Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Yasushi Kanai

Katsuyuki Kusano

Yuji Saito

Hideo Kato

Katsumi Hayashi

Yosuke Fujii

Tomoyuki Itoh

Hiroshi Shimanuki

Tomoki Kobayashi

Akio Yamamoto

Hideo Numata

Akira Ozawa

Hideo Okamoto

Kouji Kurosaki

Akishiro Takeuchi

A hot water feeder in which a solar heat collector is used. The feeder has a first heat exchanger for heating a heat medium by solar heat, a second heat exchanger for heating water in a hot-water tank by the heated heat medium, and a heat exchange volume determination unit. The heat exchange volume determination unit calculates the flow rate of the heat medium circulating between the first and second heat exchangers on the basis of the detected temperature of the heat medium fed to the first heat exchanger and the rotational speed of a heat medium circulation pump, and calculates the heat exchange volume on basis of the flow rate and the temperature difference between the detected temperatures.

Hot water feeder

In a hot water supply system having a solar heater that heats a heating medium with absorbed solar heat, a cogeneration unit that heats the medium by heat exhausted from an engine, a hot water supply unit with a heat exchanger for heat-exchanging between the medium and water supplied from a water supply source to generate the hot water, a medium circulator that circulates the medium among the solar heater, cogeneration unit and heat exchanger, an electric heater that heats the hot water with the power generated by the generator, a heat absorption amount to be adsorbed by the solar heater is estimated and operations of the cogeneration unit and the electric heater are controlled based on the estimated heat absorption amount, thereby enabling to improve energy efficiency of the entire system.

Hot water supply system

Maximum power point tracking control apparatus for a solar battery includes: a voltage detection section for detecting an output voltage of the battery; a current detection section for detecting an output current of the battery; a storage section storing therein duty cycle values of a solar-battery output controlling switching element that are predefined on the basis of relationship between output voltages and currents of the battery; and a control section for, at the start of maximum power point tracking control, reading out, from the storage section, one of the duty cycle values that corresponds to the detected output voltage and controlling a duty cycle of the switching element in accordance with the read-out duty cycle value.

Maximum power point tracking control apparatus for solar battery

In a power supply system () having a cogeneration unit () equipped with an internal combustion engine () and a generator () to generate power to be supplied to a power destination and hot water to be supplied to a hot water destination, there are provided with a natural energy generation unit () that generates power with natural energy, a power supply unit () that receives the power generated by the generator and natural energy generation unit to supply the received power to the power destination; a voltage detector () that detects voltage (V) of the power flowing through an connecting bus (), and an electric heater (). The power supply unit () controls operation of the electric heater based on the detected connecting bus power voltage (V), thereby effectively utilizing surplus electricity without transmitting back it to a commercial power source.

Power supply system

A fuel cell is provided for improving the starting performance at low temperatures. The fuel cell includes a cell structure in which an anode and a cathode are provided on either side of a solid polymer electrolyte membrane. The fuel cell may include a first cooling liquid passage and a second cooling liquid passage independent of the first cooling liquid passage. Cooling liquid is heated by an external heating device and supplied to the second cooling liquid passage.

Fuel cell employing cooling liquid passages for starting at low temperature

An exhaust gas processing device for a fuel cell is disclosed. In the exhaust gas processing device, hydrogen gas purged from the fuel cell is mixed with cathode exhaust gas from the fuel cell and diluted prior to being discharged to an atmosphere. The exhaust gas processing device includes a reservoir in which purged hydrogen gas from the fuel cell is retained and mixed with cathode exhaust gas from the fuel cell, and an agitating gas introduction inlet provided at an upper part of the reservoir. The purged hydrogen gas is mixed with and diluted by agitating gas introduced from the agitating gas introduction inlet.

Exhaust gas processing device for fuel cell

A fuel cell which can self-heat in a short time, in which no reaction gas is necessary for combustion, thereby improving the starting performance at low temperatures. The fuel cell comprises a cell structure in which an anode and a cathode are provided on either side of a solid polymer electrolyte membrane. This cell structure has a power generation plane and at least a part of the generation plane is defined as a local generation area so as to locally generate power. The fuel cell may include a pair of separators between which the cell structure is placed, and a reaction gas passage may be formed between the cell structure and each separator. One of a system for supplying a reaction gas to only a part of the reaction gas passage, and a system for supplying a reaction gas to the entire reaction gas passage is switchably selected.

Fuel cell employing local power generation when starting at low temperature

A fuel cell system comprises a humidifier which can humidify a fuel cell even when humidification has become insufficient at start-up of the fuel cell and during normal operation thereof. A water collecting apparatus which collects water in the exhaust gas of the fuel cell, and an auxiliary humidifier which humidifies the gas supply by using collected water from the water collecting apparatus, are provided separate to the water-permeable-type humidifier. The water collecting apparatus comprises a vapor/liquid separator and a collected water storage tank, and the auxiliary humidifier comprises a check valve, a collected water supply pump, an auxiliary humidification pipe, and an injector. The collected water in the collected water storage tank is transferred by a collected water supply pump, atomized by the injector, and supplied to the intake side of the fuel cell.

Fuel cell system

A motor torque control system has an inverter for converting a DC voltage from a battery into an AC voltage to energize an AC motor based on a command amplitude value. An input electric power calculating unit calculates an input electric power supplied from the battery based on a current and a voltage from the battery. A target electric power calculating unit calculates a target electric power to be supplied to the AC motor based on the rotational speed of the AC motor and a command torque value indicative of a torque to be produced by the AC motor. A PI control unit produces a control signal from the difference between the input electric power and the target electric power, and a PWM control unit controls the command amplitude value based on the control signal.

Torque control system for AC motor

A synchronous motor control system controls a synchronous motor on an electric vehicle for propelling the electric vehicle in a propulsive mode or regenerating electric energy in a regenerative model. The synchronous motor control system has a rotational speed sensor for detecting a rotational speed of the synchronous motor, an accelerator for producing a torque command signal, and a driver connected between a battery on the electric vehicle and the synchronous motor for operating the synchronous motor in either the propulsive mode or the regenerative mode. A controller is responsive to the rotational speed detected by the rotational speed sensor and the torque command signal produced by the accelerator for controlling the driver to operate the synchronous motor in either the propulsive mode or the regenerative mode. The controller has maps for storing lead and lag values which are selectively readable to control the driver to operate the synchronous motor with a maximum efficiency based on two parameters of operation of the electric vehicle, namely, the rotational speed of the motor and the torque command from the accelerator.

Synchronous motor control system for electric vehicle

A false-creep generator device for an electric vehicle equipped with a transmission controls an electric motor to cause the electric vehicle to creep when the accelerator pedal of the electric vehicle is not depressed, no brake is applied to the electric vehicle, the transmission is in a drive or reverse position, and the speed of travel of the electric vehicle is lower than a predetermined creep speed.

Growing community of inventors

Wako, Japan

Yasushi Kanai