Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Kiyoshi Kasahara

Naoyuki Abe

Satoshi Hanai

Takahiro Tachihara

Masahito Nakamura

Yuuji Asano

Tadashi Nomura

Yasunori Kotani

Hikaru Okada

Kouji Miyano

Yuji Asano

Shuichi Togasawa

Hiroyuki Iwasaki

Kazuya Aoki

Hiromoto Ikada

Rieko Okada

Shiyuuichi Togasawa

A fuel cell system includes a branch anode gas supply pipe in which hydrogen before supplied to a fuel cell flows; and a branch cathode gas supply pipe in which air before supplied to the fuel cell flows. One end on the upstream side of the branch anode gas supply pipe is connected to the upstream side of a regulator in an anode gas supply pipe, and the other end thereof is connected to the branch cathode gas supply pipe via a hydrogen injector. The branch anode gas supply pipe is provided with a hydrogen regulator, which detects a pressure in the branch cathode gas supply pipe as a signal pressure.

Fuel cell system

A vaporizer generates vapor by vaporizing a liquid. In particular, a vaporizer generates fuel vapor that is used for reforming fuel by vaporizing a liquid fuel that contains a hydrocarbon. This vaporizer includes a heating gas direct movement flow path along which a heating gas flows by moving directly in a horizontal direction; vaporization flow paths that are positioned such that they can exchange heat with the heating gas direct movement flow path, and that vaporizes liquid fuel; a fuel supply pipe that supplies the liquid fuel to the vaporization flow paths; and a vapor flow path that is positioned in an upstream portion on the heating gas direct movement flow path from the vaporization flow paths and that heat fuel vapor that is discharged from the vaporization flow paths. Fuel vapor that is generated on the vaporization flow paths circulates upwards in the direction of gravity along the vaporization flow paths, and subsequently is discharged from a top portion of the vaporization flow paths and is introduced into the vapor flow path. The fuel vapor then circulates in the direction of gravity along the vapor flow path.

Vaporizer that vaporizes a liquid to generate vapor

A method of warming up a fuel evaporator is disclosed. The fuel evaporatorcomprises: an evaporation chamberequipped with a first injection devicefor injecting raw fuel liquid onto a heat sourceand vaporizing the raw fuel liquid on the heat source; a catalyst combustorhaving a combustion catalystand introducing catalytically burned combustion gas into the heat source; a second injection devicefor supplying fuel to the catalyst combustor; a combustion gas transferring deviceequipped with a fuel injection portionand a combustion catalystand the fuel injection portion injecting fuel onto the combustion catalyst to generate a catalytically burned gas; a first temperature measurement device Tfor the catalyst combustor; and a second temperature measurement device Tfor the evaporation chamber. The warm-up method comprises the steps of: transferring the combustion gas with the combustion gas transferring device; stopping the combustion gas transferring device in accordance with a temperature of the catalyst combustor, and transferring fuel to the catalyst combustor with the second injection device; and injecting the raw fuel liquid from the first injection device in accordance with a temperature of the evaporation chamber so as to vaporize the raw fuel liquid within the evaporation chamber.

Method of warming up a fuel evaporator

A fuel evaporator composed of an evaporation chamber which evaporates a raw liquid fuel by a high temperature thermal medium to provide a raw fuel gas is disclosed. The evaporation chamber comprises a plurality of evaporation chambers serially connected to each other in a ventilation manner, and at least one raw liquid fuel injector for injecting the raw liquid fuel being provided on each of said plurality of evaporation chambers.

Fuel evaporator

A raw fuel vaporizing apparatus comprising: a vaporizer for vaporizing liquid raw fuel; a raw fuel introducing device for introducing the liquid raw fuel into the vaporizer; a catalyst combustor into which fuel and air are supplied for catalytic combustion, the catalyst combustor generating heat in the presence of a catalyst and supplying the resulting heat to the vaporizer to vaporize the liquid raw fuel; a fuel introducing device for introducing the fuel into the catalyst combustor; an air introducing device for introducing the amount of the air suitable for catalytic combustion into the catalyst combustor; a heat transferring gas introducing device introducing heat transferring gas into the catalyst combustor to transfer heat retained by the catalyst combustor to the vaporizer; and a controller increasing the amount of the heat transferring gas through the heat transferring gas introducing device when the amount of vapor generated in the vaporizer is increased.

Raw fuel vaporizing apparatus, method of vaporizing raw fuel, and fuel cell system equipped with raw fuel vaporizing apparatus

Air for reforming used in the reformation reaction in a reformer of a fuel cell system FCS is supplied into an evaporator . In the evaporator , raw fuel liquid is evaporated to produce raw fuel gas. The reforming air and the raw fuel gas are well admixed within the evaporator and a conduit C connecting the evaporator to the reformer . At the starting of the fuel cell system FCS, a large amount of the air is introduced into the evaporator via an air inlet port B for starting. The fuel cell system having such a configuration can appropriately mix the fuel gas in the reformer with the reforming air and can rapidly operate the evaporator and the reformer at the time of starting without enlarging the total size of the fuel cell system.

A fuel cell system comprises a fuel cell stack an evaporator a reforming device a supercharger an offgas heating device and a catalytic combustion chamber Offgas exhausted from the fuel cell stack is burnt in the catalytic combustion chamber and the burnt offgas is introduced to the evaporator to be heat exchanged with a reforming raw fuel and reforming air. The burnt offgas cooled by means of the heat exchange is introduced to the offgas heating device to be used as a heat source for heating the offgas exhausted from the fuel cell stack The offgas can be heated by the burnt offgas, and the moisture in the offgas can be vaporized and introduced to the catalytic combustion chamber

Recovery system of heat energy in a fuel cell system

In a fuel evaporator provided with an evaporation chamber that produces raw fuel gas FG by vaporizing raw fuel liquid by heat received from a plurality of heat medium tubes through which a high temperature heat medium passes, a raw fuel injection portion that injects raw fuel liquid onto the heat medium tubes is situated in the evaporation chamber . The heat medium tubes are arranged sparsely near the raw fuel injection portion and densely away from it. A catalytic combustor is provided adjacent to the bottom surface of the evaporation chamber to form the high temperature heat medium. Such a fuel evaporator efficiently vaporizes raw fuel liquid and can be suitably applied in a fuel cell system for a fuel cell-powered automobile.

A fuel reforming apparatus is provided for generating a hydrogen-rich gas. The fuel reforming apparatus includes an evaporator comprising an evaporation chamber for evaporating the fuel vapor by evaporating a hydrocarbon fuel-water mixture by an evaporator using a combustion gas formed in a combustor; a heating chamber for heating the fuel vapor by a combustion gas output from the evaporation chamber; and a guiding path for guiding the combustion gas output from the evaporation chamber to the heating chamber along the floor of the evaporating room. In the heating chamber, the fuel vapor generated in the evaporation chamber is uniformly heated in an atmosphere with a homogeneous temperature of the combustion gas output from a heating medium tube, while the fuel vapor is circulating in the vapor tube.

Fuel reforming apparatus

An injector including an electrically operated valve connected to a pressurized liquid supply source, is provided in a fuel supply system of an internal combustion engine, to inject fuel from a fuel tank supplied under pressure by a fuel pump. The injector has a housing having a conduit to receive fuel and a movable core (member) disposed in the conduit. The movable core has a valve. When a solenoid is energized, the movable core moves against the flow of fuel to open the valve, while allowing fuel to flow between a conduit surface and the movable member to as far as the valve. Grooves are formed on at least one of the conduit surface and a surface of the movable core, preferably on the conduit surface, in a direction parallel to that in which the movable member moves. These grooves act as fluid passages, reducing the fluid resistance encountered by the movable core and enhancing the valve stroke response. Moreover, the conduit surface and the surface of the movable core in contact therewith are subject to high-hard coating treatment to improve durability.

Injector

A fuel strainer having a strainer cup into which fuel is introduced from an upper side of the strainer cup, and a partition assembly removably fitted in the strainer cup. The partition assembly includes a base plate having a magnet attached to a lower side thereof, and at least one partition plate connected to an upper side of the base plate through a plurality of supporting columns so as to divide the space in the strainer cup into an upper and a lower chambers. The partition plate has a passage bore for connection between the upper and lower chambers and an upper surface of the partition plate constitutes a sediment guiding surface descending toward the passage bore. When the inside of the strainer cup is agitated for any reason, the sedimented impurities, irrespective of whether they are magnetic or non-magnetic, are effectively confined within the lower chamber by the cooperation of the attraction effect of the magnet and the partitioning effect of the partition plate so that the mixing of the sediment impurities into the fuel flowing in the strainer is effectively prevented.

Growing community of inventors

Saitama, Japan

Kiyoshi Kasahara