Integrated fuel container and impurity removal cartridge
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorsAlan R. Arthur, Philip H. Harding
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A fuel supply for a fuel supply for a fuel cell including a fuel container and an impurity removal cartridge connected to the fuel container, where both the fuel container and the impurity removal cartridge are integrated into a single unit.
Claims45
A fuel supply comprising:
- a fuel container;
- and
- an impurity removal cartridge connected to said fuel container, wherein both said fuel container and said impurity removal cartridge may be simultaneously replaced as a single unit.
A sulfur removal cartridge comprising:
- a body with a distal and a proximal end;
- a fuel flow path that extends from said distal end to said proximal end;
- a first coupler disposed on said distal end of said body for fluidly coupling said sulfur removal cartridge to a fuel supply;
- and
- a fuel-filtering material disposed in said fuel flow path that removes sulfur from fuel in said fuel flow path.
A fuel cell system comprising:
- a fuel cell;
- a fuel source;
- a fuel flow path between said fuel cell and said fuel source;
- and
- an impurity removal cartridge coupled to said fuel source wherein said fuel source and said impurity removal cartridge are integrated into a single unit, said fuel flow path passing through said impurity removal cartridge.
An electronic device comprising:
- a fuel cell providing power to an electrical load;
- a fuel source;
- a fuel flow path coupling said fuel cell and said fuel source;
- and
- an impurity removal cartridge coupled to said fuel source wherein said fuel source and said impurity removal cartridge are integrated into a single unit, said fuel flow path passing through said impurity removal cartridge.
A method of reducing filter maintenance in a fuel cell system comprising integrally connecting an impurity removal cartridge to a fuel supply wherein both said fuel supply and said impurity removal cartridge are inserted into and removed from said fuel cell system as a single unit.
A method of making an impurity removal cartridge comprising:
- inserting a sulfur removing adsorbent in a filter housing;
- and
- coupling said filter housing directly to a fuel source such that exiting fuel from said fuel source passes through said sulfur removing adsorbent.
A fuel supply for a fuel cell comprising:
- means for storing pressurized fuel;
- means for filtering said pressurized fuel;
- and
- means for fluidly coupling said filtering means to said storage means such that said filtering means and said storage means are integrated into a single unit.
A fuel cell system comprising:
- means for generating electricity directly from an electrochemical reaction;
- means for storing pressurized fuel for said fuel cell system;
- means for filtering said pressurized fuel that are fluidly coupled to said means for storing;
- and
- means for coupling said means for filtering to said means for generating;
- wherein said means for filtering and said means for storing are coupled such that both said means for filtering and said means for storing may be removed from said means for coupling simultaneously as a single unit.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.