui, Eiki Kashiwazaki, Kenichi Takahashi
  • Patent number: 9893341
    Abstract: A device for connecting tabs of battery cells includes an isolation board defining a first through slot seated on the surfaces of the battery cells from which the tabs extending out; a metal plate mounted on a surface of the isolation board afar from the battery cells, the metal plate defining a second through slot corresponding to the first through slot of the isolation board; and a metal conductive plate secured to the metal plate. The tabs of the battery cells extending through the first through slot and the second through slot are bent and seated on a surface of the metal plate afar from the isolation board, and the metal conductive plate is detachably fastened to the metal plate so that the tabs of the battery cells are securely sandwiched between the metal plate and the metal conductive plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2018
    Assignee: CONTEMPORARY AMPEREX TECHNOLOGY LIMITED
    Inventors: Yajie Chen, Weibo Zou, Yangang Yang
  • Patent number: 9882245
    Abstract: Alkoxide magnesium halide compounds having the formula: RO—Mg—X??(1) wherein R is a saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbon group that is unsubstituted, or alternatively, substituted with one or more heteroatom linkers and/or one or more heteroatom-containing groups comprising at least one heteroatom selected from fluorine, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, and silicon; and X is a halide atom. Also described are electrolyte compositions containing a compound of Formula (1) in a suitable polar aprotic or ionic solvent, as well as magnesium batteries in which such electrolytes are incorporated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2018
    Assignee: UT-BATTELLE, LLC
    Inventors: Sheng Dai, Xiao-Guang Sun, Chen Liao, Bingkun Guo
  • Patent number: 9882230
    Abstract: A fuel cell stack has a multiplicity of individual cells, which each include an anode flow field, a membrane electrode arrangement, and a cathode flow field. Each flow field has a media inlet and channels for carrying the media. The anode flow fields and/or the cathode flow fields have the media inlet on their upward-facing side when used as intended, and are open on their downward-facing side when used as intended.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2018
    Assignee: Daimler AG
    Inventors: Philipp Hausmann, Matthias Jesse, Cosimo Mazzotta
  • Patent number: 9876238
    Abstract: An example fuel cell assembly includes a plate having channels configured to facilitate movement of a fuel cell fluid near an area of active flow of fuel cell. The channels include portions having a varying depth that extend laterally outside of the area of active flow.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2018
    Assignee: Audi AG
    Inventors: Jonathan Daniel O'Neill, Timothy W. Patterson, Christopher John Carnevale, Roopnarine Sukhram
  • Patent number: 9871241
    Abstract: There is provided an electrode assembly having increased degrees of structural freedom in the thickness direction thereof. The electrode assembly includes negative and positive electrodes alternately stacked with separators interposed therebetween, wherein the electrode assembly is formed by stacking N electrode stacks where N is a natural number equal to or greater than 2, each of the electrode stacks comprises electrodes having the same area and stacked with separators interposed therebetween, and neighboring electrode stacks of the electrode stacks have different electrode areas, wherein a first electrode stack of the electrode stacks is formed by stacking unit cells respectively including an odd number of electrodes, and the other electrode stacks stacked on the first electrode are formed by stacking unit cells respectively including an even number of electrodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2018
    Assignee: LG Chem, Ltd.
    Inventors: Sung-Jin Kwon, Ki-Woong Kim, Soon-Ho Ahn, Dong-Myung Kim, Young-Hoon Kim, Sung-Han Yoon, Seung-Min Ryu
  • Patent number: 9870873
    Abstract: Mixture of particles comprising a non-conducting or semi-conducting nucleus covered with a hybrid conductor coating and hybrid conductor chains located between the particles of the mixture to constitute a conductivity network, that is prepared by mechanical crushing. Due to a very good conductivity of the network, a low resistivity, a very good capacity under elevated current and/or a good density of energy, these mixtures of particles are advantageously incorporated in anodes and cathodes of electrochemical generators, resulting in highly performing electrochemical systems.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2018
    Assignee: HYDRO-QUEBEC
    Inventors: Karim Zaghib, Patrick Charest, Abdelbast Guerfi, Michel Perrier, Kimio Kinoshita
  • Patent number: 9865858
    Abstract: A lithium ion secondary battery according to an embodiment of this disclosure includes: a positive electrode mixture layer provided on a main plane of a positive electrode current collector; a negative electrode mixture layer provided on a main plane of a negative electrode current collector; and an insulator covering a region of a part of a surface of a gradually-decreasing portion included in the positive electrode mixture layer. The portion has thickness gradually decreasing toward a terminal of the positive electrode mixture layer; the surface of the portion has a tangent line in contact with the surface in at least two contact points, and has a depressed part between any adjacent two contact points on the tangent line; and an end of the insulator is positioned between the contact points closest to and farthest from the terminal of the positive electrode mixture layer along the tangent line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2018
    Assignee: AUTOMOTIVE ENERGY SUPPLY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tsutomu Oshima, Shinichiro Sakaguchi
  • Patent number: 9859557
    Abstract: Disclosed are: nickel complex hydroxide particles that have small and uniform particle diameters; and a method by which the nickel complex hydroxide particles can be produced. Specifically disclosed is a method for producing a nickel complex hydroxide by a crystallization reaction, which comprises: a nucleation step in which nucleation is carried out, while controlling an aqueous solution for nucleation containing an ammonium ion supplying material and a metal compound that contains nickel to have a pH of 12.0-13.4 at a liquid temperature of 25° C.; and a particle growth step in which nuclei are grown, while controlling an aqueous solution for particle growth containing the nuclei, which have been formed in the nucleation step, to have a pH of 10.5-12.0 at a liquid temperature of 25° C. In this connection, the pH in the particle growth step is controlled to be less than the pH in the nucleation step.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2018
    Assignee: SUMITOMO METAL MINING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kensaku Mori, Shin Imaizumi, Rei Kokado
  • Patent number: 9853321
    Abstract: Described herein are liquid, organosilicon compounds that including a substituent that is a cyano (—CN), cyanate (—OCN), isocyanate (—NCO), thiocyanate (—SCN) or isothiocyanate (—NCS). The organosilicon compounds are useful in electrolyte compositions and can be used in any electrochemical device where electrolytes are conventionally used.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2017
    Assignee: Silatronix, Inc.
    Inventors: Jose Pena Hueso, David Osmalov, Jian Dong, Monica Usrey, Michael Pollina, Robert C. West
  • Patent number: 9847548
    Abstract: An ionic conductor is provided, wherein a composition formula thereof is Li9+xAl3(P2O7)3(PO4)2?x(GeO4)x, wherein x is a range of 0<x?2.0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2017
    Assignee: FUJITSU LIMITED
    Inventor: Kenji Homma
  • Patent number: 9847533
    Abstract: A solid polymer electrolyte membrane having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface, where the solid polymer electrolyte membrane has a failure force greater than about 115 grams and comprises a composite membrane consisting essentially of (a) at least one expanded PTFE membrane having a porous microstructure of polymeric fibrils, and (b) at least one ion exchange material impregnated throughout the porous microstructure of the expanded PTFE membrane so as to render an interior volume of the expanded PTFE membrane substantially occlusive; (c) at least one substantially occlusive, electronically insulating first composite layer interposed between the expanded PTFE membrane and the first surface, the first composite layer comprising a plurality of first carbon particles supporting a catalyst comprising platinum and an ion exchange material, wherein a plurality of the first carbon particles has a particle size less than about 75 nm, or less than about 50 nm, or less than about 25 nm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2017
    Assignee: W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas Berta, William Shamrock