Fuel cell system

• US 7,517,599 B2
• Filed: 04/13/2004
• Issued: 04/14/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Shige, Masahiro, Kajiwara, Shigeto, Matsumoto, Tadaichi, Kashiwagi, Hideki
• Primary Examiner(s): Ullah; Akm E
• Assistant Examiner(s): RAMADAN, RAMY O
• Application Number:
  US10/822,837
• Publication Number:
  US 20040214054A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,827 Days
• Field of Search: 320/101, 320/104, 320/138, 320/140, 318/139, 318/812, 429/19, 429/23, 429/180, 429/13, 429/22
• US Class Current: 429/430
• 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 8/04365 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 8/04626 of auxiliary devices, e.g. batteries, capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/0488 of fuel cell stacks
• 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

The measurement precision of a current detector of the fuel cell in a fuel cell system is improved. Where the fuel cell system 20 has not started operation, the vehicle 10 is operating under regenerative operation, the fuel cell 21 is operating under intermittent operation, or operation of the fuel cell system 20 has ended, the output terminal voltage of the fuel cell 21 is set to the OCV value of 400V via the DC/DC converter 31. As a result, even where the status of the fuel cell 21 changes from operating to stopped, the value of the current flowing over the power supply lines 411 can be immediately and reliably set to 0 A. The control unit 60 then obtains the current value Ad from the fuel cell current sensor 413 (step S150), and determines the offset correction value Ac needed in order to cancel the drift amount (i.e., in order to perform zero-point correction).

Claims

1. A fuel cell system comprising:

a fuel cell having output terminals;

a voltage converter that is connected to said output terminals of said fuel cell;

an electrical storage device that is connected in parallel to said fuel cell via said voltage converter and is capable of power charging and discharging;

a current detector that detects a current value of said fuel cell; and

a current offset correction value determination device that determines a current offset correction value for said current detector by setting an output terminal voltage of said fuel cell to an open circuit voltage via said voltage converter, wherein

said fuel cell system is mounted in a moving object, said current offset correction value determination device determines said current offset correction value by setting the output terminal voltage of said fuel cell to the open circuit voltage during a period that the moving object does not require power generation by said fuel cell.

2. A fuel cell system according to claim 1, wherein said period that power generation by said fuel cell is not required is at least one of the following periods:

before the fuel cell system has started, during regenerative operation of the moving object, during intermittent operation of the fuel cell system and after operation of the fuel cell has stopped.

3. A fuel cell system according to claim 1, wherein said fuel cell system is mounted in a moving object, and said current offset correction value determination device determines said current offset correction value by setting the output terminal voltage of said fuel cell to the open circuit voltage when a temperature of said current detector equals or exceeds a prescribed temperature, when a rate of temperature increase of said current detector equals or exceeds a prescribed rate, or after a prescribed period of time has elapsed since a correction of said current detector.

4. A fuel cell system according to claim 3, wherein when an amount of power demanded by said moving object exceeds an amount of power that can be supplied by said electrical storage device, said current offset correction value determination device does not set the output terminal voltage of said fuel cell to the open circuit voltage and does not determine the current offset correction value.

5. A fuel cell system comprising:

a fuel cell having output terminals;

a current detector that detects a current value of said fuel cell; and

a current offset correction value determination device that determines a current offset correction value for said current detector by setting an output terminal voltage of said fuel cell to an open circuit voltage, wherein

said fuel cell system is mounted in a moving object, said current offset correction value determination device determines said current offset correction value by setting the output terminal voltage of said fuel cell to the open circuit voltage during a period that the moving object does not require power generation by said fuel cell.

6. A method of determining a current offset correction value for a current detector in a fuel cell system including an electrical storage device that is connected in parallel to a fuel cell via a voltage converter, wherein the voltage converter is connected to output terminals of such fuel cell, the method comprising:

setting an output terminal voltage of said fuel cell to an open circuit voltage via said voltage converter; and

determining the current offset correction value for said current detector, wherein

the fuel cell system is mounted in a moving object and the current offset correction value is determined by setting the output terminal voltage of said fuel cell to the open circuit voltage during a period that the moving object does not require power generation by said fuel cell.