Patents Examined by James M Erwin
  • Patent number: 11434795
    Abstract: Disclosed is a silencer for fuel cell vehicles. The silencer for fuel cell vehicles includes a housing having an inlet configured to receive air and hydrogen flowing into the housing therethrough, an outlet, and a condensation water drain hole configured to discharge condensation water to the outside therethrough, a distribution plate disposed in the housing and having distribution holes to distribute air and hydrogen flowing into the housing, a rotary plate disposed in the housing closer to the outlet than the distribution plate, a motor connected to the rotary plate to rotate the rotary plate, and an anti-freezing unit extending from one end of the rotary plate to the condensation water drain hole.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2022
    Inventor: Su Dong Han
  • Patent number: 11437631
    Abstract: A passage bead seal of a fuel cell joint separator includes a straight portion and curved portions. An oxygen-containing gas bridge section connecting the inside and the outside of a portion surrounded by a passage bead seal includes inner tunnels and outer tunnels coupled to an inner side wall and an outer side wall of a straight portion, and protruding in a separator thickness direction. The tunnel height is determined to be smaller than the bead seal height by not less than a predetermined value in a manner that a line pressure applied by a compression load to a front end surface of the straight portion becomes the same as a line pressure applied by the compression load to a front end surface of the curved portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2022
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takuro Okubo, Suguru Ohmori, Kentaro Ishida
  • Patent number: 11431010
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a redox flow battery having at least one battery module which consists of a battery cell, an electrolyte tank, an electrolyte flow path, a fluid control unit, and a pressure generating unit, wherein each of the battery modules is charged and discharged by independently circulating an electrolyte.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2022
    Assignee: Standard Energy Inc.
    Inventors: Bugi Kim, Kihyun Kim, Bumhee Cho, Damdam Choi
  • Patent number: 11424461
    Abstract: To make it possible to suppress the occurrence of white fog and water splashing in a fuel cell system and to discharge gas and liquid to the outside of the system while diluting fuel gas, a fuel cell system is provided wherein each of an anode off-gas passage and a cathode off-gas passage is provided with a gas-liquid separator, an exhaust passage and a drain passage are separated, a gas in the anode off-gas is mixed with a gas in the cathode off-gas and are discharged together, and a liquid in the anode off-gas is mixed with a liquid in the cathode off-gas and are discharged together. The liquid surface level of the gas-liquid separator provided in the anode off-gas passage is controlled by a controller so that the liquid surface level does not become zero when liquid is discharged. As a result, in the gas-liquid separator, it is possible to prevent the gas in the anode off-gas from flowing into the drain side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2022
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yasushi Takahashi
  • Patent number: 11417924
    Abstract: A refuelable electrochemical battery or cell is provided that features three phases of operation that repeat cyclically. In an intake phase, electrochemically active particles that are at least partially magnetic and a suitable electrolyte are admitted or fed into a cell cavity. In a power phase, oxidation and reduction reactions produce electrical energy while an electromagnet and/or permanent magnet attract the particles toward one electrode. A gas-diffusion membrane permeable by oxygen operates in conjunction with another electrode. During the exhaust phase, a piston forces residue of the reaction from the cavity to prepare for the next cycle of operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Inventor: Wendell D. Brown
  • Patent number: 11417869
    Abstract: The present application relates to a lithium ion secondary battery comprising a cathode, an anode, a separator and an electrolyte; wherein the cathode comprises a positive current collector and a positive material layer, wherein the positive material layer comprises a positive active material with a formula LixNiaCobMcO2, M is at least one selected from Mn and Al, 0.95x1.2, 0<a<1, 0<b<1, 0<c<1 and a+b+c=1; wherein the anode comprises a negative current collector and a negative material layer, wherein the negative material layer comprises graphite having a graphitization degree of 92% to 98% and an average particle size D50 of 6 ?m to 18 ?m as negative active material. The lithium ion secondary battery has long cycle life and high energy density.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited
    Inventors: Rui Shen, Jianjun Ma, Libing He
  • Patent number: 11417909
    Abstract: A solid electrolyte composition for a lithium secondary battery including a fluorine-based polymer having grafted thereon a unit comprising alkylene oxide group and a crosslinkable functional group. The polymer may be formed by a process including grafting a monomer on a fluorine-based polymer, where the monomer includes alkylene oxide group and a crosslinkable functional group. Also disclosed is a solid electrolyte for a secondary battery formed by thermally curing the composition. By graft copolymerizing a monomer including alkylene oxide group and a crosslinkable functional group on a fluorine-based polymer having high lithium ion conductivity, the solid electrolyte is capable of providing a solid electrolyte for a secondary battery having significantly enhanced solid electrolyte ion conductivity and electrochemical stability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: LG ENERGY SOLUTION, LTD.
    Inventors: Sujee Kwon, Jeongae Yoon, Sung Soo Yoon, Kyung Oh Kim, Jonghyun Chae, Yeonju Lee, Daeil Kim, Lucia Kim, Jongheon Kwak
  • Patent number: 11417899
    Abstract: A fuel cell system to be mounted on a vehicle includes a fuel cell configured to generate electric power through chemical reaction of reactive gases, a gas-liquid separator configured to separate water from an off-gas discharged from the fuel cell and store the separated water, a discharge valve configured to drain the water flowing out through an opening at a bottom of the gas-liquid separator, an attitude control device configured to control an attitude of the gas-liquid separator relative to the vehicle, and an instruction device configured to send an instruction for a control target of the attitude of the gas-liquid separator to the attitude control device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Toshiaki Kusakari, Masaaki Matsusue
  • Patent number: 11417907
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a curable composition for preparing a composite polymer electrode, the curable composition containing: A) a Li-ion conducting solid electrolyte whose general composition has the formula: Li7+x?yMIIxMIII3?xMIV2?yO12 wherein MII, MIII, MIV, MV are species of valence II to V; where 0?x<3, preferably 0?x?2; and 0?y<2 preferably 0?y?1; (B) a polymer; (C) a lithium salt; (D) an active plasticizer; and (E) a photoinitiator. The invention also relates to a process of preparing the curable composition, cured compositions and films derived from the curable composition, and solid-state lithium batteries whose solid electrolyte layer contains a cured composition or a cured film according to the invention.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA MOTOR EUROPE
    Inventors: Laurent Castro, Fanny Barde, Jijeesh Ravi Nair, Marisa Falco, Federico Bella, Claudio Gerbaldi
  • Patent number: 11417900
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a redox flow battery comprising: a battery module including a battery cell, an electrolyte tank, an electrolyte flow path, and an electrolyte transfer part; and an electrolyte control unit for controlling electrolyte flow of the battery module, wherein the redox flow battery comprises one or more battery modules, and is charged or discharged by an electrolyte independently circulated through every battery module or every predetermined number of battery modules by the electrolyte control unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: Standard Energy Inc.
    Inventors: Bugi Kim, Kihyun Kim, Bumhee Cho, Damdam Choi
  • Patent number: 11411236
    Abstract: Recognizing the fact of extremely low utilization of peak power (especially in the aviation use case), we propose a novel approach to significantly reduce the size and weight of the system by downsizing the main air compressor to match the air flow required to produce the desired continuous power (e.g., 55% of the peak power rating for the aviation applications, etc.), and provide the supplemental oxygen flow from an on-board high-pressure oxygen tank.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignee: ZeroAvia, Inc.
    Inventors: Valery Miftakhov, Henry Grishashvili
  • Patent number: 11398630
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a method of generating energy. This method involves providing a fuel cell comprising anode and cathode electrodes; a separator positioned between the anode and cathode electrodes; and anode and cathode catalysts. The anode catalyst comprises (i) a low-loading of platinum group metals (PGMs) supported on a Group 4-6 transition metal carbide (TMC) or nitride (TMN); (ii) an alloy or physical mixture comprising a Group 10 transition metal selected from Pt, Pd, and Ni and one or more of the following elements: Pt, Pd, Ni, Ir, Rh, Ru, Fe, Re, Sn, W, Mo, Ta, and Nb; or (iii) mixtures thereof. According to the method, a liquid anode fuel comprising one or more hydrazide compounds is added to the fuel cell to generate energy from the liquid anode fuel. Also disclosed is a fuel cell for generating energy from a liquid anode fuel comprising one or more hydrazide compounds.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2022
    Assignee: IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.
    Inventors: Wenzhen Li, Le Xin, Joseph Watkins, Yang Qiu
  • Patent number: 11398646
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing a solid-state battery includes: an electrode material filling step of filling a plurality of holes of a porous conductive base material with an active material contained in an electrode slurry so as to form a first electrode body, by dipping the porous conductive base material having the plurality of holes into the electrode slurry; a solid electrolyte material coating step of coating a surface with a solid electrolyte material contained in a solid-electrolyte slurry by dipping at least one of the first electrode body or a second electrode body having a polarity different from that of the first electrode body into the solid-electrolyte slurry; and a solid-state battery laminating step of obtaining a solid-state battery by laminating and pressing the first electrode body and the second electrode body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2022
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Soshi Kawamura, Wataru Shimizu, Ushio Harada
  • Patent number: 11387471
    Abstract: A method increases the safety and/or the reliability of the operation of a fuel cell stack. The method determines that the fuel cell stack is in a space with a reduced air exchange rate. The method determines consumption information with respect to an oxygen consumption of the fuel cell stack within an interval of time. The method determines, on the basis of the air exchange rate, inflow information with respect to an amount of oxygen which was supplied to the space within the interval of time. The method determines an estimated value for an oxygen content of air in the space on the basis of the consumption information and on the basis of the inflow information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2022
    Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Hans-Ulrich Stahl
  • Patent number: 11387498
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a battery stack including a plurality of alternating anodes and cathodes, wherein each of the anodes is positioned between first and second separators, and wherein a tab of the anode extends out from between the first and second separators, and an edge tape extending across a top of the first and second separators.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2022
    Assignee: Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc.
    Inventor: Arild Vedoy
  • Patent number: 11380908
    Abstract: A coating for a bipolar plate of a fuel cell or an electrolyzer contains a homogeneous or heterogeneous solid metal solution. The coating contains at least 15% Iridium and up to 84% Ruthenium with a total combined concentration of Iridium and Ruthenium of at least 99% (atomic). The coating also contains at least one of Nitrogen, Carbon, and Flourine. The coating may contain traces of Oxygen or Hydrogen. The coating may be used as part of a layer system that includes one or more undercoat layers and the coating as a covering layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG
    Inventors: Ladislaus Dobrenizki, Yashar Musayev, Tim Hosenfeldt, Detlev Repenning
  • Patent number: 11380914
    Abstract: A fuel cell system (1) comprising a fuel cell (2), a liquid fuel supply (3) for providing liquid fuel, an evaporator (6) for evaporating the liquid fuel to fuel vapor, a reformer (7) for catalytic conversion of the fuel vapor to syngas for the fuel cell and a burner (8) for heating the reformer (7). The burner (8) comprises a catalytic monolith (21) down-stream of a mixing chamber (31) in which air is mixed with evaporated fuel or rest gas prior to entering the monolith (21). The mixing chamber (31) is surrounded by a sleeve (23), which comprises a plurality of openings (29A, 29B) around the mixing chamber (31) for supply of fuel vapor through the openings (29A, 29B) in the startup phase and for supply of rest gas through the openings (29A, 29B) during normal operation. Optionally, a heat exchanger (17) is provided between the burner (8) and the reformer (7) for reducing the temperature of the exhaust gas from the burner (8) before it reaches the reformer (7).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: fischer Eco Solutions GmbH
    Inventors: Anders Risum Korsgaard, Mads Bang, Morten Hougaard Sørensen
  • Patent number: 11367885
    Abstract: A fuel cell system herein may include a battery configured to supply electric power to a fuel cell auxiliary device used for activating a fuel cell stack. When remaining electric energy in the battery is higher than an electric energy threshold upon activation of the fuel cell stack, a controller of the fuel cell system may start outputting current from the fuel cell stack after a fuel concentration in the fuel cell stack reaches a predetermined fuel concentration threshold, and when the remaining electric energy decreases below the electric energy threshold while the fuel concentration is being increased, the controller may start outputting current from the fuel cell stack regardless of the fuel concentration in the fuel cell stack. The current can be obtained from the fuel cell stack even when the remaining electric energy in the battery is low.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yusuke Nishida, Masashi Toida, Tomotaka Ishikawa
  • Patent number: 11362347
    Abstract: A flow battery has an electrochemical stack, a positive electrolyte, a negative electrolyte, a positive electrolyte tank, and a negative electrolyte tank. The positive electrolyte and the negative electrolyte are respectively stored in the positive and negative tanks. A positive electrolyte pump, a negative electrolyte pump, a mixing pump is embedded in the bypass pipeline or in a dedicate circuit. The positive and the negative tanks, are mutually connected by means of a connection pipe, said connection pipe is embedded just immediately above the electrolyte levels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Inventors: Angelo D'Anzi, Maurizio Tappi, Gianluca Piraccini, Carlo Alberto Brovero
  • Patent number: 11362355
    Abstract: A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell, a supply flow passage and a discharge flow passage for anode gas, a gas-liquid separator, a discharge valve, a differential pressure detection unit configured to detect a differential pressure between an upstream side and a downstream side of the discharge valve, and a control unit. The control unit is configured to estimate an effective cross-sectional area of the discharge valve for the anode off-gas, which is decreased by an amount of water flowing into the gas-liquid separator and flowing out from the discharge valve, based on the differential pressure, and to estimate a discharge amount of the anode off-gas based on the estimated effective cross-sectional area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Miho Hatazaki, Kazuo Yamamoto, Shigeki Hasegawa