Patents by Inventor Masamichi Utsunomiya

Masamichi Utsunomiya 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: 10804542
    Abstract: A gas diffusion electrode substrate has an electrically conductive porous substrate and a microporous layer-1 on one side of the electrically conductive porous substrate. The microporous layer-1 includes a dense portion A and a dense portion B. The dense portion A is a region containing a fluorine resin and a carbonaceous powder having a primary particle size of 20 nm to 39 nm. The dense portion A has a thickness of 30% to 100% with respect to the thickness of the microporous layer-1 as 100% and a width of 10 ?m to 200 ?m. The dense portion B is a region containing a fluorine resin and a carbonaceous powder having a primary particle size of 40 nm to 70 nm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 13, 2020
    Assignee: TORAY INDUSTRIES, INC.
    Inventors: Masamichi Utsunomiya, Yasuaki Tanimura, Toshiya Kamae, Junichi Urai
  • Patent number: 10804544
    Abstract: A gas diffusion electrode substrate that is used in a fuel cell and is constituted by an electrode substrate and microporous parts, in which a microporous part (A) is formed on one surface of the electrode substrate with a thickness in the range of 10 ?m or more and 60 ?m or less, and in the gas diffusion electrode substrate, the pore volume of pores with a pore size of 0.1 ?m or more and less than 10 ?m is within the range of 0.9 times or more and 5 times or less of the pore volume of pores with a pore size of 10 ?m or more and less than 100 ?m.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 13, 2020
    Assignee: TORAY INDUSTRIES, INC.
    Inventors: Yasuaki Tanimura, Masamichi Utsunomiya, Toshiya Kamae, Yasutaka Okano
  • Publication number: 20200313200
    Abstract: The present invention provides a micro-porous layer which provides a fuel battery having high productivity, high power generation performance, and high durability. The present invention provides a micro-porous layer including fibrous carbohydrate having a fiber diameter of 5 nm-10 ?m and an aspect ratio of 10 or more. The carbohydrate has an oxygen/carbon element ratio of 0.02 or more.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 21, 2018
    Publication date: October 1, 2020
    Applicant: Toray Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Masamichi Utsunomiya, Kentaro Kajiwara, Fumitaka Watanabe, Yasuaki Tanimura
  • Patent number: 10790516
    Abstract: A gas diffusion electrode includes a porous carbon electrode substrate and a microporous layer(s) provided at least on one surface of the porous carbon electrode substrate. The porous carbon electrode substrate is composed of carbon short fibers bonded with a resin carbide. When the region of the porous carbon electrode substrate, extending from a plane that has a 50% filling rate and is closest to one surface of the substrate to a plane that has the 50% filling rate and is closest to the other surface thereof, is trisected in the through-plane direction to obtain three layers, a layer located closer to one surface has a layer filling rate different from the layer filling rate of the layer located closer to the other surface. The microporous layer has a thickness under an added pressure of 0.15 MPa of from 28 to 45 ?m, and has a thickness under an added pressure of 2 MPa of from 25 to 35 ?m.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 29, 2020
    Assignee: Toray Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Yasutaka Okano, Junichi Urai, Yasuaki Tanimura, Masamichi Utsunomiya
  • Patent number: 10593956
    Abstract: A porous carbon sheet contains carbon fiber and a binder, wherein the carbon sheet is characterized in that in a section from a plane having a 50% filling ratio closest to one surface to a plane having a 50% filling ratio closest to the other surface, when letting layer X be a layer with the largest filling ratio close to the one surface, layer Y be a layer with a filling ratio smaller than layer X close to the other surface, and layer Z be the layer positioned between layer X and layer Y for layers obtained by dividing the carbon sheet equally into three in a direction perpendicular to the surfaces, the filling ratio for the layers becomes smaller in order of layer X, layer Y, and layer Z.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2020
    Assignee: Toray Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Katsuya Sode, Takashi Chida, Masamichi Utsunomiya, Toru Sugahara, Takashi Ando
  • Patent number: 10461334
    Abstract: A gas diffusion electrode has a microporous layer on at least one surface of an electroconductive porous substrate. The microporous layer has a first microporous layer in contact with the electroconductive porous substrate, and a dense layer in contact with the first microporous layer. The thickness of the dense layer is at least 1 ?m. The average number density B of pores having a pore diameter of 0.15-1 ?m in the dense layer is at least 1.3A, where A is the average number density of pores having a pore diameter of 0.15-1 ?m in the microporous layer disposed on at least one surface of the electroconductive porous substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2019
    Assignee: TORAY INDUSTRIES, INC.
    Inventors: Yasuaki Tanimura, Masamichi Utsunomiya, Michio Wakatabe, Toshiya Kamae
  • Publication number: 20190326605
    Abstract: A gas diffusion electrode is provided that enables the achievement of a fuel cell which has high drainage performance and maintains good power generation performance, while exhibiting high power generation performance particularly at a low temperature (40° C.), if used in the fuel cell. The gas diffusion electrode includes a microporous layer on at least one surface of a conductive porous substrate, wherein the microporous layer has a fluorine compound region having a length of 3-10 ?m and a void having a length of 3-10 ?m.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 12, 2018
    Publication date: October 24, 2019
    Applicant: Toray Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Kazuyo Shigeta, Masamichi Utsunomiya
  • Publication number: 20190312295
    Abstract: The purpose of the present invention is to provide an electrode which is used as a liquid flow-through device electrode and in which liquid flow-through resistance is reduced and the utilization efficiency of carbon fiber is enhanced. Another object of the present invention is to provide a redox flow battery having excellent charge-discharge performance by use of the electrode which is used for the liquid flow-through device. The present invention provides an electrode for a liquid flow-through device, the electrode essentially consisting of a carbon fiber nonwoven fabric, having a thickness of more than 0.40 mm, and having a through-hole disposed therein, or a non-through-hole disposed on one surface or both surfaces of the electrode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2017
    Publication date: October 10, 2019
    Applicant: TORAY INDUSTRIES, INC.
    Inventors: Kentaro KAJIWARA, Masamichi UTSUNOMIYA, Fumitaka WATANABE, Yasuaki TANIMURA
  • Patent number: 10411269
    Abstract: A gas diffusion electrode substrate that is used in a fuel cell and is constituted by an electrode substrate and microporous parts, in which a microporous part (A) is formed on one surface of the electrode substrate, and a microporous part (B) is formed in a part of the inside of the electrode substrate, the gas diffusion electrode substrate having a part in which the microporous part (B) is continuously present from the electrode substrate surface on the side on which the microporous part (A) is formed to a position near the electrode substrate surface on the opposite side, and a part in which pores are continuously distributed from the electrode substrate surface on the side on which the microporous part A is formed to the electrode substrate surface on the opposite side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2019
    Assignee: TORAY INDUSTRIES, INC.
    Inventors: Yasuaki Tanimura, Masamichi Utsunomiya, Toshiya Kamae
  • Publication number: 20190260033
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide an electrode which is used for a liquid flow-through device and in which liquid flow-through resistance is reduced and the utilization efficiency of the surface of carbon fiber is enhanced. Another object of the present invention is to provide a redox flow battery having excellent charge-discharge performance by use of the electrode which is used for the liquid flow-through device. The present invention provides an electrode to be used for a liquid flow-through device, the electrode including a plurality of sheets of carbon fiber nonwoven fabric each having irregularities on a surface of the sheet of carbon fiber nonwoven fabric being stacked or each having a through-hole on the carbon fiber sheet being stacked, and having inside of the electrode a plurality of gaps which is formed by recesses of the irregularities or the through-hole and is not opened in a thickness direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2017
    Publication date: August 22, 2019
    Applicant: TORAY INDUSTRIES, INC.
    Inventors: Kentaro KAJIWARA, Masamichi UTSUNOMIYA, Fumitaka WATANABE, Yasuaki TANIMURA
  • Patent number: 10256477
    Abstract: A gas diffusion electrode substrate that is used in a fuel cell, wherein a microporous layer constituted by a carbon based filler and a fluororesin is formed on one surface of the electrode substrate, the sliding angle of water on the surface on the opposite side of the surface on which the microporous layer is formed is 30 degrees or less, and the through-plane gas permeation resistance is 15 to 190 mmAq.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2019
    Assignee: TORAY INDUSTRIES, INC.
    Inventors: Masamichi Utsunomiya, Yasuaki Tanimura, Toshiya Kamae
  • Publication number: 20190058199
    Abstract: A gas diffusion electrode substrate has an electrically conductive porous substrate and a microporous layer on one side of the electrically conductive porous substrate. The microporous layer includes a dense portion A and a dense portion B. The dense portion A is a region containing a fluorine resin and a carbonaceous powder having a primary particle size of 20 nm to 39 nm. The dense portion A has a thickness of 30% to 100% with respect to the thickness of the microporous layer as 100% and a width of 10 ?m to 200 ?m. The dense portion B is a region containing a fluorine resin and a carbonaceous powder having a primary particle size of 40 nm to 70 nm.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 27, 2017
    Publication date: February 21, 2019
    Applicant: Toray Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Masamichi Utsunomiya, Yasuaki Tanimura, Toshiya Kamae, Junichi Urai
  • Publication number: 20190027761
    Abstract: A gas diffusion electrode has a microporous layer on at least one surface of an electrical conducting porous substrate. The microporous layer has at least a first microporous layer in contact with the electrical conducting porous substrate, and a second microporous layer. The gas diffusion electrode has a pore size distribution with a peak at least in a first region of 10 ?m or more and 100 ?m or less, a second region of 0.2 ?m or more and less than 1.0 ?m, and a third region of 0.050 ?m or more and less than 0.2 ?m. The total volume of the pores in the second region is 10% or more and 40% or less of the total volume of the pores in the first region, and the total volume of the pores in the third region is 40% or more and 80% or less of the total volume of the pores in the second region.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 16, 2016
    Publication date: January 24, 2019
    Applicant: TORAY INDUSTRIES, INC.
    Inventors: Toru Miyake, Masamichi Utsunomiya, Yasuaki Tanimura, Kazuyo Shigeta
  • Publication number: 20190006682
    Abstract: A gas diffusion electrode includes a porous carbon electrode substrate and a microporous layer(s) provided at least on one surface of the porous carbon electrode substrate. The porous carbon electrode substrate is composed of carbon short fibers bonded with a resin carbide. When the region of the porous carbon electrode substrate, extending from a plane that has a 50% filling rate and is closest to one surface of the substrate to a plane that has the 50% filling rate and is closest to the other surface thereof, is trisected in the through-plane direction to obtain three layers, a layer located closer to one surface has a layer filling rate different from the layer filling rate of the layer located closer to the other surface. The microporous layer has a thickness under an added pressure of 0.15 MPa of from 28 to 45 ?m, and has a thickness under an added pressure of 2 MPa of from 25 to 35 ?m.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 16, 2016
    Publication date: January 3, 2019
    Applicant: Toray Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Yasutaka Okano, Junichi Urai, Yasuaki Tanimura, Masamichi Utsunomiya
  • Publication number: 20180375106
    Abstract: A gas diffusion electrode has a microporous layer on at least one surface of an electroconductive porous substrate. The microporous layer has a first microporous layer in contact with the electroconductive porous substrate, and a dense layer in contact with the first microporous layer. The thickness of the dense layer is at least 1 ?m. The average number density B of pores having a pore diameter of 0.15-1 ?m in the dense layer is at least 1.3 A, where A is the average number density of pores having a pore diameter of 0.15-1 ?m in the microporous layer disposed on at least one surface of the electroconductive porous substrate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 16, 2016
    Publication date: December 27, 2018
    Applicant: TORAY INDUSTRIES, INC.
    Inventors: Yasuaki Tanimura, Masamichi Utsunomiya, Michio Wakatabe, Toshiya Kamae
  • Publication number: 20180375105
    Abstract: A gas diffusion electrode in which a microporous layer is provided on at least one surface of a conductive porous substrate, wherein the areas obtained by dividing the cross section perpendicular to the plane of the microporous layer into three equal parts in the thickness direction are a first area, a second area, and a third area, with respect to the conductive porous substrate side, the fluorine strength of the third area being 0.8 to 1.2 times the fluorine strength of the second area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 16, 2016
    Publication date: December 27, 2018
    Applicant: TORAY INDUSTRIES, INC.
    Inventors: Kazuyo Shigeta, Masamichi Utsunomiya, Yasutaka Okano, Yasuaki Tanimura, Toshiya Kamae
  • Patent number: 10003079
    Abstract: A gas diffusion electrode medium is for a fuel cell, has a low in-plane gas permeability and favorable water drainage characteristics in addition to high conductivity, and is able to exhibit high cell performance across a wide temperature range from low temperatures to high temperatures. The gas diffusion electrode medium is characterized by a microporous region being disposed at least at one surface of an electrode substrate, and the microporous region containing flake graphite having an aspect ratio of 50-5000.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2018
    Assignee: Toray Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Masamichi Utsunomiya, Toshiya Kamae
  • Patent number: 9972847
    Abstract: A fuel cell gas diffusion electrode medium has exceptional anti-flooding characteristic and anti-dry-out characteristic, the capability to achieve high cell performance across a wide temperature range from low to high temperatures, and exceptional mechanical properties, electrical conductivity, and thermal conductivity, a microporous layer being arranged on one surface of an electrode base material; wherein the fuel cell gas diffusion electrode medium is characterized in that linear carbon having an aspect ratio of 30-5000 is included in the microporous layer, and the areal weight of the gas diffusion electrode medium is 30-60 g/m2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2018
    Assignee: Toray Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Masamichi Utsunomiya, Masaru Hashimoto, Toshiya Kamae
  • Publication number: 20170317357
    Abstract: The purpose of the present invention is to provide: a method for producing a gas diffusion electrode base which enables the achievement of a gas diffusion electrode base that has a microporous layer with small surface roughness and is not susceptible to damaging an electrolyte membrane; and a gas diffusion electrode base that has a microporous layer with small surface roughness and is not susceptible to damaging an electrolyte membrane. For the purpose of achieving the above-described purpose, the present invention has the configuration described below. Namely, a specific gas diffusion electrode base which has a carbon sheet and a microporous layer, and wherein the carbon sheet is porous and the DBP oil absorption of a carbon powder contained in the microporous layer is 70-155 ml/100 g.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 29, 2015
    Publication date: November 2, 2017
    Applicant: TORAY INDUSTRIES, INC.
    Inventors: Masamichi UTSUNOMIYA, Yasuaki TANIMURA, Toshiya KAMAE
  • Publication number: 20170244107
    Abstract: A porous carbon sheet contains a carbon fiber and a binding material, wherein layers are obtained in a section spanning from a plane closest to one of the surfaces and having 50% of the mean fluorine intensity to a plane closest to the other surface and having 50% of the mean fluorine intensity by dividing this section evenly into three in an orthogonal direction to the carbon sheet plane; among the layer close to one of the surfaces and the layer close to the other surface, the layer having the larger layer mean fluorine intensity is designated layer X, the layer having the smaller one is designated layer Y, and the layer between the layer X and the layer Y is designated layer Z; and the layer mean fluorine intensities decrease in the order: layer X, layer Y, and layer Z.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 7, 2015
    Publication date: August 24, 2017
    Applicant: Toray Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Masamichi Utsunomiya, Masaru Hashimoto, Katsuya Sode, Toshiya Kamae