| Class / Patent application number | Description | Number of patent applications / Date published |
|---|
| 429023000 | Electrical output dependent | 78 |
| 20080220300 | Method and apparatus for controlling an integrated fuel cell system - A control algorithm for operating an integrated fuel cell system includes the following steps: determining whether a power output of a fuel cell is within a first predetermined range of an electrical load coupled to the fuel cell; lowering a reactant flow to the fuel cell when the power output is within the first predetermined range; detecting an increase of the electrical load; determining whether the increase exceeds a second predetermined range; and increasing a reactant flow to the fuel cell when the increase exceeds the second predetermined range. | 09-11-2008 |
| 20080220301 | FUEL CELL INCLUDING BYPASS CIRCUIT FOR INTERCONNECTING FUEL CELLS - In one aspect there is disclosed a solid oxide fuel cell including an insulating housing. A plurality of interconnected cells defining a stack are disposed within the housing. Each of the fuel cells includes an anode and a cathode. A bypass circuit is positioned outside of the housing and is coupled between the anode and the cathode of at least a portion of the plurality of cells allowing modification of an interconnection between the cells. | 09-11-2008 |
| 20080241619 | FUEL CELL APPARATUS - A fuel cell apparatus includes a fuel cell generating electric power, and including a fuel electrode which includes an anode catalyst, which is disposed in one side of an electrolyte membrane, which is supplied with liquid fuel, and which discharges gas generated by a chemical reaction accelerated by the anode catalyst, and an oxidizing agent electrode which includes a cathode catalyst, which is disposed in the other side of the electrolyte membrane, and which is supplied with air, and a control unit controlling a load applied to the fuel cell. The control unit increases the load in at least one of two cases, one case being when electric power generated by the fuel cell lowers below a predetermined reference value and another case being at predetermined time intervals, and stops the increase of the load after elapsing a predetermined time period from the start of the increase of the load. | 10-02-2008 |
| 20080254330 | BATTERY FLUID MANAGER USING SHAPE MEMORY ALLOY COMPONENTS WITH DIFFERENT ACTUATION TEMPERATURES - A fluid consuming battery ( | 10-16-2008 |
| 20080280175 | Ripple cancellation - Systems, methods and devices for power generation systems are described. In particular, embodiments of the invention relate to the architecture of power conditioning systems for use with fuel cells and methods used therein. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to methods and systems usable to reduce ripple currents in fuel cells. | 11-13-2008 |
| 20080280176 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system ( | 11-13-2008 |
| 20080286622 | Transient Recognition Control for Hybrid Fuel Cell Systems - This invention is directed to a novel power control scheme that uses feedforward information about load transient behavior to manage the flow of energy between components of a hybrid fuel cell system. The methods of the invention may also be applicable to hybrid systems with critical sources other than fuel cells. Methods of the invention for controlling a power generation system comprise using a transient recognition control module to estimate the steady state information of load transients. The transient recognition control module can be based upon a cluster weighted modeling algorithm, which can be formulated recursively and provide useful feed-forward information in real time. | 11-20-2008 |
| 20080292928 | METHOD FOR PURGING PEM-TYPE FUEL CELLS - A method for purging water or another fluid from one or both the anode and cathode compartments of a fuel cell stack is presented. The stack is hydraulically connected to a source of reagents and to an outlet conduit, which is in its turn connected to a drain or a recirculator. At least one flow of reagents is regulated by a regulator and is sent from the source to the stack to produce electric power to be supplied to a user. The method includes interrupting withdrawal of current from the fuel cell stack and to the user by feeding the latter by an auxiliary source of electric energy such as to satisfy, on its own, electric energy requirements of the user. The method also includes simultaneously continuing to feed the at least one flow of reagents to the stack until the stack is purged to a desired extent. | 11-27-2008 |
| 20080299427 | FUEL CELL DEVICE AND ELECTRONIC APPARATUS SYSTEM INCLUDING FUEL CELL DEVICE - According to one embodiment, a fuel cell device includes an electromotive unit which has an anode and a cathode and generates electricity based on a chemical reaction, a fuel tank, a fuel flow path which flows fuel supplied from the fuel tank through the anode side, a gas flow path which circulates air sucked from a suction port through the cathode side and exhausts discharge gas generated in the electromotive unit from an exhaust port, a first sensor which detects the gas sucked from the suction port, a second sensor which detects the gas exhausted from the exhaust port, and a controller which compares the gas detected by the first sensor with the gas detected by the second sensor, calculates an amount of substances generated in the cell when power is generated, and controls a power generating operation of the electromotive unit according to a result of the calculation. | 12-04-2008 |
| 20080311452 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system includes: a fuel cell stack including a plurality of fuel cells connected in series; a fuel supply portion supplying a fuel to each fuel cell; a current regulation portion regulating an electric current flowing from the fuel cell stack in such a way that an output voltage of the fuel cell stack is a predetermined set voltage; a voltage detection portion detecting an output voltage of each fuel cell; a fuel-supply control portion regulating a fuel supply to each fuel cell by the fuel supply portion in such a way that the difference decreases between an output voltage of each fuel cell detected by the voltage detection portion; a fuel-stoichiometric ratio detection portion detecting a fuel stoichiometric ratio of the fuel cell stack; and a fuel-stoichiometric ratio control portion regulating the set voltage in such a way that a fuel stoichiometric ratio detected by the fuel-stoichiometric ratio detection portion is a target fuel stoichiometric ratio set in advance. | 12-18-2008 |
| 20080311453 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND FUEL CELL VEHICLE - In a fuel cell device, when a fuel cell device is not operated and an external power source enabling a battery charge of a secondary battery is connected to the secondary battery, a controller is provided to operate a water pump to circulate the cooling water via a circulation pipeline. The fuel cell prevents cooling water for cooling a fuel cell from corroding or freezing while a secondary battery and the fuel cell are used together. | 12-18-2008 |
| 20090004517 | FUEL CELL DEVICE AND DRIVING METHOD THEREFOR - According to an embodiment, a fuel cell device includes an electromotive section which has an anode and a cathode and generates electricity, a tank, a fuel channel through which fuel supplied from the tank is run via the anode side of the electromotive section, a flow regulator section which adjusts a flow rate of the fuel supplied to the anode, a sensor which detects an amount of the fuel in the tank, and a cell control section. The cell control section causes the flow regulator section to adjust the fuel flow rate to an upper limit value of an adjustable range when an increase in the amount of fuel in the tank is detected by the sensor and to adjust the fuel flow rate to a minimum necessary flow rate for an electricity generation operation when a reduction of the amount of fuel in the tank is detected. | 01-01-2009 |
| 20090011301 | Controlling the Requested Power Output of a Fuel Cell System - A fuel cell system of a type that uses an accessory to supply fuel gas and oxidant gas to a fuel cell to generate electric power is disclosed. The fuel cell system includes a load parameter detector that detects a load parameter of the accessory. An actual accessory power computing device computes the electric power actually consumed by the accessory based on the detected load parameter. A steady accessory power computing device computes a steady accessory electric power consumption by the accessory that would be needed for supplying the fuel cell with gas to generate an amount of required electric power from the fuel cell system based on the steady electric power consumption characteristics of the accessory. An accessory power correcting device computes an electric power correction quantity such that the correction quantity may be combined with the steady accessory power to approach the actual accessory electric power consumption and the accessory power correcting device corrects the steady accessory electric power consumption based on the electric power correction quantity. A power generation controller controls the power generation of the fuel cell system based upon the required electric power to be generated by the fuel cell system and upon the computed steady accessory electric power consumption corrected by the accessory power correcting device. | 01-08-2009 |
| 20090023022 | 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. | 01-22-2009 |
| 20090029210 | Low-Temperature Fuel-Cell Stack and Method of Operating Same - The invention relates to a low-temperature fuel cell stack comprising a specific device for the supply of fuel. Said low-temperature fuel cell stack is characterised in that, in addition to the central fuel supply device, it comprises a supply or storage device for a liquid fuel, and a plurality of separately controllable dosing devices that lead into the central fuel supply device, especially respectively upstream of a distribution channel to the individual cells. Controllable valves, controllable piezoelectric pumps or thermally controllable supply elements are suitable as dosing devices. The invention also relates to a method for operating one such low-temperature fuel cell stack, which advantageously enables a defined concentration of fuel, or a defined humidity of the oxidation medium, to be adjusted at certain points in the fuel cell stack, especially on the inlet for the individual cells. | 01-29-2009 |
| 20090029211 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM WITH SERIES-PARALLEL CIRCUIT - The present invention relates to a fuel cell system with series-parallel circuit, comprising a plurality of fuel cell stacks and a series-parallel circuit unit. Each fuel cell stack contains. DC power output terminals, and the series-parallel circuit unit consists of a plurality of parallel mode selection units and DC power output terminals. The DC power output terminal of respective fuel cell stack is electrically connected to the corresponding parallel mode selection unit in the series-parallel circuit unit. The parallel mode selection units are electrically parallel-connected to the DC power output terminal of the series-parallel circuit unit. The parallel mode selection unit selects whether the DC power output terminal of the corresponding fuel cell stack and the DC power output terminal of the series-parallel circuit unit are electrically connected or disconnected. | 01-29-2009 |
| 20090029212 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE - A fuel cell system capable of suppressing influence of fuel crossover and achieving long-time power generation and an electronic device using it are provided. The fuel cell system includes a power generation section having an electrolytic solution between a fuel electrode and an oxygen electrode, a fuel supply section supplying a fuel to the fuel electrode, and a control section making the fuel supply section stop supplying the fuel to the fuel electrode and thereby performing electrolytic solution cleaning to remove a fuel contained in the electrolytic solution. | 01-29-2009 |
| 20090029213 | METHOD FOR DETECTING ABNORMALITY IN FUEL CELL - The invention detects quickly and with high precision abnormalities in fuel cells. In a method of detecting abnormalities in a fuel cell | 01-29-2009 |
| 20090042073 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM CAPABLE OF SUPPLYING POWER OF VARIOUS LEVELS AND METHOD OF OPERATING THE SAME - A fuel cell system capable of supplying power at various levels and a method of operating the same includes a power unit having a stack, a power generation unit including unit cells, and a switch group to connect the unit cells in series or in parallel wit. The switch group may include a first switch to connect anodes of two neighboring unit cells, a second switch to connect cathodes of the two neighboring unit cells, and a third switch to connect the two neighboring unit cells in series. | 02-12-2009 |
| 20090061269 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND CONTROL METHOD THEREFOR - A fuel cell system is arranged to charge a secondary battery, which is detachable from the fuel cell system, and to supply electric power to a load. The fuel cell system includes a cell stack having a plurality of fuel cells and a controller having a CPU. During power generation in the cell stack, the CPU determines whether or not the secondary battery has been removed from the fuel cell system based on a voltage drop in the cell stack. With the determination that the secondary battery has been removed, the CPU turns off a relay and power supply from the cell stack to the load is stopped. The fuel cell system reliably maintains its operation even after removal of the secondary battery. | 03-05-2009 |
| 20090068513 | Fuel cell - In a fuel cell, one of separators that are opposed to each other and an intermediate body interposed between the separators are sandwiched by a cell monitor. An end portion of the intermediate body extends to an edge portion of a cell monitor mounting portion of the above-indicated one separator. The intermediate body includes at least one of a member that functions to hold an electrolyte body, a spacer (as in the case where the intermediate body is a resin frame), and a seal member or members. A major surface of the separator in the cell monitor mounting portion on which the cell monitor is mounted is in surface contact with a terminal of the cell monitor for conduction therebetween. | 03-12-2009 |
| 20090068514 | Fuel Cell System and Mobile Body - A fuel cell system that can continue a stable operation of a fuel cell and perform uninterrupted operation of the system even upon the occurrence of an abnormality in a voltage converter, and a mobile body. A fuel cell system where an accumulator device is connected to a load via a voltage converter in parallel with a fuel cell includes an auxiliary equipment connected nearer the fuel cell than the voltage converter, and a control device for controlling the voltage converter and the auxiliary equipment. The control device changes the operational point of the auxiliary equipment when an abnormality has occurred in the voltage converter. | 03-12-2009 |
| 20090068515 | Fuel Supplying and Controlling Method and Fuel Cell Apparatus Using the Same - A fuel supplying and controlling method and a fuel cell apparatus are provided in the present invention, in which a fuel sensor-less control method and a fuel concentration sensor are combined together to stabilize the operation of the fuel cell apparatus. In one embodiment of the present invention, an optimum range of fuel concentration is determined using the fuel sensor-less control method and then whether the fuel cell apparatus operates within the optimum range of fuel concentration or not is monitored using the fuel concentration sensor as a first line of defense, while the fuel sensor-less control method is used as a secondary line of defense for monitoring. In another embodiment of the present invention, the fuel sensor-less control method is used as a first line of defense for monitoring whether the fuel cell apparatus operates within the optimum range of fuel concentration or not and determining an optimum range of fuel concentration, while whether the fuel concentration exceeds the optimum range of fuel concentration is monitored using the fuel concentration sensor as a second line of defense for monitoring the fuel concentration. | 03-12-2009 |
| 20090075136 | Fuel cell and method for operating the same - In a cell stack of fuel cells according to the present invention, an output power density is measured at each of an upstream-side electricity generating section, which is located at an upstream-side of flow of fuel, and a downstream-side electricity generating section located at a downstream-side thereof. If the voltage at the upstream-side is higher than that at the downstream-side, a control operation to increase the concentration of fuel is performed. Conversely, if the voltage at the upstream-side is lower, a control operation to decrease the concentration of fuel is performed. Control directed to fuel concentration maximizing electricity generating efficiency may be implemented by repeatedly performing such control operations. There is no necessity for providing a concentration sensor in each of the generating sections. Consequently, simplification of configuration of and reduction in the size of the fuel cell may be achieved. | 03-19-2009 |
| 20090098426 | Fuel Cell Operation System and Valve Open Amount Calculation Method in the Fuel Cell Operation System - FC current control in a fuel cell operation system can be roughly divided into two parts. The first part executes a total air feed amount calculation step, an FC air amount calculation step, and a bypass air amount calculation step. These steps are executed by using a stoichiometry map and a pumping hydrogen amount map. The second part calculates a control valve open amount instruction value and a bypass valve open amount instruction value according to the calculated FC air amount and the bypass air amount. Here, a control valve open amount map and the like are used. When generated power is output from the fuel cell stack by these instruction values, the actual FC current value is compared to the FC current instruction value and the control valve open amount is corrected according to a difference between them. | 04-16-2009 |
| 20090098427 | Fuel Cell Power Plant Diverting Air in Response to Low Demand - A fuel cell system, which may be powering a vehicle propulsion system ( | 04-16-2009 |
| 20090104489 | AIR BREATHING TYPE POLYMER ELECTROLYTE MEMBRANE FUEL CELL AND OPERATING METHOD THEREOF - An air-breathing-type polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell and an operating method thereof capable of being stably started and operated by controlling an output current and temperature of a fuel cell stack in a predetermined range is controlled in a predetermined range so that the initial driving time of the system can be shortened through the high current operation in the low output state. The operating method of the air-breathing-type polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell includes the steps of detecting an output current of a fuel cell stack; comparing a maximum reference value and a minimum reference value of the detected output current; and keeping the output current below the maximum reference value and above the minimum reference value. | 04-23-2009 |
| 20090104490 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND INITIAL DRIVING METHOD THEREOF - A fuel cell system is provided including a fuel cell stack and a starting controller. The fuel cell stack has output terminals for applying an output voltage. The starting controller is configured to control the output voltage applied across the output terminals of the fuel cell stack during a starting period to be a starting voltage lower than a rated voltage. | 04-23-2009 |
| 20090110985 | Fuel Cell System - A fuel cell system according to the present invention is characterized by comprising a measurement unit which measures an impedance of a fuel cell in a predetermined frequency region, and a regulation unit which regulates an amount of a gas to be supplied to the fuel cell based on a measured value of the impedance in the predetermined frequency region. According to such a constitution, the impedance of the fuel cell in the predetermined frequency region (e.g., a low frequency region) is measured, and the amount of the gas (e.g., an amount of an oxidizing gas) to be supplied to the fuel cell is regulated based on this measured value of the impedance. Here, since the impedance of the fuel cell in the predetermined frequency region largely differs with a fuel supply state (see FIG. | 04-30-2009 |
| 20090110986 | Method and apparatus for managing fuel cell performance and direct methanol type fuel cell using the method - The present embodiments relate to a method and an apparatus for managing fuel cell performance and a direct methanol type fuel cell using the method, capable of setting an activation time point to a user's use time point and spontaneously performing performance recovery during long time use thereof. | 04-30-2009 |
| 20090110987 | STARTUP CONTROL DEVICE OF FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND STARTUP CONTROL METHOD THEREOF - A startup control device of a fuel cell system includes a fuel cell stack having a plurality of fuel cells stacked together, each of the fuel cells having a membrane electrode assembly including an electrolyte membrane interposed between a cathode electrode and an anode electrode. The device further includes a gas supply unit configured to supply a gas to the fuel cell stack and a controller configured to control the gas supply unit based on a parameter value related to the occurrence of flooding of the fuel cell stack. During startup of the fuel cell stack, the gas is supplied to the fuel cell stack at a first supply pressure for a time period determined based on the parameter value, and after the time period has expired, gas is supplied to the fuel cell stack at a second supply pressure, the second supply pressure being less than the first supply pressure. | 04-30-2009 |
| 20090110988 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND SCAVENGING METHOD THEREFOR - A fuel cell having an oxygen-containing gas flow field and a fuel gas flow field, an oxygen-containing gas supply apparatus for supplying an oxygen-containing gas to the oxygen-containing gas flow field, a fuel gas supply apparatus for supplying a fuel gas to the fuel gas flow field, a scavenging gas supply apparatus for supplying air as a scavenging gas to the fuel gas flow field, and a controller are provided. The controller includes a voltage detection unit for detecting the voltage of the fuel cell after operation of the fuel cell is stopped and a scavenging control unit for starting scavenging in the fuel gas flow field by the scavenging gas supply apparatus after the detected voltage is decreased temporarily, increased, and decreased again to become a preset voltage or less. | 04-30-2009 |
| 20090117427 | Fuel Cell System - There is provided a fuel cell system in which a constantly accurate impedance measurement is made possible regardless of a response characteristic of the voltage converting device. A superimposed signal analysis section analyzes an impedance measuring signal after passing through a DC/DC converter to thereby notify a superimposed signal amplitude control section of an analysis result. A superimposed signal amplitude control section controls an amplitude value of the impedance measuring signal generated by a superimposed signal generating section based on the result notified from the superimposed signal analysis section. | 05-07-2009 |
| 20090130509 | Fuel Cell System - There is disclosed a fuel cell system in which a poisoned electrode catalyst can be recovered while meeting a demand for an output power. When a controller detects that an electrode catalyst is positioned, the controller derives a target operation point adequate for recovering a function of the poisoned electrode catalyst to realize shift of an operation point so that the output power is kept constant. Specifically, an FC voltage is controlled using a DC/DC converter, and an amount of an oxidizing gas to be fed from an oxidizing gas supply source is adjusted, thereby controlling an FC current. | 05-21-2009 |
| 20090130510 | Fuel Cell System and Mobile Article - There is disclosed a fuel cell system including a fuel cell, a fuel supply system to supply a fuel gas to the fuel cell, an injector which adjusts a gas state on an upstream side of the fuel supply system to supply the gas to a downstream side, and a control unit which drives and controls the injector in a predetermined drive cycle. The control unit sets the drive cycle of the injector in accordance with an operation state of the fuel cell. | 05-21-2009 |
| 20090142634 | Fuel cell power supply device - It is an object of the present invention to provide a fuel cell power supply device that can realize a reduction in size and improvement of durability of an accumulating unit while maintaining output performance that is applicable when large output is requested. The fuel cell power supply device includes: an output judging unit | 06-04-2009 |
| 20090148735 | Fuel Cell System - There is disclosed a fuel cell system capable of stably operating auxiliary devices driven at a high voltage and the like, even in a case where a poisoned electrode catalyst is recovered or a fuel cell is warmed up. On detecting that the electrode catalyst is poisoned, a controller derives a target operation point which is sufficient for recovering an activity of the poisoned electrode catalyst. Then, shift of the operation point from a usual operation point to a low-efficiency operation point is realized so that an output power is held to be constant. | 06-11-2009 |
| 20090148736 | Fuel Cell System and Mobile Object - There is disclosed a fuel cell system or the like capable of stably operating an auxiliary machine and the like, even when recovering a poisoned electrode catalyst and warming up a fuel cell. A controller derives a target operation point sufficient for recovering activity of the poisoned electrode catalyst, and realizes shift of an operation point to a target operation point in a state in which an output power is held to be constant. The operation is switched to a low-efficiency operation point, whereby an output voltage of the fuel cell lowers, but the voltage is raised to an allowable input voltage of a high-voltage auxiliary machine by a DC/DC converter. | 06-11-2009 |
| 20090162711 | Fuel Cell - In a fuel cell which includes a plurality of stacks in which a plurality of cells, which cause reaction gases to undergo electrochemical reaction and generate electricity, are stacked in layers; and an electrically conductive member which electrically connects together end portions of the stacks, so that the stacks constitute a series circuit, there is also provided a first relay which electrically connects together some cell other than one at an end portion of a stack, and a cell of another stack. This first relay can create a bypass for cutting out a cell whose cell voltage value has become less than or equal to a predetermined value from the series circuit of the fuel cell. | 06-25-2009 |
| 20090169935 | Fuel Cell System - There is provided a fuel cell system capable of warming up a fuel cell while inhibiting generation of a rush current. A control device switches the connection/disconnection between a fuel cell and a short circuit by a shorting relay. The control device spends, before switching the shorting relay from disconnection to connection during starting at a low temperature, an oxidizing gas remaining in the cathode of the fuel cell by driving auxiliary devices to generate an oxidizing gas-deficient state. Then, the control device switches FC relays from ON to OFF and the shorting relay from OFF to ON to thereby complete the preparation for supplying a short-circuit current. | 07-02-2009 |
| 20090169936 | Fuel Cell System and Vehicle - The present invention relates to a fuel cell system including a fuel cell, a hydrogen gas piping system for supplying a hydrogen gas to the fuel cell, an injector which adjusts a gas state on an upstream side of the hydrogen gas piping system to supply the gas to a downstream side, and a control device which drives and controls the injector in a predetermined driving period, wherein a driving characteristic of the injector is learnt, and a driving parameter of the injector can be set based on a result of the learning. In the present invention, during an operation of the fuel cell, a supply pressure of the hydrogen gas can appropriately be changed in accordance with an operation state. In addition, even when the pressure is broadly varied, a satisfactory pressure response property can be secured regardless of fluctuations due to aging and individual difference of the injector. | 07-02-2009 |
| 20090169937 | Fuel Cell System and Mobile Body - In a mobile body, an intermittent operation to temporarily halt a cell operation is performed at a time when a request for power generation with respect to a fuel cell stack is less than a predetermined value, and recovery processing of a cell voltage is performed at a time when a cell voltage recovery processing executing condition is satisfied during the intermittent operation. When the mobile body is moving, a threshold voltage Vth | 07-02-2009 |
| 20090186247 | Fuel cell power supply - A fuel cell power supply includes a fuel cell voltage detection means which detects a terminal-to-terminal voltage of the fuel cell; an internal resistance calculation means which supplies electric power from a battery to a motor via a second DC-DC converter and calculates a resistance value of an internal resistance of the fuel cell on the basis of a detection voltage of the fuel cell in a state where a current output of the fuel cell is stopped, a detection voltage of a terminal-to-terminal voltage of the fuel cell in a state where the output current of the fuel cell is adjusted to a value, and the value; and a deterioration level determination means which determines a deterioration level of the fuel cell on the basis of a change in the resistance value of the internal resistance of the fuel cell. | 07-23-2009 |
| 20090191437 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system including a plurality of single-cell units, each of which include an electrolyte membrane disposed between an anode and a cathode and which generate electric power by a reaction of a fuel gas in the anode and an oxidizer gas in the cathode, and a fuel cell in-which the plurality of single-cell units are stacked. A plurality of voltage measurement devices measure the voltages of the single-cell units, respectively. A control unit determines the humidification state of the fuel cell based on the voltage of a second single-cell unit wherein when the voltage of the second single-cell is equal to or lower than an insufficient-humidification-determining voltage which is higher than the predetermined voltage the control unit determines that humidification of the fuel cell is insufficient, disposed in the vicinity of a first single-cell unit, the first single-cell unit having a voltage that is equal to or lower than a predetermined voltage. | 07-30-2009 |
| 20090208794 | FUEL CELL DEVICE - A fuel cell device includes a housing containing a fuel processor that generates fuel gas and a fuel cell having electrodes forming an anode and cathode, and an ion exchange electrolyte positioned between the electrodes. The housing can be formed as first and second cylindrically configured outer shell sections that form a battery cell that is configured similar to a commercially available battery cell. A thermal-capillary pump can be operative with the electrodes and an ion exchange electrolyte, and operatively connected to the fuel processor. The electrodes are configured such that heat generated between the electrodes forces water to any cooler edges of the electrodes and is pumped by capillary action back to the fuel processor to supply water for producing hydrogen gas. The electrodes can be formed on a silicon substrate that includes a flow divider with at least one fuel gas input channel that can be controlled by a MEMS valve. | 08-20-2009 |
| 20090246580 | FUEL CELL AND FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell includes: an electrolyte membrane; an anode provided on one face of the electrolyte membrane; a cathode provided on the other face of the electrolyte membrane; an anode chamber, located adjacent to the anode, which stores fuel gas supplied directly to the anode; a water absorbing member, placed within the anode chamber, which absorbs water, transmits the water and does not pass the fuel gas; and a communicating unit which communicates the anode chamber to the exterior via the water absorbing member. | 10-01-2009 |
| 20090258269 | SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING THE POWER OUTPUT OF A FUEL CELL STACK AND BATTERY - A system for controlling the power output of a fuel cell stack and a battery in a hybrid fuel cell system. The system includes a power damping filter that receives a power request signal, and damps the request to reduce large changes in the power request. A battery state of charge controller receives the difference between a battery state of charge set-point and the actual battery state of charge, and provides a battery power signal that attempts to maintain the battery state of charge at the set-point. The damped power signal and the battery power signal are added to generate a system power demand signal that satisfies the driver power request using the battery power and fuel cell stack power, and uses the fuel cell stack power to charge the battery during low power transients or if the battery state of charge is below the set-point. | 10-15-2009 |
| 20090263696 | SHUTDOWN OPERATIONS FOR A SEALED ANODE FUEL CELL SYSTEM - Processes to shut down a fuel cell system are described. In one implementation ( | 10-22-2009 |
| 20090269634 | System for purging non-fuel material from fuel cell anodes - A fuel cell gas purge system is provided that includes at least one fuel cell, such as a fuel cell stack or a fuel cell array, a fuel supply, and an adjustable fuel cell current load. The system further includes at least one passive purge valve disposed to purge accumulated non-fuel matter in the fuel cell, and operates according to a pressure differential across the valve. The valve can be a passive bi-directional valve, such as a dome valve, or a passive unidirectional valve. Further included is a purge management module that has a purge request module to determine when to increase the pressure of the hydrogen fuel to initiate the purge, and a purge complete module to determine when to adjust the pressure of the hydrogen fuel to complete the purge. The non-fuel matter can include non-fuel gases or condensed water. | 10-29-2009 |
| 20090269635 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system which is capable of reducing deterioration of fuel cells is preferably mounted on a motorbike and includes a cell stack, a CPU, a voltage detection circuit, a current detection circuit, an external air temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a concentration sensor and sonars. The CPU obtains a volume of a garage, an amount of temperature change, an amount of humidity change and an amount of methanol concentration change in external air, as well as an amount of output change in the cell stack based on detection results from the voltage detection circuit, the current detection circuit, the external air temperature sensor, the humidity sensor, the concentration sensor and the sonars. The CPU sets first through fifth duration times based on the volume of the garage and the various amounts of changes, selects the shortest duration time of the duration times, and then, stops power generation in the cell stack when the selected duration time has passed. | 10-29-2009 |
| 20090280372 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system repeats first processing and second processing when the system is started. In the first processing, a control section controls an electric power distribution section so that electric power generated by a fuel cell stack is supplied to accessories and a secondary battery. In the second processing, the control section controls the electric power distribution section so that electric power generated by the fuel cell stack and electric power discharged from the secondary battery are supplied to the accessories. An electric power calculation means of the control section calculates electric power generation by the fuel cell stack and inputs an output command, representing electric power, into air compressor drive/control means. The electric power calculation means gradually changes the magnitude of electric power generation by the fuel cell stack, represented by the output command, at the time of transition between the first processing and the second processing. | 11-12-2009 |
| 20090291341 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - An object of the present invention is to provide a fuel cell system in which a noise and a vibration of a compressor can be suppressed. In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a fuel cell system including a fuel cell; a compressor for supplying an oxidant gas to the fuel cell, having a first rotational speed region within which as a rotational speed increases, a noise becomes greater than a predetermined value, and a second rotational speed region within which as the rotational speed increases, the noise becomes equal to or less than the predetermined value; and a compressor controller for controlling the compressor by calculating a command rotational speed for commanding the compressor based on a required amount of power generation. | 11-26-2009 |
| 20090297900 | Fuel Cell System - A fuel cell system capable of stably supplying hot water to a load is provided. | 12-03-2009 |
| 20090297901 | POWER SYSTEM FOR A HYBRID FUEL CELL VEHICLE THAT EMPLOYS A FLOATING BASE LOAD STRATEGY - A fuel cell system employing a floating base load hybrid strategy for reducing fast voltage transients of a FCPM. A power request signal is applied to an average power calculation processor that calculates the average power requested over a predetermined previous period of time. A weighting function processor provides a weighting function based on the state of charge of an EESS. The power available from the FCPM and the EESS is applied to a power comparison processor. The available power is compared to the power request to provide a difference value between what is currently being provided and what is desired. The difference value is compared to power limit values of the EESS. The output value of this comparison is added to a filtered value to generate a signal for the change in the output power of the fuel cell stack based on the power request. | 12-03-2009 |
| 20090305101 | Fuel Cell Apparatus Having a Current Sensor and a Current Sensor for a Fuel Cell Apparatus - A fuel cell apparatus includes at least one busbar for discharging high electrical currents from a high-voltage side of a fuel cell unit and a current sensor that comprises an evaluation electronics unit. A resistance element of the current sensor is integrated in the outgoing electrical conductor. | 12-10-2009 |
| 20090325012 | ALKALINE FUEL CELL SYSTEM - An alkaline fuel cell system includes an alkaline fuel cell stack, a source of fuel gas, an oxidizer gas pump for oxidizer gas, an electrolyte tank, an electrolyte pump, an auxiliary electric storage device, and an electronic controller. The oxidizer gas pump is controlled by the electronic controller to deliver an oxidizer gas flow to the alkaline fuel cell stack which varies proportionately with the amount of electrical current drawn from the stack under any load conditions. At zero load, a minimal oxidizer gas flow is delivered to the fuel cell stack. The oxidizer gas pump may be a positive displacement pump such as a vane pump, a lobe pump, or a screw pump; or it may be a controlled blower. Also provided is a back pressure valve in the electrolyte flow circuit to maintain positive pressure in the electrolyte if the electrolyte is flowed through the fuel stack. | 12-31-2009 |
| 20090325013 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system includes a hydrogen path for supplying odorant-added hydrogen to the fuel cell, an estimating unit to estimate the depositing of the odorant in the fuel cell, and control unit to heat the fuel cell up to a temperature at which at least part of the odorant deposited in the fuel cell evaporates when-the depositing of the odorant is estimated. | 12-31-2009 |
| 20090325014 | Operation Of An Electrolysis Cell - An electrolysis cell is controlled for operation under varying electrical power supply conditions. A flow of feed stock to the cell includes an electrolysis reactant at a controlled concentration. A varying amount of electrical power is supplied to the cell to produce an electrolysis reaction that generates a first reaction product at a first side of the cell and a second reaction product at a second side of the cell. The reactant concentration is adjusted as the electrical power varies to substantially maintain the cell at its thermal neutral voltage during cell operation. The cell may be used in an electrolysis system powered by a renewable energy source with varying power output (e.g., wind, solar, etc.). | 12-31-2009 |
| 20100009227 | Monitoring Apparatus for a Fuel Cell Stack - A control apparatus for a fuel cell stack having an operation control module is provided. The operation control module is configured in terms of programming and circuitry in order to control a large number of sensor or actuator systems that are relevant to normal operation. The sensor or actuator systems relate to the operating state of the fuel cell stack during normal operation and have a safety control module that is designed in terms of programming and circuitry to control safety-relevant sensor or actuator systems. The safety-relevant sensor or actuator systems relate to the safety functions of the fuel cell stack and the safety control module is in the form of an assembly which operates autonomously with respect to the operation control module. A method for controlling the fuel cell stack and the operation control module is also provided. | 01-14-2010 |
| 20100021781 | FUEL CELL POTENTIAL MEASURING APPARATUS AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREFOR - A fuel cell potential measuring apparatus includes a first sheet member which is arranged on an anode side, and a second sheet member which is arranged on a cathode side. On the first sheet member, an anode potential-applying electrode and an anode potential-measuring electrode are disposed on an end portion thereof, whereas on the second sheet member, a cathode potential-applying electrode and a cathode potential-measuring electrode are disposed on an end portion thereof. Another end portion of the first sheet member and another end portion of the second sheet member are joined together mutually. | 01-28-2010 |
| 20100021782 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - To provide a fuel cell system that achieves both prevention of degradation of the performance of a fuel cell due to accumulation of an impurity in an anode gas flow channel and reduction of the amount of discharged fuel gas to the outside of the system. | 01-28-2010 |
| 20100028738 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell stack for receiving a supplied reactant gas to generate a power; an air compressor for removing moisture remaining in the fuel cell stack during the stop of the power generation; a secondary cell for supplying an operative power to the air compressor; and a controller for controlling the balance of water flowing into and out of the fuel cell stack so that a time required to remove the moisture remaining in the fuel cell stack by the air compressor is substantially constant. | 02-04-2010 |
| 20100028739 | FUEL CELL - Fuel cell of this invention generates electricity by supplying fuel fluid to one of a pair of electrodes forming an MEA | 02-04-2010 |
| 20100047644 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system includes: an AC impedance measuring unit which measures an AC impedance of a fuel cell at a scavenging start and which measures an AC impedance of the fuel cell at a time when a predetermined time has elapsed from the scavenging start; a scavenging execution time estimation unit which estimates a scavenging execution time based on the AC impedance measured at the scavenging start, the AC impedance measured at the time when the predetermined time has elapsed from the scavenging start, and the predetermined time; and an error processing unit which forcibly terminates scavenging processing if a fuel cell voltage becomes lower than a predetermined threshold value during a period from the scavenging start to the time when the predetermined time has elapsed from the scavenging start. | 02-25-2010 |
| 20100055521 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - To provide a fuel cell system that can both improve power generation efficiency of a fuel cell and maintain durability of the fuel cell. A fuel cell system performs control such that when a power requirement for the fuel cell is lower than a predetermined value, a supply of a reaction gas to a fuel cell is stopped to keep an output voltage from the fuel cell equal to a high-potential avoidance voltage that is lower than an open end voltage. The fuel cell system further controls the output voltage from the fuel cell with the high-potential avoidance voltage set to be an upper limit when the power requirement for the fuel cell is equal to or higher than a predetermined value. By setting the upper limit of the output voltage of the fuel cell to be the high-potential avoidance voltage, which is lower than the open end voltage, the catalyst can be inhibited from being degraded by an increase in the output voltage from the fuel cell up to the open end voltage. | 03-04-2010 |
| 20100055522 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - When a power generation instruction value for a fuel cell is reduced during warm-up of the fuel cell by a low power generation efficiency operation as compared to a normal operation and when supply of a reactant gas to the fuel cell cannot be controlled so as to follow the reduction of the power generation instruction value, the reactant gas supply to the fuel cell is reduced and the output voltage to the fuel cell is increased. Thus, it is possible to charge an excessive power equivalent to a difference between a fuel cell generation amount and the power generation instruction value into a capacitance component of the fuel cell, so that the power supplied to the external load of the fuel cell coincides with the power generation instruction value. Thus, when a power request for the fuel cell during the low-efficiency operation is suddenly reduced, it is possible to perform control so that the excessive power is not supplied to the external load. | 03-04-2010 |
| 20100068575 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system includes: a fuel cell stack which receives a fuel gas and an oxidation gas to generate a power; an air compressor which supplies the oxidation gas to the fuel cell stack; and a controller which reduces the oxidation gas flow rate supplied from the air compressor to the fuel cell stack in consideration of discharge from a capacitance component of the fuel cell stack when decreasing the output voltage of the fuel cell stack. When the output voltage of the fuel cell stack has dropped, the fuel cell system can control a cell operation in consideration of the discharge from the capacitance component of the fuel cell stack to an external load. | 03-18-2010 |
| 20100068576 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system determines whether an operation condition of a fuel cell corresponds to a fuel gas shortage or an oxidation gas shortage. Upon determining that the fuel gas is in shortage, the system sets a lower voltage limit to be higher than that set when the system determines that the oxidation gas is in shortage. The system further controls an output voltage from the fuel cell so as to prevent output voltage from the fuel cell from decreasing below the lower voltage limit. | 03-18-2010 |
| 20100068577 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM, ELECTRODE CATALYST DEGRADATION JUDGMENT METHOD, AND MOVING BODY - When an output voltage of a fuel cell is lowered to carry out a catalyst activation process so as to activate a catalyst during an intermittent operation of the fuel cell, if generated power P | 03-18-2010 |
| 20100081022 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system includes: an AC impedance measuring unit which measures an AC impedance of a fuel cell at a scavenging start and which measures an AC impedance of the fuel cell when a predetermined time has elapsed from the scavenging start; a scavenging execution time estimation unit which estimates a scavenging execution time based on the AC impedance measured at the scavenging start, the AC impedance measured at a time when the predetermined time has elapsed from the scavenging start, and the predetermined time; and an error processing unit which forcibly terminates scavenging processing if no AC impedance can be measured at the time when the predetermined time has elapsed from the scavenging start. | 04-01-2010 |
| 20100081023 | HYDROGEN-PRODUCING FUEL PROCESSING SYSTEMS WITH A LIQUID LEAK DETECTION SYSTEM - Liquid leak detection systems, and fuel cell systems and hydrogen-producing fuel processing systems containing the same. The liquid leak detection systems are adapted to detect liquid leaks from the fuel cell and/or fuel processing systems and to respond thereto, such as by interrupting the delivery of liquid reactants, by generating an alert, by transitioning the fuel processing system to a different operating state, and/or by shutting down the fuel processing and/or fuel cell system. The liquid leak detection systems may include a controller and at least one liquid detector, and in some embodiments may include a cover. In some embodiments, the liquid detector includes a signal emitter and a signal detector. In some embodiments, the liquid detector includes at least a pair of spaced-apart conductive members that nominally define an open circuit. In some embodiments, the cover is adapted to repel water and/or includes conductive particulate. | 04-01-2010 |
| 20100086815 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system capable of reducing time spent before actual execution of low-temperature countermeasure processing is provided. At the time of activation, a control unit for the fuel cell system refers to, for example, a detected FC temperature and judges whether or not the low-temperature countermeasure processing is necessary for the activation. If the control unit determines that the low-temperature countermeasure processing is necessary, it controls an output voltage of the fuel cell to be a target voltage for the low-temperature countermeasure processing, without having the fuel cell enter an OCV state, and then executes the low-temperature countermeasure processing. | 04-08-2010 |
| 20100086816 | Electronic Device and Electronic Device Operating Control Method - Described is an electronic device and an electronic device control method. If voltage generated by the fuel cell, acquired from the voltage detection part, is greater than a specified voltage reference value (VRV), a display part displays the fuel cell as normal. However, if the generated voltage is smaller than the VRV, the residual fuel amount (RFA) detection part detects the RFA. If the RFA is smaller than a specified fuel reference value (FRV), the display part displays that the fuel is insufficient. However, if the RFA is greater than the FRV, the oxidizing agent concentration (OAC) detection part detects the OAC of the fuel cell. If the OAC is smaller than a specified OAC reference value, the display part displays that the oxidizing agent is insufficient. However, if the OAC is greater than the OAC reference value, the display part displays that the fuel cell is abnormal. | 04-08-2010 |
| 20100104907 | ELECTRONIC DEVICE - In an electronic device, state detection elements are arranged at various locations of a fuel cell system supplies an electric power to a phone unit, the state detection elements detect states of the fuel cell system at the locations. A cell state detection unit detects an operating state of the fuel cell from an output signal of each of the state detection elements. A determination unit determines an operating mode to prompt action to be taken for the operating state of the fuel cell detected by the cell state detection unit. A content of the operating mode is displayed with an image of a character or a fictitious creature based on a determination by the determination unit. | 04-29-2010 |
| 20100112401 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM, ELECTRODE CATALYST DEGRADATION JUDGMENT METHOD, AND MOVING BODY - Output voltage of a fuel cell | 05-06-2010 |
| 20100112402 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - An object of the present invention is to provide a fuel cell system suited for changing a drive operating point of a fuel cell at the time of low-efficiency power generation. The fuel cell system in accordance with the present invention includes a fuel cell which generates electric power by supplied reactant gases, an air compressor which adjusts the flow rate of a reactant gas supplied to the fuel cell, and a controller which controls an output current of the fuel cell by controlling the air compressor to change a drive operating point of the fuel cell. The controller sets a restriction on at least one of a current change amount and a voltage change amount per unit time when changing the drive operating point of the fuel cell in a range of low-efficiency power generation in which a power loss is larger than that in normal power generation. | 05-06-2010 |
| 20100119900 | FUEL CELL OUTPUT CHARACTERISTIC ESTIMATION APPARATUS AND OUTPUT CHARACTERISTIC ESTIMATION METHOD, FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND VEHICLE HAVING THE SAME, AND FUEL CELL OUTPUT CONTROL METHOD AND DATA STORAGE MEDIUM - An output characteristic of a fuel cell is estimated by detecting an output current of the fuel cell and a voltage between terminals of the fuel cell, and then estimating the output characteristic of the fuel cell on the basis of the detected output current and the detected voltage between the terminals, and a basic output characteristic of the fuel cell. | 05-13-2010 |
| 20100136379 | APPARATUS FOR HIGH EFFICIENCY OPERATION OF FUEL CELL SYSTEMS AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SAME - A drive circuit comprising a DC bus configured to supply power to a load, a first fuel cell coupled to the DC bus and configured to provide a first power output to the DC bus, and a second fuel cell coupled to the DC bus and configured to provide a second power output to the DC bus supplemental to the first fuel cell. The drive circuit further includes an energy storage device coupled to the DC bus and configured to receive energy from the DC bus when a combined output of the first and second fuel cells is greater than a power demand from a load, and provide energy to the DC bus when the combined output of the first and second fuel cells is less than the power demand from the load. | 06-03-2010 |
