Portable fuel cell power supply
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A portable power supply, comprising:
- a fuel storage means for storing a supply of hydrogen fuel occluded as a metal hydride or in graphite nanofibers;
a fuel delivery means, connected to the fuel storage means;
an air breathing planar fuel cell having a cathode side exposed to ambient air and connected to the fuel delivery means, for converting the fuel to electricity; and
wherein the fuel storage means, the fuel delivery means, and the air breathing planar fuel cell are all contained in a volume less than 100 cubic centimeters and the portable power supply delivers at least one watt of power.
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Abstract
The invention provides a device for generating energy, utilizing a fuel cell. Air is freely guided to the fuel cell, while a fuel gas is provided to the fuel cell from a pressurized fuel supply via a regulator. The portable power supply is most applicable to use with handheld electric devices, and contains a fuel storage means (110) for storing a supply of fuel, a fuel delivery means (120) connected to the fuel storage means, an energy conversion device (140) connected to the fuel delivery means for converting the fuel to electricity. The fuel storage means, the fuel delivery means, and the energy conversion device are all contained in a volume less than 500 cubic centimeters.
276 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A portable power supply, comprising:
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a fuel storage means for storing a supply of hydrogen fuel occluded as a metal hydride or in graphite nanofibers;
a fuel delivery means, connected to the fuel storage means;
an air breathing planar fuel cell having a cathode side exposed to ambient air and connected to the fuel delivery means, for converting the fuel to electricity; and
wherein the fuel storage means, the fuel delivery means, and the air breathing planar fuel cell are all contained in a volume less than 100 cubic centimeters and the portable power supply delivers at least one watt of power. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A device for generating energy, comprising:
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a passive air breathing planar fuel cell having a cathode exposed to air;
a fuel storage unit for containing a supply of hydrogen fuel occluded as a metal hydride or in graphite nanofibers;
a regulating means disposed between and connected to the fuel cell and to the fuel storage unit, to regulate the amount of fuel emanating from the fuel storage unit into the fuel cell; and
a housing having an internal volume no greater than 1000 cubic centimeters, for containing the fuel cell and the fuel storage unit and the regulating means therein. - View Dependent Claims (4)
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5. A device for generating electricity, comprising:
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a planar fuel cell for electricity generation by catalytic combustion of gaseous hydrogen fuel with oxygen gas from ambient air, said fuel cell comprising an anode, a cathode, and a solid polymer electrolyte disposed between the anode and the cathode;
a fuel tank for containing a supply of hydrogen fuel occluded as a metal hydride or in graphite nanofibers;
a fuel delivery means disposed between and connected to the fuel tank and to the fuel supply, to regulate and deliver a sufficient amount of fuel from the fuel tank into the fuel cell; and
the combined volume of the fuel cell and the fuel tank and the fuel delivery means is no greater than 1000 cubic centimeters. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A device for generating electricity, comprising:
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a planar fuel cell for electricity generation by catalytic combustion of gaseous hydrogen fuel with oxygen gas from ambient air, said fuel cell comprising an anode, a cathode, and a solid polymer electrolyte disposed between the anode and the cathode;
a fuel tank for containing a supply of hydrogen fuel occluded as a metal hydride or in graphite nanofibers;
a fuel delivery means disposed between and connected to the fuel tank and to the fuel supply, to regulate and deliver a sufficient amount of fuel from the fuel tank into the fuel cell;
a power supply for use in starting the device; and
the combined volume of the fuel cell and the fuel tank and the fuel delivery means is no greater than 1000 cubic centimeters. - View Dependent Claims (16)
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17. A portable fuel cell power supply for use with handheld devices, comprising:
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a hydride storage canister for storing a supply of hydrogen as a metal hydride;
a fuel delivery means, connected to the hydride storage canister;
an air breathing planar fuel cell having a polymer electrolyte membrane, connected to the fuel delivery means, for converting the hydrogen to electricity;
wherein the combined volume of the hydride storage canister, the fuel delivery means, and the air breathing planar fuel cell is less than 500 cubic centimeters; and
wherein the portable power supply provides at least eighty watts of electric power. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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- 20. A portable power supply for use with handheld devices comprises an air breathing planar fuel cell disposed in a housing such that a cathode side of the fuel cell is exposed to ambient air, a hydrogen storage means to store hydrogen occluded as a metal hydride or in graphite nanofibers disposed in the housing, a fuel delivery means connecting the hydrogen storage means to the fuel cell, and wherein the internal volume of the housing does not exceed 500 cubic centimeters.
Specification