During the Ceatec Japan
2005 Toshiba will exhibit
two mobile audio player prototypes; one flash-memory based player and one
hard disk based player. What's special about these mobile audio players is their
power source. Toshiba has equipped
them with a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) which
considerably increases the player's running time; 35 hours for the flash-player
and 60 hours for the HDD-player:
 The 100mW unit, similar in shape and size to a pack of gum at a
compact W23mm x L75mm x D10mm, can power the flash-based player for
approximately 35 hours on a single 3.5ml charge of highly concentrated
methanol, the fuel that drives the electricity producing chemical reaction
in the fuel cell. The 300mW unit is W60mm x L75mm x D10mm and delivers
enough power to keep an HDD-based audio player running for approximately
60 hours on a single 10ml charge.
Both prototype players include components
related to the testing and are W35mm x L110mm x D20mm (flash memory) and
W65mm x L125mm x D27mm (HDD) with the fuel cell units. These sizes can be
reduced substantially by removing the extra components and applying
optimal design for commercial products.
Toshiba's DMFC features a passive fuel
supply system that is suited to smaller fuel cells and use with a highly
concentrated methanol solution. Fuel cells usually mix methane with water
in a concentration of less than 30%, a dilution that supports generating
efficiency but which requires a fuel tank that is much too big for
portable equipment. |
According to the Toshiba press
release they expect that commercial products will appear in and after
2007. The press release does not mention how the methanol fuel cells can be
recharged.
Source: Toshiba
