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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 6455180 | Flexible method for monitoring fuel cell voltage A method for equalizing the measured voltage of each cluster in a fuel cell stack wherein at least one of the clusters has a different number of cells than the identical number of cells in the remaining clusters by creating a pseudo voltage for the differ... | 09/24/2002 |
| 6451467 | Flow control subsystem for a fuel cell system An automated reactant flow control subsystem is provided for a fuel cell system. The subsystem is achieved with a minimum of parts for decreased cost and increased reliability. The subsystem includes a fail-safe solenoid-actuated three-way valve in the fu... | 09/17/2002 |
| 6447939 | Electrical power distribution system for a fuel cell vehicle When a kick-down operation by a driver is detected during the startup of a fuel reforming system, the amount of electrical power required for startup of the fuel reforming system is limited, and the amount of electrical power distributed to a motor is inc... | 09/10/2002 |
| 6432569 | Method and apparatus for monitoring a selected group of fuel cells of a high-temperature fuel cell stack In a method and an apparatus for monitoring a selected group of fuel cells of a high-temperature fuel cell stack, a change over time in an averaged electrical voltage of the fuel cells of the selected group is ascertained and compared with a reference val... | 08/13/2002 |
| 6428917 | Regulating the maximum output current of a fuel cell stack A method includes establishing a fuel flow through a fuel cell stack to produce a current. The voltages of the fuel cell stack are scanned to determine the minimum cell voltage. A maximum limit on the current is set based at least in part on the minimum c... | 08/06/2002 |
| 6428918 | Fuel cell power systems, direct current voltage converters, fuel cell power generation methods, power conditioning methods and direct current power conditioning methods Fuel cell power systems, direct current voltage converters, fuel cell power generation methods, power conditioning methods and direct current power conditioning methods are provided. According to one aspect of the invention, a fuel cell power system inclu... | 08/06/2002 |
| 6423203 | Method for the integration of fuel cells into electrochemical plants The invention describes a method for the direct connection of fuel cells to electrolyzers of electrochemical plants producing hydrogen as a by-product. The by-product hydrogen is fed to the fuel cells and the electric energy thereby produced is transferre... | 07/23/2002 |
| 6410176 | Voltage monitoring system for a fuel cell stack An assembly includes a fuel cell stack, a circuit board, an elastomeric connector and a frame. The elastomeric connector contacts the stack to provide cell voltages of the stack to the circuit board. The frame holds the circuit board, positions the elasto... | 06/25/2002 |
| 6406806 | Fuel cell voltage monitoring and system control In an improved method, the voltage of one or more cells in a fuel cell stack is monitored. The monitored voltage is compared to first and second preselected voltage values as a function of load, where the second preselected value is less than the first pr... | 06/18/2002 |
| 6387556 | Fuel cell power systems and methods of controlling a fuel cell power system Fuel cell power systems and methods of controlling a fuel cell power system are provided. According to one aspect, a fuel cell power system includes a plurality of fuel cells electrically coupled with plural terminals and individually configured to conver... | 05/14/2002 |
| 6376111 | System and method for controlling the humidity level of a fuel cell A system for controlling the humidity level of a fuel cell is provided. The system includes a fuel cell, a humidifier for humidifying the fuel cell, and a controller for determining the humidity level of the fuel cell and controlling the humidifier in res... | 04/23/2002 |
| 6329092 | Polymer electrolyte fuel cell and systems therefor A polymer electrolyte fuel cell comprises a main stack alternately stacked with cells each provided with gas-diffusing electrodes on both sides of an ion-conducting electrolyte membrane and gas separators for supplying fuel to one of the electrodes and ox... | 12/11/2001 |
| 6322917 | Diagnostic method and control of preferential oxidation of carbon monoxide A diagnostic method and method of controlling the preferential oxidation of CO in a reformed fuel gas stream includes periodically modulating the amount of air supplied to a preferential oxidation reactor at a specific operating characteristic of the fuel... | 11/27/2001 |
| 6322913 | Air manager control using cell load characteristics as auto-reference A metal-air battery with an air moving device controller to determine when a load is present on the battery and the extent of that load is described. The air moving device controller allows the operation of the air moving device for the battery to be resp... | 11/27/2001 |
| 6321145 | Method and apparatus for a fuel cell propulsion system Propulsion control system and method are provided for use in vehicles including a propulsion motor that is powered by a fuel cell. The fuel cell unit produces a compatible voltage for the propulsion motor, thereby removing the need for a dc/dc boost conve... | 11/20/2001 |
| 6299996 | Fuel cell system The invention relates to a fuel cell system. The system has one operational state in which a fuel gas supply is connected to the anode flow field plates along a flow path. The system also has a different operational state in which the anode flow field pla... | 10/09/2001 |
| 6265092 | Method of controlling injection of oxygen into hydrogen-rich fuel cell feed stream A method of operating a H2 --O2 fuel cell fueled by hydrogen-rich fuel stream containing CO. The CO content is reduced to acceptable levels by injecting oxygen into the fuel gas stream. The amount of oxygen injected is controlled in ... | 07/24/2001 |
| 6255008 | Fuel cell system capable of reducing electric power loss A fuel cell system minimizes the power loss that may occur in a conduction passage during supply of electric power from a fuel cell to a load. A bypass connects between the input of a DC/DC converter and the output thereof, and therefore supplies power ge... | 07/03/2001 |
| 6218038 | Regulating a flow through a fuel cell An assembly includes fuel cell plates and a valve. The fuel cell plates are arranged to form a fuel cell, and the plates establish a manifold passageway to communicate a fluid for the fuel cell. At least one of the plates includes flow channels to communi... | 04/17/2001 |
| 6214487 | Integral sensors for monitoring a fuel cell membrane and methods of monitoring A membrane electrode assembly consists of a polymer electrolyte membrane (100) with an electrode on each side. The polymer electrolyte membrane has an integral sensor (115) disposed on the surface. The sensor monitors the physical, thermal, chemical or el... | 04/10/2001 |
| 6214484 | Fuel cell arrangement having a methanol reformer with an energy storage unit and method for controlling the energy flow of the fuel cell arrangement In the fuel cell arrangement disclosed in the specification, a fuel cell stack having a methanol reformer is connected in parallel with an electrical energy storage device, a charge condition detector detects the charge condition of the electrical energy ... | 04/10/2001 |
| 6187464 | Method for activating fuel cell A method for activating a polymer electrolyte type fuel cell comprising at least one unit cell which is configured by including a proton conductive polymer electrolyte, an electrode layer having a catalytic activity arranged on the both faces of said poly... | 02/13/2001 |
| 6180272 | System and method for automatically providing fuel to a fuel cell in response to a power failure in a primary power system The present invention provides, in one embodiment, a system for providing fuel to a backup electrical fuel cell. In this particular embodiment, the system includes a sealed fuel container having a pierceable membrane with a container seal associated there... | 01/30/2001 |
| 6180271 | Method for operating a PEM fuel cell plant and PEM fuel cell plant A method is provided for operating a PEM fuel cell plant containing at least one PEM fuel cell block and a speed-controlled compressor upstream of the PEM fuel cell block for supplying air at a volume flow rate. The speed of the compressor is controlled t... | 01/30/2001 |
| 6159626 | Fuel cell system logic for differentiating between rapid and normal shutdown commands A method of controlling the operation of a fuel cell system wherein each shutdown command for the system is subjected to decision logic which determines whether the command should be a normal shutdown command or rapid shutdown command. If the logic determ... | 12/12/2000 |
| 6156447 | Method for identifying a gas leak, and fuel cell system A method for identifying a gas leak between anode and cathode gas areas of a PEM fuel cell includes detecting a cell voltage. The anode and cathode gas areas are purged with nitrogen in a first time period. The cathode gas area is filled with oxygen and t... | 12/05/2000 |
| 6110611 | Process for operation of a PEM fuel cell unit A process for operating a PEM fuel cell unit containing at least one PEM fuel cell block and a speed-controlled compressor connected upstream. To control changing an electrical current I of the PEM fuel cell block to a new reference value ISN, ... | 08/29/2000 |
| 6106962 | Air manager control using cell voltage as auto-reference An air manager system for a metal-air battery. The system includes a housing for enclosing at least one metal-air cell with an air electrode. The housing also has at least one air inlet opening, at least one air outlet opening, and a fan positioned to for... | 08/22/2000 |
| 6096449 | Fuel cell and method for controlling same The present invention relates to an improved fuel cell and method for controlling same having an anode and a cathode which produces an electrical current having a given voltage and current output and which includes a controller electrically coupled with t... | 08/01/2000 |
| 6096448 | Method and apparatus for operating an electrochemical fuel cell with periodic fuel starvation at the anode A method and apparatus is provided for operating an electrochemical fuel cell with periodic momentary fuel starvation at the anode. It is believed that such momentary periodic fuel starvation conditions cause the anode potential to increase, resulting in ... | 08/01/2000 |
| 6063516 | Method of monitoring CO concentrations in hydrogen feed to a PEM fuel cell The CO concentration in the H2 feed stream to a PEM fuel cell stack is monitored by measuring current and/or voltage behavior patterns from a PEM-probe communicating with the reformate feed stream. Pattern recognition software may be used to co... | 05/16/2000 |
| 6051192 | Control system and method for controlling a gas generating system A control system and method for controlling a fuel processing system operational to produce a gas for a downstream process from a fuel, wherein the fuel processing system uses a plurality of fuel processing elements, a fuel input and a waste gas input, ea... | 04/18/2000 |
| 6025083 | Fuel cell generator energy dissipator An apparatus and method are disclosed for eliminating the chemical energy of fuel remaining in a fuel cell generator when the electrical power output of the fuel cell generator is terminated. During a generator shut down condition, electrically resistive ... | 02/15/2000 |
| 6001499 | Fuel cell CO sensor The CO concentration in the H2 feed stream to a PEM fuel cell stack is monitored by measuring current and/or voltage behavior patterns from a PEM-probe communicating with the reformate feed stream. Pattern recognition software may be used to co... | 12/14/1999 |
| 5968680 | Hybrid electrical power system A hybrid electrical power system includes a solid oxide fuel cell and a turbomachine. Fuel flow to the turbomachine is increased in response to demands for boost power, whereby the turbomachine's electrical generator provides the boost power. The turbomac... | 10/19/1999 |
| 5961928 | Gas generating system and method A system for generating a desired output gas from an input fuel for use in a downstream process is disclosed. The system includes a plurality of fuel processing units to generate the desired output gas, wherein each of the plurality of fuel processing uni... | 10/05/1999 |
| 5945229 | Pattern recognition monitoring of PEM fuel cell The CO-concentration in the H2 feed stream to a PEM fuel cell stack is monitored by measuring current and voltage behavior patterns from an auxiliary cell attached to the end of the stack. The auxiliary cell is connected to the same oxygen and ... | 08/31/1999 |
| 5939218 | Polyelectrolytic fuel cell and the method of controlling the operation thereof When at least either one of the output voltage and internal resistance of a plurality of stacked unit cells and the humidity of oxidizing gas being discharged has deviated from the tolerance, the supply conditions of oxidizing gas to the polyelectrolytic ... | 08/17/1999 |
| 5925476 | Fuel-cells generator system and method of generating electricity from fuel cells A fuel-cells generator system of the present invention carries out an appropriate control to ensure a high output even when a catalyst carried on an electrode is poisoned. An electronic control unit of the fuel-cells generator system measures an output vo... | 07/20/1999 |
| 5877600 | Process for determining a desired load value for a load-dependent current generating system in an electric vehicle This invention provides a process for determining a desired load value for a load-dependent current generating system, particularly a fuel cell system, in an electric vehicle. Based on an accelerator pedal demand, a desired value for the motor line curren... | 03/02/1999 |
