Diffusion controlled air vent for a metal-air battery
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A ventilation system for a metal-air battery, comprising:
- a housing for enclosing at least one metal-air cell;
said housing having at least one air inlet opening and at least one air outlet opening; and
a fan positioned to force said air into said air inlet opening and out of said air outlet opening when said fan is turned on;
said openings each being sized with a length in the direction through the thickness of said housing being greater than a width in the direction perpendicular to said thickness of said housing;
said openings being unobstructed when said fan is turned off.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A ventilation system for a metal-air battery having a housing for enclosing at least one metal-air cell. The housing has at least one air inlet opening and at least one air outlet opening. A fan is positioned to force air into the air inlet opening and out of the air outlet opening when the fan is turned on. The openings are sized with a length in the direction through the thickness of the housing being greater than a width in the direction perpendicular to the thickness of the housing. The openings are unobstructed and are sized to eliminate substantially the air flow into the air inlet opening and out of the air outlet opening when the fan is turned off.
106 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A ventilation system for a metal-air battery, comprising:
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a housing for enclosing at least one metal-air cell; said housing having at least one air inlet opening and at least one air outlet opening; and a fan positioned to force said air into said air inlet opening and out of said air outlet opening when said fan is turned on; said openings each being sized with a length in the direction through the thickness of said housing being greater than a width in the direction perpendicular to said thickness of said housing; said openings being unobstructed when said fan is turned off. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A ventilation system for a metal-air battery, comprising:
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a housing for enclosing a plurality of metal-air cells with an output current density of at least 50 ma per square inch of air cathode surface; and a fan within said housing; said housing having at least one air inlet opening and at least one air outlet opening; said openings each being sized with a length in the direction through the thickness of said housing being greater than the width in the direction perpendicular to said thickness of said housing; said openings being unobstructed when said fan is turned off and sized to restrict air flow into said at least one air inlet opening and out of said at least one air outlet opening when said fan is turned off such that said battery has a drain current density of less than 1 ma per square inch of air cathode surface; said fan forcing said air into said air inlet opening and out of said air outlet opening when said fan is turned on. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 20)
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17. A housing for a metal-air battery, comprising:
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said housing having at least one air inlet opening and at least one air outlet opening; said openings each being sized with a length in the direction through the thickness of said housing being greater that double the width in the direction perpendicular to said thickness of said housing; and a fan positioned to provide convective air flow into said at least one air inlet opening and out of said at least one air outlet opening. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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21. A ventilation system for a metal-air battery, comprising:
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a housing for enclosing the metal-air battery and defining openings through said housing; a fan cooperating with said openings; said fan defining a first mode of operation in which said fan operates to move air into said housing through at least a first opening of said openings and out of said housing through at least a second opening of said openings to supply air to the metal-air battery; said fan defining a second mode of operation in which said fan is inoperative and thereby ceases to move air through said openings; and said openings being unobstructed during both said first mode of operation and said second mode of operation and sized so that the leakage current of the metal-air battery during said second mode of operation is less than 1 ma. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
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25. A metal-air battery, comprising:
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a housing defining at least one inlet opening and at least one outlet opening therethrough and containing a fan operative when on to circulate air within said housing, and a plurality of metal-air cells operative to provide a battery output current when said fan is on; said battery providing a discharge mode during which said fan moves air through said openings to supply air to said metal-air cells, and an idle mode during which said fan is off and said openings are unobstructed; and said openings being sized to reduce discharge of said cells when said fan is off to a leakage current that is smaller than said battery output current by at least a factor of 50.
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26. A method for controlling air flow to a metal-air battery, comprising the steps of:
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confining a metal-air cell within a housing, the housing defining an opening and a cross-sectional area of the opening that is perpendicular to the direction of flow through the opening; operating a fan to move air through the opening into the housing; precluding operation of the fan so that the fan does not move air through the opening into the housing; and maintaining the opening in an unobstructed state during the step of operating and the step of precluding such that the cross-sectional area during the operating step is identical to the cross-sectional area during the precluding step. - View Dependent Claims (27)
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Specification