Fuel battery system and control method for fuel battery system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10305129-B2
Application number	US-201715406785-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 16, 2017
Priority date	Feb 26, 2016
Publication date	May 28, 2019
Grant date	May 28, 2019

Abstract

A fuel battery system includes a fuel battery, an electric storage, a voltage adjuster, a pump, an abnormity detector, and circuitry. The fuel battery generates electricity using fuel gas and oxidant gas. The voltage adjuster is connected to at least one of the fuel battery and the electric storage. The voltage adjuster is configured to adjust voltage output from the fuel battery or the electric storage to output the adjusted voltage to a load. The pump supplies the oxidant gas to the fuel battery using electric power output from at least one of the fuel battery and the electric storage. The voltage adjuster is connected between the fuel battery and the pump. The abnormity detector detects abnormity in the voltage adjuster. The circuitry is configured to restrict the electric power supplied to the pump in a case where the abnormity detector detects the abnormity in the voltage adjuster.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A fuel battery system comprising:
a fuel battery configured to generate electricity by using fuel gas and oxidant gas;
an electric storage device;
a voltage adjusting device configured to adjust voltage to be applied to a load by the fuel battery or the electric storage device;
a pump configured to supply the oxidant gas to the fuel battery by consuming electric power supplied from the fuel battery and/or the electric storage device;
a control device configured to control electric power of the pump; and
an abnormity detecting device configured to detect abnormity of the voltage adjusting device, wherein
the voltage adjusting device is disposed between the fuel battery and the pump, and
the control device restricts the electric power of the pump when the abnormity detecting device has detected abnormity of the voltage adjusting device, and
the control device restricts the electric power of the pump by setting a larger decrease amount of the electric power as the electric power of the pump before the restriction is larger, and setting a smaller decrease amount of the electric power as the electric power of the pump before the restriction is smaller.

2. The fuel battery system according to claim 1 , further comprising a defroster device wherein the control device allocates electric power of the defroster device and then sets a restricted amount of the electric power of the pump.

3. The fuel battery system according to claim 1 , wherein the control device restricts the electric power of the pump such that:
a rate of the restriction of the electric power of the pump increases as an electric power need of the pump increases, and
the rate of restriction of the electric power of the pump decreases as the electric power need of the pump decreases.

4. A fuel battery system comprising:
a fuel battery to generate electricity using fuel gas and oxidant gas;
an electric storage;
a voltage adjuster connected to at least one of the fuel battery and the electric storage and configured to adjust voltage output from the fuel battery or the electric storage to output the adjusted voltage to a load;
a pump to supply the oxidant gas to the fuel battery using electric power output from at least one of the fuel battery and the electric storage, the voltage adjuster being connected between the fuel battery and the pump;
an abnormity detector to detect abnormity in the voltage adjuster; and
circuitry configured to restrict the electric power supplied to the pump in a case where the abnormity detector detects the abnormity in the voltage adjuster,
wherein the circuitry restricts the electric power of the pump by setting a larger decrease amount of the electric power as the electric power of the pump before the restriction is larger, and setting a smaller decrease amount of the electric power as the electric power of the pump before the restriction is smaller.

5. The fuel battery system according to claim 4 , further comprising a defroster device,
wherein the circuitry allocates electric power of the defroster device and then sets a restricted amount of the electric power of the pump.

6. The fuel battery system according to claim 4 , wherein the circuitry is configured to restrict the electric power of the pump such that:
a rate of the restriction of the electric power of the pump increases as an electric power need of the pump increases, and
the rate of restriction of the electric power of the pump decreases as the electric power need of the pump decreases.

7. A control method for a fuel battery system including a fuel battery, an electric storage, a voltage adjuster to adjust voltage output from the fuel battery or the electric storage to output the adjusted voltage to a load, and a pump to supply an oxidant gas to the fuel battery using electric power output from at least one of the fuel battery and the electric storage, the voltage adjuster being connected between the fuel battery and the pump, the control method comprising:
detecting abnormity in the voltage adjuster; and
restricting the electric power supplied to the pump in a case where the abnormity in the voltage adjuster is detected,
wherein the electric power of the pump is restricted by setting a larger decrease amount of the electric power as the electric power of the pump before the restriction is larger, and setting a smaller decrease amount of the electric power as the electric power of the pump before the restriction is smaller.

8. The control method according to claim 7 , wherein electric power of a defroster device is allocated and then a restricted amount of the electric power of the pump is set.

9. The control method according to claim 7 , wherein the electric power of the pump is restricted such that:
a rate of the restriction of the electric power of the pump increases as an electric power need of the pump increases, and
the rate of restriction of the electric power of the pump decreases as the electric power need of the pump decreases.

Assignees

• Honda Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Sakai Yasutaka
• Ojima Kuniaki
• Komatsu Masaaki

Classifications

• H01M8/04089 Primary

  of gaseous reactants · CPC title

• H01M8/04201

  Reactant storage and supply, e.g. means for feeding, pipes · CPC title

• H01M8/04253

  Means for solving freezing problems · CPC title

• H01M8/04947

  of auxiliary devices, e.g. batteries, capacitors · CPC title

• H01M8/04888

  of auxiliary devices, e.g. batteries, capacitors · CPC title