Matsushita Electric Industrial Co recalled 6,000 batteries used in its Panasonic notebook computers in Japan on concern they may overheat, the third global manufacturer to replace lithium-ion power cells in a month.
Dell Inc and Apple Computer Inc last month said they're recalling about 6 million notebook batteries made by Sony Corp because they might ignite into flames.
Akira Kadota, a Tokyo-based spokesman for Matsushita, said yesterday the batteries used in Panasonic laptops weren't supplied by Sony and declined to name the maker of the batteries.
"Matsushita should disclose the maker of its batteries," said Wakami Yamazaki, a spokesman for Shodanren, an association of Japanese consumer rights organizations.
"The consumer protection system needs to be strengthened and companies that are lax in reporting trouble should be taken to court," he said.
The recalls of the lithium-ion batteries may push up costs for makers of mobile phones, laptops and digital cameras that use the cells that are smaller, lighter and last longer than rival technologies.
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which oversees safety regulations for consumer products, is ordering electronics makers in Japan to investigate their notebook computers and rechargeable batteries.
Osaka-based Matsushita, the world's largest consumer electronics maker, said the batteries it uses would only catch fire when damaged.
Cells used in the Let's Note CF-W4 models may have problems in the latch area, which may lead to overheating or deformation when the machine suffers impact, the company said, adding that the batteries shouldn't have a problem under normal conditions.
The laptops were introduced in Japan in May last year, with the company claiming that the computers can withstand rigorous vibration and shocks.
"The problem with our batteries is completely unrelated to the recent trouble with Dell's PCs," Kadota said.
Matsushita initiated the recall after reports from users, he said.
Sony and Dell issued their reports to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on Aug. 31, and Apple's report was due yesterday, said Hideyuki Fujisawa, deputy director of product safety at the ministry.
He wouldn't comment on the content of the reports.
Matsushita had filed a report about its batteries to the ministry and issued a statement on its Web site, Fujisawa said.
"The Matsushita case is completely different" from the problems that Dell and Sony face, he said.
"The battery doesn't malfunction unless the PC is dropped from a considerable height. And even when broken, the battery has to be significantly deformed to cause overheating," he said.
The lithium-ion batteries used in the Dell PCs were made in Japan and assembled in China by Sony workers. The batteries contain sheets of rolled up metal, which sometimes contain loose particles that may cause it to short circuit, Sony said.
"Battery manufacturers should be held accountable for inadequate control of the fabrication of their products," John Goodenough, a professor at the University of Texas in Austin who led the development of lithium-ion batteries in the late 1980s, said in an e-mail interview.
"The problem at Sony was quality control of their manufacturing process," he said.
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