JP2011002052A - Gas supply system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a gas supply system, which can facilitate removal of a nozzle after completion of charging to a gas supply target.SOLUTION: The gas supply system includes an accumulator 6 for accumulating gas compressed by a compressor, a precooler 8 for cooling the gas from the accumulator 6, and a nozzle 3 for charging the gas cooled by the precooler 8 to the supply target, which are provided in a gas flow passage 4. The system further includes a temperature sensor (nozzle temperature detection unit) T1 which detects temperature of the nozzle 3; and a control unit (gas supply temperature control unit) 41 which raises the temperature of the gas to be charged to the supply target more than the temperature of the gas cooled by the precooler 8, when the detected temperature by the temperature sensor T1 is lower than a predetermined temperature rise permitting threshold that is at least a freezing point or lower.

Description

  The present invention relates to a gas supply system that supplies a predetermined gas to a gas supply target.

  As a gas supply system, a gas such as CNG supplied as fuel to the vehicle is compressed to a predetermined pressure to generate the pressurized gas, and the gas compressed by the pressure generation unit is supplied to the fuel tank. A device including a dispenser unit is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 08-68495 JP 2005-285403 A JP 2005-69329 A

  In such a gas supply system, hydrogen stored in a hydrogen curd is compressed and stored in an accumulator, and precooled using a precooler at the time of filling, and then filled into a vehicle to be supplied through a nozzle. By this precooler, the hydrogen from the pressure accumulator is cooled to, for example, -20 ° C and then supplied to the tank in the vehicle, thereby shortening the filling time.

  In such a gas supply system, the low-temperature hydrogen supplied from the dispenser freezes moisture, rain, etc. contained in the outside air around the nozzle, and the connection portion between the nozzle and the vehicle-side receptacle to which the nozzle is connected becomes It may stick. For this reason, there is a possibility that the nozzle cannot be easily removed from the receptacle after filling.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the said situation, and it aims at providing the gas supply system which can make easy removal of the nozzle after completion | finish of filling to a gas supply object.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the gas supply system of the present invention, an accumulator that accumulates gas compressed by a compressor, a precooler that cools the gas from the accumulator, and a gas that is cooled by the precooler. A nozzle for filling the supply target, provided in the gas flow path, a nozzle temperature detection unit for detecting the temperature of the nozzle, and a predetermined temperature rise permission at which the detection temperature of the nozzle temperature detection unit is at least below the freezing point A configuration having a gas supply temperature control unit that raises the temperature of the gas charged into the supply target to be higher than the temperature of the gas cooled by the precooler when the value is lower than the threshold value is adopted.

  According to such a configuration, the freezing of the nozzle is eliminated by the heat held by the gas having a temperature higher than that of the gas cooled by the precooler. In addition, since the temperature of the filling gas is raised above the temperature of the gas cooled by the precooler only under a predetermined condition, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the filling speed.

  A filling pressure detection unit for detecting a filling pressure for a supply target is provided, and the gas supply temperature control unit determines immediately before the end of filling a pressure detected by the filling pressure detection unit is lower than a filling end pressure set by a user by a predetermined pressure. When the temperature is higher than the threshold and the detection temperature of the nozzle temperature detection unit is lower than the temperature rise permission threshold, the temperature of the gas charged in the supply target is increased above the temperature of the gas cooled by the precooler. You may do it.

The gas supply temperature control unit includes a heat exchange unit that heats the gas by branching the gas that has passed through the precooler from the gas flow path and exchanging heat with the compressor or a gas flowing out of the compressor. The temperature of the gas filled in the supply target may be made higher than the temperature of the gas cooled by the precooler by branching the gas flow toward the heat exchange unit.
In such a configuration, a new heating source is unnecessary by using the compressor as a heat source.

  A bypass flow path that bypasses the precooler, and the gas supply temperature control unit switches the gas flow to the bypass flow path side to bypass the precooler, thereby setting the temperature of the gas charged in the supply target to the precooler. You may make it raise more than the temperature of the gas cooled by.

  A heater for heating the gas is provided, and the gas supply temperature control unit heats the gas filled in the supply target with the heater so as to raise the temperature of the gas cooled by the precooler. May be.

In another gas supply system according to the present invention, an accumulator that accumulates gas compressed by a compressor, a precooler that cools gas from the accumulator, and gas that is cooled by the precooler are supplied. A nozzle for filling, and a nozzle temperature detector for detecting the temperature of the nozzle, and a predetermined temperature rise permission threshold at which the detected temperature of the nozzle temperature detector is at least below the freezing point And a gas supply temperature control unit for controlling the temperature of the gas charged in the supply target so as not to become lower.
According to such a configuration, the nozzle temperature is controlled so that freezing at the end of filling the gas supply target is eliminated.

  According to the gas supply system of the present invention, it is possible to facilitate removal of the nozzle after completion of filling the gas supply target.

It is a block diagram which shows the outline of a gas station. It is a lineblock diagram of a gas supply system concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart explaining control by a control part. It is a block diagram of the gas supply system which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining control by the control part in the embodiment. It is a block diagram of the gas supply system which concerns on further another embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of the gas supply system which concerns on further another embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed nozzle temperature control by the gas supply system which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the other example of the nozzle temperature control.

  Hereinafter, a gas supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. This gas supply system is a hydrogen gas station that supplies hydrogen gas, which is a fuel gas, to a fuel cell vehicle (a gas supply target) equipped with a fuel cell that generates power by an electrochemical reaction between the fuel gas and an oxidizing gas. Applicable.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the gas supply system 1 is provided in a gas station 10 for supplying hydrogen gas to a gas storage tank mounted on a vehicle S that is a gas supply target, and stores hydrogen. A hydrogen curdle 2 (gas supply source), a nozzle 3 that discharges hydrogen gas toward a hydrogen tank (hereinafter simply referred to as a tank) mounted on the vehicle S to be supplied, and a gas connecting them And a flow path 4. The nozzle 3 is provided with a temperature sensor (nozzle temperature detector) T1.

  The gas flow path 4 stores, in order from the hydrogen curdle 2 side (upstream side), a compressor 5 that compresses and discharges hydrogen gas from the hydrogen curdle 2, and hydrogen gas that has been pressurized to a predetermined pressure by the compressor 5. A pre-cooler 8 that preliminarily cools the hydrogen gas from the pressure accumulator 6, and a dispenser unit 11 that supplies the hydrogen gas from the pre-cooler 8 to the nozzle 3.

  The control unit (gas supply temperature control unit) 41 controls the gas supply system 1 in an integrated manner, and controls the driving state of the compressor 5 and the precooler 8, for example. In addition to the lever operation detection signal from the nozzle 3, for example, the control unit 41 receives detection signals from the pressure sensors and the temperature sensor T1, and controls the operation of each unit based on the received detection signals.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, after the hydrogen gas is divided from the gas flow path 4 downstream of the pressure accumulator 6, the hydrogen gas is heated using heat generated by the compressor 5, and again downstream of the precooler 8. A bypass passage (heat exchange section side) 9 that joins the gas passage 4 is provided.

  The bypass flow path 9 is provided with a shut-off valve 9 a, and the gas flow path 4 is provided with a shut-off valve 4 a downstream of the joining position of the bypass flow path 9. The shutoff valves 4a and 9a are selectively opened and closed by a control signal from the control unit 41 to switch the hydrogen gas supply flow path filled in the tank between the gas flow path 4 and the bypass flow path 9. It is configured to be.

  The bypass flow path 9 is disposed in contact with the discharge-side piping or housing of the compressor 5, and the hydrogen gas flowing through the bypass flow path 9 is heat-exchanged with the hydrogen gas flowing through the compressor 5 or the discharge-side piping. The

  When hydrogen gas is filled into a tank (not shown) mounted on the vehicle S by the gas supply system 1 described above, the nozzle 3 is fitted to the receptacle 22 provided at the hydrogen gas filling port (supply port) of the vehicle S. Connect to the state.

In this state, the dispenser unit 11 is operated by pulling the trigger lever of the nozzle 3.
Normally, the shut-off valve 4a is open and the shut-off valve 9a is closed. The hydrogen gas compressed by the compressor 5 from the hydrogen curdle 2 and stored in the pressure accumulator 6 is precooled by the precooler 8 and then the nozzle 3 Sent to the side. Then, an on-off valve (not shown), for example, a check valve provided in the nozzle 3 is opened, and hydrogen gas filling into a tank mounted on the vehicle S is started.

The hydrogen gas from the pressure accumulator 6 is about room temperature, but is cooled to about −20 ° C. by the precooler 8. For this reason, depending on the external environment, the nozzle 3 may become below freezing point and freezing may occur.
In the present embodiment, the control unit 41 monitors the temperature of the fitting portion between the receptacle 22 and the nozzle 3 by the temperature sensor T1, and if it is determined that there is a possibility of freezing in the fitting portion, the compression is performed. The nozzle 3 is heated using the hot gas from the machine 5.

  More specifically, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3, first, in step ST1, a predetermined temperature increase permission threshold, for example, 0 ° C., at which the fitting portion between the nozzle 3 and the receptacle 22 is set at least below the freezing point. Whether it is below or not is determined based on the output of the temperature sensor T1, and if not below 0 ° C., normal filling is continued as it is.

  If the fitting part between the nozzle 3 and the receptacle 22 is 0 ° C. or lower, the filling pressure is measured by, for example, a pressure sensor (filling pressure detection part) P1 provided on the vehicle S side in step ST2, and the filling is performed. It is determined whether the end is near (step ST3).

  In this determination, a filling end threshold value that is lower than the filling end pressure (for example, full tank, 50 MPa, 10 MPa, etc.) set by the user by a predetermined pressure (for example, 1 to 5 MPa) is used. It is determined whether the detected pressure is high. When the detected pressure does not reach the threshold value for determining the end of filling and is not just before the end of filling, normal filling is continued as it is.

  On the other hand, when the detected pressure is equal to or more than the threshold value for determining the end of filling, that is, just before the end of filling (for example, 10 seconds before), the shutoff valve 4a is closed and the shutoff valve 9a is opened. The hydrogen gas (gas temperature of about room temperature) is guided to the compressor 5 by the bypass passage 9. Thereby, the hydrogen gas from the pressure accumulator 6 is heated by exchanging heat with the compressor 5 or the piping on the discharge side.

  Then, the heated hydrogen gas returns to the gas flow path 4 again, whereby the nozzle 3 is heated and the freezing at the fitting portion of the nozzle 3 is melted. The above determination is performed at a predetermined cycle until filling is completed.

When the tank is filled with an amount of hydrogen gas corresponding to the filling end pressure, the control unit 41 closes the shutoff valve of the dispenser unit 11. Thereby, hydrogen gas filling is completed.
After completion of filling the tank with hydrogen gas, the nozzle 3 connected to the receptacle 22 of the vehicle S is removed from the receptacle 22, and the nozzle 3 is accommodated in the nozzle holder of the dispenser unit 11.

  As described above, the gas supply system 1 according to the present embodiment is configured to melt the freezing of the nozzle 3 by using the retained heat of the high-temperature gas discharged from the compressor 5. However, without providing a new heater or the like, it is possible to prevent the nozzle 3 from freezing and facilitate the removal of the nozzle 3 after completion of filling.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
As shown in FIG. 4, in this embodiment, instead of the bypass flow path 9, the high-temperature (for example, 100 ° C.) gas discharged from the compressor 5 is discharged from the gas flow path 4 before flowing into the accumulator 6. A bypass path 12 is provided for branching and joining the gas flow path 4 again on the downstream side of the precooler 8.

  The bypass passage 12 is provided with a shut-off valve 12a, and the gas passage 4 is provided with a shut-off valve 4a upstream of the joining position of the bypass passage 12. The shutoff valves 4 a and 12 a are selectively opened and closed by a control signal from the control unit 41, whereby the hydrogen gas supply channel filled in the tank is switched between the gas channel 4 and the bypass channel 12. It is configured as follows.

  When hydrogen gas is charged into a tank mounted on the vehicle S by the gas supply system 1 described above, the nozzle 3 is connected to a receptacle 22 provided at a hydrogen gas filling port (supply port) of the vehicle S in a fitted state. .

In this state, the dispenser unit 11 is operated by pulling the trigger lever of the nozzle 3.
Normally, the shut-off valve 4a is open and the shut-off valve 12a is closed, and the hydrogen gas compressed by the compressor 5 from the hydrogen curdle 2 and stored in the pressure accumulator 6 is precooled by the precooler 8 to become the nozzle 3 Sent to the side. Then, an on-off valve (not shown), for example, a check valve provided in the nozzle 3 is opened, and hydrogen gas filling into a tank mounted on the vehicle S is started.

  In the present embodiment, the control unit 41 monitors the temperature of the fitting portion between the receptacle 22 and the nozzle 3 using the temperature sensor T1, and if it is determined that there is a possibility of freezing in the fitting portion, the control portion 41 performs compression. The nozzle 3 is heated using the hot gas from the machine 5.

  More specifically, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5, first, in step ST1, a predetermined temperature increase permission threshold value, for example, 0 ° C., at which the fitting portion between the nozzle 3 and the receptacle 22 is set at least below the freezing point. Whether it is below or not is determined based on the output of the temperature sensor T1, and if not below 0 ° C., normal filling is continued as it is.

  When the fitting part between the nozzle 3 and the receptacle 22 is 0 ° C. or less, the filling pressure is measured by the pressure sensor P1 in step ST2, and it is determined whether or not the filling is almost finished (step ST3). If the detected pressure does not reach the predetermined threshold just before the end of filling and is not just before the end of filling, normal filling is continued as it is.

  On the other hand, when the detected pressure is equal to or higher than the threshold value for determining the end of filling, that is, just before the end of filling (for example, 10 seconds before), the shutoff valve 4a is closed and the shutoff valve 12a is opened. The high temperature gas bypasses the precooler 8 and is supplied to the nozzle 3. Thereby, the nozzle 3 is heated by the retained heat of the high-temperature gas from the compressor 5, and the freezing at the fitting portion of the nozzle 3 is melted. The above determination is performed at a predetermined cycle until filling is completed.

When the tank is filled with an amount of hydrogen gas corresponding to the filling end pressure, the control unit 41 closes the shutoff valve of the dispenser unit 11. Thereby, hydrogen gas filling is completed.
After completion of filling the tank with hydrogen gas, the nozzle 3 connected to the receptacle 22 of the vehicle S is removed from the receptacle 22, and the nozzle 3 is accommodated in the nozzle holder of the dispenser unit 11.

  As described above, the gas supply system 1 according to the present embodiment is configured to melt the freezing of the nozzle 3 by using the retained heat of the high-temperature gas discharged from the compressor 5. However, without providing a new heater or the like, it is possible to prevent the nozzle 3 from freezing and facilitate the removal of the nozzle 3 after completion of filling.

FIG. 6 shows another modification according to the present invention.
In the present modification, a bypass channel 13 is provided that branches from the gas channel 4 downstream of the pressure accumulator 6, bypasses the precooler 8, and rejoins the gas channel 4 on the outlet side of the precooler 8. . The bypass channel 13 is provided with a heater 14 for heating the hydrogen gas passing through the bypass channel 13. The bypass channel 13 is provided with a shutoff valve 13a. Since other configurations are the same as those of the above-described embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

  In this modification, as a means for raising the temperature of the nozzle 3, instead of bypassing the high-temperature gas discharged from the compressor 5, the gas discharged from the pressure accumulator 6 is heated using the heater 14.

  Specifically, as in the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, first, whether or not the fitting portion between the nozzle 3 and the receptacle 22 is at least a predetermined temperature increase permission threshold value that is at or below the freezing point, for example, 0 ° C. or less. Is determined based on the output of the temperature sensor T1, and if it is not less than 0 ° C., normal filling is continued as it is.

  And when the fitting part of the nozzle 3 and the receptacle 22 is 0 degreeC or less, a filling pressure is measured by the pressure sensor P1, and it is determined whether the filling completion is near. When the detected pressure does not reach the threshold value for determining the end of filling and is not just before the end of filling, normal filling is continued as it is.

  On the other hand, when the detected pressure is equal to or more than the threshold value for determining the end of filling, that is, just before the end of filling (for example, 10 seconds before), the shutoff valve 4a is closed, the shutoff valve 13a is opened, and the heater 14 is started. Thus, the hydrogen gas from the pressure accumulator 6 is heated by the heater 14. Thereby, the temperature of hydrogen gas will be 40-50 degreeC, for example.

  By supplying this hydrogen gas to the nozzle 3, the temperature of the nozzle 3 is raised by the heat retained by the hydrogen gas, and freezing at the fitting portion of the nozzle 3 is melted. The above determination is performed at a predetermined cycle until filling is completed.

  As described above, the gas supply system 1 according to this modification is configured to melt the freezing of the nozzle 3 by using the retained heat of the hydrogen gas heated by the heater 14. It is possible to prevent the nozzle 3 from being frozen and to facilitate removal of the nozzle 3 after filling.

  As a further modification of the above modification, as shown in FIG. 7, the precooler 8 may be simply bypassed without providing the heater 14 as shown in FIG. 4. Also by this, the freezing of the nozzle 3 can be melted by the retained heat of the hydrogen gas that is not cooled by the precooler 8.

As still another modification, the cooling temperature by the precooler 8 may be raised instead of providing the bypass as described above. Since other configurations are the same as those of the above-described embodiment, description thereof is omitted.
That is, similarly to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, first, it is determined based on the output of the temperature sensor T1 whether the fitting portion between the nozzle 3 and the receptacle 22 is at a predetermined low temperature, for example, 3 ° C. or less. If it is not 3 ° C. or lower, normal filling is continued as it is.

  When the fitting part between the nozzle 3 and the receptacle 22 is 3 ° C. or less, the filling pressure is measured by the pressure sensor P1, and it is determined whether or not the filling is almost finished. If the detected pressure does not reach the predetermined threshold just before the end of filling and is not just before the end of filling, normal filling is continued as it is, and if it is just before the end of filling (for example, 10 seconds before), the cooling temperature by the precooler 8 To maintain.

The cooling temperature by the precooler 8 at this time is controlled as shown in FIG.
That is, by controlling the temperature of the hydrogen gas cooled by the precooler 8 so as not to fall below 3 ° C., the temperature of the nozzle 3 is prevented from falling below the freezing point. Therefore, freezing at the fitting portion of the nozzle 3 is suppressed, and the removal of the nozzle 3 after completion of filling can be facilitated.

  Note that the temperature setting by the precooler 8 may be controlled so that the temperature of the nozzle 3 does not become below the freezing point from the inclination of the temperature drop and the prediction of the filling time, as shown in FIG.

  In the above-described embodiment, the filling pressure is measured by the pressure sensor P1 provided in the receptacle 22. However, in the present invention, any configuration can be used as long as it is possible to detect that the filling is just before the end. It may be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Gas supply system, 2 ... Hydrogen curdle, 3 ... Nozzle, 4 ... Gas flow path, 4a ... Shut-off valve, 5 ... Compressor, 6 ... Accumulator, 8 ... Precooler, 9 ... Bypass flow path (heat exchange part) , 9a ... shutoff valve, 10 ... gas station, 12 ... bypass passage, 12a ... shutoff valve, 13 ... bypass passage, 13a ... shutoff valve, 14 ... heater, 22 ... receptacle, P1 ... pressure sensor (filling pressure detector) , T1 ... temperature sensor (nozzle temperature detection unit), 41 ... control unit (gas supply temperature control unit)

Claims (6)

A pressure accumulator for accumulating gas compressed by the compressor;
A precooler for cooling the gas from the accumulator;
A nozzle for filling the supply object with the gas cooled by the precooler, and provided in the gas flow path,
A nozzle temperature detector for detecting the temperature of the nozzle;
When the temperature detected by the nozzle temperature detection unit is lower than a predetermined temperature rise permission threshold that is at least below the freezing point, the temperature of the gas charged into the supply target is raised above the temperature of the gas cooled by the precooler. A gas supply temperature control unit;
Having a gas supply system. Provided with a filling pressure detection unit for detecting the filling pressure for the supply object,
The gas supply temperature control unit has a detection pressure detected by the filling pressure detection unit that is higher than a threshold value immediately before filling end lower than a filling end pressure set by a user by a predetermined pressure, and a detection temperature of the nozzle temperature detection unit is 2. The gas supply system according to claim 1, wherein the temperature of the gas charged in the supply target is raised above the temperature of the gas cooled by the precooler when the temperature rise permission threshold is lower. A heat exchanging unit that heats the gas by branching the gas that has passed through the precooler and exchanging heat with the gas flowing out of the compressor or the compressor;
The said gas supply temperature control part raises the temperature of the gas with which the said supply object is filled rather than the temperature of the gas cooled with the said precooler by branching a gas flow to the said heat exchange part side. Or the gas supply system of 2. A bypass flow path for bypassing the precooler,
The gas supply temperature control unit switches the gas flow to the bypass flow path side and bypasses the precooler, thereby increasing the temperature of the gas filled in the supply target to be higher than the temperature of the gas cooled by the precooler. The gas supply system according to claim 1 or 2. A heater for heating the gas;
3. The gas supply according to claim 1, wherein the gas supply temperature control unit raises the gas charged in the supply target with the heater to raise the temperature of the gas cooled by the precooler. system. A pressure accumulator for accumulating gas compressed by the compressor;
A precooler for cooling the gas from the accumulator;
A nozzle for filling the supply object with the gas cooled by the precooler, and provided in the gas flow path,
A nozzle temperature detector for detecting the temperature of the nozzle;
A gas supply temperature control unit configured to control a gas temperature charged in the supply target so that the temperature detected by the nozzle temperature detection unit is not lower than a predetermined temperature rise permission threshold value that is at least below the freezing point. .

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