Control apparatus for fuel cell vehicle and control method for fuel cell vehicle

• US 8,097,369 B2
• Filed: 06/06/2006
• Issued: 01/17/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Shirasaka, Takuya, Aoyagi, Satoshi, Uenodai, Asao, Saeki, Hibiki
• Primary Examiner(s): RHEE, JANE J
• Application Number:
  US11/447,458
• Publication Number:
  US 20060278450A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,051 Days
• Field of Search: 429/34, 429/400, 429/428, 429/430, 429/431, 429/432
• US Class Current: 429/400
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/20 AC to AC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/56 Temperature prediction, e.g. for pre-cooling
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/30 for monitoring or controlling fuel cells
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/72 Electric energy management in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/40 Application of hydrogen technology to transportation, e.g. using fuel cells

Abstract

A management ECU of a control unit predicts the reduction degree of a system voltage according to an operational state of a motor based on the temperature of a fuel cell and a number of rotations of the motor, sets motor output restriction start voltage and motor output restriction end voltage which are threshold values of the system voltage for triggering an execution start and an execution end of a processing to restrict an output of the motor, and outputs them to a motor ECU. The motor ECU sets an output restriction coefficient that is a restriction rate in restricting the output of the motor based on a detected value of the system voltage and the motor output restriction start voltage and the motor output restriction end voltage, and restricts the output of the motor.

Claims

1. A control apparatus for a fuel cell vehicle comprising:

a motor which drives a vehicle;

a motor control device which controls driving and regenerative operations of the motor;

a fuel cell which serves as a fuel cell system constituting a power source for the motor, which generates power by an electrochemical reaction using reaction gas supplied from a reaction gas supply device;

an accumulator which is charged by a power generation of the fuel cell and a regenerative power from the motor;

an output control device which controls an output of the fuel cell;

a voltage reduction degree prediction device suitably programmed with instructions which, when executed by the voltage reduction degree prediction device, cause the voltage reduction degree prediction device to predict a reduction degree of system voltage according to an operational state of the motor;

a motor output restriction device suitably programmed with instructions which, when executed by the motor output restriction device, cause the motor output restriction device to restrict a motor output according to the reduction degree of the system voltage predicted by the voltage reduction degree prediction device; and

a tachometer which detects a number of rotations of the motor, wherein the voltage reduction degree prediction device is programmed with instructions which, when executed by the voltage reduction degree prediction device, cause the voltage reduction degree prediction device to predict a maximum value of an amount of change in a motor output based on the number of rotations detected by the tachometer.

2. A control apparatus for a fuel cell vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a thermometer which detects a temperature of the fuel cell, wherein

the voltage reduction degree prediction device predicts a maximum value of an amount of reduction of the system voltage according to an operational state of the motor based on the temperature detected by the thermometer.

3. A control apparatus for a fuel cell vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising:

a tachometer which detects a number of rotations of the motor; and

a thermometer which detects a temperature of the fuel cell, wherein

the voltage reduction degree prediction device predicts that an amount of reduction of the system voltage changes at an increasing tendency according to an operational state of the motor, in conjunction with a reduction of the temperature detected by the thermometer and the reduction of the number of rotations detected by the tachometer.

4. A control apparatus for a fuel cell vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the motor output restriction device restricts the motor output in the case in which the system voltage is less than a first threshold value, and causes the first threshold value to change at an increasing tendency in conjunction with an increase of the reduction degree of the system voltage predicted by the voltage reduction degree prediction device.

5. A control apparatus for a fuel cell vehicle according to claim 4, wherein the motor output restriction device sets a second threshold value that is smaller than the first threshold value, and in the case in which the system voltage is less than the first threshold value and greater than the second threshold value, sets a restriction rate according to the system voltage when restricting the motor output.

6. A control apparatus for a fuel cell vehicle according to claim 1 further comprising:

a first computation unit having the voltage reduction degree prediction device; and

a second computation unit having the motor output restriction device.

7. A control apparatus for a fuel cell vehicle according to claim 1 further comprising a power conversion device which boosts a terminal voltage of the accumulator, wherein

the voltage reduction degree prediction device predicts an amount of reduction of the system voltage according to an operational state of the motor based on an operational state of a voltage boosting operation by the power conversion device.

8. A control method for a fuel cell vehicle, the control method comprising:

restricting an output of a motor using the apparatus of claim 1.

9. A control method for a fuel cell vehicle according to claim 8, wherein a maximum value of an amount of reduction of the system voltage is predicted according to the operational state of the motor based on the temperature of the fuel cell.

10. A control method for a fuel cell vehicle according to claim 8, wherein the amount of reduction of the system voltage is predicted so as to change at an increasing tendency according to the operational state of the motor, in conjunction with the temperature reduction of the fuel cell and the number of rotation reductions of the motor.

11. A control method for a fuel cell vehicle according to claim 8, further comprising:

restricting the motor output in the case in which the system voltage is less than a first threshold value; and

changing the first threshold value at an increasing tendency in conjunction with the increase in the reduction degree.

12. A control method for a fuel cell vehicle according to claim 11,

wherein a second threshold value that is smaller than the first threshold value is set, and

the control method further comprises the step of a restriction rate when restricting the motor output according to the system voltage in the case in which the system voltage is less than the first threshold value and greater than the second threshold value.

13. A control method for a fuel cell vehicle according to claim 8, further comprising the steps of:

estimating the reduction degree of the system voltage of the fuel cell system according to the operational state of the motor; and

restricting the motor output according to the reduction degree, wherein

the estimating step and restricting step are executed with mutually independent timing.

14. A control method for a fuel cell vehicle according to claim 8, wherein the reduction degree of the system voltage is predicted according to the operational state of the motor, based on an operational state of a voltage boosting operation by a power conversion device which boosts the terminal voltage of the accumulator.