Fuel cell system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-8927161-B2
Application number	US-74497909-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 19, 2009
Priority date	May 20, 2008
Publication date	Jan 6, 2015
Grant date	Jan 6, 2015

Abstract

A fuel cell system including an ejector that merges a hydrogen gas to be supplied from a hydrogen tank to a fuel cell with a hydrogen-off gas exhausted from the fuel cell and supplies the resulting gases to the fuel cell. A hydrogen pump that pressurizes the hydrogen-off gas in a hydrogen circulation flow path and sends the hydrogen-off gas toward a hydrogen supply flow path and a control unit that controls, when the pressure of the hydrogen-off gas in the hydrogen circulation flow path is increased by the ejector and the hydrogen pump, the pressure of the hydrogen gas to be supplied to the ejector and the pressure increase of the hydrogen-off gas realized by the hydrogen pump so that the pressure increase of the hydrogen-off gas realized by the ejector is 0 or higher.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A fuel cell system, comprising:
a fuel cell that is supplied with an oxidant gas and a fuel gas as reactant gas and generates electrical power through an electrochemical reaction between the reactant gas;
a fuel supply flow path that supplies the fuel gas from a fuel supply source to the fuel cell;
an ejector that is provided in the fuel supply flow path, the ejector merging the fuel gas supplied from the fuel supply source with a fuel-off gas exhausted from the fuel cell and supplying the resulting gases to fuel cell;
a pressure regulating valve that is provided upstream the ejector in the fuel supply flow path, the pressure regulating valve regulating a pressure of the fuel gas to be supplied to the ejector;
a fuel circulation flow path that returns the fuel-off gas to the fuel gas supply flow path via the ejector;
a fuel pump that is provided in the fuel circulation flow path, the fuel pump pressurizing the fuel-off gas in the fuel circulation flow path and sending the fuel-off gas toward the fuel supply flow path; and
a control unit that includes a setting unit, the control unit programmed to control the setting unit to set a pressure increase ratio between the ejector and the fuel pump with respect to a value of a required pressure increase of the fuel-off gas in a memory so as to be within a range which can ensure that the value of pressure increase of the fuel-off gas realized by the injector is higher than 0 in all load regions of the fuel cell,
wherein the control unit that is programmed to control, when a pressure of the fuel-off gas in the fuel circulation flow path is increased by the ejector and the fuel pump, a pressure of the fuel gas to be supplied to the ejector and a pressure increase of the fuel-off gas realized by the fuel pump so that a value of the pressure increase of the fuel-off gas realized by the ejector is higher than 0, and in accordance with a pressure increase ratio between the ejector and the fuel pump with respect to a value of a required pressure increase of the fuel-off gas.

2. The fuel cell system according to claim 1 , wherein a lower limit of the range has a relationship of: the lower limit value when the operation state of the fuel cell is a first load state<the lower limit value when the operation state of the fuel cell is a second load state<the lower limit value when the operation state of the fuel cell is a third load state.

3. The fuel cell system according to claim 1 , wherein an upper limit of the range has a relationship of: the upper limit value when the operation state of the fuel cell is a first load state<the upper limit value when the operation state of the fuel cell is a second load state<the upper limit value when the operation state of the fuel cell is a third load state.

4. The fuel cell system according to claim 1 , wherein the range is a range where the pressure increase ratio of the ejector is 50% or lower when the operation state of the fuel cell is the first load state, the predetermined range is a range where the pressure increase ratio of the ejector is between 20 and 75% when the operation state of the fuel cell is the second load state which has a higher load than the first load state, and the predetermined range is a range where the pressure increase ratio of the ejector is 40% or higher when the operation state of the fuel cell is the third load state which has a higher load than the second load state.

5. The fuel cell system according to claim 2 , wherein the first load state is a load state where an amount of power generation required from the fuel cell is 50% or lower of an amount of allowable power generation of the fuel cell, the second load state is a load state where the amount of power generation required from the fuel cell is between 30 and 80% of the amount of allowable power generation of the fuel cell, and the third load state is a load state where an amount of power generation required from the fuel cell is 60% or higher of the amount of allowable power generation of the fuel cell.

6. The fuel cell system according to claim 1 , wherein the ejector is an ejector having a constant nozzle diameter.

7. The fuel cell system according to claim 3 , wherein the first load state is a load state where an amount of power generation required from the fuel cell is 50% or lower of an amount of allowable power generation of the fuel cell, the second load state is a load state where the amount of power generation required from the fuel cell is between 30 and 80% of the amount of allowable power generation of the fuel cell, and the third load state is a load state where an amount of power generation required from the fuel cell is 60% or higher of the amount of allowable power generation of the fuel cell.

8. The fuel cell system according to claim 4 , wherein the first load state is a load state where an amount of power generation required from the fuel cell is 50% or lower of an amount of allowable power generation of the fuel cell, the second load state is a load state where the amount of power generation required from the fuel cell is between 30 and 80% of the amount of allowable power generation of the fuel cell, and the third load state is a load state where an amount of power generation required from the fuel cell is 60% or higher of the amount of allowable power generation of the fuel cell.

Assignees

• Kobayashi Tomoyoshi
• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kobayashi Tomoyoshi

Classifications

• H01M8/04761

  of fuel cell exhausts · 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

• H01M8/04425

  at auxiliary devices, e.g. reformers, compressors, burners · CPC title

• H01M2008/1095

  Fuel cells with polymeric electrolytes · CPC title