Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Tomio Yamanaka

Tomotaka Ishikawa

Mitsuhiro Nada

Tomohiro Ogawa

Masashi Toida

Hiroyuki Suzuki

Yoshiaki Naganuma

Junichi Matsuo

Hiroyuki Imanishi

Tsuyoshi Maruo

Ryosuke Oya

Masayuki Suzuki

Atsuo Iio

Kohei Oda

Shinji Asou

Naoki Sugiyama

Kei Nakamuta

Kazuo Yamamoto

Kenji Umayahara

Shinichi Yatsuzuka

Tomohiko Kaneko

Takahiko Hasegawa

Shigeaki Murata

Takashi Harayama

Yohei Okamoto

Nobuyuki Orihashi

Seiichi Tanaka

Hiroki Iida

Hideshi Mizutani

Atsushi Nakajima

Ryoichi Nanba

Ayano Asai

Koji Terashima

Syun Yoshida

Naoya Washio

Keisuke Kikuchi

Toshiaki Kitai

Hiroshi Toge

A fuel cell system includes a controller that controls actions of the fuel cell system. The controller includes a freezing presence-absence determination unit that performs freezing presence-absence determination, a temperature raising execution unit that performs temperature raising processing for raising a temperature of an exhaust and drain valve, and a thawing presence-absence determination unit. In the freezing presence-absence determination, freezing determination is made when the exhaust flow rate of gas is equal to or lower than a first threshold. In the thawing presence-absence determination, thawing determination indicating that the exhaust and drain valve is thawed is made when the exhaust flow rate of gas is higher than a second threshold. The second threshold shows a flow rate higher than the first threshold.

Fuel cell system

An airport according to the present disclosure is an airport where a vehicle is provided. The vehicle includes external supply means for supplying power to outside, and the airport includes power receiving equipment capable of receiving power from the vehicle via the external supply means. The present disclosure provides an airport capable of receiving power from a vehicle provided in the airport in the event of a power failure due to a disaster.

Airport and vehicle

A fuel cell vehicle includes: a fuel cell; a storage portion to store produced water that is produced as a result of power generation by the fuel cell; a drainage valve for switching between a storage state and a drainage state of discharging the produced water from the storage portion to the outside of the fuel cell vehicle; a road information acquisition portion configured to acquire road information on roads on which the fuel cell vehicle travels; and a controller configured to drainage valve control operation. The controller sets a road region meeting a first condition defined in advance regarding road information and that permits the drainage state as a first road region where the drainage state is permitted, and the controller performs drainage if a drainage implementation condition defined in advance, including traveling of the fuel cell vehicle in the first road region, is fulfilled.

Fuel cell vehicle

A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell, an anode gas supply system, an anode gas circulatory system, a cathode gas supply-discharge system, a gas-liquid discharge passage, a gas-liquid discharge valve configured to open and close the gas-liquid discharge passage, a flow-rate acquisition portion, and a controlling portion. After the controlling portion instructs the gas-liquid discharge valve to be opened, the controlling portion executes a normal-abnormality determination such that, when a discharge-gas flow rate of anode gas is a predetermined normal reference value or more, the controlling portion determines that the gas-liquid discharge valve is opened normally, and when the discharge-gas flow rate is lower than the normal reference value, the controlling portion determines that the gas-liquid discharge valve is not opened normally.

The present disclosure provides an energy management system capable of improving energy efficiency. The energy management system includes: a fuel cell configured to supply energy used in a facility; a first hydrogen supply unit configured to supply hydrogen to the fuel cell by causing a power generation apparatus that uses renewable energy to perform water electrolysis; a second hydrogen supply unit configured to supply hydrogen to the fuel cell by reforming natural gas supplied via a pipeline; and a control unit configured to determine a ratio between hydrogen supplied from the first hydrogen supply unit to the fuel cell and hydrogen supplied from the second hydrogen supply unit to the fuel cell. The control unit determines the ratio in accordance with a percentage of heat energy and energy other than the heat energy with respect to the energy used in the facility.

Energy management system

A fuel cell vehicle comprises a fuel cell, a power storage device, a drive motor, a temperature sensor configured to measure a temperature of the fuel cell, a detector configured to detect an operation condition of the fuel cell, and a controller. At a start time of the fuel cell, in a case where the temperature of the fuel cell detected by the temperature sensor is below a freezing point, when an output condition of the fuel cell shown by the detected operation condition of the fuel cell continuously corresponds to a predetermined low output condition for a predetermined reference time period or longer, the controller sets a driving state of the fuel cell vehicle to a first driving state that stops power generation of the fuel cell, drives the drive motor by using only the power storage device as a power source and limits a motor output of the drive motor to be equal to or lower than a predetermined first upper limit output.

Fuel cell vehicle and control method of fuel cell vehicle

A fuel cell system comprises a fuel cell, a gas-liquid separator, a drain flow path through which moisture is discharged from the gas-liquid separator, a valve configured to control discharge of the moisture from the gas-liquid separator, and a controller configured to control fuel cell operation and opening and closing of the valve, and determine whether the valve is frozen. Upon receipt of a stop request of the fuel cell during the fuel cell operation, the controller repeatedly determines whether the valve is frozen. If the controller determines that the valve is frozen, it continues the fuel cell operation until it determines that the valve is not frozen. If the controller determines that the valve is not frozen, it executes stop processing of the fuel cell including opening valve processing.

Fuel cell system and method for controlling the fuel cell system

When the fuel cell stack is operated in a state in which the air stoichiometric ratio is smaller than the predetermined value, the controller calculates the amount of retained water that has been retained in the cathode flow path of the fuel battery cell per fixed time in such a way that the calculated amount includes an extra amount therein, integrates the amount of retained water per fixed time that has been calculated in such a way that the calculated amount includes the extra amount therein, and executes air blow in the cathode flow path of the fuel battery cell when the integrated value of the amount of retained water becomes equal to or larger than the threshold.

Fuel cell system and method of controlling the same

A control unit of a fuel cell system includes a valve control unit configured such that, when it is determined that an exhaust valve is stuck open in a quick warming-up operation, the valve control unit sets at least one of an operable opening area which is an opening area capable of being changed by control and a rate of opening change which is an opening changeable frequency at which an opening is changeable per unit time, for at least one of a pressure adjusting valve and a flow division valve, such that a flow rate of a cathode gas supplied to a fuel cell is in an allowable range of a requested supply flow rate required for the quick warming-up operation.

A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell, an oxidizing gas supplier, an oxidizing gas supply pipe, an oxidizing gas discharge pipe, a fuel gas supply pipe, a fuel gas return pipe, a fuel gas discharge valve, and a controller. The controller executes valve closing control to close the fuel gas discharge valve; and determines the flow rate of a diluent gas to be supplied to an oxidizing gas supply portion by the oxidizing gas supplier according to the flow rate of a leakage gas flowing from the fuel gas discharge valve to the oxidizing gas discharge pipe after the execution of the valve closing control. The flow rate of the diluent gas to be supplied to the oxidizing gas supply portion is determined to increase as the flow rate of the leakage gas increases.

Fuel cell system and control method of fuel cell system

A fuel cell system comprises: a fuel gas supplier: an air supplier; an air flow rate acquirer that obtains a flow rate of the air that is supplied to a fuel cell; a voltage acquirer that obtains an output voltage of the fuel cell; and a controller. At the time of starting the fuel cell system, the controller controls the fuel gas supplier to supply a fuel gas to the fuel cell for a first time period. After elapse of the first time period, the controller controls the air supplier to start supply of the air. The controller calculates an integrated value of the flow rate for a second time period after the supply of the air is started. When the integrated value becomes greater than a predetermined amount and the output voltage is less than a predetermined voltage, the controller determines that the fuel cell system has an abnormality.

Fuel cell system having improved timing control and vehicle utilizing the same

An object is to maintain the voltage of a fuel cell at a desired voltage level and suppress a voltage variation, even in the case of a low load request. A power supply system including a fuel cell causes at least part of a required electric power to be supplied from the fuel cell in an ordinary load state. In a low load state, the power supply system supplies an amount of oxygen that is required to make the voltage of the fuel cell equal to a predetermined target voltage and that is less than an amount of oxygen supplied to the fuel cell in the ordinary load state, to the fuel cell. In a first low load state, the power supply system sets the target voltage to a first target voltage and supplies oxygen to the fuel cell. After a subsequent shift to a state that the required electric power becomes higher than a predetermined reference value to cause the fuel cell to generate electric power at an output voltage that is higher than the first target voltage, in a further shift to a second low load state, the power supply system sets the target voltage to a second target voltage that is higher than the first target voltage and supplies oxygen to the fuel cell.

Power supply system and voltage control method of fuel cell

There is provided a fuel cell system comprising a controller configured to control an opening position of a valve element of a flow dividing valve. The valve element is configured to be movable between a first position and a second position, according to the number of steps of a stepping motor that is provided to drive the valve element. When causing a fuel cell to perform power generation, the controller moves the valve element by a first number of steps such as to move from the first position to the second position and to additionally move the valve element toward the second position, based on a second number of steps that are taken from a time when the valve element starts moving from the first position toward the second position to a time when a voltage measured by a voltage sensor exceeds a predetermined value. This configuration provides a just enough number of steps to correct the position of the valve element and move the valve element to a position where the valve element is pressed against a valve seat.

Fuel cell system with improved valve control

There is provided a fuel cell system. The fuel cell system includes a gas pump that is configured to have a rotating body and circulate an exhaust gas discharged from a fuel cell and is provided in a circulation passage configured to connect a discharge passage of the exhaust gas with a fuel gas supply passage. When temperature of the fuel cell is higher than a reference temperature that is a temperature that allows water to be introduced in a supercooled state into the gas pump, the fuel cell system controls the rotation speed of the rotating body of the gas pump to a first rotation speed corresponding to a power generation demand for the fuel cell. When the temperature of the fuel cell is not higher than the reference temperature, the fuel cell system controls the rotation speed of the rotating body of the gas pump to a second rotation speed that is lower than the first rotation speed. The second rotation speed is a rotation speed in a low rotation speed range that allows the water in the supercooled state introduced into the gas pump to be extended between the rotating body and a rotating body-surrounding housing wall. This configuration suppresses freezing of the gas pump in the circulation passage of the exhaust gas at a start-up time of the fuel cell.

Fuel cell system including control of rotation speed of a gas pump

A fuel cell system comprises: a fuel cell stack; a turbo compressor configured to supply a cathode gas to the fuel cell stack through a cathode gas supply line; a pressure regulation valve configured to regulate a pressure of the cathode gas; and a controller, wherein the controller is configured to calculate a target rotation speed of the turbo compressor and a target opening position of the pressure regulation valve, based on a target flow rate of the cathode gas and a target pressure of the cathode gas that are determined according to a required power output of the fuel cell stack and to control the turbo compressor and the pressure regulation valve using the calculated target rotation speed and the calculated target opening position, and the controller is configured, upon increase of the required power output, to: (a) determine an acceptable overshoot level of a flow rate of the cathode gas that is to be supplied to the fuel cell stack, the acceptable overshoot level being selected from a plurality of levels based on at least an increased amount of the required power output; and (b) set a time change in opening position of the pressure regulation valve such that an overshoot amount in a change of the flow rate of the cathode gas becomes smaller as the acceptable overshoot level gets lower, and perform control of the pressure regulation valve. This configuration suppresses an excessive overshoot in the flow rate of the cathode gas.

Growing community of inventors

Nagoya, Japan

Tomio Yamanaka