JP2015141869A - Power supply system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a portable power supply system and a measurement and observation system that can be continuously driven for a long period of time without being influenced by weather and environment.SOLUTION: A power supply system is configured of a fuel cell 4, a secondary battery 11, and power output means 10 outputting power from these batteries. The fuel cell can charge the secondary battery. The power output means is at least constituted of a DC/DC converter and a DC/AC inverter and outputs power directly, or via the DC/DC converter or the DC/AC inverter. These components are housed in at least one or more housings. A housing 1 at least housing the fuel cell has: one or more air suction ports 2 for taking in air to be supplied to the fuel cell; and an air exhaust port 6 discharging a discharge gas from the fuel cell. At least at a part of the housing, a heat insulation material whose thermal conductivity at 25°C is 0.06 W/m K or less is provided. A fan 7 for cooling the fuel cell or for air circulation in the housing is provided in the housing.

Description

The present invention is a power supply system that can be driven continuously for a long time without being affected by the weather and the surrounding environment without maintenance, and a housing thereof. For example, it can be used for measurement or observation systems necessary for monitoring road surface freezing due to temperature, monitoring of landslides, earthquakes, etc., and monitoring of the surrounding environment and conditions.

Up to now, many power supply systems, particularly those using secondary batteries have been proposed as examples of power supply systems used as an independent power supply outdoors. For example, many portable lithium ion batteries are commercially available, but in order to use them continuously for a long period of time, there is no choice but to increase the capacity of the secondary battery. In particular, CO ₂ measurement (Patent Document 1), environmental measurement such as temperature (Patent Document 2), disaster detection (Patent Document 3), etc. can be cited as examples of use in an outdoor measurement or observation system. There is a problem that it is necessary to charge once discharged. Moreover, since it becomes heavy in proportion to battery capacity, there also existed a problem that it was poor in portability.

Many proposals have been made to combine wind power generators and solar power generation to replenish secondary batteries with electrical energy, but it is a power generation system that uses natural energy, making it difficult to secure a stable power supply. Met.

  In order to solve such a problem, for the purpose of supplying power for a long period of time, for example, a power source (Patent Document 4 and Patent Document 5) combining a lithium ion battery and a direct methanol fuel cell has been introduced. It was a study of technology, and it was not considered to be actually used as a power supply system outdoors.

JP 2012-83294 A JP 2009-89605 A JP 2001-283348 A Japanese Patent No. 4564940 Japanese Patent No. 4583010

  It can be used without being connected to a commercial power supply, greatly reduces the frequency of maintenance such as replacement of secondary batteries, and can be continuously driven for a long time without being affected by the weather or surrounding environment. Provided are a power supply system that can be used outdoors for a measurement or observation system, and a measurement or observation system.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides the following power supply system and measurement or monitoring system.

(1) A power supply system including at least a fuel cell and a secondary battery whose output is in the range of 5 to 300 W, the fuel cell being able to charge the secondary battery, and the fuel cell and the secondary battery A means for supplying electric power from the battery to the outside, and the means is one or more means selected from the group consisting of a DC / DC converter and a DC / AC inverter, and a fuel cell constituting the power supply system; The secondary battery is housed in at least one housing, and the housing has at least one intake port for taking in air supplied to the fuel cell into at least the housing in which the fuel cell is housed. And an exhaust port for discharging exhaust gas from the fuel cell, and at least a part of the casing is provided with a heat insulating material having a thermal conductivity at 25 ° C. of 0.06 W / m · K or less, and the casing A fuel cell and / or housing The power supply system is provided with an air cooling mechanism using a fan installed in the housing or an air circulation mechanism in the housing.
(2) Further, the heat insulating material is a material classified as either non-combustible or self-digestible according to the A method prescribed in JIS K6911 standard. Power system.
(3) The power supply system according to any one of (1) to (2), wherein the intake port can be opened and closed in accordance with an operation state of the power supply system.
(4) The fuel cell may be any one of a direct methanol fuel cell, a methanol reforming fuel cell, or a solid hydrogen-utilizing fuel cell. It is a power supply system of description.
(5) The power supply system according to (4), wherein a power amount of 0.6 kWh to 90 kWh can be supplied by a single fuel change.
(6) A measurement or observation system that operates using the power supplied from the power supply system according to any one of (1) to (5).

Since the power supply system of the present invention can be continuously driven for a long time when used as a power supply outdoors, it can be used without being connected to a commercial power supply, and the frequency of maintenance such as replacement of a secondary battery or fuel is also possible. It is possible to secure a power supply in a state where the power consumption is greatly reduced. Therefore, the stability in the measurement or observation system can be improved. Moreover, it has the characteristic that it can also be made portable.

It is a structural example of the power supply system of this invention. It is a structural example of the power supply system of this invention. It is a schematic diagram of the fuel cell of this invention. It is an example regarding the electrical connection to the measurement or observation system in the power supply system of this invention.

  Commercial power is widely used as a power source, but there is a problem that it is difficult to use the commercial power in some places. When it is difficult to connect to such a commercial power source, an independent power source is required as a power supply means. Little power is available. On the other hand, a power supply system that combines a secondary battery with a power source using natural energy such as solar cells and wind power generation has already been proposed, but solar cells and wind power generation are not suitable for bad weather such as snow and rain, and the surrounding environment. As a result, there is a problem that the amount of power generation fluctuates accordingly due to a decrease in sunshine hours or the strength of the wind, and the power supply system combining the two has a problem in stability.

As another independent power source, for example, a power source that combines a fuel cell and a storage battery is also being studied, but elemental technology has been studied, especially for use in harsh usage environments where changes in weather and temperature are large. There are few examples that have been considered. For example, in Takayama in winter, Hokkaido, etc., the temperature may be minus 30 to 40 ° C., but it is not uncommon to exceed 40 ° C. in the summer in a warm area.

The power supply system in the present invention relates to a power supply system in which a fuel cell and a secondary battery are combined based on actually severe outdoor use, and is a measurement and observation system provided with the power supply system.

The present invention is a power supply system including a configuration including at least a fuel cell and a secondary battery whose output is in the range of 5 to 300 W, and the fuel cell is capable of charging the secondary battery, and the fuel cell. And the secondary battery are electrically connected in parallel and have means for supplying power from the fuel cell and the secondary battery to the outside, the means being directly connected to a DC / DC converter, DC / AC The fuel cell and the secondary battery constituting the power supply system are housed in at least one casing by one or more means selected from the group consisting of inverters, and the casing includes at least the fuel cell. The housing to be housed has one or more intake ports for taking in air to be supplied to the fuel cell, and an exhaust port for exhausting exhaust gas from the fuel cell. Heat transfer in A heat insulating material having a conductivity of 0.06 W / m · K or less is provided, and the case is provided with a fuel cell and / or an air cooling mechanism by a fan installed in the case or an air circulation mechanism in the case. It is the power supply system characterized by having.

A fuel cell uses a proton-conducting ion exchange membrane as an electrolyte, and catalyst electrode fine particles and a gas diffusion electrode are directly joined to the surface thereof, and hydrogen gas, methanol, etc. are provided on the anode side of the ion exchange membrane-electrode assembly. This is a power generation system that uses a chemical reaction that can extract electricity and heat by catalysis by supplying fossil fuel and supplying oxygen-containing gas such as oxygen or air to the cathode side. Due to the chemical power generation, unlike the internal combustion engine, high-efficiency power generation that is not controlled by the Carnot cycle is possible. In the case of power generation by an internal combustion engine, noise is noisy and there is a possibility that a large amount of harmful substances such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides are mixed in the exhaust gas, which is not suitable for the power supply system.

A general conceptual diagram of a fuel cell is shown in FIG. 3 and will be described based on this. At least the fuel cell has a fuel flow for supplying fuel to the surface in contact with the aforementioned ion exchange membrane-electrode assembly and the anode. A single cell, or a stack (24) in which a plurality of single cells are stacked, and a single cell or stack A fuel supply mechanism (25) for supplying liquid fuel to the fuel inlet, an oxidant supply mechanism (26) for supplying an oxidizer mainly composed of air to the oxidant inlet of the single cell or stack, and an exhaust from the single cell or stack A mechanism (28) for discharging exhaust gas to be discharged to the outside, a mechanism for outputting (30) a direct current (29) generated from a single cell or stack to the outside via a control mechanism (27), and Becomes because the pay housing mechanism (31), also those having a mechanism for controlling the mechanism temperatures including. When expressing a fuel cell, the single cell or stack is often shown as a fuel cell, but the fuel cell in the present invention is the supply and control of fuel and oxidant to the fuel cell shown in the conceptual diagram of FIG. A fuel cell system including a mechanism including temperature control and temperature control. Here, the fuel supply mechanism includes fuel supply from the fuel tank, and the fuel tank itself is preferable whether it is inside or outside the housing mechanism.

In the present invention, the fuel cell is electrically connected to a secondary battery, and the secondary battery can be charged with electric power generated by the fuel cell.

The output of the fuel cell is preferably in the range of 5 W to 300 W, more preferably in the range of 20 W to 250 W, and still more preferably in the range of 25 W to 200 W. When the output is less than 5 W, the power supply amount may be insufficient. On the other hand, when the power exceeds 300 W, the fuel consumption increases and the weight also increases, so that it tends not to be suitable for a power supply system used outdoors.

In the present invention, since electric power is used for starting the fuel cell, it is preferable that the electric power stored in the secondary battery at the time of starting the fuel cell can be used from the electrically connected secondary battery. Further, it is preferable that the fuel cell can be charged by supplying power from the fuel cell to the secondary battery after the fuel cell is started. In that case, the fuel cell always monitors the state of the secondary battery to monitor the state of charge of the secondary battery and start the fuel cell so that the state of charge of the secondary battery is always within the arbitrarily set range. It is a preferred configuration to stop.

In portable power systems consisting only of secondary batteries, there was a problem that they could not be used at all when the capacity of the secondary battery was exhausted. Since the secondary battery can be managed in the state of charge, power can be supplied for a long period of time, the operation time of the portable power supply system can be lengthened, and as a result, a more stable system can be provided.

Preferred examples of the secondary battery connected to the fuel cell include a lead storage battery, a nickel hydride battery, a nickel cadmium battery, a lithium ion battery, a lithium polymer battery, and a vanadium battery. Particularly preferred are lead storage batteries, nickel cadmium batteries, and lithium ion batteries. Lead storage batteries and nickel cadmium batteries are highly reliable batteries, and are effective in providing highly reliable batteries for the outdoor power supply system of the present invention. Since a lithium ion battery can be reduced in size, it can provide a merit that it is easy to carry. In addition, as the secondary battery, those having durability against repeated charge and discharge are preferable, and in consideration of temperature characteristics, a lead storage battery and a nickel cadmium battery are preferable, and the secondary battery particularly preferable for the present invention is a lead storage battery, particularly a deep cycle. This is a type of lead acid battery.

The capacity of the secondary battery can be appropriately selected according to the application, but it tends to be preferable to use a battery with a 20 hour rate capacity of 5 Ah to 250 Ah. Particularly preferred is 10 Ah to 150 Ah. If it is 5 Ah or less, the battery capacity tends to be insufficient, and if it exceeds 250 Ah, it tends to be too heavy. As an example, 10 Ah to 100 Ah in the case of 45 W and 50 Ah to 200 Ah in the case of 110 W are one standard. If the capacity of the secondary battery is too small relative to the output of the fuel cell, charging will be completed immediately, and the frequency of starting and stopping the fuel cell will increase. Tend to.

Therefore, combining the fuel cell with the secondary battery, using the secondary battery as a power buffer, and operating the fuel cell while monitoring changes in the charging state and operating conditions of the secondary battery is a power system of the present invention. This is a preferred mode. For example, when the voltage of the secondary battery drops and becomes lower than the lower limit set value A, the secondary battery is charged by power generation by the fuel cell, and the voltage of the secondary battery rises to increase the upper limit set value B. By having a mechanism that stops the power generation by the fuel cell and stops charging the secondary battery when it becomes above, it becomes possible to always keep the secondary battery in the set range charged state, and is unnecessary Therefore, it is possible to operate with the minimum amount of fuel consumption. Therefore, fuel can be used effectively, and electricity can be supplied for a long time. Therefore, it is possible to operate as a highly reliable power source stably at all times.

In addition, since both the lower limit set value A and the upper limit set value B can be changed, an operation suitable for the state of the secondary battery is possible. As a guideline for a lead storage battery, in the case of −20 ° C., the lower limit set value A is in the range of 10.5 to 13.0V, and the upper limit installation value B is in the range of 13.5 to 14.7V. In the case of 20 ° C., the lower limit set value A is in the range of 10.5 to 12.3V, and the upper limit set value B is in the range of 13.0V to 14.3V.

Further, it has power supply means to the outside from the fuel cell and the secondary battery, and the means supplies electricity to the outside directly or through at least one means of a DC / DC inverter or a DC / AC inverter. It needs to be a mechanism. Any type of DC / DC inverter or DC / AC inverter can be selected. A preferred DC / DC inverter or DC / AC inverter is a DC / DC inverter or DC / AC inverter with an output in the range of 10 W to 350 W. If the output is less than 10 W, the output tends to be insufficient as a power source. A DC / DC inverter or DC / AC inverter exceeding 350 W has a large standby power, a high fuel consumption speed, and a high power consumption. Since heat dissipation is also large, it is not preferable. Note that a sine wave output tends to be particularly preferable as the AC output of the DC / AC inverter, but it is not limited. For example, FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of the configuration. The positive electrode and the negative electrode of the fuel cell (32) are connected to the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the secondary battery (33) through electric wires, respectively. The configuration connected to the external power supply means (34) and connected to the various measurement or monitoring systems (35) is a preferred mode.

In the present invention, the fuel cell and the secondary battery are housed in one or more casings. When the power supply system is used outdoors, it is preferably installed in a housing because it is exposed to an environment such as wind and rain. Note that the housing preferably has a transportation assist mechanism for the purpose of facilitating transportation in order to reduce restrictions on the installation location. In order to reduce the weight limit, it is a preferable configuration that the vehicle can be transported in two or more cases. The weight of each housing is not particularly limited, but is preferably 100 kg or less in consideration of transportation to a mountainous area or the like. When the weight exceeds 100 kg, it tends to be difficult to carry as a power supply system. More preferably, it is 40 kg or less, More preferably, it is 25 kg or less.

As an example of the transport assist mechanism, the casing has some uneven structure that is easy to carry, such as a ring shape that can be held by hand like a handle or can be hung on the shoulder or back like a backpack. It is a preferable example to have. Moreover, there may be a wheel like a carry case or a retractable handle. Moreover, the structure which assists fixation to tools for conveyance, such as a trolley | bogie, may be sufficient.

In order to construct a power supply system that operates well even in cold regions and high-temperature environments, a design that minimizes the influence of external temperature is required. For this purpose, in the power supply system of the present invention, the housing in which the fuel cell is housed has at least one intake port for taking in air supplied to the fuel cell, and at least a part of the housing. , Provided with a heat insulating material having a thermal conductivity of 0.06 W / m · K or less at 25 ° C., and the casing is air-cooled by a fuel cell and / or a fan installed in the casing or an air circulation mechanism in the casing Is provided.

As described above, the fuel cell is a reaction that generates electricity and heat during power generation. When used in a cold region, the generated heat can be used to keep the temperature inside the casing. In this case, the housing has an air inlet serving as an air intake necessary for promoting the fuel cell reaction, and in order to keep the generated heat inside the housing, It is preferable that a thermal insulation material having a thermal conductivity of 0.06 W / m · K or less is provided and kept thermal. A more preferable thermal conductivity is 0.04 W / m · K or less. When the thermal conductivity is larger than 0.06 W / m · K, the heat insulation is not sufficient, and it tends to be easily affected by the outside air. Further, the heat insulating material preferably covers 50% or more of the surface area of the housing, and more preferably 80% or more. If it is less than 50%, the heat retaining property tends to be lowered, and it is easily affected by the outside air. On the other hand, since the inside of the housing becomes hot under the influence of sunlight even in a high temperature environment in summer, it is preferably covered with a heat insulating material in the same manner. In this case as well, the thermal conductivity of the heat retaining material is preferably 0.06 W / m · K or less, more preferably 0.04 W / m · K or less. Further, the coverage in the housing is preferably 50% or more, and optimally 80% or more. As described above, the heat insulating material can provide a power supply system that can operate satisfactorily in a wide range of environments. The thickness of the heat retaining material is preferably in the range of 0.3 cm to 10 cm. If the thickness is less than 0.3 cm, the temperature inside the housing tends to decrease, whereas if it is thicker than 10 cm, the power supply system becomes large, and portability tends to decrease. More preferably, it is 0.8 cm-5 cm.

The heat generated by the fuel cell reaction is preferably circulated in the housing by a fuel cell and / or a fan installed in the housing in order to keep the heat in the housing when used in an extremely cold region. . As a result, the temperature inside the casing can be kept more uniform, and the equipment inside the casing including the fuel cell can be protected.

On the other hand, when used in a high-temperature environment, it is preferable to cool by air, for example, to release heat to the outside by a fan installed in the fuel cell and / or the housing. An operation method that switches between a mechanism that circulates air in the housing and a mechanism that cools air according to the outside air temperature is a preferable method. For example, it can be switched automatically by linking with a temperature sensor, or manually depending on the season and installation location. The system is also preferable.

As the heat retaining material, glass wool, rock wool, cellulose fiber, polystyrene foam, urethane foam, polyethylene foam, and phenol foam are preferable examples.

Here, glass wool is a material in which a glass component is melted at a high temperature to form a fine fiber, is not easily deteriorated even in a high temperature and high humidity condition, and tends to be excellent in sound absorption. Rock wool is made by melting basalt, steel slag, etc. into thin fibers, and exerts heat retaining properties by containing a large amount of air that does not move easily in the gaps between the fibers. Cellulose fiber is obtained by pulverizing pulp into cotton and adding a quality improver, and exhibits heat retention by air bubbles in the fiber. Another feature is that the material itself absorbs and releases moisture because it is made of wood fiber, so that condensation is unlikely to occur. Styrene foam is formed by adding a foaming agent and a flame retardant to polystyrene resin to form beads, and foaming with steam, or mixing polystyrene resin, foaming agent and flame retardant, and extruding while foaming. Consists of fine bubbles. It also has features such as light weight and water resistance. Urethane foam is produced by mixing polyisocyanate and polyol as main raw materials with a foaming agent, a flame retardant, etc., and retains heat with an extremely small gas contained in bubbles. Polyethylene foam is made of a polyethylene resin as a main raw material and foamed by adding a foaming agent, and is characterized by high flexibility and waterproofness. Phenol foam is formed by adding a foaming agent, a curing agent, and the like to a phenol resin, and has a feature that it hardly deteriorates over time. Particularly preferred are polystyrene foam, urethane foam, polyethylene foam, and phenol foam, and they are lightweight, so that the power supply system can be handled easily.

Further, it is preferable that the heat retaining material is a material classified into any one of nonflammability and self-digestibility according to the A method defined in JIS K6911 standard. It is possible to have an effect of suppressing a fire caused by hydrogen gas or methanol used as fuel (for example, fire spread from forest fire).

Nonflammability is a property that does not continue to burn. According to Method A defined in JIS K6911, a test piece having a length of 127 mm, a width and a thickness of 12.7 mm is applied to a test piece for 30 seconds, and the test piece is removed after removing the flame. It is determined to have nonflammability when the combustion of the gas disappears within 180 seconds and the burned length is 25 mm or less. Self-extinguishing is a property that burns while exposed to flame, but digests when speaking from the flame. According to method A stipulated in JIS K6911, the test piece burns off within 180 seconds after the flame is removed, and It is defined as having self-digestibility when the burned length is 25 mm or more and 100 mm or less.

For the purpose of enhancing the effect of heat insulation, it is also preferable that the intake port installed in the housing can be opened and closed in accordance with the operation status of the power supply system. When the fuel cell is stopped in the winter, it is possible to suppress the intrusion of outside air into the housing by closing the fuel cell. Further, in the summer, when the inside of the casing is ventilated by the fuel cell and / or the fan installed in the casing, the ventilation can be efficiently performed by opening the casing. In order to automatically open and close, it is a preferable example to use an on-off valve that sucks in outside air only when the pressure inside the housing is lower than when the fuel cell or fan is operating, for example, when it is not operating. is there.

For example, the following open / closed state is a preferred example.
Fuel cell fan Inlet
ON ON (Ventilation) Open
OFF ON (Ventilation) Open
ON OFF Open
OFF OFF Close
ON ON (circulation) Open
OFF ON (Circulation) Closed

The fuel cell in the present invention is not limited, but it is particularly preferable to use methanol as the fuel. In addition to being freezing even in a cold environment during snowfall, it is excellent in handleability, and because of its high energy density, it can be said to be a good fuel when driven for a long time. Therefore, a direct methanol fuel cell or a methanol reformed fuel cell is preferable as the fuel cell. The direct methanol fuel cell referred to here is a fuel cell that operates by supplying methanol or diluted methanol to the fuel cell, and the methanol reformed fuel cell is configured to at least pass methanol once through a reformer. It is a fuel cell that operates by taking out hydrogen and supplying the hydrogen to the fuel cell. A solid hydrogen-based fuel cell is also a preferred example. The solid hydrogen-based fuel cell is a fuel cell that generates hydrogen by a chemical reaction between aluminum, aluminum hydride, calcium hydride, and the like and moisture and operates using the hydrogen as fuel. Since it is a solid fuel, it is easy to store, and there is a merit that fuel can be generated by adding water as required.

Since the power that can be generated is proportional to the amount of fuel, the size of the fuel tank can be changed according to the period of operation. When methanol is used as the fuel, the fuel in the fuel tank is preferably an aqueous methanol solution having a concentration in the range of 50 to 99.5%. For example, when the concentration is 50%, there is an advantage that it is excellent in handling because there is no restriction on the amount of stockpile. On the other hand, there is an advantage that it can be used for a longer time as the concentration becomes higher. More preferably, it is in the range of 90% to 99.5%.

In particular, the direct methanol fuel cell preferably has a configuration in which diluted methanol is supplied to the fuel cell stack after the high-concentration fuel is taken in and then diluted in the fuel cell body. If high-concentration methanol flows into the fuel cell stack, it may lead to a decrease in output, so the concentration of diluted methanol is particularly preferably in the range of 0.3% to 10%.

Further, as the fuel amount, it is preferable that an electric power amount of 0.6 kWh to 90 kWh can be supplied by one fuel change. Depending on the efficiency of the power supply system, 1 L to 80 L is a standard for methanol. If the amount of power that can be supplied in a single fuel change is less than 0.6 kWh, the frequency of fuel change tends to be high and maintenance tends to be complicated, and if it exceeds 90 kWh, the fuel tends to be heavy and difficult to change. is there.

In addition, it is preferable that the secondary battery also has a charging mechanism using natural energy. The combination with the solar power generation device, the wind power generation device, and the hydroelectric power generation device can further reduce the maintenance frequency, and enables continuous driving for a longer period. A particularly preferred combination is a solar power generator.

In addition, the measurement or observation system can be operated using the power supplied from the power supply system of the present invention. The equipment constituting the measurement or observation system can be arbitrarily selected. For example, a rain gauge, seismometer, temperature / humidity meter, landslide sensor, concentration meter, monitoring camera, infrared sensor, barometer, wind speed Meters, water level sensors, pressure sensors, displacement sensors, wind speed sensors, underground exploration, radioactive substance concentration sensors, radiation dose sensors, lighting, position sensors, computers, wireless communication devices such as mobile phones, etc. In addition, it is useful to be used in combination with other devices such as an image / sound / data recording device, and data can be transmitted by a wireless communication device and remotely monitored at another location.

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, although this invention is demonstrated concretely using an Example, this invention is not limited to these Examples.

Example 1
As a fuel cell, EFOY Pro900 (output 38 W, direct methanol fuel cell) manufactured by SFC Energy was used and connected to a 12V-24Ah deep cycle lead acid battery. The lead-acid battery was connected to a 10 W-DC / DC converter so that it could be used as a 12 V DC power supply. The fuel used was 99% methanol in a 1 liter tank, and these were 2cm thick hard urethane foam with a thermal conductivity of 0.024 attached and kept warm so that there was no gap. Duralumin with a thickness of 3mm (thermal conductivity 164W / m · K) (inside: width 60 cm × depth 75 cm × height 65 cm). An air inlet having a diameter of 3.5 cm was prepared on the side of the housing, and a louver was attached so that rain did not enter the inside. In addition, the exhaust gas from the fuel cell was exhausted through an exhaust port with a diameter of 1.8 cm separately opened on the side of the housing so that it can be exhausted directly from the exhaust tube attached to the EFOY (EFOY exhaust tube: 2 cm in diameter (because it is made of sponge) , Pass through the 1.8 cm outlet))). In addition, the fan attached to the fuel cell is configured to circulate air inside the housing when the fan is operating. As the rigid urethane foam of this example, a self-extinguishing material was used according to the A method defined in JIS K6911 standard. Thus, the power supply system of Example 1 was produced.

As a test, the power supply system of the present invention was installed in a constant temperature booth adjusted to −20 ° C., connected to a monitoring camera with power consumption of 5 W, and operated for 24 hours. The amount of fuel consumed during 24-hour driving was 140 g. One liter of methanol can supply about 0.85 kWh of power.

(Example 2)
In the power supply system of Example 1, a check valve that opens and closes in conjunction with the operation of the fuel cell was attached to the intake port of the housing. When the fuel cell needs air, outside air is taken in, but the outside air does not flow when stopped. When the test according to Example 1 was performed, the amount of fuel consumed during 24-hour driving was 123 g. Moreover, about 0.98 kWh of electric power can be supplied with 1 L of methanol.

(Comparative Example 1)
In the power supply system of Example 1, the power supply system of Comparative Example 1 was produced by removing the rigid urethane foam. When the test according to Example 1 was performed, the amount of fuel consumed during 24-hour driving was 204 g. The EFOY used in this power supply system has an anti-freezing function, and automatically generates power when the fuel cell temperature decreases so that the temperature of the fuel cell does not drop below freezing point. It has a function. It is considered that the amount of fuel consumption increased compared to Examples 1 and 2 because the temperature inside the power supply system was low and the freeze prevention function was frequently operated. In addition, the power supply amount was about 0.58 kWh with 1 liter of methanol, which was significantly less than in Examples 1 and 2.

(Example 3)
In the power supply system of Example 1, a similar test was performed using a foamed styrene foam (self-extinguishing) containing a flame retardant having a thermal conductivity of 0.04 W / m · K instead of the rigid urethane foam. The amount of fuel consumed during 24-hour driving was 152 g. The power of about 0.77 kWh could be supplied with 1 L of methanol, which was good.

Example 4
In the power supply system of Example 1, the power supply system of Example 3 in which a 5 L methanol tank was used and a ventilation fan (power consumption 5 W) was attached to the rear surface of the casing was constructed. A louver was installed at the outlet of the ventilation fan to prevent rain from entering inside. In addition, the ventilation fan is linked with a temperature sensor separately installed inside the housing, and is activated when the temperature detected by the sensor exceeds 40 ° C., thereby cooling the enclosure. The ventilation fan and temperature sensor were powered by a battery inside the enclosure.

As a test, the power supply system of Example 3 was installed outdoors from Toyobo Research Institute (Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture) from August 1, 2013 to August 7, 2013, and connected to lighting with a power consumption of 35 W. It was operated continuously. It was confirmed that the fuel cell can be continuously driven during the period while being always driven.

(Comparative Example 2)
In the power supply system of Example 3, as in Comparative Example 1, the test described in Example 3 was performed with the rigid urethane foam removed. As a result, the fuel cell operated at night, but the internal temperature of the enclosure rose due to the influence of direct sunlight in the daytime and stopped, so the lighting could not be operated continuously.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a power generation system using a fuel cell that operates well even in harsh outdoor environments such as severe winter and midsummer. Therefore, measurement and observation in an area where measurement and observation were difficult until now becomes possible.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Housing | casing at least containing a fuel cell 2 Intake port of the air supplied to the fuel cell provided in the housing | casing 4 The container with the fuel for operating a fuel cell 4 Fuel which has a function which charges a secondary battery at least Battery 5 Piping for guiding the exhaust gas from the fuel cell to the outside of the housing 6 Exhaust port for exhausting the exhaust gas from the fuel cell to the outside of the housing 7 Air circulation fan inside the housing 8 From the secondary battery and power supply system to the outside A housing for housing the power supply means 9 Wiring for electrically connecting the fuel cell and the secondary battery 10 Power supply means 11 from the power supply system to the outside 11 Secondary battery 12 Piping for connecting the fuel cell and the container containing the fuel 13 Intake port for air supplied to the fuel cell provided in the casing 14 Housing 15 for storing the fuel cell Container 16 containing fuel for operating the fuel cell Less function for charging the secondary battery At least fuel cell 17 Fan 18 Duct for discharging air inside the casing from the fan to the outside of the casing 19 Wiring for electrically connecting the fuel cell having the power supply means from the power supply system to the outside and the secondary battery 20 Secondary battery 21 Piping for guiding exhaust gas from the fuel cell to the outside of the housing 22 Exhaust port for discharging the exhaust gas from the fuel cell to the outside of the housing 23 Piping for connecting the fuel cell and the container containing the fuel 24 Single cell Alternatively, a stack 25 in which a plurality of single cells are stacked 25 A fuel supply mechanism 26 that supplies liquid fuel to a fuel inlet of a single cell or stack 26 An oxidant supply that supplies an oxidizer mainly composed of air to an oxidant inlet of a single cell or stack Mechanism 27 Control mechanism for direct current generated from a single cell or stack 28 Mechanism 29 for discharging exhaust gas discharged from a single cell or stack to the outside DC current 30 generated from a single cell or a stack 30 Mechanism 31 for supplying power to a secondary battery Storage mechanism 32 Fuel cell 33 Secondary battery 34 Power supply means 35 to the outside Various measurement or monitoring systems

Claims (6)

A power supply system including at least a fuel cell and a secondary battery whose output is in the range of 5 to 300 W, wherein the fuel cell is capable of charging the secondary battery, and is external to the fuel cell and the secondary battery. The fuel cell and the secondary battery constituting the power supply system are one or more means selected from the group consisting of a DC / DC converter and a DC / AC inverter. Is housed in at least one housing, and the housing has at least one intake port for taking in air to be supplied to the fuel cell, at least in the housing in which the fuel cell is housed, and the fuel. It has an exhaust port for exhausting exhaust gas from the battery, and at least a part of the casing is provided with a heat insulating material having a thermal conductivity at 25 ° C. of 0.06 W / m · K or less, and the casing Installed in fuel cell and / or casing A power supply system provided with an air cooling mechanism using a fan or an air circulation mechanism in a housing. 2. The power supply system according to claim 1, wherein the heat insulating material is a material classified as either non-flammable or self-digestible according to A method defined in JIS K6911 standard. The power supply system according to claim 1, wherein the intake port can be opened and closed in accordance with an operation state of the power supply system. 4. The power supply system according to claim 1, wherein the fuel cell is any one of a direct methanol fuel cell, a methanol reforming fuel cell, and a solid hydrogen utilizing fuel cell. 5. The power supply system according to claim 4, wherein a power amount of 0.6 kWh to 90 kWh can be supplied by one fuel change.   The measurement or observation system which operate | moves using the electric power supplied from the power supply system in any one of Claims 1-5.