Advanced controls concept for hybrid fuel cell systems
First Claim
1. A fuel cell system comprising:
- a fuel cell stack;
a power source;
a power damping processor responsive to a driver request signal and providing a damped driver request signal;
a subtractor responsive to a predetermined power source state of charge (SOC) set-point signal and an actual power source SOC signal, said subtractor providing a difference signal between the SOC set-point and the actual power source SOC;
an SOC controller responsive to the difference signal and generating a power source SOC signal;
an adder adding the damped power request signal and the power source SOC signal to provide a fuel cell system power signal; and
a power balancing module responsive to the fuel cell system power signal and determining how much power is provided by the fuel cell stack, how much power is provided by the battery and how much fuel cell stack power is used to recharge the battery during low power and high power transients.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for controlling the power output of a fuel cell stack and a battery in a hybrid fuel cell system. The system includes a power damping filter that receives a power request signal, and damps the request to reduce large changes in the power request. A battery state of charge controller receives the difference between a battery state of charge set-point and the actual battery state of charge, and provides a battery power signal that attempts to maintain the battery state of charge at the set-point. The damped power signal and the battery power signal are added to generate a system power demand signal that satisfies the driver power request using the battery power and fuel cell stack power, and uses the fuel cell stack power to charge the battery during low power transients or if the battery state of charge is below the set-point.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A fuel cell system comprising:
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a fuel cell stack; a power source; a power damping processor responsive to a driver request signal and providing a damped driver request signal; a subtractor responsive to a predetermined power source state of charge (SOC) set-point signal and an actual power source SOC signal, said subtractor providing a difference signal between the SOC set-point and the actual power source SOC; an SOC controller responsive to the difference signal and generating a power source SOC signal; an adder adding the damped power request signal and the power source SOC signal to provide a fuel cell system power signal; and a power balancing module responsive to the fuel cell system power signal and determining how much power is provided by the fuel cell stack, how much power is provided by the battery and how much fuel cell stack power is used to recharge the battery during low power and high power transients. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A fuel cell system comprising:
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a fuel cell stack; a battery; and a controller for controlling the distribution of power provided by the fuel cell stack and the battery, said controller being responsive to a driver request signal and generating a damped driver request signal, said controller generating a difference between a predetermined battery state of charge (SOC) set-point and an actual battery state of charge and generating a battery SOC signal based on the difference, said controller combining the damped driver request signal and the battery SOC signal to generate a fuel cell system power signal that is distributed between the fuel cell stack and the battery. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for distributing power between a fuel cell stack and a battery in a hybrid fuel cell system, said method comprising:
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damping a driver request signal; subtracting a battery state of charge (SOC) set-point signal from an actual battery (SOC) signal; generating a battery SOC signal in response to the difference between the set-point signal and the actual SOC signal; and distributing the power provided by the fuel cell stack and the battery based on a combined damped driver request signal and battery SOC signal. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification