US 12,724,007 B2 · Digital potentiostat with maximum power point tracking (DPStat)

Abstract

A digital potentiostat for monitoring energy produced by a system under test (SUT) comprising: a connection port configured to be connected to the SUT, wherein the SUT comprises an anode and a cathode; a plurality of current-measurement resistors, each having a known resistance, wherein one of the current-measurement resistors is designated as an optimal resistor; a switch operatively coupled to the plurality of current-measurement resistors; and a microcontroller operatively coupled to the connection port and to the switch, wherein the microcontroller is configured to monitor energy produced by the SUT by measuring a SUT output voltage across the optimal resistor, and wherein the microcontroller is further configured to direct the switch to change which current-measurement resistor is designated as the optimal resistor based on measured changes in the energy produced by the SUT.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A digital potentiostat for monitoring energy produced by a system under test (SUT) comprising:

a connection port configured to be connected to the SUT, wherein the SUT comprises an anode and a cathode;
a plurality of current-measurement resistors, each having a known resistance, wherein one of the current-measurement resistors is designated as an optimal resistor;
a switch operatively coupled to the plurality of current-measurement resistors;
and
a microcontroller operatively coupled to the connection port and to the switch, wherein the microcontroller is configured to monitor energy produced by the SUT by measuring a SUT output voltage across the optimal resistor, and wherein the microcontroller is further configured to direct the switch to change which current-measurement resistor is designated as the optimal resistor based on measured changes in the energy produced by the SUT.

2 more elements

A digital potentiometer system for measuring the energy output of a microbial fuel cell (MFC), comprising:

a low power microcontroller configured to control the operation of the system;
a current-measuring resistor configured to measure the current output of the MFC;
an automated selection mechanism operatively connected to the microcontroller, configured to automatically select the value of the current-measuring resistor;
a measurement logging module integrated within the microcontroller, configured to log open circuit voltage (OCV) and indirect current measurements to the internal memory of the microcontroller;
an external memory interface operatively connected to the microcontroller, allowing additional memory to be used if the internal memory is insufficient;
an intelligent protocol, known as Maximum PowerPoint Tracking (MPPT), implemented within the microcontroller, comprising:
a mechanism to measure the OCV of the MFC;
a reference voltage generator configured to set a reference voltage as a fraction of the measured OCV;
a comparison module configured to compare the voltage measured across the current-measuring resistor (referred to as MFC voltage) to the reference voltage;
an optimization module configured to determine if the current-measuring resistor's value is optimal based on the comparison results;
an adjustment mechanism configured to change the value of the current-measuring resistor if it is not optimal, ensuring the system operates at peak energy harvesting potential;
and
an output unit configured to display or communicate the determined measurements and adjustments.

10 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Digital potentiostat with maximum power point tracking (DPStat)

Life of this patent

Digital potentiostat with maximum power point tracking (DPStat)

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20