Fuel cells system and electric car mounting it and starting control method for fuel cell system

• US 6,520,273 B1
• Filed: 11/14/2000
• Issued: 02/18/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Ishikawa, Seiji
• Primary Examiner(s): LERNER, AVRAHAM H
• Application Number:
  US09/700,386
• Time in Patent Office: 826 Days
• Field of Search: 180/65.1, 180/65.2, 180/65.3, 180/65.4, 180/65.8, 429/24, 701/22, 318/587
• US Class Current: 429/415
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/30 for monitoring or controlling fuel cells
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/33 by cooling
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 16/006 of fuel cells with rechargeable batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2250/20 Fuel cells in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04007 related to heat exchange
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04225 during start-up
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04365 of other components of a fuel cell or fuel cell stacks
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04589 of fuel cell stacks
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04753 of fuel cell reactants
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/0491 of fuel cell stacks
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04947 of auxiliary devices, e.g. batteries, capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/0612 from carbon-containing material
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/241 with solid or matrix-supported electrolytes
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/2457 with both reactants being gaseous or vaporised
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/50 Fuel cells
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/40 Application of hydrogen technology to transportation, e.g. using fuel cells

Abstract

In the case where internal temperature of fuel cells 40 has not reached a stationary level (step S26), a control unit 100 disconnects a secondary battery 60 from an inverter 70 (step S28) and controls the drive of a motor 80 (step S30), in order to cause the motor 80 to consume electric power supplied from the fuel cells 40 while the inverter 70 functions to prevent any torque from being produced at a drive shaft 82 of the motor 80. Such control enables the internal temperature of the fuel cells to be raised to the stationary level in a shortest possible time at the time of activating the fuel cells.

Claims

1. A fuel cells system having fuel cells that receive a supply of gaseous fuel and generate electric power, said fuel cells system comprising:

a motor that is driven with the electric power output from said fuel cells; and

a motor control unit that controls drive of said motor,

wherein said motor control unit controls the drive of said motor, which is expressed equivalently by a d-q axes model, to make a value of electric current flowing through a q-axis winding in the d-q axes model substantially equal to zero and a value of electric current flowing through a d-axis winding in the d-q axes model equal to a predetermined value of not less than zero, out of electric current supplied from said fuel cells, at the time of activating said fuel cells.

2. A fuel cells system in accordance with claim 1, said fuel cells system further comprising:

a temperature detection unit that measures internal temperature of said fuel cells,

wherein said motor control unit controls the drive of said motor to vary the value of electric current flowing through said d-axis winding according to the observed internal temperature.

3. A fuel cells system in accordance with claim 1, said fuel cells system further comprising:

a secondary battery that is capable of supplying electric power to said motor, in order to drive said motor; and

a battery supply regulation unit that regulates a supply of electric power from said secondary battery to said motor,

wherein said battery supply regulation unit cuts off the supply of electric power from said secondary battery to said motor at the time of activating said fuel cells.

4. A fuel cells system in accordance with claim 1, said fuel cells system further comprising:

a gaseous fuel generation unit that produces the gaseous fuel from a supply of crude fuel and feeds the produced gaseous fuel to said fuel cells; and

a flow regulation unit that regulates a flow rate of the gaseous fuel fed from said gaseous fuel generation unit to said fuel cells,

wherein said flow regulation unit increases the flow rate of the gaseous fuel to be greater than a predetermined standard flow rate at the time of activating said fuel cells.

5. A fuel cells system in accordance with claim 4, said fuel cells system further comprising:

a temperature detection unit that measures internal temperature of said fuel cells,

wherein said flow regulation unit returns the flow rate of the gaseous fuel to the predetermined standard flow rate when the observed internal