Utc Fuel Cells, LLC

Other

Utc Power Corporation

Jung S Yi

Deliang Yang

Young Hee Yi

Jung Ho Yi

Jonathan Puhalski

Michael L Perry

Richard D Breault

Timothy W Patterson

Lawrence J Bregoli

Timothy A Bekkedahl

Carl Anthony Reiser

Albert P Grasso

John C Trocciola

Kazuo Saito

Ned Emidio Cipollini

Glenn W Scheffler

Tommy Skiba

Richard D Sawyer

Chris Vargas

Jeremy P Meyers

Gennady Resnick

Margaret M Steinbugler

Thomas F Fuller

Zakiul Kabir

Emily A Dykeman

Brian F Dufner

Joshua M Cunningham

Marianne Pemberton

Tadahiko Taniguchi

Akira Maekawa

John Donahue

A system and method operable for providing contextually triggered vocabulary information on at least one display screen of an E-book reader are disclosed. A character group comprising a target language character group is displayed on the at least one display screen. A local or a remote electronic pre-translated primary language resource is provided in response to a user selecting a word or sentence in the target language character group. The electronic pre-translated primary language electronic resource is searched to obtain a pre-translated primary language character group corresponding to the target language character group. A synchronized pre-translated primary language character group is obtained by synchronizing the pre-translated primary language words or sentences to words or sentences in the target language. The synchronized pre-translated primary language character group is displayed on the at least one display screen.

E-book reader language mapping system and method

An attachable/detachable covering lens for covering eyeglass lenses is disclosed. A transparent optical material is suitably shaped to cover at least a portion of an eyeglass lens. The transparent optical material is coupled to the eyeglass lens by adhering means. The adhering means may comprise a viscosity of the transparent optical material. Embodiments of the disclosure provide mechanisms to easily provide attachable/detachable temporary lenses such as a sun-shield, temporary eyesight correction to the prescription lenses for applications such as reading, watching TV, or 3-D movie viewing. Embodiments of the disclosure also provide mechanisms for providing an easily attachable/detachable temporary prescription lens over special purpose glasses.

Attachable/detachable covering lens

A fuel cell power plant () includes a stack () of fuel cells, each including anodes (), cathodes (), coolant channels () and either (a) a coolant accumulator () and a pump () or (b) a condenser and cooler fan. During shutdown, electricity generated in the fuel cell in response to boil-off hydrogen gas () powers a controller (), an air pump (), which may increase air utilization to prevent cell voltages over 0.85 during shutdown, and either (a) the coolant pump or (b) the cooler fan. Operation of the fuel cell keeps it warm; circulating the warm coolant prevents freezing of the coolant and plumbing. The effluent of the cathodes and/or anodes is provided to a catalytic burner () to consume all hydrogen before exhaust to ambient. An HVAC in a compartment of a vehicle may operate using electricity from the fuel cell during boil-off.

Operating fuel cell during down time on cryogenic hydrogen boil-off

A fuel cell power plant includes a fuel cell having a membrane electrode assembly (MEA), disposed between an anode support plate and a cathode support plate, the anode and/or cathode support plates include a hydrophilic substrate layer having a predetermined pore size. The pressure of the reactant gas streams is greater than the pressure of the coolant stream, such that a greater percentage of the pores within the hydrophilic substrate layer contain reactant gas rather than water. Any water that forms on the cathode side of the MEA will migrate through the cathode support plate and away from the MEA. Controlling the pressure also ensures that the coolant water will continually migrate from the coolant stream toward the anode side of the MEA, thereby preventing the membrane from becoming dry. Proper pore size and a pressure differential between coolant and reactants improves the electrical efficiency of the fuel cell.

Fuel cell having a hydrophilic substrate layer

A fuel cell includes a membrane electrode assembly () having a first reactant flow field () secured adjacent a first or second surface () of the assembly () for directing flow of a first reactant adjacent the first or second surface of the assembly (). The first reactant flow field () defines a plurality of two-pass circuits (), and each two-pass circuit () is in fluid communication with both a first reactant inlet () for directing the first reactant into the fuel cell (), and with a first reactant outlet () for directing the first reactant out of the fuel cell (). The plurality of two-pass circuits () facilitate water movement () toward the reactant inlet () to aid in passive maintenance of fuel cell () water balance.

Fuel cell with passive water balance

A plurality of fuel cell stacks () have their cathode ends () contiguous with either a common current collector () or respective current collectors () which may be separated by electrical isolation (). The cathode-to-cathode relationship protects the cathode of each of the stacks from cold ambient environments, thereby permitting improved cold starts and mitigation of performance loss as a result of cold starts as well as freeze/thaw cycles. Heaters () may be provided in current collectors, or in or between electrical isolation. Four stacks may share one current collector, or each may have its own current collector.

Cathode-to-cathode fuel cell stacks

Each cell of a fuel cell stack is provided, between the anodeand cathodes, with either (a) a permanent shunt () which may be a discrete resistor (), a diode (), a strip of compliant carbon cloth (), or a small amount of conductive carbon black () in the ionomer polymer mixture of which the proton exchange membrane () is formed, or (b) a removeable shunt such as a conductor () which may be rotated into and out of contact with the fuel cell anodes and cathodes, or a conductor () which may be urged into contact by means of a shape memory alloy actuator spring (), which may be heated.

Reducing fuel cell cathode potential during startup and shutdown

A proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell includes fuel and oxidant flow field plates ( ) having fuel and oxidant channels ( ), and water channels, the ends ( ) of which that are adjacent to the corresponding reactant gas inlet manifold ( ) are dead ended, the other ends ( ) draining excess water into the corresponding reactant gas exhaust manifold ( ). Flow restrictors ( ) maintain reactant gas pressure above exit manifold pressure, and may comprise interdigitated channels ( ). Solid reactant gas flow field plates have small holes ( ) between reactant gas channels ( ) and water drain channels ( ). In one embodiment, the fuel cells of a stack may be separated by either coolant plates ( ) or solid plates ( ) or both. In a second embodiment, coolant plates ( ) have weep holes ( ) that inject water into the ends ( ) of the reactant gas water channels which are in the region of the inlet manifold ( ), thereby assuring humidification of the reactants.

Passive water management fuel cell

A fuel cell power plant includes a fuel cell having a membrane electrode assembly (MEA), which is disposed between anode and cathode support plates. Porous water transport plates or the support plates have interdigitated flow channels for the reactant gas streams to pass through and conventional flow channels for coolant streams to pass through. The pressure of the reactant gas streams is greater than the coolant stream which, within the porous water transport plates allows the coolant water to saturate the water transport plates thereby forcing the reactant gases into the anode and cathode support plates. This, in turn, increases the mass transfer of such gases into the support plates, thereby increasing the electrical performance of the fuel cell. Current densities of about 1.6 amps per square centimeter are achieved with air stochiometries of not over 2.50.

Fuel cell having interdigitated flow channels and water transport plates

The invention is a bi-zone water transport plate for a fuel cell wherein the plate includes a water permeability zone and a bubble barrier zone. The bubble barrier zone extends between all reactive perimeters of the plate, has a pore size of less than 20 microns, and has a thickness of less than 25 percent of a shortest distance between opposed contact surfaces of the plate. The water permeability zone has a pore size of at least 100 percent greater than the pore size of the bubble barrier zone, and has a thickness of greater than 75 percent of the shortest distance between the opposed contact surfaces of the plate. By having a separate bubble barrier zone, the plate affords enhanced water permeability while the bubble barrier maintains a gas seal.

Bi-zone water transport plate for a fuel cell

A fuel cell having a polymer electrolyte membrane ( ) between anode ( ) and cathode ( ) reactant flow fields includes a variable blower ( ), the power control signal ( ) of which is provided by a controller ( ) in response to a current signal ( ) indicative of the current of the load ( ) sensed by a current detector ( ). The controller responds to a schedule of blower power as a function of load current density to provide a stochiometry, S, which is fixed at a stochiometry of A, plus or minus a range of stochiometries, D, below a certain current density, C, and varies with higher current densities as: S&equals;&lsqb;A&plus;B(i&minus;C)&rsqb;&plusmn;D, where B is he slope of stochiometry as a function of current density, and i is the actual current density.

Variable stochiometry fuel cell

PEM fuel cell performance losses caused by phenomena occurring during normal cell operation are recovered by periodically reducing the cathode potential to about 0.6 volts or less, and preferably to 0.1 volt or less. Once the cathode potential is reduced to the desired low level, it is maintained at or below that level for a period of time. The lower the potential to which the cathode is brought, the more quickly regeneration will occur. After regeneration, the cell, when returned to normal operation, will operate at a higher performance level.

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Mansfield, CT, United States of America

Jung S Yi