JP2019113470A - Fluid supplying device and fuel cell system - Google Patents

Abstract

To correctly measure the flow rate of a fluid supplied to a supply path by an intermittent pump drive by a simple configuration and ensure that a fluid is supplied appropriately.SOLUTION: A fluid supplying device comprises: a pump for discharging a fluid to a supply path by intermittent drive; a flow rate sensor provided with a sensor element for measuring the flow rate of the fluid, a processing unit for processing the output of the sensor element and causing the measured flow rate to be stored in memory and an I2C interface connected to an I2C bus; and a drive control device communicatably connected to the flow rate sensor via the I2C bus, for generating a drive signal for the pump on the basis of the measured flow rate measured by the flow rate sensor, outputting the drive signal and controlling the drive of the pump. The drive control device transmits a prescribed command of the I2C bus to the flow rate sensor when outputting the drive signal, and the flow rate sensor measures the flow rate of a fluid in the supply path over a prescribed time upon receipt of the prescribed command and stores the measured flow rate in memory.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a fluid supply device and a fuel cell system.

  Heretofore, in this type of fluid supply device, one that measures the flow rate of the supplied fluid is known. For example, in Patent Document 1, the flow rate is measured by a thermal flow meter, and highly accurate measurement is possible when there is linearity in the relationship between the flow rate and the flow rate of the fluid flowing through the supply path. Further, in Patent Document 2, in the supply path provided with the accumulator, the variable throttling and the check valve are provided downstream of the accumulator to smooth the pulsating flow by the accumulator and measure the flow rate of the fluid. .

JP, 2014-9960, A Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-1896

  By the way, there is a fluid supply device provided with a plunger pump etc. which discharges a fluid intermittently to a feed way, and also in such a device, measuring a flow volume appropriately is called for. However, if the pulsating flow in the supply passage is smoothed by providing the variable throttle and the check valve as in Patent Document 2 described above, the apparatus configuration becomes complicated, which leads to an increase in cost.

  An object of the present invention is to properly measure the flow rate of the fluid supplied to the supply path by the intermittent drive of the pump with a simple configuration and appropriately supply the fluid.

  The present invention adopts the following means in order to achieve the above-mentioned main objects.

  A fluid supply apparatus according to the present invention stores a measured flow rate by processing a pump that discharges fluid to a supply path by intermittent driving, a sensor element for measuring a flow rate of fluid in the supply path, and an output of the sensor element. And a flow sensor including an I2C interface connected to the I2C bus, and the flow sensor communicably connected to the flow sensor via the I2C bus, based on the measured flow rate measured by the flow sensor And a drive control device that generates a drive signal of the pump and outputs the drive signal to control the drive of the pump, and the drive control device determines the I2C bus when the drive signal is output. The command is transmitted to the flow rate sensor, and the flow rate sensor is supplied for a predetermined time, triggered by the reception of the predetermined command via the I2C bus. By measuring the flow rate of the fluid in the gist storing a measured flow rate in said memory.

  In the fluid supply device of the present invention, the drive control device transmits a predetermined command of the I2C bus to the flow rate sensor when outputting a drive signal of the pump, and the flow rate sensor is triggered by the reception of the predetermined command via the I2C bus The flow rate of the fluid in the supply path is measured for a predetermined time, and the measured flow rate is stored in the memory. As a result, it is possible to measure the flow rate of the fluid intermittently discharged to the supply path by the intermittent drive of the pump while the fluid is being discharged according to the drive timing of the pump. Therefore, the flow rate of the fluid can be correctly measured with a simple configuration without providing a configuration for smoothing the pulsating flow. Therefore, the drive signal of the pump based on the measured flow rate can be appropriately generated to appropriately supply the fluid to the supply path.

  In the fluid supply device of the present invention, the measured flow rate obtained by calculating the output of the sensor element for each predetermined measurement cycle in the processing unit may be stored in the memory over the predetermined time. In this case, even when the predetermined measurement cycle is shortened as much as possible in order to improve the measurement accuracy, it is not necessary to transmit the output of the sensor element to the drive control apparatus every predetermined measurement cycle. The measurement accuracy of the flow rate can be improved while suppressing the communication load of the

  In the fluid supply device of the present invention, the drive control device transmits a command instructing reading of the measured flow rate stored in the memory as the predetermined command, and the flow rate sensor receives the predetermined command. After the measured flow rate stored in the memory is transmitted to the drive control device via the I2C bus, the measured flow rate in the memory is cleared and the flow rate is measured for the predetermined time It is good also as things. In this case, the measured flow rates in a predetermined time can be collectively output to the drive control device, so that the processing load of the drive control device and the communication load between the drive control device and the flow rate sensor can be prevented from becoming high. . In addition, since it is sufficient to store the measured flow rate in one intermittent drive of the pump in the memory, the capacity of the memory can be reduced.

  In the fluid supply device of the present invention, the flow rate sensor may measure the flow rate as the predetermined time, which is a time obtained by adding a margin to the fluid discharge time in intermittent driving of the pump. In this way, it is possible to properly measure the flow rate of the fluid discharged to the supply path by intermittent driving of the pump without leakage.

  The fuel cell system according to the present invention is a fuel cell system including a fuel cell that generates electric power based on a reformed gas containing hydrogen and an oxidant gas containing oxygen, wherein the raw fuel gas is reformed to produce the reformed gas. And a fluid supply device described above for supplying water used for reforming the reformer as the fluid. This makes it possible to measure the flow rate of water intermittently discharged to the supply path by the intermittent drive of the pump while the water is being discharged according to the drive timing of the pump. Therefore, the flow rate of water can be correctly measured with a simple configuration without providing a configuration for smoothing the pulsating flow. Therefore, the drive signal of the pump based on the measured flow rate can be appropriately generated to supply the necessary water to the supply path, so that the power generation of the fuel cell can be appropriately performed.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of a configuration of a fuel cell system 10; FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of the configuration of a flow rate sensor 60 and a control device 90 connected by an I2C bus 100. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the control device 90 and the flow rate sensor 60. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the time change of a pump drive signal, a read command, pump discharge flow volume, flow sensor measurement, and memory integral flow volume.

  Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a fuel cell system 10, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the configurations of a flow rate sensor 60 and a controller 90 connected by an I2C bus 100. As shown in FIG. 1, the fuel cell system 10 includes a power generation unit 20 for generating power, a hot water storage tank 80 for storing hot and cold water heated by heat from the power generation unit 20, and a control device 90 for controlling the entire system. These are accommodated in a rectangular fuel cell case 12. The fuel cell system 10 can supply the electric power generated by the power generation unit 20 to household appliances not shown in the figure, not shown, and can supply the hot water stored in the hot water storage tank 80 to the bathtub etc. .

  As shown in FIG. 1, the power generation unit 20 includes a power generation module 30, a raw fuel gas supply device 40, an air supply device 45, a reforming water supply device 50, and an exhaust heat recovery device 70.

  The power generation module 30 includes a vaporizer 32 that vaporizes reformed water to generate steam, a reformer 34 that reforms raw fuel gas such as natural gas and LP gas by steam reforming, reformed gas and oxidation It has a fuel cell stack 36 and the like which generate electricity upon receiving the supply with the agent gas. The vaporizer 32, the reformer 34, and the fuel cell stack 36 are accommodated in a box-shaped module case 31 formed of a heat insulating material. In the module case 31, the fuel passed through the fuel cell stack 36 in order to supply the heat necessary for activation of the fuel cell stack 36, generation of water vapor in the vaporizer 32, and steam reforming reaction in the reformer 34. A combustion unit 38 is provided to burn off gas (anode off gas) and oxidant off gas (cathode off gas).

  The raw fuel gas supply device 40 has a raw fuel gas supply pipe 41 connecting the gas supply source 1 and the carburetor 32. In the raw fuel gas supply pipe 41, a gas supply valve 42, a gas pump 43, a desulfurizer and a gas flow rate sensor (not shown), etc. are provided in order from the gas supply source 1 side. By driving the gas pump 43, the raw fuel gas from the gas supply source 1 is desulfurized and supplied to the vaporizer 32.

  The air supply device 45 has an air supply pipe 46 connecting the filter 47 in communication with the outside air and the fuel cell stack 36. An air blower 48 is provided in the air supply pipe 46, and by driving the air blower 48, the air taken in through the filter 47 is supplied to the fuel cell stack 36. The air supply pipe 46 is provided with an air flow sensor (not shown) and the like.

  The reforming water supply device 50 has a reforming water supply pipe 51 connecting the reforming water tank 53 for storing the reforming water and the vaporizer 32. A reforming water pump 52 is provided in the reforming water tank 53, and the reforming water pump 53 is driven to pump up the reforming water in the reforming water tank 53, and via the reforming water supply pipe 51. To the vaporizer 32. The reforming water pump 52 is configured as, for example, a plunger pump that discharges water (fluid) by intermittently driving (reciprocating) the plunger with an electromagnetic force and a spring force, and reforms the reforming water. The water supply pipe 51 is intermittently discharged. Further, the reforming water supply pipe 51 is provided with a flow rate sensor 60 for measuring the flow rate of the reforming water supplied to the vaporizer 32.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the flow rate sensor 60 is a sensor element 61 for measuring the flow rate of the reforming water passing through the reforming water supply pipe 51, and an arithmetic processing that performs various processes such as calculation of the output of the sensor element 61. Unit 62, a memory 63 for storing the output of the sensor element, the calculation result of the calculation processing unit 62, etc., a timer 64 for clocking, an I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit) interface for communicating with the control device 90 / F) 65. The sensor element 61 is configured as, for example, a thermal sensor element that supplies heat to the reforming water to be measured and measures the flow rate of water based on the temperature distribution generated in the flow direction of the reforming water by the heat, It includes a heating unit that supplies heat to the reforming water, and a temperature measurement unit disposed on the upstream side and the downstream side across the heating unit. The arithmetic processing unit 62 includes an amplification unit that amplifies the output of the sensor element 61, an analog-to-digital conversion unit that converts an analog signal to a digital signal, and the like. The flow rate of water can be obtained from the output of the sensor element 61 every cycle. In addition, the arithmetic processing unit 62 can integrate the flow rate of water acquired for each predetermined measurement cycle, and store the integrated flow rate integrated in the memory 63 as a measurement flow rate. The flow rate sensor 60 can communicate with the microcomputer 92 of the control device 90 through the I2C bus 100 connected to the I2CI / F 65.

  The exhaust heat recovery apparatus 70 exchanges heat between the stored hot water in the circulation pipe 71 and the combustion exhaust gas from the combustion unit 38, and the circulation pipe 71 that circulates the stored hot water in the hot water storage tank 80 by driving the circulation pump 72. And a heat exchanger 73. In the combustion exhaust gas from the combustion unit 38, the water vapor component is condensed by heat exchange, and the condensed water (condensed water) is recovered to the reforming water tank 53 via the condensed water supply pipe 74. The condensed water supply pipe 74 is provided with a water purifier (not shown), and the water purified (purified) by the water purifier is recovered in the reforming water tank 53. The remaining exhaust gas (gas component) is discharged to the outside air through the exhaust gas discharge pipe 75.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the control device 90 is a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as a microcomputer) 92 that controls the entire system, and a pump drive unit that drives the pump motor of the reforming water pump 52 using a plurality of switching elements. And a drive circuit) 94. The microcomputer 92 is a microcomputer centered on a CPU (not shown), and includes, in addition to the CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an input / output port, and a communication port. The control device 90 additionally includes a drive unit for driving the pump motor of the gas pump 43 of the raw fuel gas supply device 40 and a drive unit for driving the blower motor of the air blower 48 of the air supply device 45. I omit it.

  The control device 90 controls the raw fuel gas supply device 40, the air supply device 50, and the reforming water supply device 55 so as to generate electric power by the required power required for the fuel cell system 10. Further, depending on the input required power, operation is controlled so as to perform steady operation at the rated output. Specifically, the controller 90 first sets a current command, which is an output current to be output by the fuel cell stack 36, by feedback control based on the deviation between the required power and the generated power of the fuel cell stack 36. Next, a target gas flow rate, a target air flow rate and a target water amount are set based on the set current command. Subsequently, the required flow rate of the raw fuel gas is set by feedback control based on the deviation between the target gas flow rate and the gas flow rate measured by a flow rate sensor (not shown), and the gas pump is supplied so as to supply the required flow rate. 43 drive signals are generated to drive the pump motor of the gas pump 43. Also, the feedback control based on the deviation between the target air flow rate and the air flow rate measured by a flow rate sensor (not shown) sets the required flow rate of air, and the drive signal of the air blower 48 is supplied so that the required flow rate of air is supplied. It generates and drives the blower motor of the air blower 48. Further, the microcomputer 92 sets the required flow rate of the reforming water by feedback control based on the deviation between the target water amount and the reforming water amount (measured flow rate) measured by the flow rate sensor 60, and the reformed water of the required flow rate A drive signal of the reforming water pump 52 including the duty ratio in PWM control to be supplied is generated and output to the pump drive unit 94. The pump drive unit 94 drives the reforming water pump 52 by driving a switching element (not shown) based on the duty ratio of the received drive signal.

  Here, the I2CI / F 65 of the flow rate sensor 60 and the microcomputer 92 of the control device 90 are communicably connected via the I2C bus 100 described above. The I2C bus 100 is a serial bus composed of two lines of a serial data line SDA for sending data signals and a serial clock line SCL for sending clock signals. The microcomputer 92 as a master and the flow rate sensor 60 as a slave communicate in accordance with the I2C protocol. In the I2C protocol, basically, communication is started when the master outputs a start condition, and communication is ended when the master outputs a stop condition. Further, the master transmits a command including designation of a slave address and designation of write or read, and the slave responds to a command in which the slave address designated by the command matches its own address. Also, the slave writes the data in the command sent from the master to the designated address when writing is designated, sends a response to the master, and reads necessary data when reading is designated. Send to the master along with the response. Although FIG. 2 exemplifies one in which one flow rate sensor 60 is connected as a slave to the microcomputer 92 as a master, it is provided in a gas flow rate sensor provided in a raw fuel gas supply pipe 41 or an air supply pipe 46 A plurality of slaves such as the air flow sensor may be connected.

  Next, the operation of the fuel cell system 10 configured in this way, particularly, the operation when the control device 90 (microcomputer 92) acquires the measured flow rate from the flow rate sensor 60 and drives the reforming water pump 52 will be described. FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the controller 90 and the flow rate sensor 60. As shown in FIG. This sequence is executed after the fuel cell system 10 is started and the necessary initialization process is completed.

  As shown, the microcomputer 92 of the control device 90 first generates a drive signal for the reforming water pump 52 according to the required flow rate of reforming water (S100), and the driving cycle (for example, the number of reforming water pumps 52) Wait for 100 msec etc. to arrive (S110). When the microcomputer 92 determines that the drive cycle of the reforming water pump 52 has arrived in S110, the microcomputer 92 outputs the driving signal of the reforming water pump 52 generated in S100 to the pump drive unit 94 (S120). A read command of the measured flow rate from the memory 63 is transmitted to the flow rate sensor 60 by communication via the medium 63 (S130). The pump drive unit 94 that has received the drive signal drives a switching element (not shown) based on the duty ratio of the drive signal to drive the reforming water pump 52. Thereby, the reforming water pump 52 discharges the reforming water in the reforming water tank 53 to the reforming water supply pipe 51.

  On the other hand, the arithmetic processing unit 62 of the flow rate sensor 60 waits for reception of a command from the microcomputer 92 (S200), and stores it in the memory 63 when determining that the read command transmitted in the processing of S130 of the microcomputer 92 has been received. The measured flow rate is read and transmitted to the microcomputer 92 via the I2C bus 100 to clear the measured flow rate of the memory 63 (S210). Next, the flow rate sensor 60 starts timing by the timer 64 (S220), and starts measurement of the flow rate of the reforming water by the sensor element 61 (S230). As a result, the flow rate sensor 60 starts measuring the flow rate at a timing according to the drive of the reforming water pump 52. Further, as described above, the arithmetic processing unit 62 of the flow rate sensor 60 acquires the flow rate of water from the output of the sensor element 61 for each predetermined measurement cycle. Then, the flow rate sensor 60 waits for a predetermined time Ta to elapse from the start of measurement of the flow rate based on time counting by the timer 64 (S240). Although this predetermined time Ta will be described later, it is a time longer than the discharge time of the reforming water by one intermittent drive of the reforming water pump 52, and is set to a time when a predetermined measurement cycle arrives a plurality of times There is. If it is determined that the predetermined time Ta has elapsed in S240, the flow rate sensor 60 stores the integrated flow rate obtained by integrating the flow rate acquired for each predetermined measurement cycle as the measured flow rate in the memory 63 (S250), and returns to S200.

  Further, when the control device 90 receives the measured flow rate (integrated flow rate) transmitted in the process of S210 of the flow rate sensor 60, the control device 90 sets the necessary flow rate by feedback control from the target flow rate of the fuel cell system 10 and the received measured flow rate. (S140). When the required flow rate is set in this way, the process returns to S100, and processing for generating a pump drive signal according to the required flow rate is performed.

  Here, FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing an example of a time change of a pump drive signal, a read command, a pump discharge flow rate, a flow rate sensor measurement, and a memory integrated flow rate. As illustrated, when the microcomputer 92 outputs a pump drive signal of the reforming water pump 52 at time T0, the reforming water pump 52 is driven to discharge reforming water. The discharge time of the reforming water of the reforming water pump 52 varies depending on the specification of the reforming water pump 52, and is, for example, a time of about several tens of msec. Further, as described above, since the read command of the measured flow rate is sent to the flow rate sensor 60 together with the pump drive signal, the microcomputer 92 acquires the previous measured flow rate when the pump drive signal is sent. The flow rate sensor 60 transmits the previous measured flow rate to the microcomputer 92 at time T0 and clears it from the memory 63, and then starts measuring the flow rate. Then, the flow rate sensor 60 measures the flow rate for a predetermined time Ta obtained by adding a predetermined margin α to the discharge time of the reforming water pump 52, and ends the flow rate measurement at time T1 when the predetermined time Ta has elapsed. The integrated flow rate is stored in the memory 63 as a measured flow rate. Note that the predetermined measurement cycle is determined such that, for example, about ten to several tens of samplings are performed during the predetermined time Ta. Similarly, when the pump drive signal is output at times T2 and T4, the reforming water pump 52 performs the discharge operation, and the flow sensor 60 receiving the read command receives the previous integrated flow from the memory 63 as the microcomputer 92. Send to clear to start measuring flow rate. Further, the flow rate sensor 60 that has determined that the predetermined time has elapsed at time T3 and T5 ends measurement of the flow rate, and stores the integrated flow rate in the memory 63.

  In the fuel cell system 10 described above, the microcomputer 92 and the flow rate sensor 60 are connected via the I2C bus 100, and when the microcomputer 92 outputs a drive signal of the reforming water pump 52, the flow rate sensor 60 measures the flow rate The reading command is output, and the flow sensor 60 measures the flow rate of the reforming water over a predetermined time Ta in response to the reading command. As a result, the flow rate of the reforming water intermittently discharged to the reforming water supply pipe 51 can be measured in synchronization with the discharge start of the reforming water pump 52. Therefore, the flow rate of the reforming water is appropriately measured, and a pump drive signal is generated based on the flow rate. Therefore, the reforming water of the target flow rate can be supplied to operate the power generation module 30 appropriately.

  Further, since the flow rate sensor 60 stores the integrated flow rate obtained by integrating the flow rate acquired for each predetermined measurement cycle in the predetermined time Ta as the measurement flow rate in the memory 63, the communication load between the microcomputer 92 and the flow rate sensor 60 is suppressed. It is possible to improve the flow measurement accuracy by shortening the predetermined measurement cycle as much as possible.

  Further, the microcomputer 92 transmits a read command of the measured flow rate together with the pump drive signal, and the flow sensor 60 transmits the measured flow rate of the memory 63 to the microcomputer 92 via the I2C bus 100 every time the read command is received. The measured flow rate in the memory 63 is cleared, and processing for measuring the flow rate over a predetermined time Ta is performed. For this reason, since the measured flow rates in the predetermined time Ta are collectively output to the microcomputer 92, it is possible to prevent the processing load of the microcomputer 92 from increasing and the communication load between the microcomputer 92 and the flow rate sensor 60 from increasing. it can. In addition, since the memory 63 only needs to store the measured flow rate in one intermittent drive of the reforming water pump 52, the storage capacity of the memory 63 can be reduced.

  Further, since the flow rate sensor 60 measures the flow rate over a predetermined time Ta in which the margin α is added to the discharge time of the reforming water pump 52, the flow rate of the reforming water discharged from the reforming water pump 52 does not leak It can measure appropriately.

  In the embodiment described above, the measured flow rate of the memory 63 is cleared each time the flow rate sensor 60 transmits the measured flow rate (integrated flow rate) to the microcomputer 92, that is, the measured flow rate in one intermittent drive of the reforming water pump 52 Although stored in the memory 63, the present invention is not limited to this, and the measured flow rate in the plurality of intermittent driving of the reforming water pump 52 may be stored in the memory 63.

  In the embodiment, the integrated flow rate obtained by integrating the flow rate acquired by the flow rate sensor 60 for each predetermined measurement cycle is used as the measurement flow rate. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. A value obtained by calculating the flow rate acquired for each predetermined measurement cycle The measured flow rate may be used, and for example, a value obtained by averaging the flow rates acquired in each predetermined measurement cycle may be used, or a value based on the averaged value and the discharge time of the reforming water may be used. Alternatively, the flow rate sensor 60 may store the flow rate acquired for each predetermined measurement cycle as it is in the memory 63 and transmit it to the microcomputer 92. The flow rate sensor 60 may transmit the flow rate to the microcomputer 92 every time the flow rate is acquired in a predetermined measurement cycle, but in order to reduce the communication load, it is preferable to use one as in the embodiment.

  In the embodiment, the flow rate sensor 60 measures the flow rate over a predetermined time period Ta obtained by adding the margin α to the discharge time of the reforming water pump 52, but the invention is not limited thereto. The driving cycle of the reforming water pump 52 The flow rate may be measured over a predetermined time shorter than that.

  In the embodiment, when the flow rate sensor 60 receives the read command, it outputs the measured flow rate from the memory 63, clears the memory 63, and measures the flow rate. However, the present invention is not limited to this. When the read command is received, the measured flow rate may be output, and when the command different from the read command is received, the memory 63 may be cleared and the flow rate may be measured. Alternatively, the clearing of the memory 63 and the measurement of the flow rate may be performed based on separate commands, for example, and a write command for which writing is designated may be used, for example. Further, although the flow rate sensor 60 ends measurement of the flow rate based on the timing of the timer 64, the present invention is not limited to this, and the flow rate measurement may be terminated when a predetermined command of the I2C bus is received from the microcomputer 92 Good.

  In the embodiment, the present invention is applied to the one that supplies water (reforming water) to the reformer 34 that reforms the raw fuel gas to generate the reformed gas in the fuel cell system 10, but the invention is not limited thereto. The present invention may be applied to any fluid supply device that supplies fluid.

  The correspondence between the main elements of the present embodiment and the main elements of the invention described in the section of “Means for Solving the Problems” will be described. In the present embodiment, the reforming water supply pipe 51 corresponds to a "supply path", the reforming water pump 52 corresponds to a "pump", the sensor element 61 corresponds to a "sensor element", and the arithmetic processing unit 62 The I2CI / F 65 corresponds to the "I2C interface", the flow sensor 60 corresponds to the "flow sensor", the I2C bus 100 corresponds to the "I2C bus", and the microcomputer 92 of the control device 90 corresponds. Corresponds to the “drive control device”. Further, the fuel cell stack 36 corresponds to a "fuel cell", the fuel cell system 10 corresponds to a "fuel cell system", and the reformer 54 corresponds to a "reformer".

  The correspondence between the main elements of the present embodiment and the main elements of the invention described in the section of the means for solving the problems is the invention described in the section of the means for the present embodiment for solving the problems. The present invention is not limited to the elements of the invention described in the section of “Means for Solving the Problems”, as it is an example for specifically explaining the mode for carrying out the invention. That is, the interpretation of the invention described in the section of the means for solving the problem should be made based on the description of the section, and this embodiment is the invention described in the section of the means for solving the problem It is only a specific example of

  As mentioned above, although the form for implementing this invention was demonstrated, this invention is not limited at all by such embodiment, It can be implemented with various forms in the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention. Of course.

  The present invention is applicable to, for example, the manufacturing industry of fluid supply devices.

  Reference Signs List 1 gas supply source, 10 fuel cell system, 12 fuel cell case, 20 power generation unit, 30 power generation module, 31 module case, 32 carburetor, 34 reformer, 36 fuel cell stack, 38 combustion unit, 40 raw fuel gas supply Apparatus, 41 raw fuel gas supply pipe, 42 gas supply valve, 43 gas pump, 45 air supply apparatus, 46 air supply pipe, 47 filter, 48 air blower, 50 reforming water supply apparatus, 51 reforming water supply pipe, 52 reforming Water pump, 53 reforming water tank, 60 flow sensor, 61 sensor element, 62 arithmetic processing unit, 63 memory, 64 timer, 65 I2C interface (I2CI / F), 70 exhaust heat recovery device, 71 circulation piping, 72 circulation pump , 73 heat exchanger, 74 condensed water supply pipe, 75 exhaust gas exhaust pipe, 80 hot water storage tank, 90 control unit, 92 microcomputer (microcomputer), 94 pump drive unit, 100 I2C bus.

Claims (5)

A pump that discharges fluid to the supply path by intermittent driving;
A flow sensor including a sensor element for measuring the flow rate of fluid in the supply path, a processing unit that processes the output of the sensor element and stores the measured flow rate in a memory, and an I2C interface connected to an I2C bus; ,
The pump is connected communicably to the flow rate sensor via the I2C bus, generates a drive signal for the pump based on the measured flow rate measured by the flow rate sensor, and outputs the drive signal to control the drive of the pump Drive control device,
Equipped with
When the drive control device outputs the drive signal, the drive control device transmits a predetermined command of the I2C bus to the flow rate sensor.
The flow rate sensor measures the flow rate of fluid in the supply path over a predetermined time period and stores the measured flow rate in the memory, triggered by the reception of the predetermined command via the I2C bus. The fluid supply device according to claim 1, wherein
The flow rate sensor stores, in the memory, a measured flow rate obtained by computing the output of the sensor element for each predetermined measurement cycle by the processing unit over the predetermined time. The fluid supply device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein
The drive control device transmits, as the predetermined command, a command instructing reading of the measured flow rate stored in the memory,
The flow rate sensor transmits the measured flow rate stored in the memory to the drive control device via the I2C bus every time the predetermined command is received, and then clears the measured flow rate in the memory. A fluid supply device that performs processing of measuring a flow rate over the predetermined time. The fluid supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein
The fluid supply device, wherein the flow rate sensor measures a flow rate as the predetermined time, which is a time obtained by adding a margin to a fluid discharge time in intermittent driving of the pump. A fuel cell system comprising a fuel cell that generates electricity based on a reformed gas containing hydrogen and an oxidant gas containing oxygen,
A reformer which reforms raw fuel gas to generate the reformed gas;
The fluid supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which supplies water used for reforming the reformer as the fluid.
A fuel cell system comprising:

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