Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US8043757?dq=7,194,691
Timestamp: 2017-06-23 01:48:47
Document Index: 582397481

Matched Legal Cases: ['§119', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 200480024524', 'Application No. 200480024524', 'Application No. 200480024523', 'Application No. 013', 'Application No. 200480024524', 'Application No. 200480024524', 'Application No. 04756161']

Patent US8043757 - Efficient micro fuel cell systems and methods - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inPatentsFuel cell systems and methods are described. A method for generating electrical energy in a fuel cell receives hydrogen from a fuel processor configured to process a fuel source to produce the hydrogen, includes transporting a heating medium from the fuel processor to the fuel cell when electrical energy...http://www.google.com/patents/US8043757?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US8043757 - Efficient micro fuel cell systems and methodsAdvanced Patent SearchTry the new Google Patents, with machine-classified Google Scholar results, and Japanese and South Korean patents.Publication numberUS8043757 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 12/344,077Publication dateOct 25, 2011Filing dateDec 24, 2008Priority dateJun 27, 2003Fee statusPaidAlso published asEP1639660A2, EP1639660A4, US7763368, US20050008909, US20050014040, US20050186455, US20080038601, US20080171241, US20090123797, WO2005001960A2, WO2005001960A3, WO2005004257A2, WO2005004257A3Publication number12344077, 344077, US 8043757 B2, US 8043757B2, US-B2-8043757, US8043757 B2, US8043757B2InventorsIan W. Kaye, Gerry TuckerOriginal AssigneeUltraCell Acquisition Company, L.L.C.Export CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (110), Non-Patent Citations (86), Referenced by (2), Classifications (136), Legal Events (5) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetEfficient micro fuel cell systems and methods
US 8043757 B2Abstract
Fuel cell systems and methods are described. A method for generating electrical energy in a fuel cell receives hydrogen from a fuel processor configured to process a fuel source to produce the hydrogen, includes transporting a heating medium from the fuel processor to the fuel cell when electrical energy output by the fuel cell includes less than an electrical threshold or when temperature of a component in the fuel cell is less than a temperature threshold, heating a portion of the fuel cell, transporting hydrogen from the fuel processor to the fuel cell, detecting temperature of the component or electrical output of the fuel cell, and generating electrical energy in the fuel cell when the temperature of the component is about equal to or greater than the threshold temperature or when electrical energy output by the fuel cell is about equal to or greater than an electrical threshold.
This application is a divisional of patent application Ser. No. 10/877,771, currently U.S. Pat. No. 7,763,368, entitled “Efficient Micro Fuel Cell Systems and Methods”, filed Jun. 25, 2004, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/482,996 entitled “Fuel cell system startup procedure and self-heating apparatus”, filed Jun. 27, 2003; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/483,416 entitled “Fuel Preheat in Portable Electronics Powered by Fuel Cells”, filed Jun. 27, 2003; and from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/482,981 entitled “Micro machined fuel stack with integral cooling and humidification”, filed Jun. 27, 2003; all of which are incorporated by reference for all purposes.
As the term is used herein, ‘monolithic’ refers to a single and integrated structure that includes at least portions multiple components used in fuel processor 15. As shown, monolithic structure 100 includes reformer 32, burner 30, boiler 34 and boiler 108. Monolithic structure 100 may also include associated plumbing inlets and outlets for reformer 32, burner 30 and boiler 34. Monolithic structure 100 comprises a common material 141 that constitutes the structure. The monolithic structure 100 and common material 141 simplify manufacture of fuel processor 15. For example, using a metal for common material 141 allows monolithic structure 100 to be formed by extrusion. In some cases, monolithic structure 100 is consistent in cross sectional dimensions between end plates 82 and 84 and solely comprises copper formed in a single extrusion.
Main controller 210 is preferably a commercially available microprocessor such as one of the Intel (including Pentium™) or Motorola family of chips, a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) chip such as the PowerPC™ microprocessor available from Motorola, Inc, or any other suitable processor. Memory 216 may comprise some form of mass storage but can be eliminated by providing a sufficient amount of RAM to store user application programs and data. Memory 216 may also contain the basic operating system for the computer system 350. It is generally desirable to have some type of long term mass storage such as a commercially available hard disk drive, nonvolatile memory such as flash memory, battery backed RAM, PC-data cards, or the like. Regardless of computer system configuration, it may employ one or more memories or memory modules configured to store program instructions for controlling fuel cell and thermal systems described herein. Such memory or memories may also be configured to store data structures, control programs, or other specific non-program information described herein.
Process flow 820 then supplies the fuel source to the burner (822). Typically, a pump moves the fuel source and turns on via a system controller. The controller may also turn on a fan that provides air to the burner. A catalyst in the burner then catalytically generates heat in the burner to heat the reformer (824). The fuel source enters the burner before the reformer reaches its operating temperature. If the burner catalyst requires a lower operating temperature than the reformer catalyst, catalytic heat generation in the burner may be used to continue heating the reformer—and the electric heater is turned off after the fuel source is supplied to the burner. If the reformer has not yet reached its operating temperature, the reformer exhaust may comprise a high concentration of CO and un-processed fuel (‘dirty hydrogen’) that is unsuitable for use in a fuel cell. As described above, the hydrogen may be routed from a reformer outlet to a burner inlet to react with a thermal catalyst in the burner and generate additional heat in the burner to expedite the time needed for the reformer to reach operating temperature.
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Ruettinger et al., "A New Generation of Water Gas Shift Catalysts for Fuel Cell Applications", 2003, Journal of Power Sources, 118, 61-65.83Wan et al., "Catalyst Preparation: Catalytic Converter", Feb. 19, 2003, www.insightcentral.net/encatalytic.html.84Written Opinion dated Apr. 2, 2008 from PCT Application No. PCT/US05/46423.85Written Opinion dated Apr. 8, 2005 for PCT Application No. PCT/US2004/020517.86Written Opinion dated Aug. 5, 2008 from PCT Application No. PCT/US07/17579.Referenced byCiting PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS8807446 *May 30, 2008Aug 19, 2014Hyundai Motor CompanyHeating device with cathode oxygen depletion function for fuel cell vehicleUS20090140066 *May 30, 2008Jun 4, 2009Hyundai Motor CompanyHeating device with Cathode Oxygen depletion function for fuel cell vehicle* Cited by examinerClassifications U.S. Classification429/436, 429/430, 429/433, 429/442, 429/434, 429/441International ClassificationH01M8/04, B01J19/24, C08F4/654, C08F4/651, C01B3/24, H01M8/06, C08F4/636, H01M, C01B3/38, C08F4/649, B01J19/00, H01M8/10Cooperative ClassificationY02P70/56, Y02P20/128, H01M8/04373, H01M8/04589, B01J2219/2479, H01M8/04604, C01B2203/0805, H01M8/0258, C01B2203/142, C01B2203/0233, H01M8/0247, H01M8/0267, H01M8/04365, B01J19/0093, B01J2219/2453, H01M8/04753, B01J8/0285, B01J2219/00873, C01B3/323, H01M8/0618, B01J2219/2465, B01J2208/00061, H01M8/04007, H01M8/04037, C01B2203/0822, B01J8/0221, B01J2208/00646, C01B2203/0844, C01B2203/82, H01M8/04955, H01M8/04731, B01J2219/2458, B01J2219/2481, H01M8/0435, H01M8/04388, C01B2203/0866, B01J8/0214, C01B2203/1247, C01B2203/0811, B01J2219/2475, H01M8/0228, H01M8/04268, B01J8/0438, B01J2208/00716, H01M2008/1095, B01J2219/2467, B01J2219/00835, C01B2203/0827, B01J2208/00407, B01J2219/2462, C01B2203/0244, H01M8/04776, H01M8/04738, B01J2219/2482, H01M8/04626, B01J2208/00415, H01M8/04067, H01M8/04022, B01J2219/247, C01B3/38, B01J2219/00783, H01M8/04768, B01J8/0484, H01M8/04298, B01J2219/2459, B01J2208/00504, C01B2203/0261, H01M8/04425, H01M8/04559, B01J2208/00398, H01M8/04619, H01M8/0631, C01B2203/066, H01M8/04223, C01B2203/1223, B01J8/0242, B01J2219/00907, B01J19/249, B01J2208/00309, H01M8/0662European ClassificationC01B3/38, H01M8/04B, H01M8/04H, H01M8/04B2C, B01J19/00R, B01J19/24R4, H01M8/04H4B8, H01M8/04H4K6F, H01M8/04H6D2, H01M8/04H4K6D, H01M8/04H4K6, H01M8/04H6D8, H01M8/04H6B8, H01M8/04H6D6, H01M8/04B14, H01M8/04C8, H01M8/04H4B12, H01M8/02C10, H01M8/02C8, B01J8/02H, H01M8/06B2B2, H01M8/06B2A, C01B3/32B, B01J8/04B4D, H01M8/04H4D2, H01M8/02C2K2, B01J8/02B2, B01J8/02B4, H01M8/04H4D12, H01M8/04H4K4D, H01M8/04H4K2D, H01M8/04H6B10, H01M8/04H4B14, H01M8/02C6, H01M8/04B6, B01J8/02D, B01J8/04D4D, H01M8/04H6K6HLegal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionJul 15, 2009ASAssignmentOwner name: ULTRACELL CORPORATION, CALIFORNIAFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:KAYE, IAN W.;TUCKER, GERRY;REEL/FRAME:022962/0160Effective date: 20090327Mar 31, 2010ASAssignmentOwner name: ONPOINT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.,FLORIDAFree format text: SECURITY AGREEMENT;ASSIGNOR:ULTRACELL CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:024170/0136Effective date: 20100330Owner name: FUNDO DE CAPITAL DE RISCO PARA INVESTIDORES QUALIFFree format text: SECURITY AGREEMENT;ASSIGNOR:ULTRACELL CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:024170/0136Effective date: 20100330Owner name: BASF VENTURE CAPITAL GMBH,GERMANYFree format text: SECURITY AGREEMENT;ASSIGNOR:ULTRACELL CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:024170/0136Effective date: 20100330Owner name: ONPOINT TECHNOLOGIES, INC., FLORIDAFree format text: SECURITY AGREEMENT;ASSIGNOR:ULTRACELL CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:024170/0136Effective date: 20100330Owner name: BASF VENTURE CAPITAL GMBH, GERMANYFree format text: SECURITY AGREEMENT;ASSIGNOR:ULTRACELL CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:024170/0136Effective date: 20100330Sep 2, 2011ASAssignmentOwner name: ULTRACELL ACQUISITION COMPANY, L.L.C., NEW YORKFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:ULTRACELL CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:026853/0227Effective date: 20110729Nov 28, 2011ASAssignmentOwner name: ULTRACELL L.L.C., NEW YORKFree format text: CHANGE OF NAME;ASSIGNOR:ULTRACELL ACQUISITION COMPANY L.L.C.;REEL/FRAME:027284/0800Effective date: 20110826Apr 22, 2015FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 4RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services