JP2018032585A - Uninterruptible power supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an uninterruptible power supply device installed in combination with a fuel battery in an outdoor environment, the device making it possible to efficiently perform temperature adjustment on an atmosphere inside a frame while suppressing power consumption as much as possible.SOLUTION: An uninterruptible power supply device comprises a frame inside which a power storage part housing case is installed to house a lithium-ion battery in an isolated manner in an internal space of the frame. The interior of the power storage part housing case and a cooler unit are connected by an air guide part to form a closed space. Cooling air and air after battery cooling are circulated between the interior of the power storage part housing case and the cooler unit to perform temperature control so that the lithium-ion battery's temperature does not exceed a normal use range. At the cold time, heat is first efficiently transmitted to the power storage part housing case by a heater unit disposed directly under the power storage part housing case to heat the lithium-ion battery and simultaneously heat the whole interior of the frame.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention is an uninterruptible power supply device that continues to supply power to a load device regardless of the stop of power supply from a commercial AC power supply, and in particular, a combination of a system connected to a commercial power supply and a system connected to a fuel cell Relates to an uninterruptible power supply.

  Conventionally, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, as an uninterruptible power supply device that continues to supply power to load equipment even when power supply from a commercial power supply is stopped, a system that supplies AC power from the commercial power supply, and a fuel cell The DC power generated by the converter is converted to AC power with the same frequency and voltage as the commercial power supply system via an inverter and transformer, and this converted AC power is connected in parallel with the commercial power supply system so that power can be supplied to the load equipment. Blackout power supplies are known. Further, as disclosed in Patent Document 2, a fuel cell is provided in the uninterruptible power supply system, a fault in the AC power supply or a voltage drop in the power storage device is detected by a detector, and the fuel cell is activated at the time of detection. A system for supplying DC power from a fuel cell to an inverter has been proposed.

JP-A-7-336894 JP 2000-341879 A

  In such an uninterruptible power supply, the power supplied from the commercial power supply and the power generated by the fuel cell are stored in the storage battery at a normal time when no power failure occurs. As a type of storage battery to be used, a lithium ion battery is often employed. Lithium-ion batteries are characterized by high energy density, low self-discharge, and no memory effect. These characteristics are combined with fuel cells that are often installed far away from human hands. It is suitable for large uninterruptible power supplies.

  Although it is a lithium ion battery having such excellent characteristics, it has a problem of lack of reliability in a high temperature environment, and is placed in a place where the temperature becomes high such as over 45 ° C. If used near a heat source, there is a risk of battery heat generation or ignition. In particular, sufficient caution is required for charging at high temperatures because the danger is great. However, when installing in an outdoor environment as an uninterruptible power supply combined with a fuel cell, even if the lithium ion battery is housed in an outdoor housing and used, the lithium ion battery in the housing is affected by sunlight. It is fully conceivable that the battery is charged at a high ambient temperature. Therefore, a cooling structure for preventing overheating of the lithium ion battery is required. However, in this case, it is necessary to consider a cooling structure in consideration of the balance between the cooling effect and power consumption, and a structure for preventing overheating of the battery while suppressing power consumption is required. When configuring an uninterruptible power supply with a relatively large output capacity, it is generally necessary to take measures to enhance the cooling effect by increasing the capacity of the cooler unit because the housing size and the capacity of the lithium ion battery are also increased. Become. However, since the amount of power consumed increases accordingly, the power supply to the external load in the event of a power outage depends on the capacity of the cooler unit as an uninterruptible power supply that relies on lithium-ion batteries and fuel cells. Measures to increase are not appropriate. The power supply to the external load should be given top priority to the last, and it is necessary to suppress the power consumption spent for maintaining the function of the uninterruptible power supply as much as possible.

  Further, while attention is required for the use of a lithium ion battery in a high temperature environment, charging in an environment of 0 ° C. or lower is not recommended. Therefore, in a situation where the inside of the housing is at a low temperature, it is necessary to operate the heater unit to heat the inside of the housing. In this case as well, a structure that efficiently warms each device accommodated in the housing while suppressing power consumption is required.

  The present invention has been made in response to such a problem, and is an uninterruptible power supply device installed in an outdoor environment in combination with a fuel cell, and efficiently reduces the power consumption as much as possible. An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus that can adjust the temperature of the apparatus.

  (1) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a casing for housing equipment constituting an uninterruptible power supply in an uninterruptible power supply comprising a combination of a power supply system connected to a commercial power supply and a fuel cell. A fuel cell that starts and outputs DC power when power supply from the commercial power supply stops, a power storage unit that stores power supplied from the fuel cell and power supplied from the commercial power supply, and a commercial power supply AC power supplied from the converter is converted to DC power and supplied as drive power to the fuel cell, charge power to the power storage unit, and external output power to an external load device connected to the uninterruptible power supply An AC / DC converter, a power storage unit storage case for isolating and storing the power storage unit in the inner space of the housing, and a cooler unit for supplying cooling air to the inner space of the power storage unit storage case And connecting the power storage unit accommodation case and the cooler unit unit to guide the cooling air supplied from the cooler unit unit to the inside of the power storage unit storage case. An air guide section having a circulation path that returns the air that has been warmed by cooling the power storage section to the cooler unit section, separated from the cooling air, a ventilation fan that ventilates the inside of the casing, and outside air to the inside of the casing An intake section for inhaling, a heater unit section for supplying heated air to the inner space of the casing, a control section for controlling the operation of the entire uninterruptible power supply, the fuel cell, the power storage section, and the AC / DC converter A connection unit for connecting to the cooler unit, the ventilation fan, the heater unit, and the controller, and the heater unit is connected to the power storage unit. The cooling unit is arranged adjacent to the lower side of the container case, and the power storage unit is cooled by cooling air supplied from the cooler unit unit, and the ventilation fan is used to cool devices other than the power storage unit inside the housing. The uninterruptible power supply is characterized in that the heating inside the housing is performed by the heater unit.

  (2) In the proposed uninterruptible power supply, it is desirable that the AC / DC converter and the control unit, which are devices that generate heat during operation, be arranged above the power storage unit accommodation case.

  (1) According to the proposed invention, the power storage unit accommodation case is provided inside the casing constituting the uninterruptible power supply, and the lithium ion battery is accommodated inside the power storage unit accommodation case. The ion battery is isolated in the internal space of the casing, and cooling air is supplied from the cooler unit to the inside of the power storage unit accommodation case through the air guide unit. And cooling of equipment other than the lithium ion battery housed inside the casing is activated by ventilating the fan and exhausting the air inside the casing. Done. Therefore, since the cooling air supplied from the cooler unit is sent only into the power storage unit accommodation case and is used for intensive cooling of the lithium ion battery, the capacity of the cooler unit corresponds to the power storage unit storage case. It can be kept to the minimum necessary. In addition, since the heater unit is arranged adjacent to the lower part of the power storage unit accommodation case, when the inside of the housing is heated in the cold, the lithium ion battery is first efficiently and intensively heated through the power storage unit accommodation case, and then Thus, the entire internal space of the housing can be warmed.

  (2) According to the proposed invention, the AC / DC converter that generates heat during operation and the control unit are placed above the storage unit housing case, and therefore, generated with the operation of the uninterruptible power supply. The heat to be discharged can be discharged by the ventilation fan above the power storage unit accommodation case. Thereby, unnecessary heat transfer to the lithium ion battery can be reduced as much as possible.

It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of the uninterruptible power supply which concerns on an Example of this invention. It is an external appearance explanatory view which looked at the housing | casing 1 from the front. It is explanatory drawing which shows the AA cross section in FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a detailed structure of the air guide portion 15.

  Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an uninterruptible power supply according to an embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 1 denotes a housing that accommodates each device constituting the uninterruptible power supply. Reference numeral 2 denotes an AC / DC converter that converts AC power supplied from a commercial power source into DC power and supplies it to the lithium ion battery, control unit, cooler unit, heater unit, ventilation fan, and circulation fan described later. To do. Reference numeral 3 denotes a fuel cell, and its output end is connected to a connection unit 7 (described later). 4 is a lithium ion battery (the power storage unit described in the claims), which stores DC power converted via the AC / DC converter 2 and DC power generated and supplied by the fuel cell; When the commercial power supply fails, the power charged in the lithium ion battery is supplied to an external load. Reference numeral 5 denotes a power storage unit housing case, in which the lithium ion battery 4 is housed in a housing space provided inside the case. Reference numeral 6 denotes a control unit that controls the operation of each device constituting the uninterruptible power supply. Reference numeral 8 denotes a cooler unit, which cools air by a cooling cycle using a compressor, a condenser, an evaporator, and a refrigerant, and supplies cooling air to the lithium ion battery 4. A heater unit 9 energizes the heater when the ambient temperature inside the housing 1 falls below a preset threshold value, and blows the heated air into the housing by a blower fan provided inside the unit. To heat the atmosphere inside the housing. Reference numeral 10 denotes a ventilation fan, which ventilates air inside the casing by exhausting it outside the casing. Reference numeral 14 denotes an air inlet serving as an air intake, which sucks air from the outside of the housing 1 into the housing as the ventilation fan 10 is driven. A circulation fan 12 circulates air inside the housing 1. Reference numeral 7 denotes a connection unit. The AC / DC converter 2, the fuel cell 3, the lithium ion battery 4, the control unit 6, the cooler unit 8, the heater unit 9, the ventilation fan 10, the circulation fan 12, and the outside are connected to the connection unit. Each device on the system configuration is connected by connecting each load.

  Next, the internal structure of the housing 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of the appearance of the housing 1 as seen from the front. Reference numeral 11 denotes a ventilation cover, which covers an exhaust port formed in the front door 16 corresponding to a ventilation fan provided in the interior of the housing 1 to prevent rain wind from entering the interior of the housing. Reference numeral 8 denotes a cooler unit, which is attached to the front door 16 of the housing 1 so as to protrude to the front surface side of the door. An opening facing the inner space of the housing 1 is formed at the location where the cooler unit of the front door 16 is attached, and the air cooled by the cooler unit passes through the opening formed in the front door 16 and the power storage unit accommodation case 5. In the case, the supplied cooling air is used for cooling the lithium ion battery in the case, and then returned to the cooler unit from the opening. Reference numeral 13 denotes an air intake cover that covers an air intake port formed on the side surface of the housing 1 and prevents rain and wind from entering the housing.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a cross section AA in FIG. 2. Inside the housing 1, the respective devices are arranged in the order of the circulation fan 12, the AC / DC converter 2, the control unit 6, the power storage unit accommodation case 5, the heater unit 9, and the connection unit 7 from top to bottom. Has been. An air inlet 14 for sucking air from the outside of the housing is formed in the lower part of the housing, and the outer surface of the portion where the air inlet 14 is formed covers the air intake cover 13 shown in FIG. A ventilation fan 10 is attached to an upper position of the front door 16 on the inner side of the housing. And the exhaust port 20 is formed in the front door 16 in the position where the ventilation fan 10 was attached, and the ventilation cover 11 covers the exhaust port 20 on the front side of the front door 16 as described in FIG. It is attached. The cooler unit 8 is attached to the front door 16 corresponding to the arrangement position of the power storage unit accommodation case 5 on the front side. An air guide unit 15 is provided between the inner portion of the front door 16 to which the cooler unit 8 is attached and the power storage unit accommodation case 5, and the cooler unit 8 and the power storage unit are provided by the air guide unit 15. The housing case 5 is connected and the cooling air supplied from the cooler unit 8 is guided to the inside of the power storage unit housing case 5.

  Next, the detailed structure of the air guide portion 15 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged portion of the air guide portion 15 shown in FIG. The cooler unit 8 has a blowout port 8-1 for sending out air cooled in the unit and a suction port 8-2 for taking in warm air, and fixes the cooler unit 8 to the front door 16. At this time, the blowing port 8-1 and the suction port 8-2 are fixed so as to face the front door 16. Correspondingly, the front door 16 is provided with an opening 17, and the opening size is set such that the blowout port 8-1 and the suction port 8-2 are within the opening range. Accordingly, the cooling air is supplied from the cooler unit to the inside of the housing 1 through the opening 17 and the warm air is returned from the inside of the housing 1 to the cooler unit.

  The power storage unit housing case 5 housed inside the housing 1 is set so that the height position in the housing 1 is substantially the same as the height position of the cooler unit 8 fixed to the front door side. ing. The power storage unit housing case 5 has an intake fan 5-1 for sucking air from the outside of the case into the case and an exhaust fan 5-2 for discharging air from the case to the outside of the case on the front door 16 side. Is provided. In addition, the inside of the electricity storage unit accommodation case 5 is a single continuous accommodation space in which the space is not individually partitioned by a partition wall or the like, and the lithium ion battery 4 is accommodated in the space.

  The air guide unit 15 connects the opening 17 and the intake fan 5-1 and the exhaust fan 5-2 provided in the power storage unit accommodation case 5 with a duct structure. A closed space formed by the cooler unit 8, the air guide portion 15, and the power storage unit accommodation case 5 is formed so as to be isolated from the space. A partition plate 18 is provided inside the air guide portion 15, and the partition plate 18 causes an air path through which cooling air flows from the outlet 8-1 toward the intake fan 5-1 and an exhaust fan 5-2. The air passages through which warm air flows toward the suction port 8-2 are isolated from each other. As described above, the air passage through which the cooling air flows and the air passage through which the warm air flows are divided so that the air flowing through the air passages does not mix with each other. When cooling the battery 4, the cooling air exiting from the outlet 8-1 of the cooler unit 8 flows into the intake fan 5-1 of the power storage unit accommodation case 5 without mixing with the warm air returning from the power storage unit accommodation case 5, The lithium ion battery 4 in the case is cooled. And the air warmed by cooling the lithium ion battery 4 is discharged from the exhaust fan 5-2 to the outside of the case, flows through the air passage, and all of it flows into the suction port 8-2. In this way, the cooling air blown from the cooler unit 8 is supplied only to the inside of the power storage unit accommodation case 5, and the lithium ion battery 4 is efficiently cooled.

  Inside the housing 1, the ventilation fan 10 is driven, so that outside air is sucked into the housing from the air inlet 14, air flows upward from the lower portion of the housing, and is discharged from the air outlet 20 to the outside of the housing. At that time, air flows through the connection unit 7, the heater unit 9, the power storage unit accommodation case 5, the control unit 6, the AC / DC converter 2, and the circulation fan 12 in this order, and heat is radiated from each device. Among these devices, the AC / DC converter 2 and the control unit 6 that generate heat particularly during operation are arranged above the power storage unit housing case 5, so that the heat radiated from these devices is stored in the power storage unit. Without being transferred to the housing case 5, it is discharged out of the housing together with the air flow.

  Next, the heating operation inside the housing 1 during cold weather will be described. When the ambient temperature is lowered and the temperature in the housing is expected to approach the lower limit temperature (for example, 0 ° C.) specified in the use condition of the lithium ion battery, the heater unit 9 is operated to Heat. In consideration of safety margin, when it is detected that the temperature of the lithium ion battery has reached a predetermined threshold (for example, 15 ° C.) that is higher than the lower limit temperature, the heater unit 9 is activated. The operating condition of the heater unit 9 in this case is desirably provided with a hysteresis characteristic in which, for example, the heater unit 9 is turned on when 15 ° C. is detected and the operation is continued as it is and 25 ° C. is detected. When the heater unit 9 is activated, the heated air warms the power storage unit accommodation case 5 located immediately above the heater unit 9 and warms the lithium ion battery 4 in the case. Then, the heated air supplied from the heater unit 9 rises inside the casing 1, and passes through the power storage unit accommodation case 5, the control unit 6, the AC / DC converter 2, and the circulation fan 12 in this order, and Warm the entire interior and warm each device housed in the enclosure.

  As described above, the power storage unit accommodation case is provided in the housing 1 constituting the uninterruptible power supply, and the lithium ion battery is isolated and accommodated in the internal space of the housing, and the inside of the power storage unit accommodation case and the cooler unit Are connected by an air guide part to form a closed space. Then, cooling air and air after battery cooling are circulated between the inside of the power storage unit accommodation case and the cooler unit, and temperature control is performed so that the temperature of the lithium ion battery does not exceed the normal use range. As a result, the capacity of the cooler unit can be suppressed to the necessary minimum corresponding to the internal volume of the power storage unit accommodation case, and the amount of power consumed for maintaining the function of the uninterruptible power supply can be reduced. With regard to heat dissipation in the entire housing, devices that generate heat during operation are placed above the power storage unit housing case, and then cooled by introducing outside air using a ventilation fan, which leads to a reduction in power consumption. ing. In cold weather, the heater unit placed directly below the power storage unit storage case efficiently transfers heat to the power storage unit storage case to warm the lithium-ion battery and simultaneously heats the entire interior of the housing. This leads to a reduction in the amount.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Case 2 AC / DC converter 3 Fuel cell 4 Lithium ion battery (electric storage part)
5 Storage Unit Housing Case 6 Control Unit 7 Connection Unit 8 Cooler Unit 9 Heater Unit 10 Ventilation Fan 11 Ventilation Cover 12 Circulation Fan 13 Intake Cover 14 Inlet 15 Inlet Port 16 Front Door 18 Partition Plate 20 Outlet

Claims (2)

In an uninterruptible power supply consisting of a combination of a power supply system connected to a commercial power source and a fuel cell,
A housing that accommodates the equipment constituting the uninterruptible power supply,
A fuel cell that starts when the power supply from the commercial power supply stops and outputs DC power; and
A power storage unit that stores electric power supplied from the fuel cell and electric power supplied from a commercial power source; and
AC power supplied from a commercial power source is converted into DC power to drive power to the fuel cell, charging power to the power storage unit, and power for external output to an external load device connected to the uninterruptible power supply AC / DC converter supplied as
A power storage unit accommodation case that isolates and stores the power storage unit in the inner space of the housing;
A cooler unit for supplying cooling air to the inner space of the power storage unit accommodation case;
The power storage unit housing case is connected to the cooler unit unit, and the cooling air supplied from the cooler unit unit is guided to the inside of the power storage unit storage case, and the power storage unit in the power storage unit storage case is cooled. And an air guide part having a circulation path for returning the warmed air to the cooler unit part from the cooling air;
A ventilation fan for performing ventilation in the housing;
An intake section for sucking outside air into the inside of the housing;
A heater unit for supplying heated air to the inner space of the housing;
A control unit that controls the operation of the entire uninterruptible power supply,
The fuel cell, the power storage unit, the AC / DC converter, the cooler unit unit, the ventilation fan, the heater unit unit, and a connection unit unit for connecting with the control unit,
The heater unit part is arranged adjacent to the lower part of the power storage unit accommodation case, and cooling of the power storage part is performed by cooling air supplied from the cooler unit part, and devices other than the power storage part inside the housing An uninterruptible power supply, wherein cooling is performed by a ventilation operation by the ventilation fan, and heating inside the housing is performed by the heater unit.   The uninterruptible power supply according to claim 1, wherein the AC / DC converter and the control unit, which are devices that generate heat during operation, are arranged above the power storage unit accommodation case.

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