Apparatus and method for starting fuel cell vehicle in emergency
AssigneeHyundai Motor Company
InventorsSeon Hak KIM, Kyu-Il LEE, Kyung Won SUH, Sung Gone YOON
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Abstract
An apparatus and a method for starting a fuel cell vehicle in an emergency by using the blower of an air conditioning system of the vehicle are disclosed. Thus, upon failure of a high voltage system including a high voltage DC-DC converter or a high voltage battery used as a power source of an air blower during start-up of a fuel cell, air is supplied to the fuel cell so as to be started in the emergency, thereby ensuring starting efficiency of the vehicle and security to the driver in the emergency.
Claims7
An apparatus for starting a fuel cell in an emergency, comprising:
- a high voltage system connected with the fuel cell through a high voltage bus;
- an air blower operated by electrical power supplied from the high voltage system to supply air to an air electrode of the fuel cell;
- an air supply pipe for emergency start-up connected between an air electrode inlet pipe of the fuel cell and an outlet pipe of an air conditioning blower connected to an inside of a vehicle;
- a three-way valve installed at a point where the outlet pipe and the air supply pipe for emergency start-up intersect each other, that guides air from the air conditioning blower to the inside of the vehicle or an air electrode inlet of the fuel cell;
- and
- a controller that controls a change of an air flow path of the three-way valve such that air flows toward the air electrode inlet of the fuel cell, and controls the air conditioning blower to be turned on, upon an error or fault of the high voltage system.
A method of starting a fuel cell in an emergency, comprising:
- operating a high voltage system connected with the fuel cell through a high voltage bus, with the fuel cell being started;
- determining an abnormality of the high voltage system;
- operating an air conditioning blower when an air blower supplying air to an air electrode of the fuel cell is not to be operated upon the abnormality of the high voltage system;
- guiding and supplying the air according to the operating of the air conditioning blower to the air electrode of the fuel cell;
- and
- starting the fuel cell in an emergency, by the air supplied from the air conditioning blower to the air electrode of the fuel cell.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.