Electrical power generation system having means for managing the discharging and recharging of metal fuel contained within a network of metal-air fuel cell battery subsystems
First Claim
1. An electrical power generation system comprising:
- a power bus structure to which one or more electrical loads are connected;
a plurality of metal-air fuel cell battery (FCB) subsystems connected to said power bus structure, each having a supply of metal fuel, and capable of producing and delivering electrical power to said power bus structure;
a metal-fuel management subsystem for generating data representative of available metal fuel in each metal-air FCB subsystem; and
a control subsystem for controlling the operation of said plurality of metal-air FCB subsystems based upon said data so that electrical power is supplied to said power bus structure.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed is an electrical power generation system comprised of a network of metal-air fuel cell battery (FCB) subsystems connected to an output power bus structure and controlled by a network control subsystem. The operation of each metal-air FCB subsystem is controlled so that, on the average, the amount of metal-fuel in each of the FCB subsystem is substantially the same, regardless of the total amount of metal-fuel remaining within the system available for electrical power generation. The electrical power generation system can be used as an electrical power plant that can be installed in virtually any system, device or environment in which there is a need to satisfy the peak power demand of an electrical load (e.g. motor, appliance, machinery, tools, etc.) independent of the total amount of metal-fuel remaining within the system. The system is provided with a network-based metal-fuel management subsystem adapted for use in managing the discharging and recharging of metal-fuel in the system in an efficient manner. In the illustrative embodiment, the electrical power generation system is embedded within an automotive vehicle that is provided with hybrid types of electrical power generating sources, as well as an auxiliary power source, for providing electrical power to the input bus structure for carrying out recharging operations.
104 Citations
58 Claims
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1. An electrical power generation system comprising:
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a power bus structure to which one or more electrical loads are connected;
a plurality of metal-air fuel cell battery (FCB) subsystems connected to said power bus structure, each having a supply of metal fuel, and capable of producing and delivering electrical power to said power bus structure;
a metal-fuel management subsystem for generating data representative of available metal fuel in each metal-air FCB subsystem; and
a control subsystem for controlling the operation of said plurality of metal-air FCB subsystems based upon said data so that electrical power is supplied to said power bus structure. - View Dependent Claims (2, 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)
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3. An electrical power generation system comprising:
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a network of metal-air FCB subsystems connected to a power bus structure and controlled by a network control subsystem associated with a network-based metal-fuel management subsystem;
wherein the metal-fuel within each of said FCB subsystems is managed by said network control subsystem so that, on the average, each such FCB subsystem has substantially the same amount of metal-fuel available power production at any instant in time.
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4. A method of operating a network of metal-air FCB subsystems comprising the steps of:
managing the discharging of metal-fuel available within each said metal-air FCB subsystem according to a metal-fuel equalization principle whereby, on the average, the amount of metal-fuel available for discharge at any instant of time is substantially equal in each said metal-air FCB subsystem.
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31. A method for controlling operation of a metal-air FCB subsystem including a power bus structure to which one or more electrical loads are connected, and a plurality of metal-air fuel cell battery (FCB) subsystems connected to said power bus structure, each having a supply of metal fuel, and capable of producing and delivering electrical power to said power bus structure, said method comprising the steps of:
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generating data representative of available metal fuel in each metal-air FCB subsystem; and
controlling the operation of said plurality of metal-air FCB subsystems based upon said data so that electrical power is supplied to said power bus structure. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58)
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Specification