Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Koichiro Miyata

Chihiro Wake

Jumpei Ogawa

Kenichiro Ueda

Yuji Matsumoto

Junji Uehara

Osamu Ohgami

Takuya Shirasaka

Go Kikuchi

Satoshi Aoyagi

Shigeru Inai

Minoru Uoshima

Nobutaka Nakajima

Kentaro Nagoshi

Takashi Yamamoto

Yusai Yoshimura

Shinjiro Morita

Katsumi Hayashi

Kuniaki Ojima

Tomoki Kobayashi

Shinya Watanabe

Yasunori Kotani

Ryo Jinba

Hiroshi Morikawa

Daishi Igarashi

Nobuki Koiwa

Akiji Ando

Kaoru Yamazaki

Shinji Yoshikawa

Satoshi Tanimoto

Tomohisa Kamiyama

Tomoyuki Yamashiro

A fuel gas supply apparatus of a fuel cell system includes a pressure reducing valve, an interruption valve, and an injector in a hydrogen supply channel. A controller of the fuel cell system includes a drive cycle setting unit for setting the drive cycle of the injector based on a load of the fuel cell stack, and a water state determination unit for determining whether or not quantity of water content in the fuel cell is excessive by determining whether or not the quantity of water content is a predetermined quantity or more.

Fuel cell system and method of controlling the fuel cell system

A scavenging process is performed on the anode side by opening an air supply valve to remove liquid droplets in a fuel gas flow field using the compressed air from an air compressor. During the scavenging process, when a start up signal from an ignition switch is received, the start up of a fuel cell is prohibited until the gas in the fuel gas flow field is replaced completely by air.

Fuel cell system and start up control method for the fuel cell system

A fuel cell system that can supply fuel gas appropriately is provided. The fuel cell system includes an injectorA and an injectorB which inject fuel gas, and an ECU. The ECUadjusts the flow rate of the fuel gas that is injected from the injectorA by adjusting the valve opening time period and the valve closing time period of the injectorA, which are repeated alternately, and make at least a part of the valve opening time period of the injectorB overlap with the valve closing time period of the injectorA when opening the valve of the injectorB.

Fuel cell system

Provided is a fuel cell system capable of achieving both of improving purge efficiency and preventing deterioration of the fuel cell, and a control method of the fuel cell system. The fuel cell system includes a circulation rate adjusting unit that adjusts a circulation rate of a circulation gas, a first startup purge unit that performs the first startup purge by opening a purge valve in a state where the circulation rate of the circulation gas is increased to be a mixing promotion rate capable of promoting mixing of the fuel gas with the circulation gas at system startup of the fuel cell system, and a second startup purge unit that performs the second startup purge by opening the purge valve in a state where the gas circulation rate is reduced to be less than the mixing promotion rate after the first startup purge.

Fuel cell system and control method of fuel cell system

Provided is a fuel-cell system having a control device which controls driving of a first fuel supply device and a second fuel supply device. The control device includes, a driving-interval setting unit which sets first driving intervals for the first fuel supply device and second driving intervals for the second fuel supply device, a first fuel-supply-device control unit which sets valve-open durations of the first fuel supply device according to the first driving intervals, and a second fuel-supply-device control unit which sets valve-open durations of the second fuel supply device according to the second driving intervals. The driving-interval setting unit sets the second driving intervals to be shorter than the first driving intervals.

A fuel cell system that can quickly transition to idling stop and can suppress degradation of the electrolyte membrane and decline in cell voltage during idling stop, without requiring a discharge resistor to be provided, and a control method thereof are provided. A fuel cell system () includes a fuel cell () configured by layering a plurality of fuel cell cells that generate power by reactant gas being supplied thereto, and a supply devicethat supplies reactant gas to the fuel cell (), in which idling stop control is initiated to supply air of a lower flow rate than during idling power generation to the fuel cell (), while producing lower current than during idling power generation from the fuel cell (), in a case of a predetermined condition being established during idling power generation.

Fuel cell system and control method thereof

A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell, a fuel gas supply channel, a fuel off-gas discharge channel, an oxidant gas supply channel, an oxidant off-gas discharge channel, a first shut valve, a second shut valve, a shut valve controller, a temperature detector, a scavenging device, and an elapsed-time detector. The elapsed-time detector is configured to detect an elapsed time elapsed from a timing at which the fuel cell is shut down. The scavenging device scavenges the oxidant gas flow channel and the fuel gas flow channel in sequence if the elapsed time detected by the elapsed-time detector is within a first predetermined period of time. The scavenging device scavenges the fuel gas flow channel and the oxidant gas flow channel in sequence if the elapsed time detected by the elapsed-time detector is outside the first predetermined period of time.

A fuel cell system calculates amount of fluid discharged from a fuel gas circulation path with water and fuel gas in accordance with an ordinary process map if inside an anode is not scavenged when a fuel cell stops electrochemical reaction; measures amount of water remaining in a fuel gas circulation path in accordance with cumulative electricity output, temperature, or elapsed time after starting the electrochemical reaction if the inside the anode is scavenged previously; and determines whether the inside the fuel gas circulation path is in dry condition or humid condition. The fuel cell system calculates amount of fluid discharged from the fuel gas circulation path with water or the fuel gas in accordance with a map predetermined for the dry condition if the fuel cell system determines that the inside the fuel gas circulation path is in the dry condition. The fuel cell system calculates the amount of the fluid to be discharged with the water or the fuel gas in accordance with the ordinary map if the fuel cell system determines that the inside the fuel gas circulation path is in the humid condition. Accordingly, wasteful discharge of fuel gas can be prevented in a purging operation after starting up the fuel cell system.

A fuel cell device is equipped with an ECUwhich executes a start-up control of a fuel cell stack, and executes a normal electric distribution control, after completion of the start-up control, for controlling a supply flow rate of a fuel gas to an anode electrode and a supply flow rate of an oxidant gas to a cathode electrode, so that a predetermined target current is supplied from the fuel cell stackto an electric load. The ECUmakes a current adjustment elementto be in a state where a current larger than a minimum current necessary for the fuel cell stackin the normal electric distribution control is supplied from the fuel cell stackto the electric load, in the start-up control, during the period from starting of the supply of hydrogen to the anode electrodeuntil a gas channel of the anode electrodeis filled with hydrogen.

Fuel cell device

A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell stack, a warming up status detector, a warming up completion threshold setter, an informing device, an estimator, and a threshold changer. The warming up status detector is configured to detect a warming up status of the fuel cell stack. The informing device is configured to inform of completion of warming up when a value corresponding to a warming up status detected by the warming up status detector is equal to or higher than a threshold value set by the warming up completion threshold setter. The estimator is configured to estimate whether generated water is frozen in the fuel cell stack. The threshold changer is configured to change the threshold value set by the warming up completion threshold setter in accordance with a freezing state of the generated water in the fuel cell stack estimated by the estimator.

Fuel cell system and warming up completion determining method for the same

A method of shutting down a fuel cell system includes a first step of supplying hydrogen gas and air to a fuel cell stack to thereby cause the fuel cell stack to generate electricity, and a second step of stopping supply of the hydrogen gas, and then supplying air to the fuel cell stack so as to cause the fuel cell stack to generate electricity upon detection of a command to shut down the fuel cell stack. In the second step, when the pressure of the hydrogen gas is lowered to a preset lower-limit value based on an anode pressure, which actually is measured, the fuel cell stack is caused to stop generating electricity.

Method of shutting down fuel cell system

A method includes: determining whether or not an elapsed time since stopping of power generation of a fuel cell until an operation start instruction to start a fuel cell system is detected is shorter than a specified time, if the operation start instruction to start the fuel cell system is detected after the power generation of the fuel cell is stopped; setting, as a first amount, an amount of replacement of a fuel gas on an anode side, if it is determined that the elapsed time is shorter than the specified time; and setting, as a second amount, an amount of replacement of the fuel gas on the anode side, if it is determined that the elapsed time is longer than the specified time. The first amount is larger than the second amount.

Method for controlling fuel cell system

The object of the present invention is to provide a fuel cell system enabling an improvement in fuel consumption and a method for controlling thereof. A fuel cell systemincludes a fuel cell, an air pump, an air supply channel, a hydrogen supply channel, a hydrogen tank, a hydrogen discharge channel, a hydrogen reflux channel, an air discharge channel, a purge valve, and a control device. The control deviceincludes a dilution judgment portionjudging whether dilution of hydrogen gas has been completed; an air increase portionfor increasing an air mass in the air discharge channel; a power production calculation portioncalculating an amount of power production based on the air mass increased; and a fuel cell drive portiondriving the fuel cellto produce electric power to obtain the amount of power production calculated.

Fuel cell system with dilution and purge control and control method thereof

A fuel cell system includes a scavenging gas supply device for supplying a scavenging gas to a fuel cell stack; a scavenging switching valve for performing switching between first scavenging for performing scavenging by supplying the scavenging gas to one of a cathode gas passage and an anode gas passage, and second scavenging for performing scavenging by supplying the scavenging gas to the other gas passage; a pressure control device for controlling the pressure of the scavenging gas; and a control part for controlling operations of the scavenging gas supply device, the scavenging switching valve, and the pressure control device. When the scavenging is switched from the first scavenging to the second scavenging via the scavenging switching valve, the pressure of the scavenging gas at the upstream side with respect to the scavenging switching valve becomes lower than the pressure of the scavenging gas during the first scavenging.

Fuel cell system and scavenging method therefor

A fuel cell system comprises a fuel cell stack, a cell voltage monitor, a hydrogen tank, a hydrogen supply channel, an ejector, a hydrogen off-gas channel, a purge valve, a compressor, an air supply channel, a pressure control unit for controlling air pressure, a pilot pressure input channel branching off from the air supply channel and inputting the air pressure to the ejector as pilot pressure, and a control unit for controlling the purge valve and the pressure control unit. The ejector includes a pressure control mechanism which increases the ejector's secondary-side pressure by increasing the area of the nozzle's ejecting hole when the pilot pressure input from the pilot pressure input channel rises. When electricity generation status of the fuel cell stack is judged to be poor, the control unit opens the purge valve after raising the air pressure and the pilot pressure by using the pressure control unit.

Growing community of inventors

Saitama, Japan

Koichiro Miyata