JP2006214512A - Gas filling abnormality diagnostic system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To accurately and promptly detect abnormal filling of fuel gas, when filling the fuel gas from a filling equipment side to a vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: When a filling nozzle 104 in the filling equipment side is connected with a filling port 105 in the vehicle side and fuel gas is supplied and filled from the filling equipment side to the vehicle via a valve element 303 controlling flowing/blocking of the fuel gas, abnormal filling of the fuel gas is detected, based on pressure change of the fuel gas flowing in the filling equipment side detected by a pressure sensor 111, pressure change of the fuel gas flowing in the vehicle side detected by a pressure sensor 115, and the opening/closing state of the valve element 303 detected by a valve opening/closing detecting sensor 112. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a gas filling abnormality diagnosis system for diagnosing abnormality during gas filling in a system for filling a gas with a vehicle.

  Conventionally, when injecting high-pressure gas into a tank to be filled, for example, a gas-filled coupling as shown in Patent Document 1 shown below has been used. In this filling coupling, the operability is improved by the main valve cylinder opening the valve portion easily and smoothly with the pressure of compressed air.

  Further, as a gas shut-off device that shuts off a gas flow path when gas flows abnormally, for example, the one shown in Patent Document 2 shown below is known. This gas shut-off device reliably recognizes the open / close state of the gas shut-off valve by judging whether or not the gas shut-off valve is shut off using the change in the reactance of the electromagnetic coil of the gas shut-off valve. Disconnection or gas shutoff valve abnormality is detected.

On the other hand, as an apparatus for monitoring the operating state of a solenoid valve that is controlled to open and close by the movement of a plunger accompanying excitation of a solenoid valve used when filling high-pressure gas, for example, a device as shown in Patent Document 3 shown below is known. ing. This device compares the time from the start of driving of the solenoid valve coil to the fully opening of the valve until the plunger collides with the stopper by comparing it with a reference time determined according to the voltage applied to the solenoid valve coil. Even when dust is clogged, the stroke of the valve is shortened and the fully open time is shortened, so that abnormal operation of the solenoid valve is reliably detected.
JP 2004-52996 A JP 62-248920 A Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-22229

  Various techniques have been proposed as techniques used when circulating high-pressure gas as described above. For example, a vehicle using a gas gas such as hydrogen gas as a fuel, a gas station such as a gas station is used. In a gas gas filling system in which gas gas is filled from the supply (filling) side, no technology has been proposed for detecting and diagnosing abnormalities during filling. Therefore, for example, with the future popularization of fuel cell vehicles using hydrogen gas as a fuel, a technique for reliably and quickly detecting an abnormality has been desired from the viewpoint of improving safety when filling gas gas.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a gas filling abnormality diagnosis system capable of detecting and diagnosing an abnormality at the time of gas gas filling reliably and quickly. is there.

  In order to achieve the above object, the means for solving the problems of the present invention is to supply fuel gas from a filling facility to a vehicle via a valve body that controls the flow / cutoff of the fuel gas by an opening / closing operation. Further, in the gas filling abnormality diagnosis system for diagnosing filling abnormality, based on the pressure change of the fuel gas flowing through the filling equipment side, the pressure change of the fuel gas flowing through the vehicle side, and the open / close state of the valve body, A fuel gas filling abnormality is detected.

  According to the present invention, the fuel gas charging is detected by detecting the fuel gas charging abnormality based on the fuel gas pressure change on the filling equipment side, the fuel gas pressure change on the vehicle side, and the opening / closing state of the valve body. Abnormalities can be accurately and quickly detected and diagnosed.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The best embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a gas filling abnormality diagnosis system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The system shown in FIG. 1 is a fuel gas charging abnormality when a fuel gas, such as hydrogen, is supplied to a vehicle, for example, from a gas equipment supply source such as a gas station. A filling equipment side control device 100, a vehicle side control device 101, a fuel tank 103 serving as a fuel storage container on the vehicle side, a filling nozzle 104, a pressure control valve 106, a shutoff valve 107, an outside air temperature sensor 109, The temperature sensor 110,114, the pressure sensor 111,115, the valve opening / closing detection sensor 112, and the desorption detection sensor 113 are comprised.

  The filling facility side control device 100 is provided on the filling facility side, functions as a control center for controlling the operation on the filling facility side, and is necessary for a computer that controls various operation processes based on a program, a CPU, a storage device, This is realized by, for example, a microcomputer provided with resources such as an input / output device. The filling equipment side control device 100 reads the detection signals from the outside air temperature sensor 109, the temperature sensor 110, and the pressure sensor 111, and controls the pressure control valve 106 based on the read signals and the control logic (program) held in advance inside. A command is sent to each component necessary for filling the fuel gas, and the fuel filling operation and the diagnostic operation on the filling facility side are integrated and controlled.

  The vehicle-side control device 101 is provided on the vehicle side where fuel gas is filled, functions as a control center for controlling the fuel-filling operation on the vehicle side, and is a CPU necessary for a computer that controls various operation processes based on a program It is realized by, for example, a microcomputer provided with resources such as a storage device and an input / output device. The vehicle-side control device 101 reads detection signals from the valve opening / closing detection sensor 112, the desorption detection sensor 113, the temperature sensor 114, and the pressure sensor 115, and based on the read signal and a control logic (program) stored in advance in advance. A command is sent to each component necessary for fuel filling including the shutoff valve 107, and the fuel filling operation and diagnostic operation on the vehicle side are managed and controlled in an integrated manner.

  The filling facility side control device 100 and the vehicle side control device 101 can be electrically connected via a communication cable 108 provided on the filling facility side, and information is mutually exchanged between both devices via this communication cable 108. Communicated.

  The fuel tank 103 is provided on the vehicle side where fuel gas is filled, and stores the fuel supplied from the filling facility side.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the filling nozzle 104 is provided at the tip of the fuel line 102 on the filling equipment side 200, and is detachable from a filling port 105 provided at the tip of the fuel line 102 on the vehicle 201 side. Connected to. FIG. 3 shows a cross section in a state where the filling nozzle 104 and the filling port 105 are connected.

  In FIG. 3, a flow path 302 through which fuel gas flows is provided substantially at the center of the filling nozzle 104 and the filling port 105, and the filling port 105 of the flow path 302 is made of an iron core, A valve body 303 for controlling the flow / blocking is provided. The valve body 303 is provided with a spring 301. When fuel is not flowing normally, the flow path 302 is held in a closed state by the valve body 303 having a check valve structure by the elasticity of the spring 301. On the other hand, when pressurized fuel is supplied from the filling facility side, the valve body 303 moves in the fuel flow direction (the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3), and the fuel supplied from the filling facility side is moved to the vehicle side. Circulate.

  A solenoid 304 is provided around the valve body 303 at the filling port 105. The solenoid 304 is supplied and controlled with a drive current from the vehicle-side control device 101 to form a magnetic field, and the valve body 303 is forcibly moved by the formed magnetic field, so that the fuel flow path 302 is closed and the fuel gas is supplied. Block distribution. On the other hand, when the valve body 303 is moved by an external force such as fuel circulation pressure or elasticity of the spring 301, an induced electromotive force is generated in the solenoid 304 by the movement of the valve body 303, and this induced electromotive force signal is transmitted to the vehicle side. Opening and closing of the valve body 303 can be detected by detecting by amplification by the control device 101. Therefore, the valve element 303 and the solenoid 304 constitute a valve element opening / closing sensor (sw1) 112 (valve opening / closing detection means).

  The filling port 105 is provided with a desorption detection sensor (sw2) 113 (connection detection means). The desorption detection sensor 113 detects whether or not the filling nozzle 104 and the filling port 105 are connected.

  Returning to FIG. 1, a pressure control valve 106 is provided upstream of the filling nozzle 104 in the fuel line 102. The pressure control valve 106 controls the pressure of the fuel gas sent from the filling facility side under the control of the filling facility side control device 100. A temperature sensor 110 and a pressure sensor 111 are provided in the fuel line 102 between the pressure control valve 106 and the filling nozzle 104. The temperature sensor 110 detects the temperature of the fuel gas flowing through the fuel line 102 between the pressure control valve 106 and the filling nozzle 104 and gives the detected temperature to the filling equipment side control device 100. The pressure sensor 111 detects the pressure of the fuel gas flowing through the fuel line 102 between the pressure control valve 106 and the filling nozzle 104, and applies the detected pressure to the filling equipment side control device 100.

  A shutoff valve 107 is provided in the fuel line 102 between the vehicle-side filling port 105 and the fuel tank 103. The shut-off valve 107 is controlled to open and close under the control of the vehicle-side control device 101, and controls the flow / shut-off of the fuel line 102 between the vehicle-side filling port 105 and the fuel tank 103.

  A pressure sensor 115 is provided in the fuel line 102 between the shutoff valve 107 and the fuel tank 103. The pressure sensor 115 detects the pressure of the fuel gas flowing through the fuel line 102 between the shutoff valve 107 and the fuel tank 103. The detected pressure is given to the vehicle-side control device 101.

  A temperature sensor 114 is provided in the fuel tank 103. This temperature sensor 114 detects the temperature in the fuel tank 103. The detected temperature is given to the vehicle-side control device 101.

  Next, a procedure for diagnosing abnormality during fuel gas filling will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 4, first, for example, in a gas station on the filling equipment side that is a gas gas supply source, a vehicle using gas gas as fuel is provided with a filling equipment side control device 100 and a vehicle side control device 101 as shown in FIG. 2. In addition to connecting with the communication cable 108, the filling nozzle 104 on the filling equipment side is connected to the filling port 105 on the vehicle side, and then it is determined whether or not the connection between the filling nozzle 104 and the filling port 105 is detected by the desorption detection sensor 113. (Step S1). When the desorption detection sensor 113 detects that the filling nozzle 104 and the filling port 105 are connected as shown in FIG. 3, an abnormality diagnosis at the time of fuel filling is started and fuel gas filling is started (step) S2).

  In the fuel gas filling operation, first, the vehicle-side shutoff valve 107 is opened, and a filling permission signal is sent from the vehicle-side control device 101 to the filling equipment-side control device 100 to command the start of filling. On the filling equipment side, a filling pump (not shown) is driven, or the pressure control valve 106 is opened, and the driving force of the filling pump or the opening degree of the pressure control valve 106 is adjusted and controlled, thereby controlling the delivery pressure of the fuel gas. To adjust the fuel gas to the vehicle side (step S3).

  In the fuel gas filling system according to the present invention, the temperature sensor 114 detects the temperature in the fuel tank 103 so that the fuel tank 103 becomes lower than the heat-resistant temperature even if the gas temperature rises due to adiabatic compression at the time of filling. The pressure of the fuel gas in the fuel tank 103 is increased while controlling the supply pressure of the fuel gas on the filling equipment side.

  For this reason, the pressure (P0) of the fuel gas upstream of the filling nozzle 104 detected by the pressure sensor 111 rises with a profile as shown in FIG. (P1) rises following the pressure (P0) change of the fuel gas on the filling equipment side as shown in FIG. At this time, the pressure increase rate (ΔP1 / Δt) on the fuel tank 103 side is set to be substantially equal to or slightly faster than the pressure increase rate (ΔP0 / Δt) on the filling equipment side.

  While the fuel gas is being filled into the fuel tank 103, the pressure of the fuel gas is changing (increasing) with time, so detecting a change in the pressure in the filling system can detect an abnormality in the filling system. It becomes difficult. However, the present invention detects the abnormality during fuel filling by comparing the pressure increase rate (pressure change) of the fuel gas on both the filling equipment side and the vehicle side, and also detects the valve open / close detection sensor (sw1) 112 and the desorption. A detection sensor (sw2) 113 is used to identify an abnormal location.

  When fuel gas is sent from the filling equipment side to the vehicle via the fuel line 102, as described above, the pressure change on the filling equipment side (between the pressure control valve 106 and the filling nozzle 104), that is, the fuel gas on the filling equipment side. Is compared with the pressure change on the vehicle side (between the shutoff valve 107 and the fuel tank 103), that is, the pressure increase rate (ΔP1 / Δt) of the fuel gas on the fuel tank 103 side (step P1). S4). If ΔP0 / Δt ≦ ΔP1 / Δt is satisfied in the comparison result, it is determined that the fuel gas is normally filled, while ΔP0 / Δt ≦ ΔP1 / as shown in FIG. When Δt is not established, that is, when ΔP0 / Δt> ΔP1 / Δt, it is estimated that there is an abnormality in the fuel gas supply system.

  When it is estimated that there is an abnormality in the previous step S <b> 4, the vehicle side control device 101 supplies a drive current for forcibly closing the valve body 303 to the solenoid 304 of the filling port 105. Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the valve body 303 has been closed by the valve opening / closing detection sensor 112 (step S5). As a result of the determination, if the valve opening / closing detection sensor 112 does not detect the closing of the valve body 303, it is estimated that the valve body 303 is abnormal, and the vehicle-side control device 101 notifies the filling equipment-side control device 100. A fuel-inhibiting signal is transmitted to stop the fuel gas delivery, the shut-off valve 107 is closed, and a warning that the valve body 303 is abnormal is issued on the vehicle side (step S8).

  Since the valve body 303 is often exposed to the atmosphere outside the vehicle even in the fuel filling system, the abnormality of the valve body 303 is that the foreign matter attached to the part exposed to the outside air of the valve body 303 in the atmosphere outside the vehicle is a movable part. A state in which the valve body 303 is fixed by biting into the heel is conceivable. The valve body 303 in the filling nozzle 104 is a check valve by a spring 301 when no drive current is supplied to the solenoid 304, and is opened by the fuel gas flow pressure from the filling equipment side. There is a case where foreign matter attached to the valve body 303 bites into the valve body 303 at the moment when the 303 opens.

  In addition, the valve body 303 moves due to slight pressure fluctuations even during the filling of the fuel gas. However, if foreign matter enters the valve body 303 in a state close to or completely closed, the valve body 303 is fixed. There is a possibility that 303 may be stuck in a squeezed state. In such a case, the pressure increase speed on the vehicle side of the fuel gas is slower than the pressure increase speed on the equipment side or becomes zero.

  Furthermore, even when the valve body 303 is already fixed at the time when filling is started on the filling equipment side in the previous step S3, or when the drive current is still flowing to the solenoid 304 for some reason, Similarly, the pressure increase speed on the vehicle side of the fuel gas is slower than the pressure increase speed on the equipment side. In such a case, if the sticking of the valve body 303 is known in advance in the procedures of steps S13 to S15 described later, an alarm is given before filling, for example, before the filling port 105 is connected to the filling nozzle 104. The filling port 105 may be inspected before filling.

  Next, as a result of the determination in the previous step S5, when the valve opening / closing detection sensor 112 detects that the valve body 303 is closed and the valve body 303 is confirmed to be closed, the pressure sensor 115 It is determined whether or not the pressure P1 of the fuel gas between the fuel tanks 103 is decreasing (step S6).

  As a result of the determination, if the pressure P1 of the fuel gas has not decreased, for example, it is estimated that there is an abnormality on the filling equipment side such as the fuel line 102 or the filling nozzle 104 on the filling equipment side, and the vehicle side control device 101 Then, a filling failure signal is transmitted to the filling equipment side control device 100 to stop the delivery of the fuel gas, the shutoff valve 107 is closed, and an alarm is given on the vehicle side that there is an abnormality on the filling equipment side (step S7). ).

  On the other hand, if the pressure P1 has decreased in the determination result of the previous step S7, it is estimated that there is an abnormality between the filling port 105 and the fuel tank 103, and the shutoff valve 107 is closed (step S9).

  Thereafter, the pressure sensor 115 determines whether or not the fuel gas pressure P1 is still decreasing (step S10). As a result of the determination, if the pressure P1 is decreasing even though the shutoff valve 107 is closed, it is estimated that there is an abnormality in the fuel line 102 between the shutoff valve 107 and the fuel tank 103 (step S11). If the pressure P1 does not decrease, it is estimated that there is an abnormality in the fuel line 102 between the filling port 105 and the shutoff valve 107 (step S12), and an abnormal part of the filling system is specified. In any case, the fuel gas filling operation is stopped, and an alarm identifying the abnormal part is output on the vehicle side and / or the facility side.

  Thereby, it is possible to accurately and promptly diagnose whether the abnormality at the time of filling the fuel gas is caused by the valve body 303 of the filling port 105 or is caused by another place of the filling system. . Moreover, when abnormality is detected, the filling safety can be improved by promptly stopping the filling and issuing an alarm. Further, by notifying the abnormal location, the specification of the abnormal location is quickly estimated, and it is possible to avoid spending effort on specifying the abnormal location.

  On the other hand, if the communication cable 108 is not connected to the vehicle-side control device 101 and the filling nozzle 104 is not connected to the filling port 105 in step S1, the vehicle-side filling is performed. It is also possible to perform system abnormality diagnosis (step S13). In this case, a drive current is supplied to the solenoid 304, and it is determined whether or not the valve element 303 is closed by the valve opening / closing detection sensor (sw2) 112 (step S14). If the valve opening / closing detection sensor 112 does not detect that the valve body 303 is closed, it is assumed that the valve body 303 is open and stuck, and an alarm is issued to that effect (step S15). Thereby, an alarm can be issued when the fuel gas in the fuel line 102 between the shutoff valve 107 and the filling port 105 after the fuel gas is filled leaks into the vehicle.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the gas filling abnormality diagnostic system which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the mode of the connection of the filling nozzle by the side of filling equipment, and the filling port by the side of a vehicle. It is sectional drawing which shows the connection state of a filling nozzle and a filling port. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the abnormality diagnosis operation | movement which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the change of the pressure rise speed of the fuel gas at the time of filling.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Filling equipment side control apparatus 101 ... Vehicle side control apparatus 102 ... Fuel line 103 ... Fuel tank 104 ... Filling nozzle 105 ... Filling port 106 ... Pressure control valve 107 ... Shut-off valve 108 ... Communication cable 109 ... Outside temperature sensor 110,114 ... Temperature sensors 111, 115 ... Pressure sensor 112 ... Valve opening / closing detection sensor 113 ... Desorption detection sensor 200 ... Filling equipment side 201 ... Vehicle 301 ... Spring 302 ... Flow path 303 ... Valve element 304 ... Solenoid

Claims (5)

In a gas filling abnormality diagnosis system for diagnosing a filling abnormality when supplying fuel gas from a filling facility side to a vehicle via a valve body that controls flow / cutoff of fuel gas by an opening / closing operation,
A gas that detects an abnormal filling of fuel gas based on a change in pressure of fuel gas flowing through the filling facility, a change in pressure of fuel gas flowing through the vehicle, and an open / closed state of the valve body Filling abnormality diagnosis system. In a gas filling abnormality diagnosis system for diagnosing a filling abnormality when supplying fuel gas from a filling facility side to a vehicle via a valve body that controls flow / cutoff of fuel gas by an opening / closing operation,
Connection detecting means for detecting a connection state between a fuel gas filling flow path on the filling equipment side and a fuel gas filling flow path on the vehicle side;
Valve opening / closing detection means for detecting the opening / closing state of the valve body;
A shutoff valve for controlling the opening and closing of the fuel gas filling passage in the vehicle under the control of the vehicle;
Vehicle-side pressure detection means for detecting the pressure of the fuel gas flowing through the filling flow path between the shut-off valve and a fuel tank storing the filled fuel gas;
An equipment-side pressure detecting means for detecting the pressure of the fuel gas sent from the filling equipment side,
At the time of fuel gas filling, the connection state detected by the connection detection means, the opening / closing state of the valve body detected by the valve opening / closing detection means, the opening / closing state of the shut-off valve, and detected by the equipment-side pressure detection means A gas filling abnormality diagnosis system that detects a fuel gas filling abnormality based on a fuel gas pressure change and a fuel gas pressure change detected by the vehicle-side pressure detecting means. When the pressure increase rate in the fuel gas pressure change detected by the facility-side pressure detection means exceeds the pressure increase rate in the fuel gas pressure change detected by the preceding vehicle-side pressure detection means, the fuel gas is charged. The gas filling abnormality diagnosis system according to claim 2, wherein abnormality is detected. Identifying an abnormal location based on the opening / closing state of the valve body detected by the valve opening / closing detection means, the opening / closing state of the shut-off valve, and the pressure change of the fuel gas detected by the vehicle-side pressure detection means; The gas filling abnormality diagnosis system according to claim 3, wherein: 4. The gas filling abnormality diagnosis system according to claim 3, wherein the filling abnormality is estimated as a sticking failure of the valve body based on the opening / closing state of the valve body detected by the valve opening / closing detection means.

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