# US 8,541,140 B2 · Fuel cell system having a valve controlling the flow of water to a reformer based on fuel tank pressure > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 8,541,140 B2 - Document ID: US8541140B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 11/892,676 - Filed: 2007-08-24 - Published: 2008-04-24 - Granted: 2013-09-24 - Earliest claimed: 2006-10-23 - Assignees: Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. - Applicants: Sung-Chul Lee; Ju-Yong Kim; Sang-Min Jeong; Min-Jung Oh; Woong-Ho Cho; Jae-Woong Choi - Inventors: Sung-Chul Lee; Ju-Yong Kim; Sang-Min Jeong; Min-Jung Oh; Woong-Ho Cho; Jae-Woong Choi - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US8541140B2 ## CPC - H01M 8/04089: of gaseous reactants - H01M 8/04201: {Reactant storage and supply, e.g. means for feeding, pipes} - H01M 8/0618: {Reforming processes, e.g. autothermal, partial oxidation or steam reforming} - Y02E 60/50: Fuel cells - Y02P 70/50: Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product - H01M: PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY - Y02E: REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION - Y02P: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS ## Abstract A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell stack, a reformer which generates a reformed gas through a reforming reaction between a gaseous fuel and water and supplies the reformed gas to the fuel cell stack, a fuel tank which compresses the gaseous fuel, stores the compressed fuel in an at least a partially liquid phase, and supplies the gaseous fuel to the reformer, a water tank connected to the fuel tank and the reformer to store water and to supply the water to the reformer by an internal air pressure of the fuel tank, and a first valve installed in a connection line connecting the water tank to the fuel tank to selectively open or close the connection line according to an electrical on/off pulse signal. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A fuel cell system comprising: a fuel tank to store fuel; a water tank to store water, receive the fuel from the fuel tank, and to discharge the water by a pressure of the fuel; a pressure control unit connected to the fuel tank and the water tank to control the pressure of the fuel supplied to the water tank; a reformer connected to the fuel tank and the water tank to reform the fuel and the water and to generate reformed gas; and a fuel cell stack connected to said reformer to generate electrical energy through a reaction between the reformed gas and an oxidant gas; and a connection line having a valve directly connecting the reformer to the water tank, wherein in the absence or reduction of pressure from the fuel tank the valve opens conveying water from the reformer to the water tank. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The fuel cell system of claim 1, wherein the pressure control unit comprises a solenoid controlled valve installed in a connection line connecting the fuel tank to the water tank to selectively open or close the connection line according to an electrical on/off pulse signal. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The fuel cell system of claim 1, further comprising a flow control unit installed in a collection line to control an amount of water conducted into the water tank from the reformer. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The fuel cell system of claim 3, wherein the flow control unit comprises a check valve to selectively open or close the collection line according to a change in the pressure of the fuel supplied to the water tank. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The fuel cell system of claim 1, wherein the fuel cell stack generates electrical energy using hydrogen and oxygen. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The fuel cell system of claim 1, wherein the pressure control unit comprises a control unit to supply an electrical on/off pulse signal. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The fuel cell system of claim 1, further comprising an oxidant gas providing unit connected to a driving unit to supply an oxidant gas to the driving unit. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The fuel cell system of claim 1, wherein the fuel is a gaseous fuel. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The fuel cell system of claim 8, wherein the gaseous fuel is stored in a compressed form in the fuel tank. ### Claim 10 A fuel cell system comprising: a fuel cell stack; a reformer to generate a reformed gas through a reforming reaction between a gaseous fuel and water and to supply the reformed gas to the fuel cell stack; a fuel tank to compress the gaseous fuel, store the compressed fuel in at least a partially liquid phase, and to supply the gaseous fuel to the reformer; a water tank connected to the fuel tank and the reformer to store water and to supply the water to the reformer by an internal air pressure of the fuel tank; a first valve installed in a connection line connecting the water tank to the fuel tank to selectively open or close the connection line according to an electrical on/off pulse signal, and a second valve installed in a connection line directly connecting the reformer to the water tank to selectively open or close the connection line and return water to the water tank in response to the absence or reduction in air pressure from the fuel tank. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The fuel cell system of claim 10, wherein the first valve is a solenoid controlled valve. ### Claim 12 (depends on 10) The fuel cell system of claim 10, wherein the second valve is a check valve. ### Claim 13 (depends on 10) The fuel cell system of claim 10, wherein the fuel cell stack and the water tank are connected to each other through a collection line conducting the water discharged from the fuel cell stack into the water tank. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The fuel cell system of claim 13, further comprising a third valve installed in the collection line to selectively open or close the collection line according to a change in the internal air pressure supplied to the water tank. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The fuel cell system of claim 14, wherein the third valve is a check valve. ### Claim 16 (depends on 10) The fuel cell system of claim 10, further comprising a control unit to supply the pulse signal to the first valve. ### Claim 17 (depends on 10) The fuel cell system of claim 10, further comprising an oxidant gas providing unit connected to the fuel cell stack to supply an oxidant gas to the fuel cell stack. ### Claim 18 (depends on 10) The fuel cell system of claim 10, wherein the water tank comprises a water receiving unit to receive the water and a space unit to receive the gaseous fuel. ### Claim 19 (depends on 10) The fuel cell system of claim 10, wherein the gaseous fuel contains at least one gas selected from a group consisting of methane, ethane, propane, and butane as a primary ingredient.