Class / Patent application number | Description | Number of patent applications / Date published |
429437000 | Liquid cooling | 72 |
20100129725 | FUEL CELL BIPOLAR PLATE WITH INTEGRATED SEALING AND FUEL CELL COMPRISING SUCH PLATES - The invention relates to a fuel cell bipolar plate ( | 05-27-2010 |
20100136452 | BIPOLAR PLATE FOR A FUEL CELL COMPRISING A BY-PASSED SERPENTINE FLOW PATH FOR OXIDANT GAS; A COOLING PLATE FOR A FUEL CELL COMPRISING A BY-PASSED SERPENTINE FLOW PATH FOR COOLANT FLUID; FUEL CELL COMPRISING SUCH PLATES AND USES THEREOF - A bipolar plate for a fuel cell is provided. The bipolar plate having flow channels for oxidant gas; said flow channels for oxidant gas comprising one or more grooves each representing a serpentine path; wherein each said serpentine path independently comprises N consecutive legs L | 06-03-2010 |
20100167151 | ION EXCHANGER FOR FUEL CELL VEHICLE - An ion exchanger comprises an ion exchange cartridge, and an ion exchanger bracket for connecting the ion exchange cartridge to a cooling water path to thereby hold the ion exchange cartridge so as to be freely removed. The ion exchanger bracket is provided at a position closer to the front end portion of the fuel cell vehicle, the position being on the side surface of the sub-frame. The cooling water path, connected to the ion exchanger bracket, is arranged so as to reach the motor room, penetrating the sub-frame. Also, because the ion exchanger is mounted in a space surrounded by the rear side of the bumper and an inner fender covering the rear side of the fender and a tire house, the ion exchange cartridge becomes available to be taken out when a part on the front side of the inner fender is removed. | 07-01-2010 |
20100183934 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system includes: a fuel cell ( | 07-22-2010 |
20100183935 | BIPOLAR PLATE FOR FUEL CELLS - A fuel cell, of the type constituted by at least one pair of bipolar plates whose outer surfaces are provided with contoured grooves for conveying the reagents, between which respective membranes which contain the surfaces of the electrodes are interposed. The plates delimit, with their internal surfaces provided with channels, a path for flows of cooling fluid. A region which is open toward the outside environment is provided between the elementary cell, which is constituted by inflow and outflow manifolds for reagents and by the contoured grooves provided on the outer surface of the plates between which the respective membrane is interposed, and the cooling circuits, which are constituted by the paths for the cooling fluid and by the respective areas for the inflow and outflow of the cooling fluid, which are formed between two surfaces of contiguous plates, the open region being adapted to drain externally any leaks of the cooling circuit, preventing the introduction of the leaks into the surfaces provided with grooves for circulating the reagents. | 07-22-2010 |
20100196774 | FUEL CELL - A fuel cell using metal separators in which reactive gas leakage is reliably suppressed without requiring excessive fastening force, while employing a simple structure. The present invention is a solid polymer unit fuel cell having a frame holding an MEA and metal separators, in which 1) the central part of a separator faces an electrode and has linear a channel formed therein, and the peripheral part of a separator is a flat structure having a manifold hole; 2) the frame holding an MEA has a sealant that is provided around the respective electrodes, is in contact with a rib at the boundary of the central part and peripheral part of a separator, and regulates the flow of reactive gas; and 3) contact surfaces of the sealant provided around an electrode and ribs at the boundary between the central part and peripheral part of a separator, are respectively inclined with respect to the stacking direction from the frame toward the separator. | 08-05-2010 |
20100227239 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR OPERATING A FUEL CELL IN COMBINATION WITH AN ABSORPTION CHILLER - A standard phosphoric acid fuel cell power plant ( | 09-09-2010 |
20100239932 | PEM fuel cell system with a porous hydrophobloc plug for maintaining system back pressure and methods for designing the plug and for designing systems for using the plug - A polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell power plant is cooled evaporatively by a non-circulating pressurized water coolant system. The coolant system utilizes a hydrophobic porous plug for bleeding air from the coolant water while maintaining coolant back pressure in a coolant flow field of the system. Furthermore, there is a first method for identifying appropriate parameters of the hydrophobic porous plug for use with a known particular coolant system; and a second method for determining proper operating conditions for a fuel cell water coolant system which can operate with a hydrophobic porous plug closure having known physical parameters. | 09-23-2010 |
20100239933 | PEM fuel cell system with a porous hydrophobic plug for maintaining system back pressure and methods for designing the plug and for designing systems for using the plug - A polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell power plant is cooled evaporatively by a non-circulating pressurized water coolant system. The coolant system utilizes a hydrophobic porous plug for bleeding air from from the coolant water while maintaining coolant back pressure in a coolant flow field of the system. Furthermore, there is a first method for identifying appropriate parameters of the hydrophobic porous plug for use with a known particular coolant system; and a second method for determining proper operating conditions for a fuel cell water coolant system which can operate with a hydrophobic porous plug closure having known physical parameters. | 09-23-2010 |
20100248057 | Fuel Cell System Construction and Method of Installing Said Fuel Cell System - A fuel cell system includes a housing partially above and below the ground containing a fuel cell beneath ground level and a fuel tank disposed above the fuel cell. The fuel cell may be accessed by raising it to above ground level with a fuel cell vertical displacement device | 09-30-2010 |
20100279190 | Cathode saturation arrangement for fuel cell power plant - The heat from various portions of a fuel cell power plant ( | 11-04-2010 |
20100285381 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR OPERATING A FUEL CELL IN COMBINATION WITH AN ORC SYSTEM - An organic rankine cycle system is combined with a fuel system so as to use the waste heat from the fuel cell to both preheat and evaporate the working fluid in the organic rankine cycle system to thereby provide improved efficiencies in the system. | 11-11-2010 |
20110008698 | SEPARATOR PLATE CONFIGURATION FOR A FUEL CELL - A fuel cell includes a membrane electrode assembly comprised of a membrane sandwiched between anode and cathode catalyst structures. An anode separator plate and a cathode separator plate are arranged adjacent to the membrane electrode assembly opposite from one another. The anode and cathode separator plates include opposing sides in which one of the opposing sides of the anode and cathode respectively have fuel and oxidant flow fields in communication with the membrane. The anode separator plate is a structure having a first water permeability and is configured to permit passage of water between its opposing sides and with its flow field, and the cathode separator plate comprises a structure having a second water permeability less than the first water permeability of the anode separator plate. In one example, the anode is provided by a porous separator plate, and the cathode is provided by a non-porous, or solid, plate. | 01-13-2011 |
20110039178 | Fuel cell having a hydrophilic substrate layer - A fuel cell power plant ( | 02-17-2011 |
20110045371 | Evaporatively cooled hybrid PEM fuel cell power plant assembly - A PEM fuel cell power plant includes fuel cells, each of which has a cathode reactant flow field plate which is substantially impermeable to fluids, a coolant source, and a fluid permeable anode reactant flow field plate adjacent to said coolant source. The anode reactant flow field plates pass coolant from the coolant sources into the cells where the coolant is evaporated to cool the cells. The cathode flow field plates prevent reactant crossover between adjacent cells. By providing a single permeable plate for each cell in the power plant the amount of coolant present in the power plant at shut down is limited to a degree which does not require adjunct coolant purging components to remove coolant from the plates when the power plant is shut down during freezing ambient conditions. Thus the amount of residual frozen coolant in the power plant that forms in the plates during shut down in such freezing conditions will be limited. The power plant can thus be restarted and brought up to full operating power levels quickly due to the reduced amount of frozen coolant that must be melted during startup. Pressure in the coolant source is preferably greater than ambient pressure, and pressure in the anode reactant flow field is greater than the pressure in the coolant source so as to prevent the coolant from flooding the cells. The power plant is well suited for use in powering vehicles. | 02-24-2011 |
20110059380 | POLYMER ELECTROLYTE FUEL CELL STACK - A fuel cell stack comprising: a cell stack body having stacked single cells and a manifold for supplying or discharging a fluid to the stacked single cells, the single cell including a membrane electrode assembly and a separator sandwiching the membrane electrode assembly; an end plate stacked onto the cell stack body and having a through-hole along the stacking direction of the cell stack body; and a fluid tube body inserted detachably into the through-hole so as to pass through the end plate, the fluid tube body being connected to the manifold, wherein a part of the outer surface of the fluid tube body opposite to the inner surface of the through-hole is separated from the inner surface of the through-hole. | 03-10-2011 |
20110081590 | Fuel Cell Unit Including a Storage Unit for Storing and Providing Liquid Water Coolant - A fuel cell unit is provided having at least one fuel cell to which is connected a coolant circuit associated with a storage unit for storing and providing liquid water coolant at the fuel cell both under normal operating conditions and under frost conditions. The storage unit is set to provide a smaller amount of liquid water coolant under frost conditions than under normal operating conditions. | 04-07-2011 |
20110129753 | COOLANT DEMINERALIZER FOR A FUEL CELL VEHICLE - The present invention provides a coolant demineralizer for a fuel cell vehicle, which removes ions, released from a pipe, from coolant of a fuel cell stack. In preferred embodiments, the present invention provides a coolant demineralizer suitably configured to reduce the occurrence of differential pressure due to an ion resin layer such that coolant can smoothly flow through a filter member, thereby increasing the effect of filtering ions and improving the efficiency of use of ion resin. | 06-02-2011 |
20110223507 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR FUEL CELL THERMAL MANAGEMENT - Thermal and hydration management systems and methods for fuel cell systems, including control of electrolytic membrane hydration levels. In some embodiments, the thermal properties of the fuel cell are controlled based on a variable associated with the oxidant supply stream and/or a variable associated with the fuel cell energy output. In some embodiments, the temperature of the fuel cell is controlled based on the temperature of the oxidant supply stream. In some embodiments, the temperature range across the fuel cell stack is controlled based on the flow rate of the oxidant stream and the electrical output generated by the fuel cell stack. In some embodiments, the humidity within the fuel cell stack is controlled. In some embodiments, the liquid water content of the cathode exhaust stream is controlled. | 09-15-2011 |
20110236781 | FUEL CELL COOLING - A method of operating a fuel cell system ( | 09-29-2011 |
20120015272 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system suppresses the deterioration of an electrolyte membrane of a fuel cell. The fuel cell system comprises: a temperature rise speed calculation unit for calculating a target temperature rise speed of the fuel cell using a temperature of the fuel cell and a water content of the fuel cell; and a drive control unit for controlling a drive of the cooling water pump using the temperature rise speed of the fuel cell and the target temperature rise speed calculated by the temperature rise speed calculation unit. The drive control unit controls the drive of the cooling water pump such that a circulation amount of the cooling water is decreased when the temperature rise speed of the fuel cell is below the target temperature rise speed and controls the drive of the cooling water pump such that the circulation amount of the cooling water is increased when the temperature rise speed of the fuel cell is equal to or greater than the target temperature rise speed. | 01-19-2012 |
20120028156 | STACK HAVING UNIFORM TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION AND METHOD OF OPERATING THE SAME - A stack and a method of operating the stack. A method of operating a stack having a plurality of cells and a plurality of cooling plates includes: supplying a working fluid to a first group of the cooling plates; and re-supplying the working fluid passed through the first group of the cooling plates to a second group of the cooling plates, wherein the first and second groups are divided according to an operating temperature in the stack. | 02-02-2012 |
20120082915 | Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell - A polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell of the present invention has a simple structure in a cooling part and is small. The polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell includes a membrane electrode assembly, a porous gas flow field for anode which is conductive and supplies fuel gas, a porous gas flow field for cathode which is conductive and supplies oxidant gas, and a bipolar plate which separates the fuel gas flow field and the oxidant gas flow field. Channels are formed in a surface of the porous gas flow field for cathode, the surface facing the bipolar plate. Preferably, plural concave portions are provided in at least one surface of flow field walls forming the channels. Preferably, the oxidant gas is mixed with cooling water and the mixture is supplied to the porous gas flow field for cathode. | 04-05-2012 |
20120107710 | COMPACT FUEL CELL - A fuel cell including a stack of electrochemical cells and end plates applying a tightening strain onto the electrochemical cells, a thermal management system formed by a heat transfer fluid flow circuit in the stack, and a heat transfer fluid flow circuit external to the stack. The heat transfer flow circuit and the external circuit are connected in one of the end plates. The external circuit includes a first subcircuit including a heat exchanger and a second subcircuit directly connected to the inlet of the internal circuit. A thermostatic valve is integrated in the end plate to control the heat transfer fluid flow in one and/or the other of the subcircuits as a function of temperature of the fluid at the outlet of the internal circuit. | 05-03-2012 |
20120122003 | FUEL CELL COOLING SYSTEM OF FUEL CELL FOR VEHICLE - The present invention relates to a fuel cell cooling system for a vehicle comprising: a cooling water circulating loop formed to cool a fuel cell stack where a plurality of fuel cells are stacked. The cooling water circulating loop includes: a plurality of cooling water introducing ports through which cooling water passing through the stack is introduced; a plurality of cooling water discharging ports corresponding to the plurality of cooling water introducing ports and through which the cooling water which has passed through the stack is discharged; and a plurality of cooling water channels connecting the plurality of cooling introducing ports and the plurality of cooling water discharging ports. Notably, cooling water flows in different directions in the plurality of cooling water channels. | 05-17-2012 |
20120122004 | METHOD FOR CONTROLLING TEMPERATURE OF FUEL CELL SYSTEM - The present invention provides a method for controlling the temperature of a fuel cell system by controlling the rotational speeds of a coolant pump and a cooling fan based on the coolant outlet temperature, the amount of heat generated by a fuel cell stack, etc. In particular, the present invention controls the temperature of a fuel cell system by utilizing a controller which receives a coolant outlet temperature from a sensor in a state where a reference temperature for each stage is determined with respect to the coolant outlet temperature and a target rotational speed for each stage is determined based on the coolant outlet temperature. Then the controller performs proportional integral (PI) control with respect to each rotational speed of a coolant pump and a cooling fan at the target rotational speed for each stage determined based on the current coolant outlet temperature detected by the water temperature sensor. | 05-17-2012 |
20120129067 | COOLING WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM AND COOLING WATER SUPPLY METHOD FOR FUEL CELL SYSTEM - The present invention relates to a cooling water supply system and a cooling water supply method for a fuel cell system in which a temperature difference in a fuel cell stack is prevented from increasing due to a rapid increase of a power output required in the stack by detecting a requested/demanded output. According to the present invention, a temperature difference in the stack due to a rapid increase in a power output demanded by the fuel cell stack is prevented from being rapidly increased by detecting a requested output (e.g., an amount an accelerator pedal is pushed, etc.) to calculate a power output required by the stack, calculating a predicted amount of generated heat depending on a required power output, and calculating a flux of supplied cooling water corresponding to the predicted amount of generated heat to control a flow rate of a cooling water supplier. | 05-24-2012 |
20120164548 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR OPERATING A FUEL CELL IN COMBINATION WITH AN ABSORPTION CHILLER - A standard phosphoric acid fuel cell power plant has its heat exchanger removed such that a higher temperature coolant flow can be directed from the system to the generator of an absorption chiller to obtain improved efficiency in the chiller. In one embodiment, the higher temperature coolant may flow directly from the fuel cell stack to the generator and after passing therethrough, it is routed back to the high temperature coolant loop. In another embodiment, the higher temperature coolant is made to transfer some of its heat to a lower temperature coolant and the lower temperature coolant is than made to flow directly to the generator and back to the lower temperature coolant loop. In the first embodiment, either a double effect absorption chiller or a single effect absorption chiller is used, while in the second embodiment a single effect absorption chiller is used. | 06-28-2012 |
20120244450 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR REDUCING RADIATOR SIZES FOR LOW TEMPERATURE FUEL CELL SYSTEMS - A fuel cell cooling system includes a fuel cell having a liquid loop that produces water vapor. An antifreeze cooling loop includes an inductor that receives the water vapor and introduces the water vapor to an antifreeze. The water is separated from the antifreeze and returned to the liquid cooling loop as liquid water after the mixture of condensed water vapor and antifreeze has passed through a radiator. Water in the liquid cooling loop exits the fuel cell and passes through a restricting valve thereby lowering the pressure of the water. A flash cooler downstream from the restricting valve collects the water vapor and provides it to the inductor in the antifreeze cooling loop. The flash cooling in the first cooling loop provides a first cooling capacity that is low temperature and pressure compatible with fuel cell operation. | 09-27-2012 |
20120282537 | FUEL CELL - A fuel cell comprises a cathode catalyst layer and an anode catalyst layer disposed on each surface of an electrolyte membrane, an oxidant gas passage facing the cathode catalyst layer, and a fuel gas passage facing the anode catalyst layer. The cathode catalyst layer contains a metal catalyst. In a region (A), in which the differential electric potential between the cathode catalyst layer and the electrolyte membrane is larger than in another region, the metal catalyst content of the cathode catalyst layer or the specific surface area of the metal catalyst in the form of minute particles is increased, and thus a deterioration in electric power generation efficiency caused by melting of the metal catalyst due to the large differential electric potential is prevented. | 11-08-2012 |
20120295178 | FLOW FIELD PLATE FOR REDUCED PRESSURE DROP IN COOLANT - The pressure drop associated with the coolant flow in the coolant transition regions of a typical high power density, solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell stack can be significant. This pressure drop can be reduced by enlarging the height of the coolant ducts in this region of the associated flow field plate so that the ducts extend beyond the plane of the plate. The height change can be accommodated by offsetting the ducts in adjacent cells in the stack and by employing non planar MEAs in this region. By reducing the pressure drop, improved coolant flow sharing is obtained. | 11-22-2012 |
20120301806 | SEPARATOR FOR FUEL CELL AND FUEL CELL - A separator includes a first flow path-forming portion and second flow path-forming portions. The first portion has a corrugated shape including a first groove to form a flow path for a first fluid on a first surface and a second groove to form a flow path for a second fluid on a second surface, which are arranged alternately. The first portion includes at least three linear areas, and plural turned areas, each including a plurality of the first and the second grooves to connect between corresponding grooves in adjacent linear areas, and thereby forms serpentine flow paths for the second fluid. Each of the second portions forms a connection flow path to connect between the flow paths for the first fluid on the first surface and forms a connection flow path to connect between the flow paths for the second fluid on the second surface. | 11-29-2012 |
20130004877 | FUEL CELL AND FUEL CELL STACK INCLUDING THE SAME - A fuel cell of the present invention includes an electrolyte layer-electrode assembly ( | 01-03-2013 |
20130078543 | OPERATION METHOD FOR FUEL CELL, AND FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell stack is provided with a pair of refrigerant inlet ports and a pair of refrigerant outlet ports. The refrigerant inlet ports are disposed in the vicinity of an oxidant gas inlet port and a fuel gas inlet port in a manner such that one of the refrigerant inlet ports is disposed on the side of the oxidant gas inlet port and the other refrigerant inlet port is disposed on the side of the fuel gas inlet port. The refrigerant outlet ports are disposed in the vicinity of an oxidant gas outlet port and a fuel gas outlet port in a manner such that one of the refrigerant outlet ports is disposed on the side of the oxidant gas outlet port and the other refrigerant outlet port is disposed on the side of the fuel gas outlet port. | 03-28-2013 |
20130171536 | Fuel Cell - Fuel cell including several stacks of fuel cell elementary cells, at least part of the stacks being mounted in parallel and in a modular manner in order to allow the electric power level supplied by the cell to be adapted by adapting the number of stacks present in the cell, the cell including a cooling circuit including several legs in parallel for the selective cooling of said stacks by means of heat exchange, a heat-conveying liquid being selectively circulated in the cooling circuit via at least one pump, characterized in that the cooling circuit includes different pumps arranged respectively in several of said legs of the cooling circuit, | 07-04-2013 |
20130224619 | Coolant Circuit for a Fuel Cell System, and Method for Fluidically Coupling an Ion Exchange Module to a Component of a Coolant Circuit - A coolant circuit for a fuel cell system of a motor vehicle includes an ion exchange module fluidically coupled to a component of the coolant circuit, which is flowed through by coolant during a cooling operation. The ion exchange module is fixed to an external wall of the component. A fastening element couples the ion exchange module fluidically to the component. | 08-29-2013 |
20130230786 | Circulation of Biphase Fuel Cell Coolant - Coolant velocity greater than zero everywhere within the coolant channels ( | 09-05-2013 |
20130260273 | EVAPORATIVELY COOLED FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR OPERATING AN EVAPORATIVELY COOLED FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system ( | 10-03-2013 |
20130280632 | EVAPORATION CYCLE HEAT EXCHANGE SYSTEM FOR VEHICLE - An evaporation cycle heat exchange system for a vehicle cools vehicle electronic components, a fuel cell stack, an internal combustion engine, an automatic transmission, a turbocharger, etc. using an evaporative heat exchanger, thus improving cooling efficiency and reducing the size of components such as a radiator. The evaporation cycle heat exchange system cools coolant circulating through a vehicle cooling system by employing an evaporative heat exchanger in which a working fluid flows by a pressure difference caused by volume expansion and capillary phenomenon. Accordingly, it is possible to improve the cooling efficiency of the entire cooling system, reduce the size of components to comply with pedestrian protection regulations, improve fuel efficiency, and ensure the stability of the system. | 10-24-2013 |
20130337356 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND METHOD OF OPERATING THE SAME - A fuel cell system includes: a fuel cell; a cooling water passage for cooling the fuel cell; a cooling water tank; a recovered water tank configured to store water produced in the fuel cell system; a water circulating passage configured to allow water circulating between the recovered water tank and the cooling water tank to flow therethrough; a power supply detection unit; a temperature detector provided in at least one of the cooling water passage, the cooling water tank, the recovered water tank, and the water circulating passage; and a controller configured to execute a temperature increasing process for increasing the temperature detected by the temperature detector if the power supply detection unit detects a change from a state in which electric power is not supplied to a state in which the electric power is supplied. | 12-19-2013 |
20140080024 | ELECTRIC POWER SUPPLY SYSTEM - There are provided: a power supply provided with a fuel cell; a fuel cell vehicle; an inverter device capable of supplying electric power that is supplied from the fuel cell to an external load; a radiator; a radiator fan; a dryness detection device that detects a dry condition of the fuel cell; and an ECU that control supply of electric power to the external load. The ECU drives the radiator fan when the dryness detection device detects dryness of the fuel cell while electric power is being supplied from the fuel cell to the external load. | 03-20-2014 |
20140127600 | COOLING APPARATUS FOR FUEL CELL - A cooling apparatus for a fuel cell is provided. The cooling apparatus for a fuel cell includes a reservoir that is configured to store a coolant and an ion filter assembly that is integrally installed at the reservoir and configured to remove bubbles in the coolant. | 05-08-2014 |
20140134510 | SOLID POLYMER FUEL CELL - In a solid polymer fuel cell, destabilization of a voltage when an output state is changed is suppressed, and flow of a corrosion current through a cooling liquid in a cooling liquid manifold is reduced. The fuel cell is constructed by laminating a plurality of fuel battery cells, each including an MEA, a pair of separators, a frame that surrounds the periphery of the MEA, an anode, and a cathode, and a cooling liquid manifold that is formed by the frame. A flow channel of the cooling liquid manifold has a constant flow channel cross-sectional area, and a flow channel length of the cooling liquid manifold, which is included in one of the fuel battery cells, along a flow channel direction is longer than the thickness of the one fuel battery cell in a stacked direction. | 05-15-2014 |
20140134511 | FUEL CELL - A fuel cell includes a separator having an uneven shape integrally formed on the front and the back surfaces thereof, so that gas can flow in a recessed portion of one surface and cooling water can flow in a recessed portion of the other surface. The separator has a gas passage portion connected to a manifold via a gas outlet/inlet portion. A first continuous portion that connects the gas outlet/inlet portion to the manifold is different from a second continuous portion that connects the gas outlet/inlet portion to the gas passage in communicating width. The gas outlet/inlet portion has an elliptical embossed portion that protrudes toward the gas passage side. A major axis direction of the embossed portion inclines relative to a straight axis connecting one end of the first continuous portion and one end of the second continuous portion toward a straight axis connecting the other ends of the first and second continuous portions. | 05-15-2014 |
20140147764 | SYSTEM FOR ADJUSTING TEMPERATURE OF COOLING-LIQUID FOR FUEL CELL, AND THERMOSTAT VALVE - A system for adjusting temperature of cooling-liquid comprises: a radiator; a cooling-liquid circulation flow-channel; a radiator bypass flow-channel; a thermostat valve; and a valve bypass flow-channel through which the cooling-liquid of the radiator bypass flow-channel is allowed to flow in a predetermined amount even if the thermostat valve is completely closed. | 05-29-2014 |
20140154604 | Fuel Cell Comprising at Least Two Stacked Printed Circuit Boards with a Plurality of Interconnected Fuel Cell Units - A fuel cell comprising at least two stacked fuel cell boards ( | 06-05-2014 |
20140199606 | METHOD FOR COOLING A FUEL CELL - A method for cooling a fuel cell (3) using a liquid cooling medium, wherein of the starting materials supplied to the fuel cell and the products discharged from the fuel cell, at least one is gaseous during at least one of the operating conditions. The cooling medium is conveyed through the fuel cell (3) by a coolant conveying device (11). The power consumption of the coolant conveying device (11) is compared to predefined reference values in order to detect gas in the liquid cooling medium by a deviation of the power consumption from the predefined reference values. | 07-17-2014 |
20140212782 | FUEL CELL - A fuel cell includes a cathode side separator. An oxygen-containing gas flow field is formed on a surface of the cathode side separator. The oxygen-containing gas flow field includes an inlet channel having a plurality of flow grooves connected to the oxygen-containing gas supply passage, an outlet channel having a plurality of flow grooves connected to the oxygen-containing gas discharge passage, and an intermediate channel having flow grooves with both ends connected to the inlet channel and the outlet channel respectively. The flow grooves of the outlet channel are longer than the flow grooves of the inlet channel, and the flow grooves of the outlet channel are narrowed toward the oxygen-containing gas discharge passage. | 07-31-2014 |
20140349207 | ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL - An electrochemical cell has at least one plate element which can be cooled by a liquid coolant, such as water. The plate element has a surface that can be wetted for the purpose of cooling with the coolant. The surface of the plate element in the electrochemical cell is configured such that a contact angle between the surface and the liquid coolant is less than 90°. In the method for producing the electrochemical cell an additional method step is carried out which influences the wettable surfaces of plate elements for cooling with coolant and by which a contact angle between the surface and the coolant is decreased. | 11-27-2014 |
20140356749 | APPARATUS FOR PREVENTING OVER-COOLING OF FUEL CELL - An apparatus preventing over-cooling of a fuel cell is provided that includes a cooling fluid manifold which is mounted to a stack of the fuel cell and through which cooling fluid flows therethrough. End plates are arranged on both ends of the stack of a fuel cell, and at least one protrusion is provided on one surface of each of the end plates. The at least one protrusion is disposed inside a cooling fluid manifold to reduce the flow amount of the cooling fluid which flows in and out between the separating plates through the cooling fluid manifold. | 12-04-2014 |
20140370409 | COOLING PUMP DRIVING SYSTEM - A cooling pump driving system includes an electric water pump in a coolant passage line for circulating a coolant and having a variable rotation speed. A sensor disposed at an outlet side of the electric water pump checks a coolant pressure passing through the electric water pump. A controller including a reference value for the pressure change is configured to decrease a rotation speed of the electric water pump when the pressure change detected by the sensor is the reference value or higher. | 12-18-2014 |
20150010840 | POROUS INSERTS FOR IMPROVED COOLANT DISTRIBUTION IN BIPOLAR PLATE ASSEMBLIES FOR FUEL CELLS - Certain fuel cell designs employ bipolar plate assemblies with internal coolant flow fields which comprise a coolant channel region and transition regions adjacent the coolant channel region. The temperature and/or pressure drop, and hence flow, of coolant over the coolant channel region can be non-uniform however, and this can have an adverse effect on cell performance. The coolant flow and temperature distribution can be modified and made more uniform by inserting an appropriate non-uniform porous insert in one or more of the coolant transition regions. | 01-08-2015 |
20150017561 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system suppresses the deterioration of an electrolyte membrane of a fuel cell. The fuel cell system comprises: a temperature rise speed calculation unit for calculating a target temperature rise speed of the fuel cell using a temperature of the fuel cell and a water content of the fuel cell; and a drive control unit for controlling a drive of the cooling water pump using the temperature rise speed of the fuel cell and the target temperature rise speed calculated by the temperature rise speed calculation unit. The drive control unit controls the drive of the cooling water pump such that a circulation amount of the cooling water is decreased when the temperature rise speed of the fuel cell is below the target temperature rise speed and controls the drive of the cooling water pump such that the circulation amount of the cooling water is increased when the temperature rise speed of the fuel cell is equal to or greater than the target temperature rise speed. | 01-15-2015 |
20150056530 | HEAT-SOURCE COOLING DEVICE - A fuel cell is used for generating driving energy for a vehicle. The reserve-tank inlet valve is located between a suction side of the coolant pump and a position in the coolant circuit at which a pressure of the coolant controlled by the reserve-tank inlet valve is an intermediate value between a discharge pressure of the coolant pump and a suction pressure of the coolant pump during an operation of the coolant pump. Even if the fuel cell is stopped generating electric power, the coolant pump is made continue operating even when the vehicle is traveling in a case that a coolant temperature exceeds a predetermined temperature. The coolant pump is made stop rotating after the coolant temperature becomes lower than or equal to the predetermined temperature. Accordingly, an occurrence of cavitation in the coolant pump is restricted at the time of restarting the fuel cell just after the fuel cell is stopped in a vehicle that is driven by the driving energy generated by the fuel cell working as a driving-energy generator. | 02-26-2015 |
20150086893 | FUEL CELL STACK - A fuel cell stack is formed by stacking unit cells and each unit cell is formed by sandwiching a membrane electrode assembly between a pair of separators having depression parts and protrusion parts. A cooling liquid flow space is formed between the unit cells, and a displacement absorption member which absorbs displacement between the unit cells is disposed in the flow space. The displacement absorption member includes a spring function part having a free end and a fixed end, and an intrusion prevention means which prevents the free end of the spring function part from intruding into the depression part. A displacement absorption function between the unit cells is well maintained, while size reduction of the fuel cell stack is achieved. | 03-26-2015 |
20150125774 | Fuel Cell System - A liquid electrolyte fuel cell system ( | 05-07-2015 |
20150295254 | ION EXCHANGE FILTER ASSEMBLY WITH INTEGRATED DEGAS FUNCTION - An ion exchange filter assembly includes an ion exchange filter cartridge and a housing. The ion exchange filter cartridge includes an ion exchange filter for filtering a coolant. The housing includes a first section receiving the ion exchange filter cartridge and a second section for degassing the coolant. The first section is in fluid communication with the second section. | 10-15-2015 |
20150325865 | METHOD FOR OPERATING A FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A method operates a fuel cell system of a motor vehicle, which fuel cell system has at least one fuel cell. The fuel cell system is assigned a water cooling circuit having a heat exchanger and a water store. The motor vehicle is assigned a cooling circuit having a conveying device for conveying a cooling medium, which is supplied to the heat exchanger of the water cooling circuit. The heat exchanger is used to condense water from cathode waste gas of the at least one fuel cell and store it in the water store. The at least one fuel cell is cooled with water from the water store. The conveying device of the cooling circuit is operated depending on a water level in the water store. | 11-12-2015 |
20160056517 | DEVICE FOR PREVENTING OVER PRESSURE OF COOLING SYSTEM OF FUEL CELL SYSTEM - Disclosed is a device for preventing over pressure of a cooling system of a fuel cell system. The device detects a change in a temperature of a coolant discharged from a fuel cell stack and prevents over pressure of the cooling system before pressure of the coolant is elevated by the increase in the temperature. In particular, in the cooling system of a fuel cell system which includes a coolant pump for circulating a coolant to a fuel cell stack, a radiator for radiating heat absorbed in the coolant, and a temperature sensor for detecting a temperature of the coolant discharged from the fuel cell stack the device includes: an electronic valve mounted in a pillar neck of the radiator connected with a reservoir for supplementing a coolant to open and close the pillar neck; and a fuel cell controller configured to control an operation of the electronic valve based on a signal of the temperature sensor. | 02-25-2016 |
20160126565 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING TEMPERATURE OF FUEL CELL STACK - A system and method for controlling a temperature of a fuel cell stack are provided. The method includes performing a pump OFF mode which turns off the cooling water pump or operates the cooling water pump while reducing the rotation speed of the cooling water pump to be less than the reference rotation speed, when a cooling water outlet temperature is equal to or less than a preset first temperature while a pump normal mode which adjusts a rotation speed of a cooling water pump to be equal to or greater than a preset reference rotation speed and varies rpm based on the cooling water outlet temperature is performed. In addition, the pump normal mode is performed when a cooling water outlet temperature estimation value of the fuel cell stack exceeds a preset second temperature while the pump OFF mode is performed. | 05-05-2016 |
20160141679 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM, FUEL CELL MOUNTABLE VEHICLE AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system comprises: a fuel cell; a cooling liquid supply flow path for supplying cooling liquid to the fuel cell; a radiator for cooling the cooling liquid; a first temperature sensor, provided at an outlet of the radiator, for measuring a temperature of the cooling liquid; an ambient temperature sensor; and a controller. The controller executes: estimating a temperature of the cooling liquid inside the cooling liquid supply flow path based on an ambient temperature measured by the ambient temperature sensor; acquiring a temperature of the cooling liquid inside the cooling liquid supply flow path based on the temperature measured by the first temperature sensor after it is determined that the cooling liquid within the radiator has reached the first temperature sensor; and adjusting a flow rate of the cooling liquid based on the estimated temperature or the acquired temperature of the cooling liquid. | 05-19-2016 |
20160141680 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system includes a control unit configured to perform air-conditioning-system preparation control, wherein, under the air-conditioning-system preparation control, when an air conditioning system is not requested to heat air, it is determined whether or not a coolant within a coolant circulation passage is capable of being supplied to an air conditioning circuit, when the coolant within the coolant circulation passage is not capable of being supplied to the air conditioning circuit, the heater is operated to maintain a first predetermined temperature or higher of the coolant within the air conditioning circuit, and When the coolant within the coolant circulation passage is capable of being supplied to the air conditioning circuit, the air-conditioning water pump is operated to draw the coolant from the coolant circulation passage into the air conditioning circuit and to maintain the first predetermined temperature or higher of the coolant within the air conditioning circuit. | 05-19-2016 |
20160149238 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING COOLING PUMP OF FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A method and apparatus for controlling a cooling pump of a fuel cell system are provided that improve efficiency of the fuel cell system by variably adjusting idle RPM of a pump that cools down stacks within the fuel cell system, based on temperature and flowrate of coolant The apparatus includes a storage that is configured to store a table in which revolutions per minute (RPM) of the cooling pump corresponding to temperature are recorded and a temperature measurer that is configured to measure temperature of a coolant of fuel cell stacks. In addition, a controller operates a pump driver based on the stored table to adjust the RPM of the cooling pump to correspond to the measured temperature of the coolant | 05-26-2016 |
20160159247 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR COOLING WATER CONTROL OF VEHICLE - A system and method for a cooling water control of a vehicle are provided. The method for a cooling water control of a vehicle includes detecting a flow rate of cooling water and comparing the detected flow rate with a preset normal flow rate value. When the detected flow rate of cooling water is less than the preset normal flow rate value a cooling water pump speed command is increased until a power average value of the cooling water pump reaches a reference power value when the cooling water is normally circulated to increase an RPM of the cooling water pump. | 06-09-2016 |
20160164118 | FUEL CELL ION EXCHANGER AND FUEL CELL SYSTEM - An ion exchanger includes a lower casing, an upper casing, and a cartridge. The lower casing includes an upper opening and a circumferential wall, which includes an intake port and a discharge port. The upper casing includes a lid, which is arranged on the opening of the lower casing, and a cylinder, which extends downward from the lid and is accommodated in the circumferential wall. The cartridge, which is provided integrally with the inner side of the cylinder, accommodates an ion exchange resin. The cylinder includes a communication hole, through which the inner side of the cylinder is in communication with the intake port. The upper casing includes an accumulation limiting structure that limits the air remaining immediately below the lower surface of the lid in the upper casing after flowing into the cylinder together with coolant. | 06-09-2016 |
20160172690 | ION FILTER LIFE PERCEPTION DEVICE FOR FUEL CELL VEHICLE | 06-16-2016 |
20160181637 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM | 06-23-2016 |
20160197364 | COOLANT PURIFICATION | 07-07-2016 |
20160380276 | SEPARATOR - An example separator includes: a flat plate-shaped first plate member; a flat plate-shaped second plate member joined with the first plate member; an oxidation gas flow channel wall, which forms a flow channel of oxidation gas; a fuel gas flow channel wall, which forms a flow channel of fuel gas; a cooling medium flow channel wall, which forms a flow channel of a cooling medium; a first through hole, which penetrates the first plate member and the second plate member; a second through hole, which penetrates the first plate member and the second plate member; a first cooling medium passage part; a second cooling medium passage part; one projection, which is formed on at least one of the first cooling medium passage part and the second cooling medium passage part; and another projection, which is formed at a position corresponding to the one projection. | 12-29-2016 |
429438000 | Using a non-aqueous liquid coolant | 3 |
20100196775 | Heat Recycling System of Fuel Cells - A heat recycling system of fuel cells is provided. The heat recycling system includes: a fuel cell apparatus, a cooling tank, an adsorption refrigerating apparatus, a first set of valve, and a second set of valve. The adsorption refrigerating apparatus has a first adsorption bed, a second adsorption bed, a first evaporator/condenser, and a second evaporator/condenser. The first set of valve connects the fuel cell apparatus and the cooling tank to the first adsorption bed and the second adsorption bed. The second set of valve connects the first evaporator/condenser and the second evaporator/condenser to the cooling tank. Switching of the first and the second sets of valve is controlled by an automatic control system communicating between the fuel cell apparatus, the cooling tank, and the adsorption refrigerating apparatus. Thus, waste heat generated by the fuel cell apparatus is timely brought away, recycled, and reused by the adsorption refrigerating apparatus. | 08-05-2010 |
20100291457 | HEAT EXCHANGING APPARATUS - A heat exchanging apparatus adapted to a fuel cell system includes a water-collecting tank, at least one first pipe, at least one second pipe, an airflow generator, and a housing. The water-collecting tank has a fluid outlet and is adapted to be communicated with a fuel-mixing tank of the fuel cell system. The first pipe is adapted to receive vapor produced by a cathode of a fuel cell module of the fuel cell system. The second pipe is communicated between the first pipe and the water-collecting tank, and is communicated with the outside through the fluid outlet. The airflow generator is adapted to generate a cooling airflow, flowing through outside the second pipe, and performing heat exchange with the vapor inside the second pipe. The housing has a first channel with the first pipe disposed therein and a second channel with the second pipe disposed therein. | 11-18-2010 |
20140099563 | FUEL CELL STACK HAVING COOLING MEDIUM LEAKAGE PREVENTING UNIT - A fuel cell stack includes a plurality of unit cells, a cooling plate and a block plate. Each unit cell includes a cathode electrode and an anode electrode respectively at opposing sides of an electrolyte membrane, and a separator facing each of the cathode electrode and the anode electrode. The cooling plate is between adjacent unit cells a cooling medium flows in the cooling plate. The block plate is between the cooling plate and an adjacent unit cell of the adjacent unit cells. The block plate blocks the cooling medium flowing in the cooling plate from contacting the adjacent unit cell of the adjacent unit cells. | 04-10-2014 |