Sony will initiate a global replacement program (recall) for certain laptop battery packs that utilize Sony-made lithium ion cells used by notebook computer manufacturers, because of recent over-heating incidents. According to Sony’s press release, the company is discussing this plan with the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission.
“Sony has been supporting the recall of battery packs for Dell and Apple. On rare occasions, microscopic metal particles in the recalled battery cells may come into contact with other parts of the battery cell, leading to a possibility of short circuit within the cell. A battery pack will simply power off when a cell short circuit occurs, but under certain rare conditions an internal short circuit may lead to cell overheating and potentially flames. The potential for this to occur can be affected by variations in the system configurations found in different notebook computers. Sony believes that this engineering analysis remains valid”, the press release says.
Sony will announce details of the program in the near future.
