Patents by Inventor Craig L. Schmidt

Craig L. Schmidt has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 8105714
    Abstract: A lithium-ion battery includes a plurality of generally planar positive and negative electrodes arranged in alternating fashion to form an electrode stack. Each of the electrodes includes a current collector having two opposed surfaces and an active material provided on at least one of the two opposed surfaces. The active material of the negative electrodes has a potential that is greater than 0.2 volts versus a reference electrode. The area of the current collectors of the negative electrodes covered by active material is not larger than the area of the current collectors of the positive electrodes covered by active material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2012
    Assignee: Medtronic, Inc.
    Inventors: Craig L. Schmidt, Erik R. Scott, William G. Howard, Gaurav Jain
  • Publication number: 20120003531
    Abstract: A lithium-ion battery includes a positive electrode having a current collector and a first active material and a negative electrode comprising a current collector, a second active material, and a third active material. The second active material comprises a lithium titanate material and the third active material comprises a sulfide. The third active material exhibits charging and discharging capacity below a corrosion potential of the current collector of the negative electrode and above a decomposition potential of the first active material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 13, 2011
    Publication date: January 5, 2012
    Inventors: William G. Howard, Craig L. Schmidt, Erik R. Scott
  • Publication number: 20110281148
    Abstract: A rechargeable lithium-ion battery includes a positive electrode having a first capacity and a negative electrode having a second capacity that is less than the first capacity such that the battery has a negative-limited design. The negative electrode includes a lithium titanate active material. A liquid electrolyte that includes a lithium salt dissolved in at least one non-aqueous solvent a porous polymeric separator are located between the positive electrode and negative electrode. The separator is configured to allow lithium ions to flow through the separator.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 13, 2011
    Publication date: November 17, 2011
    Inventors: Erik R. Scott, Gaurav Jain, Kevin W. Eberman, Craig L. Schmidt
  • Patent number: 8027728
    Abstract: A power control circuit for an implantable medical device is presented. The power control circuit includes a first high rate cell, a second high rate cell, at least one resistive load, and at least one control circuit. The at least one resistive load is connected between the first and the second high rate cells. The at least one control circuit is coupled to the first and the second high rate cells.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2011
    Assignee: Medtronic, Inc.
    Inventors: Craig L. Schmidt, Lonny V. Cabelka, Joseph A. Ballis
  • Publication number: 20110184483
    Abstract: Implantable medical devices, implantable medical device systems that include such implantable medical devices, and implantable medical device batteries, as well as methods of making. Such devices can include a battery of relatively small volume but of relatively high power (reported as therapeutic power) and relatively high capacity (reported as capacity density).
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 20, 2011
    Publication date: July 28, 2011
    Inventors: John D. Norton, Craig L. Schmidt, Kevin Wilmot Eberman, Lawrence Robert Heyn
  • Publication number: 20110183210
    Abstract: A lithium-ion battery includes a positive electrode having a current collector and a first active material and a negative electrode comprising a current collector, a second active material, and a third active material. The second active material comprises a lithium titanate material and the third active material comprises V6O13. The third active material exhibits charging and discharging capacity below a corrosion potential of the current collector of the negative electrode and above a decomposition potential of the first active material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 6, 2011
    Publication date: July 28, 2011
    Inventors: William G. Howard, Craig L. Schmidt, Erik R. Scott
  • Publication number: 20110160784
    Abstract: Capacitor packaging according to the disclosure provides advantages particularly in connection to compact and/or complex-shaped medical devices (e.g., having limited interior volume defined by domed and/or irregular exterior surfaces). In addition, capacitors of the type shown and described herein can be utilized in relatively compact external defibrillators, such as automatic external defibrillators or clinician-grade, automated or manually-operated external defibrillators. In one form a plurality of capacitors having substantially flat exterior surfaces are placed in an abutting relationship between at least a pair of major surfaces and the major surfaces are spaced from an opposing or adjacent surface in a non-parallel configuration. In other forms, one or more exterior surface portions have a common and/or complex radius dimension (i.e., the surfaces are curved).
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 23, 2010
    Publication date: June 30, 2011
    Applicant: Medtronic, Inc.
    Inventors: Craig L. Schmidt, William L. Johnson, Steven Joseph May, Christian S. Nielsen, John Daniel Norton, Anthony W. Rorvick, Jeffrey A. Swanson, William K. Wenger
  • Publication number: 20110133699
    Abstract: A lithium-ion battery includes a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a battery case. The positive electrode includes a positive current collector, a first material of the form Li1?xMO2, where M is a metal, and a second material including carbon. The negative electrode includes a negative current collector, a third material including a lithium titanate material, and a fourth material including carbon. The battery case includes titanium and at least partially surrounds the positive and negative electrodes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 6, 2010
    Publication date: June 9, 2011
    Inventors: William G. Howard, Craig L. Schmidt, Erik R. Scott
  • Publication number: 20110130984
    Abstract: Methods for estimating a remaining service life of an implantable medical device (IMD) battery are presented. In one embodiment, a characteristic discharge model of the battery is employed. Systems employing the methods may include an external device coupled to the IMD, for example, via a telemetry communications link, wherein a first portion of a computer readable medium included in the IMD is programmed to provide instructions for the measurement, or tracking, of time and the measurement of battery voltage, and a second portion of the computer readable medium included in the external device is programmed to provide instructions for carrying out the calculations when the voltage and time data is transferred via telemetry from the IMD to the external device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 18, 2008
    Publication date: June 2, 2011
    Applicant: Medtronic, Inc.
    Inventors: Craig L. Schmidt, John D. Wahlstrand, Ann M. Crespi, Gregory A. Younker, James W. Busacker
  • Patent number: 7931987
    Abstract: A lithium-ion battery includes a positive electrode comprising a current collector and a first active material comprising LiCoO2 and a negative electrode comprising a current collector, a second active material, and a third active material. The second active material comprises a lithium titanate material and the third active material is V2O5. The third active material exhibits charging and discharging capacity below a corrosion potential of the current collector of the negative electrode and above a decomposition potential of the first active material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2011
    Assignee: Medtronic, Inc.
    Inventors: William G. Howard, Craig L. Schmidt, Erik R. Scott
  • Patent number: 7927742
    Abstract: A rechargeable lithium-ion battery includes a positive electrode that includes a first current collector and a first active material. The battery also includes an electrolyte and a negative electrode that includes a second current collector and a second active material, where the second active material includes a lithium titanate material. The positive electrode has a first capacity and the negative electrode has a second capacity, the second capacity being less than the first capacity such that the rechargeable lithium-ion battery is negative-limited.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2011
    Assignee: Medtronic, Inc.
    Inventors: Erik R. Scott, Gaurav Jain, Kevin W. Eberman, Craig L. Schmidt
  • Patent number: 7883790
    Abstract: A medical device includes a rechargeable lithium-ion battery for providing power to the medical device. The lithium-ion battery includes a positive electrode including a current collector and a first active material, a negative electrode including a current collector and a second active material, and an auxiliary electrode including a current collector and a third active material. The auxiliary electrode is configured for selective electrical connection to one of the positive electrode and the negative electrode. The first active material, second active material, and third active material are configured to allow doping and undoping of lithium ions. The third active material exhibits charging and discharging capacity below a corrosion potential of the current collector of the negative electrode and above a decomposition potential of the first active material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2011
    Assignee: Medtronic, Inc.
    Inventors: William G. Howard, Craig L. Schmidt, Erik R. Scott
  • Patent number: 7881796
    Abstract: An implantable medical device (IMD) including a nonhermetic battery is described. The IMD includes components and a power source module that includes the nonhermetic battery. The IMD also includes a barrier to substantially impede movement of substances from the nonhermetic battery to the components. The barrier may include a hermetic feedthrough, a gel, a polymer, or a solid electrolyte within the nonhermetic battery, and a seal member. The barrier may also be a material that encapsulates the nonhermetic battery and a getter within the IMD. In some embodiments, the IMD comprises a modular IMD including an interconnect member. In that case, the barrier may include a material that fills at least a portion of a void defined by the interconnect member. A length and a cross-sectional area of the interconnect member may also act as a barrier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2011
    Assignee: Medtronic, Inc.
    Inventors: Erik R. Scott, Carl D. Wahlstrand, Robert M. Skime, Craig L. Schmidt
  • Patent number: 7879495
    Abstract: A medical device includes a rechargeable lithium-ion battery for providing power to the medical device. The lithium-ion battery includes a positive electrode comprising a current collector and a first active material and a negative electrode comprising a current collector, a second active material, and a third active material. The first active material, second active material, and third active material are configured to allow doping and undoping of lithium ions. The third active material exhibits charging and discharging capacity below a corrosion potential of the current collector of the negative electrode and above a decomposition potential of the first active material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2004
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2011
    Assignee: Medtronic, Inc.
    Inventors: William G. Howard, Craig L. Schmidt, Erik R. Scott
  • Patent number: 7875389
    Abstract: A lithium-ion battery includes a positive electrode having an active material and a polymeric separator configured to allow electrolyte and lithium ions to flow between a first side of the separator and an opposite second side of the separator. The battery also includes a liquid electrolyte having a lithium salt dissolved in at least one non-aqueous solvent and a negative electrode having a lithium titanate active material. The positive electrode has a first capacity and the negative electrode has a second capacity that is less than the first capacity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2011
    Assignee: Medtronic, Inc.
    Inventors: Erik R. Scott, William G. Howard, Craig L. Schmidt
  • Patent number: 7858236
    Abstract: A lithium-ion battery includes a positive electrode that includes a positive current collector, a first active material, and a second active material. The lithium-ion battery also includes a negative electrode comprising a negative current collector, a third active material, and a quantity of lithium in electrical contact with the negative current collector. The first active material, second active material, and third active materials are configured to allow doping and undoping of lithium ions, and the second active material exhibits charging and discharging capacity below a corrosion potential of the negative current collector and above a decomposition potential of the first active material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2010
    Assignee: Medtronic, Inc.
    Inventors: William G. Howard, Craig L. Schmidt, Erik R. Scott
  • Publication number: 20100316898
    Abstract: A lithium-ion battery includes a positive electrode having a first active material and a second active material and a negative electrode including a third active material. The second active material includes a lithiated form of a material that does not include electrochemically cyclable lithium in the as-provided state.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 26, 2010
    Publication date: December 16, 2010
    Inventors: William G. Howard, Craig L. Schmidt, Erik R. Scott
  • Patent number: 7824805
    Abstract: A battery cell in an implantable medical device is presented. The battery cell includes an anode, a cathode, an insulator therebetween, and an electrolyte. The cathode includes silver vanadium oxide and fluorinated carbon (CFx). The CFx includes fluorine at greater than or equal to 61 percentage (%) by weight.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2010
    Assignee: Medtronic, Inc.
    Inventors: William G. Howard, Kaimin Chen, Gaurav Jain, Craig L. Schmidt, Erik R. Scott
  • Patent number: 7811705
    Abstract: A lithium-ion battery includes a positive electrode that includes a current collector that includes a positive electrode comprising a current collector and an active material comprising a material selected from the group consisting of LiCoO2, LiMn2O4, LiNixCoyNi(1?x?y)O2, LiAlxCoyNi(1?x?y)O2, LiTixCoyNi(1?x?y)O2, and combinations thereof. The battery also includes a negative electrode that includes a current collector and an active material comprising a lithium titanate material. The current collector of the negative electrode includes a material selected from the group consisting of aluminum, titanium, silver, and combinations thereof. The battery is configured for cycling to near-zero-voltage conditions without a substantial loss of battery capacity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2010
    Assignee: Medtronic, Inc.
    Inventors: Erik R. Scott, William G. Howard, Craig L. Schmidt
  • Patent number: 7807300
    Abstract: A resistance-stabilizing additive to an electrolyte for a battery cell in an implantable medical device is presented. At least one resistance-stabilizing additive is selected from a group comprising an electron withdrawing group, an aromatic diacid salt, an inorganic salt, an aliphatic organic acid, an aromatic diacid, and an aromatic monoacid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2010
    Assignee: Medtronic, Inc.
    Inventors: Donald R. Merritt, Craig L. Schmidt