Patent ID: 6994932

Claim:
A fuel reservoir for a liquid fuel cell, comprising: (a) a container having at least one wall and an interior defining a cavity holding a liquid fuel for the liquid fuel cell; (b) a wicking structure disposed within the cavity and into which at least a portion of the liquid fuel wicks and from which the liquid fuel may subsequently be delivered, wherein substantially all of the free liquid fuel in the container is contactable by the wicking structure, wherein the wicking structure has a longest dimension and the free rise wick height of the wicking structure is greater than at least one half of the longest dimension; (c) an outlet that provides fluid communication of the wicking structure through the at least one wall of the container to a location exterior of the container, wherein a portion of the outlet contains no wicking material, said portion going through the at least one wall of the container, (d) an inlet through the container, said inlet having a one-way valve to permit gas flow into the cavity of the container; and wherein the fuel reservoir is selectively detachable from or attachable to a liquid fuel cell.