METAL-AIR FUEL CELL BATTERY SYSTEMS HAVING A METAL-FUEL CARD STORAGE CARTRIDGE, INSERTABLE WITHIN A FUEL CARTRIDGE INSERTION PORT, CONTAINING A SUPPLY OF SUBSTANTIALLY PLANAR DISCRETE METAL-FUEL CARDS, AND FUEL CARD TRANSPORT MECHANISMS THEREIN
First Claim
1. A metal-air fuel cell battery system having a discharging mode of operation, the system comprising:
- a housing having an insertion port;
a discharging subsystem disposed within said housing for generating electrical power from at least one metal-fuel card in said discharging mode of operation; and
a tray-shaped cartridge containing a supply of substantially planar discrete metal-fuel cards, wherein the insertion port is configured to receive the tray-shaped cartridge;
wherein, when the tray-shaped cartridge is inserted within said insertion port, one or more of the substantially planar discrete metal-fuel cards are loadable into the discharging subsystem for generating and discharging electrical power during said discharging mode of operation.
2 Assignments
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Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed are various types of metal-air FCB-based systems comprising a housing having an insertion port; a discharging subsystem disposed within the housing for generating electrical power from at least one metal-fuel card in a discharging mode of operation; and a tray-shaped cartridge, insertable within said insertion port, containing a supply of substantially planar discrete metal-fuel cards. When the tray-shaped cartridge is inserted within the insertion port, one or more of the metal-fuel cards are loadable into the discharging subsystem for generating and discharging electrical power during the discharging mode of operation. The system may include a recharging subsystem disposed within the housing for recharging at least one metal-fuel card in a recharging mode of operation. These inventive features allow automatic management of the supply (and recharge) of metal-fuel in a metal-air fuel cell battery system so as to obtain improvements in both operating efficiency and system performance.
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Citations
34 Claims
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1. A metal-air fuel cell battery system having a discharging mode of operation, the system comprising:
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a housing having an insertion port;
a discharging subsystem disposed within said housing for generating electrical power from at least one metal-fuel card in said discharging mode of operation; and
a tray-shaped cartridge containing a supply of substantially planar discrete metal-fuel cards, wherein the insertion port is configured to receive the tray-shaped cartridge;
wherein, when the tray-shaped cartridge is inserted within said insertion port, one or more of the substantially planar discrete metal-fuel cards are loadable into the discharging subsystem for generating and discharging electrical power during said discharging mode of operation. - 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, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
wherein one or more substantially planar discrete metal-fuel cards are automatically loadable from the tray-shaped cartridge into the recharging subsystem when the tray-shaped cartridge is inserted within said insertion port. -
3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a recharging subsystem for recharging substantially planar discrete metal fuel cards that have been oxidized during the discharging mode of operation.
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4. The system of claim 1, wherein each metal-fuel card comprises a metal-fuel layer applied to a substantially planar card shaped substrate.
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5. The system of claim 4, wherein said metal-layer comprises zinc.
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6. The system of claim 5, wherein said metal-fuel layer is formed by mixing zinc powder and a binding material, and then applying the mixture as a coating to said substrate.
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7. The system of claim 5, wherein said metal-fuel layer is formed by electroplating zinc onto said substrate.
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8. The system of claim 5, wherein said metal-fuel layer is formed by mixing zinc powder with a plastic material.
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9. The system of claim 4, wherein said substrate comprises a metal layer that collects current from said metal-fuel layer.
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10. The system of claim 9, wherein said metal layer comprises one of nickel and brass.
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11. The system of claim 4, wherein each metal-fuel card comprises an electrically insulating casing.
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12. The system of claim 2, wherein each metal-fuel card comprises a metal-fuel layer applied to a substantially planar card shaped substrate.
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13. The system of claim 12, wherein said metal-fuel layer comprises zinc.
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14. The system of claim 13, wherein said metal-fuel layer is formed by mixing zinc powder and a binding material, and then applying the mixture as a coating to said substrate.
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15. The system of claim 13, wherein said metal-fuel layer is formed by electroplating zinc onto said substrate.
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16. The system of claim 13, wherein said metal-fuel layer is formed by mixing zinc powder with a plastic material.
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17. The system of claim 12, wherein said substrate comprises a metal layer that collects current from said metal-fuel layer.
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18. The system of claim 17, wherein said metal layer comprises one of nickel and brass.
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19. The system of claim 12, wherein each metal-fuel card comprises an electrically insulating casing.
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20. The system of claim 3, wherein each metal-fuel card comprises a metal-fuel layer applied to a substantially planar card shaped substrate.
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21. The system of claim 20, wherein said metal-fuel layer comprises zinc.
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22. The system of claim 21, wherein said metal-fuel layer is formed by mixing zinc powder and a binding material, and then applying the mixture as a coating to said substrate.
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23. The system of claim 21, wherein said metal-fuel layer is formed by electroplating zinc onto said substrate.
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24. The system of claim 21, wherein said metal-fuel layer is formed by mixing zinc powder with a plastic material.
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25. The system of claim 20, wherein said substrate comprises a metal layer that collects current from said metal-fuel layer.
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26. The system of claim 25, wherein said metal layer comprises one of nickel and brass.
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27. The system of claim 20, wherein each metal-fuel card comprises an electrically insulating casing.
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28. The system of claim 1, further comprising card transport means for transporting at least one metal-fuel card from the tray-shaped cartridge to the discharging subsystem.
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29. The system of claim 28, further comprising card transport means for transporting at least one metal-fuel card from the discharging subsystem to the tray-shaped cartridge.
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30. The system of claim 29, further comprising a recharging subsystem disposed within said housing for recharging at least one metal-fuel card in a recharging mode of operation.
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31. The system of claim 30, further comprising card transport means for transporting at least one metal-fuel card from the tray-shaped cartridge to the recharging subsystem.
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32. The system of claim 31, further comprising card transport means for transporting at least one metal-fuel card from the recharging subsystem to the tray-shaped cartridge.
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33. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one metal-fuel card has a plurality of metal-fuel tracks,
and wherein said discharging subsystem generates electrical power by enabling discharge of a selective set of a plurality of metal-fuel tracks on the at least one metal-fuel card. -
34. The system of claim 33, wherein said recharging subsystem recharges the at least one metal-fuel card by enabling recharge of a selective set of the plurality of metal-fuel tracks of the at least one metal-fuel card.
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Specification