US 9,520,606 B2Granted

Fuel cell system and control method thereof

AssigneeHonda Motor Co., Ltd.

InventorsChihiro Wake, Yuji Matsumoto

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Abstract

A fuel cell system includes an ECU that sets the fuel cell stack to a state of idling stop by lowering both a revolution speed of an air pump and a discharge current value of the fuel cell stack to less than during idling power generation within a range larger than 0, in response to a predetermined idling stop initiation condition having been satisfied during idling power generation. The ECU decreases the discharge current value further as the lowest cell voltage value CV_low of the fuel cell stack decreases so that the lowest cell voltage value CV_low does not fall below a cancellation threshold B, with an event of the lowest cell voltage CV_low of the fuel cell stack having fallen below the cancellation threshold B as a cancellation condition of idling stop.

Claims12

Dependent claims

A fuel cell system comprising:

a fuel cell stack having stacked together a plurality of fuel cells that generate power when supplied fuel gas and oxidant gas;
an electrical load that is connected to the fuel cell stack and consumes electric power generated by the fuel cell stack;
and
a control unit that executes low stoichiometry control to
decrease a supplied amount of oxidant gas to the fuel cell stack within a range greater than zero and less than during idling power generation, and
decrease a generated electric current produced from the fuel cell stack within a range greater than zero and less than during the idling power generation,
wherein the control unit causes generated electric current produced from the fuel stack to change so that the lowest cell voltage value of the fuel cell stack does not fall below a predetermined threshold, and decreases the generated electric current as a lowest cell voltage value of the fuel cell stack decreases, during execution of the low stoichiometry control.

4 more elements

A method for controlling a fuel cell system including a fuel cell stack having stacked together a plurality of fuel cells that generate power when fuel gas and oxidant gas are supplied thereto, and

an electrical load that is connected to the fuel cell stack, and consumes electric power generated by the fuel cell stack, the method comprising:
an idling power generation step of producing a predetermined amount of a generated electric current while supplying a predetermined amount of oxidant gas to the fuel cell stack;
and
a low stoichiometry control step of
decreasing a supplied amount of the oxidant gas to the fuel cell stack within a range greater than zero and less than during the idling power generation on step, and
decreasing the generated electric current produced from the fuel cell stack within a range greater than zero and less than during the idling power generation step,
wherein the generated electric current produced from the fuel cell stack is made to change so that the lowest cell voltage value of the fuel cell stack does not fall below a predetermined threshold, and the generated electric current is lowered as a lowest cell voltage value of the fuel cell stack decreases, in the low stoichiometry control step.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 13/477,350Filed 22 May 2012
Priority: JP 2011-11628124 May 2011
Published: US 2012/0301803 A129 Nov 2012
Granted: 13 Dec 2016
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification29 codes

H01M 8/0488
Voltage: of fuel cell stacks
B60L 1/003
Supplying electric power to auxiliary equipment of vehicles: to auxiliary motors, e.g. for pumps, compressors
B60L 7/14
Dynamic electric regenerative braking: for vehicles propelled by AC motors
B60L 15/2009
For control of the vehicle or its driving motor to achieve a desired performance, e.g. speed, torque, programmed variation of speed: for braking

Family

US 2012/0301803 A1Pre-grant publication · published 29 Nov 2012
US 9,520,606 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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