Patent ID: 8883361

Claim:
An apparatus comprising a control device for controlling the voltage of an individual cell of a fuel cell, said individual cell having a first threshold voltage, said control device including a first transistor having a base, a base-emitter junction, and a second threshold voltage different from the first threshold voltage, wherein said first transistor is associated with the individual cell, wherein said first transistor is linked to said individual cell by said base, and wherein said first transistor is linked to a current generator for providing current, and an adjustment voltage source inserted between the individual cell and the associated first transistor, wherein said adjustment voltage source supplies an adjustment voltage equal to a voltage differential between the first and second threshold voltages, such that when the individual cell exhibits a voltage greater than the first threshold voltage, the first transistor exhibits, at terminals of the base-emitter junction, a voltage greater than the second threshold voltage and the first transistor conducts the current, and when the individual cell exhibits a voltage less than the first threshold voltage, the first transistor exhibits, at the terminals of the base-emitter junction, a voltage less than the second threshold voltage and the first transistor blocks the transmission of the current.