{
  "patent_number": "US 11646431",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How a Fuel Cell Humidifier Adjusts Air Moisture with a Bypass",
  "original_title": "Humidifier for fuel cell",
  "summary": "This patent describes a fuel cell humidifier that uses a special bypass path to precisely control how much moisture is added to dry air, improving fuel cell performance.",
  "what_it_does": "The patent describes a humidifier for a fuel cell (Claim 1). It includes a housing with a moist air supply port and a moist air discharge port. Inside, a humidifying membrane allows dry air to flow along its interior. The key feature is a \"bypass flow path\" (Claim 1) formed in the housing. This path allows a portion of the moist air to flow directly from the supply port to the discharge port without passing through the humidifying membrane. By changing the cross-sectional area of this bypass path (Claim 2), the humidifier can adjust the amount of humidification and the pressure difference across the device. For example, a controller can decrease the bypass area by moving a blocking member downward when the fuel cell needs more humidity (Claim 8), forcing more moist air through the membrane.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Humidifiers that do not include a bypass flow path specifically for moist air.",
    "Humidifiers where the bypass path is not used to adjust humidification or differential pressure based on operating conditions.",
    "Humidifiers that do not specifically use a humidifying membrane for dry air flow.",
    "Systems where the cross-sectional area of the bypass flow path cannot be changed selectively (Claim 2).",
    "Humidifiers not designed for integration with a fuel cell stack.",
    "Humidifiers that lack a controller to dynamically adjust the bypass based on humidity (Claim 6)."
  ],
  "filed": "2020-07-14",
  "granted": "2023-05-09",
  "expires": "2040-07-14",
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Kolon Industries",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/kolon-industries",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Hyun Yoo Kim",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/hyun-yoo-kim"
    },
    {
      "name": "Kyoung Ju Kim",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/kyoung-ju-kim"
    },
    {
      "name": "Woong Jeon AHN",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/woong-jeon-ahn"
    },
    {
      "name": "Young Seok OH",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/young-seok-oh"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 5,
  "tags": [
    "automotive",
    "energy",
    "telecommunications",
    "mechanical"
  ],
  "abstract": "A humidifier for a fuel cell is provided and includes a housing having, at a first side, a moist air supply port through which moist air is supplied from a fuel cell stack and having, at a second side, a moist air discharge port. A humidifying membrane is disposed in the housing and allows dry air to flow along the inside of the humidifying membrane. A bypass flow path is formed in the housing to allow a part of the moist air supplied to the moist air supply port to continuously flow to the moist air discharge port without passing through the humidifying membrane, thereby adjusting the amount of humidification and a differential pressure of the humidifier based on an operating condition of a fuel cell.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/11646431/humidifier-for-fuel-cell",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/11646431/humidifier-for-fuel-cell/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US11646431",
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}