Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090035612 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - In a fuel cell system of the invention, a hydrogen leakage detection process closes a shutoff valve, which shuts off a supply of hydrogen from a hydrogen supply unit into a hydrogen supply flow path, and opens a pressure regulator, which reduces a pressure of hydrogen in the hydrogen supply flow path, so as to keep the hydrogen supply flow path in a state with no pressure regulation and make the fuel cell system in a leakage detectable state. In this leakage detectable state, the hydrogen leakage detection process measures at least one of a pressure and a flow rate as a state quantity of hydrogen in the hydrogen supply flow path that feeds the supply of hydrogen to fuel cells. The hydrogen leakage detection process analyzes a detected behavior of the state quantity in the leakage detectable process and specifies the occurrence of a hydrogen leakage in the downstream of the hydrogen supply unit. This arrangement enables highly accurate detection of a hydrogen leakage in the fuel cell system with the pressure regulator provided in the hydrogen supply flow path. | 02-05-2009 |
20100151343 | Fuel cell system and gas leakage detection device - A fuel cell system according to one aspect of the invention is operated in an ordinary mode and in a gas leakage detection mode. The fuel cell system includes fuel cells, a fuel gas supplier configured to supply a fuel gas to the fuel cells, a shutoff valve provided in a flow path for leading a flow of the fuel gas supply from the fuel gas supplier to the fuel cells and configured to shut off the fuel gas supply, and a variable pressure regulator provided in the flow path between the shutoff valve and the fuel cells to regulate a pressure of the fuel gas in a downstream in a flow direction of the fuel gas supply to a variable pressure value. In the ordinary mode, the fuel cell system sets the pressure value of the variable pressure regulator to an ordinary power generation pressure value for ordinary power generation. In the gas leakage detection mode, on the other hand, the fuel cell system closes the shutoff valve, sets the pressure value of the variable pressure regulator to a higher value than the ordinary power generation pressure value, and performs leakage detection of the fuel gas from the shutoff valve. Such setting of the pressure value in the variable pressure regulator desirably enables high-speed reduction of the fuel gas pressure in the flow path between the shutoff valve and the variable pressure regulator. | 06-17-2010 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20120145564 | FUEL CELL EVALUATOR AND FUEL CELL EVALUATION METHOD - In one embodiment, there is provided a fuel cell evaluator for evaluating a characteristic of a fuel cell based on a frequency characteristic of impedance of the fuel cell. The evaluator includes: an impedance acquisition unit configured to acquire impedances of the fuel cell for a certain current value in a Tafel region by changing a measurement frequency; an extraction unit configured to extract a reaction resistance from the acquired impedances; a calculator configured to calculate the product of the reaction resistance and the certain current value; and an indicator configured to indicate the product calculated by the calculator as the frequency characteristic of the impedance of the fuel cell. | 06-14-2012 |
20120182020 | SECONDARY BATTERY TESTER, SECONDARY BATTERY TESTING METHOD, AND MANUFACTURING METHOD OF SECONDARY BATTERY - There is provided a secondary battery tester for testing a state of a secondary battery based on an impedance characteristic of the secondary battery. The tester includes: an impedance acquiring section configured to acquire an impedance value of the secondary battery; and a determining section configured to determine a state of a solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer of the secondary battery based on the impedance value acquired by the impedance acquiring section. | 07-19-2012 |
20130207671 | ELECTRODE EVALUATION APPARATUS AND ELECTRODE EVALUATION METHOD - An electrode evaluation apparatus for evaluating a characteristic of an electrode based on an electrochemical property includes a potential control unit, an impedance acquiring unit, a current value acquiring unit, and a normalized impedance calculation unit. The potential control unit is configured to control a potential applied to an electrode. The impedance acquiring unit is configured to acquire an impedance characteristic of the electrode under a specific DC operating condition provided by the potential control unit. The current value acquiring unit is configured to acquire a temporal change in direct current value under the specific DC operating condition. The normalized impedance calculation unit is configured to apply the temporal change in direct current value acquired by the current value acquiring unit to calculate a normalized impedance where impedance acquired by the impedance acquiring unit is multiplied by the direct current value. | 08-15-2013 |
20140191764 | METHOD FOR DETERMINING RESPONSE CHARACTERISTICS OF BATTERY - A method for determining response characteristics of a battery includes: pressurizing the battery in a direction to reduce a distance between electrode surfaces of the battery; and applying a voltage or a current to the pressurized battery to determine response characteristics of the battery. | 07-10-2014 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090034956 | CONTROL APPARATUS AND IMAGING APPARATUS - A control apparatus configured to control a control target in response to an operation by a user includes a first operation member configured to control the control target at a speed corresponding to an operation amount given by a user per unit time, a second operation member that is disposed in a position simultaneously operable by one and the same finger as the first operation member configured to control the control target at a predetermined speed in response to the operation by the user, and a control member configured to prioritize the operation of the first operation member over that of the second operation member when the first operation member and the second operation member are simultaneously operated. | 02-05-2009 |
20090168199 | LENS CONTROL APPARATUS, LENS BARREL, IMAGING APPARATUS, AND OPTICAL APPARATUS - A lens control apparatus includes a temperature detection unit configured to detect a temperature near a zoom lens and a focus lens, a zoom lens drive unit configured to drive the zoom lens, and a controller configured, if it is determined that a current temperature near the zoom lens and the focus lens detected by the temperature detection unit is higher than a reference temperature, to acquire a telephoto end position to be set at the current temperature, to compare the telephoto end position with a current position of the zoom lens, and to cause the zoom lens drive unit to move the zoom lens to the telephoto end position if the current position of the zoom lens is located beyond the telephoto end position on a telephoto side. | 07-02-2009 |
20120163785 | LENS DRIVING DEVICE, CONTROL METHOD, AND LENS SYSTEM - A lens driving device includes a control unit configured to control movement of a first lens to perform zooming operation and a second lens to perform focus adjustment based on information of a position of the first lens and a position of the second lens stored for each object distance, and when the first lens is on a telephoto side of a predetermined position, the control unit limits movement of the second lens to a position corresponding to a second object distance closer than the first object distance, and if a predetermined condition is satisfied after the second lens has reached a predetermined region including the position corresponding to the first object distance, the control unit permits the movement of the second lens to the position corresponding to the second object distance. | 06-28-2012 |