Patents Examined by Kimberly Wyluda
  • Patent number: 11264610
    Abstract: This application relates to a battery comprising a positive electrode plate, a separator, and a negative electrode plate, wherein the positive electrode plate comprises a positive electrode current collector and at least two layers of positive active material coated on at least one surface of the positive electrode current collector, and wherein the underlying positive active material layer in contact with the positive electrode current collector comprises a first positive active material, a first polymer material and a first conductive material, and the first polymer material comprises fluorinated polyolefin and/or chlorinated polyolefin polymer material. The battery has good safety and improved electrical properties.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2022
    Assignee: Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited
    Inventors: Fenggang Zhao, Yongshou Lin, Zhenhua Li, Haizu Jin, Xiaowen Zhang
  • Patent number: 11251458
    Abstract: A cylindrical battery with an electrode assembly, an electrolytic solution, a bottomed cylindrical exterior case accommodating the electrode assembly and the electrolytic solution, and a sealing unit fixed by crimping of an open end portion of the exterior case via a gasket. The sealing unit includes a valve member which has a protrudent portion that is annular in plan view, an insulating plate which is fitted within the inner periphery of the protrudent portion and which has an outer peripheral skirt portion, and a metal plate which is fixed within the inner periphery of the skirt portion of the insulating plate and which is connected to a central portion of the valve member. The tip of the protrudent portion is located at a level which does not reach the level of a second surface portion of the metal plate in the direction of thickness of the sealing unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2022
    Assignee: SANYO Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shin Haraguchi, Kyosuke Miyata
  • Patent number: 11251502
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an electrode assembly in which a plurality of electrode stacks are stacked to improve product reliability when manufactured and a method for manufacturing the same. The present invention also relates to a method for manufacturing an electrode assembly and includes a preparation step of preparing a plurality of electrode stacks in which an electrode and a separator are alternately stacked, a stacking step of stacking the plurality of electrode stacks on each other, a packaging step of wrapping and packaging a circumferential potion of the plurality of stacked electrode stacks using a separator member, and a fixing step of heating and pressing the separator member to fix the plurality of stacked electrode stacks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2022
    Inventors: Hyun Tae Kim, Byung Heon Shin, Kieun Sung
  • Patent number: 11245158
    Abstract: Disclosed are a separator and an electrochemical device including the same. The separator includes: a porous substrate having a plurality of pores; and a pair of porous coating layers formed on at least one surface of the porous substrate, and including a plurality of inorganic particles and a binder disposed partially or totally on the surface of the inorganic particles to connect and fix the inorganic particles with each other, wherein the binder is used in an amount of 5-40 wt % based on the total weight of the porous coating layer, the inorganic particles include boehmite particles, the binder includes a fluorine-based binder and a rubber-based binder, and the fluorine-based binder and the rubber-based binder are used at a weight ratio of 80:20-99.9:0.1.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2022
    Assignee: LG ENERGY SOLUTION, LTD.
    Inventors: Dong-Wook Sung, Min-Ji Gu
  • Patent number: 11245144
    Abstract: A method of charging a metal-air fuel cell. The method includes a step of orienting an anode chamber horizontally. The method further method includes a step of providing metal particles suspended in an electrolyte to flow through the anode chamber in a downstream direction oriented horizontally. The method further method includes a step of allowing a bed of the metal particles to form on the anode current collector. The plurality of particle collectors perturb the flow of electrolyte through the anode chamber and encourage settling of the particles one of on and between the particle collectors. The method further method includes a step of maintaining uniform formation of the bed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2022
    Assignee: ZINC8 ENERGY SOLUTIONS INC.
    Inventors: Stuart Smedley, Wolf Tivy, Boguslaw Wozniczka, David Robert Bruce
  • Patent number: 11228073
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to a protection assembly, a cover and a housing. The protection assembly is applied for an energy storage device having a pressure relief element, wherein the pressure relief element is structured to deform in response to an increasing internal pressure in the energy storage device until the pressure relief element bursts, and the energy storage device can expel high temperature particles through the burst pressure relief element. The protection assembly comprises: a particle-blocking layer comprising a receiving side for receiving the high temperature particles and a connecting side opposite to the receiving side, wherein the particle-blocking layer comprises a plurality of particle-blocking units in a concave-convex arrangement, and the particle-blocking unit can block the high temperature particles; and a separate protective layer disposed at the connecting side of the particle-blocking layer and connected to the particle-blocking layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2022
    Assignee: Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited
    Inventors: Kai Wu, Dan Shen, Xiaobo Chen, Shilong Chen
  • Patent number: 11217846
    Abstract: An electrochemical cell that converts chemical energy to electrical energy includes a cathode with an active material of fluorinated carbon on a perforated metal cathode current collector, a lithium anode on a perforated metal anode current collector, a stepped header, a stable electrolyte, and a separator. In various embodiments, an anode current collector design, a cathode current collector design, a stepped header design, a cathode formulation, an electrolyte formulation, a separator, and a battery incorporating the electrochemical cell are provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2022
    Assignee: EAGLEPICHER TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Dong Zhang, Jason A Mudge, David Timothy Andrew Darch, Destephen Mario, Ernest Ndzebet, Umamaheswari Janakiraman
  • Patent number: 11205816
    Abstract: A battery housing for a vehicle driven by electric motor has a first housing part and a second housing part connected to the first housing part. A battery chamber is enclosed by the housing parts. The housing parts have a connecting flange. The connecting flange of at least one of the two housing parts has at least one supporting projection, which extends in the direction of the connecting flange of the other housing part as support for the connecting flange of the other housing part. The two connecting flanges of the housing parts are connected to one another at a distance from the supporting projection and are put under tension. A plurality of supporting projections spaced a distance apart from one another in the circumferential direction of the connecting flange is arranged on the flanges.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 21, 2021
    Assignee: KIRCHHOFF AUTOMOTIVE DEUTSCHLAND GMBH
    Inventor: Alexander Günther
  • Patent number: 11201340
    Abstract: A hydrogen supply control system for a fuel cell is provided. The system includes a fuel cell stack that generates electricity using supplied hydrogen and air and a recirculation line that supplies hydrogen discharged from an outlet of the fuel cell stack back to an inlet of the fuel cell stack. A purge valve is disposed at an outlet side of the fuel cell stack of the recirculation line and discharges hydrogen in the recirculation line to the outside as the outlet is opened. A recirculation determining processor determines a recirculation state of the recirculation line and a concentration estimator estimates a purge amount for each gas, which is purged by the purge valve, based on the determined recirculation state and estimates a concentration of hydrogen in the recirculation line based on the estimated purge amount for each gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2021
    Assignees: Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Motors Corporation
    Inventors: Soon Woo Kwon, Joon Yong Lee
  • Patent number: 11196116
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing a battery, in particular a button battery, including a case, provided with a container and a cap, and a polymer gasket, in particular made of polypropylene, compressed and bonded between the container and the cap. The method successively includes a step of implanting a silicatised layer by tribochemical sand blasting on all or part of the surface of the gasket, a step of adding a layer of adhesive to the surface of the gasket including the silicatised layer and/or on all or part of the surface of the container and of the surface of the cap intended to be joined to the gasket, a step of assembling the case with the gasket positioned by compression and bonding with the layer of adhesive between the container and the cap.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2021
    Assignee: The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd
    Inventors: Olga Reinauer, Michael Stalder
  • Patent number: 11177494
    Abstract: Systems and methods for forming a liquid mixture having a predetermined mix ratio and reforming systems, reforming methods, fuel cell systems, and fuel cell methods that utilize the liquid mixture. The methods include apportioning a preselected volume of liquid from a liquid source. During the apportioning, the liquid is a first liquid, and the methods further include providing a first preselected volume of the first liquid to a mix tank. The methods also include repeating the apportioning with a second liquid providing a second preselected volume of the second liquid to the mix tank to generate the liquid mixture. The methods also may include providing the liquid mixture to a reforming region, reforming the liquid mixture to generate a mixed gas stream that includes hydrogen gas, and providing the hydrogen gas to a fuel cell assembly to generate an electric current.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: H2 PowerTech, LLC
    Inventor: Michael Tyler Hicks
  • Patent number: 11165107
    Abstract: Disclosed is a battery device including a battery; a plurality of sensors attached to the battery; and a transceiving circuit configured to transmit a signal received from a monitoring device to the plurality of sensors and to transmit signals received from the plurality of sensors to the monitoring device. The plurality of sensors generate surface acoustic waves (SAWs) in response to the signal received from the monitoring device, when receiving the signal from the monitoring device through the transceiving circuit, and the plurality of sensors include at least one first sensor configured to output a first signal corresponding to a SAW varied depending on a temperature of the battery; at least one second sensor configured to output a second signal corresponding to a SAW varied depending on pressure of the battery; and at least one third sensor configured to output a third signal corresponding to a SAW varied depending on an electrolyte leakage state of the battery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2021
    Inventors: Jae Min Ryoo, Jeong Nam Cheon, Mi Hyun Lee
  • Patent number: 11165113
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a pouch-shaped battery cell configured to have a structure in which an electrode assembly is received in a pouch-shaped battery case together with an electrolytic solution, wherein the pouch-shaped battery case is made of a laminate sheet including a metal layer and a resin layer, an upper edge of the pouch-shaped battery case, from which electrode terminals protrude outward, and opposite side edges of the pouch-shaped battery case, which are adjacent to the upper edge of the pouch-shaped battery case, are thermally fused to constitute a sealed portion of the pouch-shaped battery case, the opposite side edges of the pouch-shaped battery case being bent perpendicularly from the upper edge of the pouch-shaped battery case toward an electrode assembly receiving unit for receiving the electrode assembly, and a protective film is attached so as to wrap the perpendicularly bent opposite side edges of the pouch-shaped battery case.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2021
    Assignee: LG Chem, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hyun Hwa Lee, In Gu An, Jae Han Jung, Eun Seok Choi
  • Patent number: 11139533
    Abstract: A polyolefin micro-porous film containing a polypropylene resin, in which a meltdown temperature of the polyolefin micro-porous film is 195° C. to 230° C. A weight-average molecular weight of the polypropylene resin is 500,000 to 800,000. Furthermore, a molecular weight distribution of the polypropylene resin is 7.5 to 16.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: Ube Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Toru Kidosaki, Ryo Sakimoto, Kenji Kawabata
  • Patent number: 11139462
    Abstract: An electrode for solid-state batteries, comprising a PTC resistor layer, and a solid-state battery comprising the electrode. The electrode may be an electrode for solid-state batteries, wherein the electrode comprises an electrode active material layer, a current collector and a PTC resistor layer which is disposed between the electrode active material layer and the current collector and which is in contact with the electrode active material layer; wherein the PTC resistor layer contains an electroconductive material, an insulating inorganic substance and a polymer; and wherein a surface roughness Ra of an electrode active material layer-contacting surface of the PTC resistor layer, is 1.1 ?m or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Norihiro Ose, Tomoya Suzuki, Hajime Hasegawa, Kazuo Yaso, Hideaki Nishimura, Yuki Matsushita
  • Patent number: 11139485
    Abstract: Compositions and process for optimizing oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reactions are provided. Oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution catalysts include oxide compositions having a general formula a formula A2-xMOy, where x is electrochemically tuned to find optimal A content that delivers the best catalytic performance in a chemical system. The process provides the ability to find the optimal catalytic performance by tuning A and hence, the binding strength of O.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: Toyota Research Institute, Inc.
    Inventors: Muratahan Aykol, Joseph Harold Montoya, Jens Strabo Hummelshøj
  • Patent number: 11121440
    Abstract: Provided is an electricity storage device having a high volumetric energy density and high reliability. The electricity storage device includes: an electrode assembly including first and second electrode plates and a separator interposed therebetween; an exterior housing that houses the electrode assembly; a lid that covers an opening of the exterior housing; and electrode terminals that are electrically connected to the electrode assembly and partially protrude from the lid to the outside. The lid has a liquid injection hole for injecting an electrolytic solution into the exterior housing. A tubular member extending from the lid toward the electrode assembly is provided between the outer surface of the lid and the electrode assembly so as to surround an opening of the liquid injection hole. A covering member connected to the tubular member and interposed between the liquid injection hole and the electrode assembly is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2021
    Assignee: SANYO Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Takabayashi, Hiroyuki Yamada
  • Patent number: 11121376
    Abstract: A positive electrode includes at least a positive electrode current collector and a positive electrode active material layer. The positive electrode current collector includes an aluminum foil and an aluminum hydrated oxide film. The aluminum hydrated oxide film covers a surface of the aluminum foil. The positive electrode active material layer is formed on a surface of the aluminum hydrated oxide film. The aluminum hydrated oxide film has a thickness not smaller than 50 nm and not greater than 1000 nm. The aluminum hydrated oxide film contains at least one selected from the group consisting of phosphorus, fluorine, and sulfur.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2021
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Koji Torita, Akihiro Ochiai, Yusuke Fukumoto, Harunari Shimamura, Takuya Asari
  • Patent number: 11108056
    Abstract: Provided is a method for producing a fuel cell that can reduce the amount of an adhesive applied to join a pair of sheet-like separators together while also avoiding failures in the conveyance of the separators. A separator, which has a bent portion on the peripheral edge thereof and has a recess and a projection formed on one surface and the other surface, respectively, of the separator by the bent portion, is used. The conveying step includes gripping the bent portion at opposite ends of each separator using grippers. The seal portion forming step includes disposing an adhesive in the recess formed by the bent portion of one of the separators, and fitting the projection formed by the bent portion of the other separator in the recess.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2021
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kunihito Ona, Takahide Katagiri, Keisuke Miyanaga, Hiroshi Kinpara
  • Patent number: 11101501
    Abstract: An example electrolyte includes a solvent, a lithium salt, and an additive selected from the group consisting of a mercaptosilane, a mercaptosiloxane, and combinations thereof. The electrolyte may be used in a method for making a solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer on a surface of an electrode. A negative electrode structure may be formed from the method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2021
    Assignees: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC, THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
    Inventors: Fang Liu, Qiangfeng Xiao, Yunfeng Lu, Mei Cai, Fang Dai, Li Yang