Fuel cell system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12489125-B2
Application number	US-202318110021-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 15, 2023
Priority date	Sep 26, 2022
Publication date	Dec 2, 2025
Grant date	Dec 2, 2025

Abstract

A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell stack including a cathode to which air is supplied, and an anode to which hydrogen is supplied. In particular, the fuel cell system further includes: an air discharge line to discharge the air discharged from the fuel cell stack into the atmosphere; a pressure adjuster provided in the air discharge line to selectively open or close the air discharge line; a first hydrogen discharge line connected to the fuel cell stack and the air discharge line at an upstream side of the pressure adjuster; a second hydrogen discharge line connected to the first hydrogen discharge line and the air discharge line at a downstream side of the pressure adjuster; and a hydrogen discharge valve part to selectively open or close at least one of the first hydrogen discharge line or the second hydrogen discharge line based on a pressure of the anode.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A fuel cell system comprising:
a fuel cell stack comprising an anode to which hydrogen is supplied, and a cathode to which air is supplied; an air discharge line through which the air discharged from the fuel cell stack is discharged into the atmosphere; a pressure adjuster provided in the air discharge line and configured to selectively open or close the air discharge line; a first hydrogen discharge line having a first end connected to the fuel cell stack, and a second end connected to the air discharge line at an upstream side of the pressure adjuster; a second hydrogen discharge line having a first end connected to the first hydrogen discharge line, and a second end connected to the air discharge line at a downstream side of the pressure adjuster; and a hydrogen discharge valve part configured to selectively open or close at least one of the first hydrogen discharge line or the second hydrogen discharge line based on a pressure of the anode.

2 . The fuel cell system of claim 1 , wherein the hydrogen discharge valve part comprises:
a first valve provided in the first hydrogen discharge line and configured to selectively open or close the first hydrogen discharge line based on a first critical pressure; and a second valve provided in the second hydrogen discharge line and configured to selectively open or close the second hydrogen discharge line based on a second critical pressure different from the first critical pressure.

3 . The fuel cell system of claim 2 , wherein the second critical pressure is higher than the first critical pressure.

4 . The fuel cell system of claim 2 , wherein the first critical pressure is defined to correspond to a differential pressure between a working pressure of the anode and a working pressure of the cathode.

5 . The fuel cell system of claim 2 , wherein the second critical pressure is higher than a maximum working pressure of the anode.

6 . The fuel cell system of claim 2 , wherein the second critical pressure is defined as a pressure of the anode during a purge process of the fuel cell stack.

7 . The fuel cell system of claim 2 , wherein the first valve is a check valve configured to operate based on the first critical pressure, and the second valve is a check valve configured to operate based on the second critical pressure.

8 . The fuel cell system of claim 2 , wherein the first valve has a first orifice cross-sectional area through which the hydrogen passes, and the second valve has a second orifice cross-sectional area different from the first orifice cross-sectional area.

9 . The fuel cell system of claim 8 , wherein the second orifice cross-sectional area is larger than the first orifice cross-sectional area.

10 . The fuel cell system of claim 2 , comprising:
a third hydrogen discharge line having a first end connected to the first hydrogen discharge line, and a second end connected to the air discharge line at a downstream side of the pressure adjuster, wherein the hydrogen discharge valve part comprises a third valve provided in the third hydrogen discharge line and configured to selectively open or close the third hydrogen discharge line based on a third critical pressure different from the first critical pressure and the second critical pressure.

11 . The fuel cell system of claim 10 , wherein the second critical pressure is higher than the first critical pressure, and the third critical pressure is different from the second critical pressure and higher than the first critical pressure.

12 . The fuel cell system of claim 10 , wherein:
the first valve has a first orifice cross-sectional area through which the hydrogen passes, the second valve has a second orifice cross-sectional area different from the first orifice cross-sectional area, and the third valve has a third orifice cross-sectional area different from the first orifice cross-sectional area and the second orifice cross-sectional area.

13 . The fuel cell system of claim 12 , wherein the second orifice cross-sectional area is greater than the first orifice cross-sectional area, and the third orifice cross-sectional area is different from the second orifice cross-sectional area and greater than the first orifice cross-sectional area.

14 . The fuel cell system of claim 1 , wherein the hydrogen discharge valve part comprises a three-way valve provided in the first hydrogen discharge line and connected to the second hydrogen discharge line, and
wherein the three-way valve comprises: a first port connected to the first hydrogen discharge line so that the hydrogen discharged from the fuel cell stack is introduced into the first port; a second port configured to guide the hydrogen passing through the first port to the first hydrogen discharge line at an upstream side of the pressure adjuster, the second port being configured to be selectively opened or closed based on a first critical pressure; and a third port connected to the second hydrogen discharge line and configured to be selectively opened or closed based on a second critical pressure different from the first critical pressure.

15 . The fuel cell system of claim 14 , wherein the second critical pressure is higher than the first critical pressure.

16 . The fuel cell system of claim 14 , wherein the first critical pressure is defined to correspond to a differential pressure between a working pressure of the anode and a working pressure of the cathode.

17 . The fuel cell system of claim 14 , wherein the second critical pressure is higher than a maximum working pressure of the anode.

18 . The fuel cell system of claim 14 , wherein the second critical pressure is defined as a pressure of the anode during a purge process of the fuel cell stack.

Assignees

• Hyundai Motor Co Ltd
• Kia Corp

Inventors

• Kim Hak Yoon
• Ban Hyeon Seok

Classifications

• H01M8/04753 Primary

  of fuel cell reactants · CPC title

• H01M2250/20

  Fuel cells in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane · CPC title

• H01M8/04388

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

• H01M8/04201

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

• H01M8/04097

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