Electric power supply system

• US 7,839,020 B2
• Filed: 04/21/2006
• Issued: 11/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Nakanishi, Osamu
• Primary Examiner(s): FIN, MICHAEL RUTLAND
• Application Number:
  US11/908,624
• Publication Number:
  US 20090026841A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,677 Days
• Field of Search: 307/65, 307/66
• US Class Current: 307/65
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/40 for controlling a combination of batteries and fuel cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2250/10 Fuel cells in stationary systems, e.g. emergency power source in plant
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2250/20 Fuel cells in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2300/30 The power source being a fuel cell
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/007 Arrangements for selectively connecting the load or loads to one or several among a plurality of power lines or power sources for providing uninterruptable power supply H02J9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/381 Dispersed generators
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 90/10 Applications of fuel cells in buildings
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 40/70 Smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the energy generation sector
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/00 Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/50 Fuel cells
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/40 Application of hydrogen technology to transportation, e.g. using fuel cells
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/126 the energy generation units being or involving electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV], i.e. power aggregation of EV or HEV, vehicle to grid arrangements [V2G]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/50 Systems or methods supporting the power network operation or management, involving a certain degree of interaction with the load-side end user applications

Abstract

An electric power supply system which, in the event of a power failure, is capable of efficiently supplying electric power to household electric appliances in cooperation of a vehicle, including a mechanism supplying electric power outside the vehicle, with a stationary fuel cell system and also includes an electric power supply system using a power converter for converting direct current powers from a vehicle fuel cell and a stationary fuel cell into alternating current powers. The electric power supply system is constructed by a vehicle fuel cell provided on a fuel cell vehicle, a stationary fuel cell provided in a stationary power supply system, and a power converter for converting direct current powers from the vehicle fuel cell and the stationary fuel cell into alternating current powers.

Claims

1. An electric power supply system comprising:

a fuel cell vehicle including a vehicle fuel cell;

a stationary fuel cell system including an inverter;

a connector to connect the fuel cell vehicle to the stationary fuel cell system;

load devices supplied with electric power from the stationary fuel cell system; and

a system power source to supply electric power to the stationary fuel cell system,

wherein based on a detection of a power failure of the system power source and a determination that the connector is not connected to the fuel cell vehicle, the fuel cell vehicle and the stationary fuel cell system are brought into connection, by connecting the fuel cell vehicle to the connector, to supply the load devices with electric power from the fuel cell vehicle through the inverter of the stationary fuel cell system.

2. The electric power supply system according to claim 1, wherein the fuel cell vehicle further includes a storage battery to supply the electric power of the storage battery outside the fuel cell vehicle.

3. An electric power supply system comprising:

a fuel cell vehicle including a vehicle fuel cell;

a stationary fuel cell system including an inverter;

a connector to connect the fuel cell vehicle to the stationary fuel cell system;

load devices supplied with electric power from the stationary fuel cell system;

a system power source to supply electric power to the stationary fuel cell system; and

a user interface to control operations of the load devices,

wherein based on a detection of a power failure of the system power source and a determination that the connector is not connected to the fuel cell vehicle, the fuel cell vehicle and the stationary fuel cell system are brought into connection, by connecting the fuel cell vehicle to the connector, to supply the load devices with electric power from the fuel cell vehicle through the inverter of the stationary fuel cell system, and wherein the operating states of the load devices are monitored by the user interface.

4. The electric power supply system according to claim 3, wherein the fuel cell vehicle further includes a storage battery to supply the electric power outside the fuel cell vehicle, and wherein the user interface monitors remaining battery life of the storage battery and charges the storage battery if the remaining battery life is less than a predetermined value.

5. An electric power supply system comprising:

a vehicle fuel cell included in a fuel cell vehicle;

a stationary fuel cell included in a stationary power supply system;

a power converter to convert direct current powers from the vehicle fuel cell and the stationary fuel cell into alternating current powers;

a second DC/DC converter to receive and output powers from both the vehicle fuel cell and the stationary fuel cell, the second DC/DC converter being provided between the stationary fuel cell and the power converter;

a connector to connect the vehicle fuel cell between the second DC/DC converter and the stationary fuel cell;

a first DC/DC converter provided between the connector and the vehicle fuel cell; and

a connector to connect the fuel cell vehicle to the stationary power supply system to supply the direct current power from the vehicle fuel cell to the power converter, wherein

the power converter is built into the stationary power supply system.