Development of Ultra-Thin Fluid Conveyance Pump for Fuel Cells by MURATA
Miniaturization of mobile equipment, created a demand for even smaller batteries with higher capacities, where direct-methanol fuel cell (DMFC) is expected to satisfy this need, however, up to now, peripheral circuits miniaturization, including pumps and decreasing power consumption has hampered its commercialization. To overcome these obstacles, Murata Manufacturing has developed an ultra-thin fluid conveyance device, “Micro-pump MZP Series” capable of being used in fuel cells for mobile equipment such as mobile phones and laptop computers. Read more
Development of New energy Saving Cooling Fan by SANYO DENKI
Sanyo Denki does it again beating their own record in energy saving, by introducing yet another low power consumption cooling fan targeted for such application as server, storage, communication equipment, power supply. The power consumption in this newly developed “San Ace 80” has been reduced by approximately 20% and the sound pressure has been reduced by approximately 2dB (A) compared to company’s previous fan. Read more
SANYO Unveils its Lighter Version of eneloop Rechargeable Batteries
Here is yet another marketing tactic by Sanyo to sell its eneloop battery in an already lucrative and competitive world wide market. This time Sanyo targets the lower market segment, the remote controls and alarm clocks, a less power hungry devices sort of speaking, the market that has been dominated by regular, non-rechargeable, cheap dry cell batteries. Sanyo calls them “eneloop lite” and it comes in AA and AAA size. The company sells the pack of 2 (AA) and 2 (AAA) at prices of 780 and 640 JPY respectively. But the lower price means lower capacity. Read more
Traditional Japanese Kimono has gone GREEN
Japanese Kimonos with their elegant design and breathtaking colors, that just recently lost its interest among the young generation Japanese women due to its high cost and need of expert to simply wear them, not to forget their restrictiveness in movement and burden of taking care of them. Having said this, traditional kimono by no means disappeared, where its form and use have been somehow redefined in Japanese modern life. One contributing factor in Kimono’s market success is the replacement of silk by synthetic material to overcome their laundry problem and at the same time designers have introduced new fabric designers allowing kimono to be worn regardless of the age of individual’s age. Teijin has taken this idea a little further introducing its BIOFRONT fibers, a heat resistant bioplastic into silk crepe kimonos. Read more
Launch of New models of “eneloop bike” with enhanced charging capability by SANYO
Sanyo released its new models of “eneloop bike” lineup of electric hybrid bicycles capable of self recharging while being used. The new models, CY-SPL226 and CY-SPL224, feature industry’s first “Eco Charge Mode” for more efficient regenerative charging capability. Up to now, the charging function which company refers to it as “Loop Charge” which enables charging while riding the bicycle was limited to going on down hill stretches or during deceleration. However the charging while pedaling on flat road was not possible. Read more
Development of Low Power, Low Noise All-Digital Phase Lock Loop LSI by NEC
As demand for short distance radio communication for such systems as remote controllers, alarm systems and automatic meter reading is on the rise, one major concern that has preoccupied manufacturers of these systems is their power consumption, requiring these systems to have a longer battery life. At the same time, small and lightweight criteria for wireless devices imposed by the market demand forcing manufacturer to further reduce the battery, however, reduced battery size will translate to reduced total available energy. For such battery driven devices one way to extend the battery life is through intermittent operation through use of all digital PLL (Phase Lock Loop) offering a quick operations as well as their advantage in eliminating large on-chip passive filters. In comparison analog-based PLL does not constitute a good solution due to their long start-up time. Based on this requirement, NEC and NED Electronics developed a low-power low-noise all-digital phase lock loop (ADPLL) LSI targeted to be employed in midget wireless equipment yielding a long operation lifetime for small sized batteries. Read more
Development of Power Controlling IC for LED Lighting by MITSUMI ELECTRONIC
Mitsumi Electronic made an announcement on development of a power controlling IC targeted for LED lighting. The newly developed controlling IC is an insulation type AD/DC power controller capable of regulating higher harmonic currents satisfying IEC61000 3-2 Class C in addition to conforming to the ENERGY STAR standard. The newly developed MM3460 power controller IC makes use of single converter flyback resulting in a smaller form factor, higher efficiency (standby power consumption not exceeding 0.3 W) and overall reduction in component count. Read more
Development of Protection ICs for Li-ion Secondary Battery by MITSUMI
Mitsumi made an announcement on development of protection ICs for 2 to 5 serial cells of lithium ion secondary battery. The development of new ICs was a response to simplifying the protection circuit which has previously required a combination of cells and tuning of the circuit, resulting in reducing the number of parts and the overall cost. Read more
Release of Ultra-Low Power 4-Bit Microcontrollers by EPSON
Seiko Epson has announced the development of a new series of ultra-low current, 4-bit microcontrollers capable of operating as low as 1.1V in operating mode and only 0.1uA in sleep mode. The new S1C63000 series microcontrollers are designed to be used in mobile devices requiring long battery hours. The new microcontrollers incorporate Epson’s original low-power analog IP and low-leak process technology allowing it to operate on a 1.5V button cell battery such as silver-oxide battery or alkaline button cell. With CPU running at high speed of 4MHz, the microcontroller consumes only 220uA of current, 75% reduction in comparison to Epson previous products. Read more
Development of World’s First Sheet Type All-Solid Polymer Lithium Secondary Battery using Printing Processes
Mie Prefecture Industrial Support Center (MIESC) which has been set up for the promotion of education and science, has made an announcement on development of next generation all –solid polymer lithium secondary batteries which has been manufactured through printing processes. Read more
