Patent Application
20070278222
The foregoing aspects, as well as many of the attendant advantages and features of this invention will become more apparent by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
References are made to
For the additional ability of the fuel cartridge 1 to control over the status of fuel supply or to externally provide the information about the status of the supplied fuel, an electric unit 15 is deployed in the fuel cartridge 1. The electric unit 15 includes an electrical I/O interface 151 and at least an electric component 153. The electrical I/O interface 151 is electrically coupled to the electric components 153. The electric unit 15 further includes a circuit board 155 having a circuitry layout formed thereon. The electric component 153 may be soldered on the circuitry layout of the circuit board 155, and the circuit board 155 may be disposed on the case of the fuel tank 11. The electrical I/O interface 151 may be directly fabricated on the circuit board 155 in the form of gold fingers. Or, the electrical I/O interface 151 may include a connector soldered on the circuit board 155. An exemplar of the circuit board 155 may be a printed circuit substrate, and preferably a flexible circuit board, so the circuit board 155 can be compacted onto the surface of the fuel tank 11 according to the profile of the fuel tank 11, reducing the volume of the fuel cartridge 1.
The electric component 153 is, for example, a concentration sensor, a level sensor, a temperature sensor, or the composition thereof. The concentration sensor 153 is provided to detect the fuel concentration inside the fuel tank 11. The level sensor 153 is provided to sense the level of fuel inside the fuel tank 11. The temperature sensor 153 is provided to measure the temperature of fuel inside the fuel tank 11. The electric components 153 of the fuel cartridge 1 are composed of the aforementioned sensors. The analog signals produced by the sensors 153 are transmitted out through the electrical I/O interface 151.
In addition to the sensors, one of the electric component 153 may be a microcontroller or a logic chip. Hence, the analog signals from the sensors are received by the microcontroller 153. The microcontroller 153 converts the analog signals into digital signals, and then transmits the current status of the fuel cartridge 1 out through the electrical I/O interface 151.
Moreover, the fuel cartridge 1 includes an inlet 19 disposed on the case of the fuel tank 11 for injecting fuel hereinto. Some air may be supplemented from the inlet 19 to the inside of the fuel tank 11 for balancing the output pressure of fuel, and fuel thus flows out smoothly. A non-return valve device (not shown), such as a check valve, may be also disposed on the end of the inlet 19 to prevent fuel from leaking.
In another embodiment, the electrical I/O interface 151 may utilize other transmission standards like SMBus or I2C signals.
The fuel cartridge of the invention is able to control over the status of supplying fuel, which is superior to a traditional fuel container. Therefore, it becomes convenient to use such a fuel cell employing the fuel cartridge of the invention.
While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, these are, of course, merely examples to help clarify the invention and are not intended to limit the invention. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, and alterations in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as set forth in the following claims.
