Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Yoshihiro Ohkuwa

Masahiro Imanishi

Naoki Matsushita

Eisaku Akutsu

Kenji Terao

Shigeyuki Kido

Taiki Ikeda

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 control device of a fuel cell system includes a sensor state determining unit and a power generation control unit. A sensor state determining unit performs sensor state determining control before a first startup of the fuel cell after supply complete timing into a first tank and a second tank based on first pressure detected by a first pressure sensor at the supply complete timing, and second pressure detected by a second pressure sensor after a valve is opened. A power generation control unit starts up the fuel cell only when the sensor state determining unit determines that the first pressure sensor and the second pressure sensor are normal.

Fuel cell system with control device for determining when to start up fuel cell

An electrical load controller that controls the starting sequence for a plurality of electrical loads includes a start demanding unit that generates a demand to start at least one of the plurality of electrical loads. A first electrical load is started immediately if the time between when a second electrical load start and when the second electrical load receives a signal indicating that the first electrical load will start (second prescribed time) is longer than the time required to send the signal between the first and second electrical loads (third prescribed time), and the time required for an inrush current to decrease to a prescribed value (first prescribed time) is less than the difference between the second prescribed time and the third prescribed time. Thus, there is sufficient time for the inrush current of the first electrical load to decrease before starting the second electrical load.

Electrical motor load controller and control methods therefor

A system for detecting an object located on a travelling path even in bad weather or during nighttime in which conducting wires having a predetermined impedance value are laid along a travelling path, and a signal is supplied to the conducting wires from a signal source. If a vehicle exists on the path, the impedance of the conducting wires changes at the position where the vehicle is present. A signal reflected from the impedance change position is detected by a detector. The position of the vehicle can be determined from the timing of the received reflection signal. It is also possible to detect a vehicle changing lanes or the like by means of a plurality of conductive wires laid along the travelling path. Instead of a conducting wire, an optical fiber may be provided for determining the position of a vehicle using the refractive index change in the optical fiber due to the weight of the vehicle.

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Toyokawa, Japan

Yoshihiro Ohkuwa