FCPM freeze start heater
First Claim
1. A fuel cell system comprising:
- a fuel cell stack providing output power; and
a heater circuit including a heater for heating the fuel cell stack during system start-up, said heater being electrically coupled to the output of the fuel cell stack, said heater circuit further including a controller for controlling the amount of heat provided by the heater based on the output of the fuel cell stack.
13 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A fuel cell system that employs a start-up heater. The heater is coupled to a cold plate that warms a stack coolant during system start-up. A heater circuit measures the voltage at the output of the fuel cell stack and across the heater and the current through the fuel cell stack and through the heater. The heater circuit controls the amount heat that the heater generates by the measured voltage and current and the available power at the output of the fuel cell stack. In one embodiment, the heater includes field effect transistors (FETs) and planar resistors directly mounted to the cold plate. The FETs operate in their linear mode, allowing only the amount of current, which is required at a given voltage, to produce the power needed from the stack.
-
Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A fuel cell system comprising:
-
a fuel cell stack providing output power; and
a heater circuit including a heater for heating the fuel cell stack during system start-up, said heater being electrically coupled to the output of the fuel cell stack, said heater circuit further including a controller for controlling the amount of heat provided by the heater based on the output of the fuel cell stack. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
-
-
11. A fuel cell system comprising:
-
a fuel cell stack providing output power;
a coolant loop including a cooling fluid flowing therethrough for cooling the fuel cell stack; and
a heater circuit including a heater for heating the fuel cell stack during system start-up, said heater being electrically coupled to the output of the fuel cell stack, wherein the heater heats the cooling fluid flowing through the fuel cell stack, said heater circuit further including a controller for controlling the amount of heat provided by the heater based on the output of the fuel cell stack, a current sensor for measuring the current flow through the heater and the fuel cell stack, a first voltage divider network for measuring the voltage at the output of the fuel cell stack and the voltage across the heater, and a controller area network (CAN) transceiver for providing external CAN signals to the controller. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
-
-
17. A method of heating a fuel cell stack during fuel cell system start-up, said method comprising:
-
electrically coupling a heater to an output of the fuel cell stack;
measuring a voltage across the output of the stack and the heater;
measuring the current through the stack and the heater;
controlling the amount of heat the heater provides based on the measured voltage and current and the available output power from the fuel cell stack; and
heating the fuel stack with the heat provided by the heater. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
-
Specification