Fuel cell system, fuel cell-mounted vehicle and method of controlling fuel system
AssigneeToyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsKazuo Yamamoto, Hiroyuki Imanishi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
When a first timing at which a fuel gas is injected to a fuel gas supply flow path by an injector and a second timing at which water residing on a circulation flow path is discharged by controlling rotating speed of a circulation pump coincide with each other, a controller performs either: (i) a first process of operating the circulation pump at a preset RPM without injecting the fuel gas to the fuel gas supply flow path by the injector; or (ii) a second process of injecting the fuel gas to the fuel gas supply flow path by the injector and operating the circulation pump at an RPM lower than the preset RPM.
Claims7
A fuel cell system comprising:
- a fuel cell;
- a fuel gas supply flow path configured to supply a fuel gas to the fuel cell;
- an injector configured to intermittently inject the fuel gas to the fuel gas supply flow path;
- a fuel gas discharge flow path configured to discharge a fuel exhaust gas from the fuel cell;
- a circulation flow path connecting the fuel gas supply flow path and the fuel gas discharge flow path to each other;
- a circulation pump provided on the circulation flow path and configured to supply the fuel exhaust gas to the fuel gas supply flow path;
- and
- a controller configured to control a rotating speed of the circulation pump to a preset RPM (Revolutions Per Minute) to discharge water residing on the circulation flow path, wherein
- when a first timing at which the fuel gas is injected to the fuel gas supply flow path by the injector and a second timing at which the water residing on the circulation flow path is discharged by controlling the rotating speed of the circulation pump coincide with each other, the controller performs either:
- (i) a first process of operating the circulation pump at the preset RPM without injecting the fuel gas to the fuel gas supply flow path by the injector;
- or
- (ii) a second process of injecting the fuel gas to the fuel gas supply flow path by the injector and operating the circulation pump at an RPM lower than the preset RPM.
A fuel cell-mounted vehicle comprising:
- a vehicle;
- and
- a fuel cell system comprising a fuel cell;
- a fuel gas supply flow path configured to supply a fuel gas to the fuel cell;
- an injector configured to intermittently inject the fuel gas to the fuel gas supply flow path;
- a fuel gas discharge flow path configured to discharge a fuel exhaust gas from the fuel cell;
- a circulation flow path connecting the fuel gas supply flow path and the fuel gas discharge flow path to each other;
- a circulation pump provided on the circulation flow path and configured to supply the fuel exhaust gas to the fuel gas supply flow path;
- and a controller configured to control a rotating speed of the circulation pump to a preset RPM (Revolutions Per Minute) to discharge water residing on the circulation flow path,
- when a first timing at which the fuel gas is injected to the fuel gas supply flow path by the injector and a second timing at which the water residing on the circulation flow path is discharged by controlling the rotating speed of the circulation pump coincide with each other, the controller performs either:
- (a) executes either the first process or the second process if a running speed of the vehicle is equal to or lower than a predetermined low-speed threshold;
- and
- (b) operates the circulation pump at an RPM preset for blowoff of the liquid water if the running speed of the vehicle is higher than the low-speed threshold.
A method of controlling a fuel system, wherein the fuel system comprising an injector configured to intermittently inject a fuel gas to a fuel gas supply flow path supplying the fuel gas to a fuel cell, and a circulation pump provided on a circulation flow path connecting the fuel gas supply flow path and a fuel gas discharge flow path discharging a fuel exhaust gas from the fuel cell and configured to supply the fuel exhaust gas to the fuel gas supply flow path, comprising:
- when a first timing at which the fuel gas is injected to the fuel gas supply flow path by the injector and a second timing at which the water residing on the circulation flow path is discharged by controlling the rotating speed of the circulation pump coincide with each other, performing either
- (i) a first process of operating the circulation pump at the preset RPM without injecting the fuel gas to the fuel gas supply flow path by the injector;
- or
- (ii) a second process of injecting the fuel gas to the fuel gas supply flow path by the injector and operating the circulation pump at an RPM lower than the preset RPM.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.