Electric power source apparatus using fuel cell and method of controlling the same

• US 20060068239A1
• Filed: 08/26/2005
• Published: 03/30/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Kanouda, Akihiko, Kikuchi, Mutsumi, Norimatsu, Yasuaki
• Application Number:
  US11/211,635
• Publication Number:
  US 20060068239A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 307/64
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/0436 Small-sized flat cells or batteries for portable equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/46 Accumulators structurally combined with charging apparatus circuits for charging H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 16/006 of fuel cells with rechargeable batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2250/30 Fuel cells in portable systems, e.g. mobile phone, laptop
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04365 of other components of a fuel cell or fuel cell stacks
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/0438 Pressure; Ambient pressure; Flow
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04388 of anode reactants at the inlet or inside the fuel cell
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04544 Voltage
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04626 of auxiliary devices, e.g. batteries, capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04955 Shut-off or shut-down of fuel cells
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2300/30 The power source being a fuel cell
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00 Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/34 Parallel operation in networks using both storage and other dc sources, e.g. providing buffering H02J7/14 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 90/10 Applications of fuel cells in buildings
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/50 Fuel cells

Abstract

A method of controlling an electric power source apparatus, which comprises supplying electric power to an electronic device on which a secondary battery is mounted from a power source apparatus having a fuel cell and an auxiliary power source. Electric power is supplied intermittently to a charging terminal of the electronic device by means of a switch for controlling conduction and interruption of an output terminal of the power source apparatus.

Claims

1. A method of controlling an electric power source apparatus, which comprises:

supplying electric power to an electronic device on which a secondary battery is mounted from the electric power source apparatus having a fuel cell and an auxiliary power source, wherein electric power is supplied intermittently to a charging terminal of the electronic device by means of a switch for controlling conduction and interruption of an output terminal of the electric power source apparatus.

2. The method of controlling the electric power source apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at the time of the conduction of the output terminal of the electric power source apparatus, electric power is supplied in parallel to the charging terminal of the electronic device from both the fuel cell and the auxiliary power source, and at the time of the interruption of the output terminal, the auxiliary power source is charged.

3. The method of controlling the electric power source apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary power source is an electric double layer condenser.

4. The method of controlling the electric power source apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary power source is a secondary battery.

5. The method of controlling the electric power source apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the capacity of the electric double layer condenser is so adjusted that the electric power supply time to the electronic apparatus is one second or longer.

6. The method of controlling the electric power source apparatus according to claim 2, wherein power supply to the charging terminal of the electronic device is started when the voltage of the auxiliary power source reaches an upper-limit threshold value and the interruption of the output terminal is conducted when the voltage of the auxiliary power source reaches a lower-limit threshold value.

7. The method of controlling the electric power source apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the lower-limit threshold value is increased in accordance with a temperature increase of the fuel cell.

13. The electric power source apparatus according to claim 2, which further comprises a judging-controlling means for controlling at least one of ON/OFF of the switch and ON/OFF of he DC/DC converter.

8. An electric power source apparatus for supplying electric power to a charging terminal of an electronic device, which comprises a fuel cell with an output smaller than the minimum necessary electric power for the electronic device and at least one kind of an auxiliary power source, wherein the fuel cell and the auxiliary power source are constructed to supply electric power to the electronic device in parallel with each other.

9. The electric power source apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the electronic device has a secondary battery mounted thereon.

10. The electric power source apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the guaranteed power of the fuel cell is set to be close to the driving average power of the electronic device.

11. The electric power source apparatus according to claim 8, which further comprises a switch for controlling conduction and interruption of the output terminal to which electric power is supplied to the electronic device from the fuel cell and the auxiliary power source.

12. The electric power source apparatus according to claim 11, which further comprises a DC/DC converter for converting a voltage supplied from the fuel cell and the auxiliary power source to the electronic device into a constant output voltage.

14. The electric power source apparatus according to claim 12, which is interchangeably provided with a power-transmission cable for supplying electric power to the electronic device and is provided with a feedback resistance in the power-transmission cable for deciding the output voltage of the DC/DC converter.

15. The electric power source apparatus according to claim 11, which is interchangeably provided with a power-transmission cable for supplying electric power to the electronic device, wherein the power-transmission cable is a USB terminal.

16. The electric power source apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the auxiliary power source is an electric double layer condenser.

17. The electric power source apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the auxiliary power source is an electric double layer condenser and a secondary battery.