# US 2014/0097093 A1 · Transformerless On-Site Generation > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2014/0097093 A1 - Document ID: US20140097093A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 14/047,934 - Filed: 2013-10-07 - Published: 2014-04-10 - Earliest claimed: 2012-10-05 - Assignees: MIOX Corporation - Applicants: Miox Corporation - Inventors: Geofrey Showalter; Justin Sanchez - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140097093A1 ## CPC - C25B 15/02: Process control or regulation - C25B 9/65: Means for supplying current; Electrode connections; Electric inter-cell connections - C25B 9/70: Assemblies comprising two or more cells - C25B 9/75: having bipolar electrodes - C25B 11/036: Bipolar electrodes - C25B 15/00: Operating or servicing cells - C25B 15/033: Conductivity - H02M 3/155: using semiconductor devices only - H02M 7/217: using semiconductor devices only - H02M 1/007: {Plural converter units in cascade (push-pull DC/DC converters with pre-regulator H02M3/3374; DC-AC converters following a DC-DC stage including a high frequency transformer H02M7/4807; DC-AC converters following a DC-DC conversion stage generating periodically varying voltages H02M7/4826)} - C25B: ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PROCESSES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF COMPOUNDS OR NON-METALS; APPARATUS THEREFOR (anodic or cathodic protection C23F13/00; single-crystal growth C30B) - H02M: APPARATUS FOR CONVERSION BETWEEN AC AND AC, BETWEEN AC AND DC, OR BETWEEN DC AND DC, AND FOR USE WITH MAINS OR SIMILAR POWER SUPPLY SYSTEMS; CONVERSION OF DC OR AC INPUT POWER INTO SURGE OUTPUT POWER; CONTROL OR REGULATION THEREOF (transformers H01F; dynamo-electric converters H02K47/00; controlling transformers, reactors or choke coils, control or regulation of electric motors, generators or dynamo-electric converters H02P) ## Abstract Methods and apparatuses for electrolysis that does not require the use of a transformer to operate. The apparatus comprises one or more electrolytic cells which comprise the number of intermediate electrodes sufficient to enable the cell or cells to operate at the rectified line voltage without any need for voltage regulation, or near the rectified line voltage with only some voltage regulation, such as less than 20% of the rectified line voltage. Such regulation is achieved by using a buck or boost converter rather than a transformer, and can be varied to accommodate fluctuations in the line voltage and/or conductivity of the electrolyte, or varied to produce different chemistries in the same apparatus. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An apparatus comprising one or more electrolytic cells comprising a number of intermediate electrodes sufficient to enable the apparatus to operate within only a percentage of a rectified line voltage while maintaining a desired plate to plate voltage between adjacent intermediate electrodes; said apparatus not comprising a transformer. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The apparatus of claim 1 designed to operate at approximately the rectified line voltage, said apparatus not comprising any voltage regulation. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The apparatus of claim 1 comprising voltage regulation provided by a buck converter circuit or a boost converter circuit. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said voltage regulation can vary a voltage across said one or more electrolytic cells up to approximately eighty percent of the rectified line voltage. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said voltage regulation can vary a voltage across said one or more electrolytic cells up to approximately fifty percent of the rectified line voltage. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said voltage regulation can vary a voltage across said one or more electrolytic cells up to approximately twenty-five percent of the rectified line voltage. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said voltage regulation can vary a voltage across said one or more electrolytic cells up to approximately twenty percent of the rectified line voltage. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The apparatus of claim 1 wherein a plurality of electrolytic cells is connected in series. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of contactors in an H-bridge configuration for reversing the polarity of said one or more electrolytic cells in order to enable self-cleaning of said one or more electrolytic cells. ### Claim 10 A method for performing electrolysis, the method comprising: rectifying incoming line voltage; providing one or more electrolytic cells comprising a number of intermediate electrodes sufficient to enable the one or more electrolytic cells to operate within only a percentage of a rectified line voltage while maintaining a desired plate to plate voltage between adjacent intermediate electrodes; and not varying the rectified line voltage or varying the rectified line voltage without using a transformer. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10 wherein the rectified line voltage is not varied because the number of intermediate electrodes is sufficient to enable the one or more electrolytic cells to operate at approximately the rectified line voltage. ### Claim 12 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10 wherein varying the rectified line voltage is performed using a buck converter circuit or a boost converter circuit. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The method of claim 12 wherein varying the rectified line voltage comprises varying a voltage across the one or more electrolytic cells up to approximately eighty percent of the rectified line voltage. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13 wherein varying the rectified line voltage comprises varying a voltage across the one or more electrolytic cells up to approximately fifty percent of the rectified line voltage. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The method of claim 14 wherein varying the rectified line voltage comprises varying a voltage across the one or more electrolytic cells up to approximately twenty-five percent of the rectified line voltage. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The method of claim 15 wherein varying the rectified line voltage comprises varying a voltage across the one or more electrolytic cells up to approximately twenty percent of the rectified line voltage. ### Claim 17 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10 wherein varying the rectified line voltage accommodates fluctuations in the incoming line voltage. ### Claim 18 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10 wherein varying the rectified line voltage changes the chemical products produced by the one or more electrolytic cells. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The method of claim 18 wherein the chemical products are selected from the group consisting of quantity of hydrogen and hypochlorite to hydrogen peroxide ratio. ### Claim 20 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10 wherein varying the rectified line voltage comprises accommodating a varying conductivity of electrolyte. ### Claim 21 (depends on 20) The method of claim 20 wherein the electrolyte comprises seawater and the conductivity of the seawater varies due to fluctuations in salinity and/or temperature of the seawater. ### Claim 22 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10 comprising connecting a plurality of electrolytic cells in series. ### Claim 23 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10 further comprising reversing the polarity of the one or more electrolytic cells using a plurality of contactors in an H-bridge configuration, thereby self-cleaning the one or more electrolytic cells. ### Claim 24 (depends on 12) The method of claim 12 further wherein varying the rectified line voltage using a boost converter circuit comprises harvesting energy from a low voltage power source or matching a solar array output to a desired voltage across the one or more electrolytic cells.