| Entries |
| Document | Title | Date |
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| 20100190073 | BLEED TRIGGER MONITOR USED IN FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A system and method for monitoring anode bleed trigger events and determining when to adjust a proactive bleed schedule in a fuel cell system. The system employs a bleed trigger monitor algorithm for monitoring proactive bleed and reactive bleeds that determines whether the reactive bleeds are caused by excess nitrogen in the anode. The algorithm monitors the number of reactive bleeds that are cause by nitrogen accumulation in the anode side of the fuel cell stack and changes the proactive bleed schedule in response thereto, if necessary. | 07-29-2010 |
| 20100233558 | Method to Reduce/Eliminate Shunt Current Corrosion of Wet End Plate in PEM Fuel Cells - A fuel cell stack includes a first fuel cell assembly and a last fuel cell assembly. The first fuel cell assembly includes a first end plate assembly, which has a first end plate cooling channel adapted to receive a coolant. The last fuel cell assembly includes a last end plate assembly that has a last end plate cooling channel. A first electrical potential exists between the first end plate and the last end plate. The fuel cell stack also includes a connecting cooling channel is in fluid communication with the first end plate cooling channel and the last end plate cooling channel. A coolant is contained within the connecting coolant channel, the first end plate cooling channel, and a last end plate cooling channel. The fuel cell stack further includes a coolant electrode positioned in the coolant channel, which contacts the coolant. A voltage source is in communication with the first end plate and the coolant electrode such that a second electrical potential between the coolant electrode and the first end plate is at a sufficient voltage to impede corrosion of the first end plate. | 09-16-2010 |
| 20100239928 | FUEL CELL RUNNING SYSTEM, AND VALVE-FREEZE PREVENTING METHOD IN THE FUEL CELL RUNNING SYSTEM - A fuel cell operating system which can prevent freezing of a valve and a method of preventing fixation of the valve in the fuel cell operating system are provided. In steps of the process of preventing freezing of a valve in the present invention, first, supply of hydrogen, which is a fuel gas, is stopped. Power generation is continued in a fuel cell stack until the fuel gas which has already been supplied is consumed by the fuel cell reaction. It is constantly judged whether or not the power generation is stopped. When it is judged that the power generation is stopped, a function of a water discharge process module executes a process to open a bypass valve. When the bypass valve is opened, a large amount of pressurized air is supplied to a bypass flow path, and water present in the bypass flow path and water present in an exit-side flow path are forcibly pushed and discharged. | 09-23-2010 |
| 20100261081 | MULTI-CELL ELECTRIC SIGNAL PROCESSING BIPOLAR PLATE FEATURES - A system and method for processing the electric signals from a plurality of fuel cells in a fuel cell system is disclosed. Groups of the plurality of fuel cells, such as five bipolar plates, are electrically coupled to a conductive compressible connector or a circuit board, where some of the bipolar plates have a plate contactor for providing the electrical contact to either the conductive compressible connector or the circuit board. The system allows for the processing of the electric signals of every cell using fewer electrical components, thereby reducing the amount of space required and the costs associated therewith. | 10-14-2010 |
| 20100261082 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - Provided is a fuel cell system which can accurately detect the water state of a fuel cell to appropriately control the water content of the fuel cell. Based on an FC outlet temperature detected by a temperature sensor, an FC outlet temperature change speed detection unit detects an FC outlet temperature change speed for a unit time. If the FC outlet temperature change speed detection unit judges that the detected FC outlet temperature change speed is lower than a change speed reference value stored in a memory, an impedance measurement instruction is transmitted to an impedance calculation unit. On receiving the impedance measurement instruction from the FC outlet temperature change speed detection unit, the impedance calculation unit performs the impedance measurement for the second time. In consequence, it is possible to realize such scavenging control as to keep the water content of a fuel cell at an appropriate level by the minimum number of impedance measurement times (e.g., twice). | 10-14-2010 |
| 20100266918 | FUEL CELL STACK AND FUEL CELL SYSTEM WITH PLURALITY OF GENERATION MODULES - A fuel cell has a structure in which generation modules are stacked. In each of the generation modules, there are cells are stacked. Each of the cells generates unitary power from fuel energy. A fuel cell system including the fuel stack operates either all or some of the generation modules in consideration of the quantity of power consumed by a load. | 10-21-2010 |
| 20100266919 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system according to the invention comprises a fuel cell stack, a fuel feeder that supplies the fuel cell stack with fuel, a rechargeable battery that is an electric storage device, a bidirectional DC/DC converter that selectively performs an operation of converting the output voltage of the rechargeable battery into a predetermined voltage and then outputting it (a discharge operation), or an operation of charging the rechargeable battery using the electric power outputted from the fuel cell stack (a charge operation), and a mode control circuit. The mode control circuit detects the output voltage of the fuel cell stack so that, when it is higher than the set value, the mode control circuit makes the bidirectional DC/DC converter perform the charge operation; when it is not higher than the set value, the mode control circuit makes the bidirectional DC/DC converter perform the discharge operation. | 10-21-2010 |
| 20100304250 | System for operating an electrical energy storage device or an electrochemical energy generation device using microchannels based on mobile device states and vehicle states - A method is generally described which includes operating an electrical energy storage device or an electrochemical energy generation device includes configuring a controller with a control algorithm to control the actions of a controllable fluid flow device as a function of states of a mobile device using the electrical energy storage device or the electrochemical energy generation device. The electrical energy storage device or the electrochemical energy generation device is configured to provide electrical current. The method also includes providing a microchannel thermal control system for the electrical energy storage device or the electrochemical energy generation device. The microchannel thermal control system is configured to alter the temperature at least portions of the electrical energy storage device or the electrochemical energy generation device. The microchannel thermal control system is configured to flow a fluid through the microchannels and the fluid to receive heat generated by the electrical energy storage device or the electrochemical energy generation device. The method further includes providing an electrical characteristic sensor coupled to the electrical energy storage device or the electrochemical energy generation device and is configured to sense at least one electrical characteristic of the electrical energy storage device or the electrochemical energy generation device and to provide a signal representative of the at least one characteristic to the controller. | 12-02-2010 |
| 20100304251 | System and method of operating an electrical energy storage device or an electrochemical energy generation device using thermal conductivity materials based on mobile device states and vehicle states - A method is generally described which includes operating an electrical energy storage device or an electrochemical energy generation device includes providing at least one thermal control structure formed of a high thermal conductive material. The high thermal conductive material having a high k-value, the high k-value being greater than approximately 410 W/(m*K). The thermal control structures are disposed adjacent at least a portion of the electrical energy storage device or the electrochemical energy generation device. The thermal control structures are configured to provide heat transfer away from the portion of the electrical energy storage device or the electrochemical energy generation device. The method also includes configuring a controller with a control algorithm to control the actions of a controllable fluid flow device as a function of a mobile device states. The mobile device using electricity from the electrical energy storage device or the electrochemical energy generation device. The electrical energy storage device or the electrochemical energy generation device is configured to provide electrical current and the controllable fluid flow device providing a fluid to the at least one thermal control structure. The method also includes accessing a processor of a mobile device. The processor is configured to determine at least one mobile device state. Further, the method includes providing an electrical characteristic sensor coupled to the power source and is configured to sense at least one electrical characteristic of the power source and to provide a signal representative of the at least one characteristic to the controller. | 12-02-2010 |
| 20100323260 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system capable of adequately controlling the water content of a fuel cell is provided. An impedance reference value is stored in a memory for an impedance comparator. The impedance reference value is a reference value that is set in order to prevent the water content in a fuel cell from decreasing too much. The impedance comparator compares a measured impedance value supplied from an impedance operation unit with the impedance reference value and performs scavenging control based on the comparison result. | 12-23-2010 |
| 20110033764 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM WITH WETNESS SENSOR - A fuel cell system may have at least one sensor including a pair of electrodes disposed on a substrate. The sensor may be configured to produce an output signal having a magnitude that is proportional to a relative humidity in a vicinity of the sensor and, if liquid water is on the sensor, proportional to an amount of the liquid water on the sensor. | 02-10-2011 |
| 20110070512 | Device and method for determining the operating parameters of individual fuel cells or short stacks of fuel cells - The invention relates to a device and a method for determining the operating parameters of individual cells or short stacks of fuel cells, preferably of medium-temperature or high-temperature fuel cells. | 03-24-2011 |
| 20110070513 | CONTACTOR FAILURE DETECTING APPARATUS FOR FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A contactor electrically connects and disconnects a fuel cell from a load. When a failure-detecting mode for detecting a closing failure of a contactor is initiated, an opening command is transmitted to the contactor, and a DC/DC converter connected to a motor changes the load voltage. Then, the load voltage and a fuel cell voltage are compared with each other. If the contactor is in a normal open state, as a result of the opening command, the fuel cell voltage is constant, whereas the load voltage of the DC/DC converter decreases, thereby producing a voltage difference. A closing failure of the contactor is determined when it is detected that the fuel cell voltage is substantially equal to the load voltage. | 03-24-2011 |
| 20110076581 | STACK OPERATION METHOD AIMED AT CELL REVERSAL PREVENTION - A method for preventing a fuel cell voltage potential reversal including determining a relationship between the cell resistance and the current of a fuel cell stack at which a fuel cell voltage potential reversal will occur, operating the fuel cell stack according to a power demand requested, and determining the maximum cell resistance of the fuel cells in the stack. If the maximum cell resistance exceeds a threshold value for the current at which the fuel cell stack is being operated, the operation of the fuel cell stack is restricted to prevent the fuel cell voltage potential from reversing. | 03-31-2011 |
| 20110111316 | FUEL CARTRIDGE AND FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cartridge ( | 05-12-2011 |
| 20110159391 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A case configuring a fuel cell system is divided into a module section, a first fluid supply section, a second fluid supply section, and an electric section. The electric section is provided with a first intake vent for intake of an oxidant gas from outside the case into the electric section. The second fluid supply section is provided with a second intake vent for intake of the oxidant gas subjected to intake from the first intake vent, into an oxidant gas supply device. The case is internally provided with first and second internal partitions which generate a bypass path for blocking straight flow of the oxidant gas from the first intake vent to the second intake vent. | 06-30-2011 |
| 20110311895 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM TO POWER A PORTABLE COMPUTING DEVICE - The disclosed embodiments relate to the design of a portable and cost-effective fuel cell system for a portable computing device. This fuel cell system includes a fuel cell stack which converts fuel into electrical power. It also includes a fuel source for the fuel cell stack and a controller which controls operation of the fuel cell system. The fuel system also includes an interface to the portable computing device, wherein the interface comprises a power link that provides power to the portable computing device, and a bidirectional communication link that provides bidirectional communication between the portable computing device and the controller for the fuel cell system. | 12-22-2011 |
| 20120009494 | SYSTEM OF A PLURALITY OF SERIES-CONNECTED CONVERTER DEVICES FOR A FUEL CELL APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE SYSTEM - A system of a plurality of series-connected converter devices for a fuel cell apparatus and a method for controlling the system are provided. The system includes a fuel cell apparatus controller, the plurality of converter devices, a series connection unit, a Mux control unit, a power control unit, and a master controller. The output ends of the plurality of converter devices are connected in series by the series connection unit. The master controller reads signals from the power control unit and the Mux control unit and determines accordingly which converter devices need to be turned on to meet the requirement of a load. The method includes the steps of estimating a load, determining the number of the converter devices to be turned on, calculating an output power, discharging, and charging. Thus, the plurality of converter devices is controlled to output the required power of the load. | 01-12-2012 |
| 20120028150 | POWER PLANT FUSE ARRANGEMENT - An exemplary power plant assembly includes a plurality of cell stack assemblies each having a plurality of fuel cells and a manifold. A fuse includes an indicator that provides an output when the fuse interrupts an electrically conductive connection between the manifold of a first one of the cell stack assemblies and a second one of the cell stack assemblies. The electrically conductive connection includes at least a portion of the voltage of the second one of the cell stack assemblies. | 02-02-2012 |
| 20120064423 | DYNAMIC VOLTAGE SUPPRESSION IN A FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A system and method for determining a maximum average cell voltage set-point for fuel cells in a fuel cell stack that considers oxidation of the catalyst in the fuel cells. The method includes determining the average cell voltage, the stack current density (I) and an internal resistance (R) of membranes in the fuel cells to calculate an IR corrected average cell voltage. The IR corrected average cell voltage is then used to determine the oxidation state of the catalyst particles using, for example, an empirical model. The oxidation state of the particles is then used to calculate the maximum average cell voltage set-point of the fuel cells, which is used to set the minimum power requested from the fuel cell stack. | 03-15-2012 |
| 20120115057 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A fuel cell system comprising a fuel cell and a motor connected to the fuel cell, and also comprising a converter connected between the fuel cell and the motor, the converter adjusting output of the fuel cell to output to the motor, and a controller that controls the fuel cell and the converter. The controller outputs, to the converter, request power or a request voltage based on an operation state of the fuel cell, and the converter selectively performs an output feedback control that performs an adjustment of supply power to be output to the motor such that the output request power is satisfied or a voltage feedback control that performs an adjustment of an output voltage to be output to the motor such that the output request voltage is satisfied. | 05-10-2012 |
| 20120129065 | FUEL CELL PLATE FEATURES TO RESOLVE DIFFERENCES IN COMPONENT TOLERANCES - A bipolar plate for a fuel cell has a first end, a second end, a first side, and a second side. The bipolar plate also has an active region, a feed region, a perimeter region, a sealing region, and a hinge region. The sealing region is disposed between the perimeter region and each of the active region and the feed region. A plurality of outwardly extending tabs are disposed adjacent the perimeter region at each of the first end and the second end of the bipolar plate. The hinge region is disposed between the perimeter region and the outwardly extending tabs. The hinge region extends from the first side of the plate to the second side of the bipolar plate. The hinge region permits a flexing of the outwardly extending tabs to connect with peripheral electrical device without undesirably flexing the sealing region. | 05-24-2012 |
| 20120276466 | IN-VEHICLE ALGORITHM FOR FUEL CELL STACK HEALTH QUANTIFICATION - A method for determining the health of fuel cells in a fuel cell stack. The method includes maintaining a constant flow of hydrogen to the anode side of the fuel cell stack, shutting off a flow of air to a cathode side of the fuel cell stack when a predetermined concentration of hydrogen in the anode side has been achieved, and identifying a catalyst surface area and a catalyst support surface area for catalyst layers in the fuel cell stack. The method also includes determining the total parasitic current of the fuel cell stack to determine a cross-over parasitic current and a shorting resistance of the fuel cell stack. The method further includes calculating the catalyst surface area and the catalyst support surface area of the catalyst layers and comparing the difference between the identified catalyst surface area and the calculated catalyst surface area to estimate the change in the catalyst surface area. | 11-01-2012 |
| 20130157158 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - Provided is a fuel cell system including: a wetness detecting section for detecting a wetness of a fuel cell stack; a target SR setting section for setting a target SR of the fuel cell stack based on the wetness; a smallest SR setting section for setting, based on a load, a smallest SR necessary to prevent flooding of the fuel cell stack; and an SR control section for performing control so that an actual SR becomes temporarily larger than the smallest SR when the target SR is smaller than the smallest SR. | 06-20-2013 |
| 20130189600 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR POWER CONTROL IN AN AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE - A method for controlling a vehicle including a fuel cell system and an energy storage unit includes, if the fuel cell system is charging the energy storage unit, determining an average ratio of (i) a change in energy stored in the energy storage unit and (ii) a mass of hydrogen consumed by the fuel cell system to generate the change in energy stored in the energy storage unit. The method also includes, if the fuel cell system is not charging the energy storage unit, selecting a target operating power for the fuel cell system based on vehicle power demand and the determined ratio that sufficiently minimizes drive cycle hydrogen consumption by the fuel cell system. | 07-25-2013 |
| 20140134508 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING FUEL CELL SYSTEM - To improve an output of a fuel cell and power generation efficiency by enhancing drainage of the fuel cell upon actuation below freezing temperature. In a fuel cell system that generates power by supplying fuel gas and oxidant gas, the output of the fuel cell is measured when a temperature of the fuel cell after the actuation below freezing temperature exceeds 0 degree, and if a value of the output is equal to or less than a reference output value, pressure pulsation is applied to a cathode electrode to drain water built up in the fuel cell. | 05-15-2014 |
| 20140154601 | MODULE LEVEL REDUNDANCY FOR FUEL CELL SYSTEMS - This disclosure relates to module level redundancy for fuel cell systems. A monitoring component monitors a set of operational parameters for a fuel cell group. The fuel cell group includes a set of fuel cell units, each having a set of fuel cell stacks. The fuel cell stacks include a set of gas powered fuel cells that convert air and fuel into electricity using a chemical reaction. The monitoring component determines that the set of operational parameters do not satisfy a set of operational criteria, and, in response, a load balancing component adjusts the electrical output capacity of the set of fuel cell units included in the fuel cell group. | 06-05-2014 |
| 20140255810 | FUEL CELL POWER CONTROL BY OFFSET ESTIMATION - A system and method for managing power flow in a fuel cell vehicle. The method provides a difference between a power limit signal and an actual power signal to a PI controller to generate a power offset signal. The method determines whether a fuel cell stack is able to provide enough power to satisfy a power request, and if so, adds the power request and the power offset signal to generate a stack power request signal to cause the upper power limit signal to move towards and be matched to the actual power signal. If the stack is not able to provide enough power to satisfy the load power request signal, the method subtracts the power offset signal from the power limit signal to provide a load limit signal to cause the actual stack power signal to move towards and be matched to the upper power limit signal. | 09-11-2014 |
| 20150064588 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING FUEL CELL SYSTEM - Disclosed herein is an apparatus for controlling a fuel cell system, including: a plurality of stack state detecting units for detecting respective states of a plurality of fuel cell stacks; a switching unit for connecting at least parts of the plurality of fuel cell stacks to each other in series or in parallel; and a control unit for detecting at least one degraded stack based on the states of the stacks detected by the plurality of stack state detecting units, and forming at least one degraded stack unit including the detected at least one degraded stack by controlling the operation of the switching unit, so the apparatus can quickly and easily connect the stacks to each other in series, in parallel or in series-parallel using cheap electric switches instead of using a plurality of power conditioning system (PCS). | 03-05-2015 |
| 20150147670 | SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL SYSTEM - A suitable control in a system provided with a solid oxide fuel cell at the time of paralleling-off from a grid power source and switching to an autonomous operation, is provided. The generated electric power of the solid oxide fuel cell during the autonomous operation is set to a constant electric power (500 W or the like), and when the total load electric power of the system exceeds the constant electric power (500 W or the like), the electric power supply to the external load connected to an autonomous dedicated outlet is stopped for a predetermined period of time. The external load electric power is adjusted during the stop to reduce the total electric power load to be equal to or less than the constant electric power, and the electric power supply is resumed after the predetermined period of time has elapsed. | 05-28-2015 |
| 20150318565 | SYSTEM AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING FUEL CELL VEHICLE - A system and method of controlling a fuel cell vehicle are provided. The method includes adjusting power output from a plurality of fuel cell stacks based on entire output power required by a fuel cell vehicle and a state of charge (SOC) of a battery. | 11-05-2015 |
| 20160028095 | IMPEDANCE MEASURING DEVICE AND CONTROL METHOD FOR IMPEDANCE MEASURING DEVICE - An impedance measuring device outputs an AC signal having a predetermined frequency to each of a positive electrode terminal and a negative electrode terminal of the fuel cell. The impedance measuring device includes a detection unit that detects an AC potential difference between the positive electrode terminal and a midpoint of the fuel cell, and an adjustment unit that adjusts an amplitude of the AC signal to adjust a detection signal to a predetermined value. The impedance measuring device includes an in-phase component extraction unit that multiplies the detection signal by an in-phase signal and extracts a resistance component of the detection signal, and a calculation unit that calculates a positive real axis impedance on the basis of the resistance component and the output signal. The impedance measuring device includes an orthogonal component extraction unit that multiplies the detection signal by an orthogonal signal and extracts a capacitance component of the detection signal, and a reproduction unit reproduces a vector value of the detection signal on the basis of the extracted capacitance component and resistance component. The adjustment unit adjusts the amplitude of the AC signal so that the reproduced vector value equals the predetermined value. | 01-28-2016 |
| 20160133969 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND POWER GENERATION MONITORING METHOD - A fuel cell system comprising: an acquirer that acquires a total value of cell voltages of two or more cells included in a fuel cell; and a determiner that determines, when the total value is a first voltage value, abnormal power generation in which power generation by at least a part of the two or more cells is abnormal, that determines, when the total value is a second voltage value higher than the first voltage value, normal power generation in which power generation by the two or more cells is normal and that determines, when the total value is a third voltage value higher than the first voltage value but lower than the second voltage value, the normal power generation if a cathode gas is deficient or the abnormal power generation if the cathode gas is not deficient. | 05-12-2016 |
| 20160141676 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND CONTROL METHOD OF FUEL CELL SYSTEM - An object is to provide a technique that a current state of a fuel cell may be detected more accurately. A fuel cell system includes a controller, a fuel cell, and an impedance measurer that may measure an impedance of the fuel cell. The controller obtains a first impedance value that expresses the impedance of the fuel cell in a predetermined state, acquires a second impedance value that expresses the impedance of the fuel cell that is measured by the impedance measurer during operation control of the fuel cell, and performs operation control of the fuel cell using the first impedance value and the second impedance value. | 05-19-2016 |
| 20160141690 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF - An object is to suppress drying of a fuel cell during continuous operation with high load. There is provided a fuel cell system including a fuel cell. The fuel cell system comprises an impedance detector that is configured to detect an impedance of the fuel cell; and a current limiter that is configured to limit an output current of the fuel cell with a limiting rate. The current limiter changes the limiting rate, based on the detected. impedance. | 05-19-2016 |
| 20160380289 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM - An object is to provide a technique of enhancing the accuracy of estimation of the water content of a fuel cell on the occurrence of localized drying of an electrolyte membrane. In a fuel cell system, until satisfaction of a second condition indicating that localized drying of the electrolyte membrane is eliminated after satisfaction of a first condition indicating that localized drying of the electrolyte membrane occurs, a water content estimator performs a second water content estimation process that estimates the water content of the fuel cell based on an output current value of the fuel cell, in place of a first water content estimation process that estimates the water content of the fuel cell based on an impedance of the fuel cell. The first condition is that an oxidizing gas stoichiometric ratio is equal to or higher than a predetermined reference value and that a first elapsed time has elapsed since the oxidizing gas stoichiometric ratio becomes equal to or higher than the predetermined reference value. The second condition is that an accumulated current value by accumulation of the output current value for a second elapsed time since satisfaction of the first condition is equal to or greater than a reference value of accumulated current value or that the oxidizing gas stoichiometric ratio is lower than the predetermined reference value and that a third elapsed time has elapsed since the oxidizing gas stoichiometric ratio becomes lower than the predetermined reference value. | 12-29-2016 |
| 20180026285 | FUEL CELL SYSTEM | 01-25-2018 |
| 20190148745 | COGENERATION SYSTEM, CONTROL DEVICE AND CONTROL METHOD | 05-16-2019 |
