JP2009181939A - Fuel cell - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide technique enhancing space efficiency in the equipment arrangement of a fuel cell system. <P>SOLUTION: The fuel cell system includes: a fuel cell stack having a plurality of stacked power generation bodies; a reaction gas supply part; and a cell potential measuring part for measuring the potential of the electrode of at least a part of the plurality of power generation bodies. In the operation attitude which is previously set of the fuel cell stack, at lest a part of the reaction gas supply part and at least a part of the cell potential measuring part are arranged in the lower part or the side surface of the fuel cell stack. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuel cell system.

  The fuel cell system includes a fuel cell stack that generates power upon receiving supply of a reaction gas, and a reaction gas supply device that supplies the reaction gas. On the other hand, in recent years, a measurement device called a cell monitor is sometimes equipped to measure the internal state of the fuel cell stack (Patent Document 1).

JP 2006-185868 A

  However, since the fuel cell system is still in the basic research stage, sufficient consideration has not been given to the arrangement of the main components such as the fuel cell stack, the reaction gas supply device, and the cell monitor.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for increasing space efficiency in the equipment arrangement of a fuel cell system.

[Application Example 1]
A fuel cell system,
A fuel cell stack having a plurality of stacked power generators;
A reaction gas supply unit for supplying a reaction gas to the fuel cell stack;
A cell potential measurement unit that measures the potential of at least some of the electrodes of the plurality of power generators;
With
In a predetermined driving posture of the fuel cell stack, at least a part of the reaction gas supply unit and at least a part of the cell potential measurement unit are both on the lower side and the side surface of the fuel cell stack. The fuel cell system being deployed.

  In the fuel cell system according to the present invention, in a predetermined operating posture of the fuel cell stack, at least a part of the reaction gas supply unit and at least a part of the cell potential measurement unit are both below or side of the fuel cell stack. Therefore, it is possible to arrange the equipment to open the upper surface of the fuel cell stack.

  Thereby, in the equipment of the fuel cell stack, the space in the direction excluding the upper surface can be efficiently used. Note that “potentials of at least some electrodes of a plurality of power generators” are broadly “potentials of one electrode of some power generators”, “potentials of electrodes of both electrodes of some power generators”, “all Various aspects such as “the potential of one or both electrodes of the power generator” are included. Further, the term “side surface” has a broad meaning including front and rear in the embodiments.

[Application Example 2]
A fuel cell system according to Application Example 1,
In the fuel cell system, at least a part of the cell potential measurement unit is disposed below the fuel cell stack in the driving posture.

  In the arrangement of the fuel cell system, the reaction gas supply unit is usually desired to be installed below the fuel cell stack from the viewpoint of drainage from the fuel cell stack. In such an equipment arrangement, since it is difficult to open the lower part of the fuel cell stack, the inventor of the present application, conversely, in the equipment arrangement design of the cell potential measuring unit having a degree of freedom in the equipment arrangement, He created a technology to effectively use.

  This technology was created by the inventor of the present application by reexamining the degree of freedom of equipment arrangement of each device of the cell potential measurement unit and the reaction gas supply unit without being bound by the common general knowledge of those skilled in the art. It is against technical common sense at the time of filing. The technical common sense at the time of filing is that, in the basic research stage of the fuel cell system, the cell monitor is arranged above the fuel cell stack and the reaction gas supply system is arranged below and distributed from the viewpoint of convenience of measurement operation. It is common sense and generalized that operability and accessibility can be improved.

[Application Example 3]
A fuel cell system according to Application Example 1 or 2,
The fuel cell stack includes an electrode terminal for the measurement,
The fuel cell system, wherein the electrode terminal is disposed below the fuel cell stack in the driving posture.

  By so doing, it is possible to facilitate the installation of the cell potential measurement unit below the fuel cell stack.

[Application Example 4]
An electric vehicle,
Rooms,
The fuel cell systems of Application Examples 1 to 3 disposed below the cabin;
A drive unit that drives the electric vehicle using electric power generated by the fuel cell system;
Electric car with

  In the electric vehicle of the present invention, since the fuel cell system is disposed below the passenger compartment, at least a part of the reactive gas supply unit and the cell potential measuring unit face the electric vehicle. Such an equipment arrangement has the advantage that the maintainability of maintenance using a lift-type maintenance table that is already widely used can be remarkably improved.

[Application Example 5]
An electric vehicle according to Application Example 4,
A chassis supporting the cabin and the fuel cell system;
The fuel cell stack is an electric vehicle supported by the chassis on an upper surface of the fuel cell stack.

  In this way, it is possible to support the heavy fuel cell stack at a position very close to or directly connected to the chassis using the open upper surface of the fuel cell stack, thus reducing the structural weight and improving fuel efficiency. be able to. Furthermore, the dispersion state of heavy objects in the equipment arrangement of the electric vehicle can be suppressed, the inertia moment can be reduced, and the mobility can be improved.

[Application Example 6]
A fuel cell stack,
A plurality of stacked power generators;
A terminal for measuring the potential of at least some of the plurality of power generators;
With
The fuel cell stack, wherein the terminal is provided on the lower surface side of the fuel cell stack in a preset operation posture of the fuel cell stack.

  The present invention can be realized in various modes such as a fuel cell, a fuel cell stack manufacturing method, a fuel cell system, a fuel cell-equipped vehicle, a membrane electrode assembly, and the like.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following order based on examples.
A. Configuration and equipment arrangement of fuel cell system in an embodiment of the present invention:
B. Variations:

A. Configuration and equipment arrangement of fuel cell system in an embodiment of the present invention:
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a drive system 12 used for driving an electric vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. The drive system 12 includes a fuel cell system 100, a power control unit (PCU) 200, a secondary battery 300, and four motors 410 to 440. The fuel cell system 100 includes a fuel cell stack 110 configured by stacking a plurality of cells 112, a fuel cell cooling unit 120, an oxidant gas supply / exhaust unit 130, and a fuel gas supply / exhaust unit 140. ing.

  The fuel cell stack 110 and the power control unit 200 are connected to each other via wirings 202 and 204. Electric power to various devices included in the fuel cell system 100 is supplied through wirings (not shown) connected to the wirings 202 and 204.

  The oxidant gas supply / discharge unit 130 includes an air pump 132. The air pump 132 generates compressed air from outside air. The generated compressed air is supplied to the fuel cell stack 110 through the oxidant gas supply pipe 186 as an oxidant gas containing oxygen used in the fuel cell stack 110.

  The oxidant gas supplied to the fuel cell stack 110 is supplied to the cathode in the cell 112 constituting the fuel cell stack 110. At the cathode, oxygen in the oxidant gas is consumed by the fuel cell reaction. Oxidant gas (generally referred to as “cathode offgas”) having a reduced oxygen concentration due to the fuel cell reaction is discharged to the oxidant gas supply / discharge section 130 via the cathode offgas discharge pipe 188. The oxidant gas supply / discharge unit 130 discharges the cathode off-gas discharged from the fuel cell stack 110 to the atmosphere.

  The fuel gas supply / discharge unit 140 includes a hydrogen gas tank 142. The hydrogen gas tank 142 is filled with hydrogen gas used as fuel gas. The pressure of the hydrogen gas filled in the hydrogen gas tank 142 is adjusted by a decompression device (not shown) provided in the fuel gas supply / exhaust unit 140. The hydrogen gas whose pressure has been adjusted is supplied to the fuel cell stack 110 via the fuel gas supply pipe 190.

  The fuel gas supplied to the fuel cell stack 110 is supplied to the anode in the cell 112. At the anode, hydrogen in the fuel gas is consumed by the fuel cell reaction. The fuel gas (generally referred to as “anode offgas”) having a reduced hydrogen concentration due to the fuel cell reaction is supplied to the fuel gas supply / exhaust unit 140 via the anode offgas discharge pipe 192. The fuel gas supply / discharge unit 140 returns the supplied anode off-gas to the fuel gas supply pipe 190 by a circulation pump (not shown).

  Some cells 112 are equipped with electrode terminals 112t. This electrode terminal 112t is for emergency stop of the fuel cell system 100 when the potential of the cell 112 is abnormal. In order to improve the control performance of the fuel cell system 100, more electrode terminals 112t may be provided.

  By recirculating the anode off gas to the fuel gas supply pipe 190, the impurity concentration of the fuel gas supplied to the fuel cell stack 110 increases with time. Therefore, the fuel gas supply / exhaust unit 140 releases the anode off gas into the atmosphere as necessary, for example, when the impurity concentration of the fuel gas becomes high. The hydrogen contained in the anode off-gas is diluted or burned by the fuel gas supply / exhaust unit 140 when released into the atmosphere.

  The fuel cell cooling unit 120 includes a radiator 122, a cooling water pump 124, and a radiator fan 126. The cooling water pump 124 supplies the cooling water to the fuel cell stack 110 via the cooling water supply pipe 184. The cooling water supplied to the fuel cell stack 110 receives heat generated by the fuel cell reaction from the cells 112 when passing through the cooling water flow path provided in the fuel cell stack 110.

  The cooling water whose temperature has been increased by receiving heat is supplied to the radiator 122 via the cooling water recirculation pipe 182. The cooling water supplied to the radiator 122 is lowered in temperature by releasing heat into the atmosphere. The cooling water that has released heat from the radiator 122 is supplied to the cooling water pump 124, whereby the cooling water circulates between the fuel cell cooling unit 120 and the fuel cell stack 110. The radiator fan 126 promotes heat dissipation in the radiator 122 by generating an airflow passing through the radiator 122.

  The secondary battery 300 is provided with a remaining capacity monitor 302 for detecting the remaining capacity of the secondary battery 300. As the remaining capacity monitor 302, an SOC meter or a voltage sensor that integrates charging / discharging current values and time in the secondary battery 300 can be used.

  The power control unit 200 includes a converter 210 and an inverter 220. Converter 210 converts the voltage of secondary battery 300 connected through wiring 206 and sets the voltage between wiring 202 and wiring 204 as a target voltage. The output current of the fuel cell stack 110 is adjusted by the voltage between the two wires 202 and 204 set by the converter 210.

  The inverter 220 converts DC power supplied via the two wirings 202 and 204 into three-phase AC power and supplies it to each of the four motors 410 to 440. Motors 410 to 440 generate electric vehicle propulsion with the electric power supplied from inverter 220. The four motors 410 to 440 are each configured as an in-wheel motor, and the rotation of each of the motors 410 to 440 is transmitted to the wheels of the electric vehicle via a speed reducer. However, the rotation of the motors 410 to 440 may be directly transmitted to the wheels.

  The power control unit 200 includes a microcomputer (not shown) having a CPU, ROM, RAM, timer, and the like. When the microcomputer executes a predetermined program, the power control unit 200 outputs an output signal of a sensor (not shown) provided in each part of the fuel cell system 100, an output signal of the remaining capacity monitor 302, an on / off switch of the start switch of the electric vehicle. Various signals such as an off signal and operation signals such as a shift position and an accelerator opening degree of the electric vehicle are acquired. Based on these various signals, various control processes in converter 210 and inverter 220 are executed, and a drive signal is output to each device constituting fuel cell system 100.

  FIG. 2 is an equipment layout diagram showing an example of equipment layout as viewed from the top of the mounting state of the main components of the drive system 12 in the electric vehicle 10. As main components of the drive system 12, the fuel cell stack 110, the power control unit 200, the radiator 122, the hydrogen gas tank 142, and the motors 410, 420, 430, and 440 are arranged at the respective positions shown in FIG. Has been.

  The electric vehicle 10 employs an in-wheel drive system in which the four wheels 412, 422, 432, and 442 are driven by the four motors 410, 420, 430, and 440. These motors 410, 420, 430, and 440 are attached to four wheels 412, 422, 432, and 442, respectively. The four motors 410, 420, 430, and 440 are each attached to a vehicle body 500 indicated by a two-dot chain line by a suspension device (not shown).

  Inside the vehicle body 500 is provided a chassis 510 as a main structural member that penetrates the electric vehicle 10 forward and backward. The chassis 510 is disposed on the vehicle center line of the electric vehicle 10. The chassis 510 structurally supports the main components of the drive system 12.

  FIG. 3 is an equipment layout diagram showing an example of equipment layout as viewed from the side of the mounting state of the main components of the drive system 12c in the electric vehicle 10c of the comparative example. The vehicle body 500 includes a plate-shaped dash lower 502 that partitions the front portion 14 of the electric vehicle 10 and the passenger cabin 16. The power control unit 200 of the drive system 12 (FIG. 1) is disposed in a space above the chassis 510 in the front portion 14 in front of the dash lower 502.

  A radiator 122 and a radiator fan 126 are attached to the front end of the chassis 510. At positions between the front wheels 412 and 422 and the rear wheels 432 and 442 in the chassis 510, the fuel cell stack 110 and the secondary battery 300 are arranged in this order from the front toward the rear. The hydrogen gas tank 142 is disposed at the rear end portion of the chassis 510.

  Although the fuel cell stack 110c of the comparative example is heavy, it is disposed with a clearance c between the chassis 510. The clearance c is provided for the reason of installation of electrical parts (not shown) including the wiring of the electrode terminal 112t and others. For this reason, a structural member (not shown) for supporting the fuel cell stack 110c on the chassis 510 is provided.

  On the other hand, piping for supplying and exhausting a reaction gas (hydrogen gas or air) (not shown) is provided below the fuel cell stack 110c, so that the fuel cell stack 110c has an area viewed from the front direction ( (Cell area) is narrow. The piping for supplying and exhausting the reactive gas (hydrogen gas and air) is disposed below the fuel cell stack 110c by draining the generated water generated inside the fuel cell stack 110c using gravity. This is to improve drainage.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a fuel cell stack 110c of a comparative example. The fuel cell stack 110c of the comparative example has two electrode terminals 112t for measuring the internal state. The two electrode terminals 112t are arranged on the upper surface in the equipped state of the fuel cell stack 110c.

  This arrangement is an arrangement determined as a convenient position for performing measurement in the state of development and performance confirmation of the fuel cell stack 110c. That is, according to the common general knowledge at the time of filing, in the basic research stage of the fuel cell system, a cell monitor (not shown) is arranged above the fuel cell stack from the viewpoint of convenience of measurement operation, and a reaction gas supply system (not shown) It was the common general technical knowledge of those skilled in the art at the time of filing that the components are arranged in a downward direction.

  In such a distributed arrangement, when the reaction gas supply system and the cell monitor are arranged in one direction, especially in the basic research stage, a measurement device for research (not shown) tends to be intertwined in a complicated manner. It is done to make extensive use of space. Such a concept of distributed arrangement constitutes common general technical knowledge at the time of filing as a general technique capable of improving operability and accessibility.

  FIG. 5 is an equipment layout diagram showing an example of equipment layout as viewed from the side of the mounting state of the main components of the drive system 12 in the electric vehicle 10 of the embodiment. The drive system 12 of the embodiment is different in that the fuel cell stack 110 of the embodiment is directly connected to the chassis 510. Further, the fuel cell stack 110 of the example has a larger area as viewed from the front direction than the fuel cell stack 110c of the comparative example. This is because the space necessary for the equipment arrangement has been reduced by arranging the reactive gas supply system and the cell monitor together in one direction.

  Furthermore, this equipment arrangement can support a heavy fuel cell stack at a position very close to or directly connected to the chassis 510 using the open upper surface of the fuel cell stack 110, thus reducing the structural weight. There is also an advantage that fuel consumption can be improved. Furthermore, the dispersion state of heavy objects in the equipment arrangement of the electric vehicle can be suppressed, the inertia moment can be reduced, and the mobility can be improved.

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing the fuel cell stack 110 of the embodiment. The fuel cell stack 110 of the embodiment has two electrode terminals 112t for measuring the internal state. The two electrode terminals 112t are arranged on the lower surface when the fuel cell stack 110 is equipped. This arrangement is for simplifying and improving the equipment arrangement described above.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the fuel cell stack 110 having the electrode terminals 112t arranged on the lower surface is used to successfully realize the equipment arrangement excellent in space efficiency on the vehicle. . This configuration was created by the inventor of the present invention by reexamining the degree of freedom of equipment arrangement of each device of the cell potential measurement unit and the reaction gas supply unit without being bound by the common general knowledge of those skilled in the art. It is against technical common sense at the time of filing. This is because the common general knowledge at the time of filing is that the operability and accessibility of the apparatus can be improved by distributing and arranging as described above.

B. Variations:
As mentioned above, although several embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to such embodiment at all, and implementation in a various aspect is possible within the range which does not deviate from the summary. It is. In particular, elements other than the elements described in the independent claims in the constituent elements in each of the embodiments described above are additional elements and can be omitted as appropriate. Furthermore, for example, the following modifications can be implemented.

B-1. In the above-described embodiment, the fuel cell system is mounted on an electric vehicle, but can be applied to, for example, a stationary fuel cell system. In particular, in the stationary type, considering the housing situation in Japan, it is desired to increase the space efficiency by effectively using the lower region of the fuel cell stack. Furthermore, for example, since it is often installed outdoors, the inventor of the present application has found that the concentrated equipment in the lower region and the side region of the fuel cell stack also has an advantage of facilitating ensuring weather resistance. It was done.

B-2. In the above-described embodiment, the fuel cell system is mounted on an electric vehicle, but may be mounted on a two-wheeled vehicle, for example. In particular, since a two-wheeled vehicle is required to be equipped in a compact manner, it has a remarkable effect. In addition, the configuration in which the electrode terminal is mounted below the fuel cell stack and the equipment arrangement below the fuel cell stack are effective for collision with the ground, particularly considering the possibility of rollover or rollover of the two-wheeled vehicle. It has been found by the present inventor that the present invention has a remarkable effect that it can be avoided.

1 is a schematic diagram of a drive system 12 used for driving an electric vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. The equipment arrangement | positioning figure which shows an example of the equipment arrangement | positioning which looked at the mounting state of the main components of the drive system 12 in the electric vehicle 10 from the upper surface. The equipment arrangement | positioning figure which shows an example of the equipment arrangement | positioning which looked at the mounting state of the main components of the drive system 12c in the electric vehicle 10c of a comparative example from the side. Explanatory drawing which shows the fuel cell stack 110c of a comparative example. The equipment arrangement | positioning figure which shows an example of the equipment arrangement | positioning which looked at the mounting state of the main components of the drive system 12 in the electric vehicle 10 of an Example from the side surface. Explanatory drawing which shows the fuel cell stack 110 of an Example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10, 10c ... Electric vehicle 12, 12c ... Drive system 14 ... Front part 16 ... Guest room 100 ... Fuel cell system 110, 110c ... Fuel cell stack 112 ... Cell 112t ... Electrode terminal 120 ... Fuel cell cooling part 122 ... Radiator 124 ... Cooling Water pump 126 ... Radiator fan 130 ... Oxidant gas supply / exhaust part 132 ... Air pump 140 ... Fuel gas supply / exhaust part 142 ... Hydrogen gas tank 182 ... Cooling water recirculation pipe 184 ... Cooling water supply pipe 186 ... Oxidant gas supply pipe 188 ... Cathode off-gas discharge pipe 190 ... Fuel gas supply pipe 192 ... Anode off-gas discharge pipe 200 ... Power control unit 202, 204, 206 ... Wiring 210 ... Converter 220 ... Inverter 300 ... Secondary battery 302 ... Remaining capacity monitor 410, 420, 43 0, 440 ... motor 412, 432 ... front wheel 500 ... vehicle body 502 ... dash lower 510 ... chassis

Claims (6)

A fuel cell system,
A fuel cell stack having a plurality of stacked power generators;
A reaction gas supply unit for supplying a reaction gas to the fuel cell stack;
A cell potential measurement unit that measures the potential of at least some of the electrodes of the plurality of power generators;
With
In a predetermined driving posture of the fuel cell stack, at least a part of the reaction gas supply unit and at least a part of the cell potential measurement unit are both on the lower side and the side surface of the fuel cell stack. The fuel cell system being deployed. The fuel cell system according to claim 1, wherein
In the fuel cell system, at least a part of the cell potential measurement unit is disposed below the fuel cell stack in the driving posture. The fuel cell system according to claim 1 or 2,
The fuel cell stack includes an electrode terminal for the measurement,
The fuel cell system, wherein the electrode terminal is disposed below the fuel cell stack in the driving posture. An electric vehicle,
Rooms,
The fuel cell system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which is disposed below the passenger cabin;
A drive unit that drives the electric vehicle using electric power generated by the fuel cell system;
Electric car with The electric vehicle according to claim 4, further comprising:
A chassis supporting the cabin and the fuel cell system;
The fuel cell stack is an electric vehicle supported by the chassis on an upper surface of the fuel cell stack. A fuel cell stack,
A plurality of stacked power generators;
A terminal for measuring the potential of at least some of the plurality of power generators;
With
The fuel cell stack, wherein the terminal is provided on the lower surface side of the fuel cell stack in a preset operation posture of the fuel cell stack.

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