Patent ID: 8206864

Claim:
A fuel cell system, comprising: a fuel cell stack; a thermal regulating assembly configured to selectively deliver a flow of a liquid heat exchange fluid having a temperature to the fuel cell stack, wherein the thermal regulating assembly comprises: a liquid reservoir, wherein the liquid reservoir is configured to contain a volume of the liquid heat exchange fluid during use of the thermal regulating assembly; a fluid circuit fluidly interconnecting the fuel cell stack and the liquid reservoir and including a plurality of fluid conduits, wherein the plurality of fluid conduits includes a delivery conduit through which the liquid heat exchange fluid may flow from the liquid reservoir to the fuel cell stack and a return conduit through which a return stream of the liquid heat exchange fluid may flow from the fuel cell stack, and further wherein the plurality of fluid conduits further includes a bypass conduit fluidly interconnecting the return conduit and the delivery conduit and configured to provide a flow conduit through which the liquid heat exchange fluid may flow from the return conduit to the delivery conduit without flowing to the liquid reservoir; a pump assembly configured to selectively propel a flow of the liquid heat exchange fluid within the fluid circuit; and a thermostatic distribution assembly configured to automatically apportion the flow of the return stream between a bypass stream that flows to the bypass conduit and a recycle stream that flows to the liquid reservoir, wherein the apportioning is directly responsive to a temperature of the return stream, and further wherein the apportioning is not directly responsive to a temperature of the liquid heat exchange fluid that is supplied to the fuel cell stack in the delivery conduit.