Abstract: A lead acid battery having lightly gelled electrolyte is provided. The lead acid battery includes a plurality of alternating positive plates and negative plates, a plurality of separators sandwiched in between the positive plates and the negative plates, and a lightly gelled electrolyte including dilute sulfuric acid and silica particles substantially in the range of 0.1% to 3% of the electrolyte by weight. The silica particles are fumed silica particles.

Abstract: A polymer electrolyte fuel cell structure includes a proton exchange membrane (4). An anode catalyst layer (1,16) is located on one side of the proton exchange membrane. A cathode catalyst layer (7) is located on the opposite side of the proton exchange membrane, and a gas distribution layer (3,5) is arranged on each side of the proton exchange membrane (4). The anode side gas distribution layer (3) is a flat, porous structure having water channels (3a) formed in the surface facing the membrane (4). The anode side gas distribution layer (3) is enclosed by a coplanar, sealing plate (2) with water inlet channels coupled to the water channels (3a) in the gas distribution layer.

Abstract: Disclosed is a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery having an electrode group in which a positive electrode and a negative electrode are spirally wound with a separator interposed therebetween. The positive electrode contains a positive electrode active material and a binder. The positive electrode active material contains a mixture of two different particulate substances having different average particle sizes. The two different particulate substances are lithium composite metal oxides containing nickel as an essential element. The binder includes fluorocarbon resin and rubber particles. The fluorocarbon resin contains at least a vinylidene fluoride unit. The amount of the rubber particles per 100 parts by weight of the fluorocarbon resin is 1 to 25 parts by weight.

Abstract: The fuel reservoir for a fuel cell is a fuel reservoir detachably connected with a fuel cell main body, and it is equipped with a fuel-storing vessel of a tube type for storing a liquid fuel and a fuel discharge part; the fuel discharge part is provided with a valve for sealing communication between the inside and the outside of the above fuel-storing vessel. The valve assumes a structure in which a slit is formed in an elastic material and a structure in which a valve member is pressed by a resilient body, and is opened by inserting a fuel-supplying member.

Abstract: To prevent the flooding phenomenon at the cathode in a unit cell where the temperature is relatively low or the supply of air is small, a fuel cell stack includes at least three flat unit cells stacked with separators interposed therebetween, the unit cells comprising an anode, a cathode and an electrolyte membrane sandwiched therebetween, and having an oxidant channel formed on the surface of the separator adjacent to the cathode, and the anode and the cathode comprising a catalyst layer attached to the electrolyte membrane and a diffusion layer, wherein the cross-sectional area of the inlet side of the oxidant channel, the area of the cathode catalyst layer, the thickness of the electrolyte membrane or the amount of a water repellent contained in the combination of the cathode and the oxidant channel is the largest in at least one of the unit cells at the ends of the stack.

Abstract: A vanadium redox battery energy storage system (“VRB-ESS”) capable of modularly incorporating additional electrolyte reservoirs to increase energy capacity while allowing for efficient low-volume operation is disclosed. The VRB-ESS of the present invention may efficiently operate using a first volume of electrolyte solution, while maintaining a second volume of electrolyte solution to be made available to the VRB-ESS as additional energy storage capacity is required. Additionally, a cap mechanism to allow the VRB-ESS of the present invention to employ an industry standard IBC container as a secondary electrolyte reservoir is disclosed.

Abstract: A fuel cell device includes at least one and preferably two gas storage chambers, the gas storage chambers being connected via gas flow channels to a fuel cell membrane, such as a proton exchange membrane. A piston in each gas storage chamber moves to compress the gas upon being subject to an acceleration force. A flow control opens upon a predetermined condition being achieved to provide the compressed gases to a fuel cell membrane.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a polymer electrolyte medium is represented by the following general formula (I) where R is sulfonic acid or phosphoric acid, and n is an integer from 1 to 8000.

Abstract: A method for purging a fuel cell system comprises detecting a signal for stopping an operation of a fuel cell system, cutting off an electricity output of the fuel cell system, driving a steam generator of a fuel supply unit of the fuel cell system for a certain time and thereby generating steam, certifying whether a purging operation of the fuel cell system has been completed or not, and stopping the fuel cell system, in which the fuel cell system is purged by using steam generated by the steam generator. Since an additional container for storing nitrogen is not required, a fabrication cost is reduced. Also, inconvenience caused by periodically containing nitrogen in the container is solved. Furthermore, when the fuel cell system is used at home, an additional space for installing the nitrogen container is not required and the fuel cell system can be easily installed.

Abstract: Disclosed is a nonaqueous liquid electrolyte comprising poly(siloxane-g-3 ethylene oxide) and its synthesis. This electrolyte provides significant safety, improved electrochemical stability, improved conductivity, lower impedance, and lower manufacturing costs.

Abstract: Clearance gaps in the inactive feed regions of a fuel cell stack are controlled by non-bonded, non-nested bipolar plates to provide reactant flow uniformity and pressure within fuel cells and fuel cell stacks utilizing nested bipolar plates in the active feed regions and non-nested bipolar plates in the inactive feed regions.

Abstract: A battery pack provided with a battery block (3), a case (2), and a circuit board (4). The battery block (3) has a plurality of batteries (1) lined up in a horizontal row with the same orientation, and lead plates (5) connect to terminals of those batteries (1) to form a parallel unit (6). A plurality of parallel units (6) are stacked in the vertical direction with a different orientation, and battery terminals are connected by lead plates (5) in the vertical direction to connect parallel units (6) in series. Lead plates (5) have projections (10) which protrude horizontally beyond the confines of the battery block (3) and connect with the circuit board (4), and the battery block (3) and circuit board (4) are connected as a unit.

Abstract: A metal-air battery includes a housing having an aperture for the passage of air and a pair of electrodes that extend from the housing. An air cathode may be interconnected with one of the electrodes and an anode may include a metal foil that is interconnected with another of the electrodes. A separator may be interposed between the air cathode and the metal foil and a barrier layer may surround the metal foil. The barrier layer may function to substantially reduce the passage of moisture to the metal foil. A method of making a metal-air battery is also presented.

Abstract: In order to enhance versatility, a chip-type battery having a means for readily identifying a first terminal and a second terminal is provided. The chip-type battery includes: a body having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and contains a plurality of power generating elements in a stack, each element including a sintered material; a first terminal having a first polarity; and a second terminal having a second polarity. The first terminal is provided at a first side face of the body. The second terminal is provided at a second side face of the body located on other than the first side face. The first terminal and the second terminal include different metal materials.

Abstract: An inorganic solid electrolytic rechargeable battery capable of offering excellent battery characteristics is disclosed. The battery has positive and negative electrodes and an inorganic electrolyte interposed therebetween. The positive and negative electrodes are each made up of an active material layer and a current collector layer. The positive electrode collector layer or the negative electrode collector layer is a conductive metal oxide layer. The negative electrode active material layer is made of lithium metals or lithium alloys. This negative active layer may alternatively be made of a material which causes an operation voltage potential of the negative electrode to become more noble than 1.0 V with respect to the potential of a metallic lithium. A complexity-reduced fabrication method of the rechargeable battery is also disclosed.

Abstract: A fuel cell stack includes side plates of a casing. Flanges are provided on the side plates on the short sides for coupling the side plates on the short sides to the other side plates on the long sides. In each of the side plates, the center O of the coupling pin is offset from the neutral surface NS of the side plate in a direction away from a stack body by the distance “h”.

Abstract: In low-temperature fuel cells according to prior art, the problem often arises that the diffusion layer of the cathode is filled by water which is permeated or produced on the cathode, such that oxygen can no longer be transported to the catalyst layer of the cathode in a frictionless manner. As a result, said fuel cells are regularly used with a high excess of oxygen in order to reduce the cited transport problems for the oxygen. The inventive fuel cell enables said problem to be solved in that the arrangement of the diffusion layer and the catalyst layer of the cathode is inverted. The diffusion layer, which is embodied in such a way as to also conduct ions, is directly adjacent to the electrolyte membrane. The catalyst layer oriented towards the free cathode space can advantageously directly react with the supplied oxygen without further transport problems.

Abstract: A battery cover latching assembly (30) is used in a portable electronic device (9). The portable electronic device has a housing (10) and a battery cover (20). The battery cover has a flange (242) extending from one end portion thereof. The housing defines a receiving cavity (18) in one end portion thereof. The battery cover latching assembly includes a button (40) and a wedging block (52). The button has a first wedging surface (4462) formed at one end thereof. The wedging block has a second wedging surface (522) formed at a first end thereof. The button and the wedging block are elastically mounted in the receiving cavity. The first wedging surface mates with the second wedging surface. The flange is releasably mounted with the wedging block.

Abstract: A system has two modes which protect it from freezing of water while a fuel cell stack has stopped. An effective protection mode from the viewpoint of energy consumption is selected based on the estimated restart time and outside air temperature shift, and used to protect the system. The protection modes are: a first protection mode which prevents freezing by heating the water supplied to the fuel cell, and a second protection mode which avoids freezing of water in the fuel cell by discharging the water in the fuel cell to outside the fuel cell, and freezing the water outside the fuel cell.

Abstract: An electrochemical battery cell with an electrical lead for electrical contact between one of the cell's electrodes and the side of the cell container. A portion of the lead, disposed between the electrode assembly and the side wall of the container, includes an initially non-planar shape that is in a partially deformed, compressed configuration within the cell to bias the lead against the internal surface of the side wall of the container, thereby applying sufficient force to provide good electrical contact between the electrode and the container. The initially non-planar shape can include one or more V-shaped or arc-shaped grooves, and the grooves can be disposed parallel to a longitudinal axis of the electrode assembly. Also disclosed is a process for making such a cell.