Patent · US Expired

Fuel cell power supply

US7485383B2 · kind B2 · utility

11Cited by
13References
6Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateDec 28, 2005
Grant dateFeb 3, 2009
Priority date
Expiry dateDec 28, 2025

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY02T90/40
  • WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A fuel cell power supply has a fuel cell and a capacitor which are connected parallel to each other, and controls the amount of a reacting gas supplied to the fuel gas based on a target supply current. A capacitor open voltage calculator calculates an open voltage (Vcap_O) of the capacitor from a detected current (Icap) of the capacitor, an output voltage (Vout) of the fuel cell, and an internal resistance (Rcap) of the capacitor. A corrective quantity calculator calculates a corrective quantity (Ifc_AM) for a target supply current (Ifc_REQ) based on the open voltage (Vcap_O) of the capacitor, the output voltage (Vout) of the fuel cell, and the target supply current (Ifc_REQ), so as to prevent an air compressor from operating excessively and also prevent the fuel cell from suffering a gas shortage, depending on current-voltage characteristic data (Icap−Vcap) of the fuel cell and current-voltage characteristic data (Ifc−Vcap) of the capacitor.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.