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US 12,763,348 B2Granted
Fuel cell system
AssigneeHonda Motor Co., Ltd.
InventorsYuta Hoshi, Takumi Kawano
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The fuel cell system includes a water electrolysis device, a first gas-liquid separator, an oxygen tank, a fuel cell, a second gas-liquid separator, and a controller. When the level of water in the first gas-liquid separator becomes lower than a predetermined threshold value, the controller supplies oxygen gas having a pressure higher than the internal pressure of the first gas-liquid separator to the second gas-liquid separator and opens the first on-off valve.
Claims10
A fuel cell system comprising:
- a water electrolysis device configured to electrolyze water;
- a first gas-liquid separator configured to separate a fluid discharged from the water electrolysis device into a hydrogen gas and water to be resupplied to the water electrolysis device;
- an oxygen tank configured to store an oxygen gas having been produced by water electrolysis and having been pressurized;
- a fuel cell configured to generate electric power using the oxygen gas having been produced by the water electrolysis and having been pressurized;
- a second gas-liquid separator configured to store water in a mixed gas including an unreacted oxygen gas discharged from the fuel cell;
- a water level sensor configured to detect a level of the water stored in the first gas-liquid separator;
- and
- one or more processors that execute computer-executable instructions stored in a memory, wherein the one or more processors execute the computer-executable instructions to cause the fuel cell system to:
- supply to the second gas-liquid separator the oxygen gas pressurized to have a pressure higher than an internal pressure of the first gas-liquid separator when the level of water becomes lower than a predetermined threshold value, regardless of a state of the fuel cell;
- and
- open a first on-off valve disposed on the water supply path connecting the first gas-liquid separator to the second gas-liquid separator.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.