High pressure gas supply system and fuel cell system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9343754-B2
Application number	US-201113583073-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 23, 2011
Priority date	Mar 9, 2010
Publication date	May 17, 2016
Grant date	May 17, 2016

Abstract

A fuel cell system ( 10 ) includes a pressure decrease valve ( 121 ) and a flow control valve ( 122 ) provided in a hydrogen supply line ( 120 P) that extends from a high pressure gas tank ( 110 ) to a fuel cell ( 100 ). A low temperature environment may cause the function of these devices to decrease. Therefore, if the gas temperature inside the high pressure gas tank ( 110 ) is higher than the temperature of this low temperature environment and is a temperature at which the decreased function can be recovered, high pressure gas inside the tank is made to flow through the hydrogen supply line ( 120 P) to expose the pressure decrease valve ( 121 ) and the like to the relatively high temperature gas before a start signal that starts the system is received.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A pressurized gas supply system comprising:
a pressurized gas tank in which pressurized gas is stored;
a gas supply line that extends from the pressurized gas tank to a gas consuming apparatus;
a valve acting as a gas supply portion that supplies the pressurized gas inside the pressurized gas tank to the gas supply line upon receiving a start signal to start the system so that the gas consuming apparatus starts consuming gas;
a gas supply functional portion that includes at least one of a pressure decrease valve and a flow control valve, the gas supply functional portion being arranged in the gas supply line downstream of the gas supply portion and functions to regulate an amount of gas that passes through the gas supply line to be consumed by the gas consuming apparatus; and
a control apparatus that is configured to perform, when an ambient temperature is less than a predetermined temperature and a gas temperature inside the pressurized gas tank is higher than the ambient temperature, a preliminary control that drives the gas supply portion before the start signal is received,
wherein the ambient temperature is a temperature in a low temperature environment that causes a decrease in function of the gas supply functional portion, and the gas temperature inside the pressurized gas tank, that is higher than the ambient temperature, is a temperature at which the decrease in the function of the gas supply functional portion is recovered.

2. The pressurized gas supply system according to claim 1 , wherein the control apparatus performs the preliminary control after completion of filling gas into the pressurized gas tank.

3. The pressurized gas supply system according to claim 1 , wherein the pressurized gas tank has a fiber-reinforced layer in which fiber containing thermosetting resin is wound around an outer periphery of a resin liner.

4. The pressurized gas supply system according to claim 1 , wherein the control apparatus performs the preliminary control in conjunction with the completion of filling gas into the pressurized gas tank.

5. The pressurized gas supply system according to claim 1 , wherein the control apparatus performs the preliminary control with a first amount of supplied gas that is smaller than a second amount of supplied gas that the gas supply portion sends through the gas supply line upon receiving the start signal.

6. The pressurized gas supply system according to claim 1 , further comprising a gas circulating portion that circulates gas that has reached the gas supply functional portion, without supplying the gas to the gas consuming apparatus during the preliminary control.

7. The pressurized gas supply system according to claim 1 , wherein a plurality of the gas supply functional portion is provided,
the pressurized gas supply system further comprising a gas circulating portion that circulates gas that has reached a gas supply functional portion farthest downstream, from among the plurality of gas supply functional portions arranged in the gas supply line, without supplying the gas to the gas consuming apparatus during the preliminary control.

8. The pressurized gas supply system according to claim 1 , further comprising a gas circulating portion that includes a circulation line and a three-way valve that connects the circulation line to the gas supply line during the preliminary control.

9. A fuel cell system comprising:
a fuel cell; and
the pressurized gas supply system according to claim 1 ,
wherein the gas consuming apparatus provided in the pressurized gas supply system is the fuel cell; and
the pressurized gas tank provided in the pressurized gas supply system is a tank in which fuel gas that is supplied for an electrochemical reaction in the fuel cell is stored.

Assignees

• Inagi Shusuke
• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Inagi Shusuke

Classifications

• H01M8/04253

  Means for solving freezing problems · CPC title

• F17C2221/012

  Hydrogen · CPC title

• H01M8/04731

  of other components of a fuel cell or fuel cell stacks · CPC title

• F17C2270/0178

  Cars · CPC title

• H01M8/04373

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