Patent ID: 8329346

Claim:
An air regulating system for controlling the passage of air into a battery cell using a gas in the air as an active material, the air regulating system comprising: a valve comprising a first plate having at least one aperture therethrough and a second plate having at least one aperture therethrough; an actuator for moving the first plate relative to the second plate to open and close the valve to regulate the passage of air; and a sealing medium disposed between the first plate and the second plate, the sealing medium comprising a fluid containment layer and a fluid partially contained within the fluid containment layer; wherein: the fluid containment layer comprises a porous polymeric material having an average pore size of from 0.03 micrometer to 15 micrometers, as determined by a bubble point method using a capillary flow porometer; and a maximum wicking height of the fluid on the porous polymeric material is equal to or greater than a maximum interfacial dimension of the first and second plates, the maximum wicking height being determined by suspending a strip of the porous polymeric material vertically above a surface of a sample of the fluid.