Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Keihin Corporation

Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Kouji Miyano

Katsumi Sahoda

Tatsuya Sugawara

Kazunori Fukuma

Kazuki Ishikawa

Yoshio Saito

Takahiro Tachihara

Takashi Yoshida

Hiroyasu Ozaki

Naoyuki Abe

Yoji Nakajima

Masakazu Murai

Masahito Nakamura

Hideki Sasaki

Kouetsu Hikichi

Koji Katano

Kouji Sonoda

Hiroshi Shimanuki

Kiyoshi Kasahara

Kuri Kasuya

Yuuji Asano

Shiyuuichi Togasawa

Toshiaki Kamo

Osamu Ichikawa

A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell for generating power by being supplied with a fuel gas and an oxidizing gas, a fuel gas supply path for supplying a fuel gas to the fuel cell, a fuel off-gas circulation path for returning a fuel off-gas discharged from the fuel cell to the fuel gas supply path, an ejector, provided in the fuel gas supply path and driven by fluid flow energy, for supplying the fuel off-gas in the fuel off-gas circulation path flow to the fuel gas supply path, a fuel pump, provided in the fuel off-gas circulation path or on the fuel gas supply path and downstream with respect to the ejector, and driven by a rotating machine, for pressurizing the fuel off-gas, a discharge valve for discharging the fuel off-gas from the fuel off-gas circulation path; and a control device operatively connected to the fuel pump and to the discharge valve.

Fuel cell system programmed to control reactant gas flow in a gas circulation path

A solenoid-operated cutoff valve for use with fuel cells has a movable member disposed in a guide housing for displacement upon energization of a solenoid. When the movable member is displaced, a pilot valve is unseated from a pilot valve seat. A fluid in a communication chamber flows through a pilot passage into an output port. The communication chamber is divided into a first communication chamber and a second communication chamber by a diaphragm. Under a pressure difference developed between the first communication chamber and the second communication chamber, a main valve of a valve head is unseated from a valve seat of a valve housing, opening the solenoid-operated cutoff valve.

Solenoid-operated cutoff valve for use with fuel cells

A diaphragm is clamped between a solenoid unit disposed in a casing and a second valve body in which hydrogen is introduced. A filter comprising a bottomed cylindrical mesh member is mounted in a first passage defined in the first valve body. A restriction having an orifice for restricting the flow rate of hydrogen supplied to first and second communication chambers is mounted in a first port that is disposed upstream of the filter. The restriction and the filter are disposed coaxially in line with each other.

Solenoid valve for fuel cell

The present invention is carried out to improve the starting capability of a fuel cell at low temperatures. The fuel cell system comprises a fuel cellwhich generate electric power by supplying hydrogen gas and a oxidant gas, a hydrogen gas passagefor supplying hydrogen to the fuel cell, a hydrogen off gas circulation passagefor returning the hydrogen off gas to the hydrogen supply flow path, a hydrogen pumpprovided at the hydrogen gas off gas circulation passagefor boosting the hydrogen off gas, a hydrogen off gas bypass passagefor returning the hydrogen off gas to the hydrogen supply flow path, an ejectorfor sending hydrogen off gas in the hydrogen off gas bypass passageprovided in the hydrogen gas supply flow pathto the hydrogen supply flow path

Fuel cell system

A regulator for use with fuel cells, which is mounted in a pressure controller of a fuel cell system, has a first diaphragm flexible under the pressure of pilot air supplied as an oxidizing agent to a pilot chamber, a second diaphragm flexible under the pressure of a hydrogen-containing gas flowing through a fluid passage, and a rod connected to a valve head. The spring force of a first spring is set to a value greater than the spring force of a second spring. The regulator is of a normally closed type in which the valve head is seated on a valve seat when the pilot air is not supplied to the pilot chamber.

Regulator for fuel cell

A back pressure chamber is defined at an end of a rod for acting in a direction to cancel out a pressure applied to a valve head, and an aspirator chamber is defined closely to the valve head for developing a pressure lower than a secondary pressure due to a suction caused by a nozzle. The rod has a first communication hole and a second communication hole that are defined therein which provides fluid communication between the back pressure chamber and the aspirator chamber.

Regulator

A check valve is disposed in a hydrogen offgas circulation path which is connected to a fuel cell so as to flow the hydrogen offgas only in one direction. Inside a valve housing, a first compression chamber and a second compression chamber are provided such that a bulkhead is disposed therebetween. In the bulkhead, a first communication holeand a second communication holeare formed so as to communicate between the first compression chamber and the second compression chamber. In a first reed valve, an opening end is disposed upward and a fixed end is disposed downward. In a second reed valve, an opening end is disposed downward and a fixed end is disposed upward. By doing this, operability in the check valve after water has frozen can be improved.

Check valve and fuel cell system using the same

To provide a fuel circuit of the fuel cell system, wherein a fuel pump can be scaled down, power consumption can be reduced, and required amount of fuel circulation is kept in the time of the output change in a fuel cell, including a fuel cell which generates electricity by being supplied with fuel and an oxidant; a fuel supply stream passage for sending the fuel to the fuel cell; a fuel circuit stream passage for making the unconsumed fuel discharged from the fuel cell merge with the fuel supply stream passage to be recirculated; the fuel pump (hydrogen pump) which takes in and sends out the unreacted fuel; and an ejector which inhales the unreacted fuel using the negative pressure generated when the fuel flows, the unreacted fuel being made to be merged with the fuel supplied to the fuel cell thereafter.

Fuel circuit of the fuel cell system

A fuel evaporator is provided in a fuel cell system FCS having an evaporating chamber that evaporates liquid fuel into fuel gas by heat medium gas. The fuel evaporator is provided with a liquid fuel injection apparatus that injects liquid fuel into the evaporating chamber and an injection volume adjusting apparatus that adjusts the injection volume of the liquid fuel injection apparatus. The injection volume adjusting apparatus includes an injection volume adjusting portion that sets the fuel injection volume according to an injection volume target setting signal.

Evaporator liquid fuel injection apparatus and 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.

Fuel evaporator

A warm-up apparatus for a fuel evaporator comprises: a catalyst combustor for catalytically burning exhaust gas from a fuel cell to produce combustion gas and supplying the fuel evaporator which evaporates raw fuel liquid with the produced combustion gas as an evaporation heat source; an exhaust gas passage for transferring exhaust gas to the catalyst combustor; and a combustion gas transferring device including a fuel injection portion and a combustion catalyst , and injecting fuel from the fuel injection portion onto the combustion catalyst, where the fuel is catalytically burned to produce combustion gas, and thereafter transferring the produced combustion gas to the catalyst combustor. The combustion gas transferring device is positioned on one side of said exhaust gas passage.

Growing community of inventors

Utsunomiya, Japan

Kouji Miyano