Hybrid electric propulsion system, hybrid electric power pack and method of optimizing duty cycle
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Accused Products
Abstract
A fuel cell powered vehicle includes a fuel cell power module having at least one fuel cell electrically connected to a drive unit for delivering power to the drive unit, a battery pack having at least one battery electrically connected to the drive unit for independently delivering power to the drive unit, and an ultra-capacitor pack having at least one ultra-capacitor electrically connected to the drive unit for independently delivering power to the drive unit. When the power requirement is low, only the fuel cell power module delivers electric power to the drive unit. The battery pack supplements the power to the drive unit for medium power requirements. The ultra-capacitor pack supplements the power to the drive unit for high power requirements. The ultra-capacitor pack can be recharged by regenerative braking.
58 Citations
35 Claims
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I_We. I/We claim:
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1. A fuel cell powered vehicle comprising:
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a drive unit for receiving electric power and converting the electric power into a propulsive force to displace the vehicle;
a fuel cell power module having at least one fuel cell electrically connected to the drive unit for delivering power to the drive unit;
a battery pack having at least one battery electrically connected to the drive unit for independently delivering supplemental power to the drive unit; and
an ultra-capacitor pack having at least one ultra-capacitor electrically connected to the drive unit for independently delivering supplemental power to the drive unit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of powering a vehicle having a fuel cell power module having at least one fuel cell, the fuel cell power module being selectively supplemented by a battery pack having at least one battery and an ultra-capacitor pack having at least one ultra-capacitor, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving a power requirement signal representing an instantaneous power requirement of the vehicle;
processing the power requirement signal to determine whether the instantaneous power requirement of the vehicle can be satisfied by the fuel cell power module alone, by the fuel cell power module supplemented by the battery pack, or by the fuel cell power module supplemented by both the battery pack and the ultra-capacitor pack;
supplying electric power to a drive unit of the vehicle from the fuel cell power module;
supplementing the electric power delivered to the drive unit by also independently delivering power from the battery pack when the instantaneous power requirement exceeds a maximum power output of the fuel cell power module; and
supplementing the electric power delivered to the drive unit by also independently delivering power from the ultra-capacitor pack when the instantaneous power requirement exceeds a combined maximum power output of the fuel cell power module and the battery pack. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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18. A hybrid electric propulsion system comprising:
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a drive unit for receiving electric power and converting the electric power into a propulsive force;
a fuel cell power module having at least one fuel cell electrically connected to the drive unit for delivering power to the drive unit;
a battery pack having at least one battery electrically connected to the drive unit for independently delivering power to the drive unit; and
an ultra-capacitor pack having at least one ultra-capacitor electrically connected to the drive unit for independently delivering power to the drive unit. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A hybrid power pack for generating and delivering electric power to equipment having sharply transient power requirements, the power pack comprising:
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a power output unit for supplying electric power to the equipment;
a fuel cell power module having at least one fuel cell electrically connected to the power output unit for generating and delivering electric power to the power output unit;
a battery pack having at least one battery electrically connected to the power output unit for selectively and independently delivering electric power to the power output unit; and
an ultra-capacitor pack having at least one ultra-capacitor electrically connected to the power output unit for selectively and independently delivering electric power to the power output unit. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A method of outputting electric power in response to a sharply transient power requirement, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving a power requirement signal representing an instantaneous power requirement;
processing the power requirement signal to determine whether the instantaneous power requirement can be satisfied by the fuel cell power module alone, by the fuel cell power module supplemented by the battery pack, or by the fuel cell power module supplemented by both the battery pack and the ultra-capacitor pack;
outputting electric power from the fuel cell power module;
supplementing the electric power delivered by the fuel cell power module by also independently outputting electric power from a battery pack when the instantaneous power requirement exceeds a maximum power output of the fuel cell power module; and
supplementing the electric power delivered by the fuel cell power module and the battery pack by also independently outputting electric power from an ultra-capacitor pack when the instantaneous power requirement exceeds a combined maximum power output of the fuel cell power module and the battery pack. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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Specification