Patents by Inventor Yuji Mototani

Yuji Mototani 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: 8283069
    Abstract: A zinc-alkaline battery includes a negative electrode, a positive electrode, a separator, and an electrolyte. The negative electrode contains a zinc alloy powder including 20 to 50 wt % of a micropowder with a particle size of 75 ?m or less. In a constant resistance discharge, a time period for the negative electrode potential to rise is shorter than a time period for the positive electrode potential to fall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2012
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Fumio Kato, Yuji Mototani
  • Patent number: 7931986
    Abstract: An alkaline battery includes a positive electrode including a positive electrode active material, a negative electrode including a negative electrode active material, and an alkaline electrolyte including potassium hydroxide. The positive electrode active material includes a manganese dioxide powder, and the negative electrode active material includes a zinc powder. In a powder X-ray diffraction pattern of the manganese dioxide powder using CuK? radiation, the diffraction peak attributed to the (110) plane is in the range of 20.5° to 21.7°, and the ratio of the peak intensity of the (130) plane to the peak intensity of the (021) plane: I(130)/I(021) is 0.1 or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2011
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Jun Nunome, Yuji Mototani
  • Patent number: 7771873
    Abstract: In an alkaline battery including a cathode mixture including gamma-manganese dioxide and lambda-manganese dioxide, an anode, and an alkaline electrolyte, the weight ratio of the lambda-manganese dioxide to the gamma-manganese dioxide is set to 0.5/100 to 4.5/100, and the average particle size of the lambda-manganese dioxide is set to 3 to 10 ?m. An alkaline battery excellent in high-load discharge performance without decline in low-load discharge performance is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2010
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Jun Nunome, Yuji Mototani, Hidekazu Hiratsuka, Shigeru Hanaoka
  • Publication number: 20080096108
    Abstract: An alkaline battery of this invention includes: a positive electrode including at least one selected from the group consisting of a manganese dioxide powder and a nickel oxyhydroxide powder; a gelled negative electrode including a zinc alloy powder, a gelling agent, and an alkaline electrolyte; and a separator interposed between the positive electrode and the gelled negative electrode. The gelling agent comprises a polymer that is obtained by polymerizing a polymerizable monomer including at least an acrylic monomer, and part of the acrylic monomer remains in the gelling agent without being polymerized. The acrylic monomer includes at least one selected from the group consisting of acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, an acrylate, and a methacrylate. The weight ratio of the remaining acrylic monomer to the total weight of the polymer and the remaining acrylic monomer is 5000 ppm or less.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 18, 2007
    Publication date: April 24, 2008
    Inventors: Shinichi SUMIYAMA, Yuji MOTOTANI, Mitsuji ADACHI
  • Publication number: 20080063938
    Abstract: An alkaline battery includes a positive electrode including a positive electrode active material, a negative electrode including a negative electrode active material, and an alkaline electrolyte including potassium hydroxide. The positive electrode active material includes a manganese dioxide powder, and the negative electrode active material includes a zinc powder. In a powder X-ray diffraction pattern of the manganese dioxide powder using CuK? radiation, the diffraction peak attributed to the (110) plane is in the range of 20.5° to 21.7°, and the ratio of the peak intensity of the (130) plane to the peak intensity of the (021) plane: I(130)/I(021) is 0.1 or less.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 6, 2007
    Publication date: March 13, 2008
    Inventors: Jun Nunome, Yuji Mototani
  • Publication number: 20070231692
    Abstract: A zinc-alkaline battery includes a negative electrode, a positive electrode, a separator, and an electrolyte. The negative electrode contains a zinc alloy powder including 20 to 50 wt % of a micropowder with a particle size of 75 ?m or less. In a constant resistance discharge, a time period for the negative electrode potential to rise is shorter than a time period for the positive electrode potential to fall.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 27, 2007
    Publication date: October 4, 2007
    Inventors: Fumio Kato, Yuji Mototani
  • Publication number: 20070015054
    Abstract: In an alkaline battery including a cathode mixture including gamma-manganese dioxide and lambda-manganese dioxide, an anode, and an alkaline electrolyte, the weight ratio of the lambda-manganese dioxide to the gamma-manganese dioxide is set to 0.5/100 to 4.5/100, and the average particle size of the lambda-manganese dioxide is set to 3 to 10 ?m. An alkaline battery excellent in high-load discharge performance without decline in low-load discharge performance is provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 25, 2006
    Publication date: January 18, 2007
    Inventors: Jun Nunome, Yuji Mototani, Hidekazu Hiratsuka, Shigeru Hanaoka
  • Patent number: 7157182
    Abstract: In order to enable the safer use of an assembly of multiple cells comprising: a plurality of unit cells; an outer container for housing the unit cells; a terminal plate for sealing an upper opening of the outer container; and a positive output terminal and a negative output terminal formed on the same face of the terminal plate, at least the side face of the negative output terminal is covered by a protective tube having an electrical insulation property.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2007
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Seiji Wada, Susumu Kato, Yasushi Sumihiro, Kenji Yamamoto, Yuji Mototani, Ryohei Ashihara
  • Publication number: 20050019658
    Abstract: An alkaline battery comprising: a positive electrode mixture comprising manganese dioxide and nickel oxyhydroxide as active materials; a negative electrode comprising zinc as an active material; and an alkaline electrolyte, characterized in that the potential of the manganese dioxide relative to a mercury/mercury oxide electrode in a potassium hydroxide aqueous solution having a KOH concentration of 40 wt % is 270 mV or higher.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 29, 2003
    Publication date: January 27, 2005
    Inventors: Shigeto Noya, Yasuo Mukai, Michiko Fujiwara, Yuji Mototani, Hidekatsu Izumi
  • Publication number: 20040209164
    Abstract: In order to enable the safer use of an assembly of multiple cells comprising: a plurality of unit cells; an outer container for housing the unit cells; a terminal plate for sealing an upper opening of the outer container; and a positive output terminal and a negative output terminal formed on the same face of the terminal plate, at least the side face of the negative output terminal is covered by a protective tube having an electrical insulation property.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 10, 2003
    Publication date: October 21, 2004
    Inventors: Seiji Wada, Susumu Kato, Yasushi Sumihiro, Kenji Yamamoto, Yuji Mototani, Ryohei Ashihara
  • Patent number: 6703157
    Abstract: The present invention provides a high-capacity cylindrical battery, wherein a burst-proof mechanism, which functions to discharge a gas outside when the internal pressure of the battery abnormally increases, does not sacrifice the space for power generating elements but increases the total capacity for power generating elements. The cylindrical battery of the present invention has a circular groove formed in the vicinity of an opening of a battery case, in which power generating elements are accommodated, the circular groove having a bottom that is bent inward the battery case and has at least one gas discharge aperture, which is sealed with a seal element. The seal element is an elastic ring to be set in the groove and seal the gas discharge aperture. This arrangement enables the gas discharge aperture to be sealed again even after the burst-proof mechanism functions, thereby ensuring a continuous use of the battery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2004
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasuhiko Shoji, Isao Kubo, Kenji Yamamoto, Yuji Mototani
  • Patent number: 6566009
    Abstract: The present invention provides an alkaline battery having good heavy-loading discharge characteristics even after long-term storage at high temperatures. The alkaline battery of the present invention comprises a positive electrode containing manganese dioxide and nickel oxyhydroxide as an active material, a negative electrode containing zinc as an active material, and an alkaline electrolyte. The positive electrode further contains at least one compound selected from the group consisting of an oxygen-containing zinc compound, an oxygen-containing calcium compound, an oxygen-containing yttrium compound, and an oxygen-containing titanium compound.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2003
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shigeto Noya, Shinichi Sumiyama, Yasuko Hoshina, Michiko Fujiwara, Yuji Mototani
  • Patent number: 5721072
    Abstract: An alkaline battery using a mercury free zinc alloy powder as an anode active material is disclosed. It has a gelled anode which comprises silicon and zinc alloy powder containing at least one of a) aluminum and b) calcium, c) bismuth in combination with calcium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 1996
    Date of Patent: February 24, 1998
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuji Mototani, Yuri Kojima, Shigeto Noya, Junichi Asaoka
  • Patent number: 5587254
    Abstract: Vibration and shock resistance of alkaline batteries provided with a gel type negative electrode comprising a zinc alloy powder, a gelling agent and an alkaline electrolyte can be improved by using the following three gelling agents in combination in the gel type negative electrode, namely, a crosslinked polyacrylate type water-absorbing polymer having a dispersion viscosity at 25.degree. C. of at least 15,000 cps as a 0.5 wt % aqueous solution and having a particle size of mainly 100-900 microns, a crosslinked and branched type polyacrylic acid or a salt thereof having a dispersion viscosity at 25.degree. C. of at least 15,000 cps as a 0.5 wt % aqueous solution and having a particle size of mainly 100 microns or smaller, and a granular crosslinked and branched type polyacrylic acid or a salt thereof having a dispersion viscosity at 25.degree. C. of at least 15,000 cps as 0.5 wt % aqueous solution and having a particle size of mainly 100-900 microns.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 1995
    Date of Patent: December 24, 1996
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuri Kojima, Yuji Mototani, Junichi Asaoka
  • Patent number: 5482798
    Abstract: An alkaline battery having excellent discharge characteristics and higher discharge capacity with an increase in its internal resistance being suppressed is disclosed. The alkaline battery has a positive electrode active material which comprises primarily manganese dioxide and electroconductive carbon material. The electroconductive carbon material comprises expanded graphite particles having an average particle size in the range from 0.5 to 15 .mu.m, and the content of the expanded graphite particles is in the range from 2 to 8% by weight based on the solids in the positive electrode active material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 1995
    Date of Patent: January 9, 1996
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuji Mototani, Junichi Asaoka, Hitoshi Tanaka
  • Patent number: 5366832
    Abstract: A separator for alkaline batteries comprising as at least part of the main fibers a fibrilated product of cellulose fiber obtained by dissolving cellulose in a solvent and depositing cellulose directly. As another main fiber, preferably an extra fine synthetic fiber, particularly preferably a polyvinyl alcohol synthetic fiber is used. The binder is preferably polyvinyl alcohol. Also provided is an alkaline battery wherein such a separator is used. Preferably, the above cellulose fiber is cellulose fiber whose wet Young's modulus is 20 g/d or more and orientation degree .DELTA.n is 42.times.10.sup.-3 or more.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 1993
    Date of Patent: November 22, 1994
    Assignees: Kuraray Co., Ltd., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hideo Hayashi, Hiroyuki Kawai, Tomoyasu Sonetaka, Shingo Nakanishi, Junichi Asaoka, Yuji Mototani
  • Patent number: 4963447
    Abstract: An alkaline cell having a gelled zinc negative electrode solely or mainly using, as a gelling agent to hold a zinc powder in an alkaline electrolyte, a granular crosslinking type branched polyacrylic acid, polymethacrylic acid or salts thereof.This gelling agent, holding an alkaline electrolyte, swells and properly maintains the thickness of the electrolyte, whereby the electrolyte can be sufficiently fed to a cell reaction portion and the alkaline cell is imparted with excellent drop resistance and shelf stability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 1990
    Date of Patent: October 16, 1990
    Assignees: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., Nihon Junyaku Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Joji Nishimura, Yuji Mototani, Junichi Asaoka, Noriyuki Yanagawa, Hiroshi Touma