Matsushita Recalls 68,000 Massage Chairs, Citing Fire Risk
2010
By Kyodo News International, Tokyo  Jan. 31--OSAKA -- Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and Matsushita  Electric Works Ltd. said Wednesday they will recall some 68,000 massage chairs  the latter has made, as there is a risk they may catch fire.
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Toshiba Corp. (6502.T) said on Thursday  it has recalled more Sony Corp. (6758.T) laptop computer  batteries due to fire risk.
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Lexmark has ordered the recall of more than 39,000 Dell, IBM and Lexmark branded laser printers due to short-circuiting problems that could lead to electrical shocks.
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(InfoWorld) - Japan's Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.Â (Panasonic) said it has developed a lithium-ion battery that won't overheat even if a short circuit occurs. The new battery includes a heat-resistive insulator inside the battery cell, next to an existing separator that insulates the anode and cathode. If that separator is punctured a short circuit occurs that typically causes the battery to overheat and in some circumstances catch fire. Panasonic said its insulator layer ensures that the battery won't overheat even in the event of a short circuit. Panasonic's announcement responds to consumers' concern about the safety of lithium-ion batteries following a number of incidents involving them. Earlier this year most major laptop computer makersÂ started recall or exchange programsÂ for batteries containing lithium-ion cells made by Sony after a number of batteries overheated and caught fire. Sony blamed the problem on metallic particles that got inside the battery during production, puncturing the separator layer and causing a short circuit. The replacement program covers 9.6 million batteries and willÂ cost SonyÂ up to Â¥51 billion (US$432 million). Then on Dec. 7, Japanese mobile-carrier NTT DoCoMo and handset-maker Mitsubishi ElectricÂ recalled 1.3 million cell-phone batteriesÂ made by Sanyo Electric, saying they could overheat and catch fire. Panasonic's new batteries are made by another company in the Matsushita group, Matsushita Battery Industrial Co., and are ready for mass production, said Akira Kadota, a spokesman for Panasonic in Tokyo. The batteries aren't available directly to end users but are sold in bulk to electronics product manufacturers, so Panasonic wouldn't reveal their price. Kadota said they could be more expensive than current cells but could also work out cheaper if large orders are placed. Matsushita Battery Industrial is one of the largest battery makers in Japan. Â
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Nissan Motor Co. is recalling over 92,000 vehicles for faulty clutch and seat covering problems, the company and the Transport Ministry said Thursday.
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The massive global recall of batteries made by Sony Corp. widened Wednesday as Japanese electronics maker Fujitsu Ltd. said it is recalling 287,000 laptop batteries that are at risk of overheating or catching fire.
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By Stanley Ziemba, Chicago Tribune  Mar. 9--A forklift punctured a drum containing a chemical used in producing plastics at a Willow Springs plant late Wednesday, creating noxious fumes that sent eight workers at a nearby UPS facility to the hospital, officials said Thursday.
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(InfoWorld) - Hitachi Ltd. joins most of the leading notebook computer makers in recalling batteries from Sony Corp. that are known to overheat and potentially cause fires. The recall is one of the smaller ones, affecting 16,000 units only sold in Japan. The Hitachi Flora 210W and Flora Se210 laptops ship with the Sony batteries, Hitachi said. Hitachi doesn't use the batteries in any other products and hasn't received any complaints from users about problems with them. Hitachi's recall pales compared to Dell Inc.'s, which was the first and affected 4.1 million of the Sony batteries. Apple Computer Inc. recalled 1.8 million batteries and Toshiba Corp., Lenovo Group Ltd., IBM Corp. and Fujitsu Ltd. have recalled hundreds of thousands each.Â Combined, the companies have recalled more than 7.9 million batteries. Hewlett-Packard Co. is one of the few remaining large computer makers not to issue a recall, claiming that an HP system configuration prevents overheating. Acer Inc. is considering issuing a recall but is still investigating the issue. Sony is hammering out a plan with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to launchÂ a global replacement programÂ for the batteries. Sony blames the problem, which affects some lithium ion batteries, on tiny metal particles that might come in contact with parts of the battery, possibly triggering a short circuit. Normally, the battery should power off when that happens, Sony said, but in some cases the short circuit could cause overheating and flames. Â
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Suzuki Motor Corp. 7269.T is  recalling more than 172,000 Grand Vitara sport utility vehicles  because of a fuel pressure problem that can trigger fires, U.S.  federal safety regulators said on Thursday.
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A recall of 39,400 laser printers made by Lexmark International Inc. and sold by Lexmark, IBM and Dell Inc. is due to a potential electrical shock hazard, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said yesterday.
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Japan's Hitachi Corp. said Friday that it plans to recall about 16,000 laptop battery packs made by Sony Corp. over possible overheating problems, a news report said.
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Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd.   6752.T said on Tuesday it had started recalling 6,000 PC   batteries as they could overheat when subjected to a strong   impact -- the latest battery recall involving Japanese   electronics makers.
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Toys "R" Us and the Consumer Product Safety Commission on Thursday recalled 27,000 crayon and paint box sets because the printed ink on the outer packaging of the wood cases contains lead.
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October 20, 2004 - Zippo Manufacturing Co. is recalling more than 100-thousand lighters because fuel may spill from the nozzle when it&#39;s first used, posing a fire hazard.
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200 million yen up in smoke Japan Canon is to recall up to 1.87 million personal copiers world-wide because they could produce smoke or catch fire.â¦
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Nintendo Co. Ltd.  said it would recall about 200,000 AC adaptors for its hot-selling DS and DS Lite handheld game machines in Japan, because they may overheat and cause burns on rare occasions.
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Tai Tung International, Inc., is recalling about 128,880 toy ice cream cars, police cars and washing machines because the multicolored beads inside the toys can become accessible to children, causing a choking hazard.