Fuel cell power systems and methods of controlling a fuel cell power system
First Claim
1. A fuel cell power system comprising:
- a housing;
a plurality of terminals;
at least one fuel cell within the housing and electrically coupled with the terminals and configured to convert chemical energy into electricity;
a control system configured to monitor an electrical output condition of the at least one fuel cell and to control an operational parameter of at least one of the fuel cells, and wherein the control system comprises a plurality of distributed controllers; and
an operator interface coupled with the control system to indicate the electrical condition monitored by the control system.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Fuel cell power systems and methods of controlling a fuel cell power system are provided. According to one aspect, a fuel cell power system includes a plurality of fuel cells electrically coupled with plural terminals and individually configured to convert chemical energy into electricity; and a digital control system configured to at least one of control and monitor an operation of the fuel cells. Another aspect provides a method of controlling a fuel cell power system including providing a plurality of fuel cells individually configured to convert chemical energy into electricity; electrically coupling the plurality of fuel cells; providing a first terminal coupled with the fuel cells; providing a second terminal coupled with the fuel cells; and coupling a digital control system with the fuel cells to at least one of monitor and control an operation of the fuel cells.
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Citations
76 Claims
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1. A fuel cell power system comprising:
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a housing;
a plurality of terminals;
at least one fuel cell within the housing and electrically coupled with the terminals and configured to convert chemical energy into electricity;
a control system configured to monitor an electrical output condition of the at least one fuel cell and to control an operational parameter of at least one of the fuel cells, and wherein the control system comprises a plurality of distributed controllers; and
an operator interface coupled with the control system to indicate the electrical condition monitored by the control system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A fuel cell power system comprising:
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a plurality of terminals;
a plurality of fuel cells respectively electrically coupled with the terminals and configured to convert chemical energy into electricity, the fuel cells being configured to be individually selectively deactivated and remaining ones of the fuel cells being configured to provide electricity to the terminals with others of the fuel cells deactivated;
a power supply, different from the fuel cells; and
a control system coupled to the power supply and configured to receive electricity from the power supply at least at some times, and which is further operably coupled with the plurality of fuel cells, the control system being configured to monitor at least one operational condition of the power supply. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A fuel cell power system comprising:
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a plurality of terminals;
a plurality of fuel cells electrically coupled with the terminals and configured to convert chemical energy into electricity;
a main valve adapted to couple with a fuel source and configured to selectively supply fuel to the fuel cells; and
a control system configured to control the main valve, and wherein the control system comprises a plurality of distributed controllers. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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18. A fuel cell power system comprising:
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a housing;
a plurality of terminals;
at least one fuel cell within the housing and which is electrically coupled with the terminals and which is configured to convert chemical energy into electricity, and wherein the at least one fuel cell comprises a plurality of fuel cells provided in a plurality of cartridges;
a bleed valve configured to selectively purge non-fuel diluents from the at least one fuel cell;
a control system configured to control selective positioning of the bleed valve; and
a manifold configured to provide fluid communication of the cartridges with the bleed valve.- View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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21. A fuel cell power system comprising:
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a housing;
a plurality of terminals;
a plurality of fuel cells, within the housing, and electrically coupled with the terminals and configured to convert chemical energy into electricity, and wherein the plurality of fuel cells are defined by multiple cartridges removably supported by the housing and that are individually selectively removed from the housing and remaining ones of the fuel cells are configured to provide electricity to terminals with others of the cartridges removed;
a control system configured to monitor an electrical output condition of the at least one of the fuel cell and to control an operational parameter of at least one of the fuel cells; and
an operator interface coupled with the control system to indicate the electrical condition monitored by the control system.
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22. A fuel cell power system comprising:
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a housing;
a temperature sensor supported by the housing to sense temperature in the housing;
a fan supported by the housing to move air inside the housing;
a plurality of terminals;
at least one fuel cell within the housing and electrically coupled with the terminals and configured to convert chemical energy into electricity;
a control system coupled to the temperature sensor and configured to control the fan in response to the sensed temperature;
an operator interface coupled with the control system to indicate the temperature sensed by the control system; and
circuitry electrically coupled to the control system, and configured to at least, at times, determine the output voltage of the at least one fuel cell, and wherein the control system is configured to determine electrical efficiency based upon the output voltage, and wherein the fan is a variable speed fan, and wherein the control system varies the speed of the fan in response to the determined electrical efficiency. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A fuel cell power system comprising:
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a housing;
a plurality of terminals;
at least one fuel cell within the housing and electrically coupled with the terminals and configured to convert chemical energy into electricity;
a bleed valve in fluid communication with the at least one fuel cell to selectively remove waste fluid therefrom;
a control system configured to monitor an electrical output condition of at least one of the fuel cells and to control the bleed valve; and
an operator interface coupled with the control system to indicate the electrical condition monitored by the control system. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A fuel cell power system comprising:
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a housing having an inside facing surface defining a cavity, and an outside facing surface and having a plurality of receptacles which are accessible from outside of the housing, the individual receptacles including an electrical connector and a fuel supply connector;
a plurality of cartridges each including a casing supporting at least one fuel cell, the casing being removably received in a receptacle and including a fuel inlet connector which mates with the fuel supply connector of at least one of the receptacles when the casing is received in a receptacle, and an electrical connector which mates with the electrical connector of at least one of the receptacles when the casing is received in a receptacle, each fuel cell being configured to convert chemical energy into electricity;
a power bus inside the housing and electrically coupled to the respective electrical connectors and selectively coupled to a load; and
a control system electrically coupled to the power bus and configured to monitor at least one operational condition of the power bus, and wherein the cartridges can be individually removed from the housing while the remaining cartridges continue to produce electricity. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42)
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43. A fuel cell power system comprising:
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a plurality of terminals;
at least one fuel cell electrically coupled with the terminals and configured to convert chemical energy into electricity;
a power supply, different from the fuel cells; and
a control system coupled to the power supply and configured to receive electricity from the power supply at least at some times, and which is further operably coupled with the at least one fuel cell, and wherein the control system is configured to monitor at least one operational condition of the power supply.
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44. A fuel cell power method comprising:
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providing a housing;
providing a plurality of terminals;
providing at least one fuel cell within the housing and electrically coupling the fuel cell within the terminals;
converting chemical energy into electricity using the at least one fuel cell;
defining a control system using a plurality of distributed controllers; and
controlling a bleed valve using the control system to selectively purge non-fuel diluents from the at least one fuel cell.
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45. A fuel cell power method comprising:
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providing a housing;
providing a plurality of terminals;
providing a plurality of fuel cells within the housing and electrically coupling the fuel cell with the terminals;
converting chemical energy into electricity using the plurality of fuel cells;
controlling a bleed valve using a control system to selectively purge non-fuel diluents from the at least one fuel cell; and
selectively deactivating one of the fuel cells and providing electricity to the terminals from the remaining fuel cells. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47)
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48. A fuel cell power method comprising:
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providing a housing;
providing a plurality of terminals;
providing at least one fuel cell within the housing and electrically coupling the fuel cell with the terminals, and wherein the at least one fuel cell in defined by using a plurality of fuel cells provided in a plurality of cartridges;
converting chemical energy into electricity using the fuel call;
controlling a bleed valve using a control system to selectively purge non-fuel diluents from the at least one fuel cell; and
providing fluid communication between the cartridges and the bleed valve using a manifold. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50)
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51. A fuel cell power method comprising:
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providing a housing;
providing a plurality of terminals;
providing at least one fuel cell within the housing and electrically coupling the at least one fuel cell with the terminals;
providing a control system, and defining the control system using a plurality of distributed controllers;
coupling the operator interface to the control system;
controlling an operational parameter of the at least one fuel cell using the control system;
converting chemical energy into electricity using the at least one fuel cell;
monitoring an electrical output condition of the at least one fuel cell using the control system; and
indicating the electrical output condition monitored by the control system by utilizing an operator interface. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58)
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59. A fuel cell power method comprising:
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providing a plurality of terminals;
providing a plurality of fuel cells and electrically coupling the fuel cells with the terminals;
providing a power supply different from the fuel cells, and defining the power supply using a battery;
providing a control system;
providing charge circuitry which is electrically coupled with at least one of the plurality of fuel cells;
configuring the power supply to selectively supply electricity to the control system at least at some times;
monitoring at least one operational condition of the power supply using the control system;
selectively charging the battery, in response to control from the control system, and utilizing the charge circuitry which is electrically coupled to the at least one fuel cell;
converting chemical energy into electricity using the plurality of fuel cells;
individually selectively deactivating one of the fuel cells while another of the fuel cells actively continues to convert chemical energy into electricity; and
providing electricity to the terminals from the active fuel cells. - View Dependent Claims (60, 61, 62)
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63. A fuel cell power method comprising:
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providing a housing;
providing at least one fuel cell within the housing;
providing a plurality of terminals;
providing a control system;
providing an operator interface and coupling the operator interface to the control system;
electrically coupling the at least one fuel cell with the terminals;
supporting a temperature sensor in the housing to sense a temperature in the housing, and coupling the temperature sensor to the control system;
moving air inside the housing using a fan supported by the housing;
controlling the fan in response to the sensed temperature using the control system;
converting chemical energy into electricity using the at least one fuel cell;
determining an output voltage of the at least one fuel cell;
indicating the temperature sensed by the control system using the operator interface;
determining the electrical efficiency of the at least one fuel cell based on the output voltage using circuitry electrically coupled to the control system; and
varying the speed of the fan in response to the determined electrical efficiency, utilizing the control system. - View Dependent Claims (64, 65, 66, 67, 68)
determining the output voltage of each of the fuel cells; and
determining the efficiency of each of the fuel cells by dividing the output voltage of the respective fuel cells by a theoretical maximum voltage of a single fuel cell, by using the control system.
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65. The fuel cell power method according to claim 64 and further comprising determining an average efficiency for the respective fuel cells using the control system;
- and controlling the speed of the fan based upon the average efficiency which has been determined by the control system.
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66. The fuel cell power method according to claim 63, and further comprising detecting a temperature outside the housing by using a sensor which is supported by the housing and which is further electrically coupled to the control system.
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67. The fuel cell power method according to claim 66 and further comprising providing an air passage supported by the housing and located between the inside of the housing and the ambient;
- positioning a selectively moveable vane within the air passage, and wherein the vane is selectively moveable between an open position and a closed position; and
controlling the relative position of the vane at least partially in response to the temperature outside the housing by way of the control system.
- positioning a selectively moveable vane within the air passage, and wherein the vane is selectively moveable between an open position and a closed position; and
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68. The fuel cell power method according to claim 63, and further comprising defining the control system by using a plurality of distributed controllers.
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69. A fuel cell power method comprising:
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providing a housing;
providing a plurality of terminals;
providing at least one fuel cell within the housing;
electrically coupling at least one fuel cell with the terminals;
converting chemical energy into electricity using the at least one fuel cell;
selectively removing waste fluid from the at least one fuel cell using a bleed valve;
monitoring an electrical output condition of the at least one fuel cell and controlling the bleed valve, using a control system;
indicating the electrical condition using an operator interface coupled with the control system;
providing a fuel gas sensor which is positioned within the housing; and
detecting the concentration of a fuel gas inside of the housing by using the fuel gas sensor which is supported by the housing and which is electrically coupled to the control system. - View Dependent Claims (70)
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71. A fuel cell power method comprising:
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providing a housing having an inside cavity and an outside surface, and having a plurality of receptacles accessible from outside of the housing, the receptacles respectively including an electrical connector and a fuel supply connector;
providing a plurality of cartridges each including a casing supporting at least one fuel cell, and wherein the casing is removably received within a receptacle and further including a fuel inlet connector which mates with the fuel supply connector of at least one of the receptacles when the casing is received in a receptacle, and an electrical connector which mates with the electrical connector of at least one of the receptacles when the casing is received in a receptacle;
selectively coupling respective electrical connectors of a power bus which is positioned inside the housing to a load and electrically coupling the plurality of cartridges having at least one fuel cell to the power bus;
converting chemical energy into electricity using at least one of the fuel cells; and
monitoring at least one operational condition of the power bus using a control system which is electrically coupled to the power bus, and wherein the respective cartridges may be operably removed from the housing while the remaining cartridges continue to produce electricity. - View Dependent Claims (72, 73, 74, 75)
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76. A fuel cell power method comprising:
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providing a plurality of terminals;
electrically coupling at least one fuel cell with the terminals;
providing a power supply, different from the fuel cells, and coupling the power supply to a control system, to provide electricity to the control system, and wherein the control system is electrically coupled to the at least one fuel cell;
converting chemical energy into electricity using the at least one fuel cell; and
monitoring at least one operational condition of the power supply using the control system.
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Specification