Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Hiroshi Tatsui

Kunihiro Ukai

Akinori Yukimasa

Junji Morita

Kiyoshi Taguchi

Akinari Nakamura

Yoshio Tamura

Atsutaka Inoue

Shigeki Yasuda

Hidetoshi Wakamatsu

Mitoko Ishita

Tadashi Adachi

Shigeru Iiyama

Kazuyuki Hamada

Yasuhito Takahashi

Ichiro Onishi

Tomoya Takeuchi

Toyoshi Kamisako

Masatoshi Shoukyuu

Tomonori Aso

Keisuke Shiosaki

Akinori Tsujimoto

Katutosi Tusima

Takumi Kida

Yuko Ishii

Shohei Yamaguchi

A power generation system includes: a power generation unit configured to discharge a flue gas; a housing configured to accommodate the power generation unit; a ventilator configured to ventilate the housing; a first gas channel through which a gas discharged from the ventilator flows; a second gas channel through which the flue gas from the power generation unit flows; a merging portion where the first gas channel and the second gas channel merge; a third gas channel through which the gases merged at the merging portion flow; a water trap unit connected to the first gas channel and including a water sealing structure; and a water discharge channel through which water in the water trap unit is discharged to an outside of the housing.

Power generation system

A power generation system according to the present invention includes: a fuel cell unit including a fuel cell, a hydrogen generator having a first combustor, and a case; a controller; a combustion unit including a second combustor; and a discharge passage formed to cause the case and the combustion unit to communicate with each other. In a case where the controller causes one of the first combustor and the second combustor to perform the ignition operation, the controller maintains an operating state of the other combustor during the period of the ignition operation of the one combustor.

Power generation system and method of operating the same

A power generation system includes: a combustor operative to combust a fuel; a power generator operative to utilize energy obtained from the combustor when generating electric power; a fuel supplier operative to supply the fuel to the combustor; an air supplier operative to supply combustion air to the combustor; a discharged gas passage through which a discharged gas from the combustor flows; a CO detector operative to detect CO in the discharged gas; a temperature detector operative to detect a temperature of the discharged gas; and control circuitry operative to, when the discharged gas is flowing through the discharged gas passage, perform at least one of an operation of detecting a structural abnormality of the discharged gas passage based on a difference between detected temperatures of the temperature detector relative to a difference between heated amounts of the discharged gas heated by a heater and an operation of detecting the structural abnormality of the discharged gas passage based on the difference between the detected temperatures of the temperature detector relative to a difference between outputs of at least one of the fuel supplier and the air supplier.

Power generation system and method of operating power generation system

A hydrogen generation apparatus according to the present invention includes: a reformer configured to generate a hydrogen-containing gas through a reforming reaction; a combustor configured to heat the reformer; an air supply device configured to supply air to the combustor; a fuel supply device configured to supply a fuel to the combustor; a CO detector configured to detect a carbon monoxide concentration in a flue gas discharged from the combustor; and a controller configured to control at least one of the air supply device and the fuel supply device to increase an air ratio in the combustor such that the CO concentration in the flue gas increases, and then test the CO detector for abnormality.

Hydrogen generation apparatus, fuel cell system including the same, method of operating hydrogen generation apparatus and method of operating fuel cell system

A power generation system of the present invention includes: a fuel cell unit () including a fuel cell () and a case (); a controller (); a combustion unit () provided outside the case () and configured to combust a combustible gas to supply heat; and a discharge passage () configured to cause the fuel cell unit () and the combustion unit () to communicate with each other, wherein in a case where an exhaust gas is being discharged to the discharge passage () from one of the fuel cell unit () and the combustion unit () and the controller () changes the flow rate of the exhaust gas discharged from the other unit, the controller () controls at least the flow rate of the exhaust gas discharged from the other unit such that the flow rate of the exhaust gas discharged from the one unit becomes constant.

A fuel cell system includes: a fuel cell to generate electric power; a casing accommodating at least the fuel cell, the casing including an air inlet and an exhaust outlet; a supply passage connected to the air inlet, to introduce external air into the casing; an exhaust passage connected to the exhaust outlet, to exchange heat with the supply passage and discharge at least air inside the casing; an air supply device to introduce the external air into the casing; a temperature detector to detect a temperature; and a controller configured to control at least the air supply device. If the temperature detected by the temperature detector after the controller has caused the air supply device to operate is lower than or equal to a first predetermined temperature, the controller reduces an amount of air supplied by the air supply device and causes the air supply device to continue operating.

Fuel cell system and method of operating the same

A power generation system has a power generation unit (), a casing () accommodating the power generation unit (), a ventilator () configured to ventilate the interior of the casing (), and a first exhaust gas passage () configured to pass therethrough an exhaust gas from the ventilator () which is discharged out of the casing (). The first exhaust gas passage () merges with a second exhaust gas passage () connected to a duct () open to outside air before the second exhaust gas passage () is connected to the duct (), the second exhaust gas passage () being configured to pass a combustion exhaust gas from a combustion device () configured to generate heat to be supplied to a heat load.

A power generation system of the present invention comprises: a power generation unit (); a casing () that accommodates the power generation unit (); a ventilator () that ventilates the interior of the casing (); a first gas flow passage (), arranged inside the casing (), for a flow therethrough of gas which flows as the ventilator () operates; and a second gas flow passage (), arranged inside the casing (), for a flow therethrough of combustion exhaust gas from the power generation unit (), wherein within the casing (), the second gas flow passage () merges into the first gas flow passage ().

A power generation system of the present invention comprises a fuel cell system (), a gas supply device, a controller (), a combustion device (), an exhaust passage (), a gas passage used to supply a gas supplied from the gas supply device to the exhaust passage (), and a back-flow preventing device () placed in the gas passage or the exhaust passage (), and the controller () executes an operation for relieving a state in which a valve element remains incapable of moving away from a valve seat in the back-flow preventing device () in such a manner that the gas supply device is operated so that a differential pressure between an upstream side and a downstream side of the back-flow preventing device () becomes a value equal to or greater than the predetermined time which can relieve the state in which valve element remains incapable of moving away from the valve seat, during a shut-down state or at start-up of the fuel cell system ().

Power generation system and operation method thereof

A power generation system includes: an air intake passage; a fuel cell system that includes a fuel cell; a case configured to house the fuel cell, a ventilator (air supply unit), and an air intake temperature detector configured to detect a temperature of the intake air supplied to the case; a combustion device that includes a combustor; an exhaust gas passage configured to discharge a flue gas generated in the combustion device to the outside; and a controller. The air intake passage and the exhaust gas passage are configured to allow heat exchange to occur between media flowing through the passages. The controller causes the combustion device to operate when the fuel cell system is activated and the temperature detected by the air intake temperature detector is equal to or lower than a first predetermined temperature.

A fuel cell system includes a reforming unit, a carbon-monoxide decreasing unit, a fuel cell, a burner unit, and a raw gas supply device. At a start-up operation of the fuel cell system, an amount of raw gas supplied from the raw has supply device is adjusted according to an amount of a desorbed raw gas desorbed out of components of the raw gas adsorbed to at least one of the reforming catalyst and a carbon monoxide decreasing catalyst such that a ratio of an amount of the combustion air to an amount of the raw gas in the burner unit falls within a predetermined range.

Fuel cell system

A fuel cell system includes a reforming unit, a carbon monoxide decreasing unit, a fuel cell, a burner unit, a raw gas supply device, and a heating unit. The heating unit is controlled at a start-up operation of the fuel cell system, so as to adjust an amount of a desorbed raw gas desorbed out of components of the raw gas adsorbed to at least one of a reforming catalyst and a carbon monoxide decreasing catalyst such that a ratio of an amount of combustion air to an amount of a raw gas in the burner unit falls within a predetermined range.

A fuel cell includes a reforming unit, a carbon monoxide decreasing unit, a fuel cell, a burner unit and a raw gas supply device. At the star-up operation of the fuel cell system, an amount of combustion air delivered to the burner unit by an air blower is adjusted according to a total amount of a raw gas to be supplied to the burner unit and an amount of a desorbed raw gas desorbed out of raw gas components adsorbed to at least one of catalysts in a fuel processor.

A compact ice-making device is provided for making ice chips of varied shapes for use in glasses of whiskey and water, and the like purposes. Ice is made using an ice-making vessel () for making a plank-like block of ice with a shaft () inserted in advance in the vessel, the shaft () having ribs (A) extending substantially radially from a rotating axis. Upon completion of the ice making, a gear unit () connected to the shaft () is driven by a motor to rotate the shaft (), which cracks and divides the plank-like ice block into ice chips of varied shapes.

Ice-making device

An ice tray includes a tray section and a heater. The tray section has a first face and a second face opposite to the first face. The first face temporarily retains water and the water is cooled to make ice. The heater is unitarily molded with the tray section at the second face, and warms the tray section for the ice to come off the tray section.

Growing community of inventors

Shiga, Japan

Hiroshi Tatsui