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US 12,603,308 B2Granted
Glueless repeatable finger attachment for monitoring fuel cell voltage
AssigneeHydrogenics Corporation
InventorAndrew Hill
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present disclosure relates to a glueless repeatable finger attachment apparatus and method of monitoring a fuel cell voltage comprising the same.
Claims18
A repeatable finger attachment to monitor voltage of a fuel cell stack comprising:
- one or more wired fingers, each of the one or more wired fingers having an isolation material and one or more electrical conductors,
- two bipolar plates, each of the two bipolar plates including a tab having a hooked stop extending outwardly from the corresponding bipolar plate and a main stop extending outwardly from the corresponding bipolar plate in spaced apart relation to the corresponding hooked stop, the hooked stop and the main stop of each of the two bipolar plates defining a respective notch therebetween,
- wherein the isolation material is adapted to surround at least a first portion of the one or more electrical conductors to prevent electrical contact between at least the first portion of the one or more electrical conductors and the fuel cell stack,
- wherein the one or more electrical conductors are adapted to be positioned in one or more alternating channels formed between the two bipolar plates of the fuel cell stack to provide electrical contact between a second portion of the one or more electrical conductors and one or more of the two bipolar plates of the fuel cell stack so that an electrochemical reaction is generated by the fuel cell stack to provide electrical power.
1 more element
An alternating fuel cell assembly for monitoring fuel cell voltage in a fuel cell stack comprising:
- two or more bipolar plates stacked and alternately rotated to create one or more alternating channels, wherein each of the two or more bipolar plates further comprise a tab,
- a repeatable finger attachment having one or more wired fingers, wherein each of the one or more wired fingers are attached to the two or more bipolar plates on a front face without glue or adhesive, and
- a clamping bar that securely fits into the tab of each of the two or more bipolar plates atop the one or more wired fingers to provide electrical contact between the one or more wired fingers and the two or more bipolar plates, wherein the clamping bar is secured along the entire length of the fuel cell stack.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.