Patents Examined by Thomas H. Parsons
  • Secondary battery top cover assembly, secondary battery and vehicle
    Patent number: 10756327
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a secondary battery top cover assembly, a secondary battery and a vehicle. The top cover assembly includes: a top cover plate; an electrode terminal; and a short-circuit component including a deformable plate and a conductive plate disposed above the deformable plate. The deformable plate is connected to the top cover plate, and the conductive plate is connected to the electrode terminal. The conductive plate includes a body portion and a protrusion portion protruding upwardly from the body portion, the conductive plate is provided with a gas hole, and the gas hole cuts through the protrusion portion and the body portion, an inner wall of the gas hole includes an arc-shaped smooth transition portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2020
    Assignee: CONTEMPORARY AMPEREX TECHNOLOGY CO., LIMITED
    Inventor: Chengyou Xing
  • Lithium ion secondary battery
    Patent number: 10756342
    Abstract: A lithium ion secondary battery includes: a negative electrode having a carbon-based negative electrode material containing graphite particles and amorphous carbon particles; and a positive electrode including a lithium composite oxide. The lithium composite oxide is represented by a general formula: LixNiyMnzCo(1-y-z)O2, where x is a numeral of 1 or more and 1.2 or less, and y and z are positive numerals satisfying the relation of y+z<1. The lithium composite oxide has a layer crystal structure and has a median particle diameter (D50) of 4.0 ?m or more and less than 6.0 ?m.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2020
    Assignee: ENVISION AESC JAPAN LTD.
    Inventors: Sohei Suga, Koichi Shinohara, Kenji Ohara, Toshihiro Horiuchi, Masanori Aoyagi, Junko Nishiyama
  • Method for preventing erroneous loading of component-to-be-loaded on main body side apparatus, component-to-be-loaded and battery pack
    Patent number: 10756318
    Abstract: In case a similar component-to-be-loaded is erroneously loaded on a main body side apparatus, contact of terminals are avoided. To this end, a video camera (main body side apparatus) 1 has a main body side terminal 30, and a battery pack (component-to-be-loaded) 100 has a battery side terminal (component-to-be-loaded side terminal) 120.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2020
    Assignee: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Toshio Takeshita, Nobuhito Ebine, Yoshiyuki Katsuno, Kei Tashiro
  • Redox flow battery
    Patent number: 10749202
    Abstract: A redox flow battery includes a cell frame having a frame body in which a sealing groove is formed and a sealing member disposed in the sealing groove. The redox flow battery includes an adhesive that fixes the sealing member to the sealing groove, and a type A durometer hardness of the adhesive after curing is 100 or less. Preferably, the type A durometer hardness of the adhesive after curing is less than or equal to a type A durometer hardness of the sealing member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2020
    Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kousuke Shiraki, Takashi Kanno, Haruhisa Toyoda, Takefumi Ito, Masahiro Kuwabara, Hideyuki Yamaguchi, Hayato Fujita, Kiyoaki Hayashi
  • Rectangular battery and method of manufacturing rectangular battery
    Patent number: 10741801
    Abstract: A battery case of a rectangular battery has a main body member that has the shape of a bottomed rectangular tube, and a lid member that has the shape of a rectangular plate. The main body member has a rectangular opening portion that is constituted of opening long side portions, opening short side portions, and opening R portions. The lid member seals the opening portion. The opening portion is configured such that each thickness of the opening R portions is larger than each thickness of the opening long side portions respectively. In addition, the opening portion and a lid peripheral edge portion are welded to each other in an airtight manner along an entire circumference thereof, by an energy beam that is radiated from outside the lid member in a thickness direction thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2020
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Satoshi Suzuki, Toshiya Okada
  • Heat exchanger plate for electrified vehicle battery packs
    Patent number: 10727552
    Abstract: A battery pack according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a heat exchanger plate including a plate body including an interior wall and an exterior wall and an air gap enclosed inside the plate body and extending between the interior wall and the exterior wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2020
    Assignee: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventor: Zachary March
  • Membranes for electrochemical cells
    Patent number: 10714724
    Abstract: Ionically conducting composite membranes are provided which include a solid-state ionically conducting material The ionically conducting composite membranes may be used in electrochemical cells. The solid-state ionically conducting material may be an electrochemically active material. In some electrochemical cells, the solid-state ionically conducting material may be in electronic communication with an external tab.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2020
    Assignee: California Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Farshid Roumi, Jamshid Roumi
  • Method and apparatus for inertizing an oxygen-containing gas
    Patent number: 10707502
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for inertizing an oxygen-containing first gas present in a protective housing (4) surrounding a fuel cell (1), wherein a prescribed amount of a hydrogen-containing second gas is introduced into the protective housing (4) and at least part of the oxygen present in the first gas is reduced by cold combustion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2020
    Assignee: DIEHL AEROSPACE GMBH
    Inventors: Franz Tichy, Bernd Speth, Eduard Harwardt
  • Polymer electrolyte and lithium secondary battery including the same
    Patent number: 10700379
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a polymer electrolyte, which includes a lithium salt and a copolymer including a fluorine-substituted or unsubstituted polyalkylene ether repeating unit, and a lithium secondary battery including the same.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2020
    Assignee: LG Chem, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kyoung Ho Ahn, Sol Ji Park, Jung Hoon Lee, Chul Haeng Lee
  • System and method of cell block voltage analytics to improve balancing effectiveness and identify self-discharge rate
    Patent number: 10693197
    Abstract: A battery management unit includes a cell balancing module to perform cell balancing between a cells in a battery cell stack, and a controller operable to determine, during a first charge cycle, that the first cell has reached an over-voltage threshold before the second cell, to determine, during a discharge cycle, that the first cell has reached an under-voltage threshold before the second cell, to identify the first cell as having a lower capacity than the second cell based upon the determination that the first cell reached the over-voltage threshold before the second cell and upon the determination that the first cell reached the under-voltage threshold before the second cell, and to prevent, during another charge cycle, the cell balancing module from performing cell balancing on the first cell based upon the first cell being identified as having the lower capacity than the second cell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2020
    Assignee: Dell Products, L.P.
    Inventors: Richard C. Thompson, Nikhil M Vichare
  • Fuel cell system and control method for fuel cell system
    Patent number: 10680264
    Abstract: A fuel cell system includes: a fuel cell stack; a fuel gas supply/exhaust unit; an oxidant gas supply/exhaust unit; and a control unit. The control unit determines whether there is a phenomenon in the fuel cell stack resulting from local power generation concentration within a plane of a membrane electrode assembly due to a water distribution. When it is determined that there is the phenomenon, the control unit controls at least one of the fuel gas supply/exhaust unit and the oxidant gas supply/exhaust unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2020
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Masaaki Matsusue
  • Energy storage arrangement in particular for a motor vehicle, motor vehicle and method for producing an energy storage arrangement
    Patent number: 10673051
    Abstract: An energy storage arrangement, includes multiple energy storages, each energy storage having a housing and a terminal connection, wherein the terminal connection lies on an electrostatic potential of a first terminal of the energy storage and is arranged on an end side of the energy storage, wherein the housing lies on an electrostatic potential of a second terminal of the energy storage. The energy storage arrangement further has a first busbar electrically conductively fastened on the terminal connection of each of the energy storages, and a second busbar electrically conductively fastened on the housing on the end side of the energy arrangement on which the first busbar is arranged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2020
    Assignee: AUDI AG
    Inventors: Heiner Fees, Ralf Maisch, Torsten Kärcher
  • Long cycle life prismatic battery cell for high power applications
    Patent number: 10651517
    Abstract: A battery module is disclosed. The battery module comprises a housing, a heat-conducting fin disposed within the housing having a first fin surface and a second fin surface, the first fin surface and the second fin surface defining a respective first housing cavity and a second housing cavity within the housing. The battery module further comprises a first battery cell disposed within the first housing cavity and engaging the first fin surface and a second battery cell disposed with the second housing cavity and engaging the second fin surface. The heat-conducting fin is adapted to conduct heat from the first and second battery cells outwardly from the housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 12, 2020
    Assignee: K2 Energy Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: James D. Hodge, Joseph C. Turner, Kye W. Stoker, Harley David Hoskins, Eric Villarreal
  • Fuel cell system
    Patent number: 10644334
    Abstract: An MG-ECU obtains a rotational speed Na of an ACP. The MG-ECU transmits the obtained rotational speed (a PM reception rotational speed) Na of the ACP to a PM-ECU through communication. The PM-ECU obtains a rotational speed predicted value Np by adding a rotational speed change width Cvw to the PM reception rotational speed Na received from the delayed MG-ECU. A limit torque Tr12 is obtained through the use of the obtained rotational speed predicted value Np and an ACP permissible power level line L1.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2020
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Ryo Kajiura, Kenji Umayahara
  • Methods for determining anode integrity during fuel cell vehicle operation
    Patent number: 10644336
    Abstract: A system and methods are provided for testing anode integrity during vehicle operation. In one example described, the system and methods allow for anode leak tests during vehicle operation based on a flow of hydrogen into a fuel cell, the flow of hydrogen into the fuel cell maintaining the vehicle power while the leak test is performed. The methods further allow for operational adjustments responsive to the leak test, which may include controlling the vehicle power to manage vehicle operations in the presence of a hydrogen leak in some instances.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2020
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Milos Milacic, Craig Winfield Peterson, Andreas R. Schamel
  • Secondary battery metal terminal coating resin film, method for manufacturing same and battery pack
    Patent number: 10644273
    Abstract: A secondary battery metal terminal coating resin film having improved overall performance and capable of securing filling ability, adhesive properties, insulating properties of a lead end portion and shape retention properties of a sealant, a manufacturing method for the same and a battery pack using the secondary battery metal terminal coating resin film in provided in the lead end portion of a tab used for a laminate-type packaging material for a secondary battery. The secondary battery metal terminal coating resin film (24) according to the present invention is laminated, coating metal terminal (26) connected to a positive electrode or a negative electrode of a secondary battery. The melt flow rate of at least one layer of a resin that constitutes the resin film (24) is within a range from about 0.1 g/10 minutes to about 2.5 g/10 minutes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2020
    Assignee: TOPPAN PRINTING CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Takehisa Takada
  • Battery assembly and holder
    Patent number: 10644278
    Abstract: An battery assembly includes: a holder having a front surface and a back surface and having a plurality of holding holes, which are cylindrical holes penetrating through between the front surface and the back surfaces; and a cylindrical battery extending in an axis direction and having an outside diameter smaller than an inside diameter of the holding hole, wherein: the holder is configured such that at least part of the battery is accommodated in the holding hole; the battery assembly includes an adhesive provided between an outer peripheral surface of the part of the battery and an inner peripheral surface of the holder so as to fix the battery to the holder; and the holder has grooves each of which is opened on the front surface or the back surface of the holder, each of the grooves making adjacent holding holes among the plurality of holding holes with each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2020
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Toshinori Okura
  • Battery module
    Patent number: 10629882
    Abstract: A battery module includes a plurality of overlapping rechargeable batteries arranged in one direction, each rechargeable battery including at least one terminal protruding outside, and a plurality of bus bars electrically connecting terminals of different rechargeable batteries of the plurality of rechargeable batteries, the bus bar including a bent band in surface contact with and electrically connected to a respective terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2020
    Assignees: SAMSUNG SDI CO., LTD., ROBERT BOSCH GmbH
    Inventor: Duk-Jung Kim
  • Fuel cell stack
    Patent number: 10629936
    Abstract: A fuel cell stack includes a cell laminate, a casing, a first fastening member, a second fastening member, a first seal member, and a second seal member. The cell laminate includes fuel cells stacked in a stacking direction. The casing accommodates the cell laminate. The casing includes a first end plate, a second end plate, and a connecting member. The first end plate and the second end plate sandwich the cell laminate in the stacking direction. The connecting member is arranged between the first end plate and the second end plate. The first fastening member connects the first end plate and the connecting member. The second fastening member connects the second end plate and the connecting member. The first seal member is provided between the first end plate and the first fastening member. The second seal member is provided between the second end plate and the second fastening member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2020
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Hideharu Naito
  • Process for treating a bipolar plate for a fuel cell
    Patent number: 10622644
    Abstract: A method for treating a bipolar plate for a fuel cell includes passing the bipolar plate between two rows of parallel straightening rollers. Action of the parallel straightening rollers on the bipolar plate result in opposite faces of the bipolar plate being on parallel planes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2020
    Assignee: Compagnie Generale des Etablissements Michelin
    Inventor: Claude Blanc