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US 2019/0165427 A1Published application
Current bypass device for proton exchange membrane fuel cell system
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorsChunchuan XU, Jun YANG, James WALDECKER, Feng LI, George SALOKA, Mark SULEK, Thomas P. BRACKETT, III
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A fuel cell system includes a plurality of fuel cells. Each of the fuel cells may include a current bypass device that is configured to flow a current responsive to an anode potential exceeding a cathode potential to prevent carbon corrosion within the fuel cell.
Claims20
A fuel cell comprising:
- an anode and cathode each having a corresponding bipolar plate;
- and
- at least one semiconductor switch having a gate terminal, and load terminals respectively electrically coupled to one of the bipolar plates;
- and
- a circuit configured to, responsive to a potential of the anode exceeding a potential of the cathode, bias the gate terminal to cause current to conduct between the bipolar plates through the semiconductor switch.
2 more elements
A fuel cell stack comprising;
- a plurality of fuel cells, each having an anode bipolar plate, a cathode bipolar plate, at least one semiconductor switching device, and a circuit configured to, responsive to an anode potential becoming greater than a cathode potential, bias a gate of the semiconductor switching device to conduct current from the anode bipolar plate to the cathode bipolar plate through the at least one semiconductor switching device.
A vehicle comprising:
- a fuel cell stack including a plurality of fuel cells, each of the fuel cells including at least one semiconductor switch and a circuit configured to, responsive to a potential of an anode becoming greater than a potential of a cathode, bias a gate of the at least one semiconductor switch to enter a conducting state to conduct current from the anode to the cathode of the corresponding fuel cell.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.