The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 13, 2004
Filed:
May. 02, 2001
Axel Jansen, Ulm, DE;
Jens Mueller, Blaustein, DE;
Steffen Paul, Munich, DE;
Jesef Sonntag, Senden, DE;
Ballard Power Systems AG, Kirchheim/Teck-Nabern, DE;
Abstract
The present invention relates to a circuit arrangement for a composite fuel cell system comprising a plurality of individual fuel cells connected in series, the voltage of the individual fuel cells being monitored, in which case components are present which enable the individual fuel cells to be bridged in the sense of a low-resistance parallel circuit. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for operating a circuit arrangement of this type, in which case the fuel cells are bridged if the magnitude of their voltage falls below a specific threshold value or if the sign of their voltage has changed relative to normal operation, or alternatively in which case the components are controllable switches which are driven if the composite fuel cell system is intended to be discharged.