Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Junji Morita

Yasushi Sugawara

Akinori Yukimasa

Makoto Uchida

Eiichi Yasumoto

Akihiko Yoshida

Osamu Sakai

Teruhisa Kanbara

Hisaaki Gyoten

Hiroshi Tatsui

Takayuki Urata

Takehiko Ise

Takahiro Umeda

Yoshito Usuki

Atsutaka Inoue

Soichi Shibata

Yasuo Takebe

Shinya Kosako

Kazuhito Hatoh

Akinari Nakamura

Yoshihiro Hori

Shigeki Yasuda

Masao Yamamoto

Miki Abe

Hidetoshi Wakamatsu

Hideo Ohara

Yoichiro Tsuji

Hiroki Kusakabe

Masataka Ozeki

Junji Niikura

Masato Hosaka

Yukiyoshi Ono

Kazufumi Nishida

Yoshikazu Tanaka

Takeshi Yonamine

Hisanori Ishino

Masaki Yamauchi

Hidenobu Wakita

Yoshio Tamura

Hiroaki Fujii

Jun Yoshida

Keisuke Shiosaki

Yukinobu Kitano

Yoshikazu Ip Development Center Tanaka

Yoshikazu c/o Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd Tanaka

A fuel cell system includes: a fuel cell that generates electricity using a fuel gas and an oxidant gas; a fuel gas supply path through which a fuel gas to be supplied to an anode of the fuel cell flows; a recycle gas path through which an anode off-gas emitted from the anode of the fuel cell is returned to the fuel gas supply path; a water reservoir that holds water separated from the anode off-gas flowing through the recycle gas path; a drainage path through which water stored in the water reservoir is drained; a valve provided on the drainage path; and a controller that determines, on the basis of a history of a flow rate of the anode off-gas, a length of time for which the valve continues to be opened for draining the water stored in the water reservoir.

Fuel cell system

A fuel cell system includes: a fuel cell; an anode off-gas discharge path through which an anode off-gas exhausted from an anode of the fuel cell is discharged; a heating medium circulation path through which a heating medium that recovers heat generated in the fuel cell is circulated; a heat exchanger disposed in the heating medium circulation path; an electric power converter that converts the electric power output from the fuel cell; a case that houses the electric power converter; a first air feeder that supplies air to the case; a housing that houses the fuel cell, the case, and the first air feeder; and an air discharge path through which the air having passed through the case is discharged to outside of the housing. A downstream end of the anode off-gas discharge path is connected to the air discharge path.

A fuel cell system includes a polymer electrolyte fuel cell that generates electric power using fuel gas and oxidant gas, a fuel gas supply path through which the fuel gas is supplied to an anode inlet of the fuel cell, a recycle gas path through which anode off-gas discharged from an anode outlet of the fuel cell returns to the fuel gas supply path, a pressure booster that is arranged in the fuel gas supply path between a confluence portion and the anode inlet, the fuel gas supply path and the recycle gas path meeting each other in the confluence portion, and a discharge path through which an impurity mixed into the anode off-gas is discharged outside.

A fuel cell system includes: a fuel cell; a fuel gas supply path supplying the fuel gas to the fuel cell; a recycling path returning discharged anode off-gas to an entrance of the fuel cell; an anode off-gas discharge path branching from the recycling path and discharging the anode off-gas to an outside; a first valve in the anode off-gas discharge path; a pressurizer pressurizing the anode off-gas; and a controller performing control to cause the pressurizer to act in at least one of a timing in execution of a purge action supplying the fuel gas from the fuel gas supply path and discharging the anode off-gas to the outside in a first valve open state and a timing in prescribed time after the purge action and assessing abnormality based on a pressure of the recycling path or anode off-gas discharge path or an action amount of the pressurizer.

A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell, a first supply flow path, a second supply flow path, a recycle flow path, a circulator, a discharge flow path, a reservoir, a valve, and a controller. The controller opens the valve, determines an open time, for which the valve is opened to discharge the anode off gas, on the basis of the amount of water stored in the reservoir, the discharge time of water that flows through the discharge flow path to be discharged, and the discharge amount of the anode off gas that flows through the discharge flow path to be discharged, and closes the valve when an elapsed time for which the valve is opened reaches the open time.

Fuel cell system with valve control for discharging anode off gas, and method of operating the same

A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell that generates electric power using fuel gas and oxidant gas, a fuel gas supply path through which the fuel gas is supplied to an anode inlet of the fuel cell, a recycle gas path through which anode off-gas discharged from an anode outlet of the fuel cell returns to the fuel gas supply path, and a pressure booster arranged in the recycle gas path, and the pressure booster is arranged above a confluence portion where the fuel gas supply path and the recycle gas path meet each other when gravity acts downward from above.

A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell which generates electric power by using a hydrogen gas and an oxidizing gas, a hydrogen gas supply route where the hydrogen gas to be supplied to an anode of the fuel cell flows, an anode off-gas discharge route for discharging an anode off-gas discharged from the anode of the fuel cell to outside, an anode off-gas discharge valve provided to the anode off-gas discharge route, and a controller which causes the anode off-gas discharge valve to be opened when a temperature of any of the hydrogen gas supply route, the anode of the fuel cell, the anode off-gas discharge route, and the anode off-gas discharge valve becomes equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature.

A fuel cell system is provided that can operate continuously and appropriately when a water self-sustaining operation of the fuel cell system is difficult due to environmental conditions and operating conditions, etc. When a first water level corresponding to a water shortage in a condensed water tank is detected using a water level detector, a controller implements a water-saving mode where the output of a fuel cell is decreased regardless of the external power load and the amount of reforming water used is reduced. When it is determined using a cooling determination device during the water-saving mode that the exhaust gas cooling capability in a condenser brought about by a cooling medium is at least a prescribed value, the controller implements a water recovery mode where the output of the fuel cell is increased regardless of the external power load and the amount of condensed water recovered is increased.

A solid oxide fuel cell system includes a solid oxide fuel cell that produces electricity by using a hydrogen-containing gas and an oxidant gas, an exhaust-gas path via which an exhaust gas discharged from the solid oxide fuel cell flows, a circulation path via which a coolant circulates, a first heat exchanger that is disposed on the exhaust-gas path and the circulation path and enables heat exchange between the exhaust gas and the coolant, a second path, via which condensed water produced when the exhaust gas is cooled in the first heat exchanger flows, that branches from the exhaust-gas path and is connected to the circulation path, a second tank that stores reservoir water, and a second heat exchanger that is disposed in the second tank and on the circulation path and enables heat exchange between the reservoir water and the coolant.

Solid oxide fuel cell system including heat exchanger disposed of exhaust-gas and loop circulation paths

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 hydrogen generating apparatus includes a reformer generating hydrogen-containing gas through a reforming reaction, a raw material supplier supplying a raw material to the reformer, a reaction gas supplier supplying reaction gas other than the raw material to the reformer, a hydro-desulfurizer removing a sulfur compound in the raw material supplied to the reformer, a recycle flow passage through which part of the hydrogen-containing gas generated by the reformer is supplied to the hydro-desulfurizer, a closing device that closes the recycle flow passage, and a controller that, when stopping operation, closes the closing device and controls the raw material supplier and the reaction gas supplier such that the raw material and the reaction gas are supplied to the reformer, before a temperature of the reformer drops down to a temperature at which deposition of carbon from the raw material on a reformation catalyst disposed inside the reformer is suppressed.

Hydrogen generating apparatus, fuel cell system, and methods of operating them

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 ().

Growing community of inventors

Kyoto, Japan

Junji Morita