BATTERY RESETTING PROCESS FOR SCAFFOLD FUEL ELECTRODE
First Claim
1. A method for resetting an electrochemical cell, the electrochemical cell comprising:
- a fuel electrode comprising a series of permeable electrode bodies arranged in spaced apart relation for receiving electrodeposited metal fuel;
an oxidant electrode spaced from the fuel electrode;
a charging electrode;
an ionically conductive medium contacting the electrodes;
the fuel electrode and the oxidant electrode being configured to, during discharge, oxidize the metal fuel at the fuel electrode and reduce an oxidant at the oxidant electrode to generate a electrical discharge current therebetween for application to a load; and
the fuel electrode and the charging electrode being configured to, during re-charge, reduce a reducible species of the fuel to electrodeposit the fuel on the fuel electrode and oxidize an oxidizable species of the oxidant by application of a electrical recharge current therebetween from a power source;
the method comprising;
applying an electrical reset current between the fuel electrode and at least one other aforesaid electrode of the cell with the fuel electrode functioning as an anode and the other aforesaid electrode functioning as a cathode, such that the metal fuel on the fuel electrode is oxidized into the reducible fuel species; and
removing the electrical reset current to discontinue the resetting process.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An electrochemical cell includes a fuel electrode configured to operate as an anode to oxidize a fuel when connected to a load. The cell also includes an oxidant electrode configured to operate as a cathode to reduce oxygen when connected to the load. The fuel electrode comprises a plurality of scaffolded electrode bodies. The present invention relates to an electrochemical cell system and method of resetting the electrochemical cell by applying a charge (i.e. voltage or current) to the cell to drive oxidation of the fuel, wherein the fuel electrode operates as an anode, and the second cell operates as a cathode, removing uneven distributions of fuel that may cause premature shorting of the electrode bodies to improve capacity, energy stored, and cell efficiency.
20 Citations
44 Claims
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1. A method for resetting an electrochemical cell, the electrochemical cell comprising:
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a fuel electrode comprising a series of permeable electrode bodies arranged in spaced apart relation for receiving electrodeposited metal fuel; an oxidant electrode spaced from the fuel electrode; a charging electrode; an ionically conductive medium contacting the electrodes; the fuel electrode and the oxidant electrode being configured to, during discharge, oxidize the metal fuel at the fuel electrode and reduce an oxidant at the oxidant electrode to generate a electrical discharge current therebetween for application to a load; and the fuel electrode and the charging electrode being configured to, during re-charge, reduce a reducible species of the fuel to electrodeposit the fuel on the fuel electrode and oxidize an oxidizable species of the oxidant by application of a electrical recharge current therebetween from a power source; the method comprising; applying an electrical reset current between the fuel electrode and at least one other aforesaid electrode of the cell with the fuel electrode functioning as an anode and the other aforesaid electrode functioning as a cathode, such that the metal fuel on the fuel electrode is oxidized into the reducible fuel species; and removing the electrical reset current to discontinue the resetting process. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. An electrochemical cell system comprising:
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an electrochemical cell comprising; a fuel electrode comprising a series of permeable electrode bodies arranged in spaced apart relation for receiving electrodeposited metal fuel; an oxidant electrode spaced apart from the fuel electrode; a charging electrode; an ionically conductive medium communicating the electrodes; circuitry configured to provide electrical connections between the electrodes, a power input circuit, and a power output circuit; a plurality of switches in the circuitry, configured to selectively open or close the electrical connections the between the electrodes, the power input circuit, and the power output circuit; wherein the cell is configured to generate an electrical discharge current by oxidizing the metal fuel on the electrode bodies of the fuel electrode and reducing an oxidizer at the oxidant electrode; and wherein the spaced apart relation of said permeable electrode bodies of the fuel electrode enables an electrical recharge current to be applied between the charging electrode and at least one of the permeable anode bodies with the charging electrode functioning as an anode and the at least one permeable electrode body functioning as a cathode, such that reducible fuel ions are reduced and electrodeposited from the ionically conductive medium as fuel in oxidizable form on the at least one permeable electrode body, whereby the electrodeposition causes growth of the fuel among the permeable electrode bodies such that the electrodeposited fuel establishes an electrical connection between the permeable electrode bodies; and a controller configured to control an open state or a closed state of each of the plurality of switches of the electrochemical cell, wherein the controller is further configured to initiate a resetting process by; selectively operating the plurality of switches to apply an electrical reset current from a power source to the power input circuit and between the fuel electrode and at least one other aforesaid electrode with the fuel electrode functioning as an anode and the other aforesaid electrode functioning as a cathode, such that the metal fuel on the fuel electrode is oxidized into a reducible fuel species; and selectively operating the plurality of switches to remove the electrical reset current to discontinue the resetting process. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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Specification