Patents by Inventor Hiroyuki Higuchi

Hiroyuki Higuchi 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: 5824430
    Abstract: A separator for battery which exhibits a low electrical resistivity at normal time, good SD characteristics and a high mechanical strength is disclosed. A high molecular weight polypropylene having a weight average molecular weight of 500,000 or more and a polyethylene having a melting point of from 100.degree. to 140.degree. C. are extruded through a T-die film-forming machine to prepare a laminate film comprising a laminate of the high molecular polypropylene layer and the polyethylene layer. The laminate film is stretched at a temperature as low as from -20.degree. C. to 80.degree. C. by 10% to 100% based on the length of the original film, stretched at a temperature as high as 80.degree. C. to 130.degree. C. by 60% to 300% based on the length of the unstretched film, and then shrunk at the same temperature by 5% to 30% based on the length of the stretched film to render the film porous. Thus, a porous laminate film having a Gurley value of from 200 to 1,500 is prepared as a separator for battery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 20, 1998
    Assignee: Nitto Denko Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Higuchi, Kiichiro Matsushita, Soji Nishiyama
  • Patent number: 5731074
    Abstract: A porous film of a laminate structure, comprising a porous inner layer comprising polyethylene as the essential component, and having formed on both surfaces thereof a porous outer layer comprising polypropylene and having a Vickers hardness of 10 or more. The porous film is suitable as a separator for a lithium battery, and when the porous film is superposed with a positive electrode and a negative electrode, the film is difficult to be scratched and perforated at the assembly of cells. A production method of the porous film is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 1997
    Date of Patent: March 24, 1998
    Assignee: Nitto Denko Corporation
    Inventors: Soji Nishiyama, Hiroyuki Higuchi, Kiichiro Matsushita, Yutaka Kishii, Ryoichi Matsushima
  • Patent number: 5728321
    Abstract: This invention relates to a conducting organic polymer formed by doping an organic polymer with a protonic acid having a dissociation constant value pKa of less than 4.8, wherein the organic polymer has, as the main repeating unit, a compound represented by the general formula: ##STR1## wherein, m and n, respectively, show the molar fraction of the quinonediimine structural unit and phenylenediamine structural unit in the repeating unit, and 0<m<1, 0<n<1, and m+n=1; and the organic polymer is soluble in an organic solvent in the undoped state, and has an intrinsic viscosity ?.eta.! of more than 0.4 dl/g measured in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone at 30.degree. C. This invention also relates to a film formed of the conducting organic polymer and a conducting organic polymer composition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 1995
    Date of Patent: March 17, 1998
    Assignee: Nitto Denko Corporation
    Inventors: Masao Abe, Akira Ohtani, Hiroyuki Higuchi, Minoru Ezoe, Shinya Akizuki, Keiji Nakamoto, Keiko Mochizuki, Yasuhiro Umemoto, Michio Umeda
  • Patent number: 5480745
    Abstract: A porous film, a process for producing the same, a battery separator comprising the porous film, and a battery having incorporated therein the separator are disclosed. The porous film comprises a polyethylene and a polypropylene as the essential components, wherein the polyethylene content in the total weight of polyethylene and polypropylene is from 2 to 40% by weight and the polyethylene content is changed in the direction of the thickness of the film, and is produced by forming a laminate film comprising at least one polypropylene layer and at least one layer of a mixture of polyethylene and polypropylene as the essential components, the polyethylene content in the film being from 2 to 40% by weight, uniaxially stretching the laminate film at a low-temperature range of from -20.degree. C. to 80.degree. C. and then stretching the film at a high-temperature range of from 90.degree. C. to 150.degree. C.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 1995
    Date of Patent: January 2, 1996
    Assignee: Nitto Denko Corporation
    Inventors: Soji Nishiyama, Hiroyuki Higuchi, Kiichiro Matsushita, Ryoichi Matsushima
  • Patent number: 5385777
    Abstract: A porous film comprising a composition of 10 to 90% by weight of polypropylene and 10 to 90% by weight of polyethylene having an Mw/Mn ratio, as determined by high-temperature gel-permeation chromatography, of 10 or less is disclosed. The porous film has a high tensile modulus, a satisfactory appearance, and a uniform thickness. A battery separator comprising the porous film performs a shut-down function (an increase in resistance) in case of a temperature rise due to an abnormal current.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 1993
    Date of Patent: January 31, 1995
    Assignee: Nitto Denko Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Higuchi, Kiichiro Matsushita, Minoru Ezoe, Toshihiko Shinomura
  • Patent number: 5264552
    Abstract: This invention relates to an organic polymer having, as the main repeating unit, the compound represented by the general formula: ##STR1## (wherein, m and n respectively show the molar fraction of quinonediimine structure unit and phenylenediamine structure unit in the repeating unit, and 0<m<1, 0<n<1, and m+n=1.), and soluble in an organic solvent in an undoped state, and having the intrinsic viscocity [.eta.] of more than 0.4 dl/g measured in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone at 30.degree. C., and a conducting organic polymer formed by doping a protonic acid to such a polymer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 1989
    Date of Patent: November 23, 1993
    Assignee: Nitto Denko Corporation
    Inventors: Masao Abe, Akira Ohtani, Hiroyuki Higuchi, Minoru Ezoe, Shinya Akizuki, Keiji Nakamoto, Keiko Mochizuki, Yasuhiro Umemoto, Michio Umeda
  • Patent number: 5202202
    Abstract: A cell comprising a negative electrode made of metal lithium or a lithium alloy, a positive electrode which comprises polyaniline and has a main peak around 3.0 V versus a lithium electrode and a sub-peak around 3.6 V versus a lithium electrode with a height ratio of the sub-peak to the main peak being not smaller than 0.25 in a discharge capacity distribution curve in the discharge voltage range between 3.8 V and 2.5 V versus a lithium electrode, and a non-aqueous organic electrolytic solution containing a lithium salt dissolved therein, which has long discharge life, high energy density, good charge-discharge cycle characteristics and improve load characteristics.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 1990
    Date of Patent: April 13, 1993
    Assignees: Hitachi Maxell, Ltd., Nitto Denko Corporation
    Inventors: Ryo Nagai, Hiroshi Hattori, Hiroyuki Higuchi, Masao Abe
  • Patent number: 5149581
    Abstract: A polyether copolymer comprising the repeating units represented by the following general formula (I) ##STR1## and the repeating units represented by the following formula (II) ##STR2## the molar ratio of (I)/{(I)+(II)} being from 0.1 to 0.8 and the polyether copolymer having a melt viscosity of at least 500 poise as measured at 400.degree. C. is produced by allowing a dihalogenobenzonitrile, 1,4-bis(4'-halobenzoyl)benzene, and 4,4'-biphenol to react with each other in an aprotic polar solvent in the presence of an alkali metal compound. The polyether copolymer exhibits excellent heat-resistance, solvent resistance, and mechanical strength, and is suitable as a material for resin compositions, heat-resistant laminates, fiber, and film.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 1990
    Date of Patent: September 22, 1992
    Assignee: Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shigeru Matsuo, Shigeru Murakami, Shinji Chino, Hiroyuki Higuchi, Mikiya Hayashi
  • Patent number: 5089899
    Abstract: An apparatus for playing a recording medium on which, in addition to a video format signal and a coded information signal, graphic codes including picture information are recorded as the subcode of the coded information signal. The apparatus is structured to generate, as a reading address data, data which varies sequentially by a predetermined value from a value determined in response to a command, and to write sequentially the graphic codes output from an extracting circuit into a memory and subsequently sequentially read out the graphic codes in the order of address indicated by the reading address data. With this feature, the position of the subcode image can be moved on the picture by the video format signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 1989
    Date of Patent: February 18, 1992
    Assignee: Pioneer Electronic Corporation
    Inventors: Satoru Nomura, Yoshihisa Nagai, Tetsuro Emi, Koji Miyashita, Hiroyuki Higuchi, Makoto Hijikata
  • Patent number: 4869979
    Abstract: A conducting organic polymer battery is disclosed, which comprises a cathode comprising a conducting organic polymer doped with a polymer anion having a number of anionic groups in the molecule thereof, an anode comprising a metal having a redox potential lower than that of the conducting organic polymer, and an electrolyte solution or a solid electrolyte as an ion conductive phase. In the battery, the ion concentration in an electrolyte solution does not substantially change during charging and discharging.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 1988
    Date of Patent: September 26, 1989
    Assignee: Nitto Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Akira Ohtani, Masao Abe, Hiroyuki Higuchi
  • Patent number: 4770542
    Abstract: A process and an apparatus for carrying out the process which causes acceleration of photodegradation of polymer substances. The process comprises irradiating a polymer substance with a low wavelength light and then a high wavelength light in an atmosphere with a specified humidity. The apparatus contains an irradiation lamp for irradiating a polymer substance, a rotating mounting plate for supporting the polymer substance, and humidifying means for creating a predetermined humidity for the photodegradation of the polymer substance. The photodegradation process and apparatus are used to precisely determine the useful life of polymer substances.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 1986
    Date of Patent: September 13, 1988
    Assignee: The Coca-Cola Company
    Inventors: Akio Takagi, Hiroyuki Higuchi, Yoshihito Ohtake, Hiroshi Matsunaka