Fuel cell system and method of controlling fuel cell system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11456471-B2
Application number	US-201816135581-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 19, 2018
Priority date	Sep 21, 2017
Publication date	Sep 27, 2022
Grant date	Sep 27, 2022

Abstract

The present disclosure makes it possible to store data on the cause of an output shortage in a memory while reducing the capacity of the memory for storing data on an output shortage. A fuel cell system of the present disclosure comprises: a drive motor for driving a vehicle; a plurality of power sources that include a fuel cell and a secondary battery; a memory that stores data on a failure of output of the drive motor; and a controller that controls writing of the data on the failure into the memory. When an actual output value of the drive motor is smaller than a reference value decided by an output request value, the controller stores in the memory data on operating state of one of power sources, with an actual output value smaller than a power source output request value.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A fuel cell system installed in a vehicle, comprising:
a drive motor that drives the vehicle;
a plurality of power sources that include a fuel cell and a secondary battery;
a memory that stores data on a failure of output of the drive motor as a history, the data including measurement values on operating state of a power source, out of the plurality of power sources, having an actual output value smaller than a reference value decided based on a power source output request value; and
a controller that controls writing of the data on the failure into the memory,
wherein when an actual output value of the drive motor is smaller than a reference value decided based on an output request value of the drive motor, the controller stores in the memory the measurement values on operating state of the power source, out of the plurality of power sources, having the actual output value smaller than the reference value decided based on the power source output request value, and the controller does not store in the memory measurement values on operating state of one or more power sources, out of the plurality of power sources, other than the power source having the actual output value smaller than the reference value decided based on the power source output request value, and
wherein when the actual output value of the drive motor is not smaller than the reference value decided based on the output request value of the drive motor, the controller does not store in the memory the measurement values on operating state of the plurality of power sources.

2. The fuel cell system in accordance with claim 1 ,
wherein when the respective actual output values of the plurality of power sources are equal to the respective power source output request values of the plurality of power sources, the controller stores the measurement values on the drive motor in the memory.

3. The fuel cell system in accordance with claim 2 , wherein:
the plurality of power sources are the fuel cell and the secondary battery,
(a) when the actual output value of the fuel cell is smaller than a fuel cell output request value of the fuel cell, the controller stores the measurement values on the operating state of the fuel cell in the memory, and the controller does not store measurement values on the operating state of the secondary battery in the memory,
(b) when the actual output value of the secondary battery is smaller than a secondary battery output request value of the secondary battery, the controller stores the measurement values on the operating state of the secondary battery in the memory, and the controller does not store the measurement values on the operating state of the fuel cell in the memory, and
(c) when the actual output value of the fuel cell is equal to the fuel cell output request value and the actual output value of the secondary battery is equal to the secondary battery output request value, the controller stores the measurement values on the drive motor in the memory, and the controller does not store the measurement values on the operating state of the secondary battery or the measurement values on the operating state of the fuel cell in the memory.

4. A method of controlling a fuel cell system installed in a vehicle, the fuel cell system comprising: a drive motor that drives the vehicle; a plurality of power sources that include a fuel cell and a secondary battery; a memory that stores data on a failure of output of the drive motor as a history, the data including measurement values on operating state of a power source, out of the plurality of power sources, having an actual output value smaller than a reference value decided based on a power source output request value; and a controller that controls writing of the data on the failure into the memory,
the method comprising:
when an actual output value of the drive motor is smaller than a reference value decided based on an output request value to the drive motor, storing, by the controller, in the memory the measurement values on operating state of the power source, out of the plurality of power sources, having the actual output value smaller than the reference value decided based on the power source output request value, without storing in the memory measurement values on operating state of one or more power sources, out of the plurality of power sources, other than the power source having the actual output value smaller than the reference value decided based on the power source output request value, and
when the actual output value of the drive motor is not smaller than the reference value decided based on the output request value of the drive motor, not storing in the memory the measurement values on operating state of the plurality of power sources.

5. The method of controlling the fuel cell system in accordance with claim 4 , further comprising:
when the respective actual output values of the plurality of power sources are equal to the respective power source output request values to the plurality of power sources, storing, by the controller, the measurement values on the drive motor in the memory.

6. The method of controlling the fuel cell system in accordance with claim 5 , wherein the power sources are the fuel cell and the secondary battery, and the method further comprising:
(a) when the actual output value of the fuel cell is smaller than a fuel cell output request value of the fuel cell, storing, by the controller, the measurement values on the operating state of the fuel cell in the memory, without storing the measurement values on the operating state of the secondary battery in the memory,
(b) when the actual output value of the secondary battery is smaller than a secondary battery output request value of the secondary battery, storing, by the controller, the measurement values on the operating state of the secondary battery in the memory, without storing the measurement values on the operating state of the fuel cell in the memory, and
(c) when the actual output value of the fuel cell is equal to the fuel cell output request value and the actual output value of the secondary battery is equal to the secondary battery output request value, storing, by the controller, the measurement values on the drive motor in the memory, without storing the measurement values on the operating state of the secondary battery or the measurement values on the operating state of the fuel cell in the memory.

Assignees

• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Saito Hiromu

Classifications

• H01M8/04395

  of cathode reactants at the inlet or inside the fuel cell · CPC title

• H01M8/04694

  characterised by variables to be controlled · CPC title

• H01M16/006

  of fuel cells with rechargeable batteries · CPC title

• H01M8/0494 Primary

  of fuel cell stacks · CPC title

• H01M8/04611

  of the individual fuel cell · CPC title