JP2017155806A - Tank system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tank system which can charge gases into a plurality of tanks while suppressing a pressure difference.SOLUTION: A tank system comprises a plurality of tanks 70, 80 having cylindrical flank parts 71, 81, and constitutes a fuel supply source system 5 which is mounted to a vehicle S, charges fuel gases to the tanks 70, 80, and supplies the fuel gases from the tanks 70, 80. The tank system comprises the first tank 70 which is arranged so that a longitudinal direction progresses along a fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle S, and the second tank 80 which is arranged at one end part side of the first tank 70 so that a longitudinal direction progresses along a left-and-right direction of the vehicle S. A mouthpiece 72 of the first tank 70 is arranged at one end part at the second tank 80 side, and a mouthpiece 82 of the second tank 80 is arranged in the vicinity of the first tank 70 at a peripheral face of the flank part 81.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a tank system including a plurality of tanks.

  A fuel cell vehicle is provided with a fuel cell that receives supply of a reaction gas, a fuel gas and an oxidizing gas, and generates electric power through an electrochemical reaction of the fuel gas. As a fuel cell system for generating electric power with this fuel cell, one having a plurality of tanks in which fuel gas supplied to the fuel cell is compressed and stored at a high pressure is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

German patent invention No. 102009039079

  By the way, the fuel gas supplied from the filling port of the vehicle is filled in the plurality of tanks. However, if there is a large difference in the filling path length of the fuel gas to each tank, the fuel in the filling path at the time of filling There is a possibility that a difference in the filling rate of each tank occurs due to the pressure loss of the gas, and a pressure difference is generated between the tanks.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a tank system capable of filling a plurality of tanks with gas while suppressing a pressure difference.

In order to achieve the above object, the tank system of the present invention comprises:
A tank system comprising a plurality of tanks having a cylindrical body part, mounted on a vehicle and filled with gas to the tank and supplying gas from the tank,
A first tank arranged in a longitudinal direction along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle;
A second tank disposed on one end side of the first tank so that a longitudinal direction thereof is along a left-right direction of the vehicle,
The base of the first tank is disposed at one end on the second tank side,
The base of the second tank is disposed in the vicinity of the first tank on the peripheral surface of the body portion.

According to the tank system having this configuration, the lengths of the gas filling paths connected to the first tank and the second tank can be reduced by disposing the caps of the first tank and the second tank close to each other. Can be reduced. Thereby, generation | occurrence | production of the pressure difference of a 1st tank and a 2nd tank can be suppressed.
In addition, it becomes possible to connect the base of the first tank and the base of the second tank arranged close to each other to one valve, and the piping connected to the valve and the valve can be reduced. A manifold for branching the gas to the plurality of valves and merging the gases from the plurality of valves can be eliminated. Thereby, cost reduction and improvement in mountability to the vehicle can be achieved.

  According to the tank system of the present invention, it is possible to fill a plurality of tanks with gas while suppressing a pressure difference.

It is a lineblock diagram showing typically a fuel cell system provided with a tank system concerning an embodiment of the present invention as a fuel supply source system. It is the schematic diagram seen from the upper direction of the vehicle which shows arrangement | positioning of the tank in a vehicle. It is a piping diagram which shows the fuel supply source system which is a tank system which concerns on a reference example.

Hereinafter, the tank system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a fuel cell system including a tank system according to an embodiment of the present invention as a fuel supply source system. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement of the tank in the vehicle as viewed from above the vehicle.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the tank system according to the present embodiment is applied to a fuel cell system 1 used as an on-vehicle power generation system of a fuel cell vehicle (FCHV). In the present embodiment, the tank system constitutes the fuel supply source system 5 of the fuel cell system 1.

  The fuel cell system 1 includes a fuel cell 2 that generates electric power by an electrochemical reaction upon receiving an oxidizing gas and a fuel gas (high pressure gas) that are reaction gases, and an oxidation that supplies air as an oxidizing gas to the fuel cell 2. It has a gas piping system 3, a hydrogen gas piping system 4 for supplying hydrogen as fuel gas to the fuel cell 2, and a control unit 6 for overall control of the entire system.

  The fuel cell 2 is, for example, a polymer electrolyte fuel cell, and has a stack structure in which a large number of single cells are stacked. The single cell has a cathode electrode (air electrode) on one surface of an electrolyte made of an ion exchange membrane, an anode electrode (fuel electrode) on the other surface, and further sandwiches the cathode electrode and anode electrode from both sides. It has the structure which has a pair of separator. In this case, hydrogen gas is supplied to the hydrogen gas flow path of one separator, oxidizing gas is supplied to the oxidizing gas flow path of the other separator, and electric power is generated by the chemical reaction of these reaction gases.

  The oxidizing gas piping system 3 is discharged from the fuel cell 2, a compressor 31 that takes in and compresses the oxidizing gas in the atmosphere, sends it, an air supply channel 32 for supplying the oxidizing gas to the fuel cell 2, and And an air discharge passage 33 for discharging the oxidizing off gas. The air supply flow path 32 and the air discharge flow path 33 are provided with a humidifier 34 that humidifies the oxidizing gas pumped from the compressor 31 using the oxidizing off gas discharged from the fuel cell 2. The oxidizing off gas that has undergone moisture exchange or the like in the humidifier 34 is finally exhausted into the atmosphere outside the system as exhaust gas.

  The hydrogen gas piping system 4 is stored in a fuel supply source system (tank system) 5 having a first tank 70 and a second tank 80 as fuel supply sources, and in the first tank 70 and the second tank 80. A hydrogen supply passage 41 for supplying a fuel gas composed of high-pressure hydrogen gas to the fuel cell 2, and a hydrogen circulation passage 42 for returning the hydrogen off-gas discharged from the fuel cell 2 to the hydrogen supply passage 41. Have

  The hydrogen circulation passage 42 is provided with a hydrogen pump 44 that pressurizes the hydrogen off-gas in the hydrogen circulation passage 42 and sends it to the hydrogen supply passage 41 side. In addition, a discharge flow path 47 is connected to the hydrogen circulation flow path 42 via a gas-liquid separator 45 and an exhaust drain valve 46. The gas-liquid separator 45 recovers moisture from the hydrogen off gas. The exhaust / drain valve 46 discharges (purges) the moisture recovered by the gas-liquid separator 45 and the hydrogen off-gas containing impurities in the hydrogen circulation passage 42 in accordance with a command from the control unit 6. The hydrogen off-gas discharged from the exhaust / drain valve 46 is diluted by the diluter 48 and merges with the oxidizing off-gas in the air discharge passage 33.

  The control unit 6 detects an operation amount of an acceleration operation member (accelerator or the like) provided in the fuel cell vehicle, and provides control information such as an acceleration request value (for example, a required power generation amount from a power consumption device such as a traction motor). In response, the operation of various devices in the system is controlled. In addition to the traction motor, the power consuming device includes, for example, an auxiliary device (for example, a compressor 31 and a hydrogen pump 44 motor) necessary for operating the fuel cell 2 and various devices ( Actuators used in transmissions, wheel control devices, steering devices, suspension devices, etc.), passenger space air conditioners (air conditioners), lighting, audio, and the like.

  Here, the control unit 6 physically includes, for example, a CPU, a ROM that stores a control program and control data processed by the CPU, a RAM that is mainly used as various work areas for control processing, And an input / output interface. These elements are connected to each other via a bus. Various sensors such as a pressure sensor P and a temperature sensor T are connected to the input / output interface, and various drivers for driving the compressor 31, the hydrogen pump 44, the exhaust drain valve 46, the high pressure valve 51, and the like are connected. ing.

  The CPU receives the detection results of the various sensors via the input / output interface according to the control program stored in the ROM, and processes them using various data in the RAM, thereby supplying the fuel gas in the fuel cell system 1 Control various processes such as processes. Further, the CPU controls the entire fuel cell system 1 by outputting control signals to various drivers via the input / output interface.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the first tank 70 and the second tank 80 of the fuel supply source system 5 are mounted on a vehicle S provided with the fuel cell system 1. The first tank 70 and the second tank 80 are capsule-type tanks having cylindrical body parts 71 and 81, respectively. The first tank 70 and the second tank 80 are fixed to, for example, the lower surface of the floor panel of the vehicle S.

  The first tank 70 is arranged such that its longitudinal direction is along the front-rear direction of the vehicle S. The first tank 70 is disposed at the approximate center in the width direction between the front wheel Fw and the rear wheel Rw of the vehicle S. The second tank 80 is arranged such that its longitudinal direction is along the left-right direction of the vehicle S, and is arranged between the rear wheels Rw on the rear side of the first tank 70 in the vehicle S. Thus, the second tank 80 is disposed on one end side of the first tank 70. Therefore, the first tank 70 and the second tank 80 are arranged in a T shape in the plan view in the vehicle S.

  The first tank 70 is provided with a base 72 at one end on the second tank 80 side. The second tank 80 is provided with a base 82 on the peripheral surface of the body portion 81. The base 82 is provided at the approximate center in the longitudinal direction of the second tank 80 and is disposed in the vicinity of the first tank 70. One high pressure valve 51 is arranged between the first tank 70 and the second tank 80, and the caps 72, 82 of the first tank 70 and the second tank 80 are connected to the high pressure valve 51. It is connected.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the first tank 70 and the second tank 80 of the fuel supply source system 5 are connected to the hydrogen supply passage 41 by one high-pressure valve 51. A pressure regulating valve 43 is provided in the hydrogen supply path 41 on the downstream side of the first tank 70 and the second tank 80. Further, the fuel supply source system 5 has a filling path 55 provided with a filling port 54 at an end, and the filling path 55 is connected to the first tank 70 and the second tank 80 by a high-pressure valve 51. Has been.

  The high pressure valve 51 is provided with an outflow path 62 provided with an electromagnetic valve 61, an inflow path 65 provided with a filter 63 and a check valve 64, an outflow / inflow path 67 provided with a manual valve 66, and a safety valve 68. The communication path 69 is provided. The outflow path 62 is connected to the hydrogen supply path 41, and the inflow path 65 is connected to the filling path 55. The outflow path 62 and the inflow path 65 are connected to an outflow / inflow path 67. The outflow / inflow path 67 is connected to the communication path 69. The communication path 69 is connected to the first tank 70 and the second tank 80, and the first tank 70 and the second tank 80 are connected to each other by the communication path 69. The inflow path 65 is provided with a pressure gauge P for measuring the filling pressure of the fuel gas into the first tank 70 and the second tank 80. Further, the high pressure valve 51 is provided with a temperature sensor T for measuring the temperatures inside the first tank 70 and the second tank 80, respectively.

  In the fuel supply source system 5, the fuel gas that has flowed into the filling path 55 from the filling port 54 passes through the inflow path 65, the outflow / inflow path 67, and the communication path 69 of the high-pressure valve 51. It is sent to the tank 80. Further, the fuel gas in the first tank 70 and the second tank 80 is sent to the hydrogen supply flow path 41 through the communication path 69, the outflow / inflow path 67 and the outflow path 62 of the high pressure valve 51, and the pressure regulating valve 43. And the pressure is supplied to the fuel cell 2. The pressure regulating valve 43 regulates the primary pressure fuel gas on the first tank 70 and the second tank 80 side to a preset secondary pressure.

Here, the fuel supply system according to the reference example will be described.
FIG. 3 is a piping diagram showing a fuel supply system that is a tank system according to a reference example.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the fuel supply system 5A that is a tank system according to the reference example also includes a first tank 70A and a second tank 80A. The first tank 70A is arranged such that its longitudinal direction is along the front-rear direction of the vehicle S, and the second tank 80A is arranged so that its longitudinal direction is along the left-right direction of the vehicle S. Is disposed on the rear side of the first tank 70A. Accordingly, the first tank 70A and the second tank 80A are arranged in a T shape in the vehicle S in plan view. The first tank 70A and the second tank 80A are each provided with a base 72A, 82A at one end, and the end of the first tank 70A where the base 72A is provided is disposed on the second tank 80A side. Has been.

  In the fuel supply source system 5A, since the positions of the caps 72A and 82A of the first tank 70A and the second tank 80A are separated, the high pressure valves 51A are provided in the caps 72A and 82A, respectively.

  In the fuel supply source system 5A, manifolds 91 and 92 are connected to the hydrogen supply path 41 and the filling path 55, respectively. The high pressure valve 51A is connected to the manifold 91 connected to the hydrogen supply path 41 via an outflow pipe 95, so that the fuel gas in the first tank 70A and the second tank 80A is The hydrogen is fed into the hydrogen supply path 41 through the outflow pipe 95 and the manifold 91. In addition, each high pressure valve 51A is connected to the manifold 92 connected to the filling path 55 via an inflow pipe 96, so that the fuel gas flowing into the filling path 55 from the filling port 54 It is sent to the first tank 70A and the second tank 80A through the manifold 92, the inflow pipe 96 and the high pressure valve 51A. Each of the manifolds 91 and 92 is provided with a pressure gauge P for measuring the filling pressure of the fuel gas into the first tank 70 and the second tank 80. Each high-pressure valve 51 is provided with a temperature sensor T that measures the temperature inside the first tank 70 and the second tank 80.

  By the way, in the fuel supply source system 5A according to this reference example, the caps 72A and 72B provided at the ends of the first tank 70A and the second tank 80A arranged in a T shape in plan view are separated. . Therefore, the lengths of the fuel gas filling paths to the first tank 70A and the second tank 80A, and the fuel gas supply path to the fuel cell 2 from the first tank 70A and the second tank 80A There is a big difference in the length of each. In particular, a large difference in the filling path length causes a difference in the filling rate to the first tank 70A and the second tank 80A due to the pressure loss of the fuel gas in the filling path during filling.

  Further, in the fuel supply source system 5A according to the reference example, since the caps 72A and 82A are separated from each other, the high-pressure valves 51A must be provided in the caps 72A and 82A, respectively, and are connected to the high-pressure valves 51A. More pipes are needed. In addition, manifolds 91 and 92 for branching the fuel gas to the plurality of high-pressure valves 51A and merging the fuel gas from the plurality of high-pressure valves 51A are also required. Therefore, the cost increases due to an increase in the number of parts and a complicated piping.

  On the other hand, according to the fuel supply source system 5 that is the tank system according to the present embodiment, the bases 72 and 82 of the first tank 70 and the second tank 80 are arranged at positions close to each other. The difference in the fuel gas filling path length connected to the first tank 70 and the second tank 80 can be reduced. Thereby, generation | occurrence | production of the pressure difference of the 1st tank 70 and the 2nd tank 80 can be suppressed.

  In addition, the base 72 of the first tank 70 and the base 82 of the second tank 80 arranged close to each other can be connected to one high-pressure valve 51 and connected to the high-pressure valve 51 and the high-pressure valve 51. The number of pipes and pressure gauges P can be reduced, and manifolds 91 and 92 for branching fuel gas and joining fuel gas can be eliminated. Thereby, cost reduction and improvement in mountability to the vehicle S can be achieved.

  In addition, the heat capacity in the filling path to the first tank 70 and the second tank 80 can be greatly reduced. As a result, the first and second tanks 80 and 80 are filled with the fuel gas that has been cooled (precooled) in advance through a short path as much as possible, and the fuel tank is filled with the first tank 70 and the second tank 80. Temperature rise can be suppressed. Therefore, the fuel gas filling time can be shortened.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the tank system of the present invention is applied to the fuel supply source system constituting the fuel cell system of the fuel cell vehicle has been described as an example. However, the tank system of the present invention is equipped with a tank. The vehicle is not limited to a fuel cell vehicle.

5 Fuel supply system (tank system)
70 First tank 71, 81 Body portion 72, 82 Base 80 Second tank S Vehicle

Claims (1)

A tank system comprising a plurality of tanks having a cylindrical body part, mounted on a vehicle and filled with gas to the tank and supplying gas from the tank,
A first tank arranged in a longitudinal direction along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle;
A second tank disposed on one end side of the first tank so that a longitudinal direction thereof is along a left-right direction of the vehicle,
The base of the first tank is disposed at one end on the second tank side,
The base of the second tank is disposed in the vicinity of the first tank on the peripheral surface of the body portion.

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