Method for inspecting current leak of fuel cell

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10971744-B2
Application number	US-201916288769-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 28, 2019
Priority date	Mar 23, 2018
Publication date	Apr 6, 2021
Grant date	Apr 6, 2021

Abstract

Provided is a method for inspecting a current leak of a fuel cell, which is provided with an anode electrode, a cathode electrode, and an electrolyte membrane sandwiched between the anode electrode and the cathode electrode, the method including: a first process in which a first voltage, which is a limit voltage of the electrolyte membrane, is applied to the fuel cell; a second process in which a second voltage, which is lower than the first voltage, is applied to the fuel cell after the first process; a third process in which a third voltage, which is lower than the second voltage, is applied to the fuel cell after the second process; and a determination process in which a value of a current flowing through the fuel cell in the third process is detected, and whether the detected current value is lower than a prescribed current value is determined.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for inspecting a current leak of a fuel cell, which is provided with an anode electrode,
a cathode electrode, and
an electrolyte membrane sandwiched between the anode electrode and the cathode electrode, the method comprising:
a first process in which a first voltage, which is a limit voltage of the electrolyte membrane, is applied to the fuel cell to be inspected;
a second process in which a second voltage, which is lower than the first voltage, is applied to the fuel cell after the first process;
a third process in which a third voltage, which is lower than the second voltage, is applied to the fuel cell after the second process; and
a determination process in which a value of a current flowing through the fuel cell in the third process is detected, and whether the detected current value is lower than a prescribed current value is determined.

2. The method for inspecting a current leak of a fuel cell according to claim 1 , wherein a voltage application time in the second process is longer than a voltage application time in the first process.

Assignees

• Honda Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kishimoto Masaaki
• Yamagishi Hiroyuki
• Sakai Hiroshi

Classifications

• G01R31/385

  Arrangements for measuring battery or accumulator variables (for monitoring G01R31/382) · CPC title

• Y02P70/50

  Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product · CPC title

• Y02E60/50

  Fuel cells · CPC title

• G01R31/378

  specially adapted for the type of battery or accumulator · CPC title

• H01M8/04679

  of fuel cell stacks · CPC title