1. A method for distributing fuel in a vehicle fuel system, the fuel system having a first fuel tank, where fuel is confined at a first pressure, and a second fuel tank, where fuel is confined at a second pressure greater than the first pressure, comprising:
releasing natural gas fuel already resident in the second fuel tank to the first fuel tank; and
admitting natural gas fuel to the first and second fuel tanks simultaneously.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein admitting natural gas fuel to the first and second fuel tanks simultaneously begins after said releasing is finished.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein said releasing occurs while admitting natural gas fuel to the first and second fuel tanks simultaneously.
4. The method of claim 1, where said releasing and said admitting occur during a first refueling mode of the fuel system, the method further comprising, during a second refueling mode of the fuel system, admitting natural gas fuel to the first fuel tank while no natural gas fuel is admitted to the second fuel tank.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising delivering natural gas fuel from the first fuel tank to a fueled component of the motor vehicle, and, delivering natural gas fuel from the second fuel tank to a fueled component of the motor vehicle after the fuel in the first fuel tank is depleted.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the fueled component of the motor vehicle is a fuel injector disposed in an engine of the motor vehicle.
7. The method of claim 5, wherein the fueled component of the motor vehicle is a fuel cell.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the second fuel tank is one of a plurality of fuel tanks from which natural gas fuel already resident in the fuel system is released to the first fuel tank prior to admitting the natural gas fuel to the first and second fuel tanks simultaneously.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first fuel tank is one of a plurality of fuel tanks to which the natural gas fuel already resident in the fuel system is released from the second fuel tank prior to admitting the natural gas fuel to the first and second fuel tanks simultaneously.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein a fuel line of the motor vehicle is fluidically coupled to the first fuel tank via a first control valve and to the second fuel tank via a second control valve, and where releasing natural gas fuel already resident in the second fuel tank to the first fuel tank comprises opening the first and second control valves.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein admitting natural gas fuel to the first and second fuel tanks simultaneously comprises flowing the natural gas fuel into the first fuel tank via the first control valve and into the second fuel tank via the second control valve.
12. The method of claim 11, further comprising closing at least the first control valve when a pressure of natural gas fuel in the fuel line approaches a supply pressure of the fuel.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein releasing natural gas fuel already resident in the second fuel tank to the first fuel tank is enacted substantially adiabatically.
14. A method for refueling a fuel system of a motor vehicle, the fuel system having a plurality of fuel tanks, comprising:
selecting an unfull first fuel tank from among the plurality of fuel tanks;
during a first refueling mode of the fuel system, admitting fuel to the unfull first fuel tank only;
during a second refueling mode of the fuel system:
selecting from among the plurality of fuel tanks a second fuel tank having a greater pressure than the unfull first fuel tank;
releasing fuel already resident in the second fuel tank to the unfull first fuel tank; and
admitting fuel to the second and unfull first fuel tanks simultaneously, where pressurized, gaseous fuel is admitted to the fuel system via a fuel port coupled to the plurality of fuel tanks
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the unfull first fuel tank is among a plurality of unfull fuel tanks selected in sequence based on the fuel pressures of each unfull fuel tank in the plurality of unfull fuel tanks
16. The method of claim 14, wherein the second fuel tank is selected from among the plurality of fuel tanks based on at least one of a fuel pressure and a fuel temperature of each fuel tank in the plurality of fuel tanks
17. The method of claim 16, wherein releasing fuel already resident in the second fuel tank to the unfull first fuel tank provides a cooler temperature in the unfull first fuel tank than releasing fuel already resident in any other fuel tank in the plurality of fuel tanks to the unfull first fuel tank.
18. The method of claim 13, wherein the fuel comprises compressed natural gas.
19. The method of claim 13, wherein the fuel comprises hydrogen.
20. A method for refueling a fuel system of a motor vehicle with compressed natural gas, the fuel system having a plurality of fuel tanks, the method comprising:
selecting an unfull first fuel tank from among the plurality of fuel tanks;
during a first refueling mode of the fuel system, opening a first control valve to admit compressed natural gas via a fill port to the unfull first fuel tank only;
during a second refueling mode of the fuel system:
selecting from among the plurality of fuel tanks a second fuel tank having a pressure of compressed natural gas greater than that of the unfull first fuel tank;
opening the first control valve and a second control valve to release compressed natural gas already resident in the second fuel tank to the unfull first fuel tank; and
admitting fuel to the second and unfull first fuel tanks via the fill port simultaneously.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A process for fabricating coils comprising:
providing a curved substrate having a surface extending along and about an axis, said substrate being made of a first material;
forming a groove in the curved surface along and around said axis, said groove extending into the surface for a minimum depth and at least one turn around said axis; and
filling the groove with a second material different from the first material to form a coil of second material in said first material.
2. The process of claim 1 wherein the filling step causes excess second material to overflow the groove and cover at least a portion of the surface; and the additional step of
removing all the excess second material from the surface without removing all the material from the groove.
3. The process of claim 2 wherein said removing step further comprises removing a portion of the surface of the substrate, the portion being less than the depth of the groove.
4. The process of claim 1 wherein the first material is an electrical insulator and the second material is an electrical conductor.
5. The process of claim 4 wherein the second material is selected from the group consisting of metals; metal alloys; and superconductors.
6. The process of claim 5 further comprising another layer separating substrate and coil.
7. The process of claim 1 wherein the first material is selected from the group consisting of plastic, ceramic, metal and semiconductor.
8. The process of claim 1 wherein each of the first and second materials are electrical conductors, and further comprising the step of placing an intermediate non-conducting layer between the substrate and coil.
9. The process of claim 1 wherein the substrate is symmetrical about an axis and has a maximum diameter about said axis on the order of 1 cm.
10. The process of claim 9 wherein said step of forming a helical groove comprises:
rotating said substrate about said axis; and
cutting said groove with a tool that moves axially relative to said surface while said substrate rotates.
11. The process of claim 10 wherein said step of removing excess second material comprises:
rotating said substrate about said axis; and cutting, polishing or dissolution of said excess material with a tool.
10. The process of claim 9 wherein said step of cutting away said excess material further comprises removing a portion of the surface of the substrate.
11. The process of claim 1 wherein the groove is helical.
12. The process of claim 11 wherein the groove defines a first groove that extends around the axis for a plurality of turns.
13. The process of claim 12 further comprising forming a second groove in said substrate, the second groove intersecting the first groove at a plurality of spaced locations along each groove; wherein said filling step fills the second groove and the first groove.
14. The process of claim 13 wherein the filling step causes excess second material to erflow the grooves and cover at least a portion of the surface; and the additional step of
removing all the excess second material from the surface without removing all the material from the grooves.
15. The process of claim 14 further comprising separating the formed second material from the substrate.
16. The process of claim 14, wherein said separating step comprises destroying the substrate without damaging the second material.
17. The process of claim 1 further comprising separating the formed second material from the substrate.
18. The process of claim 17 wherein said separating step comprises destroying the substrate without damaging the second material.