Consist having shared electrolyte tanks
AssigneeElectro-Motive Diesel, Inc.
InventorJerry Van Polen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system for distributing energy among a plurality of power consumers may include a plurality of reaction cells configured to receive electrolytes and provide electric power. The system may also include a first tank configured to contain a supply of fluid including positively charged electrolytes and a second tank configured to contain a supply of fluid including negatively charged electrolytes. The system may also include at least one pump configured to pump fluid among the plurality of reaction cells and the first and second tanks. The system may include a controller configured to control operation of the at least one pump based on a desired power supply to at least one of the plurality of power consumers.
Claims13
A system for distributing energy among a plurality of power consumers, the system comprising:
- a plurality of reaction cells configured to receive electrolytes and provide electric power;
- a first tank configured to contain a supply of fluid including positively charged electrolytes;
- a second tank configured to contain a supply of fluid including negatively charged electrolytes;
- at least one pump configured to pump fluid among the plurality of reaction cells and the first and second tanks;
- and
- a controller configured to control operation of the at least one pump based on a desired power supply to at least one of the plurality of power consumers.
A method of distributing energy among a plurality of power consumers sharing at least one pair of tanks configured to contain electrolytes, wherein at least one of the power consumers is associated with a reaction cell and a pair of pumps configured to pump the electrolytes between the pair of tanks and the reaction cell, the method comprising:
- receiving one or more signals indicative of a power condition of at least one of the plurality of power consumers;
- determining a desired power supply for the at least one of the plurality of power consumers based on the signals indicative of the power condition of the at least one power consumer;
- receiving one or more signals indicative of the level of charge of the electrolytes stored in the electrolyte tanks;
- determining a flow rate for a first pump of the pair of pumps based on the desired power supply;
- and
- controlling the first pump based on the determined flow rate.
13-20. (canceled)
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.