Fuel cell system including a unit for electrical isolation of a fuel cell stack from a manifold assembly and method therefor
AssigneeFuelCell Energy, Inc.
InventorsDana Kelley, Mohammad Farooque, Keith Davis
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A fuel cell system with improved electrical isolation having a fuel cell stack with a positive potential end and a negative potential, a manifold for use in coupling gases to and from a face of the fuel cell stack, an electrical isolating assembly for electrically isolating the manifold from the stack, and a unit for adjusting an electrical potential of the manifold such as to impede the flow of electrolyte from the stack across the isolating assembly.
Claims40
A fuel cell system comprising:
- a fuel cell stack having a positive potential end and a negative potential end;
- a manifold for use in coupling gases to or from a face of said fuel cell stack,
- an electrical isolating assembly situated between said manifold and said stack for electrically isolating said manifold from said stack;
- and
- a unit for adjusting an electrical potential of said manifold such as to impede electrolyte movement from said stack across said electrical isolating assembly.
A method of impeding the flow of electrolyte from a fuel cell stack through an electrical isolating assembly situated between a face of said fuel cell stack and a manifold for electrically isolating said stack from said manifold, said method comprising adjusting an electrical potential of said manifold such as to impede the electrolyte flow from said stack.
A fuel cell system comprising:
- a fuel cell stack;
- a manifold for use in coupling gases to and from a face of said fuel cell stack;
- and
- an electrical isolating assembly including a dielectric member adjacent said manifold and one or more other members situated in an abutting relationship between said dielectric member and said stack for electrically isolating said manifold from said stack;
- and
- wherein said dielectric member is configured to inhibit debris collecting on a surface of one or more of said one or more members from bridging with the debris collecting on a surface of said manifold.
A dielectric member for use in an isolating assembly with one or more other members, the isolating assembly to be used to isolate a manifold from the face of a fuel cell stack, the dielectric member being configured such that when used in said isolating assembly said dielectric member is adjacent said manifold and said one or more other members are in abutting relationship between said dielectric member and said stack, said dielectric member being configured to inhibit debris collecting on a surface of one or more of said one or more other members from bridging with the debris collecting on a surface of said manifold.
A dielectric member having a first and second horizontal members and first and second vertical members arranged in a picture frame configuration, wherein the extent of one or more of said first and second horizontal members in the vertical direction is greater than the extent of said vertical members in the vertical direction.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.