Fuel cell power supply device

• US 6,899,968 B2
• Filed: 05/29/2002
• Issued: 05/31/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Abe, Hiroyuki, Wake, Chihiro, Saeki, Hibiki, Hasuka, Yoshinobu
• Primary Examiner(s): Bell, Bruce F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): HODGE, ROBERT W
• Application Number:
  US10/157,727
• Publication Number:
  US 20020182461A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,098 Days
• Field of Search: 429/3, 429/7, 429/9, 429/13, 429/19, 429/22, 429/23, 429/24, 429/30, 429/34, 429/42, 429/49, 429/17, 429/27, 429/44, 429/46, 701/22, 320/102, 180/65.3, 205/782.5
• US Class Current: 429/431
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/30 for monitoring or controlling fuel cells
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/33 by cooling
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/34 by heating
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 16/006 of fuel cells with rechargeable batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04179 by purging or increasing flow or pressure of reactants
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04328 of anode reactants at the inlet or inside the fuel cell
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04335 of cathode reactants at the inlet or inside the fuel cell
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04388 of anode reactants at the inlet or inside the fuel cell
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04395 of cathode reactants at the inlet or inside the fuel cell
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04559 of fuel cell stacks
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04567 of auxiliary devices, e.g. batteries, capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04597 of auxiliary devices, e.g. batteries, capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04679 of fuel cell stacks
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04753 of fuel cell reactants
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04828 Humidity; Water content
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/0491 of fuel cell stacks
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04992 characterised by the implementation of mathematical or computational algorithms, e.g. feedback control loops, fuzzy logic, neural networks or artificial intelligence
• 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

A power supply management control unit 14 has a target output current calculator 50 including a correction processor 52 which compares an upper-limit output current (Ifc_LMT) of a fuel cell with a requested output current (Ifc_CAL) calculated by requested output current calculator 42. When the requested output current (Ifc_CAL) exceeds the upper-limit output current (Ifc_LMT), limiting the output current of the fuel cell, the correction processor 52 corrects a target output current (Ifc_CMD) to be equal to a current which is calculated by applying an open voltage (Vcap_o) of a capacitor to a map (Ifc/Vfc map) representing the correlation between an output current and an output voltage of the fuel cell. After the limitation of the out-put current of the fuel cell is canceled, the correction processor 52 keeps correcting the target output current (Ifc_CMD) until the open voltage (Vcap_o) of the capacitor becomes equal to or greater than the output voltage of the fuel cell.

Claims

1. A fuel cell power supply device comprising:

a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM)-type fuel cell;

reactive gas supply means for supplying reactive gases to said fuel cell;

current limiting means for limiting an output current of said fuel cell;

target output current determining means for determining a target output current of said fuel cell depending on a requested current of a load when said fuel cell is connected to said load through said current limiting means and supplies a current to said load;

fuel cell control means for controlling an amount of reactive gases supplied from said reactive gas supply means to said fuel cell based on said target output current;

upper limit recognizing means for detecting an operating state of said fuel cell and recognizing an upper limit of a current which can be outputted said fuel cell based on the detected operating state of the fuel cell; and

water-discharge promoting means for comparing said target output current end amid upper limit with each other, and, if the operating state of the fuel cell suffers a malfunction and said upper limit becomes equal to or smaller than said target output current, performing a current limiting process of limiting the output current of said fuel cell to make said target output current equal to or smaller than said upper limit with said current limiting means, and performing a supplied-amount-of-reactive-gases increasing process of increasing the amount or reactive gases supplied from said reactive gas supply means to said fuel cell for thereby promoting discharging of water trapped in said fuel call.

2. A fuel cell power supply device according to claim 1, further comprising:

an electric double layer capacitor connected parallel to said fuel call through said current limiting means, for being discharged to supply said requested current when the output current of said fuel cell tends to run short of said requested current;

storage means for storing data of a current/voltage map representing the correlation between an output voltage and an output current of said fuel cell; and

open voltage recognizing means for recognizing an open voltage across said electric double layer capacitor;

said water-discharge promoting means comprising means for performing a correcting process of increasing said target output current to a value equal to or higher than a current produced by applying said target output current to said current/voltage map and finishing said current limiting process when the malfunction of the operating state of said fuel cell is eliminated and said upper limit becomes greater than said target output current after said current limiting process and said supplied-amount-of-reactive-gases increasing process have been started.

3. A fuel cell power supply device according to claim 1, further comprising:

an electric double layer capacitor connected parallel to said fuel call through said current limiting means, for being charged by said fuel cell and discharged to supply said requested current when the output current of said fuel cell tends to run short of said requested current;

said water-discharge promoting means comprising means for performing a correcting process of increasing said target output current when the malfunction of the operating state of said fuel cells is eliminated and said upper limit becomes greater than said target output current after said current limiting process and said supplied-amount-of-reactive-gases increasing process have been started.

4. A fuel cell power supply device according to claim 2, further comprising:

fuel cell voltage detecting means for detecting the output voltage of said fuel cell;

said water-discharge promoting means comprising means for finishing said correcting process when an open voltage of said electric double layer capacitor becomes equal to or greater than the output voltage detected by said fuel cell voltage detecting means after said current limiting process is finished.

5. A fuel cell power supply device according to claim 1, wherein said water-discharge promoting means comprises means for intermittently performing said supplied-amount-of-reactive-gases increasing process.

6. A fuel cell power supply device according to claim 3, further comprising:

fuel cell voltage detecting means for detecting the output voltage of said fuel cell;

said water-discharge promoting means comprising means for finishing said correcting process when an open voltage of said electric double layer capacitor becomes equal to or greater than the output voltage detected by said fuel cell voltage detecting means after said current limiting process is finished.

7. A fuel cell power supply device according to claim 2, wherein said water-discharge promoting means comprises means for intermittently performing said supplied-amount-of-reactive-gases increasing process.

8. A fuel cell power supply device according to claim 3, wherein said water-discharge promoting means comprises means for intermittently performing said supplied-amount-of-reactive-gases increasing process.