Fuel cell vehicle

• US 8,557,461 B2
• Filed: 09/06/2012
• Issued: 10/15/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Watanabe, Kazunori, Saeki, Hibiki, Kazuno, Shuichi, Shirasaka, Takuya, Igarashi, Daishi
• Primary Examiner(s): Maples, John S
• Application Number:
  US13/605,494
• Publication Number:
  US 20130065090A1
• Time in Patent Office: 404 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 429/432
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/40 for controlling a combination of batteries and fuel cells
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 7/10 Dynamic electric regenerative braking B60L7/22 takes precedence
• 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 8/04753 of fuel cell reactants
• 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 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

Abstract

A fuel cell vehicle is provided. The voltage of a fuel cell is fixed, by a DC/DC converter, to a voltage outside an oxidation reduction progress voltage range of the fuel cell. In this state, oxygen concentration or hydrogen concentration is decreased by a gas supply unit, and electric power outputted from the fuel cell is decreased. In this state, regenerative electric power generated by regeneration is collected into a battery.

Claims

1. A fuel cell vehicle comprising:

a fuel cell for performing power generation by inducing, by catalyst, reaction of a first gas containing oxygen and a second gas containing hydrogen supplied to the fuel cell;

a gas supply unit for supplying at least one of the first gas and the second gas to the fuel cell;

a voltage regulator for regulating output voltage of the fuel cell;

a drive motor as a load driven by electric power outputted from the fuel cell;

an energy storage device for storing electric power regenerated by the drive motor; and

a control unit for controlling the fuel cell, the gas supply unit, the voltage regulator, the drive motor, and the energy storage device,

wherein at the time of regeneration of electric power by the drive motor, the control unit is adapted for controlling the voltage regulator to fix the voltage of the fuel cell at a predetermined voltage outside an oxidation reduction progress voltage range of the fuel cell where oxidation reduction proceeds, while controlling the gas supply unit to decrease oxygen concentration or hydrogen concentration, thereby for decreasing electric power outputted from the fuel cell.

2. The fuel cell vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined voltage outside the oxidation reduction progress voltage range of the fuel cell is set to a voltage that exceeds an upper limit voltage of the oxidation reduction progress voltage range.

3. The fuel cell vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined voltage outside the oxidation reduction progress voltage range of the fuel cell is set to a voltage where degradation of the fuel cell is small, within a range of the voltage that exceeds the upper limit voltage of the oxidation reduction progress voltage range.

4. The fuel cell vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the fuel cell,

wherein if the control unit determines that the temperature of the fuel cell detected by the temperature sensor is a threshold temperature or less, the control unit sets the predetermined voltage outside the oxidation reduction progress voltage range of the fuel cell to a voltage that is lower than a lower limit voltage of the oxidation reduction progress voltage range.

5. The fuel cell vehicle according to claim 4, further comprising a cooling unit for cooling the fuel cell by a coolant,

wherein if the control unit determines that the temperature of the fuel cell detected by the temperature sensor is the threshold temperature or less, the control unit controls the cooling unit to decrease the flow rate of the coolant.