JP2007165069A - Fuel cell system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize an efficient co-generation system by reducing the size of a fuel cell system and further, by contriving proper balance of power supply and heat supply. <P>SOLUTION: The fuel cell system supplies power and heat to a prescribed load. The device constituting the fuel cell system is housed in one unit case 100, and a unit case 100 is provided with an mounting part of a fuel cartridge 106 filled with prescribed gas fuel, an AC receptacle 107 to supply power, and a supply port 109 to supply heat as hot water. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuel cell system, and more particularly to a small fuel cell system that unitizes the system and supplies electric power and heat to a predetermined load.

Conventionally, there are many large-sized fuel cell systems used for home use, and in addition to the fuel cell main body, it is necessary to separately install each device constituting the system, such as a desulfurizer, reformer, inverter, and heat recovery device. Therefore, it is difficult to install a fuel cell system in a home where sufficient installation space cannot be secured.
For this reason, a fuel cell power generation apparatus has been proposed in which the devices constituting the fuel cell system are stored together in one outer case (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2002-170591 A (page 1-2, FIG. 4)

However, in the conventionally proposed fuel cell power generation apparatus, a hot water storage tank or the like for storing hot water obtained by exhaust heat is required, and the installation space has not been greatly reduced.
In addition, no consideration has been given to cost reduction and portability, and these improvements have been issues.

  The present invention has been proposed in order to solve the problems of the conventional techniques as described above, and is efficient by unitizing the fuel cell system and leveling power supply and heat supply. The purpose is to provide a cogeneration system and a small fuel cell system that realizes space saving.

  In order to achieve the above object, a fuel cell system of the present invention is a fuel cell system that supplies electric power and heat to a predetermined load, and the devices constituting the fuel cell system are housed in a single unit case. As a configuration.

According to the fuel cell system of the present invention having such a configuration, each device constituting the fuel cell system is not installed separately, but housed and installed in one unit case. And the installation space can be reduced.
In addition, since the portability is improved by downsizing, it can be used for various purposes.

Furthermore, the fuel cell system of the present invention has a configuration in which a mounting portion for a fuel cartridge filled with a predetermined gas fuel is provided in the unit case.
According to the fuel cell system of the present invention having such a configuration, not only the fuel supply from a fixed fuel storage facility or a large cylinder, but also a fuel cartridge that is easy to carry is attached, so that a predetermined location can be obtained anywhere. The fuel can be supplied.
Therefore, the portability can be further improved and the convenience can be enhanced.

  Further, in the fuel cell system of the present invention, the unit case has an AC outlet for supplying the electric power and a supply port for supplying heat as hot water, and the unit case is connected via the AC outlet and the supply port. Electric power and hot water are supplied continuously at the same time.

According to the fuel cell system of the present invention having such a configuration, power and hot water can be freely supplied to various devices.
Further, a more efficient operation can be performed by using an apparatus that continuously and simultaneously requires electric power and hot water as a supply destination of electric power and hot water. That is, since the supply time of electric power and hot water is the same, it is not necessary to store either energy. For example, facilities such as a hot water tank for holding thermal energy are not required.
Therefore, not only the installation space can be reduced and the portability can be improved, but also various costs can be reduced.

  Further, the fuel cell system of the present invention is constituted by a fuel cell having a power generation capacity of less than 500 W, preferably a fuel cell having a power generation capacity of less than 300 W, more preferably a fuel cell having a power generation capacity of less than 100 W.

According to the fuel cell system of the present invention having such a configuration, in particular, when the power load is small, the loss for power generation is reduced, so that the power supply and the heat supply are leveled, which is efficient. Driving is possible.
By adopting a small-sized fuel cell with a small capacity, it is possible to reduce various costs such as initial cost and maintenance cost and to reduce installation space.
Further, since the weight is significantly reduced with the miniaturization, a fuel cell unit having excellent portability can be realized.
In addition, the effect will become remarkable by making the power generation capacity of a fuel cell less than 300W, and the above-mentioned remarkable effect will be acquired by making power generation capacity less than 100W.

  Further, the fuel cell system of the present invention is for a water tank, and supplies the electric power to at least the lighting and air supply blower of the water tank, and the temperature is adjusted to flow through the temperature adjusting heater in the water tank. It is configured to supply as a medium.

  In addition, the fuel cell system of the present invention includes a temperature controller that adjusts the amount of the temperature control medium flowing in the temperature adjusting heater based on a signal from a thermometer attached to the water tank in the unit case. As a configuration.

  According to the fuel cell system of the present invention having such a configuration, it is possible to use electric power and hot water continuously and simultaneously, and further excellent portability. It is. At this time, since the control valve for adjusting the amount of the temperature adjusting medium flowing through the temperature adjusting heater is provided in the unit case, the water temperature in the water tank can be always kept optimal.

As described above, according to the fuel cell system of the present invention, not only can the space be saved, but also a fuel cell system with excellent portability can be realized. In particular, it is suitable for use in water tanks.
In addition, since efficient operation is possible in which power supply and heat supply are leveled, cost reduction can be achieved.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, a configuration of a fuel cell system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
FIG. 1 is an external view of a fuel cell system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a unit configuration diagram showing the main configuration of the fuel cell system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the fuel cell system 1 according to the present embodiment constitutes a small system by collectively storing the devices constituting the fuel cell system 1 in one unit case 100.
Hereinafter, each apparatus which comprises the fuel cell system 1 of this embodiment is demonstrated in detail.
The fuel cell system 1 of this embodiment includes a desulfurizer 101, a reformer 102, a fuel cell main body 103, an inverter 104, an exhaust heat recovery device 105, a fuel cartridge 106, an AC outlet 107, and a blower 108 (see FIG. 1 is provided with a hot water supply port 109 and a cold water inlet 110.

The desulfurizer 101 is an apparatus that takes in various fuels from the fuel cartridge 106 and removes sulfur-containing organic compounds contained in the fuel. As the fuel, liquid fuel such as kerosene, methanol, dimethyl ether, or liquefied petroleum gas can be used.
The reformer 102 is a device that converts the fuel desulfurized by the desulfurizer 101 into hydrogen. The converted hydrogen is sent to the fuel cell main body 103.
The fuel cell main body 103 is a device that generates a direct current by chemically reacting hydrogen supplied from the reformer 102 and oxygen in the air. Air intake is taken in by the blower 108 and sent to the fuel cell main body 103.

The inverter 104 is a device that converts a direct current generated in the fuel cell main body 103 into an alternating current.
The converted alternating current is supplied to an external device or the like via an AC outlet 107 provided on the outer surface of the unit case 100. Thereby, the troublesomeness of the power cable connection is eliminated and the portability is improved.
The exhaust heat recovery device 105 absorbs heat generated by the fuel cell main body 103 in the cooling water to cool the fuel cell main body 103 and supplies the hot water that has absorbed the heat to the outside. The hot water is supplied to the outside from a hot water supply port 109 provided outside the unit case 100 and sent to an external heat load. The hot water supply port 109 can be attached with a hose or the like. The cooling water is taken from the cold water inlet 110.

The fuel cartridge 106 is filled with liquid fuel such as kerosene, methanol, and dimethyl ether, liquefied petroleum gas, and the like, and can be detachably attached to the attachment portion in the unit case 100. When the fuel cartridge 106 is attached to the unit case 100, the fuel in the cartridge 106 is sent to the desulfurizer 101.
The fuel can be supplied from a conventional fuel storage facility, a cylinder, or the like. However, as described above, the fuel can be supplied from the fuel cartridge 106 that is easy to carry. It is possible to realize a fuel cell system 1 excellent in the above.

  Each of the above devices is housed in one housing unit case 100, which becomes the fuel cell system 1 of this embodiment. The unit case 100 is preferably formed of a material excellent in flame resistance and durability in consideration of safety and the like. Moreover, it is desirable that it is lightweight so that it can be easily carried. Furthermore, in order to improve portability, the form which attached the handle and the caster may be sufficient.

Next, a specific usage mode of the fuel cell system configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a fish tank fuel cell system using a fuel cell system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in the figure, the electric power generated by the fuel cell main body 103 is not only supplied to the lighting 201 but also supplied to the blower 108.
The blower 108 supplies air (oxygen) to the fuel cell main body 103 and also supplies air (oxygen) to the water in the water tank. This eliminates the need for air pumps conventionally used in fish tanks.

Further, as shown in the figure, the hot water is sent from the fuel cell main body 103 to the temperature adjusting heater 203 disposed in the water tank 200 via the temperature adjuster 202. The temperature controller 202 is, for example, a solenoid type two-way switching valve, and operates based on a signal from a thermometer 204 that measures the water temperature in the water tank 200 to adjust the amount of hot water flowing to the heater 203. . Specifically, when the water temperature in the water tank 200 is lower than the set temperature, the switching valve is operated so that the hot water flows to the heater 203, and when the water temperature is higher than the set temperature, the hot water passes through the heater 203. The switching valve is actuated so that it is bypassed completely.
When the hot water is bypassed, the hot water can be supplied to another device (not shown) through the supply port 109 ′.

Moreover, when continuous electric power and heat supply are required simultaneously as in this embodiment, it is not necessary to store thermal energy as hot water. For this reason, a hot water tank or the like conventionally required for a household fuel cell cogeneration system or the like is no longer required, and further cost reduction and space saving can be achieved.
Further, as in this aspect, when the total power consumption of the equipment as a load is as small as several tens to several hundreds W, the fuel cell system 1 of the present embodiment can realize a particularly efficient cogeneration system. .
This is because conventional small-sized household fuel cell cogeneration systems have a power generation capacity of 500 W or more, particularly 1 kW or more, and when used in this embodiment, there are various losses in terms of cost and installation space. It is generated and becomes inefficient.
On the other hand, in the fuel cell system 1 of the present embodiment, the power generation capacity is less than 500 W, preferably less than 300 W, more preferably less than 100 W, so that it can efficiently cope with a small power load.

In addition, by using the fuel cell system 1 of the present embodiment, it is possible to provide a fish tank system that is quieter and better for the environment than conventional power generators, heaters, and the like.
Furthermore, even during a commercial power outage due to a disaster or the like, it can be continuously operated, so that the life of fish and the like can be maintained.

As described above, according to the fuel cell system 1 of the present embodiment, since the size can be reduced as compared with the conventional home fuel cell system, not only the cost and the installation space can be reduced. , Portability can be improved.
Moreover, an efficient cogeneration system is realizable by using it for the load which needs supply of electric power and heat continuously and simultaneously.
Furthermore, by using it for facilities and equipment with low power consumption, power supply and heat supply are leveled, and a more efficient cogeneration system can be realized.
In addition, it is possible to realize a system with low noise, good environmental characteristics, and strong against disasters.

The fuel cell system according to the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments. However, the fuel cell system according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention. It goes without saying that implementation is possible.
For example, although the fuel cell system of the present invention has been shown to constitute a unit by housing each device in a single unit case, a configuration in which the devices are collectively mounted on a rack or rack may be employed.

Further, the fuel cell system of the present invention may be used as a portable emergency power supply device in the event of a disaster or the like.
Furthermore, it can be used for facilities and equipment that require electric power and heat continuously and simultaneously, such as tropical fish tanks, aquarium tanks, aquaculture tanks, greenhouse houses, garbage processing machines, desiccant air conditioners, hot water dishwashers and dryers. Become.

  The present invention can be suitably used for a small unitized fuel cell system.

It is a unit block diagram which showed the main structures of the fuel cell system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram showing the fuel cell system for fish tanks using the fuel cell system concerning one embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fuel cell system 100 Unit case 101 Desulfurizer 102 Reformer 103 Fuel cell main body 104 Inverter 105 Waste heat recovery device 106 Fuel cartridge 107 AC outlet 108 Blower 109 Hot water supply port 200 Water tank 201 Illumination 202 Temperature adjuster 203 Temperature adjustment heater 204 Thermometer

Claims (6)

A fuel cell system for supplying power and heat to a predetermined load,
A fuel cell system in which the devices constituting the fuel cell system are housed in a single unit case.   The fuel cell system according to claim 1, wherein a mounting portion for a fuel cartridge filled with a predetermined gas fuel is provided in the unit case.   The unit case has an AC outlet for supplying the electric power and a supply port for supplying heat as hot water, and continuously supplies the electric power and hot water through the AC outlet and the supply port. The fuel cell system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein   4. The fuel cell system according to claim 1, wherein the fuel cell system comprises a fuel cell with a power generation capacity of less than 500 W, preferably a fuel cell with a power generation capacity of less than 300 W, more preferably a fuel cell with a power generation capacity of less than 100 W. The fuel cell system described in 1.   The fuel cell system is for a water tank, and supplies the electric power to at least the lighting and air supply blower of the water tank, and supplies the hot water as a temperature control medium that flows to a temperature adjustment heater in the water tank. The fuel cell system according to claim 3 or 4, wherein   6. The temperature adjusting device for adjusting the amount of a temperature adjusting medium flowing in the temperature adjusting heater based on a signal from a thermometer attached to the water tank in the unit case. Fuel cell system.

Images