Fuel cell system and secondary battery diagnosis method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10270112-B2
Application number	US-201715834696-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 7, 2017
Priority date	Dec 12, 2016
Publication date	Apr 23, 2019
Grant date	Apr 23, 2019

Abstract

A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell, auxiliary devices, an auxiliary device controller, a secondary battery, a current sensor, a voltage sensor, and a diagnosis controller. In an output stop state where the fuel cell does not output electric power, the auxiliary device controller performs a residual water scavenging process of scavenging water remaining in the fuel cell to outside of the fuel cell system by driving the auxiliary devices using electric power supplied from the secondary battery and supplying the gas to the fuel cell. The diagnosis controller diagnoses the secondary battery using a current integrated value that is obtained by integrating amounts of current supplied from the secondary battery in a predetermined voltage range of a discharge voltage of the secondary battery that changes in response to discharge when electric power is supplied to the auxiliary devices by performing the residual water scavenging process.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A fuel cell system comprising:
a fuel cell;
auxiliary devices used to supply gas to the fuel cell;
an auxiliary device controller configured to control an operation of the auxiliary devices;
a secondary battery;
a current sensor configured to measure an amount of current supplied from the secondary battery;
a voltage sensor configured to measure a discharge voltage of the secondary battery; and
a diagnosis controller configured to diagnose the secondary battery, wherein:
the auxiliary device controller is configured to, in an output stop state where the fuel cell does not output electric power, perform a residual water scavenging process of scavenging water remaining in the fuel cell to outside of the fuel cell system by driving the auxiliary devices using electric power supplied from the secondary battery and supplying the gas to the fuel cell; and
the diagnosis controller is configured to diagnose the secondary battery using a current integrated value that is obtained by integrating amounts of current supplied from the secondary battery in a predetermined voltage range of the discharge voltage of the secondary battery that changes in response to discharge when electric power is supplied to the auxiliary devices by performing the residual water scavenging process.

2. The fuel cell system according to claim 1 , further comprising a storage unit configured to store an integrated value of amounts of current supplied from the secondary battery,
wherein the diagnosis controller is configured to, when the residual water scavenging process is completed before discharge by the secondary battery in the voltage range is completed, obtain the current integrated value by repeating following processes (i) and (ii) until the discharge by the secondary battery in the voltage range is completed:
(i) a process of causing the storage unit to store the integrated value of amounts of current supplied from the secondary battery, the current being supplied from start to end of the residual water scavenging process; and
(ii) a process of integrating the amount of current supplied from the secondary battery to the integrated value stored in the storage unit when the next residual water scavenging process is performed.

3. The fuel cell system according to claim 1 , wherein:
the gas includes air as oxidant gas; and
the auxiliary devices include an air compressor.

4. The fuel cell system according to claim 1 , wherein:
the gas includes hydrogen gas as fuel gas;
the fuel cell system further comprises
a tank in which hydrogen gas is stored,
an anode gas supply path through which the hydrogen gas is supplied from the tank to the fuel cell,
an anode off gas exhaust path through which off gas including the hydrogen gas is exhausted from the fuel cell,
a bypass flow path through which the anode off gas exhaust path and the anode gas supply path are connected, and
a pump that is disposed in the bypass flow path and supplies off gas exhausted from the anode off gas exhaust path to the anode gas supply path; and

the auxiliary devices include the pump.

5. The fuel cell system according to claim 1 , wherein the diagnosis controller is configured to compare the current integrated value to a threshold integrated value, which corresponds to a lower limit current integrated value at which deterioration of the secondary battery is at a lower limit of an allowable range, and configured to determine, when the current integrated value is lower than the threshold integrated value, that the secondary battery deteriorates.

6. The fuel cell system according to claim 1 , wherein the diagnosis controller is configured to compare a slope of the current integrated value during a predetermined lapse of time to a threshold slope of a lower limit current integrated value, at which deterioration of the secondary battery is at a lower limit of an allowable range, during the predetermined lapse of time and configured to determine, when the slope of the current integrated value is less than the threshold slope, that the secondary battery deteriorates.

7. The fuel cell system according to claim 1 , wherein the diagnosis controller determines whether or not the discharge voltage of the secondary battery at a start of the residual water scavenging process is lower than an upper limit value of the voltage range, does not obtain the current integrated value and does not diagnose the secondary battery when the diagnosis controller determines that the discharge voltage of the secondary battery is lower than the upper limit value of the voltage range, and obtains the current integrated value and diagnoses the secondary battery when the diagnosis controller determines that the discharge voltage of the secondary battery is not lower than the upper limit value of the voltage range.

8. A secondary battery diagnosis method of diagnosing a secondary battery that supplies electric power to auxiliary devices for supplying gas to a fuel cell, the secondary battery diagnosis method comprising:
(a) performing, in an output stop state where the fuel cell does not output electric power, a residual water scavenging process of scavenging water remaining in the fuel cell to outside of the fuel cell by driving the auxiliary devices using electric power supplied from the secondary battery and supplying the gas to the fuel cell;
(b) obtaining a current integrated value by integrating amounts of current supplied from the secondary battery in a predetermined voltage range of a discharge voltage of the secondary battery that changes in response to discharge when electric power is supplied to the auxiliary devices by performing the residual water scavenging process; and
(c) diagnosing the secondary battery using the current integrated value.

Assignees

• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Asano Masahiro

Classifications

• H02J2101/30

  Fuel cells · CPC title

• H01M8/04208

  Cartridges, cryogenic media or cryogenic reservoirs · CPC title

• G01R31/392

  Determining battery ageing or deterioration, e.g. state of health · CPC title

• G01R31/3842

  combining voltage and current measurements · CPC title

• H01M8/04097

  with recycling of the reactants (H01M8/04119, H01M8/04104 take precedence) · CPC title