Patents Examined by Jonathan Crepeau
  • Patent number: 12015160
    Abstract: A nanowire catalyst for a fuel cell has a porous structure in which first and second pores having predetermined pore sizes are uniformly dispersed inside and on the surface thereof at a predetermined volume ratio. This enables the efficient exposure of active sites and efficient mass transfer, thereby improving fuel cell performance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2024
    Assignees: HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY, KIA CORPORATION
    Inventor: Dong Yoon Shin
  • Patent number: 12002921
    Abstract: A novel silver-lithium-iodine solid-state energy device and system are disclosed. The rechargeable, self-assembled, dual-function, metal-iodide battery exhibits small size and high deliverable power. Inert until activation, the device may be stored for long periods of time. Upon activation, the device assembles the required electrochemical moieties for operation without external intervention. The device limits short-circuiting and self-discharge of the system by spontaneous reactions at the electrode/electrolyte interfaces, and thus is self-healing. By incorporating both silver and lithium in the same system, a dual function is achieved, whereby the characteristics of a lithium-based battery dominate at a low load and those of a silver-based battery dominate under a high load.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2024
    Assignee: THE RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
    Inventors: Esther S. Takeuchi, Kenneth J. Takeuchi, Amy C. Marschilok
  • Patent number: 12003002
    Abstract: An object provides a power generation apparatus performing the purification of an Al alloy melt using scrap as raw material. A power generation apparatus includes: a container body with aluminum alloy melt and molten salt in a liquid junction with the aluminum alloy melt; an anode which is in contact with the aluminum alloy melt; and a cathode which is in contact with the molten salt. DC power is obtained from between the anode and the cathode by an anode reaction on the aluminum alloy melt side and a cathode reaction on the molten salt side. When the aluminum alloy melt and the molten salt are separated by a separator allowing ionic conduction between the aluminum alloy melt and molten salt, the power generation efficiency is enhanced. The amount of a reactant in the Al alloy melt is monitored by measuring the electrical quantity associated with the power generation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2024
    Assignee: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOYOTA CHUO KENKYUSHO
    Inventors: Jun Yaokawa, Kazuma Hibi, Takuma Minoura, Hiroshi Kawahara, Yasushi Iwata
  • Patent number: 12002968
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a method of manufacturing catalyst slurry for fuel cells capable of greatly improving efficiency in use of catalyst metal and a method of manufacturing an electrode for fuel cells using the catalyst slurry manufactured using the method. Specifically, the method of manufacturing catalyst slurry for fuel cells includes preparing a catalyst including a porous carrier and catalyst metal, introducing the catalyst, a solvent, and an ionomer into a chamber, and infiltrating the ionomer into pores of the carrier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2024
    Assignees: HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY, KIA MOTORS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yoon Hwan Cho, Kook Il Han, Su Won Seol
  • Patent number: 12002975
    Abstract: A battery module for construction of a battery pack includes a battery sealed in a rectangular housing with front and rear open ends closed by front and rear plates, respectively. The rear plate includes a plurality of rear plate bores in axial alignment with a plurality of housing bores proximal the rear open end of the housing. The front plate includes a plurality of front plate bores in axial alignment with a plurality of housing bores proximal the front open end of the housing. The front plate additionally includes positive and negative terminals electrically connected to the battery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2024
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: David M. Andrews, Brian R. Bell, Adam R. Rosenberger, David S. Moore
  • Patent number: 12002987
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a separator for a rechargeable lithium battery and a rechargeable lithium battery including same, the separator includes a porous substrate; and an adhesive layer formed on the porous substrate. The adhesive layer includes a particle-type binder having a core-shell structure including a core and a shell surrounding the core, the core includes a first polymer having a glass transition temperature of less than or equal to 30° C., the shell includes a second polymer having a glass transition temperature of greater than or equal to 40° C., and the particle-type binder has a diameter of 50 nm to 500 nm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2024
    Assignees: Samsung SDI Co., Ltd., Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Minho Cho, Hana Kim, Myungkook Park, Seung Rim Yang, Byungmin Lee, Jungsue Jang, Bokyung Jung
  • Patent number: 11990632
    Abstract: A battery pack including battery cells including a first end portion and a second end portion in a length direction thereof; a cell holder having a first surface through which portions of the first end portions are exposed in the length direction; a circuit board having a first surface through which the portions of the first end portions and a portion of the first surface of the cell holder are exposed; measurement members connecting the battery cells to the circuit board; and a photocurable adhesive surrounding the measurement members, wherein the first end portions, the first surface of the cell holder, and the first surface of the circuit board are arranged in a stepped manner at least partially exposed to an outside of the circuit board in the length direction of the battery cells and are at least partially covered by the photocurable adhesive.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2024
    Assignee: SAMSUNG SDI CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Nohyun Kwag
  • Patent number: 11990615
    Abstract: A cathode active material for a lithium secondary battery includes a lithium-transition metal composite oxide particle having a lattice strain (?) of 0.18 or less, which is calculated by applying Williamson-Hall method defined by Equation 1 to XRD peaks measured through XRD analysis, and having an XRD peak intensity ratio of 8.9% or less, which is defined by Equation 2. By controlling the lattice strain and XRD peak intensity ratio of the lithium-transition metal composite oxide particle, a lithium secondary battery with improved life-span characteristics as well as output characteristics is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2023
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2024
    Assignee: SK ON CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Sang Han Lee, Min Gu Kang, Jeong Bae Yoon, Yong Hyun Cho
  • Patent number: 11984630
    Abstract: A method for making an improved fuel cell using a porosity gradient design for gas diffusion layers in a hydrogen fuel cell, a gas diffusion layer made by the method and a fuel cell containing the gas diffusion layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2023
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2024
    Assignee: KING FAHD UNIVERSITY OF PETROLEUM AND MINERALS
    Inventor: Jamal Hussain Al-Smail
  • Patent number: 11984607
    Abstract: A gas diffusion layer includes: a conductive particle; and a fluororesin, and the fluororesin includes a first fiber having a first average fiber diameter and a second fiber having a second average fiber diameter different from the first average fiber diameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2024
    Assignee: PANASONIC HOLDINGS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tsutomu Kawashima, Yoko Yamamoto, Miyuki Yoshimoto, Koji Ogawa
  • Patent number: 11978936
    Abstract: A method for making an improved fuel cell using a porosity gradient design for gas diffusion layers in a hydrogen fuel cell, a gas diffusion layer made by the method and a fuel cell containing the gas diffusion layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2023
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: KING FAHD UNIVERSITY OF PETROLEUM AND MINERALS
    Inventor: Jamal Hussain Al-Smail
  • Patent number: 11973254
    Abstract: An electrochemical cell and battery system including cells, each cell including a catholyte, an anolyte, and a separator disposed between the catholyte and anolyte and that is permeable to the at least one ionic species (for example, a metal cation or the hydroxide ion). The catholyte solution includes a ferricyanide, permanganate, manganate, sulfur, and/or polysulfide compound, and the anolyte includes a sulfide and/or polysulfide compound. These electrochemical couples may be embodied in various physical architectures, including static (non-flowing) architectures or in flow battery (flowing) architectures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2024
    Assignee: FORM ENERGY, INC.
    Inventors: Liang Su, Wei Xie, Yet-Ming Chiang, William Henry Woodford, Lucas Cohen, Jessa Silver, Katelyn Ripley, Eric Weber, Marco Ferrara, Mateo Cristian Jaramillo, Theodore Alan Wiley
  • Patent number: 11973237
    Abstract: A battery pack is configured to be coupled to a power tool. The battery pack includes a housing having a cavity. The battery pack includes a battery cell carrier having first and second carriages. The first and second carriages support a plurality of battery cells therebetween. The battery cell carrier is configurable in different configurations based on a size of the plurality of battery cells supported between the first and second carriages. The battery pack includes a plurality of mounting features between the housing and the battery cell carrier. The plurality of mounting features is configured to alternatively secure the different configurations of the battery cell carrier to the housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2024
    Assignee: Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation
    Inventors: Matthew J. Peña, Cameron R. Schulz
  • Patent number: 11961962
    Abstract: A solid ion conductor compound including Li, Ho, and a halogen element, wherein the compound has diffraction peaks at 30°2? to 33°2?, 33°2? to 36°2?, 40°2? to 44°2?, and 48°2? to 52°28?, when analyzed using CuK? radiation, and wherein a full width at half maximum of at least one peak at 40°2? to 44°2? is 0.3°2? or greater.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Wonsung Choi, Gabin Yoon, Tomoyuki Tsujimura, Toshinori Sugimoto
  • Patent number: 11961958
    Abstract: A composition includes an electrode made of Lithium Manganese Oxyfluoride (LMOF). A single layer separator adheres to a surface of the electrode, is a dielectric that is conductive for Lithium ions but not electrons, and has top and bottom sides. A solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) saturates the electrode so that the LMOF is between 55 percent and 85 percent by mass of a composition of the LMOF electrode and the SPE is between 7.5 percent and 20 percent by mass of the composition of the LMOF electrode. The SPE saturates the separator so that the SPE resides both on the separator top and bottom sides so that the SPE residing on the separator top side contacts the surface. The LMOF exhibits X-Ray Diffraction spectrum peaks between twenty-two and twenty-four 2-theta degrees, between forty-eight and fifty 2-theta degrees, between fifty-four and fifty-six 2-theta degrees, and between fifty-six and fifty-eight 2-theta degrees.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: John Collins, Bucknell C. Webb, Paul S. Andry, Teodor Krassimirov Todorov, Devendra K. Sadana
  • Patent number: 11955678
    Abstract: Methods to improve redox flow battery performance with improved CE, reduced electrolyte solution crossover, and simplified solution refreshing process have been developed. The methods include controlling the pre-charging degree and conditions to allow high quality metal plating (ductile and uniform), for example, Fe(O), on the negative electrode. Control of the pre-charging conditions can be combined with increasing the concentration of metal ions compared to existing systems, while maintaining the same concentration in both the negative and positive electrolytes, or increasing the concentration of metal ions in the negative electrolyte so that the negative electrolyte has a higher concentration of metal ions than the positive electrolyte.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: UOP LLC
    Inventors: Chunqing Liu, Chaoyi Ba, Xueliang Dong
  • Patent number: 11929484
    Abstract: Disclosed in the present application is a compound, comprising nano silicon, a lithium-containing compound and a carbon coating, or comprising nano silicon, silicon oxide, a lithium-containing compound, and a carbon coating. The method comprises: (1) solid-phase mixing of carbon coated silicon oxide with a lithium source; and (2) preforming heat-treatment of the pre-lithium precursor obtained in step (1) in a vacuum or non-oxidising atmosphere to obtain a compound. The method is simple, and has low equipment requirements and low costs; the obtained compound has a stable structure and the structure and properties do not deteriorate during long-term storage, a battery made of cathode material containing said compound exhibits high delithiation capacity, high initial coulombic efficiency, and good recycling properties, the charging capacity is over 1920 mAh/g, the discharging capacity is over 1768 mAh/g, and the initial capacity is over 90.2%.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: BTR NEW MATERIAL GROUP CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Chunlei Pang, Lijuan Qu, Jianguo Ren, Min Yue
  • Patent number: 11923550
    Abstract: The preset disclosure provides a catalyst layer that has a small contact resistance with a gas diffusion layer and excellent gas diffusion properties. The catalyst layer for a fuel cell has a uniform thickness and includes fibrous conductive members and catalyst particles. The fibrous conductive members are inclined relative to a surface direction of the catalyst layer, and a lengthwise direction of the fibrous conductive members, on average, matches a first direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Takeshi Minamiura, Hitoshi Ishimoto, Shinichiro Imura, Kazuya Yamasaki, Yukihiro Shimasaki
  • Patent number: 11923549
    Abstract: An adhesive layer is placed in a region outside an outer peripheral edge part of a second catalyst layer, on a second surface of an electrolyte membrane. A support frame is placed via the adhesive layer such that the second catalyst layer and a second gas diffusion layer are placed inside an opening of the support frame. A specific region as a region between the outer peripheral edge part of the second catalyst layer and an inner peripheral edge part of the opening of the support frame is present. A predetermined material is placed inside a recessed portion present on a surface of the adhesive layer inside the specific region, the predetermined material containing at least one of a first substance having an action of decomposing hydrogen peroxide and a second substance having an action of decomposing hydroxyl radicals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Atsushi Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 11916212
    Abstract: A battery module includes a cell stack in which a plurality of unit cells including terminal parts are aligned in a first direction and an insulating member surrounds the plurality of unit cells; and a module housing in which a plurality of receiving parts, into each of which the cell stack is configured to be inserted, are provided and are aligned in a first direction and a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, wherein each of the plurality of receiving parts includes a fixing wall around the cell stack and having at least a portion which is in contact with the cell stack. The cell stacks adjacent to each other in the second direction are electrically connected to each other, and the cell stacks adjacent to each other in the first direction are electrically disconnected from each other, when not connected to an end module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2023
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: Samsung SDI Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Dooyong Lim, Sungyong Kim, Jaeho Kim, Soodeok Moon, Daeyeop Park, Jangwoong Bae, Junhyung Lee, Jisoon Lim, Eungi Heo