Online configurable control system for fuel cells

• US 7,599,760 B2
• Filed: 04/17/2006
• Issued: 10/06/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bloom Energy Corporation
• Original Assignee: Bloom Energy Corporation
• Inventors: Venkataraman, Swaminathan, Dutta, Abhijit
• Primary Examiner(s): Shechtman; Sean P
• Application Number:
  US11/404,760
• Publication Number:
  US 20070243435A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,268 Days
• Field of Search: 700/11, 700/12, 700/15, 700/17, 700/18, 700/23, 700/25, 700/26, 700/27, 700 75- 77, 700/79, 700/275, 700/287, 700292-294, 429/12, 429/13, 429 22- 25, 702180-185, 715/212, 715/961, 715/965
• US Class Current: 700/287
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2008/1293 Fuel cells with solid oxide electrolytes
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04246 Short circuiting means for defective fuel cells detection of defective fuel cells H01M8/04664, methods for shunting fuel cells H01M8/04955
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04664 Failure or abnormal function
• 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 60/50 Fuel cells
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/961 Operator interface with visual structure or function dictated by intended use

Abstract

A fuel cell system control system includes a fuel cell system and a controller. The controller includes a display and a processor configured to execute a program for managing an operation of a fuel cell state machine having a plurality of states and capable of executing logic to execute state transitions, and a fuel cell failure detection and correction program, configured to detect one or more fuel cell system failures and correct each detected failure while the fuel cell system continues to operate. The control process includes the steps of representing an operation of a fuel cell control system as a state machine having one or more states, controlling the operation of the fuel cell system using the state machine, executing one or more states of the state machine, and correcting operational errors in the fuel cell control system while the fuel cell system continues to operate.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a fuel cell system, comprising:

representing an operation of a fuel cell control system as a state machine having one or more states;

controlling the operation of the fuel cell system using the state machine;

executing one or more states of the state machine;

detecting failures in the execution of each of the executed states concurrent with performing the executing step;

pausing an operation of the state machine upon detection of a failure in the fuel cell system control system; and

correcting failures in the fuel cell control system while the fuel cell system continues to generate electricity.

2. The method for controlling a fuel cell system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the representing step further comprises:

entering a series of commands for the operation of a fuel cell system in a first column of a spreadsheet;

inserting at least one parameter for an associated command into a second column of a spreadsheet;

compiling the spreadsheet using a graphical programming application; and

transferring the compiled commands to the fuel cell system for execution.

3. The method for controlling a fuel cell system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the detecting step further comprises:

determining if a specific failure has occurred during execution of the state machine;

executing an operation responsive to the specific failure; and

if the specific failure is a fixable, non-critical failure, resuming execution of the state machine.

4. A computer program embodied in a computer-readable medium, the computer program comprising computer code for:

representing an operation of a fuel cell control system as a state machine having one or more states;

controlling the operation of the fuel cell system using the state machine;

executing one or more states of the state machine;

detecting failures in the execution of each of the executed states concurrent with performing the executing step;

pausing an operation of the state machine upon detection of a failure in the fuel cell system control system; and

correcting failures in the fuel cell control system while the fuel cell system continues to generate electricity.