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Apple Granted their Second Fuel Cell System Patent for Devices Like an iPhone or MacBook

10.6 Granted Patent Singular -
1af 55 cover fuel cell invention

 

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 80 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In this particular report we cover Apple's second granted patent relating to systems that use fuel cells to provide electrical power. More specifically, the disclosed embodiments relate to a fuel cell system which is designed to both provide electrical power to and receive electrical power from a portable computing device.

 

According to Apple's invention, fuel cells and associated fuels can potentially achieve high volumetric and gravimetric energy densities, which could potentially enable continued operation of portable electronic devices for days or even weeks without refueling. This kind of leap could be a game changer if Apple can bring this granted patent to life.

 

2af 55 fuel cell invention

Apple's patent FIG. 1B illustrates how a fuel cell system can be connected to a portable computing device

 

Although both of Apple's fuel cell patents cover the same description and set of patent figures, this second granted patent covers all-new patent claims that protect the invention and introduce new specifics. The claims have also expanded from 13 to 20. The granted patent also only lists two of the original six inventors for this invention expansion. You could review the claims from the first patent here so as to compare them to the new patent claims from the 2016 patent below.

 

Fuel Cell Invention with 20 All New Patent Claims

 

1. fuel cell system which is capable of both providing power to and receiving power from a rechargeable battery in a portable computing device, comprising: a fuel cell stack in the fuel cell system which converts fuel into electrical power; a controller in the fuel cell system which controls operation of the fuel cell system; a power link that transfers electrical power between the fuel cell system and the portable computing device; and a communication link that provides communication between the portable computing device and the controller for the fuel cell system, wherein the controller is programmed to: monitor an operational parameter of the fuel cell stack for a predetermined set-point value; regulate electrical power provided by the fuel cell system to the rechargeable battery to maintain the operational parameter to the predetermined set-point value; and regulate electrical power provided by the rechargeable battery to the fuel cell system by regulating a discharging current provided from the rechargeable battery to the fuel cell stack based on the value of the operational parameter.

 

2. The fuel cell system of claim 1, wherein the operational parameter is monitored during a boot-up process of the fuel cell system.

 

3. The fuel cell system of claim 2, wherein while regulating the discharging current based on the value of the operational parameter, the controller is programmed to: determine if the value of the operational parameter is less than a set-point value; and if so, maintain the discharging current provided by the rechargeable battery to the fuel cell stack; otherwise, terminate the discharging current provided by the rechargeable battery to the fuel cell stack.

 

4. The fuel cell system of claim 1, wherein the fuel cell system does not have an internal rechargeable battery.

 

5. The fuel cell system of claim 1, wherein while regulating the electrical power provided by the fuel cell system to the rechargeable battery in the portable computing device, the controller is programmed to: regulate a charging current provided by the fuel cell stack to the rechargeable battery in the portable computing device based on the value of the operational parameter.

 

6. The fuel cell system of claim 5, wherein while regulating the charging current based on the value of the operational parameter, the controller is programmed to communicate with a charging circuit in the portable computing device, wherein the charging circuit charges the rechargeable battery based on the charging current.

 

7. The fuel cell system of claim 6, wherein while regulating the charging current based on the value of the operational parameter, the controller is programmed to: determine whether the value of the operational parameter is greater than or smaller than a set-point value; regulate the charging current so that the value of the operational parameter decreases when the value of the operational parameter is greater than the set-point value; and regulate the charging current so that the value of the operational parameter increases when the value of the operational parameter is smaller than the set-point value.

 

8. The fuel cell system of claim 7, wherein the controller is programmed to continue regulating the charging current until the value of the operational parameter decreases to the set-point value when the value of the operational parameter is greater than the set-point value; and wherein the controller is programmed to continue regulating the charging current until the value of the operational parameter increases to the set-point value when the value of the operational parameter is smaller than the set-point value.

 

9. The fuel cell system of claim 7, wherein if the value of the operational parameter is substantially equal to the set-point value, the controller is programmed to maintain the charging current so that the value of the operational parameter remains the same.

 

10. The fuel cell system of claim 7, wherein while regulating the charging current to decrease the value of the operational parameter, the controller is programmed to transmit a first control signal to the charging circuit in the portable computing device, wherein the first control signal causes the charging circuit to increase the charging speed for the rechargeable battery, which subsequently causes the charging current to increase and the value of the operational parameter to decrease; and wherein while regulating the charging current to increase the value of the operational parameter, the controller is programmed to transmit a second control signal to the charging circuit in the portable computing device, wherein the second control signal causes the charging circuit to decrease the charging speed for the rechargeable battery, which subsequently causes the charging current to decrease and the value of the operational parameter to increase.

 

11. The fuel cell system of claim 10, wherein the controller is programmed to transmit the first and the second control signals through the communication link.

 

12. The fuel cell system of claim 5, wherein the controller is programmed to route the charging current through the power link.

 

13. The fuel cell system of claim 6, wherein the charging circuit converts the charging current into a charging voltage suitable for charging the rechargeable battery.

 

14. A fuel cell system which is capable of both providing power to and receiving power from a rechargeable battery in a portable computing device, comprising: a fuel cell stack in the fuel cell system which converts fuel into electrical power; a controller in the fuel cell system which controls operation of the fuel cell system; a power link that transfers electrical power between the fuel cell system and the portable computing device; and a communication link that provides communication between the portable computing device and the controller for the fuel cell system, wherein the controller is programmed to: monitor an operational parameter of the fuel cell stack for a predetermined set-point value; regulate electrical power provided by the fuel cell system to the rechargeable battery in the portable computing device to maintain the value of the operational parameter to the predetermined set-point value; and regulate a discharging current provided from the rechargeable battery to the fuel cell stack based on the value of the operational parameter.

 

15. The fuel cell system of claim 14, wherein the portable fuel cell system receives power from the rechargeable battery in the portable computing device to operate the portable fuel cell system, wherein the power is received through the power link.

 

16. The fuel cell system of claim 14, wherein the operational parameter is monitored during a boot-up process of the fuel cell system.

 

17. The fuel cell system of claim 14, wherein while regulating the discharging current based on the value of the operational parameter, the controller is programmed to: determine if the value of the operational parameter is less than a set-point value; and maintain the discharging current provided by the rechargeable battery to the fuel cell stack responsive to determining that the value of the operational parameter is less than the set-point value.

 

18. The fuel cell system of claim 17, wherein the controller is programmed to terminate the discharging current provided by the rechargeable battery to the fuel cell stack responsive to determining that the value of the operational parameter is greater than the set-point value.

 

19. The fuel cell system of claim 14, wherein the controller is programmed to regulate a charging current provided by the fuel cell stack to the rechargeable battery in the portable computing device based on the value of the operational parameter.

 

20. The fuel cell system of claim 19, wherein while regulating the charging current based on the value of the operational parameter, the controller is programmed to communicate with a charging circuit in the portable computing device, wherein the charging circuit charges the rechargeable battery based on the charging current.

 

Apple's granted patent 9,413,022 was filed in Q2 2011 and published today by the US Patent and Trademark Office. Apple lists Vijay M. Iyer and Bradley L. Spare as inventors. Apple's first granted patent 8,980,491 listed six inventors that included Iyer and Spare.

 

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