TWM635873U - Zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electric connectors and a battery pack capable of performing both charging and discharging functions - Google Patents

Abstract

A zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electric connectors includes: a case forming a space; multiple gas chambers disposed in the space; two air electrode layers disposed in the space and serving as positive electrodes for discharging; a metal layer disposed in the space and serving as a positive electrode for charging; a zinc material disposed in the space and serving as a negative electrode; multiple separators disposed in the space so that the air electrode layers, the zinc material and the metal layer are separately arranged; an electrolyte disposed in the space, capable of flowing to pass through the separators and in contact with the air electrode layers, the metal layer and the zinc material so that the air electrode layers, the zinc material and the metal layer are respectively electrically connected. Various embodiments of fuel cells and cell assemblies and methods of using the same are provided. Each fuel cell or cell assembly can simultaneously perform a charging function and a discharging function, the former by receiving electric currents from external charging devices, the latter by outputting an electric current to an electrical load.

Description

Zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors and capable of performing charging and Battery pack with discharge function

This application claims priority to continuations of US Patent Application Serial No. 17/483,770 and US Patent Application Serial No. 17/148,573, filed January 14, 2021, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

The present work generally relates to a fuel cell. In particular, the present work relates to an air fuel cell having a plurality of electrical connectors, each serving as an electrode of the air fuel cell, the air fuel cell comprising a zinc negative electrode, an air positive electrode, a positive electrode for charging, and an electrolyte , the electrolyte system regulates the activation mode and deactivation mode of the air fuel cell.

The scientific field is dominated by fuel cell energy, which involves the direct conversion of chemical energy into electrical energy. The fuel cell has a high density of energy in the process of generating energy, and the electric energy comes from the potential difference between the positive and negative electrodes, while causing little pollution to the environment. Therefore, fuel cells have been extensively studied by academia and industry to lead a revolutionary improvement in global carbon (petrochemical) emissions, energy shortages, and environmental pollution.

The internal configuration of a traditional zinc-air fuel cell (ZAFC) is mainly composed of an air electrode, a zinc anode, a liquid storage space, and an electrolyte. Conventional zinc-air fuel cells (ZAFCs) are typically manually replaceable cells. In other words, the electrodes, or electrolyte, of such batteries can only be replaced manually to regenerate their capacity. Zinc-air fuel cells can be discharged or recharged. The discharge reaction can involve the following half-reactions:

(1) Negative electrode:

I.Zn+4OH ^- → Zn(OH) ₄ ^2- +2e ^-

Ⅱ.Zn(OH) ₄ ^2- → ZnO+H ₂ O+ ^2OH-

(2) Positive electrode:

1/2 O ₂ +H ₂ O+2e ^- → 2OH ^-

(3) The total reaction is:

Zn+1/2 O ₂ → ZnO

Charging reactions can involve the following half-reactions:

(1) Cathode:

I.ZnO+H ₂ O+2OH ^- → Zn(OH) ₄ ^2-

Ⅱ. Zn(OH) ₄ ^2- +2e ^- → Zn+4OH ^-

(2) Anode:

2OH ^- → 1/2 O ₂ +H ₂ O+2e ^-

(3) Total reaction:

ZnO → Zn+1/2 O ₂

(4) In the presence of an alkaline electrolyte in electrolysis, zinc oxide is reduced to nanoscale zinc.

When idle or used for a long time, the polarization, passivation and dendrite growth of the zinc anode lead to rapid corrosion of the zinc anode, the performance of the zinc-air fuel cell deteriorates, and the electrolyte Acidification and shortened battery life are due to continuous immersion of the air electrode and zinc anode in the electrolyte. Although there are available zinc-air fuel cell structures with three electrodes, they fail to solve problems such as high current charge and discharge and redox efficiency, and the leakage problem of zinc-air fuel cells remains unsolved. In addition, traditional fuel cells cannot effectively solve the cycle blockage problem of a single battery and multiple series-parallel batteries.

The main purpose of this creation is to partially or completely remove the electrolytic solution in the battery when the zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors of the present creation is in an unused state, so as to further prevent the anode structure from contacting the electrolytic solution and stop electrolysis chemical reaction, and avoid damage or surface peeling of the anode structure or cathode structure, and prolong the storage life or service life of the air fuel cell.

The second purpose of this creation is to design a zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors. Manually replace electrodes or electrolyte.

Another purpose of this creation is to make at least one of the zinc material and the electrolytic solution input or output through the transmission device of the zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors of the present invention, so as to promote the replacement or renewal of the zinc material or electrolytic solution The operation process doubles the efficiency of the operation process. Zinc-air fuel cells are designed to provide multiple air chambers to reduce cycle blockage issues for individual cells.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a fuel cell assembly capable of simultaneously performing charging and discharging functions. A fuel cell assembly may include a plurality of fuel cells arranged in a stacked configuration. A plurality of fuel cells can be wired in various wiring configurations to provide individual advantages in performing charging and discharging functions, as each configuration may be suitable for a different application.

In order to achieve the above purpose, a zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors is provided. A zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes: a casing forming a space inside the zinc-air fuel cell; a metal layer disposed in the space and serving as a positive electrode for charging; a first air The electrode layer and the second air electrode layer are arranged in the space and serve as the positive electrode of the discharge function. The first air electrode layer and the second air electrode layer are respectively arranged on opposite sides of the metal layer; the zinc material is arranged in the space, And as the negative electrode of the charging function and the discharging function; the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer are each arranged between the metal layer and one of the first air electrode layer and the second air electrode layer, and the first and second conductive layers Each of the layers has a central recessed area for containing zinc material; a plurality of spacers are respectively arranged between the first and second air electrode layers, the first and second conductive layers and the metal layer, so that the first and second The second air electrode layer, the first and second conductive layers, and the metal layer are arranged separately; the electrolyte is arranged in the space, and the electrolyte can flow through the separator and be in contact with the air electrode layer, the metal layer, and the zinc material, so that the air electrode layer, the metal layer, and the zinc material are in contact. The zinc material and the metal layer are respectively electrically connected; and a plurality of air chambers are arranged in the space.

In addition, the electrolyte is disposed within the space via at least one of a plurality of air cells configured to pass through but not contain the electrolyte. Also, the electrolyte is disposed in the space up to a level lower than that in the plurality of air cells.

In order to achieve the above purpose, the zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors of the present invention includes: a casing forming a space; a plurality of air chambers arranged in the space; Two air electrode layers are arranged in the space and serve as positive electrodes for chemical reaction discharge; metal layers are arranged in the space and serve as positive electrodes for chemical reaction charging; layer together for chemical reaction discharge, or as a negative electrode, together with the metal layer for chemical reaction charging; a plurality of separators are arranged in the space and are respectively arranged between the air electrode layer and the metal layer, so that the air electrode layer, zinc material and The metal layers are arranged separately; and the electrolyte is arranged in the space, and the electrolyte can flow through the separator and contact the air electrode layer, the metal layer and the zinc material, so that the air electrode layer, the zinc material and the metal layer are electrically connected respectively.

The zinc material is selected from the group consisting of flowable zinc paste, zinc particles and zinc sheet. Embodiments of the conductive layer may differ from the choice of material corresponding to zinc. Flowable zinc pastes can be in the form of a "mortar-like" mixture of zinc granules, liquid and some optional additives. The viscosity of the flowable zinc paste is related to its circulation speed. The faster the circulation speed, the lower the viscosity, and the slower the circulation speed, the higher the viscosity.

In addition, when the flat surface for supporting the battery is used as a horizontal reference, the air electrode layer, the metal layer, and the zinc material are arranged to be vertically aligned with respect to the flat surface. This configuration differs from the upright position of the traditional lateral arrangement. The zinc material may comprise flowable zinc paste, zinc granules or zinc sheet.

The zinc air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors may further include a transmission device. The transmission device is connected with the space, and can output or input electrolyte, so as to change the height position of the electrolyte in the space. By changing the total amount of electrolyte in the space and the internal structure at a height accessible to the liquid, contact with the liquid at a specific height of the structure and at a position in the space can be avoided, and damage to a specific structure or surface can be prevented. peel off.

The feature of this invention is that the zinc material of this invention is used as the negative electrode, and the air electrode layer and the metal layer are respectively used as the positive electrode. The positive and negative electrodes can collectively or individually form multiple electrical connectors in a zinc-air fuel cell.

In addition, the transport device connecting the space can change the total amount of electrolyte and the liquid height of the electrolyte by removing most of the electrolyte from the space, so as to avoid the zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors of the present invention during storage or The contact of the electrolyte with the internal structure of the space when not in use also avoids undesired self-discharge or charging reactions of the zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors of the present invention, and also avoids damage or surface peeling of the internal structure of the space, This makes it possible to prolong the storage life or service life of the zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors of the present invention.

In addition to zinc-air fuel cells, the present invention also provides various embodiments of cell assemblies comprising a plurality of fuel cells as described above arranged in a stacked configuration. Different configurations of battery packs can be achieved by various inter-cell and/or intra-cell connections. Each configuration can perform a corresponding charging function and a corresponding discharging function, and the battery pack can simultaneously perform a charging function and a discharging function.

In addition to the various embodiments of fuel cells and battery assemblies, it is a further object of the present disclosure to provide methods of using fuel cells and/or battery assemblies to perform battery A charge function of one or more currents is also performed including a discharge function involving sending one or more currents to one or more electrical loads. The charging function and discharging function may be performed simultaneously or otherwise operated by the fuel cell or battery assembly. That is, a fuel cell or battery assembly can perform a charging function at the same time it performs discharging, and vice versa.

These and other objects of the invention will no doubt become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment shown in the various data and drawings.

100: battery structure

100A: electrical connector

101: left space

102: Right Space

103A: the first air chamber

103B: Second air chamber

110: shell group

111: left housing

112: Right shell

112H: hole

113: central housing

113A: guide post

113C: Central shell area

114: cover

114A: the first hole

114B: Second hole

114C: Central cover

115: shell

115A, 115A': the first opening

115B, 115B': the second opening

120: Air electrode group

121:Left air electrode layer

121E: left discharge positive electrical connector

122: Right air electrode layer

122E: Right discharge positive electrical connector

130: metal layer

130E: charging positive electrical connector

140: zinc material

151: left conductive layer

151E: left negative electrical connector

152,156: central area

153,157: outlying area

154: left groove

155: right conductive layer

155E: Right negative electrical connector

158: right groove

161~164: clapboard

170: Electrolyte

170F: full level

200: battery pack

201~212: battery structure

210A~210K: connecting pipe

220:Circulation pipe group

221: The first circulation pipe

222I: Fuel inlet

222: Second circulation pipe

230: fuel tank

230G: stomata

231: fuel pipe

231O: fuel outlet

232: fuel pipe

232I: Fuel inlet

232O: fuel outlet

233:Circulation pump

233D: Cycle direction

700: Dual battery circuit model

701,702: Batteries

800,805: configuration

810, 830, 840: External power supply

815,825,826,835,845: Current

820: Electric load

1011,1012,1021,1022,1023,1031,1032,1041,1042,1051,1052,1321,1322,1340(01)~1340(11),1440(01)~1440(11),1470(01) ~1470(11),1481~1491,1521,1522,1550(01)~1550(12): wire

1091~1093: wiring configuration

1300, 1400, 1500: battery components

1301~1312, 1401~1412, 1501~1512: fuel cell

1315: charging current

1320, 1420, 1520: electrical load

1325,1525: current

1410(01)~1410(12), 1530(01)~1530(12), 1540(01)~1540(12): charging device

In order to clearly illustrate the specific embodiments according to the present disclosure or the technical solutions according to the prior art, a brief description of the drawings required by the description of the specific embodiments or the prior art is presented below. It is apparent that the drawings described below illustrate certain embodiments of the present disclosure. For those skilled in the art, without any creative efforts, other drawings can also be derived from these drawings or obtained in other ways.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment of an exploded view of the battery structure of the invention.

FIG. 1A shows an exploded schematic diagram of a variant embodiment of FIG. 1 corresponding to the battery structure of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic side view of an embodiment of a zinc-air fuel cell with five electrical connectors corresponding to FIG. 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of a zinc-air fuel cell with five electrical connectors of the present invention.

FIG. 3A shows another schematic diagram corresponding to the simplified perspective of FIG. 1A with the battery structure of the present invention in an upright position.

4 shows a schematic front view of an embodiment of a zinc-air fuel cell with five electrical connectors of the present invention.

FIG. 4A shows another schematic diagram corresponding to the simplified front view of FIG. 1A with the cell structure of the present invention in an upright position.

5 shows a schematic cross-sectional view along line AA' of FIG. 4 of an embodiment of the inventive zinc-air fuel cell with five electrical connectors in a horizontal position.

FIG. 5A shows a schematic perspective view of FIG. 5 corresponding to the embodiment of the inventive zinc-air fuel cell with five electrical connectors in a horizontal position.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of a cell assembly composed of multiple cell structures of multiple zinc-air fuel cells with five electrical connectors corresponding to the present invention.

Figure 6A shows a schematic side view corresponding to Figure 6 of the present invention.

FIG. 6B shows a schematic top view corresponding to FIG. 6 of the present work.

FIG. 7 shows a circuit model of a zinc-air fuel cell with five electrical connectors of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8A shows the wiring configuration of the zinc-air fuel cell of the present disclosure modeled by the circuit model of FIG. 7 , including a charging device and an electrical load.

FIG. 8B shows another wiring configuration of the zinc-air fuel cell of the present disclosure modeled by the circuit model of FIG. 7 , which includes two charging devices and one electrical load.

FIG. 9 shows a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of a zinc-air fuel cell with five electrical connectors of the present invention.

Figure 10A shows the wiring configuration of a zinc-air fuel cell with five electrical connectors of the present disclosure configured according to Figure 8A.

FIG. 10B shows the wiring configuration of a zinc-air fuel cell with five electrical connectors of the present disclosure configured according to FIG. 8B .

FIG. 10C shows another wiring configuration for a zinc-air fuel cell with five electrical connectors of the present disclosure configured according to FIG. 8B .

11 shows a flowchart of an exemplary process for simultaneously charging and discharging a fuel cell.

12 shows a flowchart of another exemplary process for simultaneously charging and discharging a fuel cell.

Figure 13 shows the wiring configuration of a cell assembly consisting of zinc-air fuel cells, where each cell is wired according to the configuration of Figure 10A.

Figure 14 shows another wiring configuration for a cell assembly consisting of zinc-air fuel cells, where each cell is wired according to the configuration of Figure 10A.

Figure 15 shows the wiring configuration of a cell assembly consisting of zinc-air fuel cells, where each cell is wired according to the configuration of Figure 10C.

In this disclosure, "battery cell", "battery", "cell" and "fuel cell" are used interchangeably to refer to a battery capable of maintaining the An electrochemical device in which energy is stored in the form of electric charge. In addition, electrochemical devices are capable of discharging or otherwise releasing stored energy in the form of an electrical current through a discharge process, typically through an electrical load that receives or additionally consumes the stored energy. The current provided by the battery to the load through the discharge process can be called the output current of the battery. Output current is available at a specific output voltage that may or may not vary. After the energy stored in the battery has been depleted to a low value due to the discharge process, a charging or recharging process may be applied to the battery to restore or otherwise increase the energy therein. The charging process usually involves applying a current (called the charging voltage) to the depleted battery from an external energy source at a certain potential (called the charging voltage). recharging current). After the charging process, the battery again holds energy, which can be released by another discharge process.

Various exemplary embodiments according to the present disclosure are described in detail below and shown in the accompanying drawings. In the description with reference to the drawings, unless otherwise specified, the same reference numerals in the drawings represent elements having the same or similar functions. Not all possible embodiments consistent with the present disclosure are disclosed herein. Rather, a few non-limiting illustrative embodiments are described below with reference only to an example of a system according to one aspect of the present disclosure or according to details described in the appended claims.

The drawings herein constitute a part of this disclosure and are intended to illustrate or otherwise demonstrate the creative principles of this disclosure as applied to the various embodiments disclosed herein. Unless otherwise stated, references herein to any physical orientation or orientation of the embodiments are for the convenience of explaining the inventive idea of the present disclosure with the embodiment, rather than limiting the inventive idea to the specific orientation or orientation mentioned. For example, terms describing relative physical relationships such as "upward", "downward", "vertical", "horizontal", "on top of", " "underneath", "above", "below", "top", "bottom", and other derived adjectives, adverbs, or terms, are described with a sole purpose Features of an embodiment, which may be shown in the drawings, do not limit the feature to being so constructed or operative only in a particular orientation or orientation, unless such limitation is expressly stated in the description.

As will be understood by those skilled in the art, manufacturers of electronic equipment may refer to a component by different names. This article does not intend to distinguish between components with different names, but it is not to distinguish between components with different functions. In the following descriptions and claims, the terms "include", "comprise" and "have" are used in an open-ended manner and should therefore be interpreted to mean "including but not limited to". Although terms such as first, second, third, etc. may be used to describe different constituent elements, such constituent Elements are not limited by terms. The terms are used only to distinguish a constituent element from other constituent elements in the specification. Claims may not use the same terms, but may use the terms first, second, third, etc. with respect to the order of claimed elements. Therefore, in the following description, a first constituent element may be a second constituent element in the scope of claims.

When a component or layer is referred to as being "on", "connected to", "attached to", "coupled with", or "interconnected with" interlinked with)" another element or layer, it may be directly on or directly connected to another element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. Unless otherwise stated, the connection may be a fixed connection in which the two connection parts have no relative movement, or an elastic connection in which the two connection parts may have relative movement.

The various embodiments disclosed herein are intended to demonstrate the inventive features and benefits of the present disclosure by way of illustration. That is, the inventive principles of the present disclosure are not limited in application to the illustrative embodiments. Any application that utilizes one of the authoring features described herein or a combination of several authoring features is within the scope of this disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure is limited only by the claims filed herein.

Throughout this disclosure, the terms "cell structure" and "fuel cell" are used interchangeably throughout. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an exploded view of a zinc-air fuel cell with five electrical connectors corresponding to the present invention. For example, battery structure 100 may have five electrical connectors and include elements such as housing group 110, air electrode layer, metal layer 130, zinc material 140, conductive layer, and a plurality of separators. The battery structure 100 may structurally have multiple assembly parts, such as a left part, a right part and a central part, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

The housing assembly 110 may include a plurality of housing elements. A plurality of casing elements can jointly form a casing group 110 as a battery casing of the battery structure 100 . For example, the housing group 110 may include a first case in the form of a frame, a second case in the form of a frame, a third case in the form of a frame, and a second case in the form of a frame. four shells, but this creation is not limited to these. The first housing, the second housing, the third housing, and the fourth housing can collectively form a space to accommodate other components of the battery structure 100, define an air chamber, and buffer zinc air for use with five electrical connectors The fuel cell fluid is circulated in or out and provides solid support for the cell structure 100 .

For example, the first case may be the left case 111 in the left part. The second case may be the right case 112 in the right portion. The central case 113 may be the central case 113 located in the central portion. The housing group 110 may further include a cover 114 connected to the central housing 113 to form channels for fluid circulation. The fourth case may be an outer case 115 to accommodate the left case 111 , the right case 112 , the center case 113 and the cover 114 . Each case or cover may have complementary structures, such as one or more holes, for fixing or snapping the two pieces of the case or cover to facilitate mutual engagement to obtain the battery structure 100 , so as to improve the airtightness and/or leakproof performance of the battery structure 100 .

In some embodiments, the right housing 112 may have one or more holes 112H for engagement with the housing 115 . For example, holes 112H may assist an adhesive (not shown) to temporarily hold right housing 112 and housing 115 by fastening the frames of right housing 112 and housing 115 together. The right housing 112 and the outer shell 115 may undergo subsequent insert molding methods in the presence of holes 112H and adhesive (not shown) to form a permanently sealed structure, such as a gas-tight and/or leak-proof battery structure. Left housing 111, center housing 113, cover 114, and housing 115 may have similar holes for similar purposes, but the invention is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, two adjacent elements may have complementary features for mutual engagement. For example, the center housing 113 may have a center housing region 113C to correspond to a center cover 114C of the cover 114 . The central housing region 113C may have a complementary recess relative to the central cover 114C to facilitate the mutual engagement of two specific components for fastening or snapping two elements, but the invention is not limited thereto.

The case group 110 may include polyarylene material to enhance the mechanical strength of the battery structure 100 . For example, at least one of the left case 111 , the right case 112 , the center case 113 , the cover 114 and the outer case 115 may include polyarylene material. Polyarylene materials can improve adhesion at the interface between two substantially dissimilar substances, such as between an organic polymer and a metallic material. In addition, the polyarylene material can be subjected to insert molding to obtain one of the casing or the cover, so as to improve the airtightness and/or leakproof performance of the battery structure 100 . This creation can use polyarylene material-based resin as the base material of the insert molding method to encapsulate the components in the zinc-air fuel cell to eliminate the problem of liquid leakage in the prior art. For example, better air tightness reduces the possibility of gas leakage, while better leak resistance reduces the possibility of electrolyte leakage. Hermeticity and/or leak resistance may increase the fluid tightness or reliability of the battery structure 100 .

The polyarene material may be a thermoplastic with sulfonyl groups. In some embodiments of the present invention, the polyarylene material may be polyarylene (PSF, PSU), polyether sulphate (PES, PESU), polyarylether sulphate (PAES), and polyphenylene sulphate (PPSU, PPSF), but This creation is not limited to this.

The left case 111 and the center case 113 may together form a first space, eg, the left space 101 in the left part. The left space 101 can accommodate and fix an air electrode layer, a metal layer, a zinc material, a conductive layer, a multi-layer separator and an electrolyte 170 . Similarly, the right housing 112 and the central housing 113 may together form a second space, such as the right space 102 in the right portion. The right space 102 can accommodate and fix an air electrode layer, a metal layer, a zinc material, a conductive layer, a multi-layer separator and an electrolyte 170 .

The central housing 113 may have a plurality of air chambers, such as two air chambers, such as the first air chamber 103A and the second air chamber 103B. The air chambers may be disposed in the space, for example, the first air chamber 103A and the second air chamber 103B may be disposed in the left space 101 and the right space 102 . In other words, the first air chamber 103A, the second air chamber 103B, the left space 101 and the right space 102 can be connected to each other in terms of accommodating, so as to facilitate the use of air fuel Continuous circulation of the battery's fluid. The first plenum 103A or the second plenum 103B independently may assist in fluid circulation of the buffered zinc metal fuel.

The central housing 113 can further have a guide post 113A, which is set between the first air chamber 103A and the second air chamber 103B, or between the left space 101 and the right space 102, to help buffer or guide the zinc metal fuel fluid circulation. The fluid circulation may include at least one of a gas circulation and an electrolyte circulation.

The cover 114 and the central housing 113 may together define the first air chamber 103A or the second air chamber 103B. The cover 114 may further have holes. For example, the cover 114 may have a first hole 114A and a second hole 114B. The first hole 114A and the second hole 114B may correspond to the first air chamber 103A and the second air chamber 103B, respectively. These holes may allow fluid to enter or exit either the first plenum 103A or the second plenum 103B.

The housing 115 may further have an opening. For example, the housing 115 may have a first opening 115A and a second opening 115B. The first opening 115A and the second opening 115B may correspond to the first hole 114A and the second hole 114B, respectively. The openings may allow fluid to enter or exit the cell structure 100 by flowing through the first plenum 103A or through the second plenum 103B.

The air electrode group 120 may include two air electrode layers. For example, the air electrode group 120 may include a left air electrode layer 121 disposed and fixed in the left space 101 and a right air electrode layer 122 disposed and fixed in the right space 102 . The left air electrode layer 121 or the right air electrode layer 122 may collectively or individually serve as a positive electrode for discharge in a predetermined chemical reaction. The air electrode can be used as the anode of the air battery. The air electrode layer may include a metal mesh, a waterproof and breathable layer and a catalytic layer that are pressed together. The air electrode layer can accommodate the oxygen in the air as the positive electrode to react with the fuel (Al, Mg, Zn...etc.) in the negative electrode and the electrolyte in the presence of activated carbon and catalyst to generate electricity.

The left air electrode layer 121 or the right air electrode layer 122 may respectively include a metal material such as Ni, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Each air electrode layer may further have extension bars as electrical connectors for current flow. For example, the left air electrode layer 121 may have a left discharge positive electrical connector 121E, while the right air electrode layer 122 may have a right discharge positive electrical connector 122E.

The metal layer 130 can be disposed in one of the spaces, such as the left space 101 or the right space 102 . FIG. 1 shows an embodiment in which the metal layer 130 is disposed in the left space 101 and between the left air electrode layer 121 and the central housing 113 , but the present invention is not limited thereto. The metal layer 130 may include a metal material such as Ni, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Metal layer 130 may further include a stainless steel layer, such as 316 stainless steel mesh. The metal layer 130 can serve as a positive electrode for charging in a chemical reaction. The metal layer 130 may further have extension bars as electrical connectors for current flow. For example, metal layer 130 may have a charge positive electrical connector 130E.

The zinc material 140 can be disposed in the space to serve as a chemically active negative electrode for charging/discharging reactions. For example, the zinc material 140 may be a negative electrode to discharge in a chemical reaction together with an air electrode layer (positive electrode). Alternatively, the zinc material 140 may be a negative electrode to be charged in a chemical reaction together with the metal layer 130 (positive electrode). The zinc material 140 may include at least one of flowable zinc paste, zinc particles, and zinc sheets for use as fuel in the zinc-air fuel cell with five electrical connectors of the present invention. The flowable zinc paste can be in the form of a mortar, eg a mixture of zinc granules, liquid and some optional additives. The viscosity of the flowable zinc paste is related to its circulation speed. The faster the cycle rate, the lower the viscosity. The liquid may include an electrolyte solution.

The conductive set may include two conductive layers disposed on two sides of the space, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the conductive group may include a left conductive layer 151 disposed and fixed in the left space 101 , and a right conductive layer 155 disposed and fixed in the right space 102 . The conductive group may be disposed adjacent to the zinc material 140 or further in contact with the zinc material 140 .

In some embodiments, at least one of the left conductive layer 151 and the right conductive layer 155 may be in direct contact with the zinc material 140 to accommodate the zinc material 140 . The conductive layer may have grooves to accommodate the zinc material 140 . For example, the left conductive layer 151 may have a central region 152 and a peripheral region 153 . The central area 152 may be lower than the peripheral area 153 to form a left groove 154 . The left groove 154 can accommodate the zinc material 140 for chemical reaction. Similarly, the right conductive layer 155 may have a central region 156 and a peripheral region 157 . The central region 156 may be lower than the peripheral region 157 to form a right groove 158 . The right groove 158 can accommodate the zinc material 140 for chemical reaction.

One conductive layer can act as a structural electrode to accommodate the chemically active zinc material 140, so one of the conductive layers can support the zinc material 140 for chemical reactions. In addition, one of the conductive layers acts as an electrical current channel to transfer electrons involved in chemical reactions. The material of the conductive layer may be conductive, chemically inert and not participate in chemical reactions. The left conductive layer 151 or the right conductive layer 155 may respectively include a metal material such as Ni or Cu, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Each conductive layer may have extension strips to serve as electrical connectors for current flow. For example, the left conductive layer 151 may have a left negative electrical connector 151E; the right conductive layer 155 may have a right negative electrical connector 155E.

The zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors of the present invention can have multiple gas chambers, for example, a first gas chamber 103A and a second gas chamber 103B. A zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors of the present invention can have advantageously multiple air chambers for buffering purposes. In addition to improving the fuel cycle efficiency, it can also promote the function of achieving relative balance of internal pressure. The traditional battery structure with three electrical connectors only has fuel circulation channels, which cannot achieve the efficiency of fuel and gas balance circulation in terms of space. Such a structure can easily lead to excessive internal pressure of the battery, resulting in poor cycle and low cycle efficiency.

In the case of the inventive zinc-air fuel cell with six electrical connectors, the cell set can be divided into four cells or remain in a two cell configuration. In terms of electrical connectors, this configuration can be equivalent to two zinc-air fuel cells connected in series or in parallel with three electrical connectors, and the design of the configuration is optional.

In the case of multiple buffer chambers, eg four buffer chambers, this is from two separate buffer chambers. In addition to the purpose of regulating efficiency, another purpose may lie in the separate circulation of fuel and gas, so as to achieve the effect of non-synchronized circulation. For example, a non-synchronized cycle may circulate only gas to increase discharge efficiency, or alternatively only fuel to increase charge or discharge efficiency. Six or more air chambers function similarly.

As shown in FIG. 1 , a plurality of partitions can be arranged in the space. For example, a partition 161 , a partition 162 , and a partition 163 may be disposed in the left space 101 . Another partition 164 may be disposed in the right space 102 . In some embodiments, the separator 161 , the separator 162 , the separator 163 and the separator 164 may respectively include hydrophilic separators. A spacer may be disposed between two adjacent elements to isolate the two adjacent elements, and an element may be disposed between two adjacent spacers. For example, the separator 161 can be arranged between the left air electrode layer 121 and the left conductive layer 151, the separator 162 can be arranged between the left conductive layer 151 and the metal layer 130, and the separator 163 can be arranged between the metal layer 130 and the central shell. Between the body 113, the separator 164 can be arranged between the right conductive layer 155 and the right air electrode layer 122, so that the left air electrode layer 121, the left conductive layer 151 (containing the zinc material 140), the metal layer 130, and the central housing 113 , the right conductive layer 155 (containing the zinc material 140 ) and the right air electrode layer 122 are arranged separately. The separator may allow electrolyte 170 to flow therethrough.

FIG. 1A shows an exploded schematic diagram of a variant embodiment of FIG. 1 corresponding to the battery structure of the present invention. Figure 1A shows a simplified battery structure of the present invention with three electrical connectors. The battery structure with five electrical connectors 100 and the simplified battery structure with three electrical connectors 100A can share the common feature of multiple air chambers to buffer fluid circulation. The main difference between the battery structure with five electrical connectors 100A and the simplified battery structure with three electrical connectors 100A is the optional right air electrode layer 122 and the optional right conductive layer 155 . In addition, in the simplified battery structure with three electrical connectors 100A, the separator 164 may also be optional.

A simplified battery structure with three electrical connectors 100A can be used for single-sided venting applications. Simplified cell structures may be useful, for example, when one side of the cell is attached to a circuit board to limit the possibility of gas exchange. The configuration of the air electrode on one side can lead to a thinner structure, which simplifies the manufacturing process and the molding process. The cell structure with five electrical connectors 100 of double-sided air electrodes is better for more gas exchange, resulting in higher discharge efficiency.

Figure 2 shows a schematic side view of an embodiment of a zinc-air fuel cell with five electrical connectors of the present invention. Accordingly, each of the left discharge positive electrical connector 121E, the right discharge positive electrical connector 122E, the charging positive electrical connector 130E, the left negative electrical connector 151E, or the right negative electrical connector 155E can be used as the zinc air of the present invention. One of the five electrical connectors for the fuel cell. Structurally speaking, the left negative electrical connector 151E can be arranged between the left discharge positive electrical connector 121E and the charging positive electrical connector 130E; the right negative electrical connector 155E can be arranged between the charging positive electrical connector 130E and the right discharging positive electrical connector 130E. between connectors 122E.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of a zinc-air fuel cell with five electrical connectors of the present invention. Figure 4 shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a zinc-air fuel cell with five electrical connectors of the present invention. The first opening 115A or the second opening 115B may allow fluid to enter or exit the battery structure 100 . The fluid may be selected from the group consisting of gas, electrolyte and fuel. There may be holes in some housings, such as the hole 112H in the right housing 112, to assist with molding alignment, such as for insert molding.

Electrolyte 170 may be selectively filled to full level 170F, or circulated within first plenum 103A, second plenum 103B, left space 101, and right space 102, and flow through partitions, such as partitions 161, 162 , the partition 163 and the partition 164. Electrolyte 170 may be a liquid electrolyte such as an electrolytic solution including an aqueous alkaline solution. The aqueous alkaline solution may include electrolyte solutes and solvents. In some embodiments, the electrolyte solute may include a hydroxide, such as potassium hydroxide, while the solvent is, for example, water. Hydrophilic separators, e.g. Polar molecules such as water molecules, potassium ions, and hydroxide ions, such as those commercially available from DuPont, may be selectively allowed to flow through, but not zinc, although the invention is not limited thereto. The electrolyte 170 may be in contact with at least one of the air electrode layer, the metal layer 130 and the zinc material 140 such that the air electrode layer, the zinc material 140 and the metal layer 130 are respectively electrically connected to undergo a discharge reaction or a charge reaction.

5 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the zinc-air fuel cell with five electrical connectors of the present invention along line AA' of FIG. 4 in a horizontal position. FIG. 5A shows a schematic perspective view of FIG. 5 corresponding to the embodiment of the inventive zinc-air fuel cell with five electrical connectors in a horizontal position. As shown in FIG. 5 , the air electrode group 120 including the left air electrode layer 121 and the right air electrode layer 122, the metal layer 130, and the zinc material 140 accommodated in the conductive group can be arranged vertically relative to the flat surface, that is, , a stacked structure if a flat surface (not shown) for supporting the cells is used as a horizontal reference. For example, the left air electrode layer 121 may be the topmost layer, the zinc material 140 may be the bottommost layer, and the metal layer 130 may be disposed between the left air electrode layer 121 and the zinc material 140 . This novel configuration is different from the upright position of the traditional lateral arrangement.

This work is related to a fuel cell that uses zinc material and air for oxidation-reduction reaction, more specifically, this work is related to a zinc-air fuel cell, which has electrolyte and zinc material as reaction materials at the same time, and passes through five batteries. The connector is electrically connected to other external electronic products. Fuel cells can be encapsulated by insert molding/injection molding using polyresin to reduce the leakage problem of the prior art. The configuration of five electrical connectors can further facilitate the special use of two separate electrodes or single charging and simultaneous charging and discharging.

The zinc-air fuel cell with five electrical connectors of the present invention has a design of three positive electrodes and two negative electrodes, so that a single battery itself can undergo charging chemical reactions and/or discharging chemical reactions simultaneously.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of a cell assembly composed of multiple cell structures of multiple zinc-air fuel cells with five electrical connectors corresponding to the present invention. Figure 6A shows a schematic side view corresponding to Figure 6 of the present invention. FIG. 6B shows a schematic top view corresponding to FIG. 6 of the present work. A battery assembly may include two or more battery structures of the present invention. For example, battery assembly 200 may include twelve battery structures, such as battery structure 201, battery structure 202, battery structure 203, battery structure 204, battery structure 205, battery structure 206, battery structure 207, battery structure 208, battery structure 209, Battery structure 210, battery structure 211, battery structure 212, but the invention is not limited thereto. At least one cell structure in cell assembly 200 may correspond to a zinc-air fuel cell with five electrical connectors of the present invention.

A battery structure, taking the battery structure 201 as an example, may include a casing 115 for accommodating the first opening 115A and the second opening 115B, the right air electrode layer 122 of the air electrode group 120, the left discharge positive electrode connector 121E, the right discharge positive electrode Connector 122E, charging positive electrical connector 130E, left negative electrical connector 151E, and right negative electrical connector 155E, but the invention is not limited thereto. For simplicity, similar element symbols in other battery structures are omitted. For a detailed description of the battery structure, please refer to the above description.

The battery structures in the battery assembly 200 may be connected to each other. In some embodiments, one battery structure may be electrically connected to another battery structure in parallel. In some embodiments, one battery structure may be electrically connected in series to another battery structure. In addition, openings in adjacent cell structures may be interconnected. Adjacent openings can be connected by connecting pipes. For example, two adjacent openings can be connected by a connecting tube. 6 shows that the battery assembly 200 may include a connecting pipe 210A, a connecting pipe 210B, a connecting pipe 210C, a connecting pipe 210D, a connecting pipe 210E, a connecting pipe 210F, a connecting pipe 210G, a connecting pipe 210H, a connecting pipe 210I, a connecting pipe 210J and a connecting pipe 210K, but this creation is not limited to this. For example, the second opening 115B of the battery structure 201 and the second opening 115B' of the battery structure 202 are connected by the connection tube 210E. Similarly, the battery structure The first opening 115A of the battery structure 201 and the first opening 115A' of the battery structure 202 are connected by the connecting pipe 210F. Other adjacent openings in the battery structure can be connected in a similar manner.

In addition, the battery assembly 200 may include a circulation tube set 220 to allow fluid to be distributed to at least one of the battery structures through connecting tubes. The fluid may be selected from the group consisting of gas, electrolyte and fuel. For example, the circulation tube set 220 may include a source circulation tube and a drain circulation tube. The source circulation tube may allow fluid to enter the battery assembly 200 , while the drain circulation tube may allow fluid to exit the battery assembly 200 .

FIG. 6 shows that the battery assembly 200 may include a first circulation pipe 221 and a second circulation pipe 222 . If the first circulation pipe 221 is a source circulation pipe, the second pipe may be a corresponding discharge circulation pipe. Alternatively, if the first circulation pipe 221 is a discharge circulation pipe, the second pipe may be a corresponding source circulation pipe. For example, if the fluid enters the battery structure 201 of the battery assembly 200 through the second circulation pipe 222, the fluid may first flow through the first air chamber (not shown), the second air chamber (not shown), the left space of the battery structure 201 ( not shown) and the right space (not shown), then enter battery structure 202, battery structure 203, battery structure 204, battery structure 205, battery structure 206, battery structure 207, battery structure 208, battery structure 209, battery structure 210, battery Structure 211, the first air chamber (not shown), the second air chamber (not shown), the left space (not shown) and the right space (not shown) of the battery structure 212, and then through the first circulation pipe 221 of the battery structure 212 And leave the battery assembly 200, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

In addition, battery assembly 200 may be equipped with one or more regulating devices to facilitate fluid regulation and/or circulation within and/or between at least one battery structure through connecting tubes. For example, the regulating device may include a fuel tank 230 and a circulation pump 233, but the invention is not limited thereto. The circulation pump 233 can be used as a transmission device to promote the circulation of the fluid, or to promote the fluid to be distributed in the battery assembly 200 The adjustment of the fluid volume in, but the invention is not limited to this. The fuel tank 230 may provide the battery assembly 200 with chemicals, such as electrolytes, zinc materials, and combinations thereof, to buffer chemical reactions.

In some embodiments, the battery structure 100 of the present invention may further include an optional delivery device, such as a circulation pump 233 . Optional circulation pump 233 may help regulate the presence or absence of electrolyte 170 in battery structure 100, or further assist in activating or deactivating predetermined chemical reactions. In the absence of sufficient electrolyte 170 in the battery structure 100, predetermined chemical reactions may optionally be stopped or deactivated as substantially as possible to overcome problems in conventional batteries or conventional batteries. The input or output of fluid adjustable by the circulating pump 233 can change the height of the electrolyte 170 in at least one space, so that the electrolyte 170 can contact different elements in at least one of the spaces, thereby changing the state of the battery structure 100 of the present invention. This is one of the features of the battery structure 100 of the present invention.

The transport device may be connected to the space or plenum to regulate the entry or exit of fluids, such as the entry or exit of gas and/or electrolyte 170 . In addition, the transport device can adjust the height of the electrolyte 170 in the space. This height allows the electrolyte 170 to be in contact with the air electrode set 120 (eg, the left air electrode layer 121 or the right air electrode layer 122 ), the metal layer 130 or the zinc material 140 to determine the activation or deactivation of a predetermined chemical reaction. This method can avoid undesired self-discharging or charging reactions of the zinc-air fuel cell with five electrical connectors of the present invention when the battery structure 100 is in storage or not in use, and further avoids damage to the internal structure in the space or surface spalling, thereby prolonging the shelf life or service life of the zinc-air fuel cell with five electrical connectors of the present invention.

In some embodiments, if the first air chamber 103A, the second air chamber 103B, the left space 101 and the right space 102 are interconnected, the transport device can adjust the electrolyte 170 to enter through the first air chamber 103A and/or the second air chamber 103B The input of left space 101 and right space 102 . For example, the delivery device can provide the battery structure 100 with at least one of the zinc material 140 and the electrolyte 170 under controlled conditions to increase the The volume of electrolyte 170 in 100, optionally up to full level 170F (as shown in Figure 4). The increase in the volume of the electrolyte 170 results in an increase in the height of the electrolyte 170 in the left space 101 and the right space 102 .

In some embodiments, if the first air chamber 103A, the second air chamber 103B, the left space 101 and the right space 102 are interconnected, the transfer device can adjust at least one of the zinc material 140 and the electrolyte 170 from the left space 101 to the right space. 102 through the output of the first plenum 103A and/or the second plenum 103B. For example, the delivery device may expel at least one of the zinc material 140 and the electrolyte 170 out of the battery structure 100 under controlled conditions to reduce the volume of the at least one of the zinc material 140 and the electrolyte 170 in the battery structure 100 . The volume reduction of the electrolyte 170 may result in a reduction in the height of the electrolyte 170 in the left space 101 and the right space 102 .

In some embodiments, if the first air chamber 103A, the second air chamber 103B, the left space 101 and the right space 102 are connected to each other, the transmission device can regulate the flow of gas through the first air chamber 103A and/or the second air chamber 103B. Input into left space 101 and into right space 102 . The gas may include at least one of oxygen and air. For example, the delivery device may provide the cell structure 100 with gas under controlled conditions to facilitate activation or continuation of a predetermined chemical reaction.

In some embodiments, if the first air chamber 103A, the second air chamber 103B, the left space 101 and the right space 102 are interconnected, the transmission device can adjust the gas from the left space 101 and from the right space 102 to pass through the first air chamber 103A And/or the output of the second gas chamber 103B. The gas may include at least one of oxygen, air, oxygen-depleted air, and oxygen-depleted air. For example, the delivery device may vent gases from the cell structure 100 under controlled conditions to facilitate continuation, deactivation, or inhibition of a predetermined chemical reaction.

In some embodiments, the height of the electrolyte 170 can adjust the state of the battery structure 100 of the present invention. The state may include activation of a charge reaction, activation of a discharge reaction, deactivation of a discharge reaction, and deactivation of a predetermined chemical reaction.

For example, when the height of the electrolyte 170 is such that the electrolyte 170 is in contact with the air electrode group 120 (such as the left air electrode layer 121 or the right air electrode layer 122) and with the metal layer 130 and the zinc material 140 at the same time, the battery structure 100 can be activated for Discharge response.

For example, when the height of the electrolyte 170 is such that the electrolyte 170 is in contact with the air electrode group 120 (such as the left air electrode layer 121 or the right air electrode layer 122), the metal layer 130 and the zinc material 140 simultaneously, the battery structure 100 can be activated for charging reaction.

For example, when the height of the electrolyte 170 is such that the electrolyte 170 is in contact with the air electrode group 120 (such as the left air electrode layer 121 or the right air electrode layer 122 ) and the zinc material 140 at the same time, the battery structure 100 can be activated for the discharge reaction.

For example, when the height of the electrolyte 170 is such that the electrolyte 170 is in contact with the metal layer 130 and the zinc material 140 simultaneously, the battery structure 100 can be activated for a charging reaction.

For example, when the electrolyte 170 is in exclusive contact with only one of the air electrode group 120 (such as the left air electrode layer 121 or the right air electrode layer 122), the metal layer 130, and the zinc material 140, the battery structure 100 can be deactivated for chemical reaction.

This invention can make at least one of the zinc material 140 and the electrolytic solution 170 input or output through the transmission device to the zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors of the present invention, thereby promoting the replacement or renewal of the zinc material 140 or the electrolytic solution 170 operation process to double the efficiency of the operation process.

The zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors of the invention can improve the reaction efficiency and charging and discharging performance of the fuel cell.

In some embodiments, the fuel tank 230 may have an air hole 230G, a fuel outlet 231O, and a fuel inlet 232I. Air holes 230G may help to equalize gas pressure in fuel tank 230 . For example, excess gas in the fuel tank 230 may be discharged through the air hole 230G. The fuel outlet 231O may be connected to the fuel pipe 231, The fuel pipe 231 is connected to the first circulation pipe 221 . The fuel inlet 232I may be connected to another fuel pipe 232 connected to a circulation pump 233 .

In some embodiments, the circulation pump 233 may have a fuel outlet 232O and a fuel inlet 222I. Fuel outlet 232O may be connected to fuel tube 232, which is connected to fuel inlet 232I. The fuel inlet 222I may be connected to the second circulation pipe 222 . The electrolyte and/or zinc material can pass through the fuel pipe 231 from the fuel outlet 231O of the fuel tank 230 along the circulation direction 233D, and enter the first circulation pipe 221 of the battery assembly 200 . The electrolyte and/or zinc material can pass through the second circulation pipe 222 from the second opening 115B of the battery assembly 200 along the circulation direction 233D, and enter the fuel inlet 222I of the circulation pump 233 . The electrolyte and/or zinc material can return from the fuel outlet 232O of the circulation pump 233 to the fuel inlet 232I of the fuel tank 230 through the fuel pipe 232 to complete the entire cycle.

As mentioned above, the multiple electrical connectors of the zinc-air fuel cell according to the present invention will enable the fuel cell to perform charging and discharging functions simultaneously. That is, the zinc-air fuel cell according to the present creation is capable of sending the electric energy stored in the fuel cell to a load that dissipates or otherwise consumes the electric energy through the discharging function, while being charged by an external power source through the charging function to restore or The electrical energy stored in the fuel cell is supplemented in other ways. The unique feature of performing both charging and discharging functions simultaneously makes fuel cells according to the present disclosure a versatile and advantageous power source choice for many practical applications over existing alternative technologies that typically require the fuel cell to stop functioning before recharging. load, and inevitably interrupt the action. For example, a transportation vehicle that uses such a battery as its primary power source, such as an electric moped or scooter, will need to interrupt its drive when the battery is low and the battery does not support simultaneous charging and discharging, and recharge at the charging station. or battery replacement station to recharge or replace the battery. In contrast, a fuel cell according to the present disclosure will enable an electric moped to continue driving while the fuel cell is charged by an external power source, such as mounted on the moped and electrically coupled to Solar panels to fuel cells. In this way, the moped is able to achieve a longer range than would otherwise be possible without interrupting its travel for battery charging or replacement.

Another advantageous example that can take advantage of the unique features of the simultaneous charge/discharge capabilities of the fuel cells of the present disclosure are flying drones. Flying drones are used in an ever-increasing range of applications, including surveillance, delivery, agriculture, entertainment, and more, and longer-duration flying drones (i.e., the time intervals a drone can remain in the air) are almost always used in a variety of applications. preferred. The trade-off is obvious when drones try to extend flight time by using large batteries, which are inevitably heavier, which is not conducive to long-duration flights. However, with the fuel cell of the present creation, an external power source can be used to charge the fuel cell while the fuel cell powers the propellers of the flying drone. For example, a flying drone could be equipped with one or more generators, such as wind turbines, capable of generating electricity from the wind or airflow passing over the wind turbines while the drone is in the air. The electricity generated by the turbine generator can charge the fuel cell through the charging operation, and the fuel cell drives the propeller of the drone through the discharging operation to make the drone fly. Various methods of simultaneously charging and discharging a fuel cell of the present disclosure are described in further detail below.

As shown in FIGS. 1 , 2 and 3 , the fuel cell 100 (ie, the cell structure 100 ) has five electrical connectors, namely 130E, 151E, 155E, 121E and 122E. The electrical connector 130E is electrically coupled to the metal layer 130 , which is the positive terminal of the fuel cell 100 , when the fuel cell 100 is performing a charging function. Electrical connector 121E is electrically coupled to left air electrode layer 121 , and electrical connector 122E is electrically coupled to right air electrode layer 122 . When the fuel cell 100 performs the discharge function, both the left air electrode layer 121 and the right air electrode layer 122 serve as positive electrodes of the fuel cell 100 . Specifically, when the fuel cell 100 discharges the electrolyte 170 in the left space 101, the left air electrode layer 121 serves as a positive electrode for the discharge operation, and when the fuel cell 100 discharges the electrolyte 170 in the right space 102, the right air electrode layer 122 serves as the positive electrode for the discharge operation. In addition, when the fuel When the battery 100 performs one or both of the charging and discharging functions, each of the electrical connectors 151E and 155E is electrically coupled to the zinc material 140 , which is the negative electrode of the fuel cell 100 . Specifically, electrical connector 151E is electrically coupled to zinc material 140 that is in contact with or near left conductive layer 151 that serves as a negative electrode when fuel cell 100 discharges electrolyte 170 within left space 101 . Similarly, electrical connector 155E is electrically coupled to zinc material 140 that is in contact with or proximate to right conductive layer 155 that acts as a negative electrode when fuel cell 100 discharges electrolyte 170 within right volume 102 .

It can be seen that the fuel cell 100 can be modeled by the two batteries shown in FIG. 7 or conceptually regarded as two batteries, each of the two batteries corresponds to each electrochemical reactions that take place inside. Specifically, FIG. 7 shows a two-cell circuit model 700 of a fuel cell 100 having a cell 701 corresponding to the electrochemical (i.e. charging and discharging) reactions occurring in the left space 101 and a cell 702 corresponding to the right space 102. electrochemical reactions that take place inside. Each of batteries 701 and 702 has two different positive nodes or terminals, one for charging operation and the other for discharging operation. The positive charging node of battery 701 and the positive charging node of battery 702 are coupled together to electrode 130E of fuel cell 100 because left volume 101 and right volume 102 share a common metal layer, metal layer 130 . The positive discharge node of cell 701 is coupled to electrode 121E of fuel cell 100 , while the positive discharge node of cell 702 is coupled to electrode 122E of fuel cell 100 . Additionally, each of the batteries 701 and 702 has a negative node or terminal for the charging and discharging functions of the respective battery. The negative electrode of cell 701 is coupled to electrode 151E of fuel cell 100 , while the negative electrode of cell 702 is coupled to electrode 155E of fuel cell 100 .

When the fuel cell 100 performs both a charging function (ie, a charging operation) and a discharging function (ie, a discharging operation), the fuel cell 100 may be placed in one of two different configurations. Specifically, fuel cell 100 may be configured such that cells 701 and 702 are connected in parallel or in series when performing a discharging function, as described below.

Figure 8A shows a configuration 800 of fuel cell 100 in which cells 701 and 702 are connected in parallel because fuel cell 100 performs both a discharging function and a charging function. Specifically, when the fuel cell 100 is placed in the configuration 800, the fuel cell 100 drives an electric load 820 (for example, a motor) through a discharging operation, while the fuel cell 100 is charged through a charging operation, that is, receiving power from an external power source 810 (such as , solar panels) to generate electricity. As shown in FIG. 8A, cells 701 and 702 are connected in parallel when they are driving load 820 with current 825 (i.e., fuel cell 100 is performing a discharge function) because electrodes 121E and 122E are electrically coupled at the same potential, while electrodes 151E and 151E are electrically coupled at the same potential. 155E is also electrically coupled at the same potential. At the same time, when the batteries 701 and 702 receive current 815 from the external power source 810, they are connected in parallel (ie, the fuel cell 100 is performing a charging function). Since the batteries 701 and 702 are connected in parallel when driving the load 820, the potential of the positive and negative terminals of the load 820 is basically equal to the terminal voltage of the battery 701 (that is, the voltage difference between the electrodes 121E and 151E), which is also equal to the voltage of the battery 701. 702 (ie, the voltage difference between electrodes 122E and 155E). For example, the terminal voltage of the battery 701 and the terminal voltage of the battery 702 may be approximately 12 volts (V), which is also the voltage applied across the load 820 by the fuel cell 100 .

Figure 8B shows a configuration 805 of the fuel cell 100 in which the cells 701 and 702 are connected in series because the fuel cell 100 performs a discharging function and the fuel cell 100 also performs a charging function at the same time. Specifically, when the fuel cell 100 is placed in the configuration 805, the fuel cell 100 drives an electric load 820 (for example, a motor) through a discharging operation, while the fuel cell 100 is charged through a charging operation, that is, receiving power from the external power sources 830 and 840 (e.g., solar panels) to generate electricity. As shown in FIG. 8B, cells 701 and 702 are connected in series because they are driving load 820 with current 826 (i.e., fuel cell 100 is performing a discharge function) because electrodes 151E and 122E are electrically coupled together at the same potential, and electrodes 121E and 155E are electrically coupled to the positive and negative terminals of load 820, respectively. At this time, when the fuel cell 100 simultaneously performs the charging function, the batteries 701 and 702 are connected in quasi-parallel connection. That is, although batteries 701 and 702 have coupling Together their respective positive charge terminals (ie, electrode 130E) and their negative charge terminals (ie, electrode 151E and electrode 155E) are not electrically coupled together. Specifically, in configuration 805, the positive charging terminals of batteries 701 and 702 are electrically coupled together through electrode 130E to both a first external power source (i.e., external power source 830) and a second external power source (i.e., external power source 840) The positive terminals of batteries 701 and 702 (ie, electrodes 151E and 155E) are not electrically coupled together. As shown in FIG. 8B , electrode 151E is electrically coupled to the negative terminal of external power source 830 , and electrode 155E is electrically coupled to the negative terminal of external power source 840 . Therefore, when the fuel cell 100 performs the charging operation, the battery 701 is charged by the current 835 generated by the external power source 830 , and the battery 702 is charged by the current 845 generated by the external power source 840 . Meanwhile, the fuel cell 100 performs a discharging operation by driving a load 820 with a current 826 generated by the batteries 701 and 702 . Since the batteries 701 and 702 are connected in series, the potential across the positive and negative terminals of the load 820 is substantially equal to the terminal voltage of the battery 701 (i.e., the voltage difference between the electrodes 121E and 151E) and the voltage difference between the battery 702 (i.e., the voltage difference between the electrodes 122E and 155E) ) sum of terminal voltages. For example, each of the terminal voltage of the battery 701 and the terminal voltage of the battery 702 may be about 12 volts (V), so the voltage applied by the fuel cell 100 to the load 820 may be about 12V+12V=24V.

FIG. 9 shows a schematic perspective view of the fuel cell 100 . FIG. 9 is basically the same as the perspective view of the fuel cell 100 shown in FIG. 3 , only having a different orientation, ie, an upright orientation. The upright direction of the fuel cell 100 is consistent with the direction of the cell assembly 200 shown in FIG. 6 , wherein a plurality of fuel cells 100 can be used to represent one, a plurality or all of the cell structures 201-212. Notably, the upright position of fuel cell 100 as shown in FIG. 6 allows gas chambers 103A and 103B, as shown in FIG. , guide or otherwise buffer the gas circulation and electrolyte circulation inside the fuel cell 100, so that the internal pressure of the fuel cell 100 can be are adjusted and balanced accordingly to facilitate electrolyte circulation within each of the plurality of fuel cells 100 of the cell assembly 200, as described elsewhere in this disclosure.

10A shows a schematic diagram of wiring configuration 1091 showing how fuel cell 100 may be wired or otherwise electrically coupled to one or more charging devices and one or more electrical loads to implement configuration 800 of FIG. 8A , wherein battery 701 and 702 is configured to be connected in parallel for charging operation and discharging operation of the fuel cell 100 . Compared to the perspective view of fuel cell 100 in FIG. 3 , electrode 122E shown in FIG. 10A is folded approximately 90 degrees toward electrode 121E such that electrode 122E is shorted to electrode 121E. Similarly, electrode 155E is folded approximately 90 degrees toward electrode 151E such that electrode 155E is shorted to electrode 151E. In addition, the external power source 810 is electrically coupled to the fuel cell 100 through a pair of wires 1011 and 1012 , and the load 820 is electrically coupled to the fuel cell 100 through a pair of wires 1021 and 1022 . Specifically, wire 1011 couples the positive terminal of external power supply 810 to electrode 130E of fuel cell 100 , while wire 1012 couples the negative terminal of external power supply 810 to electrode 151E of fuel cell 100 (and thus also electrically connects to electrode 155E). In addition, lead 1021 couples the positive terminal of load 820 to electrode 121E of fuel cell 100 (and is therefore also electrically connected to electrode 122E), while lead 1022 couples the negative terminal of load 820 to electrode 151E of fuel cell 100 (and is therefore also electrically connected to electrode 151E of fuel cell 100). electrode 155E).

Shorting of electrodes 121E and 122E and shorting of electrodes 151E and 155E are required to place fuel cell 100 in configuration 800 . Instead of folding down electrodes 122E and 155E to short circuit electrodes 121E and 151E, respectively, other shorting mechanisms may be employed. For example, electrodes 121E and 122E may be shorted by an electrical conductor such as a wire, and electrodes 151E and 155E may likewise be shorted. As another example, a metal (e.g., nickel) or other conductive sheet can be made into an L-shaped sheet and used as a common electrode instead of electrodes 121E and 122E, so that the left air electrode layer 121 and the right air electrode layer 121 of the fuel cell 100 can be connected to each other. Layer 122 is shorted. same Specifically, an L-shaped metal sheet or conductor can be used as a common electrode instead of the electrodes 151E and 155E, thereby short-circuiting the left conductive layer 151 and the right conductive layer 155 of the fuel cell 100 .

FIG. 10B shows a schematic diagram of wiring configuration 1092 showing how fuel cell 100 may be wired or otherwise electrically coupled to one or more charging devices and one or more electrical loads to implement configuration 805 of FIG. 8B , wherein battery 701 and 702 is configured to be connected in series for the discharge operation of the fuel cell 100 and connected in pseudo-parallel for the charge operation of the fuel cell 100 . As shown in FIG. 10B , electrode 151E is electrically coupled to electrode 122E using wire 1051 . External power source 830 is electrically coupled to fuel cell 100 via a pair of wires 1031 and 1032 , and external power source 840 is electrically coupled to fuel cell 100 via a pair of wires 1041 and 1042 . Specifically, wire 1031 couples the positive terminal of external power source 830 to electrode 130E of fuel cell 100 , while wire 1032 couples the negative terminal of external power source 830 to electrode 151E of fuel cell 100 . Likewise, wire 1041 couples the positive terminal of external power source 840 to electrode 130E of fuel cell 100 , while wire 1042 couples the negative terminal of external power source 840 to electrode 155E of fuel cell 100 . In addition, the load 820 is electrically coupled to the fuel cell 100 via a pair of wires 1021 and 1023 . Specifically, lead 1021 couples the positive terminal of load 820 to electrode 121E of fuel cell 100 , while lead 1023 couples the negative terminal of load 820 to electrode 155E of fuel cell 100 .

Equivalent configurations to those shown in Figures 8B and 10B are readily obtained by exchanging batteries 701 and 702 in the configuration. An equivalent configuration is shown in FIG. 10C as wiring configuration 1093 , where cells 701 and 702 are configured in series connection for discharge operation of fuel cell 100 and in pseudo-parallel connection for charge operation of fuel cell 100 . As shown in FIG. 10C , wire 1052 is used to electrically couple electrode 121E and electrode 155E. The connections between the fuel cell 100 and the external power sources 830 and 840 remain the same as in FIG. 10B . Load 820 is electrically coupled to fuel cell 100 via a pair of wires 1024 and 1022 . Specifically, guide Wire 1024 couples the positive terminal of load 820 to electrode 122E of fuel cell 100 , while wire 1022 couples the negative terminal of load 820 to electrode 151E of fuel cell 100 .

FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of an example process 1100 for simultaneously performing a charging function and a discharging function using a fuel cell. Process 1100 may employ fuel cell 100 to implement charge-discharge configuration 800 of FIG. 8A , wherein fuel cell 100 sends current 825 to load 820 by performing a discharge function and receives current 815 from external power source 810 by performing a charge function. Process 1100 may wire fuel cell 100 with one or more charging devices and one or more electrical loads, such as how fuel cell 100 is wired as shown in FIG. 10A . Process 1100 may include blocks 1110 , 1120 , 1130 , 1140 , 1150 , and 1160 . Process 1100 may begin at block 1110 .

At block 1110, process 1100 includes providing a fuel cell capable of performing both charging and discharging functions. For example, at block 1110 a fuel cell 100 may be provided. The fuel cell may include a case forming an internal space of the fuel cell, and a plurality of gas chambers (for example, gas chambers 103A and 103B) disposed in the space. The fuel cell may further include a first air electrode layer and a second air electrode layer (for example, the left air electrode layer 121 and the right air electrode layer 122 ) disposed in the space. Each of the first air electrode layer and the second air electrode layer may serve as a positive electrode for a discharge function of the fuel cell. The fuel cell may also include a metal layer (eg, metal layer 130 ) disposed in the space. The metal layer can serve as the positive electrode for the charging function of the fuel cell. The fuel cell may also include a zinc material (eg, zinc material 140 ) disposed within the space. The zinc material can be used as the negative electrode of the charging and discharging functions of the fuel cell. In some embodiments, the fuel cell may further include a first conductive layer and a second conductive layer (for example, the left conductive layer 151 and the right conductive layer 155), which are respectively arranged on opposite sides of the metal layer 130, wherein the zinc material is A central recessed area (eg, left groove 154 or right groove 158 ) is disposed in each of the first and second conductive layers. The fuel cell may also include a plurality of separators (such as separators 161 , 162 , 163 and 164 ) disposed in the space. complex Several separators are respectively arranged between the air electrode layer, the zinc material and the metal layer, so that the first and second air electrode layers, the first and second conductive layers and the metal layer are arranged separately. Finally, the fuel cell may also include an electrolyte (eg, electrolyte 170 ) disposed within the space. The electrolyte is capable of flowing through the separator and in contact with the first and second air electrode layers, the metal layer and the zinc material such that the air electrode layer, the zinc material and the metal layer are respectively electrically connected. Additionally, the electrolyte is disposed within the space via at least one of a plurality of gas chambers configured to pass through but not contain the electrolyte. Furthermore, the electrolyte is arranged in the space up to a level below the plurality of gas cells. Process 1100 may proceed from block 1110 to block 1120 .

At block 1120, process 1100 includes providing a charging device (eg, external power source 810), where the charging device has a positive terminal and a negative terminal. Process 1100 may proceed from block 1120 to block 1130 .

At block 1130 , process 1100 includes providing an electrical load (eg, load 820 ), where the load has a positive terminal and a negative terminal. Process 1100 may proceed from block 1130 to block 1140 .

At block 1140 , process 1100 includes electrically coupling the positive terminal of the charging device to a metal layer of the fuel cell. For example, as shown in configuration 800 , the positive terminal of external power source 810 is electrically coupled to electrode 130E, which in turn is electrically coupled to metal layer 130 of fuel cell 100 . Process 1100 may proceed from block 1140 to block 1150 .

At block 1150 , process 1100 includes electrically coupling the positive terminal of the load to each of the first and second air electrode layers of the fuel cell. For example, as shown in configuration 800 , the positive terminal of load 820 is electrically coupled to electrode 121E, which in turn is electrically coupled to left air electrode layer 121 . In addition, the positive terminal of load 820 is also electrically coupled to electrode 122E, which in turn is electrically coupled to right air electrode layer 122 . Process 1100 may proceed from block 1150 to block 1160 .

At block 1160 , process 1100 includes electrically coupling the negative terminal of the charging device and the negative terminal of the load to the zinc material of the fuel cell. For example, as shown in configuration 800, the negative terminal of external power supply 810 is Electrically coupled to both electrode 151E and electrode 155E, which in turn are electrically coupled to zinc material 140 of fuel cell 100 via left conductive layer 151 and right conductive layer 155, respectively. In addition, the negative terminal of load 820 is also electrically coupled to both electrode 151E and electrode 155E.

Following process 1100, the fuel cell is configured to simultaneously perform a charging function and a discharging function according to the configuration 800 of FIG. 8A. Specifically, the fuel cell is configured to perform a charging function by receiving a current (eg, current 815 ) from a charging device. At the same time, the fuel cell performs a discharge function by sending a current (eg, current 825 ) to a load (eg, load 820 of FIG. 8A ).

FIG. 12 shows a flowchart of an example process 1200 for simultaneously performing charging and discharging functions using a fuel cell. Process 1200 may employ fuel cell 100 to implement charge-discharge configuration 805 of FIG. 8B , wherein fuel cell 100 sends current 826 to load 820 by performing a discharge function, while simultaneously drawing current from external sources 830 and 840 respectively by performing a charge function. Current 835 and 845 are received. Process 1200 may wire fuel cell 100 with one or more charging devices and one or more electrical loads, such as how fuel cell 100 is wired as shown in FIG. 10B or FIG. 10C . Process 1200 may include blocks 1210 , 1220 , 1230 , 1240 , 1250 , 1260 , 1270 , and 1280 . Process 1200 may begin at block 1210 .

At block 1210, process 1200 includes providing a fuel cell capable of performing both charging and discharging functions. For example, at block 1210 a fuel cell 100 may be provided. The fuel cell may include a case forming an internal space of the fuel cell, and a plurality of gas chambers (for example, gas chambers 103A and 103B) disposed in the space. The fuel cell may also include a metal layer (eg, metal layer 130 ) disposed in the space. The metal layer can serve as the positive electrode for the charging function of the fuel cell. The fuel cell may further include a first air electrode layer and a second air electrode layer (eg, left air electrode layer 121 and right air electrode layer 122 ), disposed within the space and on opposite sides of the metal layer. Each of the first air electrode layer and the second air electrode layer can serve as a positive electrode for the discharge function of the fuel cell. Fuel cells may also include Zinc material (eg, zinc material 140). The zinc material can be used as the negative electrode of the charging and discharging functions of the fuel cell. In some embodiments, the fuel cell may further include a first conductive layer and a second conductive layer (for example, the left conductive layer 151 and the right conductive layer 155), which are respectively arranged on opposite sides of the metal layer 130, wherein the zinc material is A central recessed area (eg, left groove 154 or right groove 158 ) is disposed in each of the first and second conductive layers. Specifically, the first conductive layer may be disposed between the metal layer and the first air electrode layer, and the second conductive layer may be disposed between the metal layer and the second air electrode layer. The fuel cell may also include a plurality of separators (such as separators 161 , 162 , 163 and 164 ) disposed in the space. A plurality of separators are respectively arranged between the air electrode layer, the first and second conductive layers and the metal layer, so that the first and second air electrode layers, the first and second conductive layers and the metal layer are arranged separately. Finally, the fuel cell may also include an electrolyte (eg, electrolyte 170 ) disposed within the space. The electrolyte is capable of flowing through the separator and in contact with the first and second air electrode layers, the metal layer and the zinc material such that the air electrode layer, the zinc material and the metal layer are respectively electrically connected. Additionally, the electrolyte is disposed within the space via at least one of a plurality of gas chambers configured to pass through but not contain the electrolyte. Furthermore, the electrolyte is arranged in the space up to a level below the plurality of gas cells. Process 1200 may proceed from block 1210 to block 1220 .

At block 1220, process 1200 includes providing a first charging device (e.g., external power source 830) and a second charging device (e.g., external power source 840), wherein each of the first and second charging devices has a positive terminal and a negative terminal . Process 1200 may proceed from block 1220 to block 1230 .

At block 1230, process 1200 includes providing a load (eg, load 820), where the load has a positive terminal and a negative terminal. Process 1200 may proceed from block 1230 to block 1240 .

At block 1240, process 1200 includes electrically coupling the positive terminal of each of the first and second charging devices to a metal layer of the fuel cell. For example, as shown in configuration 805, the positive terminal of external power supply 830 and the positive terminal of the external power source 840 , both electrically coupled to the electrode 130E, which in turn is electrically coupled to the metal layer 130 of the fuel cell 100 . Process 1200 may proceed from block 1240 to block 1250 .

At block 1250 , process 1200 includes electrically coupling the positive terminal of the load to the first air electrode layer of the fuel cell. For example, as shown in configuration 805 , the positive terminal of load 820 is electrically coupled to electrode 121E, which in turn is electrically coupled to left air electrode layer 121 . Process 1200 may proceed from block 1250 to block 1260 .

At block 1260, process 1200 includes electrically coupling the negative terminal of the first charging device to the zinc material disposed in the central recessed region of the first conductive layer of the fuel cell. For example, as shown in configuration 805 , the negative terminal of external power source 830 is electrically coupled to electrode 151E, which in turn is electrically coupled to zinc material 140 disposed in left groove 154 of left conductive layer 151 of fuel cell 100 . Process 1200 may proceed from block 1260 to block 1270 .

At block 1270, the process 1200 includes electrically coupling the negative terminal of the second charging device and the negative terminal of the load to the zinc material disposed in the central recessed area of the second conductive layer of the fuel cell. For example, as shown in configuration 805 , the negative terminal of external power source 840 is electrically coupled to electrode 155E, which in turn is electrically coupled to zinc material 140 disposed in right recess 158 of right conductive layer 155 of fuel cell 100 . In addition, the negative terminal of load 820 is also electrically coupled to electrode 155E. Process 1200 may proceed from block 1270 to block 1280 .

At block 1280, process 1200 includes electrically coupling the second air electrode layer of the fuel cell to the zinc material disposed in the central recessed region of the first conductive layer of the fuel cell. For example, as shown in configuration 805, electrode 122E electrically coupled to right air electrode layer 122 is electrically coupled to electrode 151E, which is electrically coupled to the zinc material disposed in left groove 154 of left conductive layer 151 of fuel cell 100 140.

Following process 1200, the fuel cell is configured to simultaneously perform a charging function and a discharging function according to configuration 805 of FIG. 8B. Specifically, the fuel cell is configured to receive a first current (eg, current 835 ) from a first charging device (eg, external power source 830 ) and by receiving a current from The second current (eg, current 845 ) of the second charging device (eg, external power source 840 ) performs the charging function. At the same time, the fuel cell performs a discharge function by sending a current (eg, current 826 ) to a load (eg, load 820 of FIG. 8B ).

For some applications, two or more fuel cells described elsewhere herein may be combined into a cell assembly, similar to how fuel cells 201-212 are combined or otherwise integrally formed in cell assembly 200, wherein two or more of the cell assembly A plurality of fuel cells jointly perform the charging function and the discharging function simultaneously. 13 shows a charging-discharging wiring configuration including a battery assembly 1300 , a plurality of charging devices 1310 ( 01 ), 1310 ( 02 ), . . . The cell assembly 1300 includes twelve fuel cells 1301 - 1312 arranged in a stacked structure, as shown in FIG. 13 . Each of the twelve fuel cells 1301 - 1312 can be implemented by the fuel cell 100 configured in the charge-discharge configuration 800 . That is, each of the fuel cells 1301-1312 is wired according to the wiring configuration 1091 of FIG. 10A, except in FIG. As shown in FIG. 13 , each of the fuel cells 1301 to 1312 has its electrode 122E folded toward the electrode 121E and thus short-circuited to the electrode 121E. In addition, each of the fuel cells 1301 to 1312 has a corresponding electrode 155E shorted to the electrode 151E in a similar manner. For example, electrode 155E of fuel cell 1301, labeled 155E(01) in the figure, is shorted to electrode 151E of fuel cell 1301, labeled 151E(01). In addition, the electrode 122E of the fuel cell 1301 labeled 122E(01) is short-circuited with the electrode 121E of the fuel cell 1301 labeled 121E(01). Likewise, electrode 155E of fuel cell 1302 labeled 155E(02) is shorted to electrode 151E of fuel cell 1302 labeled 151E(02). Electrode 122E of fuel cell 1302 labeled 122E(02) is shorted to electrode 121E of fuel cell 1302 labeled 121E(02). That is, the left conductive layer 151 of each of the fuel cells 1301-1312 is electrically coupled to the corresponding right conductive layer 155, and the fuel The left air electrode layer 121 of each of the cells 1301 - 1312 is electrically coupled to the corresponding right air electrode layer 122 .

In addition, the battery assembly 1300 includes a plurality of wires for connecting a plurality of batteries, that is, electrical connection between every adjacent two of the fuel cells 1301 - 1312 . Specifically, for each of fuel cells 1301-1311, a corresponding electrode 155E is electrically coupled to electrode 122E of a subsequent fuel cell in the stack. For example, wire 1340(01) is used to electrically couple electrode 155E (labeled 155E(01) in the figure) of fuel cell 1301 to electrode 122E (labeled 122E(02)) of fuel cell 1302. Likewise, wire 1340 ( 02 ) is used to electrically couple electrode 155E of fuel cell 1302 , labeled 155E ( 02 ), to electrode 122E of fuel cell 1303 , labeled 122E ( 03 ). In this way, an inter-cell connection is performed for every two adjacent fuel cells of the cell assembly 1300, the final inter-cell connection being via the electrode 155E of the fuel cell 1311, designated 155E(11), with the electrode 155E, designated 122E(12). The wire 1340 (11) between the electrodes 122E of the fuel cell 1312 is achieved. Accordingly, cell assembly 1300 includes a total of eleven inter-cell connections across fuel cells 1301-1312. That is to say, the total number of inter-cell connecting wires, ie wires 1340(01)-1340(11), is one (1) less than the total number of fuel cells in battery assembly 1300, ie, fuel cells 1301-1312. The eleven inter-cell connections essentially connect the fuel cells 1301 - 1312 in series with each other so that the battery assembly 1300 performs a discharge function.

The battery assembly 1300 performs a charging function by receiving charging current from a plurality of charging devices 1310(01)-1310(12). Specifically, each of the fuel cells 1301-1312 is electrically coupled to a corresponding one of the charging devices 1310(01)-1310(12) through a pair of wires, which is similar to how the fuel cell 100 is wired to the wiring configuration of FIG. 10A The charging device 810 in 1091 is in the same manner. For example, the fuel cell 1301 is electrically coupled to the charging device 1310(01) through a pair of wires 1311(01) and 1312(01), wherein the wire 1311(01) is electrically coupled to the electrode 130E of the fuel cell 1301, as shown in FIG. Marked as 130E(01), to charge The positive terminal of device 1310(01), and wherein lead wire 1312(01) is electrically coupled to the negative terminal of charging device 1310(01) the electrode 151E of fuel cell 1301 labeled 151E(01). Fuel cell 1301 thus receives charging current 1315(01) carried by lead 1311(01) from charging device 1310(01) to charge fuel cell 1301 as part of the charging operation performed by battery assembly 1300. Likewise, as part of the charging operation performed by the battery pack 1300, the remainder of the fuel cells 1301-1312 each receive their own charging current from the charging device coupled thereto, and finally the fuel cell 1312, which is connected via lead 1311(12) from Charging device 1310(12) receives charging current 1315(12).

While performing the charging function, the battery pack 1300 also performs the discharging function at the same time. As mentioned above, the eleven inter-cell connections (eg, wires 1340(01), 1340(02), ... and 1340(11) in FIG. 13) basically connect the fuel cells 1301-1312 in series for cell Component 1300 to perform a discharge function. For example, battery assembly 1300 may perform a discharge function by sending electrical current 1325 to electrical load 1320 . Since the fuel cells 1301-1312 are electrically connected in series when performing the discharge function, the electric load 1320 is coupled to the battery assembly 1300 through a pair of wires 1321 and 1322, wherein the wire 1321 is electrically coupled to the fuel cell 1301 marked as 122E(01). The electrode 122E of the fuel cell 1312 is electrically coupled to the positive terminal of the load 1320, and wherein the wire 1322 is electrically coupled to the negative terminal of the load 1320, labeled 151E (12). That is, the electrical load 1320 is electrically coupled to the air electrode layer of the first fuel cell (i.e., the fuel cell 1301) of the stacked structure of the cell assembly 1300 and the last fuel cell (i.e., the fuel cell 1312) of the stacked structure of the cell assembly 1300. between conductive layers.

Accordingly, the battery pack 1300 performs the charging function by receiving twelve charging currents 1315(01)~1315(12) from the charging devices 1310(01)~1310(12), and at the same time, by sending the current through the wire 1321 1325 to perform the discharge function to drive the load 1320 . It is worth noting that when the fuel cell When 1301-1312 are connected in series to perform a discharging function, each of the fuel cells 1301-1312 receives charging current individually from the corresponding charging device to which it is coupled.

FIG. 14 shows another charging-discharging wiring configuration of the present disclosure, which includes a battery pack 1400, a plurality of charging devices 1410(01), 1410(02), ..., 1410(11), 1410(12) and electric loads 1420. Same as the battery assembly 1300 , the battery assembly 1400 also includes twelve fuel cells arranged in a stacked structure, ie fuel cells 1401 - 1412 . Each of the twelve fuel cells 1401 - 1412 of the battery assembly 1400 can be realized by the fuel cell 100 arranged in the charging-discharging configuration 800 . That is, each of the fuel cells 1401-1412 is wired according to the wiring configuration 1091 of FIG. 10A, except that the fuel cells 1401-1412 of FIG. 10A collectively charge an electrical load, load 1420. As shown in FIG. 14 , each of the fuel cells 1401 to 1412 has its electrode 122E folded toward the electrode 121E, and thus short-circuited with the electrode 121E. In addition, each of the fuel cells 1401 to 1412 has a corresponding electrode 155E shorted to the electrode 151E in a similar manner. That is, the left conductive layer 151 of each of the fuel cells 1401-1412 is electrically coupled to the corresponding right conductive layer 155, and the left air electrode layer 121 of each of the fuel cells 1401-1412 is electrically coupled to the corresponding The right air electrode layer 122.

Similar to the fuel assembly 1300 , the battery assembly 1400 also includes a plurality of wires for forming a plurality of inter-cell connections, that is, electrical connections between every adjacent two of the fuel cells 1401 - 1412 . In contrast to the inter-cell connections of fuel assembly 1300 , there are a total of twenty-two inter-cell connections in fuel assembly 1400 . These twenty-two inter-battery connections can be divided into two groups: each inter-battery connection has eleven individual connections. Specifically, the first set of inter-cell connections collectively connects the fuel cells 1401-1412 to each other in series for the battery assembly 1400 to perform a discharge function, while the second set of inter-cell connections collectively connects the fuel cells 1401-1412 to each other in series for the battery assembly 1400. Used in battery pack 1400 to perform discharge function. The first group of eleven inter-cell connections is made of wires 1440(01), 1440(02), ..., 1440(11), which The inter-cell connections on the fuel cells 1401-1412 are made substantially the same as the wires 1340(01)-1340(11) used for the fuel cell assembly 1300. That is, the electrode 155E of each of the fuel cells 1401-1412 is electrically coupled to the electrode 122E of the next fuel cell in the stack via wires 1440(01)-1440(11).

The second set of eleven inter-cell connections is made by wires 1470(01), 1470(02), . . . , 1470(11) in FIG. Specifically, electrode 130E of each of fuel cells 1401-1412 is electrically coupled to electrode 155E of the next fuel cell in the stack. For example, wire 1470(01) is used to electrically couple electrode 130E of fuel cell 1401 (labeled 130E(01) in the figure) to electrode 155E of fuel cell 1402 (labeled 155E(02)). Likewise, wire 1470 ( 02 ) is used to electrically couple electrode 130E of fuel cell 1402 , labeled 130E ( 02 ), to electrode 155E of fuel cell 1403 . In this way, a second set of inter-cell connections is made for every two adjacent fuel cells of the cell assembly 1400, the last connection in the second set being made by the electrode 130E of the fuel cell 1411 labeled 130E(11) with the This is accomplished for wires 1470(11) between electrodes 155E of fuel cell 1412 for 155E(12). Accordingly, cell assembly 1400 includes a total of twenty-two inter-cell connections on fuel cells 1401-1412. The first set of 11 inter-cell connections connects the fuel cells 1401-1412 to each other in series for the battery assembly 1400 to perform the discharge function, while the second set of 11 inter-cell connections connects the fuel cells 1401-1412 to each other in series for the battery Component 1400 to perform a charging function. It is worth noting that the total number of inter-cell connection wires in the first set, ie, the wires 1440(01)-1440(11), is one (1) less than the total number of fuel cells in the battery assembly 1400 . Similarly, the total number of inter-cell connection wires of the second set, ie wires 1470(01)-1470(11), is also one (1) less than the total number of fuel cells in the battery assembly 1400.

The battery pack 1400 performs a charging function by receiving a charging current from an external power source. In some embodiments, the external power supply can be composed of a plurality of charging devices connected in series. For example, as shown in Figure 14, charging devices 1410(01), 1410(02), ..., 1410(12) are connected by a plurality of wires 1481, 1482, ..., 1490 and 1491 are electrically coupled in series. The battery pack 1400 performs a charging function by receiving current from an external power source. As shown in FIG. 14, the charging devices 1410(01)-1410(12) connected in series as external power sources are electrically coupled to the battery pack 1400 through a pair of wires 1411 and 1412, wherein the wire 1411 connects the charging device 1410(12) to the battery assembly 1400. ) is connected to the electrode 130E of the fuel cell 1412, marked 130E (12) in the figure, and wherein the wire 1412 connects the negative terminal of the charging device 1410 (01) to the electrode 151E of the fuel cell 1401, marked 151E ( 01). The battery assembly 1400 thus performs a charging function by receiving the current 1415 from the serially connected charging devices 1410 ( 01 )˜1410 ( 12 ) through the wires 1411 . It should be noted that the number of charging devices connected in series is arbitrary. The number of charging devices may be greater than, equal to, or less than the number of fuel cells in the battery assembly 1400 . Generally speaking, the more charging devices are connected in series, the battery assembly 1400 can perform the charging function by receiving a larger current 1415 and/or a higher voltage across the electrodes 130E(12) and 151E(01), thus enabling charging function more efficiently.

While performing the charging function, the battery pack 1400 also performs the discharging function at the same time. As described above, eleven inter-cell connections (eg, wires 1440(01)-1440(11) in FIG. 14) essentially connect the fuel cells 1401-1412 in series for the battery assembly 1400 to perform the discharge function. For example, battery assembly 1400 can perform a discharge function by sending electrical current 1425 to electrical load 1420 , which is electrically coupled to battery assembly 1400 via a pair of wires 1421 and 1422 . Wire 1421 is coupled between the positive terminal of load 1420 and electrode 122E of fuel cell 1401, labeled 122E(01) in the figure. Wire 1422 is coupled between the negative terminal of load 1420 and electrode 151E of fuel cell 1412, labeled 151E (12) in the figure. That is, the electrical load 1420 is electrically coupled between the air electrode layer of the first fuel cell (i.e., the fuel cell 1401) of the stacked structure of the battery assembly 1400 and the electrical conductor of the last fuel cell (i.e., the fuel cell 1412) of the stacked structure of the battery assembly 1400. between layers.

Accordingly, the battery pack 1400 performs the charging function by a single charging current from the charging devices 1410(01)~1410(12) connected in series, that is, the current 1415, and at the same time performs the discharging by sending the current 1425 through the wire 1421 function to drive the load 1420. It is worth mentioning that the fuel cells 1401-1412 are connected in series to perform both charging and discharging functions.

FIG. 15 shows another charging-discharging wiring configuration of the present disclosure, which includes a battery assembly 1500 , a plurality of charging devices 1530 ( 01 )-1530 ( 12 ) and 1540 ( 01 )- 1540 ( 12 ), and an electric load 1520 . Same as the battery assembly 1300 and the battery assembly 1400 , the battery assembly 1500 also includes twelve fuel cells arranged in a stacked structure, that is, fuel cells 1501 - 1512 . Each of the twelve fuel cells 1501 - 1512 of the battery assembly 1500 can be realized by the fuel cell 100 arranged in the charging-discharging configuration 805 . For example, each of fuel cells 1501-1512 in FIG. 15 is wired according to wiring configuration 1093 of FIG. 10C, except that fuel cells 1501-1512 of FIG. 15 collectively charge an electrical load, load 1520. It can thus be seen that for each of the fuel cells 1501-1512, the intra-cell connection is made by a wire (eg, wire 1052 in FIG. 10C ) electrically shorting the electrode 121E and electrode 155E of the corresponding fuel cell. For example, wire 1550 ( 01 ) makes the intra-cell connection of fuel cell 1501 , while wire 1550 ( 02 ) makes the intra-cell connection of fuel cell 1502 . For each fuel cell in the stacked structure of the cell assembly 1500, an intra-cell connection is made, and the final intra-cell connection is made by connecting the electrode 121E of the fuel cell 1512, marked 121E (12) in FIG. ) The electrode 155E is electrically short-circuited. The battery pack 1500 thus includes a total of twelve inter-cell connections made by wires 1550(01), 1550(02), . . . , 1550(12). It should be noted that the total number of connecting wires in the battery is equal to the total number of fuel cells in the battery assembly 1500 . It is also worth noting that cell assembly 1500 differs from cell assemblies 1300 and 1400 in that for each of fuel cells 1501-1512, left conductive layer 151 is not electrically shorted from the corresponding right conductive layer 155. road. Likewise, the left air electrode layer 121 of each of the fuel cells 1501 - 1512 is not electrically short-circuited with the corresponding right air electrode layer 122 .

In addition to the intra-cell connections, the battery assembly 1500 also includes a plurality of wires for inter-cell connections. Specifically, cell assembly 1500 includes a total of eleven inter-cell connections, each of which electrically couples an electrode 151E of a fuel cell to an electrode 122E of the next fuel cell in the stack of cell assembly 1500 . For example, wire 1560(01) is used to electrically short electrode 151E of fuel cell 1501, labeled 151E(01) in FIG. 15, and electrode 122E of fuel cell 1502, labeled 122E(02). The inter-cell connection is realized in the same manner, for each of the remaining fuel cells of the cell assembly 1500, namely between the electrode 151E of the fuel cell 1502 and the electrode 122E of the fuel cell 1503, between the electrode 151E of the fuel cell 1503 and the fuel cell Between electrodes 122E of cell 1504, and so on, the final inter-cell connection is between electrode 151E marked 151E(11) in the figure of fuel cell 1511 and electrode 122E marked 122E(12) in the figure of fuel cell 1512 connection between. Notably, the total number of inter-cell connection wires is one (1) less than the total number of fuel cells in battery assembly 1500 .

The battery assembly 1500 executes the charging function by each of the fuel cells 1501-1512 receiving two charging currents from two external power sources. For example, fuel cell 1501 receives two charging currents, one from charging device 1530(01) and the other from charging device 1540(01). Charging devices 1530(01) and 1540(01) are wired to fuel cell 1501 according to wiring configuration 1093 of FIG. 1OC. In fact, each of the fuel cells 1501-1512 is wired according to the wiring configuration 1093, the last being the fuel cell 1512, which is wired to the charging devices 1530(12) and 1540(12).

While performing the charging function, the battery assembly 1500 can also perform the discharging function at the same time. Specifically, the battery assembly 1500 can perform a discharge function by sending a current 1525 to an electrical load 1520 , and the electrical load 1520 is electrically coupled to the battery assembly 1500 via a pair of wires 1521 and 1522 . Wire 1521 series coupling Between the positive terminal of the load 1520 and the electrode 122E of the fuel cell 1501 labeled 122E (01 ) in FIG. 15 . A wire 1522 is coupled between the negative terminal of the load 1520 and an electrode 151E of the fuel cell 1512 labeled 151E ( 12 ) in the figure. That is, the electrical load 1520 is electrically coupled to the second air electrode layer of the first fuel cell (i.e., the fuel cell 1501) of the stack structure of the battery assembly 1500 and the last fuel cell (i.e., the fuel cell 1512) of the stack structure of the battery assembly 1500 between the first conductive layer.

The twelve intra-cell connections and eleven inter-cell connections of the battery assembly 1500 jointly connect the fuel cells 1501 to 1512 in series, so that the electrochemical reaction in the left space 101 and the electrochemical reaction in the right space 102 of each fuel cell are The chemical reaction system is electrically connected with fuel cells 1501-1512 in series. That is, cells 701 and 702 of each of fuel cells 1501-1512, as modeled in circuit model 700, are thus connected in series, resulting in a total of 24 half-spaces electrically connected in series, each half-space (i.e. The left space 101 or the right space 102) is charged by one of the charging devices 1530(01)~1530(12) and 1540(01)~1540(12). This wiring configuration essentially doubles the output voltage provided by the battery pack to the load compared to that provided by the configurations of Figure 13 or Figure 14, making the wiring configuration of Figure 15 an appropriate choice when higher output voltages are required to drive the load. For example, modeled by battery 701 or 702 , assuming that the electrochemical reactions in each half-space can generate a voltage of 1 volt (V), battery assembly 1500 will be able to provide a total of 24V across the positive and negative terminals of load 1520 . In contrast, each of battery pack 1300 and battery pack 1400 can only provide a total of 12V across loads 1320 and 1420, respectively.

It is worth noting that fuel cells and battery assemblies according to the present disclosure are capable of simultaneously performing charging and discharging functions, but it is not required to use any fuel cell or battery assembly of the present disclosure. That is, each fuel cell or battery assembly described herein may be used to perform only one of a charging function and a discharging function, although performing both charging and discharging functions is possible and is desirable in many applications. Desirable. Each fuel cell or battery assembly of the present disclosure may perform a charging function, a discharging function, or both at any time depending on the specific requirements of the use.

The features and benefits of the present disclosure are described with reference to the various embodiments detailed above. Accordingly, the disclosure should not be limited to the exemplary embodiments showing some possible non-limiting combinations of features, which may exist alone or in other combinations of features.

The above-described embodiments only illustrate some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, which are used to illustrate the technical solution to the problem to be solved, and do not limit the present disclosure in any way. The scope of protection of the present disclosure is not limited to the exemplary embodiments. Although the present disclosure has been described in detail with reference to the above-mentioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that anyone familiar with the technical solutions disclosed in the present disclosure can modify or change the technical solutions described in the above-mentioned embodiments, and equivalently replace Some technical characteristics of this disclosure. However, these modifications, changes and substitutions do not separate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions disclosed in this disclosure, and are covered within the scope of protection of this creation. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be determined by the protection scope of the patent application.

Those skilled in the art will readily observe that many modifications and changes can be made in the apparatus and methods while retaining the teachings of the present creation. Accordingly, the foregoing disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.

Additional notes

The herein described subject matter sometimes illustrates different components contained within, or connected with, different other components. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures are illustrative only, and that in fact many other architectures can be implemented which achieve the same functionality. Conceptually, any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively "associated" such that the desired functionality is achieved. Thus, any two components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality can be considered to be "associated" with each other such that the desired functionality is achieved independently of the architectural or intermediate components are irrelevant. Likewise, any two components so related may also be considered to be "operably connected" or "operably coupled" to each other to achieve the desired functionality, and any two components capable of being so related may also be considered are "operably coupleable" to each other to achieve the desired functionality. Specific examples of operably couplable include, but are not limited to, physically mateable and/or physically interacting components and/or wirelessly interactable and/or wirelessly interactable components and/or logically interactable and/or logically interactable components .

In addition, with regard to the use of basically any plural and/or singular terms herein, those skilled in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural depending on the appropriate context and/or application. Various singular/plural permutations may be explicitly set forth herein for the sake of clarity.

In addition, those skilled in the art will understand that, in general, terms used herein, especially in the appended claims, for example, the subject of the appended claims generally mean "open-ended" terms, for example, the term " Including" should be interpreted as "including but not limited to", the term "have" should be interpreted as "at least", the term "including" should be interpreted as "including but not limited to", etc. It will be further understood by those skilled in the art that if a specific number of an incorporated claim is intended to be cited, such intent will be expressly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such citation no such claim exists. intention. For example, as an aid to understanding, the appended claims below may contain references to the claimed claims using the introductory phrases "at least one" and "one or more". However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim introduced by the indefinite article "a" or "an" limits any particular claimed claim containing such introduced claim statement to includes only one implementation of such statements, even if the same claim includes the introductory phrase "one or more" or "at least one" and an indefinite article such as "a" or "an", such as "a" and/or "an" should also be interpreted as "at least one" or "one or more"; the same applies to the use of the definite article used to introduce the claims statement. In addition, even if the specific scope of the incorporated claims is explicitly listed number, those skilled in the art will recognize that this recitation should be construed to refer to at least the number enumerated, e.g. a pure reference to "two citations" without other modifiers means at least two citations, or two one or more references. Furthermore, where a convention like "at least one of A, B, and C, etc." is used, generally this construction is intended to be understood by those skilled in the art, for example, "has A, B, and C A system of at least one of "will include, but is not limited to, a system with only A, only B, only C, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B and C together, etc. system. In those cases where the convention is similar to the use of "at least one of A, B, or C, etc.", usually this construction is intended to be understood by those skilled in the art, for example, "has A system of at least one" shall include, but is not limited to, systems having only A, only B, only C, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B and C together, etc. Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that any discrete word and/or phrase that actually presents two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be construed as including one term , one of the terms, or the possibility of both terms. For example, the phrase "A or B" will be understood to include the possibilities of "A" or "B" or "A and B."

Although patent subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that patent subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claimed claims.

100: battery structure

103A: the first air chamber

103B: Second air chamber

112H: hole

113A: guide post

115: shell

115A: first opening

115B: second opening

121E: left discharge positive electrical connector

122E: Right discharge positive electrical connector

122: Right air electrode layer

130E: charging positive electrical connector

151E: left negative electrical connector

155E: Right conductive layer

170: Electrolyte

170F: full level

A-A': line A-A'

Claims (32)

A zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors, which includes: a shell forming a space inside the zinc-air fuel cell; a plurality of air chambers arranged in the space; two air electrode layers It is arranged in the space and serves as a positive electrode for chemical reaction discharge; a metal layer is arranged in the space and serves as a positive electrode for chemical reaction charging; a zinc material is arranged in the space and serves as a The negative electrode is used to carry out the chemical reaction discharge together with the air electrode layer, or as a negative electrode, to carry out the chemical reaction charge together with the metal layer; a plurality of separators are arranged in the space, and are respectively arranged on the air electrode layer and the metal layer. between the metal layers, so that the air electrode layer, the zinc material and the metal layer are arranged separately; and an electrolyte is arranged in the space, and the electrolyte can flow through the separator and communicate with the air electrode layer, the The metal layer and the zinc material are in contact such that the air electrode layer, the zinc material and the metal layer are respectively electrically connected, wherein the plurality of air cells are configured to receive the electrolyte, and wherein the electrolyte is passed through the plurality of air cells At least one of the gas chambers is disposed in the space, the plurality of gas chambers is configured to pass through but not contain the electrolyte, and wherein the electrolyte is disposed in the space up to a level below the plurality of gas chambers . The zinc-air fuel cell with a plurality of electrical connectors as claimed in claim 1, wherein the casing includes a polyarylene material, and the casing is formed by an insert molding method to prevent leakage of the electrolyte. The zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors as described in claim 1, further comprising: A transfer device is connected to the space to adjust a height of the electrolyte in the space. The zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors as claimed in claim 3, wherein the transfer device regulates one of the input of the electrolyte into the space and the output of the electrolyte from the space, or both. The zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors as claimed in claim 3, wherein the delivery device regulates one of the input and output of a gas into the space, or both. The zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors as claimed in claim 3, wherein when the height makes the electrolyte contact with the air electrode layer, the metal layer and the zinc material at the same time, the multiple electrical connections The zinc-air fuel cell of the device is activated for a charging reaction or for a discharging reaction. The zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors as described in claim 3, wherein, when the height makes the electrolyte contact with the air electrode layer and the zinc material at the same time, the zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors The fuel cell is activated for a discharge reaction. The zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors as described in claim 3, wherein, when the height makes the electrolyte contact with the metal layer and the zinc material at the same time, the zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors The battery is activated for a charging reaction. The zinc-air fuel cell with a plurality of electrical connectors as described in claim 1, wherein when the electrolyte is in contact with one of the air electrode layer, the metal layer and the zinc material, the one with the plurality of electrical connectors Zinc-air fuel cells are deactivated for a chemical reaction. The zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors as claimed in claim 1, wherein the gas chamber buffers a circulation of a gas or the electrolyte. The zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors as described in claim 1, further comprising: Two conductive layers are arranged on two sides of the space adjacent to and in contact with the zinc material to accommodate the zinc material. The zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors as claimed in claim 11, wherein at least one of the conductive layers has a peripheral area and a central area, and wherein the central area is lower than the peripheral area to form a concave Grooves to accommodate the zinc material. The zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors as claimed in claim 1, wherein the zinc material includes flowable zinc paste, zinc particles or a zinc plate. The zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors as described in claim 1, wherein the air electrode layer includes a first air electrode layer and a second air electrode layer, and wherein the first air electrode layer, the metal layer, the zinc material and the second air electrode layer are arranged vertically. The zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first air electrode layer is an uppermost layer, the zinc material is a lowermost layer, and the metal layer is disposed on the first air between the electrode layer and the zinc material. The zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors as claimed in claim 1, wherein the multiple air chambers are connected to each other. The zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: one or more guide posts, each guide post is arranged between two adjacent air chambers of the plurality of air chambers time to induce a circulation of at least one of the zinc material, the electrolyte and a gas. The zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of air chambers are configured to balance an internal pressure of the zinc-air fuel cell. The zinc-air fuel cell with multiple electrical connectors as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the air electrode layers includes a metal mesh, a waterproof and gas-permeable layer, and a catalytic layer. A battery assembly capable of simultaneously performing charging and discharging functions, the battery assembly includes a plurality of fuel cells arranged in a stacked structure, each of the plurality of fuel cells includes: a casing formed inside each fuel cell A space; a metal layer is arranged in the space and serves as a positive electrode for the charging function; an air electrode layer is arranged in the space and serves as a positive electrode for the discharging function; a zinc material is arranged In the space, and as a negative electrode for the charging function and the discharging function; a plurality of separators are respectively arranged between the air electrode layer, the zinc material and the metal layer, so that the air electrode layer, the zinc material and the metal layer is arranged separately; and an electrolyte capable of flowing through the separator and in contact with the air electrode layer, the metal layer and the zinc material, so that the air electrode layer, the zinc material and the metal layer are respectively charged connection; a plurality of gas chambers disposed in the space; and a plurality of inter-battery connecting lines, wherein the electrolyte is disposed in the space via at least one of the plurality of gas chambers, the plurality of gas chambers being configured to pass through but not contain the electrolyte, wherein the electrolyte is disposed within the space up to a level below the plurality of air cells, and wherein each of the plurality of inter-cell connection lines electrically couples the stack structure Zinc material from a corresponding fuel cell in the stack to the air electrode layer of the next fuel cell in the stack. The battery assembly as claimed in claim 20, wherein the total number of connecting wires between the cells is one less than the total number of fuel cells in the stacked structure. The battery assembly as claimed in claim 20, wherein the battery assembly performs the charging function by receiving a corresponding current at a metal layer of each of the plurality of fuel cells. The battery assembly of claim 20, wherein the battery assembly is capable of driving an electrical load electrically coupled to an air electrode layer of a first fuel cell in the stack and a last fuel cell in the stack between the zinc material of the battery, and wherein the battery assembly performs the discharge function by sending a current from the air electrode layer of the first fuel cell to the electrical load. The battery assembly as described in claim 20, wherein: the plurality of connecting lines between batteries is a connecting line between a first set of batteries, the battery assembly further includes a connecting line between a second set of batteries, and the connecting lines between the second set of batteries Each of the connecting wires electrically couples the metal layer of the corresponding fuel cell in the stack to the zinc material of the next fuel cell in the stack. The battery assembly as claimed in claim 24, wherein the total number of connecting wires between the second set of cells is one less than the total number of fuel cells in the stacked structure. The battery assembly as claimed in claim 24, wherein the battery assembly performs the charging function by receiving a current from a metal layer of a last fuel cell in the stack structure, and wherein the current is provided by an external power source, The external power source is electrically coupled between the metal layer of the last fuel cell in the stack and the zinc material of a first fuel cell in the stack. The battery pack as claimed in claim 26, wherein the external power supply includes a plurality of charging devices connected in series. The battery assembly as claimed in claim 24, wherein the battery assembly is capable of driving an electrical load electrically coupled to an air electrode layer of a first fuel cell in the stack and a last fuel cell in the stack between the zinc material of the battery, and wherein the battery assembly performs the discharge function by sending a current from the air electrode layer of the first fuel cell to the electrical load. The battery assembly as claimed in claim 20, wherein the air electrode layer is a second air electrode layer, the battery assembly further comprising: a first air electrode layer, each of the first and the second air electrode layers disposed on opposite sides of the metal layer; a first conductive layer; a second conductive layer; and a plurality of connecting wires in the battery, wherein: each of the first and second conductive layers has a a central recessed region of zinc material, the first conductive layer is disposed between the metal layer and the first air electrode layer, the second conductive layer is disposed between the metal layer and the second air electrode layer, Each of the plurality of inter-cell connection lines couples the zinc material of the corresponding fuel cell of the stack to the first conductive layer of the corresponding fuel cell to the second air electrode layer of the next fuel cell. The air electrode layer of the next fuel cell of the stack, and each of the plurality of inter-cell connection lines electrically couple the first air electrode of the corresponding fuel cell to the second conductive layer of the corresponding fuel cell. The battery assembly as claimed in claim 29, wherein the battery assembly performs the charging function by receiving two currents at its metal layer in each of the plurality of fuel cells, wherein the two currents are charged by two Means are provided that each charging device is coupled between the metal layer and each of the first and second conductive layers of the corresponding fuel cell. The battery assembly as claimed in claim 29, wherein the battery assembly is capable of driving an electric load electrically coupled to a second air electrode layer of a first fuel cell in the stack structure and one of the stack structures Finally between the first conductive layers of the fuel cell, and wherein the cell assembly performs the discharge function by sending a current from the second air electrode layer of the first fuel cell to the electrical load. The battery assembly as claimed in claim 29, wherein the total number of inter-cell connection lines is one less than the total number of fuel cells in the stack structure, and wherein the total number of intra-cell connection lines is equal to the total number of the fuel cells in the stack structure .

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