Patents Examined by Olatunji Godo
  • Patent number: 11728497
    Abstract: A rebalancing reactor for a redox flow battery system may include a plurality of reactor vessels arranged in stages, each vessel of the plurality of reactor vessels housing a catalyst bed. In one example, the rebalancing reactor is fluidly coupled to an electrolyte storage tank and configured to flow electrolyte through the plurality of reactor vessels, enabling a chemical rebalancing of electrolyte in the redox flow battery cell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2023
    Assignee: ESS TECH, INC.
    Inventors: Yang Song, Craig E. Evans, Timothy J. McDonald, Kenneth Fisher, Sean Kissick
  • Patent number: 11718410
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides systems and methods for a hydrogen-powered hybrid electric powertrain and the associated hydro-electro-aero-thermal management system (HEATMS).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2023
    Assignee: Universal Hydrogen Co.
    Inventors: John-Paul Clarke, J. Mark Cousin, Loris Gliner, Hao Chen Yu, Gregory Loboda, Brian German
  • Patent number: 11715838
    Abstract: Aspects of methods and systems to reduce degradation of a fuel cell (110) during start-up and shut-down cycles are disclosed. An anode exhaust stream (201?) is periodically directed via fluid communication through an oxygen capture media (86). After shut-down of the fuel cell and before or during start-up said media (86) removes oxygen in the anode exhaust stream. Periodically, heating the oxygen capture media (86) is employed to purge the oxygen collected and regenerate the media.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2023
    Inventors: Max Armstrong Brown, Pratap Rama, Vincent Gardner
  • Patent number: 11712968
    Abstract: A battery pack enclosure, a battery module, and a method are provided to detect damage to in a crash event. The battery pack enclosure may include a plurality of battery modules, wherein each battery modules includes a plurality of adjacent battery cells. The battery pack enclosure may also include a sensor and an electronic control unit electronically connected to the sensor, the electronic control unit configured to monitor the sensor to detect damage to the battery pack enclosure. The sensor may comprise a mesh of resistive wires, and the electronic control unit monitors the overall resistance of the mesh resistive wires. The overall resistance of the mesh resistive wires can be used to determine whether there is damage to the battery pack enclosure. If damage is detected, the damage can further be located, and an alert sent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2023
    Assignee: NIO Technology (Anhui) Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Parth Sanjiv Gyani
  • Patent number: 11715841
    Abstract: A fuel cell system includes fuel cell modules connected in parallel and each including fuel cell stacks connected in series. A tester includes: an output power acquirer that acquires an output power value for each fuel cell stack; a deterioration estimator that estimates a degree of future deterioration for each fuel cell stack; and a future output power estimator that estimates, for each fuel cell stack, a future output power value, which is a value of power that is likely to be outputted after a specific period of time has passed, based on the degree of future deterioration estimated by the deterioration estimator. The fuel cell stack combining method includes determining combinations of the fuel cell stacks based on differences in the output power value between the fuel cell stacks and differences in the future output power value between the fuel cell stacks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2023
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Naoki Yamano
  • Patent number: 11710842
    Abstract: A manufacturing method for a fuel cell may comprise preparing an electrode sheet including at least an electrolyte membrane; arranging a joining material constituted of a thermoplastic resin in a frame shape on the electrolyte membrane; arranging a support frame having an opening on the joining material arranged on the electrolyte membrane; performing a first laser irradiation process in which the support frame is irradiated with a laser beam such that a first portion of the joining material between the support frame and the electrolyte membrane melts and the electrolyte membrane and the support frame are welded to each other; and performing a second laser irradiation process in which a second portion of the joining material that is positioned inside the opening of the support frame is irradiated with a laser beam such that the second portion of the joining material melts and is welded to the electrolyte membrane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Katsuhiko Kinoshita
  • Patent number: 11710836
    Abstract: A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell having an anode and a cathode configured to output cathode exhaust. The fuel cell is configured to generate waste heat. The fuel cell system further includes a reformer configured to partially reform a feed gas using the waste heat and output a hydrogen-containing stream. The fuel cell system further includes a reformer-electrolyzer-purifier (“REP”) having an REP anode configured to receive a first portion of the hydrogen-containing stream and an REP cathode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2023
    Assignee: FuelCell Energy, Inc.
    Inventors: Fred C. Jahnke, Matthew Lambrech
  • Patent number: 11710870
    Abstract: An electrical power control system includes a first fuel cell system and a second fuel cell system, and a waste electricity unit connected in series with a switch unit. The waste electricity unit and the switch unit are connected in parallel with each of the fuel cell systems. At a time when at least one power supply system is started, a control unit selectively executes a charging control and a waste electricity control, based on at least one of temperature information and electrical storage information. The charging control suppresses a rise in voltage by supplying the electrical power of the power supply system to the power storage device. The waste electricity control suppresses a rise in voltage by supplying the electrical power of the power supply system to the waste electricity unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2023
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Tsuyoshi Iguchi
  • Patent number: 11705559
    Abstract: To provide a fuel cell system configured to achieve both rapid cooling of a fuel cell at high temperatures and rapid heating of the fuel cell at the time of system start-up. In the fuel cell system, by controlling a three-way valve, a controller switches to any one of the following circulation systems: radiator circulation in which a refrigerant flows to a radiator through a first flow path, and third flow path circulation in which the refrigerant bypasses the radiator and flows to a second flow path through a third flow path; when the temperature of the refrigerant is equal to or less than a low temperature threshold, the controller switches from the radiator circulation to the third flow path circulation and closes a first valve; and when the temperature of the refrigerant becomes equal to or more than a high temperature threshold, the controller opens the first valve and circulate the refrigerant to flow through the reserve tank.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Hiromichi Sato
  • Patent number: 11699801
    Abstract: A cell for water electrolysis/fuel cell power generation which includes a flow path configured to supply or discharge water in a first direction substantially perpendicular to a stacking direction of the cell; an oxygen-containing gas flow path configured to discharge or supply an oxygen-containing gas in a second direction substantially perpendicular to the stacking direction of the cell; and a hydrogen-containing gas flow path configured to discharge or supply the hydrogen-containing gas in a third direction substantially perpendicular to the stacking direction of the cell. Each of the oxygen-side electrode layer and the hydrogen-side electrode layer is an electrode layer having water repellency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2023
    Inventors: Yoshitsugu Sone, Hiroshige Matsumoto, Yuki Terayama, Takamasa Haji, Riichi Sasamori, Motohiko Sato
  • Patent number: 11695148
    Abstract: Provided is a fuel cell system including a plurality of fuel cell stacks, in which with a simple configuration, air retention is unlikely to occur in cooling water and a flow rate of the cooling water to each fuel cell stack can be uniformized. In a fuel cell system including a plurality of fuel cell stacks provided with a coolant flow path through which a coolant flows, the plurality of fuel cell stacks are juxtaposed in a horizontal direction, and include a supply pipeline that distributes and supplies the coolant to the coolant flow path, and a discharge pipeline that collects and discharges the coolant that has flowed through the coolant flow path, and the supply pipeline and the discharge pipeline are provided within a formation range where the coolant flow path is formed in the plurality of fuel cell stacks, in a direction of gravity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2023
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Naoki Yamano, Tadashi Nomura
  • Patent number: 11688864
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a fuel cell system including a discharge line configured to discharge exhaust gas, which is discharged from a fuel cell stack, to the outside, and a pneumatic branch line having an outlet end connected to the discharge line, and an inlet end connected to a pneumatic supply unit configured to supply air to a pneumatic part of a mobility vehicle, the pneumatic branch line being configured to selectively supply the air from the pneumatic supply unit to the discharge line, thereby effectively reducing a hydrogen concentration in the exhaust gas discharged from the fuel cell stack.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2022
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2023
    Assignees: HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY, KIA CORPORATION
    Inventor: Dong Wook Son
  • Patent number: 11688862
    Abstract: An air-cooling fuel cell stack includes fuel cells, wherein each of the fuel cells includes an anode bipolar plate, a cathode bipolar plate, a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) between the anode and cathode bipolar plates, and an anode sealing member. The MEA includes an anode side structure, a cathode side structure, and an ion conductive membrane (ICM), and the ICM is sandwiched between the anode side structure and the cathode side structure. The anode sealing member is disposed at a periphery of the anode side structure and sandwiched by the anode bipolar plate and the ICM. The anode sealing member includes a first sealing material and a second sealing material, a Shore hardness of the first sealing material is different from that of the second sealing material, and an arrangement direction of the first and second sealing materials is perpendicular to a compression direction of the plurality of fuel cells.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2023
    Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
    Inventors: Sung-Chun Chang, Chien-Ming Lai, Chiu-Ping Huang, Keng-Yang Chen, Li-Duan Tsai
  • Patent number: 11688895
    Abstract: A battery safety system includes a flow valve and a sensing device. The flow valve is disposed on a housing of the battery and includes a first valve that is embedded inside the housing and a second valve that intersects the housing. The first valve includes a cavity through which analytes released upon electrochemical reactions within the battery flow towards the second valve. The second valve extends through the housing to the outside, and defines an opening through which the released analytes exit the housing. The sensing device is disposed within the cavity of the first valve of the valve and is situated in a manner to be in fluidic contact with the released analytes as they flow from the inside of the battery to the outside. In some aspects, the battery safety system can detect a minute presence of one or more analytes. In some aspects, the sensor is in communication with a battery management system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2022
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2023
    Assignee: Lyten, Inc.
    Inventors: George Clayton Gibbs, Sung H. Lim, Chiapu Chang, Parth K. Patel, Beomseok Kim
  • Patent number: 11682780
    Abstract: A fuel cell system that can offer fuel efficiency and water drainage performance which are compatible with each other, the fuel cell system including a fuel cell stack; a fuel gas supply device; a gas-liquid separator; a pressure measuring device; and a controlling unit, wherein the controlling unit controls pulsed operation of the fuel gas supply device in such a way that a measured pressure is within the range of a preset upper limit pressure and lower limit pressure, and the controlling unit uses a flow rate increasing control at least once when the pressure rises in the pulsed operation before the pressure reaches the upper limit pressure, as long as the pressure does not exceed the upper limit pressure, the flow rate increasing control being to increase the supply of the fuel gas supplied by means of the fuel gas supply device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2022
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Masaaki Matsusue
  • Patent number: 11670782
    Abstract: A fluid flow field of a separator of a fuel cell stack allows a fluid to flow in a separator surface direction. A rubber seal member provides a seal between the fluid passage and the fluid flow field. The tunnel portion intersects the rubber seal member at an intersection. The tunnel portion allows the fluid flow field and the fluid passage to connect to each other. In the rubber seal member, a first portion protrudes from a flat portion in a stacking direction, and a second portion protrudes from a protruding end surface of a tunnel portion in the stacking direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2023
    Assignees: Honda Motor Co., Ltd., Kokoku Intech Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Morikawa, Keisuke Ando, Akihiro Noda, Koji Hirayama, Keisuke Mori, Hirotoshi Honma
  • Patent number: 11664546
    Abstract: A multi-layer heat insulation element for thermal insulation of a battery is proposed, with a first cover layer, with a second cover layer and with a compressible and/or pliable intermediate ply arranged between the cover layers, which has at least one heat-resistant fibre layer, wherein the fibre layer is formed from a needled nonwoven and/or wherein the cover layers are flexurally weak and the heat insulation element as a whole is compressible and flexibly pliable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2023
    Assignee: H.K.O. ISOLIER—UND TEXTILTECHNIK GMBH
    Inventors: Ulrich Stude, Carsten Stöckmann
  • Patent number: 11660950
    Abstract: A battery support structure for a vehicle includes a first peripheral member configured to be supported by a longitudinal section of a vehicle frame. A second peripheral member has an end surface that selectively attaches at an inside surface of the first peripheral member to enclose a corner section of a battery containment area. Prior to fixed attachment of the first and second peripheral members, a slip plane is defined between the end surface and the inside surface to adjust the second peripheral member along the first peripheral member to a predefined dimension of the battery containment area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2023
    Assignee: Shape Corp.
    Inventors: Joseph R. Matecki, Dennis V. Rupar, James H. Dodd
  • Patent number: 11664506
    Abstract: The present document relates to a cell for an electrochemical system, comprising two separator plates, a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) arranged between the separator plates, and at least one flexible electrical cable for tapping off an electrical voltage. The separator plates, the MEA and the cable can be compressed with one another, the flexible cable has a first end portion and a second end portion, the first end portion is arranged for fastening between the separator plates, and the second end portion protrudes laterally from the cell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2023
    Assignee: Reinz-Dichtungs-GmbH
    Inventor: André Speidel
  • Patent number: 11664521
    Abstract: A fuel cell system column includes a first terminal plate connected to a first electrical output of the column, a second terminal plate connected to a second electrical output of the column, at least one first fuel cell stack located in a middle portion of the column between the first terminal plate and the second terminal plate, and at least one electrical connection which is electrically connected to the middle portion of the column and which is configured to provide a more uniform fuel utilization across the first column.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2023
    Assignee: BLOOM ENERGY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tad Armstrong, Harald Herchen, David Weingaertner, Rajan Surve, Matthias Gottmann, Prasad Pmsvvsv, Ranganathan Gurunathan, Arne Ballantine, Michael Gasda, Tyler Dawson, Chockkalingam Karuppaiah