Hydrogen Generator

Abstract

A hydrogen generator including an initiator assembly having one or more contact members within a compressible member, and a removable fuel unit adjacent a surface of the compressible member. The fuel unit contains a hydrogen containing material that can release hydrogen gas when heated and an exothermic mixture that can react exothermically upon initiation by the initiator assembly. When no fuel unit is in the hydrogen generator, the compressible member is uncompressed and the contact members are at or below its surface, and when a fuel unit is disposed in the hydrogen generator, the compressible member is compressed so the contact members extend beyond the surface to make thermal contact with the fuel unit. Energy from the initiator assembly is conducted by the contact members to corresponding quantities of the exothermic mixture to initiate an exothermic reaction, providing heat for the release of hydrogen gas from the hydrogen containing material.

1 . An assembly comprising:
 a housing;   an initiator assembly disposed in the housing comprising one or more thermal initiators, each thermal initiator being in thermal communication with a corresponding one or more contact member;   a compressible member having opposing first and second surfaces and within which the one or more contact members are disposed; and,   
       wherein the one or more contact members extend beyond the first surface of the compressible member so as to be capable of providing thermal communication between the at least one initiator and a material superposed on the first surface of the compressible member, only when the compressible member is compressed. 
     
     
         2 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein each of the contact members is a heating element. 
     
     
         3 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein each of the thermal initiators is a heating element and each of the contact members is a thermal conductor. 
     
     
         4 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein each of the contact members has an elongated body and a tapered tip distal to the thermal initiator 
     
     
         5 . The assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising a fuel unit removably disposed in the housing adjacent the first surface of the compressible member, the fuel unit containing one or more segregated portions of the material, each portion corresponding to the one or more contact members, the material being capable of reacting exothermically upon initiation by energy from the initiator assembly. 
     
     
         6 . The assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the compressible member is compressed when the fuel unit is disposed in the assembly. 
     
     
         7 . The assembly of  claim 6 , wherein the fuel unit is disposed in the housing and is compressing the compressible member. 
     
     
         8 . The assembly of  claim 7 , wherein the one or more contact members penetrate the fuel unit, thereby each contacting the corresponding one or more segregated portions of exothermic material. 
     
     
         9 . The assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the fuel unit further comprises one or more portions of a hydrogen-containing material that can release hydrogen gas when heated, the hydrogen-containing material being in thermal communication with the one or more segregated portions of the exothermic material. 
     
     
         10 . The assembly of  claim 9 , wherein the portions of the hydrogen-containing material are segregated by a gap, a thermal insulator member, an electrical insulator member, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         11 . The assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the exothermic reaction can be selectively initiated in each one or more of the segregated portions of the exothermic material via the corresponding contact member. 
     
     
         12 . The assembly of  claim 5 , comprising a plurality of corresponding thermal initiators, contact members, and segregated portions of exothermic material. 
     
     
         13 . The assembly of  claim 12 , further comprising a plurality of corresponding segregated portions of a hydrogen-containing material. 
     
     
         14 . The assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the initiator assembly conducts electrical energy through the one or more contact members, each of which conducts electrical energy to one or more corresponding portions of the exothermic mixture. 
     
     
         15 . The assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the fuel unit comprises a plurality of portions of the exothermic mixture, each capable of providing heat for the release of hydrogen gas from a portion of the hydrogen containing material. 
     
     
         16 . A system comprising an assembly of  claim 1  and a controller capable of individually addressing the one or more thermal initiators. 
     
     
         17 . A method of generating hydrogen gas using an assembly of  claim 1 , said method comprising:
 (a) disposing a fuel unit within the housing adjacent the first surface of the compressible member so as to compress the compressible member, thereby extending the one or more contact members beyond the first surface of the compressible member and into the fuel unit, wherein   the fuel unit contain one or more segregated portions of the material capable of reacting exothermically upon initiation by energy from the initiator assembly, each portion corresponding to the one or more contact members;   the fuel unit further containing one or more segregated portions of a hydrogen-containing material that can release hydrogen gas when heated, the hydrogen-containing material being in thermal communication with a corresponding one or more segregated portion of the exothermic material; the penetration of the fuel unit providing that the one or more contact members bring the thermal initiators into thermal communication with the segregated portion of exothermic material; and,   (b) supplying energy to at least one of the contact members, so as to initiate an exothermic reaction to the corresponding portion of exothermic material, the heat from the exothermic reaction causing the generation of hydrogen from the hydrogen-containing material.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , comprising supplying energy to a plurality of contact members. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the energy is supplied to at least one of the contact members via the corresponding one or more thermal initiators. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the application of energy to the one or more thermal initiators is individually controlled by a control system. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the energy supplied to each of the plurality of each of the contact members at two or more different times. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the controller delivers energy to the one or more thermal initiators based on operating parameters of the assembly.