Patents by Inventor John E. Namgoong

John E. Namgoong 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: 9496540
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a plate-shaped secondary battery used as a unit cell for middle- or large-sized battery pack, the secondary battery having an electrode assembly, which can be charged and discharged, mounted in a sheet-shaped battery case including a metal layer and a resin layer in a sealed state, the electrode assembly having electrode terminals protruding outside a sealing part of the battery case, wherein at least one of the electrode terminals is provided at a position spaced a predetermined distance from the sealing part with a self cutting part having a vertical sectional area less than that of the remaining part of the at least one electrode terminal such that the self cutting part can break first when overcurrent flows in the secondary battery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2016
    Assignee: LG CHEM, LTD.
    Inventors: Jea Hoon Choi, Woojin Shin, Jisang Yu, Do Yang Jung, Woo-Chul Yi, John E. Namgoong
  • Patent number: 8889278
    Abstract: A contact pad configured to sense the voltage of a cell module assembly including at least one battery cell, is electrically connected to a voltage sensing module for measuring the voltage of the battery cell in the cell module assembly and electrically contacted with an electrode of the battery cell, and is made of a conductive organic elastomer, thereby improving reliability of electrical contact with each battery cell, and effectively preventing malfunction of the cell module assembly caused by impurities, external physical shocks and so on.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 18, 2014
    Assignee: LG Chem, Ltd.
    Inventors: Ju-Seok Lee, Jin-Kyu Shin, John E. NamGoong
  • Patent number: 8808908
    Abstract: A battery module has a plurality of batteries, each having an electrode assembly mounted in a battery case including a metal layer and a resin layer, as unit cells, are stacked one on another in the thickness direction, wherein the battery module is constructed such that electrode leads of each unit cell are bent and placed on an upper-end sealing part of each unit cell, through-holes for mechanical coupling and electrical connection are formed in the electrode leads and the sealing part such that the through-holes of the electrode leads communicate with the corresponding through-holes of the sealing part, respectively, and conductive coupling members are inserted through the through-holes of the unit cells. The battery module accomplished a maximum reduction in volume, increasing sealability of the sealing part, and easily accomplishing the electrical connection and the mechanical coupling between components.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2014
    Assignee: LG Chem, Ltd.
    Inventors: Seungjae You, Sung-Woo Kim, John E. Namgoong, Jisang Yu
  • Patent number: 8742764
    Abstract: To check insulation of a pouch electric cell, probes are contacted to an electrode of a pouch electric cell and an aluminum layer of a pouch of the pouch electric cell, respectively, and then an electric characteristic value between the probes is measured. The probe contacted with the aluminum layer has a contact portion made of conductive elastic material. Also, insulation of the pouch electric cell is determined by comparing the measured electric characteristic value with a reference value. Thus, physical characteristics of an outer periphery of a flexible pouch may be sufficiently exhibited in measuring or checking insulation of a pouch electric cell such as insulation resistance, thereby improving reliability of electric contact and minimizing physical damage or deformation of the pouch electric cell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2014
    Assignee: LG Chem, Ltd.
    Inventors: Ju-Seok Lee, Hey-Woong Park, Ju-Young Kim, John E. Namgoong
  • Patent number: 8658306
    Abstract: A conductive electrode terminal connecting member configured to electrically connect plate-shaped secondary battery cells (‘battery cells’) constituting a battery module to each other is provided. The electrode terminal connecting member includes a left-wing connection part to which electrode terminals of left-side battery cells are connected so as to achieve electrical connection in series or in series and in parallel between the battery cells, and a right-wing connection part to which electrode terminals of right-side battery cells are connected so as to achieve electrical connection in series or in series and in parallel between the battery cells. The left-wing connection part is provided with slits through which the electrode terminals of the respective battery cells are inserted, and the right-wing connection part is provided with slits through which the electrode terminals of the respective battery cells are inserted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2014
    Assignee: LG Chem, Ltd.
    Inventors: Youngsun Park, Han Eun Kim, Yonghan Lee, John E. Namgoong, Sain Park, Masayuki Wakebe
  • Patent number: 8623541
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a middle- or large-sized battery module having a structure in which two or more plate-shaped secondary battery cells (‘battery cells’) are arranged in a lateral direction thereof, wherein the battery cells have electrode terminals arranged in the same direction, plate-shaped electrode terminal connecting members to electrically connect the battery cells to one another are electrically connected to oriented surfaces of the electrode terminals of the battery cells, each of the electrode terminal connecting members is provided at a top and/or bottom thereof with a coupling structure to interconnect electrode terminal connecting members, and at least one end of an insulating joint member coupled in the coupling structure is supported by a module case.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2014
    Assignee: LG Chem, Ltd.
    Inventors: Won Joon Choi, Youngsun Park, John E. Namgoong, SooRyoung Kim, Myung Hwan Kim
  • Patent number: 8383262
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a lithium secondary battery comprising a battery cell formed by stacking a plurality of full cells having a structure of cathode/separator/anode or bicells having a structure of cathode(anode)/separator/anode(cathode)/separator/cathode (anode), as a unit electrode assembly, wherein (i) a cathode active material or (ii) an anode active material or (iii) a cathode active material and an anode active material in two or more unit electrode assemblies are configured to have a different composition to induce a voltage difference and separate electrode terminals are installed in a battery case according to the voltage difference to thereby simultaneously provide two or more voltages by a single battery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2013
    Assignee: LG Chem, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hey Woong Park, Seungtaek Hong, Ra Young Hwang, Jisang Yu, John E. Namgoong
  • Patent number: 8359175
    Abstract: An apparatus for checking insulation of a cell module assembly composed of a plurality of pouch cells includes a first probing unit electrically contacted to an electrode of the cell module assembly; a second probing unit electrically contacted to aluminum films of selected ones of the pouch cells in the cell module assembly; and a measuring unit for measuring an insulation resistance between the first probing unit and the second probing unit. This apparatus may measure insulation resistances of a plurality of pouch cells of the cell module assembly at once, thereby ensuring faster insulation checking.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 22, 2013
    Assignee: LG Chem, Ltd.
    Inventors: Ju-Seok Lee, John E. NamGoong
  • Patent number: 8343647
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a middle- or large-sized battery pack including a plurality of unit cells electrically connected with each other, wherein the battery pack is constructed in a structure in which a heat transfer medium flows through gaps defined between the unit cells for controlling the overall temperature of the battery pack to be within a predetermined temperature range for the optimum operation of the battery pack, and each unit cell is provided at the outer surface thereof, at which the heat transfer medium is brought into contact with each unit cell, with a layer containing a phase transformation material (‘phase transformation layer’) for minimizing individual temperature difference between the unit cells. The present invention has the effect of controlling the overall temperature of the battery pack and individual controlling the temperatures of unit cells constituting the battery pack.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: LG Chem, Ltd.
    Inventors: Jaesung Ahn, Do Yang Jung, John E. Namgoong, Seungdon Choi, Sinyoung Park
  • Patent number: 8252452
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are a secondary battery including an electrode assembly for charging and discharging mounted in a sheathing member including a metal layer and a resin layer, wherein the secondary battery further includes a secondary battery having a molding part of a predetermined thickness at least partially formed at the outside of a sheathing member, preferably, at a sealing region of the sheathing member, and a medium- or large-sized battery pack including the same. The molding part is formed at the outside of the sheathing member of the secondary battery. Consequently, the secondary battery according to the present invention has high mechanical strength, and therefore, it is possible to construct a battery pack without using addition members, such as cartridges. When the molding part is formed at the sealing region, which is weak, the molding part increases the mechanical strength and the sealing force of the secondary battery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2012
    Assignee: LG Chem, Ltd.
    Inventors: Junill Yoon, Heekook Yang, Jisang Yu, John E. Namgoong
  • Patent number: 8211565
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a secondary battery for medium-sized or large-sized battery modules. The secondary battery is assembled while an electrically connecting member used at the time of manufacturing a battery module is previously welded to at least one of electrode terminals of the secondary battery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2012
    Assignee: LG Chem, Ltd.
    Inventors: Junill Yoon, Jong-yul Ro, Seungjae You, Jisang Yu, John E. Namgoong
  • Patent number: 8197959
    Abstract: Disclosed is a cartridge-type lithium ion polymer battery pack including: at least two lithium ion polymer batteries in which adjacent electrode tabs are connected to each other so as to form a predetermined series circuit with a desired instrument; and an upper plate and a lower plate disposed at the top and the bottom of the whole lithium ion polymer batteries, respectively, and coupled to each other so that each lithium ion polymer battery is partially covered with them. Multiple layers of the battery packs are laminated and fixed with ease so as to conform to the electric power requirement for a desired instrument.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2012
    Assignee: LG Chem, Ltd.
    Inventors: Jong Yul Ro, John E. Namgoong
  • Publication number: 20120121964
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a lithium secondary battery comprising a battery cell formed by stacking a plurality of full cells having a structure of cathode/separator/anode or bicells having a structure of cathode(anode)/separator/anode(cathode)/separator/cathode (anode), as a unit electrode assembly, wherein (i) a cathode active material or (ii) an anode active material or (iii) a cathode active material and an anode active material in two or more unit electrode assemblies are configured to have a different composition to induce a voltage difference and separate electrode terminals are installed in a battery case according to the voltage difference to thereby simultaneously provide two or more voltages by a single battery.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 4, 2012
    Publication date: May 17, 2012
    Applicant: LG Chem, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hey Woong Park, Seungtaek Hong, Ra Young Hwang, Jisang Yu, John E. Namgoong
  • Patent number: 8119274
    Abstract: Provided is a stacked-type secondary battery comprising a battery cell formed by stacking a plurality of full cells having a structure of cathode/separator/anode or bicells having a structure of cathode(anode)/separator/anode(cathode)/separator/cathode(anode), as a unit electrode assembly, wherein a cathode active material and/or an anode active material in two or more unit electrode assemblies are configured to have a different composition to induce a voltage difference and separate electrode terminals are installed in a battery case according to the voltage difference to thereby simultaneously provide two or more voltages by a single battery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2012
    Assignee: LG Chem, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hey Woong Park, Seungtaek Hong, Ra Young Hwang, Jisang Yu, John E. Namgoong
  • Publication number: 20120019256
    Abstract: To check insulation of a pouch electric cell, probes are contacted to an electrode of a pouch electric cell and an aluminum layer of a pouch of the pouch electric cell, respectively, and then an electric characteristic value between the probes is measured. The probe contacted with the aluminum layer has a contact portion made of conductive elastic material. Also, insulation of the pouch electric cell is determined by comparing the measured electric characteristic value with a reference value. Thus, physical characteristics of an outer periphery of a flexible pouch may be sufficiently exhibited in measuring or checking insulation of a pouch electric cell such as insulation resistance, thereby improving reliability of electric contact and minimizing physical damage or deformation of the pouch electric cell.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 12, 2009
    Publication date: January 26, 2012
    Applicant: LG CHEM, LTD.
    Inventors: Ju-Seok Lee, Hey-Woong Park, Ju-Young Kim, John E. Namgoong
  • Patent number: 8067114
    Abstract: Provided is a lithium secondary battery which uses a lithium manganese metal oxide as a cathode active material and a non-graphitic carbon material as an anode active material, and based on the total weight of the electrolyte, contains 0.1 to 20% by weight of a salt represented by Formula I in a lithium salt-containing non-aqueous electrolyte: R4X+YZn???(I) wherein R, X, Y, Z and n are as defined in the specification. The lithium secondary battery of the present invention can improve low-temperature properties of the battery by increasing the lithium ion-electrode reactivity and decreasing the electrode-interface resistance, via the formation of a charge double layer at the cathode-anode interface upon charging/discharging of the battery at a low temperature, and therefore can be preferably used in medium/large battery systems such as power sources for electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) requiring operation under severe conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2011
    Assignee: LG Chem, Ltd.
    Inventors: Bo Hyun Kim, Jisang Yu, Sung-Woo Kim, Ra Young Hwang, John E. Namgoong
  • Publication number: 20110223453
    Abstract: A contact pad configured to sense the voltage of a cell module assembly including at least one battery cell, is electrically connected to a voltage sensing module for measuring the voltage of the battery cell in the cell module assembly and electrically contacted with an electrode of the battery cell, and is made of a conductive organic elastomer, thereby improving reliability of electrical contact with each battery cell, and effectively preventing malfunction of the cell module assembly caused by impurities, external physical shocks and so on.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 22, 2009
    Publication date: September 15, 2011
    Applicant: LG CHEM, LTD.
    Inventors: Ju-Seok Lee, Jin-Kyu Shin, John E. NamGoong
  • Patent number: 8012623
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a battery module constructed in a structure in which unit modules are horizontally stacked while the unit modules are vertically erected, wherein the battery module includes a base plate on which the unit modules are horizontally stacked while the unit modules are vertically erected, a pair of side plates fixed to the base plate at lower ends thereof such that the side plates are brought into tight contact with outer surfaces of the outermost unit modules, and a housing fixed to the base plate in a structure to surround the unit modules, the housing being provided at the inside thereof with supporting parts for supporting upper ends of the side plates, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2011
    Assignee: LG Chem, Ltd.
    Inventors: Junill Yoon, Ji Hoon Han, Jong-yul Ro, Jae Hun Yang, John E. Namgoong
  • Publication number: 20110191043
    Abstract: An apparatus for checking insulation of a cell module assembly composed of a plurality of pouch cells includes a first probing unit electrically contacted to an electrode of the cell module assembly; a second probing unit electrically contacted to aluminum films of selected ones of the pouch cells in the cell module assembly; and a measuring unit for measuring an insulation resistance between the first probing unit and the second probing unit. This apparatus may measure insulation resistances of a plurality of pouch cells of the cell module assembly at once, thereby ensuring faster insulation checking.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 12, 2009
    Publication date: August 4, 2011
    Applicant: LG CHEM, LTD.
    Inventors: Ju-Seok Lee, John E. NamGoong
  • Patent number: 7976980
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a secondary battery module constructed approximately in a rectangular parallelepiped structure. The battery module includes a pair of side members (right and left side members) having pluralities of grooves formed at the inside surfaces thereof such that the sides of unit cells are securely fitted in the grooves and at least one connection member integrally formed with the side members such that the side members are spaced apart from each other by the width of the unit cells while the grooves of the side members face each other. A medium- or large-sized battery system is manufactured using one or more secondary battery module. The secondary battery module allows a plurality of unit cells to be mounted in the battery module with high density. Consequently, the total size of the battery system can be considerably reduced, and the electrical connection between the electrodes is highly stable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2011
    Assignee: LG Chem, Ltd.
    Inventors: Junill Yoon, Jong-yul Ro, John E. Namgoong, Do Yang Jung