US 6,361,890 B1Granted

Fuel cell system having scroll type compressor and regenerator

AssigneeKabushiki Kaisha Toyoda Jidoshokki Seisakusho

InventorsTakashi Ban, Hirohisa Katoh, Masahiko Kimbara, Hidehito Kubo

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell, a motor, a scroll type compressor, connected to the air feeding pipe of the fuel cell and a scroll type regenerator connected to the air exhaust pipe of the fuel cell. The movable scrolls of the compressor and the regenerator are coupled to opposite ends of the motor output shaft in symmetry with each other. A pressure ratio of the regenerator is selected to be smaller than that of the compressor by an amount corresponding to a pressure loss of the exhaust gas across the fuel cell, so that the rotation of the regenerator never transmits a negative torque to the motor output shaft MC. Therefore, the regenerator can efficiently provide power assistance to the compressor.

Claims7

Dependent claims

A fuel cell system comprising:

a fuel cell having an air feeding passage and a gas exhaust passage;
a scroll compressor arranged in the air feeding passage, said compressor including a stationary scroll and a movable scroll;
a scroll regenerator arranged in the gas exhaust passage, said regenerator including a stationary scroll and a movable scroll;
a motor having an output shaft having opposite ends;
the movable scroll of the compressor being operatively coupled to one end of the output shaft of the motor, the movable scroll of the regenerator being operatively coupled to the other end of the output shaft of the motor symmetrically with the movable scroll of the compressor;
and
a pressure ratio of the regenerator being smaller than that of the compressor by an amount corresponding to a pressure loss of the gas across the fuel cell.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.