Patent ID: 9698434
Date: 2017-07-04
CPC Classifications: E21B,H01M,Y02E

Claim:
1. A heater comprising: a heater housing extending along a heater axis; a fuel cell stack assembly disposed within said heater housing and having a plurality of fuel cells which convert chemical energy from a fuel into heat and electricity through a chemical reaction with an oxidizing agent, said fuel cell stack assembly having 1) a fuel inlet for introducing said fuel to a plurality of anodes of said plurality of fuel cells, 2) an oxidizing agent inlet for introducing said oxidizing agent to a plurality of cathodes of said plurality of fuel cells, 3) an anode exhaust outlet for discharging an anode exhaust from said plurality of fuel cells, and 4) a cathode exhaust outlet for discharging a cathode exhaust from said plurality of fuel cells; a combustor disposed within said heater housing in fluid communication with said anode exhaust outlet and said cathode exhaust outlet, said combustor being arranged to combust a mixture of said anode exhaust and said cathode exhaust to produce a heated combustor exhaust, said combustor including a combustor exhaust outlet for discharging said heated combustor exhaust into said heater housing; a baffle disposed around said fuel cell stack assembly and said combustor within said heater housing to define a heat transfer channel radially between said heater housing and said baffle; and a flow director in fluid communication with said combustor exhaust outlet and said heat transfer channel for communicating said heated combustor exhaust to said heat transfer channel, said flow director comprising a central portion connected to said combustor exhaust outlet and a plurality of flow director outlets extending radially outward from said central portion; whereby said heater housing is heated by said fuel cell stack assembly and said heated combustor exhaust.