Patents Examined by Helen O Conley
  • Patent number: 9786902
    Abstract: An electrode for battery has an electrode mixture containing a binder and an active material particle selected from at least one of a carbonaceous material, a metal particle and a metal oxide particle formed on a current collector. When cutting strength of an interface between the current collector and the electrode mixture is represented by “a” and cutting strength in a horizontal direction within the electrode mixture is represented by “b”, the “a” and “b” satisfy a relation of a/b<1.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2017
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Yasuyuki Hotta, Takashi Kuboki, Tomokazu Morita
  • Patent number: 9786944
    Abstract: Redox flow devices are described in which at least one of the positive electrode or negative electrode-active materials is a semi-solid or is a condensed ion-storing electroactive material, and in which at least one of the electrode-active materials is transported to and from an assembly at which the electrochemical reaction occurs, producing electrical energy. The electronic conductivity of the semi-solid is increased by the addition of conductive particles to suspensions and/or via the surface modification of the solid in semi-solids (e.g., by coating the solid with a more electron conductive coating material to increase the power of the device). High energy density and high power redox flow devices are disclosed. The redox flow devices described herein can also include one or more inventive design features. In addition, inventive chemistries for use in redox flow devices are also described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2017
    Assignees: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 24M Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Yet-Ming Chiang, W. Craig Carter, Bryan Y. Ho, Mihai Duduta, Pimpa Limthongkul
  • Patent number: 9786893
    Abstract: A flexible electrochemical device in which a plurality of electrode assemblies is electrically connected to each other so that the flexible electrochemical device may be repeatedly bent, includes at least two electrode assemblies that are arranged separate from each other and a casing member that packs the at least two electrode assemblies and includes at least two accommodation portions in which electrode assemblies are individually received, and a connecting portion that connects the at least two adjacent accommodation portions where a path between a conductive line that electrically connects at least two electrode assemblies together and an electrolyte is defined in the connecting portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2017
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD
    Inventors: Moonseok Kwon, Jaeman Choi, Euncheol Do, Jaejun Chang, Yeonji Chung
  • Patent number: 9774044
    Abstract: A flow battery stack includes a plurality of flow battery cells, a manifold and a heat exchanger. Each flow battery cell includes an electrode layer that is wet by an electrolyte solution having a reversible redox couple reactant. The manifold includes a solution passage that exchanges the electrolyte solution with the flow battery cells. The heat exchanger includes a heat exchange fluid passage. The heat exchanger exchanges heat between the electrolyte solution in the solution passage and a heat exchange fluid directed through the heat exchange fluid passage. The flow battery cells, the manifold and the heat exchanger are arranged between first and second ends of the flow battery stack.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2017
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Michael L. Perry, Arun Pandy, Jinlei Ding
  • Patent number: 9774051
    Abstract: The present invention discloses a fuel supply for a fuel cell, the fuel cell including a liquid storage area that includes a liquid reactant, a reaction area that includes a solid reactant, wherein the liquid reactant is pumped into the reaction area such that the liquid reactant reacts with the solid reactant to produce reaction components, a product collection area that receives the reaction components, a barrier, and a container with an interior volume that substantially encloses the reaction area, liquid storage area, product collection area. The barrier separates and defines several of the aforementioned areas, and moves to simultaneously increase the product collector area and decrease the liquid storage area as the liquid reactant is pumped from the liquid storage area and the reaction components are transferred into the product collection area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2017
    Assignee: Intelligent Energy Limited
    Inventors: Daniel Braithwaite, Jesse Thomas, Adam Rodriguez, Tobin Fisher, Tibor Fabian
  • Patent number: 9768443
    Abstract: A positive electrode for a nonaqueous secondary battery including an active material layer which has sufficient electron conductivity with a low ratio of a conductive additive is provided. A positive electrode for a nonaqueous secondary battery including an active material layer which is highly filled with an active material, id est, including the active material and a low ratio of a conductive additive. The active material layer includes a plurality of particles of an active material with a layered rock salt structure, graphene that is in surface contact with the plurality of particles of the active material, and a binder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: SEMICONDUCTOR ENERGY LABORATORY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Takahiro Kawakami, Masaki Yamakaji, Mako Motoyoshi, Rika Yatabe
  • Patent number: 9751067
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to methods by which lead from spent lead-acid batteries may be extracted, purified, and used in the construction of new lead-acid batteries. A method includes: (A) forming a mixture including a carboxylate source and a lead-bearing material; (B) generating a first lead salt precipitate in the mixture as the carboxylate source reacts with the lead-bearing material; (C) increasing the pH of the mixture to dissolve the first lead salt precipitate; (D) isolating a liquid component of the mixture from one or more insoluble components of the mixture; (E) decreasing the pH of the liquid component of the mixture to generate a second lead salt precipitate; and (F) isolating the second lead salt precipitate from the liquid component of the mixture. Thereafter, the isolated lead salt precipitate may be converted to leady oxide for use in the manufacture of new lead-acid batteries.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2017
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventor: Matthew A. Spence
  • Patent number: 9755281
    Abstract: A method for connecting battery cells in a battery is provided, the battery including at least one measuring battery cell and at least one standard battery cell in a series connection, the standard battery cell having at least a nominal capacity which is greater than a nominal capacity threshold, the measuring battery cell having a nominal capacity which is less than the nominal capacity threshold, the measuring battery cell having a switchable bypass, the method including: monitoring a state of charge of the at least one measuring battery cell; and bypassing the at least one measuring battery cell using the switchable bypass if the state of charge of the at least one measuring battery cell drops below a predefined state of charge threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2017
    Assignee: ROBERT BOSCH GMBH
    Inventors: Joerg Poehler, Martin Tenzer
  • Patent number: 9748549
    Abstract: An integrated cell separator/high voltage bus bar carrier assembly for a high voltage traction battery includes a cell separator having a plurality of cell separator walls and a plurality of bus bar retention walls carried by the plurality of cell separator walls. A high voltage bus bar is carried by the plurality of bus bar retention walls of the cell separator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2017
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Philip Michael Gonzales, Enrique Rivera, Mary Casci
  • Patent number: 9742019
    Abstract: Gadolinium-doped cerium oxide slurries used to form a patchwork type surface structure with nanoporous grain boundary prepared by mixing gadolinium-doped cerium oxide and a polymer binder to form a first mixture; wet-atomizing the first mixture under a pressure of at least 100 MPa to obtain a second mixture; coating the second mixture to a substrate to fog in a coated substrate; and sintering the coated substrate. The patchwork type structure is a polygonal or honeycomb structure having a size of from 0.1 ?m to 3 ?m.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2017
    Assignee: King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals
    Inventors: Md Hasan Zahir, Haitham M. Bahaidarah
  • Patent number: 9740252
    Abstract: A system can include a processor; memory operatively coupled to the processor; lithium-ion battery cells to power at least the processor and the memory; and a thermal conduction matrix that includes crystalline carbon formations that distribute heat energy generated by the lithium-ion battery cells. Various other apparatuses, systems, methods, etc., are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2017
    Assignee: Lenovo (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.
    Inventors: Bouziane Yebka, Joseph Anthony Holung, Tin-Lup Wong, Philip John Jakes, Joseph David Plunkett
  • Patent number: 9741976
    Abstract: An energy storage device includes an electrode assembly, a case, a terminal part, and a current collector, wherein the terminal part has: an external terminal having at least a part exposed to outside of the case; a conduction member configured to make the external terminal and the current collector conductive; a decoupling mechanism configured to decouple the conduction member, or hinder a conduction state of the conduction member; and an auxiliary terminal disposed spaced from the external terminal, and having at least a part exposed to the outside of the case, the auxiliary terminal being electrically connected to the current collector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2017
    Assignee: GS YUASA INTERNATIONAL LTD.
    Inventor: Yasunori Okuno
  • Patent number: 9735409
    Abstract: On each negative plate (1), a non-woven fabric (2) composed of fibers of at least one material selected from a group of materials comprising glass, pulp and polyolefins comes into contact with the entire surface of the plate without being integrated with the plate. Each negative plate (1), which is in contact with the non-woven fabric (2), is contained in an envelope separator (3) comprising a microporous synthetic resin sheet, and is laminated with a positive plate (4). The non-woven fabric is manufactured through papermaking process in which glass fibers, pulp and silica powder are preferably used and dispersed in water as the main components.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2017
    Assignee: Hitachi Chemical Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masatoshi Toduka, Masanori Sakai, Shinsuke Kobayashi, Koji Kogure, Satoshi Minoura, Toshio Shibahara
  • Patent number: 9735437
    Abstract: A wet state control device for fuel cell includes a priority control unit for preferentially controlling either one of a pressure and a flow rate of cathode gas when a wet state of a fuel cell is adjusted, a water temperature control unit for controlling a temperature of cooling water when the wet state of the fuel cell is not completely adjustable by a control of the priority control unit, and a complementary control unit for controlling the other of the pressure and the flow rate of the cathode gas to complement a response delay of the water temperature control unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2017
    Assignee: NISSAN MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Tetsuya Aoki, Michihiko Matsumoto
  • Patent number: 9728343
    Abstract: A highly-reliable electrical storage device element and electrical storage device, in each of which on predetermined regions of predetermined end surfaces of a laminate forming an electrical storage component, sprayed end surface electrodes each having a high bond strength to the laminate are provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2017
    Assignee: MURATA MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Keiji Horikawa, Hiroki Horiguchi, Yukio Ehara, Yasuhiko Ueda, Hiroyuki Harada, Masaharu Itaya, Yasutake Fukuda, Shigeo Hayashi
  • Patent number: 9722215
    Abstract: A battery includes a cylindrical battery case and an electrode group including a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a separator. The electrode group and the battery case define a space communicated from a top to a bottom, and one of the positive electrode and the negative electrode has a current collecting terminal that extends from the electrode group in a direction away from a center axis of the battery case and is in contact with a bottom surface of the battery case.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2017
    Assignee: GS Yuasa International Ltd.
    Inventors: Daisuke Okuda, Manabu Kanemoto, Mitsuhiro Kodama, Tadashi Kakeya
  • Patent number: 9722233
    Abstract: A lithium ion battery module includes a battery cell stack disposed within a housing of the battery module. The stack includes a first battery cell, a second battery cell positioned adjacent to the first battery cell, and a battery cell separator fitted over the first battery cell. The battery cell separator includes a plurality of walls formed from a continuous material and defining a pocket in which the first battery cell is disposed. The plurality of walls is configured to electrically insulate the first cell from the second cell. The separator also includes a projection extending from a wall of the plurality of walls, the projection is positioned between a terminal of the first battery cell and a terminal of the second battery cell and is configured to electrically insulate the terminals from one another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2017
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Matthew R. Tyler, Richard M. DeKeuster, Dale B. Trester, Christopher M. Bonin, Ken Nakayama
  • Patent number: 9711292
    Abstract: At least one of an aqueous solution A containing lithium, an aqueous solution B containing iron, manganese, cobalt, or nickel, and an aqueous solution C containing a phosphoric acid includes graphene oxide. The aqueous solution A is dripped into the aqueous solution C, so that a mixed solution E including a precipitate D is prepared. The mixed solution E is dripped into the aqueous solution B, so that a mixed solution G including a precipitate F is prepared. The mixed solution G is subjected to heat treatment in a pressurized atmosphere, so that a mixed solution H is prepared, and the mixed solution H is then filtered. Thus, particles of a compound containing lithium and oxygen which have a small size are obtained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2017
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., LTD.
    Inventors: Takuya Miwa, Kuniharu Nomoto, Nobuhiro Inoue
  • Patent number: 9705155
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a solid electrolyte secondary battery includes a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a solid electrolyte layer, wherein at least one selected from the positive electrode and the negative electrode comprises active material particles, first solid electrolyte particles located the vicinity of a surface of the active material particles, and second solid electrolyte particles located a gap between the active material particles. A particle size ratio of a second solid electrolyte particle size D2 to a first solid electrolyte particle size D1 (D2/D1) satisfies the relation of 3<D2/D1<50, where D1 and D2 denote a particle size of the first and second solid electrolyte particles, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2017
    Assignee: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA
    Inventors: Keigo Hoshina, Hiroki Inagaki, Norio Takami
  • Patent number: 9698443
    Abstract: In at least one of principal surfaces of the electrolyte sheet for a solid oxide fuel cell of the present invention, (1) a burr height [?H (0-3)] in a first zone is 100 ?m or less, as measured by irradiating the principal surface of the sheet with a laser beam at a pitch of 0.01 mm using a laser optical three-dimensional shape measurement device, the first zone being a zone extending between a peripheral edge of the sheet and a position 3 mm inside the peripheral edge, and (2) a ratio [?H (0.61-3)/?H (0-0.6)] of a burr height [?H (0.61-3)] in a third zone to a burr height [?H (0-0.6)] in a second zone is 0.5 or more and 2.0 or less, as calculated from the burr heights measured by irradiating the principal surface of the sheet with a laser beam at a pitch of 0.01 mm using the laser optical three-dimensional shape measurement device, the second zone being a zone extending between the peripheral edge of the sheet and a position 0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2017
    Assignee: NIPPON SHOKUBAI CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kazuo Hata, Katsuhiko Sakamoto, Norikazu Aikawa