Abstract: In a bipolar lead-acid storage battery including a main substrate in which cell members are individually accommodated in spaces, a positive electrode current collector plate is disposed on one surface of the main substrate, and a negative electrode current collector plate is disposed on the other surface of the main substrate, the corrosion of the thin-formed positive electrode current collector plate is prevented to extend a life of the bipolar lead-acid storage battery. A thickness (T1) of a positive electrode current collector plate disposed on one surface of a main substrate, which is a substrate disposed between adjacent cell members, ranges from 0.15 mm to 0.75 mm. A ratio (T1/T2) of the thickness (T1) of the positive electrode current collector plate relative to the thickness (T2) of a negative electrode current collector plate disposed on another face of the main substrate ranges from 1.5 to 6.5.

Abstract: Infiltration of an electrolyte solution into a through hole is prevented or minimized to suppress the occurrence of a liquid junction, so that battery performance is less likely to deteriorate, and the life is prolonged. A cell member includes a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and an electrolyte layer interposed therebetween. The cell member is stacked and disposed at an interval. A space forming member includes a substrate and a frame body. A through hole penetrates between a positive electrode side and a negative electrode side in the space forming member, and a conductor inserted into the through hole electrically connects them. A liquid junction prevention member is provided in a vicinity of an opening on the positive electrode side, a vicinity of an opening on the negative electrode side, or both.

Abstract: A lead foil and a bipolar lead acid storage battery capable of suppressing a voltage drop in the battery due to peeling of the lead foil from a substrate are described. The lead foil is for a current collector in a bipolar lead acid storage battery. A back face of the lead foil opposed to a substrate of the bipolar lead acid storage battery has a contact length of between 150 ?m and 1800 ?m, inclusive, in a profile curve acquired, orthogonally to a rolling direction, by surface roughness measurement with a stylus, and with a scanning distance of 4 mm and a measurement interval of 0.5 ?m, the contact length is a sum total of respective absolute values of differences in height between adjacent measurement points.

Abstract: A lead foil and a bipolar lead acid storage battery capable of preventing breakage of the lead foil due to growth deformation are described. The lead foil is for a current collector in a bipolar lead acid storage battery, in which at least one of a front surface or a back face has a maximum valley depth Rv of 4 ?m or less in a profile curve acquired, orthogonally to a rolling direction, by surface roughness measurement with a stylus.

Abstract: A positive electrode current collector plate, which is a current collector sheet for a lead-acid storage battery, includes a rolled sheet including a lead alloy in which a content ratio of tin (Sn) is between 1.0 mass % and 1.9 mass %, inclusive, a content ratio of calcium (Ca) is between 0.005 mass % and 0.028 mass %, inclusive, and a balance is lead (Pb) and inevitable impurities. A hole penetrating in a plate surface direction is not formed, and the number of crystal grains having a grain size of 10 ?m or more present in a range excluding top and bottom 10% in a thickness direction of the rolled sheet in an arbitrary cross section is between 25 and 55, inclusive, per area of 1 mm2 in the range.

Abstract: A current collector sheet suitable as a positive electrode current collector plate used by being attached to a resin substrate surface of a space forming member constituting a bipolar lead-acid storage battery is provided. A current collector sheet for a lead-acid storage battery has a Vickers hardness of 10 or less when measured by a micro Vickers hardness test specified in JIS Z2244:2009, has a thickness of less than 0.5 mm, and is formed of a lead alloy in which a content ratio of tin (Sn) is 1.0 mass % or more and less than 2.0 mass %, a content ratio of calcium (Ca) is 0.005 mass % or more and less than 0.030 mass %, and a balance is lead (Pb) and unavoidable impurities.

Abstract: A bipolar battery includes a plurality of cell members, each including a positive electrode having a positive active material layer, a negative electrode having a negative active material layer, and an electrolyte layer interposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode. The bipolar battery also includes a plurality of frame units respectively forming a plurality of cells respectively incorporating the plurality of cell members. Each of the plurality of frame units is a frame unit made of a light transmissive resin material. Two of the frame units made of the light transmissive resin material adjacent in a stacking direction of the cell members are welded and joined at a welded portion via a joining member made of a light absorbing resin material. This configuration can provide a bipolar battery capable of reliably preventing electrolytic solution leakage out of a cell by means of a simple seal structure.

Abstract: A bipolar battery includes a plurality of cell members and a plurality of frame units respectively forming a plurality of cells respectively incorporating the plurality of cell members. The plurality of frame units includes frame units made of a light transmissive resin material and frame units made of a light absorbing resin material that are alternately arranged in a stacking direction of the cell members. The frame units made of a light transmissive resin material and the frame units made of a light absorbing resin material adjacent in the stacking direction of the cell members are joined at welded portions. This configuration can provide a bipolar battery capable of reliably preventing electrolytic solution leakage out of a cell by means of a simple seal structure.

Abstract: A lead alloy usable to manufacture a lead storage battery electrode the with easily predictable growth is described. The diffraction intensity determined by analyzing the surface of the lead alloy in a crystal orientation {211}<111> in a pole figure using an X-ray diffraction method is five or less times the diffraction intensity determined by analyzing powder of pure lead in a random orientation in a pole figure using the X-ray diffraction method.

Abstract: A lead alloy that is difficult to cause extension even when force is applied to the lead alloy is described. The half width of a (311) diffraction peak in a diffraction chart obtained by analyzing the lead alloy using an X-ray diffraction method is 1.4 or more times the half width of a (311) diffraction peak in a diffraction chart obtained by analyzing powder of pure lead using the X-ray diffraction method.

Abstract: A lead alloy is described that is capable of manufacturing a positive electrode for a lead storage battery with a reduced likelihood of causing growth. The lead alloy contains 0.4% by mass or more and 2% by mass or less of tin and 0.004% by mass or less of bismuth, with the balance being lead and inevitable impurities. The diffraction intensity of a Cube orientation {001} <100> in a pole figure created by analyzing the surface of the lead alloy by an X-ray diffraction method is 4 times or less the diffraction intensity of a random orientation in a pole figure created by analyzing a pure lead powder by the X-ray diffraction method.

Abstract: A lead alloy is described that is capable of manufacturing a positive electrode for a lead storage battery less likely to cause corrosion penetrating through a lead layer for the positive electrode in the thickness direction. The lead alloy contains 0.4% by mass or more and 2% by mass less of tin and 0.004% by mass or less of bismuth, with the balance being lead and inevitable impurities. When image analysis of a crystal orientation distribution map created by analyzing the surface of the lead alloy by an electron backscatter diffraction method is performed, intersection points of misorientation boundaries between crystal grains with a crystal misorientation of 5° or more and a straight line extending in one specific direction are extracted. The distances between two adjacent intersection points among the extracted intersection points are measured, and the average value of the distances is 50 ?m or less.

Abstract: In a battery system that connects a plurality of types of batteries through a switch SW, when the switch SW is switched at a voltage (charge rate), it has been possible to increase a stored charge during charging, depending on the DC resistance of the battery. An object of the present invention is to provide switch SW switching control so that the stored charge can further be increased. A first feature of the present invention is to provide a battery system in which a first battery and a second battery are connected in parallel through the switch SW, including an estimator which estimates the charging current by measuring the resistance and OCV of each battery. The battery system can further increase the stored charge by switching to a switch SW combination that can increase the stored charge.

Abstract: In a battery system that connects a plurality of types of batteries through a switch SW, when the switch SW is switched at a voltage (charge rate), it has been possible to increase a stored charge during charging, depending on the DC resistance of the battery. An object of the present invention is to provide switch SW switching control so that the stored charge can further be increased. A first feature of the present invention is to provide a battery system in which a first battery and a second battery are connected in parallel through the switch SW, including an estimator which estimates the charging current by measuring the resistance and OCV of each battery. The battery system can further increase the stored charge by switching to a switch SW combination that can increase the stored charge.

Abstract: A direct-current power source apparatus in which a lithium-ion capacitor unit is used as an electric storage system and which can fully utilize the lithium-ion capacitor unit and maintain the supply of electricity to a load is provided. An electric storage system includes a lithium-ion capacitor unit and a lead-acid battery connected in parallel with a load, and a voltage detecting section that detects the voltage of the lithium-ion capacitor unit. When the voltage detecting section detects that the voltage of the lithium-ion capacitor unit has reached a unit lower-limit voltage, a control circuit outputs a conduction signal for causing a switching circuit to get into a conductive state. When the switching circuit gets into a conductive state, the secondary battery supplies an electric power to a motor. At this time, the secondary battery charges the lithium-ion capacitor unit.

Abstract: A battery state determining apparatus is provided which can accurately determine a state of a lead battery in an automotive vehicle. The apparatus calculates a corrected engine starting voltage Vst1 from an open-circuit voltage (OCV) measuring section that measures the open circuit voltage Vst of the lead battery at an engine starting time in accordance with a temperature of the vehicle. The apparatus further calculates a battery determination voltage Vst_th representing a voltage of the lead battery at an engine starting time when a growth rate of internal resistance of the lead battery reaches a predetermined value from the open-circuit voltage OCV. The apparatus then determines the battery state of the lead battery by determining whether the corrected engine starting voltage Vst1 is larger than the battery determination voltage Vst_th and whether the corrected engine starting voltage Vst1 belongs to a predetermined region on a characteristic map.

Abstract: A direct-current power source apparatus in which a lithium-ion capacitor unit is used as an electric storage system and which can fully utilize the lithium-ion capacitor unit and maintain the supply of electricity to a load is provided. An electric storage system includes a lithium-ion capacitor unit and a lead-acid battery connected in parallel with a load, and a voltage detecting section that detects the voltage of the lithium-ion capacitor unit. When the voltage detecting section detects that the voltage of the lithium-ion capacitor unit has reached a unit lower-limit voltage, a control circuit outputs a conduction signal for causing a switching circuit to get into a conductive state. When the switching circuit gets into a conductive state, the secondary battery supplies an electric power to a motor. At this time, the secondary battery charges the lithium-ion capacitor unit.

Abstract: A semiconductor wafer is radiated with an electron beam so that the inelastic scattering takes place in the narrow region, and current flows out from the narrow region; the amount of current is dependent on the substance or substances in the narrow region so that the analyst evaluates the degree of contamination on the basis of the substance or substances specified in the narrow region.

Abstract: A semiconductor wafer is radiated with an electron beam so that the inelastic scattering takes place in the narrow region, and current flows out from the narrow region; the amount of current is dependent on the substance or substances in the narrow region so that the analyst evaluates the degree of contamination on the basis of the substance or substances specified in the narrow region.

Abstract: A storage battery unit (1) including a storage battery (2) and a monitoring device (3) that monitors a state of the storage battery using an output of the storage battery as an input, wherein, in order to prevent the monitoring device from consuming electric power in a state before use of the storage battery and prevent nonfunctioning of the monitoring device in use of the storage battery, a starting circuit (4) is provided between the storage battery and the monitoring device (3), the starting circuit including: a main switch that holds an OFF state in a state before a load is connected to the storage battery and interrupts supply of electric power from the storage battery (2) to the monitoring device; and a switch drive circuit that detects a reduction in terminal voltage of the storage battery that occurs when the load exceeding the set value is connected to the storage battery, and sets the main switch to an ON state.