Entries |
Document | Title | Date |
20100136449 | POWER SUPPLY APPARATUS - A power supply apparatus comprises a combined power source composed of a plurality of power cells configured electrically independently, a switch for arbitrarily connecting each of the power cells by selectively connecting terminals of the power cells through switching elements, a voltage detector for respectively detecting differences in potentials between the terminals of the power cells, a voltage regulator for stabilizing a voltage supplied to a load, a current detector for detecting a load current supplied to the load, and a controller for controlling ON-OFF states of the switching elements by controlling the switch by a control signal generated based on voltage signals on the voltages detected by the voltage detector, a power consumption of the load, and an output power of the combined power source. | 06-03-2010 |
20100136450 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND OPERATION METHOD OF FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system of the present invention comprises a fuel cell ( | 06-03-2010 |
20100136451 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND CURRENT CONTROL METHOD OF SAME - A control unit | 06-03-2010 |
20100159340 | FUEL CELL STACK WITH STOICHIOMETRY DETERMINATION IN INDIVIDUAL CELLS - A fuel system including a fuel cell including a plurality of unit cells supplied with a prescribed gas to generate electricity, a stoichiometric ratio calculating apparatus calculating the stoichiometric ratio of the prescribed gas for each unit cell, and a gas flow increasing apparatus increasing the supply of the prescribed gas when the stoichiometric ratio falls below a prescribed value. | 06-24-2010 |
20100167146 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND METHOD OF OPERATING FUEL CELL SYSTEM - Provided is a fuel cell system which is capable of well preventing deterioration of performance of a fuel cell stack or well restoring deteriorated performance of the fuel cell stack and of suppressing deterioration of durability of the fuel cell stack, and a method of operating the fuel cell system. In a fuel cell system of the present invention including a fuel cell stack | 07-01-2010 |
20100173211 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND FUEL CELL POWER MANAGING METHOD - A fuel cell system and a fuel cell power managing method in which the fuel cell system controls a current output of a fuel cell by adjusting a target voltage value of the fuel cell according to a difference between a current value of the fuel cell and a target constant current value. By doing so, the fuel cell system may allow the fuel cell to stably and constantly output a constant current. | 07-08-2010 |
20100173212 | FUEL CELL DEGRADATION DETECTING APPARATUS AND FUEL CELL SYSTEM - In a fuel cell system, a load control unit causes transistor elements to be operated at a timing of every predetermined elapsed periods, so that specific currents having α and 2α amperes are output. In a degradation detection unit, output voltages Va, Vb are obtained from the α and 2α amperes, an inclination R(=dv/dI) corresponding to output a resistance Rdmfc is acquired from a difference dv between the output voltages Va, Vb, and an open circuit voltage OCV is obtained from a voltage (Va+dv) obtained by adding the difference dv to the voltage Va. In a judgment unit, the inclination R(=dv/dI) and the voltage OCV are compared with threshold values, respectively, so that the a detection signal indication a degradation of a fuel cell power generation unit is output. Thus, it is possible to detect the cell degradation and to drive a load constantly and stably. | 07-08-2010 |
20100190074 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND VOLTAGE LIMITATION METHOD - A fuel cell system with which elution of a cathode due to excessive electro motive force is able to be inhibited without increase of electric power consumption at the time of power generation is provided. In the case where electro motive force V | 07-29-2010 |
20100209795 | POWER SUBSYSTEM FOR A FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell stack, a battery system, a power communication line and a power conditioning circuit. The fuel cell stack provides a stack voltage that stays near or below a first maximum voltage. The battery system includes a terminal that is coupled to the power communication line. The power conditioning circuit, in response to the stack voltage, provides a second voltage to the power bus. The second voltage stays near or below a second maximum voltage, and the second maximum voltage is greater than the first maximum voltage. | 08-19-2010 |
20100216043 | Fuel cell monitoring and control system - A method of controlling a fuel cell system includes applying alternating current (AC) signals to an individual fuel cell. The AC signals have a plurality of different frequencies. A voltage across the individual fuel cell is determined at each of the plurality of different frequencies. An impedance characteristic of the individual fuel cell is determined based at least in part on the voltage across the individual fuel cell at each of the plurality of different frequencies. The individual fuel cell is controlled based at least in part on the impedance characteristic. | 08-26-2010 |
20100221626 | DUAL-POWER-SUPPLY SYSTEM - A dual-power-supply system uses both a fuel cell and a chargeable secondary battery. A differential voltage adding unit adds a differential voltage between the voltage of the fuel cell and a necessary target output voltage to the voltage of the fuel cell by using the secondary battery, thereby obtaining an output voltage of the dual-power-supply system. A control unit detects the output voltage, and controls the differential voltage adding unit such that the output voltage is equal to the target output voltage. | 09-02-2010 |
20100233559 | Fuel Cell System for a Vehicle, Method for Monitoring a Fuel Cell System - A fuel cell system for a vehicle includes a fuel cell arrangement that is coupleable to a vehicle drive as a primary load, and to a plurality of secondary loads. A control apparatus which controls the primary load and the secondary loads includes a monitoring circuit that is operable in a special operating mode of the fuel cell system, with the secondary loads being switched on and/or off as a manipulated variable in order to maintain the output voltage, as a reference variable, at a low voltage value that is formed by a cell voltage of the fuel cells of less than 0.45 V on average. | 09-16-2010 |
20100239930 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE SAME - In the event that at least a portion of unit cells in a fuel cell stack have experienced a significant drop in voltage, the fuel cell system will execute a voltage recovery process allowing them to recover generating capability. In the voltage recovery process, a controller measures impedance of the fuel cell stack, and based on these measurements, determines the hydration condition of the electrolyte membrane inside the fuel cell. If, during the determination of hydration condition, the controller has determined that the hydration level is low, a current limiting process for temporarily limiting output of the fuel cell in order to recover generating capability will be triggered under more lenient conditions, as compared to if determined that the hydration level is high. | 09-23-2010 |
20100248052 | FUEL CELL, FUEL CELL SYSTEM, AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE - A fuel cell with which deterioration of an anode electrode is able to be inhibited by an inexpensive means while generated carbon dioxide is removed, a fuel cell system including the same, and an electronic device including the same are provided. The fuel cell includes: a power generation section having an electrolyte between a cathode electrode and an anode electrode; an anode side platy member provided on the anode electrode side of the power generation section; a fuel vaporization chamber; a through hole that is formed in the anode platy member and gives passage between the anode electrode and the fuel vaporization chamber; a carbon dioxide exhaust section that guides carbon dioxide generated in the power generation section to each side face of the anode platy member or the fuel vaporization chamber; and a valve provided in the carbon dioxide exhaust section. | 09-30-2010 |
20100248053 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system is provided which can extend the time during which a high-potential avoidance control is performed as much as possible, thereby reducing deterioration of a fuel cell. The fuel cell system includes: a fuel cell that generates electric power upon a supply of a reaction gas; a power storage device that is charged with at least a part of power generated by the fuel cell; and a controller that controls an output voltage of the fuel cell with, as an upper limit, a high-potential avoidance voltage lower than an open end voltage thereof. The controller variably sets the high-potential avoidance voltage in accordance with the amount of charge SOC of the power storage device. | 09-30-2010 |
20100248054 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - Electric power generation is properly controlled during a high potential avoidance operation. A fuel cell system comprises a fuel cell for generating an electric power upon receiving supply of a reactant gas and a controller for performing control for high potential avoidance with the upper limit of the output voltage of the fuel cell as a high potential avoidance voltage lower than the open end voltage thereof. The controller computes a larger system requirement power out of a system requirement power calculated from a load requirement and a system requirement power calculated from the high potential avoidance voltage as a system requirement power for the fuel cell. To compute the system requirement power for the fuel cell, not only the system requirement power calculated from the load requirement but also the system requirement power calculated from the high potential avoidance voltage are taken into account, and therefore the electric power can be stably generated without causing fuel shortage. The amount of the electric power to be generated can be properly controlled, and hence battery overcharging can be thus prevented. | 09-30-2010 |
20100248055 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR LIMITING CURRENT THEREOF - In a fuel cell system comprising a fuel cell with plural cells and performing processing for limiting a supply current to a load by performing a compensation computation with respect to a system-request current corresponding to a system-request power requested by the system based on the lowest cell voltage in the cells, the compensation computation being performed for limiting the supply current through a PI compensation using, as a reference value, a current value of the system-request current as of the time when the lowest cell voltage falls below a predetermined lowest-cell-voltage acceptable value, values for gains in the PI compensation for limiting the supply current are different from values for gains in the PI compensation for restoring the supply current. The system-request current can be securely limited in any operation statuses, and in addition, the supply current can be made rapidly responsive during the limitation of the current, while the supply current can be stably converged during the current restoration. | 09-30-2010 |
20100261083 | POWER SUPPLY APPARATUS - A power supply apparatus, which can detect an abnormal voltage drop in a power cell and, if recovery from this voltage drop is made, resume power generation, thereby realizing reasonable and stable power supply, is provided. The power supply apparatus comprises a combined power source composed of a plurality of power cells configured electrically independently, a switch for arbitrarily connecting each of the power cells by selectively connecting terminals of the power cells through switching elements, a voltage detector for respectively detecting differences in electrical potentials between the terminals of the power cells, and a controller for controlling the switch by a control signal to control ON/OFF states of the switching elements so as to isolate a power cell to halt a supply of electrical power therefrom when a voltage generated in the power cell has dropped to a set voltage or lower as found based on voltage signals which respectively indicate the differences in electric potentials detected by the voltage detector, and resume the supply of electrical power from the power cell whose power supply has been halted when a down time in the isolated power cell has reached a predetermined time or longer. | 10-14-2010 |
20100261084 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system is provided which can accurately detect an insulation resistance even during a high-potential prevention control. The fuel cell system includes: a fuel cell that generates electric power through an electrochemical reaction between a fuel gas and an oxidant gas; an insulation resistance measurement unit that measures an insulation resistance between the fuel cell and an outer conductor; and a control unit that controls a power generation state of the fuel cell, and the control unit carries out a high-potential prevention control that avoids a voltage of the fuel cell becoming equal to or higher than a predetermined high-potential prevention voltage threshold lower than an open circuit voltage of the fuel cell, and changes the high-potential prevention voltage threshold during an insulation resistance detection performed by the insulation resistance measurement unit. | 10-14-2010 |
20100261085 | Electric Power Source Arrangement and Method of How to Use It - An electric power source arrangement is described, comprising a fuel cell means ( | 10-14-2010 |
20100261086 | Fuel Cell System and Power Management Method thereof - A fuel cell system and a power management method thereof are provided. The fuel cell system includes a fuel cell power generation part, a switch circuit, a load supply circuit, a status detector, an electronic load circuit, and a control circuit. An input terminal and an output terminal of the switch circuit are respectively coupled to the power generation part and the load supply circuit. The status detector is coupled to a node between the power generation part and the input terminal to detect an output voltage of the power generation part. The electronic load circuit is coupled to a node between the power generation part and the input terminal to perform a current-sinking operation. The control circuit is for generating a first and a second control signals respectively for switching the on-off states of the switch circuit and controlling the current-sinking value of the electronic load circuit. | 10-14-2010 |
20100266921 | POWER CONTROL FOR HYBRID FUEL CELL SYSTEMS - A hybrid fuel cell system that includes a fuel cell stack and a high voltage battery. The fuel cell system also includes a cell voltage controller that controls the average cell voltage of the cells in the fuel cell stack, a damped driver request module that damps a driver power request signal, and a power balancing module. The power balancing module maintains the cell voltage of the cells in the stack within a predetermined range, and uses excess power from the stack beyond what is requested to charge the battery. The power balancing module includes a base load limiter that prevents the cell voltage from going above a predetermined value, unless the battery is at is maximum state of charge. | 10-21-2010 |
20100266922 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND MOBILE OBJECT - A fuel cell system capable of improving the voltage controllability of a converter provided in the system is provided. A controller judges whether or not a passing power of a DC/DC converter falls within a reduced response performance area for the number of active phases as of the present moment. When the controller determines that the passing power of the DC/DC converter falls within the reduced response performance area, the controller determines the number of phases which avoids the driving within the reduced response performance area, and outputs a command for switching to the determined number of phases (phase switching command) to the DC/DC converter. | 10-21-2010 |
20100273074 | Fuel cell system and method for operating a fuel cell system - Disclosed is a fuel cell system comprising a fuel cell stack, supplied with a reaction gas on the gas inlet side and comprises at least one flush valve on the gas outlet side on a flush cell. A control device, which controls the actuation of the flush valve as a function of the voltage of the flush cell, is provided, wherein the voltage tap is provided in a region of the flush cell at which the concentration of the reaction gas drops the fastest to a predefined threshold value. Due to the voltage tap in the region where the concentration of the reaction gases drop the fastest to a predefined threshold value, a significantly more sensitive and precise regulation of the flush is possible and voltage dips are effectively prevented in the flush cell, as a result of which the overall risk of corrosion are minimized for the flush cell. | 10-28-2010 |
20100273075 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system capable of carrying out a proper current limiting even when decreasing a cell voltage through, e.g., a rapid warm-up is provided. When a rapid warm-up is started, an acceptable cell-voltage value setting part sets a acceptable lowest-cell-voltage value in accordance with the operation state of a fuel cell. Meanwhile, a target cell-voltage value setting part sets an initial value for a target lowest-cell-voltage value. The target cell-voltage value setting part then compares a lowest cell voltage detected by a cell monitor with the set target lowest-cell-voltage value, and judges whether or not the lowest cell voltage is near the target lowest-cell-voltage value continuously for a given time period. If the result of the judgment is positive, the target cell-voltage value setting part updates the target lowest-cell-voltage value with a value obtained by decreasing the target lowest-cell-voltage value only by an update width. | 10-28-2010 |
20100285379 | Transitioning an electrochemical cell stack between a power producing mode and a pumping mode - A technique includes operating an electrochemical cell stack in a power producing mode, including communicating a fuel flow in an anode chamber of the stack and communicating an oxidant flow in a cathode chamber of the stack. The technique includes halting the oxidant flow and monitoring a voltage of the stack while the oxidant flow is halted, and in response to the voltage decreasing below a predefined threshold, transitioning the stack into an electrochemical cell pumping mode. | 11-11-2010 |
20100291452 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system increases an output voltage of a fuel cell if an electric power generation command value Pref for the fuel cell abruptly reduces while the fuel cell is being warmed up at a low-efficiency operation, which has lower electric power generation efficiency than that of a normal operation. Thus, the surplus electric power Ws corresponding to the difference between an electric power generation amount Pmes of the fuel cell and the electric power generation command value Pref is stored into a capacitive component of the fuel cell, thereby matching the electric power supplied to an external load of the fuel cell (Pmes-Ws) with the electric power generation command value Pref. This makes it possible to conduct control not to supply the surplus electric power to the external load when the electric power required from the fuel cell suddenly reduces during the low-efficiency operation. | 11-18-2010 |
20100304252 | System for altering temperature of an electrical energy storage device or an electrochemical energy generation device using microchannels based on states of the device - A method is generally described which includes altering the temperature of an electrical energy storage device or an electrochemical energy generation device includes configuring a controller with a control algorithm to control the actions of a fluid control system as a function of current draw from the electrical energy storage device or the electrochemical energy generation device, the electrical energy storage device or the electrochemical energy generation device configured to provide electrical current. The method also includes providing A microchannel thermal control system for the electrical energy storage device or the electrochemical energy generation device. The microchannel thermal control system is configured to cool at least portions of the electrical energy storage device or the electrochemical energy generation device. The microchannel thermal control system is configured to flow a fluid through the microchannels and the fluid to receive heat generated by the electrical energy storage device or the electrochemical energy generation device. Further, the method includes providing an electrical characteristic sensor coupled to the electrical energy storage device or the electrochemical energy generation device and configured to sense at least one electrical characteristic of the electrical energy storage device or the electrochemical energy generation device and to provide a signal representative of the at least one characteristic to the controller. | 12-02-2010 |
20100304253 | METHOD OF CONTROLLING A FUEL CELL SYSTEM UTILIZING A FUEL CELL SENSOR - A method for controlling a fuel cell system, the fuel cell system is described in accordance with exemplary embodiments. The method includes measuring an open circuit voltage of the fuel cell. The method further includes determining an air actuator control signal based on the open circuit voltage of the fuel cell. The method further includes controlling the air actuator based on the air actuator control signal. The method further includes determining a fuel actuator control signal based on the open circuit voltage of the fuel cell. The method further includes controlling the fuel actuator based on the fuel actuator control signal. | 12-02-2010 |
20100304254 | METHOD FOR CONTROLLING A FUEL CELL UTILIZING A FUEL CELL SENSOR - A method for controlling a fuel cell system including measuring an open circuit voltage of a fuel cell. The method further includes determining an air actuator control signal based on the open circuit voltage of the fuel cell. The method further includes controlling the air actuator based on the air actuator control signal. The method further includes determining a fuel actuator control signal based on the open circuit voltage of the fuel cell. The method further includes controlling the fuel actuator based on the fuel actuator control signal. | 12-02-2010 |
20100316920 | ELECTROCHEMICAL ENERGY GENERATING APPARATUS AND OPERATING METHOD THEREOF, AND ELECTROCHEMICAL DEVICE - An electrochemical energy generation device ( | 12-16-2010 |
20100316921 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system capable of providing a suitable power distribution is provided. A fuel cell system includes: a fuel cell that generates electric power through an electrochemical reaction between a fuel gas and an oxidant gas; a motor that can be driven upon the supply of electric power and can generate regenerative power; a power storage unit which can be charged with power generated from the fuel cell and regenerative power of the motor and can discharge charge power to the motor; an auxiliary apparatus used for operating at least the fuel cell; and a control unit that controls a power distribution between the above components. The control unit determines the power distribution using a power generation command value based on power required to be generated during a normal operation, while the control unit determines the power distribution using a power generation measured value of the fuel cell instead of the power generation command value during a high-potential prevention control that avoids a voltage of the fuel cell becoming equal to or higher than a predetermined high-potential prevention voltage threshold lower than an open circuit voltage of the fuel cell. | 12-16-2010 |
20100316922 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - In order to assure drive of a drive motor, a boost operation of a boost device is appropriately performed by judging whether a voltage supplied from a fuel cell suffices a voltage required for driving the drive motor, thereby suppressing a switching loss by the boost device. A fuel cell system is a power source for driving a load. The system includes: a drive motor driven by an electric power; a fuel cell which generates electricity by an electrochemical reaction between an oxidizing gas containing oxygen and a fuel gas containing hydrogen and supplies an electric power to the drive motor; a first boost device which can boosts the voltage outputted from the fuel cell and supplies the boosted voltage to the drive motor; and boost control means which controls voltage boost performed by the first boost device according to the relationship between the fuel cell output voltage and the voltage required by the drive motor. | 12-16-2010 |
20110003223 | METHOD OF CONTROLLING FUEL CELL VEHICLE AND FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell vehicle is controlled by performing a rate limiting control process for reducing electric power generated by a fuel cell to reduce a frequency at which a voltage generated by the fuel cell is equal to or higher than a predetermined voltage when electric power requested by a load is lowered, and changing a rotational speed of an air pump depending on the electric power requested by the load when the electric power generated by the fuel cell is reduced. | 01-06-2011 |
20110008697 | FUEL CELL SENSORS AND METHODS - Control systems, sensors and methods for controlling the fuel concentration in a fuel cell or a fuel cell stack are provided. In certain examples, the control system may be configured to detect a performance degradation, and the fuel concentration provided to the fuel cell may be adjusted in response to detection of the performance degradation. | 01-13-2011 |
20110014535 | METHOD TO IMPROVE RELIABILITY OF A FUEL CELL SYSTEM USING LOW PERFORMANCE CELL DETECTION AT LOW POWER OPERATION - A system and method for detecting a low performing cell in a fuel cell stack using measured cell voltages. The method includes determining that the fuel cell stack is running, the stack coolant temperature is above a certain temperature and the stack current density is within a relatively low power range. The method further includes calculating the average cell voltage, and determining whether the difference between the average cell voltage and the minimum cell voltage is greater than a predetermined threshold. If the difference between the average cell voltage and the minimum cell voltage is greater than the predetermined threshold and the minimum cell voltage is less than another predetermined threshold, then the method increments a low performing cell timer. A ratio of the low performing cell timer and a system run timer is calculated to identify a low performing cell. | 01-20-2011 |
20110014536 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - The invention prevents a fuel cell from going into a high-voltage state upon activation. In a fuel cell system having a fuel cell that is supplied with reactant gases and generates power from an electrochemical reaction of the reactant gases, a compressor that supplies the fuel cell with oxidizing gas which is one of the reactant gases, and a control unit | 01-20-2011 |
20110027679 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system has a fuel cell stack and a controller. The fuel cell stack is formed by stacking cells. The controller executes first cell voltage recovery processing when the cell voltage of a first cell group, placed at each end of the fuel cell stack, is below a first lower limit voltage threshold and executes second cell voltage recovery processing, which is different from the first cell voltage recovery processing, when the cell voltage of a second cell group, placed at substantially the center of the fuel cell stack, is below a second lower limit voltage threshold. | 02-03-2011 |
20110053024 | Fuel cell using organic fuel - A fuel cell is provided which can control an optimum fuel concentration according to an output without a sensor for measuring the fuel concentration. The fuel cell uses a liquid organic compound for fuel and includes a membrane-electrode assembly, a passage for allowing fuel or oxidant to flow, a fuel supply unit for supplying the fuel to the fuel cell and intermittently or periodically changing a rate of fuel supply, and a computation processor for measuring a signal of a voltage or an output of the fuel cell, computing the rate of the fuel supply and the signal, and correcting the rate of the fuel supply. In the fuel cell, the optimum fuel concentration can be easily controlled according to the output by periodically varying the fuel concentration from a reference fuel concentration, measuring a voltage or an output and a variation range of the voltage or the output, and then determining whether the reference fuel concentration is appropriate or not. | 03-03-2011 |
20110076582 | METHOD TO IMPROVE FUEL CELL SYSTEM PERFORMANCE USING CELL VOLTAGE PREDICTION OF FUEL CELL STACK - A system and method for determining the maximum allowed stack current limit rate for a fuel cell stack that considers cell voltage. The method includes estimating a fuel cell stack voltage based on a fuel cell resistance value, stack variables and a current request signal. The fuel cell resistance value can be modeled based on stack temperature and stack relative humidity. The stack variables can include exchange current density and mass transfer coefficient. The method then uses the estimated fuel cell voltage and a look-up table based on estimated voltage to determine a current rate limit value for changing the current of the stack. The method then adds the current rate limit value and the current request signal to obtain the current set-point. | 03-31-2011 |
20110086286 | METHOD TO PERFORM ADAPTIVE VOLTAGE SUPPRESSION OF A FUEL CELL STACK BASED ON STACK PARAMETERS - A system and method for maintaining the voltage of fuel cells in the fuel cell stack below a predetermined maximum voltage. The method determines a desired voltage set-point value that defines a predetermined maximum fuel cell voltage value and uses the voltage set-point value and an average fuel cell voltage to generate an error value there-between. The method generates a minimum gross power prediction value using the modified voltage set-point value to prevent the fuel cell voltages from going above the predetermined maximum fuel cell voltage value and generating a supplemental power value based on the minimum gross power prediction value and the error value to determine how much power needs to be drawn from the stack to maintain the fuel cell voltage below the predetermined maximum voltage value. The method uses the supplemental power value to charge the battery or operate an auxiliary load coupled to the stack. | 04-14-2011 |
20110129748 | OPERATIONAL METHOD OF FUEL CELL - According to embodiments of the invention, an operational method of a fuel cell is provided. The method includes providing a fuel cell used to provide output power to a load, measuring an initial average voltage of the output power provided by the fuel cell, measuring a first average voltage of the output power after the output power has been provided to the load by the fuel cell for a first time interval, and stopping the fuel cell from providing output power to the load when a voltage difference between the initial average voltage and the first average voltage is more than a first allowable voltage difference. | 06-02-2011 |
20110129749 | MULTI-POINT FUEL CELL VOLTAGE MONITOR - A fuel cell voltage monitor ( | 06-02-2011 |
20110129750 | DIRECT METHANOL FUEL CELL AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE - According to one embodiment, a fuel cell, includes a stack includes blocks, each of the blocks includes direct methanol type cells, a connection module configured to switch between connection and disconnection between a block of the blocks and a load, according to an instruction, a voltage value detector configured to detect an output voltage value of the block, a determination module configured to determine whether an output restoration process is performed on the block based on an output voltage value of the block, and a controller configured to transmit, to the connection module, an instruction for connecting the load to the block when first determination module determines that the output restoration process is performed on the block, and to transmit, to the connection module, an instruction for disconnecting the load from the block when the output voltage value has become less than or equal to a set voltage value. | 06-02-2011 |
20110129751 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR RECOVERING PERFORMANCE OF A FUEL CELL - A fuel cell system is provided having at least one fuel cell including an oxidant electrode, a fuel electrode, and an electrolyte membrane interposed between the oxidant electrode and the fuel electrode. The fuel cell system includes a temperature detector which detects a temperature of the fuel cell and a controller which operates the fuel cell, controls a potential of the oxidant electrode, and determines whether to perform a performance recovery operation in which an impurity on the oxidant electrode is oxidized. When the performance recovery operation is to be performed, the controller controls the potential of the oxidant electrode to be a desired potential based on the temperature detected by the temperature detector. | 06-02-2011 |
20110165487 | METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE FLOW RATE OF FUEL SUPPLIED TO A FUEL CELL, FUEL SUPPLY DEVICE, AND FUEL CELL SYSTEM USING THE SAME - In a method for controlling a flow rate of fuel supplied to a fuel cell, a voltage change is examined while the flow rate of the fuel is increased step by step in a state in which a constant current is output. Conversely, when the voltage change becomes small, the flow rate of fuel is reduced step by step. When the voltage change becomes large, the flow rate of the fuel in the previous step is employed. Thus, the flow rate of fuel can be optimized in accordance with an operating state of the fuel cell. | 07-07-2011 |
20110177414 | FUEL CELL POWER GENERATION SYSTEM - There is provided a fuel cell power generation system that exhibits superior efficiency of power generation and durability. | 07-21-2011 |
20110177415 | VOLTAGE-BASED FLUID SENSOR FOR A FUEL CELL STACK ASSEMBLY - A fluid detection system and method is disclosed having sensor elements | 07-21-2011 |
20110200902 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND FUEL CELL STATE DETECTION METHOD - A fuel cell system ( | 08-18-2011 |
20110217612 | METHOD TO MEASURE AND COMMUNICATE CELL VOLTAGE IN A FUEL CELL STACK BY EMBEDDING MEASUREMENT UNITS ON THE PLATE - A system for communicating measurement data from each fuel cell or a group of fuel cells in a fuel cell stack, including a plurality of fuel cells, a plurality of stack plates, and a plurality of embedded smart plates. The stack plates are between each fuel cell and on each end of the stack, and the plurality of embedded smart plates are mechanically and electrically coupled to at least one of the plurality of stack plates, and each smart plate including optical transceivers on the top side and the bottom side. The system further includes first and second aggregator devices, said first and second aggregator devices including at least one optical transceiver for communicating with the embedded smart plate adjacent to the first or second aggregator device, where one aggregator device initiates communication with the embedded smart plates and the other aggregator device completes communication. | 09-08-2011 |
20110217613 | METHOD FOR COLLECTION AND COMMUNICATION OF MEASURED DATA WITHIN A FUEL CELL STACK - A system for communicating measurement data from each fuel cell or a group of fuel cells in a fuel cell stack, including a plurality of fuel cells and a plurality of stack plates, where one stack plate is between each fuel cell and on each end of the stack. The system includes a plurality of embedded smart plates where each embedded smart plate is mechanically and electrically coupled to at least one of the plurality of stack plates, and where each embedded smart plate includes optical transceivers on a top side and a bottom side of the smart plate. The system further includes at least one aggregator device having at least one optical transceiver to initiate a series of communications between the embedded smart plates to determine the location and data collected by each of the smart plates. | 09-08-2011 |
20110223506 | METHOD FOR HV BUS VOLTAGE CONTROL IN FUEL CELL VEHICLES FEATURING HV LITHIUM BATTERIES - A system for reducing oscillations on a high voltage bus. The system includes a high voltage battery electrically coupled to the high voltage bus and a DC/DC boost converter electrically coupled to the high voltage bus and a fuel cell stack. The DC/DC converter includes a current controller that selectively controls the current provided by the fuel cell stack. A system controller provides a stack current set-point to the DC/DC converter. The DC/DC converter includes a voltage device that receives a voltage signal from the bus and provides a time derivative of the voltage signal that defines voltage changes on the bus over time. The time derivative signal is provided to a summer that adjusts the current stack set-point to provide a modified current set-point to the current controller that selectively adjusts the current provided by the fuel cell stack to dampen oscillations on the high voltage bus. | 09-15-2011 |
20110229783 | ADAPTIVE LOADING OF A FUEL CELL - A fuel cell system is disclosed with a fuel cell stack having a plurality of fuel cells, the fuel cell stack including an external electrical circuit adapted to control current from the fuel cell stack, a sensor for measuring at least one of an environmental condition affecting the fuel cell stack and a characteristic of the fuel cell stack, wherein the sensor generates a sensor signal representing a measurement of the sensor, and a processor for receiving the sensor signal, analyzing the sensor signal, and controlling an adaptive load applied to the external electrical circuit based upon the analysis of the sensor signal. | 09-22-2011 |
20110256460 | FUEL CELL POWER GENERATION SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR OPERATING THE SAME - A fuel cell power generation system of the present invention includes: a fuel cell ( | 10-20-2011 |
20110256461 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM, ESTIMATION DEVICE OF AMOUNT OF ANODE GAS TO BE GENERATED AND ESTIMATION METHOD OF AMOUNT OF ANODE GAS TO BE GENERATED - There is disclosed a fuel cell system or the like capable of sufficiently reducing an exhaust hydrogen concentration even in a case where a fuel cell is operated in a state of a low power generation efficiency. A bypass valve B | 10-20-2011 |
20110294026 | Method and apparatus for controlling the operation of a fuel cell - A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell, a controller, a resistance sensor, and a regulator. The fuel cell has a cathode plate, an anode plate, and an ion-exchange membrane interposed between the cathode plate and the anode plate. The controller is for controlling a gas flow rate to the anode plate. The resistance sensor is coupled to the fuel cell for measuring a resistance of the fuel cell. The regulator is coupled to the controller and coupled to the anode plate for regulating the gas flow to the anode plate. The controller receives a signal from the resistance sensor and is configured to control the regulator to adjust the gas flow to the anode plate based on the signal from the resistance sensor. | 12-01-2011 |
20110300463 | CONTROL EQUIPMENT FOR INTENDING AN ACTUAL FUEL CONVERSION FOR A GAS CELL ARRANGEMENT PROCEDURE FOR THE DETERMINATION OF A FUEL CONVERSION OF A GAS CELL ARRANGEMENT AND GAS CELL ARRANGEMENT - The present invention describes a control device for determining an actual fuel turnover for a fuel cell arrangement comprising a voltage reception device for receiving values of a voltage applying over the fuel cell arrangement, a fuel flow setting device for setting a flow of fuel supplied or suppliable to a fuel cell arrangement and/or a current setting device for setting an electrical current output by the fuel cell arrangement, as well as a memory for storing calibration data describing a nominal relation between the fuel turnover of the fuel cell arrangement and a voltage applying over the fuel cell arrangement. The control device is adapted to receive a first voltage value; to control a variation of the flow of fuel supplied to the fuel cell arrangement and/or the current output by the fuel cell arrangement after receiving the first voltage value; and to receive a second voltage value after the variation. In addition, the control device is adapted to determine the actual fuel turnover of the fuel cell arrangement based on the first voltage value, the second voltage value and the calibration data. Moreover, the invention pertains to a corresponding method and a fuel cell arrangement. | 12-08-2011 |
20120015270 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - Provided is a fuel cell system including: a fuel cell which generates power by an electrochemical reaction between an oxidant gas supplied to an oxidant gas flow path and a fuel gas supplied to a fuel gas flow path; and a controller which adjusts an amount of the oxidant gas supplied to the fuel cell and a voltage of the fuel cell. The controller has an obstruction degree determining unit which determines a degree of obstruction of the oxidant gas flow path based on a stoichiometric ratio of the oxidant gas and the voltage of the fuel cell during a low-efficiency operation in which the stoichiometric ratio of the oxidant gas is reduced from the stoichiometric ratio of the oxidant gas during a normal operation and heat discharged from the fuel cell is increased from that during the normal operation. This improves stability of the low-efficiency operation of the fuel cell system. | 01-19-2012 |
20120015271 | SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL - To provide a solid oxide fuel cell capable of extending the time period over which a minimum rated output power can be maintained while restraining the advance of fuel cell module degradation. | 01-19-2012 |
20120021316 | CELL VOLTAGE MONITORING (CVM) PICK-UP ASSEMBLY FOR A FUEL CELL STACK - Disclosed herein is a cell voltage monitoring (CVM) pick-up assembly for a fuel cell stack. The assembly includes a tab and a contact wire having two ends. A loop is located between the two ends to mount the wire on the tab to resiliently urge one end towards a fuel cell to provide electrical contact with it. Also disclosed is a fuel cell stack that includes a plurality of assemblies. | 01-26-2012 |
20120021317 | SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL - Provides a solid oxide fuel cell with which product life can be extended while a practical output power is maintained. The present invention is a solid oxide fuel cell, having a fuel cell module ( | 01-26-2012 |
20120028152 | DIAGNOSIS AND REMEDIATION OF LOW ANODE HYDROGEN PARTIAL PRESSURE IN A PEM FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A system and method for preventing anode reactant starvation. The system includes a hydrogen source, an anode bleed valve, and a cell voltage monitor. The system also includes an anode sub-system pressure sensor and a controller configured to control the anode sub-system. The controller determines the average cell voltage and estimates the hydrogen molar fraction and/or nitrogen molar fraction in the anode sub-system. The controller also receives measurement data from the cell voltage monitor and the pressure sensor, and determines whether there is a decrease in the minimum cell voltage in response to changes in the anode pressure. If the controller detects a decrease in the minimum cell voltage in response to changes in the anode pressure, the controller corrects for the decrease by increasing anode pressure and/or by decreasing the molar fraction of nitrogen in the anode sub-system. | 02-02-2012 |
20120028153 | SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL - A solid oxide fuel cell capable of extending the time period over which initial rated output power is maintained, while restraining increases in running cost. The present invention is a solid oxide fuel cell ( | 02-02-2012 |
20120040264 | HYDROGEN CONCENTRATION SENSOR UTILIZING CELL VOLTAGE RESULTING FROM HYDROGEN PARTIAL PRESSURE DIFFERENCE - A hydrogen concentration sensor for measuring the hydrogen concentration in an anode sub-system of a fuel cell system. The hydrogen concentration sensor includes a membrane, a first catalyst layer on one side of the membrane and a second catalyst layer on an opposite side of the membrane where the sensor operates as a concentration cell. The first catalyst layer is exposed to fresh hydrogen for the anode side of a fuel cell stack and the second catalyst layer is exposed to an anode recirculation gas from an anode exhaust of the fuel cell stack. The voltage generated by the sensor allows the hydrogen partial pressure in the recirculation gas to be determined, from which the hydrogen concentration can be determined. | 02-16-2012 |
20120115058 | MITIGATING ELECTRODE EROSION IN HIGH TEMPERATURE PEM FUEL CELL - A method of operating a fuel cell power plant ( | 05-10-2012 |
20120156581 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR OPERATING A HIGH TEMPERATURE FUEL CELL AS A BACK-UP POWER SUPPLY WITH REDUCED PERFORMANCE DECAY - A method is provided for reducing degradation in a fuel cell assembly, including at least one fuel cell with a PBI membrane, during standby, operation. The method may include electrochemically consuming an oxidant from a cathode coupled to the PBI membrane in response to a disconnection of an external load and supplying fuel to remove or electrochemically consume any back-diffused oxidant to the associated fuel cell sufficient to replace or consume the back-diffused oxidant while the external load is removed, and/or also may include controlling a standby temperature of the fuel cell. In this way, it may be possible to avoid increased cell voltage decay associated with degradation of the PBI in a simple and cost effective system. | 06-21-2012 |
20120183874 | METHOD AND DEVICE FOR INCREASING THE SERVICE LIFE OF A PROTON EXCHANGE MEMBRANE FUEL CELL - The method of using a fuel cell ( | 07-19-2012 |
20120196199 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE SAME - A fuel cell system and a method for controlling the same are provided. Based on the method, a control temperature of a fuel cell stack is set, and an environment temperature and an operating temperature of the fuel cell stack are detected. A thermal resistance of the fuel cell stack is calculated according to the environment temperature, the operating temperature and a current heating amount. An allowable heating amount of the fuel cell stack is set according to the control temperature, the environment temperature, and the thermal resistance. When the current heating amount is less than the allowable heating amount and the operating temperature is less than the control temperature, the current heating amount is increased, and when the current heating amount is greater than the allowable heating amount or the operating temperature is greater than the control temperature, the current heating amount is decreased. | 08-02-2012 |
20120231361 | FUEL CELL - A fuel cell has a fuel cell main body, a fuel supply unit, a voltage sensor, a supply speed determining unit, a fuel supply control unit, and a connecting unit. The voltage sensor measures the open-circuit voltage of the fuel cell main body. The supply speed determining unit determines the fuel supply speed of the fuel supply unit, on the basis of the results obtained from the measurement performed by the voltage sensor, in the case where the voltage measured by the voltage sensor is smaller than a predetermined value. The fuel supply control unit controls, on the basis of the supply speed thus determined, the fuel supply from the fuel supply unit. The connecting unit connects a load to the fuel cell main body, in the case where the voltage measured by the voltage sensor is larger than the predetermined value. | 09-13-2012 |
20120288777 | METHOD OF CONTROLLING FUEL CELL SYSTEM - In an FC system of an FC vehicle, if a control device determines that conditions of an idling power generation suppression mode of a FC are satisfied, the control device sets the voltage of the FC to a predetermined voltage value outside a voltage range where an oxidation-reduction of platinum proceeds, and controls a reactant gas supply apparatus to change a supply amount of air such that the FC has an output in accordance with the electric power required by a load. | 11-15-2012 |
20120288778 | METHOD OF CONTROLLING FUEL CELL SYSTEM - In a case where gas supply controller of an FC system determines that the temperature of an FC is a predetermined temperature or less, the gas supply controller fixes the FC voltage to a voltage value within a voltage region where degradation is relatively small, the voltage value being below a voltage range where an oxidation-reduction proceeds. Further, the amount of a gas supplied to the FC is changed in accordance with electric power required by a load. | 11-15-2012 |
20120315561 | SMART IN-VEHICLE REACTIVE RECOVERY STRATEGY - A method for determining when to operate a voltage recovery process for recovering a reversible voltage loss of a fuel cell stack in a fuel cell system. The method includes estimating an irreversible voltage loss of the fuel cell and an actual voltage of the fuel cell stack, and determining whether a difference between the estimated irreversible voltage loss and the estimated actual voltage exceed a threshold, and if so, the voltage recovery process is performed. | 12-13-2012 |
20130004871 | METHOD OF PROVIDING A CALIBRATING REFERENCE VOLTAGE AND INDEX SYNCHRONIZATION SEQUENCE FOR A CELL VOLTAGE MEASUREMENT SYSTEM - A method for providing calibration synchronization pulses in a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal including fuel cell voltage measurement pulses. The method includes providing a sequence of voltage signals representative of the voltage of the fuel cells in a fuel cell group, where the sequence of voltage signals are provided in the order of the position of the fuel cells in the group. The method also includes providing a sequence of calibration pulses and combining the sequence of voltage signals and the sequence of calibration pulses so that the calibration pulses are provided before a voltage signal of a first cell in the group. The method modulates the combined sequence of the voltage signals and the calibration pulses using an inverted saw tooth wave to provide the PWM signal, where a width of the pulses representing the voltage signals are proportional to a width of the pulses representing the calibration pulses. | 01-03-2013 |
20130004872 | METHOD FOR EARLY DETECTION OF MEMBRANE FAILURES OF FUEL CELL STACKS AND FUEL CELL SYSTEM COMPONENT DEFECTS - A system and method for determining a possible failure of membranes in the fuel cells for a fuel cell stack. The method includes monitoring the stack current density and the minimum cell voltage of the fuel cells in the stack. If both the minimum cell voltage and the stack current density are below predetermined values, then the method multiplies scaling factors of the minimum cell voltage and the stack current density to provide a membrane failure factor. If the membrane failure factor is greater than a threshold, then an indication is given of a possible membrane failure. | 01-03-2013 |
20130004873 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND DRIVING METHOD THEREOF - A fuel cell system and a method for driving a fuel cell system are disclosed. The fuel cell system includes a fuel cell stack with a plurality of unit cells, a temperature measurer configured for determining a temperature of the fuel cell stack, a cell voltage measurer configured for determining voltages of one or more of the plurality of unit cells, and a control unit configured for monitoring the unit cell voltages of the plurality of unit cells to detect a minimum unit cell voltage when a measured temperature of the fuel cell stack is below zero, and configured for controlling the load current so that the detected minimum unit cell voltage may be maintained at a predetermined threshold voltage. | 01-03-2013 |
20130004874 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system including a fuel cell and operated under a non-humidified condition is provided. The fuel cell includes a polymer electrolyte membrane sandwiched between an anode electrode and a cathode electrode, a fuel gas channel supplying the anode electrode with fuel gas containing at least a fuel component, and an oxidant gas channel supplying the cathode electrode with oxidant gas containing at least an oxidant component. The flow directions of the fuel gas and the oxidant gas are opposite each other. In addition, the fuel cell system has a moisture state control means which controls a flow rate and/or pressure of the fuel gas so that once a moisture state in an inlet region of the fuel gas channel is changed to a low moisture state side which is lower than a target moisture state, it is changed from the low moisture state to the target moisture state. | 01-03-2013 |
20130059221 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND HEATING METHOD BY USING HEAT FROM FUEL CELL - A fuel cell system includes: a fuel cell configured to have a cell stack obtained by stacking a plurality of cells; a heat exchanger located in a middle position in a stacking direction of the cell stack and configured to have a flow channel that allows passage of a fluid for heat exchange; and a heating system configured to use the fluid that passes through the flow channel for heating. | 03-07-2013 |
20130130142 | FLOWING ELECTROLYTE BATTERY WITH ELECTRIC POTENTIAL NEUTRALIZATION - Flowing electrolyte batteries capable of being selectively neutralized chemically; processes of selectively neutralizing flowing electrolyte batteries chemically; and processes of selectively restoring the electrical potential of flowing electrolyte batteries are disclosed herein. | 05-23-2013 |
20130164645 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system ( | 06-27-2013 |
20130244127 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system is basically provided with a fuel cell, a pressure adjusting valve, a purge valve and an anode pressure controller. The fuel cell includes an anode that receives an anode gas and a cathode that receives a cathode gas to generate electric power corresponding to a load. The pressure adjusting valve is disposed in a supply path to adjust anode gas pressure to the anode. The purge valve is disposed in a discharging flow path to discharge an anode-off gas containing impurities from the fuel cell. The anode pressure controller is configured to control the pressure adjusting valve to perform a pulsation operation that pulsates the anode gas pressure of the fuel cell. The anode pressure controller decreases a median pressure of the pulsation operation as a wetness level of an electrolyte membrane of the fuel cell stack is determined to become higher. | 09-19-2013 |
20140093802 | FUEL CELL MONITORING AND CONTROL SYSTEM - A method of controlling a fuel cell system includes applying alternating current (AC) signals to an individual fuel cell. The AC signals have a plurality of different frequencies. A voltage across the individual fuel cell is determined at each of the plurality of different frequencies. An impedance characteristic of the individual fuel cell is determined based at least in part on the voltage across the individual fuel cell at each of the plurality of different frequencies. The individual fuel cell is controlled based at least in part on the impedance characteristic. | 04-03-2014 |
20140106251 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND VEHICLE FUEL CELL SYSTEM DISCHARGING METHOD - A fuel cell system mounted in a vehicle includes a fuel cell, a collision prediction device, a discharge device, and a controller. The fuel cell includes a gas channel to which a reactant gas is to be supplied to generate electricity. The collision prediction device is configured to predict probability of collision of the vehicle. The discharge device is configured to discharge the electricity from the fuel cell. The controller is configured to control the discharge device to discharge the electricity from the fuel cell in a case where the collision prediction device predicts that the probability of collision of the vehicle is higher than a predetermined probability. | 04-17-2014 |
20140113208 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR STABLE DIRECT METHANOL FUEL CELL OPERATION AT VARYING LOADS AND SUB-ZERO TEMPERATURES - Methods and systems for operation of direct methanol fuel cell (DFMC) systems with enhanced flexibility within a wide range of electrical loads as well as no external load are provided. With these methods and systems, the fuel cell operates at low power in a non shut-down state in a fully controlled manner thus allowing the fuel cell to withstand frost conditions and to maintain optimal ancillary battery capacity. | 04-24-2014 |
20140120441 | METHOD FOR DETERMINING AN AVERAGE CELL VOLTAGE FOR FUEL CELLS - A system and method for determining a maximum average cell voltage set-point for fuel cells in a fuel cell stack that considers oxidation of the catalyst in the fuel cells. The method includes determining the average cell voltage, the stack current density (I) and an internal resistance (R) of membranes in the fuel cells to calculate an IR corrected average cell voltage. The IR corrected average cell voltage is then used to determine the oxidation state of the catalyst particles using, for example, an empirical model. The oxidation state of the particles is then used to calculate the maximum average cell voltage set-point of the fuel cells, which is used to set the minimum power requested from the fuel cell stack. | 05-01-2014 |
20140147761 | FUEL CELL - A fuel cell has a fuel cell main body, a fuel supply unit, a voltage sensor, a supply speed determining unit, a fuel supply control unit, and a connecting unit. The voltage sensor measures the open-circuit voltage of the fuel cell main body. The supply speed determining unit determines the fuel supply speed of the fuel supply unit, on the basis of the results obtained from the measurement performed by the voltage sensor, in the case where the voltage measured by the voltage sensor is smaller than a predetermined value. The fuel supply control unit controls, on the basis of the supply speed thus determined, the fuel supply from the fuel supply unit. The connecting unit connects a load to the fuel cell main body, in the case where the voltage measured by the voltage sensor is larger than the predetermined value. | 05-29-2014 |
20140154602 | ELECTRIC STORAGE DEVICE - An electric storage device, secondary battery and high-voltage battery, for an electric vehicle, including at least one stack of storage cells that are strung together. At least two cell poles of adjacent storage cells are connected to one another by at least one cell connector in an electrically conductive manner. The connection between at least one cell pole and the cell connector and/or between at least one cell pole and at least one busbar and/or directly between two cell poles is formed by at least one cold surface-pressed clinch joining connection. | 06-05-2014 |
20140154603 | FUEL CELL APPARATUS AND FUEL CELL SYSTEM - The present invention reduces deterioration in the output of a fuel cell caused by a high moisture concentration at an oxidant electrode. A control apparatus for a fuel cell comprising an electrolyte membrane, an oxidant electrode provided on one side of the electrolyte membrane, and a fuel electrode provided on the other side of the electrolyte membrane, in which electric power is generated from an oxidant gas supplied to the oxidant electrode and a fuel gas supplied to the fuel electrode, wherein when the current-voltage characteristics of the fuel cell fall below a predetermined reference level, and the electrolyte membrane has not dried beyond a predetermined reference level, the control apparatus executes a control operation that increases the gas pressure at the oxidant electrode. | 06-05-2014 |
20140162159 | METHOD FOR RUNNING A FUEL CELL SYSTEM WITH A FAILED STACK HEALTH MONITOR - A system and method for selectively operating a fuel cell stack in response to loss of a voltage signal from one or more fuel cells in the stack. If the voltage signal from the one or more fuel cells is lost, the method performs one or more remedial actions to cause the fuel cell stack to operate in a more stack safe condition. The method then determines whether the cell or cells whose voltage signal is lost was healthy, such as operating above a predetermined voltage threshold, prior to the voltage signal being lost. If the cell voltage signal was above the voltage threshold, then the fuel cell stack is operated normally under the remedial actions, and if the voltage signal is below the voltage threshold, then the fuel cell stack is operated in a power limitation mode. | 06-12-2014 |
20140162160 | FUEL CELL FAILURE PREDICTION APPARATUS AND METHOD - A fuel cell failure prediction apparatus is provided. The prediction apparatus includes upstream and downstream voltage monitoring units, a data processing unit and a system control unit. The upstream and downstream voltages of each single cell may be synchronously monitored by the upstream and downstream voltage monitoring units. According to the monitored upstream and downstream voltages of each single cell, the data processing unit is used to obtain a differential voltage of the upstream and downstream voltages of each single cell. In accordance with the differential voltage, the system control unit performs a correcting control of failure prediction on the fuel cell. | 06-12-2014 |
20140186735 | METHOD OF OPERATING FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A method of operating a fuel cell system includes calculating voltages that are generated in each cell of a stack. It is determined whether the voltages satisfy a voltage stability condition. When it is determined that the voltages satisfy the voltage stability condition, it is determined whether a moisture balance condition and a hydrogen supply condition are satisfied. When it is determined that the moisture balance condition and the hydrogen supply condition are satisfied, the voltage stability condition is relieved and reset. It is determined whether the voltages that are generated in each cell of the stack satisfy the reset voltage stability condition. When it is determined that the voltages that are generated in each cell of the stack satisfy the reset voltage stability condition, the stack is normally operated. | 07-03-2014 |
20140205924 | SELECTIVELY REACTING TO THE MINIMUM CELL VOLTAGE DROP RATE IN A FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A system and method that monitor the rate of a voltage drop of fuel cells in a fuel cell stack to determine whether the voltage drop is a result of cathode reactant starvation or anode reactant starvation. The method looks at a falling voltage of a fuel cell to determine whether the rate of the fall in voltage indicates that hydrogen starvation of the anode of the fuel cell is occurring. The method also looks at the actual voltage of the fuel cell that is falling to determine whether it is a below a predetermined minimum voltage threshold also indicating that hydrogen starvation of the anode of the fuel cell is occurring. If hydrogen starvation is occurring, the method performs power limiting of the fuel cell stack either based on the rate or the voltage level. | 07-24-2014 |
20140220466 | Fuel Cell System - A fuel cell (FC) system operating as its own hydrogen leak detector. The system including at least one cathode and cathode conduit for passage of oxidant to to the cathode and a housing containing one or more FCs and defining a plenum around the FC. A ventilation system forces air from the plenum into the cathode conduit and a control system monitors the FC voltage and detects a drop in voltage attributable to hydrogen in the cathode conduit. A control system may include actual cell voltage monitoring of the FC or of one or more cells in the FC stack and a processor for receiving inputs indicative of the operation of the FC or FC stack and/or to determine an expected voltage of FC(s) being monitored and whether the difference between the actual and expected voltage(s) exceeds a predetermined threshold indicative of a predetermined level of hydrogen in the cathode conduit. | 08-07-2014 |
20140248548 | OUTPUT CONTROL APPARATUS FOR FUEL CELL - The object of the present invention is to balance: the suppression of deterioration of a fuel cell and degradation of its durability and the optimization of the output control of the fuel cell. The present invention provides an output control apparatus for a fuel cell, being capable of switching a control mode between a power control mode in which an output power of a fuel cell connected to a load is controlled so as to be at a target power and a voltage control mode in which an output voltage of the fuel cell is controlled so as to be at a target voltage, wherein a control in the voltage control mode is performed when the output voltage of the fuel cell decreases below a predetermined low voltage threshold value. | 09-04-2014 |
20140272654 | REMEDIAL ACTIONS FOR AIR FLOW ERRORS IN A FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A system and method for operating a fuel cell stack of a fuel cell system in a vehicle when an error in cathode air flow rate is detected. The system and method include estimating a cathode air flow rate and detecting an error in the estimated cathode air flow rate. The system and method also include utilizing high frequency resistance measurements from a high frequency resistance sensor to control a relative humidity of the fuel cell stack when the error in the estimated cathode air flow rate has been detected. | 09-18-2014 |
20140295307 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system comprises: noise detection means for detecting the magnitude of noise in a driver's cabin of a fuel cell vehicle in which the fuel cell system is installed; and a control apparatus for controlling the operation of auxiliary machines. The control apparatus performs high-potential avoidance control to increase electric power consumed by the auxiliary machines so that a power-generation voltage of a fuel cell | 10-02-2014 |
20140335433 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND CONTROL METHOD OF FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell and a controller that controls a voltage of the fuel cell. The controller sets a target increase amount ΔV, based on a target voltage which is a target value of voltage relative to a predetermined electric current of the fuel cell. The controller sets a processing condition of a temporary voltage drop process, based on the target increase amount ΔV. The controller performs a temporary voltage drop process under the set processing condition. The temporary voltage drop process temporarily drops the voltage of the fuel cell based on a power generation characteristic of the fuel cell, so as to cause a temporary increase in electric current of the fuel cell and change the power generation characteristic of the fuel cell. | 11-13-2014 |
20140356746 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM MOUNTED ON A VEHICLE - A fuel cell system mounted on a vehicle is provided. During intermittent operation of the fuel cell system, if a cell voltage Vc of a fuel cell stack becomes lower than a predetermined threshold voltage V′, an air compressor is operated to supply air to the fuel cell stack at a first predetermined flow rate, and when the cell voltage Vc reaches and stabilizes at a predetermined target voltage V″, air is supplied to the fuel cell stack at a second predetermined flow rate that is higher than the first predetermined flow rate for a certain period of time. | 12-04-2014 |
20140363751 | HEALTH MONITORING OF AN ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL STACK - The present disclosure is directed towards a method and a system for monitoring the performance of an electrochemical cell stack. Monitoring can be performed remotely by measuring the voltage across the stack, and comparing the measured values to predetermined reference values to determine the condition of the stack. Monitoring of the stack voltage enables detection of performance decay, which in turn enables preemptive repair of the stack prior to catastrophic failure. | 12-11-2014 |
20150024298 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TUNING AN ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL STACK - The present disclosure is directed to a method for tuning the performance of at least one electrochemical cell of an electrochemical cell stack. The method includes supplying power to an electrochemical cell stack. The electrochemical cell stack includes a plurality of electrochemical cells. The method further includes monitoring a parameter of at least one electrochemical cell and determining if an electrochemical cell becomes impaired. The method also includes diverting a fraction of the current flow from the impaired electrochemical cell during operation of the electrochemical cell stack. | 01-22-2015 |
20150037699 | FUEL CELL ASSEMBLY HAVING FEED-BACK SENSOR - A sensor cell ( | 02-05-2015 |
20150064590 | SEAL PLATE AND FUEL CELL STACK USING THE SAME - A fuel cell stack includes at least two cell modules adjacent to each other, the at least two cell modules each being formed by stacking a plurality of fuel cells into an integrated unit and a seal plate interposed in a cooling flow channel defined between separators of the at least two cell modules, the cooling flow channel configured to allow a cooling fluid to flow therethrough. The seal plate includes a manifold portion in which a plurality of manifold holes are formed to allow two power-generation gases to flow separately through the plurality of manifold holes and through the plurality of fuel cells and a seal member provided along a peripheral portion of each of the plurality of manifold holes to provide sealing for a corresponding one of the two power-generation gases flowing through the manifold hole. | 03-05-2015 |
20150086892 | BATTERY COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF ELECROCHEMICAL CELLS AND, FOR EACH CELL, A DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING THE VOLTAGE ACROSS THE TERMINALS OF SAID CELL - A battery is provided. The battery includes a plurality of electrochemical cells connected in series with each other and adapted for each generating an electric current from an oxidation-reduction reaction between an oxidizing fluid and a reducing fluid. The battery also includes, for each electrochemical cell, a control device for controlling the voltage across the terminals of the cell. The battery also includes a voltage regulator device electrically connected to the cell so that the control device measures the voltage across the terminals of the cell, increased by an offset voltage across the terminals of the regulator device. | 03-26-2015 |
20150093668 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system may comprise: a fuel cell including an anode electrode, a cathode electrode and a polymeric membrane; a first valve configured to supply a material to anode electrode; a second valve configured to discharge gas from anode electrode; a third valve configured to supply a material to cathode electrode; a fourth valve configured to discharge gas from the cathode electrode; a fifth valve configured to supply a material to the anode electrode; a voltage measurement unit configured to measure voltage of the fuel cell system; and a controller. The controller may be configured to: instruct the first valve, third valve, and fourth valve to be in the closed state; instruct the second valve and fifth valve to be in the open state; acquire a voltage value from the voltage measurement unit after instructing these valves; and determine whether the voltage value satisfies a predetermine condition. | 04-02-2015 |
20150111122 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system according to the present invention comprises: a fuel cell including a membrane-electrode assembly in which electrodes, each having a catalyst layer, are arranged on both surfaces of a polymer electrolyte membrane; and a control apparatus that performs performance recovery processing for the catalyst layer by decreasing an output voltage of the fuel cell to a predetermined voltage, wherein the control apparatus predicts a timing of an output increase request being made to the fuel cell and determines the necessity and content of the performance recovery processing based on a result of the prediction. | 04-23-2015 |
20150125772 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system according to the present invention comprises: a fuel cell including a membrane-electrode assembly in which electrodes, each having a catalyst layer, are arranged on both surfaces of a polymer electrolyte membrane; a power storage apparatus connected to a load in parallel with the fuel cell; and a control apparatus that performs performance recovery processing for the catalyst layer by decreasing an output voltage of the fuel cell to a predetermined voltage, wherein an intermittent operation in which a power generation command value for the fuel cell is set to zero and a power supply to the load is covered by power supplied from the power storage apparatus is allowed to be performed if certain conditions for performing the intermittent operation are met, and the performance recovery processing is performed during the intermittent operation, and wherein, if the performance recovery processing is necessary and if a remaining power in the power storage apparatus is equal to or lower than a predetermined amount, the control apparatus delays a timing of performing the intermittent operation and charges the power storage apparatus until the remaining power exceeds the predetermined amount. | 05-07-2015 |
20150125773 | ELECTRONIC APPARATUS, CONTROL METHOD AND PROGRAM THEREOF, AND BATTERY FOR OPERATING ELECTRONIC APPARATUS - An electronic apparatus using a fuel cell as at least one electric power source. The fuel cell has an electric power output unit for outputting an electric power through a chemical reaction between fuel gas and oxidant gas, a purge device for purging the electric power output unit and a purge control unit for issuing a purge instruction to the purge device. The electronic apparatus has a monitor unit for monitoring a consumption power, an operation state or a manipulated state of the electronic apparatus, and a purge permission unit for judging from an output of the monitor unit whether the purge control unit is permitted to issue the purge instruction, and outputting a judgment result to the purge control unit. | 05-07-2015 |
20150140462 | INTELLIGENT SYSTEM FOR THE DYNAMIC MODELING AND OPERATION OF FUEL CELLS - A system and method for controlling an output of a dynamic fuel cell is provided. A dynamic fuel cell has a membrane wherein a dimension of the membrane is variable during operation of the dynamic fuel cell in response to a control signal from an intelligent controller. By varying the dimension of the membrane, the output voltage of the dynamic fuel cell can be altered. An intelligent controller is provided that can measure a number of outputs and input parameters of the dynamic fuel cell and approximate input parameters using the measured values to adjust the input of the dynamic fuel cell to the approximated values. | 05-21-2015 |
20150303500 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING PERFORMANCE OF FUEL CELL STACK - A system and method of controlling a performance of a fuel cell stack is provided. In particular, the output performance of the fuel cell stack is determined by comparing the difference between an initial voltage and a voltage after a predetermined time lapses with the difference between the initial voltage and a preset minimum voltage. | 10-22-2015 |
20150357659 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND FUEL CELL POWERED VEHICLE - A fuel cell system includes: an external load connected to a fuel cell; an electric power adjusting unit configured to adjust a generated electric power of the fuel cell in accordance with electric power consumption of the external load; a humidity control unit configured to control humidity of an electrolyte membrane in the fuel cell on the basis of the generated electric power of the fuel cell; an output voltage detecting unit configured to detect an output voltage of the fuel cell; and a cross leakage determining unit configured to cause the humidity control unit to increase the humidity of the electrolyte membrane when the fuel cell generates the electric power, the cross leakage determining unit being configured to determine whether a cross leakage amount increases or not on the basis of a change in the output voltage at that time. | 12-10-2015 |
20150372329 | Fuel Cell System and Control Method of Fuel Cell System - Fuel cell system mounting fuel cell vehicle including: fuel cells having platinum-containing catalyst as electrode catalyst; cell voltage meter configured to measure cell voltage of fuel cells; and controller controlling fuel cell system, wherein (a) cell voltage meter obtains first cell voltage in predefined idling state of fuel cells, (b) in response to changing operation state of fuel cell vehicle from driving state to stop state, controller changes operation state of fuel cells to idling state, and cell voltage meter obtains second cell voltage of fuel cells in idling state, (c) controller uses difference between first and second cell voltages to obtain recovery process voltage for recovering catalyst of fuel cells and recovery process time duration wherein cell voltage of fuel cells is kept at recovery process voltage, and (d) controller reduces voltage of fuel cells to recovery process voltage for recovery process time duration, preforming recovery process of catalyst. | 12-24-2015 |
20150380755 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND FUEL CELL VEHICLE - A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell, a voltage adjustment device, a controller, and a moisture content detector. The voltage adjustment device is configured to adjust output voltage from the fuel cell and configured to apply the output voltage to a load. The controller is configured to supply an instruction signal including an alternating current signal and a target value of the output voltage to the voltage adjustment device to control the voltage adjustment device. The moisture content detector is configured to detect an alternating current signal component included in the output voltage to detect actual moisture content in the fuel cell based on the alternating current signal component. The controller is configured to increase the actual moisture content before setting the voltage adjustment device to a direct connection state. | 12-31-2015 |
20160020476 | OPERATIONAL CONTROL OF FUEL CELLS - Various examples are provided for operational control of fuel cells. In one example, among others, a system for controlling a fuel cell includes a stack temperature controller in cascade with a liquid level controller. The liquid level controller can provide a control output based at least in part upon an indication of a liquid level of a liquid fuel tank and a level reference. The stack temperature controller can provide a fan speed control output based at least in part upon an indication of a stack temperature of the fuel cell and the control output of the liquid level controller. In another example, a system for estimating methanol concentration of a fuel cell system includes a state observer that generates an estimate of the methanol concentration of fuel provided to a direct methanol fuel cell based upon a plurality of states of the fuel cell system. | 01-21-2016 |
20160126572 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM OPERATION METHOD USING TWO OR MORE POWER SUPPLIES - A fuel cell system and a fuel cell system operation method using two or more power supplies are provided. A main stack is operated to output constant voltage by receiving air and hydrogen of an air supply device and a fuel supply device. An initial average cell voltage of the main stack and an average cell voltage of the main stack are measured after 10 hours. The initial average cell voltage value and the measured average cell voltage value are compared to calculate a voltage reduction rate. The main stack up is operated when the voltage reduction rate is greater than the reference value and a sub power supply is operated until EOL is reached when the voltage reduction rate is greater than the reference value to increase operation efficiency. | 05-05-2016 |
20160133973 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND OPERATING METHOD OF FUEL CELL SYSTEM - The present invention provides a system for a fuel cell vehicle, capable of preventing an unnecessary error in calculating high potential avoidance power to calculate power for high potential avoidance with high accuracy. A fuel cell system | 05-12-2016 |
20160141674 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND METHOD OF RECOVERYING CELL VOLTAGE THEREOF - An amount of power generation is increased in the case where a difference in water content between some and others of the cells is greater than a predetermined value. In the case of satisfaction of a first condition that the difference in water content between some and others of the cells is greater than the predetermined value, a fuel battery may be caused to perform an operation in which the amount of power generation exceeds that in the normal operation to reduce a cell voltage difference ΔV between an average cell voltage Va and a minimum cell voltage Vb. The first condition is, for example, that the cell voltage difference ΔV, which is a difference between the average cell voltage Va and the minimum cell voltage Vb, is greater than a first threshold value. | 05-19-2016 |
20160141675 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND OPERATION CONTROL METHOD OF THE SAME - The present invention provides a technique capable of satisfying both the restoration of an output voltage of a fuel cell and an improvement of electric power responsiveness in a fuel cell system in a situation in which its operation status is restored to a normal operation from an operation having low power generation efficiency. | 05-19-2016 |
20160141689 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND FUEL CELL CONTROL METHOD - A fuel cell system comprising: a power generation controller that controls a value subject to control, which is a value exhibiting a power generating state by a fuel cell and is a value that is affected by alternating current applied to the fuel cell, to approach a target value; a dead zone setter that sets a dead zone with the target value as a reference; and, a stopper that stops the control by the power generation controller when the value subject to control is contained in the dead zone. | 05-19-2016 |
20160172694 | INSPECTION METHOD OF FUEL CELL | 06-16-2016 |
20160380281 | DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING OPERATION OF FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A device and a method are provided for controlling an operation of a fuel cell system to improve a momentary output of a fuel cell system and decrease a performance deviation between fuel cells. The device momentarily reduces a cell voltage of a fuel cell or changes a fuel cell system to a state close to a shut-down, return the fuel cell system to a normal condition again, and then enable the fuel cell system to be operated normally by applying the “saw-tooth phenomenon” and the “hysteresis phenomenon.” Thus, a momentary output of the fuel cell system is improved to performance of a highest output level or more expressible in a previous state and a performance deviation between fuel cells is decreased. | 12-29-2016 |
20160380295 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND CONTROL METHOD OF FUEL CELL - An object is to readily provide an output limit of a fuel cell by using temperature of a cooling medium, while improving the startability of a fuel cell. When a cell voltage obtained from an end-portion cell of a fuel cell is equal to or lower than a first threshold value, a controller of a fuel cell system sets an output limit amount used for output limit of the fuel cell to be smaller than an output limit amount according to temperature of a cooling medium measured by a temperature measurement unit. | 12-29-2016 |
20170237096 | CONTROL OF AN ELECTROCHEMICAL DEVICE WITH INTEGRATED DIAGNOSTICS, PROGNOSTICS AND LIFETIME MANAGEMENT | 08-17-2017 |
20180026280 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM | 01-25-2018 |
20180026283 | METHOD FOR OPERATING FUEL CELL VEHICLE | 01-25-2018 |
20180026284 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM | 01-25-2018 |
20180026286 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND VEHICLE | 01-25-2018 |
20180026287 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM | 01-25-2018 |
20190148750 | METHOD FOR CALCULATING VOLTAGE LOSS OF FUEL CELL AND SYSTEM PERFORMING THE SAME | 05-16-2019 |