Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.

Tyco Electronics Japan G.k.

Hitachi Maxell Energy, Ltd.

Masahiro Imanishi

Shigeaki Murata

Haruyuki Nakanishi

Yoshihisa Tamura

Nobuhiro Nishiguchi

Shigeki Hasegawa

Hiroshi Nakajima

Maruo Kamino

Seiji Yoshimura

Seiji Komatsu

Seiji Morita

Daiji Hotta

Naoki Ito

Koji Katano

Shinichi Matsumoto

Mikio Kishimoto

Nobuaki Nonoyama

Keisuke Nagasaka

Yoshihiro Shinozaki

Yuichiro Hama

Hirokazu Ishimaru

Keita Yamaue

Seiji Sano

Hiroyuki Kawai

Ryoichi Namba

Yuko Sawaki

Yoshihiro Ohkuwa

Ryoichi Nanba

Satoru Naruse

Satoshi Nakazawa

Yoshitaka Minamida

Katsuyuki Kida

Masayuki Muraki

Shoichi Inamine

Kyohei Kadota

Kouzo Matsuura

Naoto Yoda

Satoru Fukuoka

A connector includes a protrusion. The protrusion protrudes toward a distal end side to serve as a distal end of the connector. The connector moves in a diagonal direction relative to a first separator. A worker positions the connector in a Z direction, before moving the connector. With an upward protrusion and an inward protrusion formed, the worker standing by a first side wall looks into a casing from above to see a portion around an attachment portion. When the connector is positioned close to the attachment portion, the worker looking into the casing from above cannot see a bottom surface of the connector. The worker can see the protrusion even when he or she cannot see the bottom surface.

Fuel cell module, manufacturing method for fuel cell module, and connector

To make a fuel cell stack reliably discharge at the time of vehicle collision, a control system for an electric vehicle is provided with a fuel cell stack generating electric power by an electrochemical reaction between fuel gas and oxidizing gas and supplying generated electric power to an electric motor for driving the vehicle, a first electrical resistor for discharge electrically connected to the fuel cell stack through an electrically controlled type discharge switch, a discharge control circuit controlling an on/off state of the discharge switch, and a collision detector detecting a vehicle collision and outputting a collision signal to the discharge control circuit. When a collision signal is input to the discharge control circuit, it turns the discharge switch on and electrically connects the fuel cell stack to the first electrical resistor for discharge, to thereby discharge the fuel cell stack. A power supply of the discharge control circuit is comprised of the fuel cell stack.

Control system for and control method of electric vehicle

The fuel cell system is a fuel cell system comprising a fuel cell stack assembly, wherein the fuel cell stack assembly comprises a fuel cell stack and a data storage configured to store a start-up history of the fuel cell stack; wherein the data storage comprises a detector configured to detect a presence or absence of a connection to at least one selected from the group consisting of an external power source and an external communication device; and wherein the data storage starts up when a voltage of the fuel cell stack is a predetermined threshold value or more.

Fuel cell system and method for determining fuel cell stack reusability

A connector is moved obliquely to a first separator. An optical distance measuring device is used to optically measure an attachment position of the connector while using the first separator as a reference. A reference plane of the first separator is used as a reference. An inspection plane of the connector is also used as a reference. The inspection plane is formed to be parallel to the reference plane in the state that the connector is accurately attached to an attachment portion.

Fuel cell module, manufacturing method thereof, and connector

The fuel cell unit includes: a fuel cell stack; a cell monitor configured to detect voltage or current of the fuel cell stack; wire harness configured to connect the fuel cell stack and the cell monitor to each other; a power conversion unit configured to include a switching element and to perform conversion of output power of the fuel cell stack or conversion of supplied power to auxiliary machines used for operation of the fuel cell stack by using the switching element; and a bulkhead part that is made of metal and is configured to partition the wire harness and the power conversion unit from each other, the bulkhead part being grounded, wherein the wire harness and the power conversion unit are placed next to each other with the bulkhead part interposed therebetween. Thus, it becomes implementable to downsize the fuel cell unit while satisfying both the prevention of physical contact between the wire harness and the power conversion unit and the suppression of influences of switching noise on analog data.

Fuel cell unit

The fuel cell system includes: a fuel cell unit including first and second fuel cells connected to each other in parallel; a supply system that supplies a reactant gas to the fuel cell unit; a required output power obtainment unit configured to obtain required output power to the fuel cell unit; a supply system control unit configured to control the supply system such that output power of the fuel cell unit is the required output power; a determination unit configured to determine whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied; and a performance obtainment unit configured to obtain output power performance of the first fuel cell.

Fuel cell system

A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell stack configured to supply power to an electric motor for driving a vehicle as well as generating power by an electrochemical reaction between a fuel gas and an oxidant gas, a discharge circuit and the discharge control circuit. The discharge circuit may form a plurality of discharge paths through which power generated in the fuel cell stack is discharged switching elements switching the connection relationships between resistance elements. The discharge control circuit form a second discharge path whose resistance value is smaller than the resistance value of the first discharge path and to switch the discharge through a first discharge path to discharge through the second discharge path when the detected voltage that is detected by the voltage detection unit is lower than a predetermined threshold voltage during the discharge through the first discharge path.

Fuel cell system for motor vehicle and control method of same

A fuel cell that can have a voltage-detection cell connector reliably held thereon without the thickness of the fuel cell increased to a thickness of greater than that originally required to generate power. The fuel cell includes a recess portion in which a cell connector is adapted to be inserted. In the recess portion, a guide portion, which can guide a cell connector being inserted into the recess portion, is formed of a part of a separator (or a second extending portion thereof). In a portion of the recess portion opposite the second extending portion, a protrusion that forms a part of an insulating resin sheet, which is arranged between a pair of separators, protrudes toward the second extending portion. A to-be-crimped portion of the cell connector inserted in the recess portion is pressed against the second extending portion by the protrusion so that its stable posture is held.

Fuel cell and fuel cell device having voltage-detection cell coonector receiving portion

A connector unit comprises a plurality of connector modules. Each connector module is coupled to an adjacent connector module in a first direction and is matable with a mating object in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. Each connector module includes a holding portion holding a contact and a coupling portion positioned adjacent to the holding portion on an end side of the connector module in a third direction orthogonal to the first direction and the second direction. The coupling portion has a protrusion protruding toward the end side of the connector module, a concave part receiving the protrusion of the adjacent connector module, and a separation inhibiting part inhibiting separation of the protrusion of the adjacent connector module from the concave part. The connector modules coupled by the coupling portions are each displaceable in the first direction, the second direction, and the third direction.

Connector unit for mating with a cell stack of a fuel cell

A female contact and a mating structure in which the female contact mates with a male contact. The female contact has first and second elastic arms that are connected together. The first elastic arm has a first dummy contact point and a first actual contact point rearward of the first dummy contact point and has a smaller protrusion than the first dummy contact point. The second elastic arm has a second dummy contact point and a second actual contact point rearward of the second dummy contact point and has a smaller protrusion amount than the second dummy contact point.

Female contact and mating structure of contacts

The fuel cell unit comprises a fuel cell including a cell stack with a plurality of stacked cells; a cell monitor which monitors one or more of the plurality of stacked cells; a control device connected with the cell monitor via a communication cable; a first case which places the fuel cell therein; and a second case which places the control device therein and fixed to an upper surface of the first case. The cell monitor includes a connector portion protruded from the first case and provided with a connection connector which is connected with a communication connector of the communication cable. The second case includes an insertion space for receiving the connector portion when the second case is fixed to the first case and further includes a connector opening in a surface opposed to the connection connector when the connector portion is inserted in the insertion space.

A controller of a fuel cell system performs a starting operation that switches on a first precharge circuit so as to reduce a voltage difference between a first smoothing capacitor and a second smoothing capacitor and subsequently turns on a first relay, when a start switch is turned on in a system off state that the first relay is off. Upon satisfaction of a predetermined condition including at least one of a condition that a difference between the voltage of the first smoothing capacitor and the voltage of the second smoothing capacitor is equal to or greater than a first reference value and a condition that the voltage of the first smoothing capacitor is equal to or higher than a second reference value, the controller uses a second converter to charge the second smoothing capacitor so as to bring the voltage of the second smoothing capacitor closer to the voltage of the first smoothing capacitor, and subsequently switches the first precharge circuit from off to on. This configuration reduces the electric current flowing through a precharge circuit at the time of starting the fuel cell system.

Fuel cell system and method of controlling of a fuel cell system

This electrode for fuel cell comprises: carbon nanotubes; a catalyst for fuel cell supported on the carbon nanotubes; and an ionomer provided to coat the carbon nanotubes and the catalyst for fuel cell, wherein when a length of the carbon nanotubes is represented by La [&#x3bc;m] and an inter-core pitch of the carbon nanotubes is represented by Pa [nm], the length La and the inter-core pitch Pa satisfy two expressions given below: 30&#x2266;La&#x2266;240; and 0.351&#xd7;La+75&#x2266;Pa&#x2266;250.

Electrode for fuel cell and production method of electrode for fuel cell, membrane electrode assembly and fuel cell

Growing community of inventors

Susono, Japan

Masahiro Imanishi