Fuel cell system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12100871-B2
Application number	US-202218046538-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 14, 2022
Priority date	Dec 7, 2021
Publication date	Sep 24, 2024
Grant date	Sep 24, 2024

Abstract

An FC system disclosed herein comprise FC units, a cooler and a controller. Each of the FC units comprises a FC stack, a supply/a return/a circulating passages through which refrigerant flows and first to third temperature sensors. The first to third temperature sensors measure temperatures of the refrigerant in the passages at different positions. The controller is configured to stop a specific FC unit, compare measured values of the first to third temperature sensors of the stopped specific FC unit and, when one of the measured values differs from the other two of the measured values, provide notification about malfunction of the temperature sensor with the different measured value.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A fuel cell system comprising:
a plurality of fuel cell units;
a cooler; and
a controller,
wherein
each of the plurality of the fuel cell units comprises:
a fuel cell stack;
a supply passage for supplying refrigerant from the cooler to the fuel cell stack;
a return passage for returning the refrigerant which passed through the fuel cell stack to the cooler;
a circulating passage connected to the supply passage and the return passage;
a first temperature sensor configured to measure a temperature of the refrigerant in the supply passage at a position upstream of a merging point of the supply passage and the circulating passage;
a second temperature sensor configured to measure a temperature of the refrigerant in the supply passage at a position downstream of the merging point; and
a third temperature sensor configured to measure a temperature of the refrigerant in the return passage,

the controller is configured to:
stop a specific fuel cell unit among the plurality of the fuel cell units;
operate the fuel cell units other than the specific fuel cell unit so that a total output of the fuel cell system matches a target output; and
compare measured values of the first, second and third temperature sensors; and
when one of the measured values differ from the other two of the measured values, provide notification about malfunction of the temperature sensor with the different measured value.

2. The fuel cell system of claim 1 , wherein when one of the first and the second temperature sensors outputs the measured value different from the measured values outputted from the other two temperature sensors, the controller is configured to restart the specific fuel cell unit.

Assignees

• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Okumura Makito
• Fujioka Hisaya
• Iio Atsuo
• Egawa Toshihiro

Classifications

• H01M8/04664

  Failure or abnormal function · CPC title

• H01M8/04686

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

• H01M8/0267

  having heating or cooling means, e.g. heaters or coolant flow channels · CPC title

• H01M8/04067

  Heat exchange or temperature measuring elements, thermal insulation, e.g. heat pipes, heat pumps, fins · CPC title

• H01M8/04358

  of the coolant · CPC title