Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Ishikawajima-harima Heavy Industries Co., Ltd.

Honda Giken Kabushiki Kaisha

Yasunori Kotani

Tomoki Kobayashi

Minoru Uoshima

Hikaru Okada

Shigeru Inai

Yoshikazu Murakami

Hideo Kato

Kenichiro Ueda

Katsumi Hayashi

Nobutaka Nakajima

Ryo Jinba

Yasuhiro Watanabe

Chihiro Wake

Hideaki Kikuchi

Tadashi Nomura

Masahiro Mohri

Chikara Iwasawa

Shinji Yoshikawa

Hiroaki Ohta

Masahiko Sato

Tadashi Nishiyama

Masaharu Suzuki

Koichiro Miyata

Yosuke Fujii

Junji Uehara

Masaru Oda

Kuniaki Ojima

Hiromichi Yoshida

Kentaro Nagoshi

Akio Yamamoto

Yoshihito Kimura

Kiyoshi Kasahara

Tatsuya Sugawara

Akihiro Matsui

Hideaki Sumi

Takahiro Tachihara

Masahiro Ise

Akifumi Otaka

Hideo Okamoto

Minoru Mizusawa

Takeshi Yamagami

Osamu Ohgami

Kouji Ueda

Keiko Yamazaki

Hidetoshi Takimoto

Nobuyuki Matsumoto

Seiji Tonegawa

Hiroto Chiba

Kazuhito Matsuda

Atsushi Sakuma

Yasuhiko Fukuchi

Nobuyuki Kawasaki

Akiji Andou

Masaaki Sakano

Shoji Isove

Eiji Iseki

A fuel cell stack is comprised of a plurality of power generating units which are stacked along the horizontal direction. An oxidant gas inlet port and a fuel gas inlet port are provided in an upper portion of one of the power generating units, and an oxidant gas outlet port and a fuel gas outlet port are provided in the lower portion of the power generating unit. A refrigerant inlet port and a refrigerant outlet port are formed in each of the left and right portions of the power generating unit.

Fuel cell stack

A method of starting operation of a fuel cell stack includes the steps of performing gas replacement by supplying a fuel gas to a fuel gas flow field from a downstream side of the fuel gas flow field through a fuel gas discharge passage, and supplying an oxygen-containing gas to an oxygen-containing gas flow field from an upstream side of the oxygen-containing gas flow field through an oxygen-containing gas supply passage. After the step of performing gas replacement, normal power generation is carried out by supplying the fuel gas to the fuel gas flow field from an upstream side of the fuel gas flow field through a fuel gas supply passage, and supplying the oxygen-containing gas to the oxygen-containing gas flow field from the upstream side of the oxygen-containing gas flow field through the oxygen-containing gas supply passage.

Method of starting operation of solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell

A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell stack, a gas liquid separator, a first drain channel, and a second drain channel. The gas liquid separator is connected to a fuel gas discharge passage of the fuel cell stack through a fuel gas discharge channel. The first drain channel is connected to the fuel gas discharge passage separately from the fuel gas discharge channel, and connected to the gas liquid separator through a valve unit. The second drain channel chiefly discharges liquid droplets from the gas liquid separator.

Fuel cell system

A stop method for a fuel cell system that includes a fuel cell unit in which hydrogen is supplied to an anode, and air is supplied to a cathode so as to generate electrical power via an electrochemical reaction. The stop method includes the steps of stopping supply of hydrogen to the anode, and supplying air to the anode so as to discharge water remaining at the anode.

Stop method for fuel cell system

A fuel cell system enables time required for purging to be reduced without a major increase in discharge gas concentration at a time of purging. It comprises a fuel cell; a fuel gas supply path for supplying the fuel gas to an anode; an oxidizing gas supply path for supplying an oxidizing gas to a cathode; a fuel gas circulating path for returning an unreacted fuel gas to an anode inlet side; a dilution box for diluting the fuel gas by the oxidizing gas and for discharging it to outside; and a fuel gas discharge path connecting the fuel gas circulating path and a dilution box discharge gas inlet. A drain valve, a purge valve and an air discharge valve are provided, opening areas of which are different from one another. The drain valve with a smallest opening area is initially opened.

Fuel cell system and method of discharging a reaction gas from the fuel cell system

When an ignition switch is turned off, a hydrogen supply valve is closed. Operation of a compressor continues, and an air supply valve and an air discharge valve are opened to supply the compressed air into a fuel cell through a hydrogen supply port. The scavenging process of removing the fuel gas and the water remaining in the fuel gas channel is performed through the air discharge valve, a drain valve, and a hydrogen purge valve. Then, all the valves connected to the fuel gas channel are closed. The pressure when the valves are closed, and the pressure when a short time has elapsed after closing the valves are detected by a pressure sensor. Based on the pressure difference, a failure due to the leakage in the fuel gas channel is detected.

Fuel cell system and method of detecting failure in a fuel gas channel of fuel cell system

A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell stack formed by stacking a plurality of power generation cells, and an ejector for supplying a fuel gas to the fuel cell stack. A flow rectifier for rectifying the flow of the fuel gas is provided at a portion of an insulating plate of the fuel cell stack connecting the ejector and the fuel gas supply passage. The flow rectifier includes an opening having a laterally elongated shape in correspondence with the bottom of the fuel gas supply passage having a laterally elongated shape, and a plurality of holes provided above the opening.

The fuel cell system is equipped with a fuel cell for generating power by a reaction of fuel and oxidizer gases, a fuel gas flow passage for passing the fuel gas, an oxidizer gas flow passage for passing the oxidizer gas, a sweeping gas supply mechanism for sweeping any of the fuel and oxidizer gas flow passages by a sweeping gas, a sweeping determination mechanism for determining whether to perform sweeping by the sweeping gas supply mechanism, when receiving a stop request for stopping the fuel cell system, a pressure reduction mechanism for reducing a pressure within one of the flow passages lower than when determined not to perform the sweeping, when determined to perform the sweeping by the sweeping determination mechanism, and an actuation mechanism for actuating the sweeping gas supply mechanism after the pressure within the flow passage is reduced by the pressure reduction mechanism.

A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell, an oxidant gas passage, a cathode off-gas passage, a fuel gas passage, a circulation passage, an anode off-gas passage, a fuel shutoff valve, a supply device, a humidifier and a control device. The supply device supplies a scavenging gas, which is for scavenging the fuel cell, to the anode and the cathode. The humidifier humidifies the scavenging gas. The control device controls the supply device when the fuel cell is turned off so that supply of the fuel gas to the anode is shut off and the scavenging gas is supplied to the anode and the cathode, wherein supply of the scavenging gas to the cathode is conducted through the humidifier.

Fuel cell system and method of scavenging same

A reaction gas supply apparatus for a fuel cell is able to adapt to various kinds of operating states, and can provide improved responsiveness with respect to a required output. The apparatus has: a compressorthat supplies pressurized air to a cathode electrode of a fuel cella hydrogen supply devicethat supplies hydrogen to an anode electrode of the fuel cella control devicethat regulates the pressure of the cathode electrode by controlling the compressoraccording to an operating state of the fuel celland a regulatorthat is applied with the air pressure of the cathode electrode as a reference pressure, and regulates the supply pressure to the anode electrode based on this air pressure. Moreover there is provided a pressure regulatorthat is capable of regulating the reference pressure that is applied to the regulatorby discharging air from an air flow passage for the air pressure that is applied to the regulator

Reaction gas supply apparatus and method for fuel cell

A fuel cell system has a fuel cell having a cathode and an anode; a device for supplying an oxidant gas to the cathode; a device for supplying a fuel gas to the anode; a device for controlling a pressure of the oxidant gas in accordance with an operation state of the fuel cell; a regulator to which a pressure of the oxidant gas is applied as a signal pressure via a signal pressure line, wherein the regulator regulates a pressure of the fuel gas based on the signal pressure; and a device for scavenging the signal pressure line by using a scavenging gas when or after electric power generation is stopped. A device for controlling the signal pressure may be provided in the signal pressure line. Preferably, the scavenging gas has a pressure and a temperature higher than those of the oxidant gas supplied to the cathode.

Fuel cell system for scavenging signal pressure line for regulator

The present invention improves the start-up characteristics of a fuel gas generating apparatus for a fuel cell comprising a reformer. In a fuel gas generating apparatusfor a fuel cell comprising a vaporizerthat generates a fuel vapor by vaporizing a raw liquid fuel, a reformerthat generates a reforming gas that includes hydrogen from the raw fuel gas that has been partially oxidized by adding reforming air to the fuel vapor generated by the vaporizer, and a CO eliminatorthat generates a fuel gas having carbon monoxide eliminated by adding a CO eliminating air to the reforming gas generated by the reformer, the supplied amount of the reforming air during the warm-up of the fuel gas generating apparatus for a fuel cell is larger than the supplied amount of reforming air during idle operation after completion of the warm-up.

Fuel gas generating apparatus for a fuel cell

A fuel cell system having a reforming reactor is disclosed, in which condensed water generated in the reforming reactor is drained during the warming-up of the system, so as to quickly complete the warming-up. The system comprises a fuel cell for generating power by using a supplied fuel gas and oxidizing gas; a reforming reactor for reforming original fuel gas so as to produce a reformed fuel gas which is supplied to the fuel cell; and a drain for condensed water stored in the reforming reactor. A water-collecting portion is formed by a plurality of sloped portions and is attached to the bottom of the reforming reactor, and the drain is connected to the water-collecting portion.

Fuel cell system having drain for condensed water stored in reforming reactor

A reforming catalyst is composed of a plurality of catalyst layers arranged in series, and when started from a low temperature, preheated air is supplied in parallel to a point upstream of each catalyst layer, thereby the catalyst in each layer is self-heated simultaneously so that the catalyst is heated. After the catalyst is heated, feed of air is temporarily stopped, and supply of fuel gas is started. Next, air is supplied while controlling its flow rate so that temperatures in the catalyst do not exceed the temperature that the catalyst can withstand. Thus, no other special equipment is needed, and the catalyst can be started quickly (cold start). The catalyst can be made compact enough to install it in a electric vehicle.

Fuel reforming apparatus and the method of starting it

Growing community of inventors

Utsunomiya, Japan

Yasunori Kotani