The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 23, 2012
Filed:
Jun. 17, 2011
Masahiro Okuyoshi, Toyota, JP;
Masaaki Matsusue, Mishima, JP;
Masashi Toida, Nagoya, JP;
Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Toyota-shi, JP;
Abstract
The aim of the invention is to improve the accuracy of estimating residual water content in a fuel cell system adopting an intermittent operation mode and to accurately suppress cell voltage reduction due to water accumulation caused by the intermittent operation. The fuel cell system includes: a fuel cell having a cell laminate; an estimating unit for estimating a residual water content distribution in a reactant gas flow channel and a moisture content distribution in an electrolyte membrane in a cell plane of each single cell while taking into consideration water transfer that occurs between an anode electrode and a cathode electrode via the electrolyte membrane; and an operation control unit which changes the content of an intermittent operation when a residual water content in the reactant gas flow channel estimated by the estimating unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold.