Low-power-consumption digital intelligent hydrogen refueling station control system and control method thereof

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of hydrogen refueling station control systems, and discloses a low-power-consumption digital intelligent hydrogen refueling station control system which is characterized in that a vehicle-mounted bottle group of a hydrogen transport vehicle is connected with a hydrogen refueling station gas discharging column through a process pipe by a hydrogen pipe bundle vehicle system, and the hydrogen refueling station gas discharging column is connected with a hydrogen compressor through a process pipe; the sequence control panel is respectively connected with the hydrogen compressor, the hydrogen refueling station gas discharging column, the station-mounted hydrogen storage bottle and the hydrogen refueling machine through process pipes, the hydrogen refueling machine is connected with a user hydrogen storage bottle of a user vehicle, and the control station is respectively and electrically connected with the hydrogen refueling station gas discharging column, the hydrogen compressor, the sequence control panel and the hydrogen refueling machine. The invention further discloses a control method of the low-power-consumption digital intelligent hydrogen refueling station control system. According to the low-power-consumption digital intelligent hydrogen refueling station control system and the control method thereof, low-power-consumption digital intelligent operation of the hydrogen refueling station is realized, the operation cost is reduced, and the safety, the stability and the operation and maintenance efficiency are improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of hydrogen refueling station control system technology, specifically to a low-power intelligent hydrogen refueling station control system and its control method. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid development of the hydrogen energy industry, the construction of hydrogen refueling stations both domestically and internationally has experienced explosive growth. Hydrogen refueling stations have gradually evolved from traditional standard stations and demonstration stations to hybrid hydrogen refueling stations. Unlike traditional gas stations, hydrogen refueling stations need to be equipped with hydrogen compressors to pressurize hydrogen. At the same time, in order to ensure that the temperature of the hydrogen medium meets the process requirements, a high-power rapid cooling system is also required, resulting in high overall power and energy consumption for hydrogen refueling stations.

[0003] Currently, hydrogen refueling stations primarily source hydrogen from onboard hydrogen storage tanks or on-site hydrogen production equipment, making the market highly sensitive to hydrogen prices. However, existing hydrogen refueling station equipment providers mostly focus on hydrogen compressors and dispensing machines, prioritizing functionality, construction speed, and equipment cost control, with little attention paid to post-construction system operating costs. Furthermore, after a refueling station becomes operational, operators need to invest additional resources in recruiting or training equipment maintenance personnel, further exacerbating the operational burden. The combined high cost of hydrogen sources and station operating costs drives up hydrogen costs for end customers, making it difficult to meet the development needs of hydrogen refueling stations for high efficiency, low cost, digitalization, and environmental friendliness. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to address the shortcomings of the above-mentioned technologies by providing a low-power intelligent digital hydrogen refueling station control system and its control method, thereby achieving low-power intelligent digital operation of hydrogen refueling stations, reducing operating costs, and improving safety, stability, and operation and maintenance efficiency.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the low-power intelligent hydrogen refueling station control system designed in this invention includes a hydrogen tubing vehicle system, a hydrogen refueling station unloading column, a hydrogen compressor, a sequential control panel, an on-site hydrogen storage cylinder, a hydrogen dispenser, and a control station. The hydrogen tubing vehicle system connects the on-board cylinder assembly of the hydrogen transport vehicle to the hydrogen refueling station unloading column via process pipes. The hydrogen refueling station unloading column is connected to the hydrogen compressor via process pipes. The sequential control panel is connected to the hydrogen compressor, the hydrogen refueling station unloading column, the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder, and the hydrogen dispenser via process pipes, controlling the hydrogen pressure... The compressor is connected to the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder, the hydrogen refueling station unloading column is connected to the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder, the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder is connected to the hydrogen refueling machine, or the hydrogen refueling station unloading column is connected to the hydrogen refueling machine. The hydrogen refueling machine is connected to the user's hydrogen storage cylinder in the user's vehicle. The control station is connected to the hydrogen refueling station unloading column, hydrogen compressor, sequential control panel, and hydrogen refueling machine. The sequential control panel realizes multi-path connection control, which provides basic hardware support for subsequent low-power control mode, automated operation, and digital management, and ensures the systematicness and flexibility of hydrogen transmission and control.

[0006] Preferably, in the conventional unloading mode, the sequential control panel controls the hydrogen compressor to connect with the station-mounted hydrogen storage cylinder. The hydrogen in the vehicle-mounted cylinder group is compressed by the hydrogen compressor and then unloaded to the station-mounted hydrogen storage cylinder. The control station is also equipped with a direct unloading mode that directly unloads the hydrogen in the vehicle-mounted cylinder group from the hydrogen refueling station's unloading column to the station-mounted hydrogen storage cylinder. The direct unloading mode includes the following logic: The control station first determines whether the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder is being refilled for users. When the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder is not being refilled, it opens the pneumatic valve at the cylinder's opening to obtain the hydrogen pressure inside. It then collects the hydrogen pressure from the on-board cylinder assembly of the hydrogen transport vehicle via the unloading column at the refueling station. The control station compares the hydrogen pressure in the on-board cylinder assembly with the hydrogen pressure in the on-site storage cylinder. If the pressure difference meets a first preset differential pressure condition, the differential pressure unloading mode is activated. The sequential control panel connects the unloading column at the refueling station to the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder, allowing hydrogen to flow directly from the refueling station. The unloading column discharges the gas into the hydrogen storage cylinder at the station. During the unloading process, the unloading flow rate of the unloading column at the hydrogen refueling station is monitored in real time. When the unloading flow rate is less than the critical value or the hydrogen pressure in the on-board cylinder group is less than the lower limit, the differential pressure unloading mode is turned off. The direct unloading mode uses the pressure difference between the on-board cylinder group and the station's hydrogen storage cylinder to achieve direct unloading, avoiding the ineffective start-up of the hydrogen compressor and significantly reducing energy consumption during the unloading stage. At the same time, through pressure judgment, flow and pressure threshold monitoring, and differential pressure mode switching, the unloading safety and stability are ensured, and the flow rate or pressure abnormality is avoided, while reducing the operating loss of the hydrogen compressor and lowering operating costs.

[0007] Preferably, in the conventional refueling mode, the sequential control panel controls the hydrogen storage cylinder on the station and connects it to the hydrogen refueling machine. The hydrogen in the station's hydrogen storage cylinder is refueled to the user's hydrogen storage cylinder through the hydrogen refueling machine. The control station also has a direct-filling mode where hydrogen is directly refueled from the hydrogen refueling station's unloading column to the user's hydrogen storage cylinder. The direct-filling mode includes the following logic: The control station first connects the hydrogen refueling machine to the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder with the highest hydrogen pressure, and then connects to the user's hydrogen storage cylinder to obtain the hydrogen pressure in the user's hydrogen storage cylinder. It then compares the hydrogen pressure in the on-board cylinder group of the hydrogen transport vehicle connected to the hydrogen refueling station's unloading column with the hydrogen pressure in the user's hydrogen storage cylinder. If the hydrogen pressure difference meets a second preset pressure difference condition, the differential pressure refueling mode is activated. The sequential control panel controls the connection between the hydrogen refueling station's unloading column and the hydrogen refueling machine, allowing hydrogen to be directly refueled from the unloading column through the refueling machine to the user's hydrogen storage cylinder. During refueling, the refueling flow rate of the hydrogen refueling machine is monitored. When the refueling flow rate is less than a preset value, the differential pressure refueling mode is closed and switched to the regular refueling mode. The direct refueling mode uses the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder to collect the pressure of the user's hydrogen storage cylinder, utilizing the pressure difference to achieve direct refueling from the hydrogen refueling station's unloading column to the user's hydrogen storage cylinder. This eliminates the intermediate steps of storage and output from the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder, reducing energy consumption. Simultaneously, automatic mode switching is achieved through flow monitoring, ensuring refueling continuity and stability, and improving refueling efficiency.

[0008] Preferably, the control station is equipped with a sequential control panel for pipeline selection. The station-mounted hydrogen storage cylinders are configured with equal volumes and predefined as low, medium, and high pressures based on their hydrogen pressure. When refueling a user's hydrogen storage cylinder, after the user's vehicle's hydrogen storage cylinder is connected to the refueling machine, the high-pressure station-mounted hydrogen storage cylinder is initially connected to the machine. The hydrogen pressure of the user's cylinder is collected, and the difference between the predefined low-pressure, medium-pressure, and high-pressure on-vehicle hydrogen storage cylinders and the user's cylinder pressure is compared. The on-vehicle hydrogen storage cylinder with the smallest hydrogen pressure difference (higher than the filling pressure difference) is preferentially selected for connection to the refueling machine. The sequential control panel pipeline selection process prioritizes the appropriate station-mounted hydrogen storage cylinder based on pressure difference matching principles, effectively controlling the process pipeline pressure difference, avoiding excessive temperature rise due to excessive pressure difference, ensuring refueling safety, and reducing additional energy consumption in the cooling system caused by excessive temperature difference, thus improving the economy of the refueling process.

[0009] Preferably, the control station is equipped with a pressure-based follow-up refueling mode. When refueling the user's hydrogen storage cylinder, the flow rate of the hydrogen medium in the hydrogen dispenser is continuously monitored during the refueling process. When the flow rate does not meet the minimum flow rate requirement, the control panel continues to select a suitable on-board hydrogen storage cylinder for refueling according to the sequence control process until the refueling is completed. The pressure-based follow-up refueling mode continuously monitors the flow rate of the hydrogen dispenser and dynamically adjusts the matching user's hydrogen storage cylinder to ensure that the refueling flow rate always meets the minimum requirement. This avoids low refueling efficiency or process interruption due to insufficient flow rate, and ensures the continuity, stability and efficiency of the refueling process.

[0010] Preferably, the control station is equipped with a station-mounted hydrogen storage cylinder transfer control mode. When any station-mounted hydrogen storage cylinder and related valves require maintenance, the sequential control panel controls the hydrogen compressor to connect with the station-mounted hydrogen storage cylinder, and the hydrogen compressor to connect with other station-mounted hydrogen storage cylinders not involved in maintenance. The hydrogen in the station-mounted hydrogen storage cylinder is transferred to the hydrogen compressor inlet and added to other station-mounted hydrogen storage cylinders to achieve hydrogen recovery. The station-mounted hydrogen storage cylinder transfer control mode realizes hydrogen recovery and reuse during equipment maintenance, avoiding resource waste and safety hazards caused by direct hydrogen emission. At the same time, it eliminates the need to empty the station-mounted hydrogen storage cylinders during maintenance, ensuring the continuous operation of the hydrogen refueling station, reducing the impact of maintenance on operation, and improving operational continuity and economy.

[0011] Preferably, it also includes a cooling system, comprising a hydrogen refueling unit cooling system and a hydrogen compressor cooling system, both of which are dual-unit structures, including a master unit and a slave unit, and have three operating modes: minimum operating mode, dual-unit full-load mode, and dual-unit master-slave PID mode. The switching logic of the above modes is as follows: The control station detects the operating status of the hydrogen dispenser: when the hydrogen dispenser starts working, the hydrogen dispenser cooling system switches to external circulation mode and enters dual-unit full-load mode; when the process temperature is within the preset range, it switches to dual-unit master-slave PID mode: when the power of a single unit meets the medium cooling temperature requirements, the unit with the longer cumulative running time is shut down through the internal running timer, and the single unit runs; when the power of a single unit does not meet the requirements, the master unit runs at full load at the power frequency and the slave unit runs in PID mode. The control station detects the operating status of the hydrogen compressor: when the hydrogen compressor starts working, the hydrogen compressor cooling system switches to external circulation mode and enters dual-unit full-load mode; when the process temperature is within the preset range, it switches to dual-unit master-slave PID mode: when the power of a single unit meets the medium cooling temperature requirements, the unit with the longer cumulative running time is shut down through the internal running timer, and the single unit runs; when the power of a single unit does not meet the requirements, the master unit runs at full load at the power frequency and the slave unit runs in PID mode. When no operating status of the hydrogen dispenser or hydrogen compressor is detected, the hydrogen compressor cooling system shuts down directly, and the hydrogen dispenser cooling system enters the minimum operating mode. In the minimum operating mode, the pipeline temperature of the hydrogen dispenser is used as the monitoring target: when the temperature of the liquid medium in the cooling pipeline is higher than the target value, the bypass valve of the cooling system closes, and external circulation is used to cool down to the set target value; when the temperature of the liquid medium in the cooling pipeline is lower than the target value, the bypass valve of the cooling system opens, and the cooling pipeline bypasses at the inlet and outlet of the cooling unit, resulting in the shortest circulation path for the cooling medium. The dual-unit cooling system is equipped with three operating modes, which are dynamically switched according to the operating status of the hydrogen dispenser and hydrogen compressor and the process temperature: the dual-unit full-load mode ensures rapid cooling, the dual-unit master-slave PID mode accurately controls the temperature and saves energy, and the minimum operating mode maximizes the reduction of standby energy consumption. At the same time, through running time monitoring and power adaptation adjustment, energy consumption is minimized while meeting cooling requirements, thereby improving the stability and service life of the cooling system.

[0012] Preferably, the system also includes a control self-diagnosis subsystem, which comprises communication diagnosis and control diagnosis: communication diagnosis uses IP address and Modbus address to diagnose the communication status of each component; control diagnosis is achieved by collecting action signal feedback from each actuator and signal feedback from each temperature, pressure, and gas instrument, and adopts a dual-voting operation mode. When a single signal failure occurs, the system provides an anomaly prompt, and when a process-related failure is collected, the fault point is directly indicated. The control self-diagnosis subsystem ensures smooth communication between each component through communication diagnosis. The control diagnosis combined with the dual-voting operation mode enables accurate fault identification and isolates external faults from the core controller, avoiding overall system paralysis, improving system fault diagnosis efficiency, reducing reliance on professional maintenance personnel, and ensuring the reliability and maintainability of system operation.

[0013] Preferably, it also includes an IoT remote monitoring and maintenance platform. This IoT remote monitoring and maintenance platform collects relevant data from hydrogen refueling stations, plots trend curves, monitors and analyzes equipment operating status in real time, records equipment operating time, manages equipment files, pushes equipment maintenance service notifications regularly, and opens up channels for equipment expert consultation. This reduces the cost of manual inspections, achieves precise and efficient maintenance, and provides digital and intelligent support for the long-term stable operation of equipment.

[0014] A control method for a low-power intelligent hydrogen refueling station control system, when put into operation, includes the following steps: S1) Safety testing and signal verification: Perform emergency stop tests, short circuit tests and signal verification; S2) Parameter verification and manual control: Set and verify parameters, manually control each control output point of the control station, check the action and feedback, and verify the accuracy; S3) Control station logic parameter verification: After the parameter settings in step S2) are completed, compare the input and output conditions, output electrical signals, and confirm that the input and output values ​​are consistent with the design logic; S4) Start-up and shutdown test of each subsystem of the hydrogen refueling station: Switch the control station to manual mode, manually start each subsystem, and ensure that each subsystem starts normally, runs smoothly, and provides accurate feedback without any abnormalities. S5) Functional testing of each functional block in the control station: Perform various mode tests; S6) Station hydrogen operation and emergency function test: Turn on the hydrogen dispenser and switch to the refueling state. Use test hydrogen to test the hydrogen concentration sensor and fire sensor at each subsystem location to ensure that the system shuts down normally in the event of hydrogen leakage or fire and that the emergency function is effective. S7) After nitrogen purging, the hydrogen tube bundle vehicle system transports hydrogen to the hydrogen refueling station's unloading column, and the user test vehicle enters the hydrogen refueling station; when the pressure of the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder is low in the initial stage, the system enters the direct unloading mode and the conventional unloading mode; after unloading is completed, the hydrogen refueling machine is connected to the user test vehicle, and the system enters the refueling state; after confirming that the operating conditions of each sub-equipment are consistent with the design and there are no abnormalities, the control station operates normally; This control method conducts multi-stage testing to comprehensively identify potential problems during system installation and operation, ensuring that each component operates accurately, logically, and effectively in emergencies. It provides a standardized process guarantee for the low-power, fully automated, safe, and stable digital intelligent operation of the system, reducing the risk of failure after system commissioning.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages: 1. By designing a direct pressure differential discharge and direct charging mode from the unloading column to the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder and from the unloading column to the hydrogen refueling machine, temperature rise control, energy saving control and safety control of the process pipeline are achieved during the unloading stage, while meeting the unloading flow rate. This effectively reduces energy consumption during the unloading process and also reduces the operating time of the hydrogen compressor, further saving operation and maintenance costs. 2. By designing a control station with a sequential control panel for pipeline selection and a pressure measurement-driven refueling mode, temperature rise control and energy-saving control of the refueling process medium pipeline are achieved while meeting the refueling flow efficiency requirements. 3. By designing a distributed control system for the cooling system, including dual-unit minimum operating mode, dual-unit full-load mode, and dual-unit master-slave PID mode, precise and progressive control of the cooling system is achieved. Under the condition of meeting the relevant parameters of the cooling system, economical and safe operation is achieved, and energy saving is achieved while increasing system stability. 4. By designing a station-mounted hydrogen storage cylinder transfer control mode, the hydrogen in the station-mounted hydrogen storage cylinder or related frequently operated valves can be recovered and reused during maintenance. The transfer process not only saves and recovers hydrogen, avoiding waste, but also avoids the safety hazards caused by direct hydrogen emission. It can also effectively prevent the hydrogen refueling station from stopping operation during equipment maintenance, which is very beneficial to the operation of the hydrogen refueling station. 5. To achieve intelligent and digital operation of the entire hydrogen refueling station system, this invention has developed a control self-diagnosis subsystem and an IoT remote operation and maintenance platform. The development of the self-diagnosis subsystem and the remote operation and maintenance platform has enabled intelligent and automatic control of the hydrogen refueling station control system, opened up the full life cycle management channel of the core equipment of the hydrogen refueling station, and established a data archive of the core equipment of the hydrogen refueling station, providing strong support for the long-term stable operation of related equipment. Attached Figure Description

[0016] Figure 1 This is an energy-saving logic diagram of the cooling system in the low-power intelligent hydrogen refueling station control system of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0017] The technical solution of the present invention will now be clearly and completely described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of the present invention. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0018] A low-power intelligent hydrogen refueling station control system includes a hydrogen tubing vehicle system, a hydrogen refueling station unloading column, a hydrogen compressor, a sequential control panel, an on-site hydrogen storage cylinder, a hydrogen refueling machine, and a control station. The hydrogen tubing vehicle system connects the on-board cylinder group of the hydrogen transport vehicle to the hydrogen refueling station unloading column via a process pipe. The hydrogen refueling station unloading column is connected to the hydrogen compressor via a process pipe. The sequential control panel is connected to the hydrogen compressor, the hydrogen refueling station unloading column, the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder, and the hydrogen refueling machine via process pipes. It controls the connection between the hydrogen compressor and the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder, the hydrogen refueling station unloading column and the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder, the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder and the hydrogen refueling machine, or the hydrogen refueling station unloading column and the hydrogen refueling machine. The hydrogen refueling machine is connected to the user's hydrogen storage cylinder in the user's vehicle. The control station is electrically connected to the hydrogen refueling station unloading column, the hydrogen compressor, the sequential control panel, and the hydrogen refueling machine.

[0019] In the conventional unloading mode, the sequential control panel connects the hydrogen compressor to the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder. The hydrogen in the vehicle-mounted cylinder group is compressed by the hydrogen compressor and then unloaded to the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder. The control station also has a direct unloading mode that directly unloads the hydrogen in the vehicle-mounted cylinder group from the unloading column of the hydrogen refueling station to the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder. The direct unloading mode includes the following logic: The control station first determines whether the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder is being refilled for users. If the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder is not being refilled, it opens the pneumatic valve at the cylinder's inlet to obtain the hydrogen pressure inside. It then collects the hydrogen pressure from the on-board cylinder assembly of the hydrogen transport vehicle via the unloading column at the hydrogen refueling station. The control station compares the hydrogen pressure in the on-board cylinder assembly with the hydrogen pressure in the on-site storage cylinder. If the hydrogen pressure difference meets the first preset pressure difference condition (in this embodiment, the hydrogen pressure in the on-board cylinder assembly...), the control station will determine the appropriate action. If the pressure is 3 MPa higher than the hydrogen pressure in the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder, the differential pressure unloading mode is activated. The sequential control panel controls the connection between the hydrogen refueling station's unloading column and the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder, and hydrogen is directly unloaded from the hydrogen refueling station's unloading column to the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder. During the unloading process, the unloading flow rate of the hydrogen refueling station's unloading column is monitored in real time. When the unloading flow rate is less than the critical value (1 kg / min in this embodiment) or the hydrogen pressure in the on-site cylinder group is less than the lower limit value (7 MPa in this embodiment), the differential pressure unloading mode is deactivated.

[0020] In addition, under the normal refueling mode, the sequential control panel connects the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder to the hydrogen refueling machine. The hydrogen in the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder is refueled to the user's hydrogen storage cylinder through the hydrogen refueling machine. The control station also has a direct charging mode where hydrogen is directly refueled from the hydrogen refueling station's unloading column to the user's hydrogen storage cylinder. The direct charging mode includes the following logic: The control station first connects the hydrogen refueling machine to the station's on-board hydrogen storage cylinder with the highest hydrogen pressure, and then connects to the user's hydrogen storage cylinder in the user's vehicle to obtain the hydrogen pressure in the user's hydrogen storage cylinder. Then, it compares the hydrogen pressure in the on-board cylinder group of the hydrogen transport vehicle connected to the hydrogen refueling station's unloading column with the hydrogen pressure in the user's hydrogen storage cylinder. If the hydrogen pressure difference meets the second preset differential pressure condition (in this embodiment, the hydrogen pressure in the on-board cylinder group is 5 MPa higher than the hydrogen pressure in the user's hydrogen storage cylinder), the differential pressure refueling mode is activated. The sequential control panel controls the connection between the hydrogen refueling station's unloading column and the hydrogen refueling machine, and hydrogen is directly refueled from the hydrogen refueling station's unloading column through the hydrogen refueling machine to the user's hydrogen storage cylinder. During the refueling process, the refueling flow rate of the hydrogen refueling machine is monitored. When the refueling flow rate is less than the preset value (1 kg / min in this embodiment), the differential pressure refueling mode is turned off and switched to the regular refueling mode.

[0021] In this embodiment, the control station also includes a sequential control panel for route selection. The station-mounted hydrogen storage cylinders are configured with equal volumes and predefined as low, medium, and high pressures based on their hydrogen pressure. When refueling a user's hydrogen storage cylinder, after the user's vehicle's hydrogen storage cylinder is connected to the refueling machine, the high-pressure station-mounted hydrogen storage cylinder is connected to the refueling machine during the initial refueling phase. The hydrogen pressure of the user's hydrogen storage cylinder is collected, and the difference between the predefined low-pressure, medium-pressure, and high-pressure on-vehicle hydrogen storage cylinders and the user's hydrogen storage cylinder is compared. The on-vehicle hydrogen storage cylinder with the lowest hydrogen pressure difference (higher than the filling pressure difference) is preferentially selected for connection to the refueling machine, and the user's hydrogen storage cylinder is refueled.

[0022] In this embodiment, the control station is also equipped with a pressure-based follow-up refueling mode. When refueling the user's hydrogen storage cylinder, the hydrogen medium flow rate of the hydrogen refueling machine is continuously monitored during the refueling process. When the flow rate does not meet the minimum flow rate requirement (1 kg / min in this embodiment), the control panel continues to select the appropriate pressure vehicle-mounted hydrogen storage cylinder for refueling according to the sequential control panel selection process until the refueling is completed.

[0023] In this embodiment, the control station is also equipped with a station-mounted hydrogen storage cylinder transfer control mode. When any station-mounted hydrogen storage cylinder and related valves need to be repaired, the sequential control panel controls the hydrogen compressor to connect with the station-mounted hydrogen storage cylinder, and the hydrogen compressor to connect with other station-mounted hydrogen storage cylinders that are not involved in the repair, so that the hydrogen in the station-mounted hydrogen storage cylinder is transferred to the hydrogen compressor inlet and added to other station-mounted hydrogen storage cylinders to achieve hydrogen recovery.

[0024] Finally, this embodiment also includes a cooling system, comprising a hydrogen refueling unit cooling system and a hydrogen compressor cooling system, both of which are dual-unit structures, including a master unit and a slave unit, and are equipped with three operating modes: minimum operating mode, dual-unit full-load mode, and dual-unit master-slave PID mode. The switching logic of the above modes is as follows: The control station monitors the operating status of the hydrogen dispenser: When the hydrogen dispenser starts working, the cooling system of the hydrogen dispenser switches to external circulation mode and enters the dual-unit full-load mode; when the process temperature is within the preset range, it switches to the dual-unit master-slave PID mode: when the power of a single unit meets the requirements of the medium cooling temperature, the unit with the longer cumulative running time is shut down through the internal running timer, and the single unit runs; when the power of a single unit does not meet the requirements, the master unit runs at full load at the power frequency and the slave unit runs in PID mode. The control station monitors the operating status of the hydrogen compressor: when the hydrogen compressor starts working, the hydrogen compressor cooling system switches to external circulation mode and enters dual-unit full-load mode; when the process temperature is within the preset range, it switches to dual-unit master-slave PID mode: when the power of a single unit meets the medium cooling temperature requirements, the unit with the longer cumulative running time is shut down through the internal running timer, and the single unit runs; when the power of a single unit does not meet the requirements, the master unit runs at full load at the power frequency and the slave unit runs in PID mode. When no operating status of the hydrogen dispenser or hydrogen compressor is detected, the hydrogen compressor cooling system shuts down directly, and the hydrogen dispenser cooling system enters the minimum operating mode. In the minimum operating mode, the pipeline temperature of the hydrogen dispenser is used as the monitoring target: when the temperature of the liquid medium in the cooling pipeline is higher than the target value, the bypass valve of the cooling system closes, and external circulation is used to cool down to the set target value; when the temperature of the liquid medium in the cooling pipeline is lower than the target value, the bypass valve of the cooling system opens, and the cooling pipeline bypasses at the inlet and outlet of the cooling unit, resulting in the shortest circulation path for the cooling medium.

[0025] Specifically, such as Figure 1As shown, the dual-unit structure includes Unit 1 and Unit 2. After the system issues a command to start the cooling system, the cooling system determines the cumulative running time of Unit 1 and Unit 2. If the timer of Unit 1 is greater than the timer of Unit 2 (where timer represents the cumulative running time), then Unit 2 is started; otherwise, Unit 1 is started.

[0026] Then confirm the operating status of the hydrogen dispenser or hydrogen compressor: If both units (Units 1 and 2) are in full-load operation, when the cooling water outlet temperature is between -15℃ and -5℃, the cooling system uses a timer to select the unit with the longer cumulative operating time to shut down and operate a single unit. If, during this time, the cooling water temperature rises more than 5℃ after 1 minute of continuous 50Hz operation on a single unit, the cooling system will operate in master-slave PID mode, with the master unit at full load and the slave unit in PID control mode. Otherwise, it will continue operating in single-unit PID mode. During master-slave PID mode, if the cooling water outlet temperature is between -15℃ and -5℃, this mode will continue; otherwise, it will enter full-load mode. Additionally, during full-load mode, if the cooling water outlet temperature cannot be between -15℃ and -5℃, and the continuous full-load operation time of both units is greater than or equal to 10 minutes, the cooling system will alarm. Simultaneously, if the hydrogen ring temperature of the hydrogen refueling unit exceeds 60℃, the cooling system will also alarm.

[0027] If the hydrogen compressor is not running, the hydrogen compressor cooling system will shut down directly.

[0028] If the hydrogen dispenser is not running, the hydrogen dispenser cooling system will monitor the inlet water temperature of the load chilled water pipe and maintain it within the range of 0-5 degrees Celsius, operating in the minimum operating mode with low-temperature shutdown and high-temperature start.

[0029] In other embodiments, the system may further include a control self-diagnosis subsystem, which includes communication diagnosis and control diagnosis: communication diagnosis diagnoses the communication status of each component through IP address and Modbus address; control diagnosis is achieved by collecting action signal feedback from each actuator and signal feedback from each temperature, pressure, and gas instrument, and adopts a dual-voting operation mode, where the system provides an anomaly prompt when a single signal fails, and directly prompts the fault point when a process-related fault is collected. Similarly, it may also include an IoT remote monitoring and maintenance platform, which collects relevant data from the hydrogen refueling station, plots trend curves, monitors and analyzes equipment operating status in real time, records equipment operating time, manages equipment files, pushes equipment maintenance service notifications periodically, and establishes a channel for equipment expert consultation.

[0030] The control method of the low-power intelligent hydrogen refueling station control system in this embodiment, when put into operation, includes the following steps: S1) Safety Detection and Signal Verification: Emergency stop test, short circuit test and signal verification are performed. In the emergency stop test, the power system of the emergency stop must be cut off, all valves of the process system except the vent valve must be closed and cannot be opened. When the emergency stop is restored, the control system cannot start automatically. The short circuit test is to short circuit the external power supply. After the short circuit, all peripheral control functions of the control system are lost, and the monitoring function of the core controller of the control system is normal. The signal verification is mainly to confirm the peripheral signals of the control system to ensure that the sensor signals and feedback are accurate and reliable. S2) Parameter verification and manual control: Perform parameter setting and verification. Parameter setting includes pressure, temperature range values, alarm values ​​and shutdown values ​​in the system. Manually control each control output point of the control station to check the action and feedback, and verify the accuracy. The purpose of manual control is to verify the accuracy of the electrical part of the control system. S3) Control station logic parameter verification: After the parameter setting in step S2) is completed, compare the input and output conditions of the program segment in the software program, and use the signal generator method on the sensor to calculate the electrical signals required for the corresponding alarm value and stop value. Output the electrical signals in the signal generator to confirm that the input and output values ​​in the software logic are consistent with the design logic. S4) Start-up and shutdown test of each subsystem of the hydrogen refueling station: Switch the control station to manual mode and manually start each subsystem, including the hydrogen refueling station unloading column, hydrogen compressor, hydrogen compressor cooling system, sequence control panel, hydrogen dispenser and hydrogen dispenser cooling system, to ensure that each subsystem starts normally, runs smoothly, and provides accurate feedback without any abnormalities; S5) Functional testing of each functional block of the control station: Various mode tests are conducted. Specifically, to test the system's sealing and pressure resistance, safe nitrogen gas is first used for pressure holding and functional testing. The prerequisites for system testing are that the pressure holding test is passed, the process system is stable and reliable, and the process functions are passed. Under these conditions, the control system undergoes sub-function testing and verification. Sub-function tests include direct discharge mode, direct charging mode, hydrogen compressor pressurization test, station hydrogen storage cylinder filling test, minimum operating mode test of the cooling system, dual-unit full-load mode, and dual-unit master-slave PID mode. The main purpose of the control system sub-function testing is to ensure the integrity of the system functions. S6) Station hydrogen operation and emergency function test: Turn on the hydrogen dispenser and switch to the refueling state. Use test hydrogen to test the hydrogen concentration sensor and fire sensor at each subsystem location to ensure that the system shuts down normally in the event of hydrogen leakage or fire and that the emergency function is effective. S7) Hydrogen commissioning and operation: After nitrogen purging, the hydrogen tube bundle vehicle system transports hydrogen to the hydrogen refueling station's unloading column, and the user test vehicle enters the hydrogen refueling station; when the pressure of the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder is low in the initial stage, the system enters the direct unloading mode and the conventional unloading mode; after unloading is completed, the hydrogen refueling machine is connected to the user test vehicle, and the system enters the refueling state; after confirming that the operating conditions of each sub-equipment are consistent with the design and there are no abnormalities, the control station operates normally.

[0031] In addition, before hydrogen commissioning and operation, this embodiment also requires parameter verification of the IoT remote monitoring and maintenance platform. Verification includes parameters, curves, trend charts, etc. The purpose of verification is to keep the IoT remote monitoring and maintenance platform synchronized with the station control system, keep the data consistent, and ensure accurate communication addresses, so as to make full preparations for the hydrogen injection commissioning of the hydrogen refueling station control system.

[0032] This invention discloses a low-power intelligent hydrogen refueling station control system and its control method. By designing a direct pressure differential discharge and direct charging mode from the discharge column to the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder and from the discharge column to the hydrogen refueling machine, it achieves temperature rise control, energy-saving control, and safety control of the process pipeline during the discharge stage, while meeting the discharge flow requirements. This effectively reduces energy consumption during the discharge process and also reduces the operating time of the hydrogen compressor, further saving operation and maintenance costs. By designing the control station with a sequential control panel for line selection and a pressure measurement-driven refueling mode, it achieves temperature rise control and energy-saving control of the process medium pipeline during the refueling process, while meeting the refueling flow efficiency requirements. Through the design of distributed control of the cooling system, including dual-unit minimum operating mode, dual-unit full-load mode, and dual-unit master-slave PID mode, it achieves precise and progressive control of the cooling system, realizing economical operation and safety while meeting the relevant parameters of the cooling system. The system achieves full operation, increasing system stability while realizing energy conservation. By designing a station-based hydrogen storage cylinder switching control mode, it realizes the recovery and utilization of hydrogen in the station-based hydrogen storage cylinder during maintenance of the cylinder or related frequently operated valves. The switching process not only saves and recovers hydrogen, avoiding waste, but also avoids the safety hazards caused by direct hydrogen emission. It can also effectively prevent the hydrogen refueling station from shutting down during equipment maintenance, which is very beneficial to the operation of the hydrogen refueling station. To realize the intelligent digital operation of the entire hydrogen refueling station system, this invention has developed a control self-diagnosis subsystem and an IoT remote operation and maintenance platform. The development of the self-diagnosis subsystem and the remote operation and maintenance platform realizes intelligent and automatic control of the hydrogen refueling station control system, opens up the full life cycle management channel of the core equipment of the hydrogen refueling station, and establishes a data archive of the core equipment of the hydrogen refueling station, providing strong support for the long-term stable operation of related equipment.

[0033] It should be noted that the above description of the technical solutions is exemplary, and this specification may be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limiting it to the technical solutions set forth herein. Rather, providing these descriptions will ensure that the disclosure of this invention is thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Furthermore, the technical solutions of this invention are defined only by the scope of the claims.

[0034] The shapes, dimensions, ratios, angles, and figures disclosed in the description of various aspects of this specification and claims are merely examples, and therefore, this specification and claims are not limited to the details shown. In the following description, detailed descriptions of relevant known functions or configurations will be omitted where it would be determined that they unnecessarily obscure the focus of this specification and claims.

[0035] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are merely representative examples of the present invention. Obviously, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and many variations are possible. Any simple modifications, equivalent changes, and alterations made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present invention should be considered within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A low-power intelligent hydrogen refueling station control system, characterized in that: The system includes a hydrogen tubing vehicle system, a hydrogen refueling station unloading column, a hydrogen compressor, a sequential control panel, an on-site hydrogen storage cylinder, a hydrogen dispenser, and a control station. The hydrogen tubing vehicle system connects the on-board cylinder assembly of the hydrogen transport vehicle to the hydrogen refueling station unloading column via a process pipe. The hydrogen refueling station unloading column is connected to the hydrogen compressor via a process pipe. The sequential control panel is connected to the hydrogen compressor, the hydrogen refueling station unloading column, the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder, and the hydrogen dispenser via process pipes, controlling the connection between the hydrogen compressor and the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder, the hydrogen refueling station unloading column and the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder, the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder and the hydrogen dispenser, or the hydrogen refueling station unloading column and the hydrogen dispenser. The hydrogen dispenser is connected to the user's hydrogen storage cylinder in the user's vehicle. The control station is electrically connected to the hydrogen refueling station unloading column, the hydrogen compressor, the sequential control panel, and the hydrogen dispenser.

2. The low-power intelligent hydrogen refueling station control system as described in claim 1, characterized in that: In the conventional unloading mode, the sequential control panel connects the hydrogen compressor to the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder. The hydrogen in the vehicle-mounted cylinder group is compressed by the hydrogen compressor and then unloaded to the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder. The control station also has a direct unloading mode that directly unloads the hydrogen in the vehicle-mounted cylinder group from the hydrogen refueling station's unloading column to the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder. The direct unloading mode includes the following logic: The control station first determines whether the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder is being filled into the user's hydrogen storage cylinder. When the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder is not being filled, it opens the pneumatic valve at the cylinder opening to obtain the hydrogen pressure inside the cylinder. It then collects the hydrogen pressure in the vehicle's onboard cylinder assembly via the hydrogen refueling station's unloading column. The control station compares the hydrogen pressure in the vehicle's onboard cylinder assembly with the hydrogen pressure in the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder. If the pressure difference meets a first preset differential pressure condition, the differential pressure unloading mode is activated. The sequential control panel connects the hydrogen refueling station's unloading column to the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder, allowing hydrogen to be directly unloaded from the unloading column into the cylinder. During the unloading process, the unloading flow rate of the unloading column is monitored in real time. When the unloading flow rate is less than a critical value or the hydrogen pressure in the vehicle's onboard cylinder assembly is less than a lower limit, the differential pressure unloading mode is deactivated.

3. The low-power intelligent hydrogen refueling station control system as described in claim 1, characterized in that: In the normal refueling mode, the sequential control panel connects the station's on-board hydrogen storage cylinder to the hydrogen dispenser. The hydrogen in the on-board hydrogen storage cylinder is dispensed to the user's hydrogen storage cylinder through the hydrogen dispenser. The control station also has a direct-filling mode where hydrogen is directly dispensed from the hydrogen station's unloading column to the user's hydrogen storage cylinder. The direct-filling mode includes the following logic: The control station first connects the hydrogen refueling machine to the on-board hydrogen storage cylinder with the highest hydrogen pressure, and then connects to the user's hydrogen storage cylinder in the user's vehicle to obtain the hydrogen pressure in the user's hydrogen storage cylinder. Then, it compares the hydrogen pressure in the on-board cylinder group of the hydrogen transport vehicle connected to the hydrogen refueling station's unloading column with the hydrogen pressure in the user's hydrogen storage cylinder. If the hydrogen pressure difference meets the second preset pressure difference condition, the differential pressure refueling mode is activated. The sequential control panel controls the connection between the hydrogen refueling station's unloading column and the hydrogen refueling machine, and hydrogen is directly refueled from the hydrogen refueling station's unloading column through the hydrogen refueling machine to the user's hydrogen storage cylinder. During the refueling process, the refueling flow rate of the hydrogen refueling machine is monitored. When the refueling flow rate is less than a preset value, the differential pressure refueling mode is turned off and switched to the normal refueling mode.

4. The low-power intelligent hydrogen refueling station control system as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The control station is equipped with a sequential control panel for route selection. It sets the volume of on-site hydrogen storage cylinders and predefines them as low, medium, and high pressures based on their hydrogen pressure. When refueling a user's hydrogen storage cylinder, after the user's vehicle's hydrogen storage cylinder is connected to the refueling machine, the initial refueling phase uses a high-pressure on-site hydrogen storage cylinder connected to the machine. The hydrogen pressure of the user's cylinder is collected, and the difference between the predetermined low-pressure, medium-pressure, and high-pressure on-site hydrogen storage cylinders and the user's cylinder pressure is compared. The on-site hydrogen storage cylinder with the smallest hydrogen pressure difference (higher than the filling pressure difference) is preferentially selected for connection to the refueling machine, and the user's hydrogen storage cylinder is refueled.

5. The low-power intelligent hydrogen refueling station control system as described in claim 4, characterized in that: The control station is equipped with a pressure-based follow-up refueling mode. When refueling the user's hydrogen storage cylinder, the flow rate of the hydrogen medium in the hydrogen refueling machine is continuously monitored during the refueling process. When the flow rate does not meet the minimum flow rate requirement, the control panel continues to select a suitable on-board hydrogen storage cylinder for refueling according to the sequence control process until the refueling is completed.

6. The low-power intelligent hydrogen refueling station control system as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The control station is equipped with a station-mounted hydrogen storage cylinder transfer control mode. When any station-mounted hydrogen storage cylinder and related valves need maintenance, the sequence control panel controls the hydrogen compressor to connect with the station-mounted hydrogen storage cylinder, and the hydrogen compressor to connect with other station-mounted hydrogen storage cylinders that are not involved in maintenance, transferring the hydrogen in the station-mounted hydrogen storage cylinder to the hydrogen compressor inlet, and adding it to other station-mounted hydrogen storage cylinders to achieve hydrogen recovery.

7. The low-power intelligent hydrogen refueling station control system as described in claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a cooling system, comprising a hydrogen refueling unit cooling system and a hydrogen compressor cooling system, both of which are dual-unit structures, including a master unit and a slave unit, and have three operating modes: minimum operating mode, dual-unit full-load mode, and dual-unit master-slave PID mode. The switching logic for these modes is as follows: The control station detects the operating status of the hydrogen dispenser: when the hydrogen dispenser starts working, the hydrogen dispenser cooling system switches to external circulation mode and enters dual-unit full-load mode; when the process temperature is within the preset range, it switches to dual-unit master-slave PID mode: when the power of a single unit meets the medium cooling temperature requirements, the unit with the longer cumulative running time is shut down through the internal running timer, and the single unit runs; when the power of a single unit does not meet the requirements, the master unit runs at full load at the power frequency and the slave unit runs in PID mode. The control station detects the operating status of the hydrogen compressor: when the hydrogen compressor starts working, the hydrogen compressor cooling system switches to external circulation mode and enters dual-unit full-load mode; when the process temperature is within the preset range, it switches to dual-unit master-slave PID mode: when the power of a single unit meets the medium cooling temperature requirements, the unit with the longer cumulative running time is shut down through the internal running timer, and the single unit runs; when the power of a single unit does not meet the requirements, the master unit runs at full load at the power frequency and the slave unit runs in PID mode. When no operating status of the hydrogen dispenser or hydrogen compressor is detected, the hydrogen compressor cooling system shuts down directly, and the hydrogen dispenser cooling system enters the minimum operating mode. In the minimum operating mode, the pipeline temperature of the hydrogen dispenser is used as the monitoring target: when the temperature of the liquid medium in the cooling pipeline is higher than the target value, the bypass valve of the cooling system closes, and external circulation is used to cool down to the set target value; when the temperature of the liquid medium in the cooling pipeline is lower than the target value, the bypass valve of the cooling system opens, and the cooling pipeline bypasses at the inlet and outlet of the cooling unit, resulting in the shortest circulation path for the cooling medium.

8. The low-power intelligent hydrogen refueling station control system as described in claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a control self-diagnosis subsystem, which includes communication diagnosis and control diagnosis: communication diagnosis diagnoses the communication status of each component through IP address and Modbus address; control diagnosis is achieved by collecting the action signal feedback of each actuator and the signal feedback of each temperature, pressure and gas instrument, and adopts a dual-voting operation mode. When a single signal failure occurs, the system will provide an abnormal prompt, and when a process-related failure is collected, the fault point will be directly indicated.

9. The low-power intelligent hydrogen refueling station control system as described in claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes an IoT remote monitoring and maintenance platform, which collects relevant data from hydrogen refueling stations, plots trend curves, monitors and analyzes equipment operating status in real time, records equipment operating time, manages equipment files, pushes equipment maintenance service notifications regularly, and opens up channels for equipment expert consultation.

10. A control method for a low-power intelligent hydrogen refueling station control system as described in any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: The process of putting the device into operation includes the following steps: S1) Safety testing and signal verification: Perform emergency stop tests, short circuit tests and signal verification; S2) Parameter verification and manual control: Set and verify parameters, manually control each control output point of the control station, check the action and feedback, and verify the accuracy; S3) Control station logic parameter verification: After the parameter settings in step S2) are completed, compare the input and output conditions, output electrical signals, and confirm that the input and output values ​​are consistent with the design logic; S4) Start-up and shutdown test of each subsystem of the hydrogen refueling station: Switch the control station to manual mode, manually start each subsystem, and ensure that each subsystem starts normally, runs smoothly, and provides accurate feedback without any abnormalities. S5) Functional testing of each functional block in the control station: Perform various mode tests; S6) Station hydrogen operation and emergency function test: Turn on the hydrogen dispenser and switch to the refueling state. Use test hydrogen to test the hydrogen concentration sensor and fire sensor at each subsystem location to ensure that the system shuts down normally in the event of hydrogen leakage or fire and that the emergency function is effective. After nitrogen purging (S7), the hydrogen tubing vehicle system transports hydrogen to the hydrogen refueling station's unloading column, and the user test vehicle enters the hydrogen refueling station. In the initial stage, when the pressure of the on-site hydrogen storage cylinder is low, the system enters the direct unloading mode and the conventional unloading mode. After unloading is completed, the hydrogen refueling machine is connected to the user test vehicle, and the system enters the refueling state. After confirming that the operating conditions of each sub-equipment are consistent with the design and there are no abnormalities, the control station operates normally.

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