Fuel cell system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11799098-B2
Application number	US-202217654119-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 9, 2022
Priority date	Mar 10, 2021
Publication date	Oct 24, 2023
Grant date	Oct 24, 2023

Abstract

To provide a fuel cell system configured to suppress the occurrence of partial fuel gas deficiency in a fuel cell. A fuel cell system wherein at least one injector selected from the group consisting of a first injector and a second injector is driven by duty ratio control to maintain a fuel gas pressure to the fuel cell within a predetermined range, in accordance with an output current value; wherein a controller determines whether or not the output current value is larger than a predetermined first threshold; and wherein, when the controller determines that the output current value is larger than the predetermined first threshold, the controller drives the first injector by duty ratio control, and the controller drives the second injector by duty ratio control to open a valve of the second injector at least while a valve of the first injector is closed.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A fuel cell system,
wherein the fuel cell system comprises:
a fuel cell,
a current sensor for detecting an output current value of the fuel cell,
a fuel gas supplier for supplying fuel gas to the fuel cell,
a circulation flow path connecting a fuel gas outlet of the fuel cell and a fuel gas inlet of the fuel cell to allow fuel off-gas discharged from the fuel gas outlet of the fuel cell to be returned to the fuel gas inlet of the fuel cell as circulation gas,
an ejector disposed in the circulation flow path,
a fuel gas supply flow path connecting the fuel gas supplier and the ejector,
an injector set disposed upstream from the ejector of the fuel gas supply flow path,
a gas-liquid separator disposed upstream from the ejector of the circulation flow path,
a fuel off-gas discharge flow path branching from the gas-liquid separator of the circulation flow path to allow the fuel off-gas to be discharged to the outside of the fuel cell system,
a pressure sensor disposed in the circulation flow path, and
a controller,
wherein the injector set includes a first injector and a second injector in parallel;
wherein an injected fuel gas amount per unit time of the second injector is smaller than that of the first injector;
wherein at least one injector selected from the group consisting of the first injector and the second injector is driven by duty ratio control to maintain a fuel gas pressure to the fuel cell within a predetermined range, in accordance with the output current value;
wherein the controller determines whether or not the output current value is larger than a predetermined first threshold;
wherein, when the controller determines that the output current value is larger than the predetermined first threshold, the controller drives the first injector by duty ratio control, and the controller drives the second injector by duty ratio control to open a valve of the second injector after closing a valve of the first injector and to close the valve of the second injector after opening the valve of the first injector;
wherein, when the controller determines that the output current value is equal to or less than the predetermined first threshold, the controller determines whether or not the output current value is equal to or less than the predetermined second threshold, which is smaller than the predetermined first threshold;
wherein, when the controller determines that the output current value is equal to or less than the predetermined second threshold, the controller always closes the valve of the first injector, and the controller drives the second injector by duty ratio control; and
wherein, when the controller determines that the output current value is larger than the predetermined second threshold, the controller always closes the valve of the second injector, and the controller drives the first injector by duty ratio control.

2. The fuel cell system according to claim 1 , wherein, when the controller determines that the output current value is larger than the predetermined first threshold, the controller drives the first injector by duty ratio control, and the controller controls the valve of the second injector to be always opened.

Assignees

• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kasahara Yuuki
• Ito Masayuki
• Andoh Satoshi

Classifications

• H01M8/04097 Primary

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

• H01M8/04201

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

• H01M8/04388

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

• H01M8/04582

  of the individual fuel cell · CPC title

• H01M8/04753 Primary

  of fuel cell reactants · CPC title