Patents Examined by Ladan Mohaddes
  • Patent number: 9252409
    Abstract: A middle- or large-sized battery pack having two or more hexahedral battery modules, each including a plurality of chargeable and dischargeable plate-shaped unit cells, mounted in a pack case, wherein the battery pack removes heat generated during the charge and discharge of the unit cells using an air cooling method, the unit cells of each of the battery modules are vertically stacked such that the number of the unit cells corresponds to a height of a battery pack installation space defined in a vehicle while neighboring unit cells are spaced apart from each other such that a coolant channel is defined between the respective unit cells, the pack case is formed in a shape corresponding to the battery pack installation space in the vehicle, and a coolant for removing heat from the unit cells is introduced through at least one side of the pack case.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2016
    Assignee: LG CHEM, LTD.
    Inventors: Jin Kyu Lee, Dal Mo Kang, Yongshik Shin, Bumhyun Lee, Chae Ho Chung, Jongmoon Yoon
  • Patent number: 9246197
    Abstract: A battery system capable of cooling overheated battery packs among a plurality battery packs each mounted in a battery case by measuring temperatures of the battery packs is disclosed, and a driving method thereof is provided. In one embodiment, the battery system includes a plurality of battery packs, an air compressor for supplying a compressed cooling air to the plurality of battery packs, a gas dividing unit coupled between the plurality of battery packs and the air compressor and including a plurality of valves, and a controller for controlling opening and closing of each of the plurality of valves according to temperatures of the plurality of battery packs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2016
    Assignees: Samsung SDI Co., Ltd., Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventor: Jihyoung Yoon
  • Patent number: 9246150
    Abstract: A non-aqueous electrolyte battery in which formation of a flame retardant layer formed on the surface of an electrode or the like hardly affects the discharge characteristics is provided. A non-aqueous electrolyte battery 1 includes a positive electrode 3, a negative electrode 5, and a separator 7. A porous layer having ion permeability is formed using a flame retardant material on a surface of the positive electrode 3. The porous layer is formed by applying a hot melt, which is a fused flame retardant material made of a thermoplastic resin, to the surface of the positive electrode 3.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2016
    Assignee: Shin-Kobe Electric Machinery Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tomonobu Tsujikawa, Masayasu Arakawa, Hiroo Nishiyama, Katsuhide Aichi
  • Patent number: 9246170
    Abstract: A cathode active material for a battery includes a material of the formula MgxMn2O4 wherein 0?x?1 and the material has a crystal structure having an open channel formed in a single dimension or along a single dimensional axis. The crystal structure may be an analogue to CaFe2O4, CaMn2O4 or CaTi2O4.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2016
    Assignee: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Chen Ling, Fuminori Mizuno
  • Patent number: 9225036
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is an additive for improvement in safety of an electrochemical device, including an inner core and an outer coating layer, wherein the inner core is formed using a volume-expandable material fused at more than a predetermined temperature while the outer coating layer is formed using a conductive material with higher conductivity than that of the inner core and covers an outer face of the inner core. The disclosed additive rapidly increases resistance of the electrochemical device before ignition/explosion of the device caused by temperature rise, thereby effectively preventing ignition/explosion of the electrochemical device without deterioration in performance of the electrochemical device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2015
    Assignee: LG CHEM, LTD.
    Inventors: Sung kyun Chang, Hong-Kyu Park, Sinyoung Park
  • Patent number: 9225022
    Abstract: The positive active material is a positive active material for a lithium secondary battery, including a lithium transition metal compound that has an olivine crystal structure and contains at least Ni, Fe, and Mn as transition metal elements, wherein when the sum of mole atoms of Ni, Fe, and Mn of transition metal elements contained in the lithium transition metal compound is expressed as 1, and the mole atomic ratios of Ni, Fe, and Mn are represented by a, b, and c (a+b+c=1, a>0, b>0, c>0), respectively, the following is satisfied: 0.85?c?0.92 and 0.3?a/(a+b)?0.9.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2015
    Assignee: GS YUASA INTERNATIONAL LTD.
    Inventors: Mariko Kohmoto, Toru Tabuchi, Tokuo Inamasu, Toshiyuki Nukuda
  • Patent number: 9203078
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a negative electrode for a lithium ion secondary battery, capable of obtaining a lithium ion secondary battery which is excellent in initial charge characteristics and is also excellent in charge/discharge cycle characteristics, and a method for producing the same, as well as a lithium ion secondary battery comprising the negative electrode for a lithium ion secondary battery. A negative electrode for a lithium ion secondary battery according to the present invention comprises a current collector layer, and a negative electrode active material layer composed of a tin structure, the tin structure includes a plurality of protrusions which protrude approximately perpendicularly to a main surface of the current collector layer, and a cross-sectional area of the tip portion parallel to the main surface of the current collector layer of the protrusion is smaller than that of the base end portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2015
    Assignee: TOKYO OHKA KOGYO CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kaoru Ishikawa, Takahiro Asai
  • Patent number: 9203077
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a positive electrode active material for a lithium secondary battery having improved thermal stability, a method for producing the positive electrode active material, and a lithium secondary battery containing the same. The positive electrode active material may be represented by the following Chemical Formula 1 and contain particles having an average particle size of 200 nm to 1 ?m, wherein the surfaces of the particles are coated with a uniform carbon coating layer. LiaMn1-xMxPO4??[Chemical Formula 1] (Where, M is any one or a mixture of two or more selected from Mg, Fe, Co, Cr, Ti, Ni, Cu, Zn, Zr, Nb, and Mo, and a and x satisfy the following Equations: 0.9?a?1.1 and 0?x<0.5.).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2015
    Assignee: SK INNOVATION CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Sung Woo Oh, Hee Young Sun, Yu Rim Do, Hyung Bok Lee
  • Patent number: 9196897
    Abstract: An electrode having excellent charge/discharge cycle characteristics and which is capable of improving a secondary battery capacity. An electrode is formed on the surface of a collector as an assembly of multiple porous domain structures that are apart from each other, the porous domain structures each having a polygonal shape without an acute angle in a planar view, the polygonal shape having a maximum diameter of 120 ?m or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2015
    Assignees: TOKYO OHKA KOGYO CO., LTD., TOKYO METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Takahiro Asai, Takashi Ono, Kiyoshi Kanamura, Hirokazu Munakata
  • Patent number: 9196939
    Abstract: An automotive battery module with one or more battery cells and a heat exchange member placed in thermal communication with the battery cell. Heat generated within the battery cell by, among other things, electric current that can be used to provide motive power for the automobile may be removed by the heat exchange member that is made up of a flexible substrate and one or more graphene layers disposed on the substrate. The construction of the substrate and graphene layer is such that multiple heat transfer paths are established, each defining different levels of thermal conductivity and related transfer of heat away from the battery cells.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2015
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventors: Benjamin R. Christian, Chih-Cheng Hsu
  • Patent number: 9136513
    Abstract: A battery pack includes one or more battery cells arranged in one direction and electrically connected to one another, a battery management system (BMS) substrate connected to electrode terminals of the battery cells and configured to control charging and discharging of the battery cells, a housing with a space to receive the battery cells, an upper cover connected to an upper part of the housing, and a connector connected to the BMS substrate, the connector protruding above and extending along an upper surface of the upper cover.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2015
    Assignees: SAMSUNG SDI CO., LTD., ROBERT BOSCH GmbH
    Inventor: Taeyong Kim
  • Patent number: 9130212
    Abstract: The present invention aims to provide a positive electrode active material for nonaqueous electrolyte secondary batteries which achieves high output and high capacity when used as a positive electrode material. Disclosed is a method for manufacturing the positive electrode active material for nonaqueous electrolyte secondary batteries, the method comprising: a first step, wherein an alkaline solution with a tungsten compound dissolved therein is added to and mixed with a lithium metal composite oxide powder represented by a general formula LizNi1-x-yCoxMyO2 (wherein, 0.10?x?0.35, 0?y?0.35, 0.97?Z?1.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2015
    Assignee: Sumitomo Metal Winning Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Rei Kokado, Kensaku Mori
  • Patent number: 9105895
    Abstract: An operation method at the time of load reduction of fuel cell system includes in this order a first step of determining a target power generation amount of the fuel cell module, a second step of increasing the flow rate of the oxygen-containing gas supplied to a fuel cell module, a third step of reducing the power generation amount of the fuel cell module, a fourth step of reducing the flow rate of the fuel gas supplied to the fuel cell module, a fifth step of reducing the flow rate of the water supplied to the fuel cell module, a sixth step of reducing the flow rate of the oxygen-containing gas supplied to the fuel cell module, and a seventh step of detecting whether the power generation amount of the fuel cell module reaches the target power generation amount or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2015
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Koji Dan
  • Patent number: 9099720
    Abstract: A battery assembly for a medical device includes an elongate cathode, an elongate anode, an electrolyte, and an elongate housing assembly encapsulating the cathode, the anode, and the electrolyte. The battery assembly also includes a first electrode exposed from and electrically insulated from the housing assembly. One of the anode and the cathode is electrically coupled to the first electrode, and the other of the anode and the cathode is electrically coupled to the housing assembly. Respective axes of the cathode and the anode are substantially parallel to an axis of the housing assembly, and the cathode and anode each include a flat portion that face each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2015
    Assignee: Medtronic, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffrey S. Lund, Steven J. May, Donald R. Merritt, Hailiang Zhao
  • Patent number: 9099757
    Abstract: Provided is a battery which has less tendency to experience delamination or loss of short circuit prevention layer and/or active material layer during manufacture and use. A battery comprising a laminated electrode assembly in which a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a separator are laminated together; wherein an alumina-containing layer containing ?-alumina particles is formed on at least one species selected from among the group consisting of the positive electrode, the negative electrode, and the separator. The fact that alumina-containing layer(s) is or are made to contain ?-alumina particles makes it possible to obtain high bond strength between alumina-containing layer(s) and electrode(s) comprising metal(s), current collector(s) and/or active material(s) making up electrode(s), and/or separator(s).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2015
    Assignee: GS Yuasa International Ltd.
    Inventors: Kenji Tanaka, Kazuaki Matsuo, Kazuhide Tozuka, Kazuya Okabe
  • Patent number: 9093688
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a middle- or large-sized battery pack having two or more hexahedral battery modules, each including a plurality of chargeable and dischargeable plate-shaped battery cells or unit modules (unit cells), mounted in a pack case, wherein the battery pack is used as a power source for driving a vehicle, has a battery capacity of 5 KWh or more, and removes heat generated during the charge and discharge of the unit cells using an air cooling method, the unit cells of each of the battery modules are vertically stacked such that the number of the unit cells corresponds to a height of a battery pack installation space defined in the vehicle while neighboring unit cells are spaced apart from each other such that a coolant channel is defined between the respective unit cells, the pack case is formed in a shape corresponding to the battery pack installation space in the vehicle, the hexahedral battery modules being arranged in an inner space of the pack case, and a coolant for removing heat from the uni
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2015
    Assignee: LG CHEM LTD.
    Inventors: Jin Kyu Lee, Dal Mo Kang, Yongshik Shin, Bumhyun Lee, Chae Ho Chung, Jongmoon Yoon
  • Patent number: 9074290
    Abstract: A bipolar ion exchange membrane suitable for use in ZnBr batteries, LiBr batteries, and electrolyzers. The membrane is produced by hot pressing or extruding a mixture of an anion exchange ionomer powder, a cation exchange ionomer powder, and a non-porous polymer powder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2015
    Assignee: Gas Technology Institute
    Inventor: Qinbai Fan
  • Patent number: 9070945
    Abstract: The present invention relates to primary and secondary electrochemical energy storage systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to such systems as battery cells, especially battery cells utilizing metal fluorides with the presence of phosphates or fluorophosphates, which use materials that take up and release ions as a means of storing and supplying electrical energy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2015
    Assignee: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
    Inventors: Glenn Amatucci, Fadwa Badway
  • Patent number: 9061902
    Abstract: Electrodes, batteries, methods for use and manufacturing are implemented to provide ion-based electrical power sources and related devices. Consistent with one such method, a battery electrode is produced having nanowires of a first material. The electrode is produced using a single growth condition to promote growth of crystalline nanowires on a conductive substrate and of the first material, and promote, by maintaining the growth condition, growth of an amorphous portion that surrounds the crystalline nanowires.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2015
    Assignee: The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University
    Inventors: Li-Feng Cui, Candace K. Chan, Riccardo Ruffo, Hailin Peng, Yi Cui
  • Patent number: 9054398
    Abstract: A cooling structure for batteries and electrical units, that cools the batteries being driving sources of a motor mounted in a vehicle capable of traveling by a driving force of the motor and electrical units for driving the motor, the cooling structure including: a plurality of battery boxes that each contain one of the batteries; cooling passages that are each formed in each of the battery boxes, through which cooling air flows; a merging part where downstream ends of the cooling passages of the battery boxes are merged with each other; and cooling portions of the electrical units, that are provided on a downstream side of the merging part, wherein the electrical units are disposed on a downstream side of the battery boxes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2015
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kanae Ohkuma, Koichi Hasegawa