A hydrogen supply system for unmanned aerial vehicles

Abstract

The present invention discloses a hydrogen supply system for unmanned aerial vehicles, which includes: a hydrogen cylinder, which provides a hydrogen source for a hydrogen fuel cell stack; a hydrogen supply pipeline, which is arranged between the hydrogen cylinder and the hydrogen fuel cell stack; a pressure reducing system, which includes a first-stage pressure reducing valve and a second-stage pressure reducing valve, wherein the first-stage pressure reducing valve is connected to a plurality of second-stage pressure reducing valves at the same time; a stop valve is arranged between the hydrogen cylinder and the first-stage pressure reducing valve, and the outlets of the plurality of second-stage pressure reducing valves are respectively connected to a plurality of hydrogen fuel cell stacks. The present invention outputs high-pressure hydrogen through a plurality of second-stage pressure reducing valves, which can output stable hydrogen for the hydrogen fuel cell stack, and ensure the stable operation of the stack. The stack system of the entire unmanned aerial vehicle is composed of a plurality of small stacks connected in series, which can enable the stack system to avoid a water cooling system, and can also reduce space and weight, thereby meeting the flight requirements of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a hydrogen supply device, and in particular to a hydrogen supply system used in an unmanned aerial vehicle for supplying hydrogen to a hydrogen fuel cell. Background Art

[0002] In the process of drone development, endurance has always been a big problem in drone applications. The theoretical endurance of drones is only a few dozen minutes, which is completely unsatisfactory. Most of the batteries used in drone products are lithium batteries. Although there are also solar energy, oil-powered, and oil-electric hybrid methods, they all have their shortcomings. As a clean new energy source, hydrogen fuel cells have gradually emerged in various countries in recent years due to their zero emissions, high efficiency, and high energy density. The hydrogen source of the fuel cell for drones currently under research mainly comes from high-pressure hydrogen bottles, and the hydrogen in the high-pressure hydrogen bottles is output to the hydrogen fuel cell through the hydrogen supply system.

[0003] For existing hydrogen fuel cells for drones, if the endurance of drones is to be increased, the output power of the hydrogen fuel cell stack must be increased. On the one hand, this puts higher requirements on the hydrogen supply system, and on the other hand, a water cooling system needs to be added. This is because a high-power fuel cell stack releases a lot of heat when activated under a large current. If the heat cannot be discharged in time, local overheating will cause the current density to increase there. The increase in current density will generate more heat, which will burn the membrane electrode in severe cases, causing hydrogen and oxygen to mix, leading to battery pack failure, and even more seriously, it may cause the battery stack to explode. The cooling system plays a vital role in the safe and stable operation of the high-power fuel cell stack, but the addition of a water cooling system increases the weight of the drone device, which is not conducive to the flight of the drone and cannot meet the lightweight requirements.

[0004] The output power of drones using hydrogen fuel cells in existing technologies is relatively small and cannot meet the needs of long-term flight. High-power drones are currently mostly powered by lithium batteries. Hydrogen fuel cells are difficult to meet the high-power power supply needs of drones, which restricts the application of high-power hydrogen supply systems in the drone field and, to a certain extent, restricts the development of drones. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present invention aims to solve the problem that the existing hydrogen supply system for UAVs is difficult to meet the needs of high-power UAVs, and to solve the technical problems that when the existing hydrogen supply system is applied to UAVs, the hydrogen supply system has complex pipeline connections, many system leakage points, and the hydrogen supply system is heavy and not conducive to UAV flight.

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a hydrogen supply system for a drone, which comprises: a hydrogen cylinder, which provides a hydrogen source for a hydrogen fuel cell stack;

[0007] A hydrogen supply pipeline is arranged between the hydrogen cylinder and the hydrogen fuel cell stack, connecting the hydrogen cylinder with the first-stage pressure reducing valve, and connecting the first-stage pressure reducing valve with the second-stage pressure reducing valve;

[0008] A pressure reducing system comprises a first-stage pressure reducing valve and a second-stage pressure reducing valve, wherein the first-stage pressure reducing valve is connected to a plurality of second-stage pressure reducing valves arranged in parallel;

[0009] A stop valve is arranged between the hydrogen cylinder and the first-stage pressure reducing valve, and outlets of a plurality of second-stage pressure reducing valves are respectively connected to a plurality of hydrogen fuel cell stacks.

[0010] As a further improvement, the outlets of several second-stage pressure reducing valves are respectively connected to different hydrogen fuel cell stacks, and several solenoid valves 2 are arranged downstream of the outlets of the second-stage pressure reducing valves, and each of the solenoid valves 2 is connected to at least one second-stage pressure reducing valve.

[0011] As a further improvement, the outlet of the first-stage pressure reducing valve is connected to a multi-way gas supply connector, and the multi-way gas supply connector is respectively connected to a plurality of second-stage pressure reducing valves.

[0012] As a further improvement, the hydrogen supply system also includes a fixed bracket, which includes a support rod and a support plate. The support rod and the support plate are interconnected. The fixed bracket is supported outside the hydrogen cylinder to provide support for the installation of the decompression system.

[0013] As a further improvement, a pressure sensor and a solenoid valve 1 are arranged in the hydrogen supply pipeline upstream of the inlet of the first-stage pressure reducing valve.

[0014] As a further improvement, a filter is arranged upstream of the inlet of the first-stage pressure reducing valve to filter the hydrogen entering the first-stage pressure reducing valve.

[0015] As a further improvement, the outlet of each second-stage pressure reducing valve corresponds to being connected to at least one hydrogen fuel cell stack, and a solenoid valve 2 is arranged in the hydrogen supply pipeline between each second-stage pressure reducing valve and the hydrogen fuel cell stack connected thereto, and each of the solenoid valves 2 controls the hydrogen output of a second-stage pressure reducing valve.

[0016] As a further improvement, the outlets of every two second-stage pressure reducing valves are connected to two hydrogen fuel cell stacks, and a solenoid valve 2 is arranged between the outlets of the two second-stage pressure reducing valves and the two hydrogen fuel cell stacks.

[0017] The high-pressure hydrogen flowing out of the high-pressure gas cylinder is reduced in pressure by the first-stage pressure reducing valve, and then enters several second-stage pressure reducing valves arranged in parallel after being divided. The several second-stage pressure reducing valves are grouped to output low-pressure hydrogen for several hydrogen fuel cell stacks.

[0018] The present invention diverts the high-pressure hydrogen that has passed through the first-stage pressure reducing valve through multiple second-stage pressure reducing valves for output, and can output stable hydrogen for multiple hydrogen fuel cell stacks, thereby ensuring the stable operation of the stacks. At the same time, since the stack system of the entire UAV is composed of a number of small stacks connected in series, the stack system can avoid the water cooling system, and at the same time can reduce space and weight, thereby meeting the flight requirements of the UAV. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] In order to make the content of the present invention more easily understood, the present invention is further exemplarily described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0020] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the side structure.

[0022] Figure 3 for Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the top view structure.

[0023] Figure 4 It is a structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of the fixing bracket of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the hydrogen supply principle of an embodiment of the hydrogen supply system of the present invention.

[0025] In the figure: 1-hydrogen cylinder, 2-hydrogen supply pipeline, 3-stop valve, 4-first stage pressure reducing valve, 5-multi-way gas supply connector, 6-second stage pressure reducing valve, 7-solenoid valve 2, 8-solenoid valve 1, 9-charging valve, 10-first support plate, 11-support rod, 12-second support plate, 40-filter, 41-pressure sensor, 90-check valve. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The following is a clear and complete description of the technical solution in the present invention in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0027] It should be noted that in the hydrogen supply system, the hydrogen cylinder is connected to the pressure reducing valve and other functional valves through the hydrogen supply pipeline. The hydrogen supply pipeline decompresses the high-pressure hydrogen in the hydrogen cylinder and then outputs it. When each component is connected to the hydrogen supply pipeline, the leakage points of the entire system will increase. If there are too many leakage points, on the one hand, it is not conducive to the stable output of hydrogen, and on the other hand, it will cause safety hazards to hydrogen supply. In addition, the increase in pipelines will also increase the weight of the system, and at the same time it is not conducive to the management of the pipelines, reducing the utilization rate of the space inside the drone. Of course, the hydrogen supply pipeline can be made of different materials according to needs.

[0028] like Figure 1-5 The illustrated embodiment is a hydrogen supply system for a drone, which comprises: a hydrogen cylinder 1, which provides a source of hydrogen for a hydrogen fuel cell stack;

[0029] A hydrogen supply pipeline connects the plurality of hydrogen cylinders 1 with the first-stage pressure reducing valve 4, and connects the first-stage pressure reducing valve 4 with the second-stage pressure reducing valve 6;

[0030] The pressure reducing system comprises a first-stage pressure reducing valve 4 and a second-stage pressure reducing valve 6, wherein the first-stage pressure reducing valve 4 is simultaneously connected to a plurality of second-stage pressure reducing valves 6;

[0031] A stop valve 3 is arranged between the hydrogen cylinder 1 and the first-stage pressure reducing valve 4, and outlets of a plurality of second-stage pressure reducing valves 6 are respectively connected to a plurality of hydrogen fuel cell stacks.

[0032] As an embodiment, the hydrogen cylinder may be a large-capacity hydrogen cylinder, or may be composed of a number of smaller-capacity hydrogen cylinders connected in series or in parallel.

[0033] As an embodiment, when there is one hydrogen cylinder 1, a stop valve 3 is arranged between the hydrogen cylinder and the first-stage pressure reducing valve, and the stop valve 3 is connected to the bottle mouth of the hydrogen cylinder 1; when there are multiple hydrogen cylinders 1, such as Figure 1 When three are shown, a stop valve 3 can be arranged at the outlet of each hydrogen cylinder 1, and a stop valve 3 can also be arranged upstream of the inlet of the first-stage pressure reducing valve 4, that is, the hydrogen supply pipelines of each branch are gathered and connected to the stop valve 3 in the main hydrogen supply pipeline.

[0034] As an embodiment, a pressure sensor 41 and a solenoid valve 8 are arranged in the upstream hydrogen supply pipeline 2 of the inlet of the first-stage pressure reducing valve 4.

[0035] As an embodiment, the outlet of the first-stage pressure reducing valve 4 is connected to a multi-way gas supply connector 5. Figure 1 As shown, the multi-way gas supply connector 5 has a total of 12 outlets, and the outlets of the multi-way gas supply connector 5 are respectively connected to a number of second-stage pressure reducing valves 6 through the hydrogen supply pipeline 2.

[0036] In some embodiments, the outlet of the first-stage pressure reducing valve 4 can be connected to multiple second-stage pressure reducing valves 6 through multiple hydrogen supply pipelines 2, but this will increase the complexity of the pipeline connection.

[0037] As an embodiment, the hydrogen supply system also includes a fixed bracket, which includes a support rod 11 and a support plate. The support rod 11 and the support plate are interconnected, and the support plate includes a first support plate 10 and a second support plate 12. The first support plates 10 are connected by the support rod 11, and the second support plate 12 is connected to the first support plate 10. Through the staggered connection between the support rod 11 and the support plate, the fixed bracket is installed on the outer surface of the hydrogen cylinder 1 to provide support for the installation of the decompression system.

[0038] In the above embodiment, the stop valve 3, the first-stage pressure reducing valve 4, the second-stage pressure reducing valve 6 and other components are connected to the hydrogen supply pipeline 2; the first-stage pressure reducing valve 4, the second-stage pressure reducing valve 6 and other components can also be attached to the outer surface of the hydrogen cylinder 1; in other embodiments, the first-stage pressure reducing valve 4, the second-stage pressure reducing valve 6 and other components can be installed on a fixed bracket outside the hydrogen cylinder 1, such as Figure 1 As shown, the first-stage pressure reducing valve 4 and the second-stage pressure reducing valve 6 are installed on the second supporting plate 12 .

[0039] As an embodiment, a pressure sensor 41 and a solenoid valve 8 are arranged in the upstream hydrogen supply pipeline 2 of the inlet of the first-stage pressure reducing valve 4. In some embodiments, as a preferred scheme, the pressure sensor can be integrated in the first-stage pressure reducing valve 4 or in the bottle valve, and the solenoid valve 8 is integrated in the first-stage pressure reducing valve 4.

[0040] As an embodiment, a filter 40 is arranged upstream of the inlet of the first-stage pressure reducing valve 4 to filter the hydrogen entering the first-stage pressure reducing valve 4 . Of course, the filter 40 can also be integrated into the first-stage pressure reducing valve 4 .

[0041] As an embodiment, the outlets of several second-stage pressure reducing valves 6 are respectively connected to different hydrogen fuel cell stacks; several solenoid valves 2 7 are arranged downstream of the outlet of the second-stage pressure reducing valve 6, and each of the solenoid valves 2 7 is connected to at least one second-stage pressure reducing valve 6.

[0042] As an embodiment, each outlet of the second-stage pressure reducing valve 6 corresponds to being connected to at least one hydrogen fuel cell stack, and a solenoid valve 2 7 is arranged in the hydrogen supply pipeline 2 between the second-stage pressure reducing valve 6 and the hydrogen fuel cell stack connected thereto, and the solenoid valve 2 7 is used to control the on-off of the hydrogen supply pipeline 2 downstream of the outlet of the second-stage pressure reducing valve 6.

[0043] As an embodiment, the outlets of every two second-stage pressure reducing valves 6 are connected to two hydrogen fuel cell stacks, and a solenoid valve 2 7 is arranged between the outlets of the two second-stage pressure reducing valves 6 and the two hydrogen fuel cell stacks.

[0044] In actual combined application, one second-stage pressure reducing valve 6 can supply hydrogen to two hydrogen fuel cell stacks, two second-stage pressure reducing valves 6 can supply hydrogen to one hydrogen fuel cell stack, or two second-stage pressure reducing valves 6 can supply hydrogen to two hydrogen fuel cell stacks. As for one solenoid valve 2 7 , it can control the downstream hydrogen supply pipeline 2 of one second-stage pressure reducing valve 6 , or it can control the downstream hydrogen supply pipelines 2 of two second-stage pressure reducing valves 6 ; the form of combination between the second-stage pressure reducing valve 6 and the hydrogen fuel cell stack can be changed as needed, and the number of solenoid valves 2 7 can also change accordingly, but ultimately the optimal solution is one with fewer pipelines and less weight.

[0045] As an embodiment, the solenoid valve 2 7 may also be integrated into the second-stage pressure reducing valve 6 .

[0046] As an embodiment, the outlets of the hydrogen cylinders 1 are connected in parallel to a charging valve 9 via a hydrogen supply pipeline 2 , so a one-way valve 90 is integrated in the charging valve 9 , and hydrogen can be conveniently injected into the hydrogen cylinders through the charging valve 9 .

[0047] The high-pressure hydrogen flowing out of the high-pressure gas cylinder is reduced in pressure by a first-stage pressure reducing valve 4, and then enters a plurality of second-stage pressure reducing valves 6 after being divided. The plurality of second-stage pressure reducing valves 6 are grouped to output low-pressure hydrogen for a plurality of hydrogen fuel cell stacks.

[0048] When hydrogen is needed to be supplied to the hydrogen fuel cell, the control center controls the on and off of the downstream solenoid valve 7 of the second-stage pressure reducing valve 6 outlet to supply hydrogen to at least one hydrogen fuel cell stack. Since multiple second-stage pressure reducing valves are used to supply hydrogen to multiple hydrogen fuel cell stacks, the start and stop of the stack can be prevented from affecting the inlet pressure changes of other stacks, thereby improving the working stability of the stack.

[0049] In the above embodiment of the present invention, the solenoid valve 1 8 is a high-pressure solenoid valve, which refers to a solenoid valve with a working pressure ≥35Mpa, and the solenoid valve 2 7 is a low-pressure solenoid valve, which refers to a solenoid valve with a working pressure ≤10Mpa. The solenoid valve 1 8 and the solenoid valve 2 7 in the present invention are respectively a high-pressure solenoid valve and a low-pressure solenoid valve that meet the above conditions.

[0050] The above embodiments are only partial embodiments of the present invention and are only used to illustrate and describe the present invention. For those skilled in the art, it can be understood that various changes, modifications, substitutions and variations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention is defined by the attached claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A hydrogen supply system for an unmanned aerial vehicle, comprising: Hydrogen tanks, which provide a source of hydrogen for hydrogen fuel cell stacks; A hydrogen supply pipeline connects the hydrogen cylinder with the first-stage pressure reducing valve, and connects the first-stage pressure reducing valve with the second-stage pressure reducing valve; a pressure reducing system includes a first-stage pressure reducing valve and a second-stage pressure reducing valve; characterized in that: The first-stage pressure reducing valve is connected to a plurality of second-stage pressure reducing valves arranged in parallel, a stop valve is arranged between the hydrogen cylinder and the first-stage pressure reducing valve, and the outlets of the plurality of second-stage pressure reducing valves are connected to a plurality of hydrogen fuel cell stacks respectively; The outlets of the plurality of second-stage pressure reducing valves are connected to different hydrogen fuel cell stacks one by one, and a plurality of second solenoid valves are arranged downstream of the outlets of the second-stage pressure reducing valves, and each of the second solenoid valves is connected to at least one second-stage pressure reducing valve; or, The outlet of each second-stage pressure reducing valve is connected to at least one hydrogen fuel cell stack, and a second solenoid valve is arranged in the hydrogen supply pipeline between each second-stage pressure reducing valve and the hydrogen fuel cell stack connected thereto, and each of the second solenoid valves controls the hydrogen output of a second-stage pressure reducing valve; or, The outlets of every two second-stage pressure reducing valves are connected to two hydrogen fuel cell stacks, and a solenoid valve 2 is arranged between the outlets of every two second-stage pressure reducing valves and the two hydrogen fuel cell stacks.

2. The hydrogen supply system for unmanned aerial vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outlet of the first-stage pressure reducing valve is connected to a multi-way gas supply connector, and the multi-way gas supply connector is respectively connected to a plurality of second-stage pressure reducing valves arranged in parallel.

3. The hydrogen supply system for unmanned aerial vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that: A pressure sensor and a solenoid valve 1 are arranged in the hydrogen supply pipeline inside the first-stage pressure reducing valve or upstream of the inlet of the first-stage pressure reducing valve.

4. The hydrogen supply system for unmanned aerial vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that: A filter is integrated in the first-stage pressure reducing valve.

5. A hydrogen supply system for unmanned aerial vehicles according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The hydrogen supply system also includes a fixed bracket, which includes a support rod and a support plate. The support rod and the support plate are connected to each other. The fixed bracket is supported outside the hydrogen cylinder, and the decompression system is installed on the support plate.

6. The hydrogen supply system for unmanned aerial vehicles according to claim 5, characterized in that: The outlet of the hydrogen cylinder is connected to a charging valve via a hydrogen supply pipeline, so a one-way valve is integrated in the charging valve.

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