Fuel cell power supply device

Abstract

To provide a fuel cell power supply device which is configured to warm a secondary battery with exhaust heat from a fuel cell and has small ventilation resistance to air blown for cooling the fuel cell.SOLUTION: A fuel cell power supply device 1 according to the disclosed technology includes a fuel cell 2 and a secondary battery 3, and further includes a heat exhaust chamber 5 that exhausts heat generated by the fuel cell 2 into the air, an intake port 8 that takes in air from the outside into the heat exhaust chamber 5, a heat exhaust chamber exhaust port 9 that exhausts the air in the heat exhaust chamber 5 to the outside, a blower fan 10 that creates an air current inside the heat exhaust chamber 5 from the intake port 8 to the heat exhaust chamber exhaust port 9, a secondary battery chamber 7 that houses the secondary battery 3, ventilation ports 11, 12 that exhaust air from the secondary battery chamber 7 to the outside or take air into the secondary battery chamber from the outside, and ventilation paths 14, 15 between the heat exhaust chamber 5 and the secondary battery chamber 7.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The disclosed technology relates to fuel cell power supplies. [Background technology]

[0002] An example of a conventional power supply device that uses a fuel cell is disclosed in Patent Document 1. The power supply device in this document has a storage battery in addition to the fuel cell. In the technology in this document, a heat exchanger is provided in the fuel cell. This is to cool the heat generated by the fuel cell. In the technology in this document, air that has passed through the heat exchanger is guided to the storage battery and then discharged. This is to keep the storage battery warm and prevent it from deteriorating due to low temperatures. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2014-110200 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The above-mentioned conventional technology has a problem in that the heat exchanger has a large airflow resistance. This is because the exhaust air from the heat exchanger must pass through the gap between the storage battery and its container. For this reason, unless the blower fan is operated at high power, sufficient airflow to cool the fuel cell cannot be obtained. Operating the blower fan at high power also causes a problem of noise.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a fuel cell power supply device that is configured to warm a secondary battery using exhaust heat from a fuel cell and that has low ventilation resistance to the air blown to cool the fuel cell. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A fuel cell power supply device according to one aspect of the disclosed technology is a fuel cell power supply device having a fuel cell and a secondary battery that stores power generated by the fuel cell, and has a heat exhaust chamber that exhausts heat generated by the fuel cell into the air, an intake port that takes in air from the outside into the heat exhaust chamber, a heat exhaust chamber exhaust port that exhausts the air in the heat exhaust chamber to the outside, a blower fan that creates an air current inside the heat exhaust chamber from the intake port to the heat exhaust chamber exhaust port, a secondary battery chamber that houses a secondary battery, an air vent that exhausts air from the secondary battery chamber to the outside or draws air into the secondary battery chamber from the outside, and an air passage between the heat exhaust chamber and the secondary battery chamber.

[0007] In the fuel cell power supply device of the above aspect, the blower fan generates an air current inside the heat exhaust chamber, flowing from the intake port to the heat exhaust chamber exhaust port. This air current removes heat from the fuel cell. This allows a portion of the air current, the temperature of which has increased, to be guided through the ventilation path to the secondary battery chamber. This allows the secondary battery to be warmed. Performing this operation does not create any particular resistance to the air current generated by the blower fan being exhausted from the heat exhaust chamber exhaust port.

[0008] In the fuel cell power supply device of the above aspect, it is preferable that the ventilation paths include a first ventilation path and a second ventilation path, the opening of the first ventilation path in the heat exhaust chamber is downstream of the opening of the second ventilation path in the heat exhaust chamber in the direction of air blown by the blower fan, and the first ventilation path and the second ventilation path are each provided with an on-off valve. In this way, the position where air flows from the heat exhaust chamber into the first ventilation path is a more downstream position in the heat exhaust chamber. Therefore, the air whose temperature has increased due to heat absorption is guided through the first ventilation path to the secondary battery chamber, and the secondary battery is warmed.

[0009] In any of the above fuel cell power supply devices, it is desirable to have an auxiliary fan that draws air from the outside into the secondary battery chamber through the ventilation opening. In this way, the auxiliary fan can be used to draw outside air into the secondary battery chamber, thereby cooling the secondary battery. The air that has cooled the secondary battery flows into the heat exhaust chamber through the ventilation path and is exhausted from the heat exhaust chamber exhaust opening.

[0010] In a fuel cell power supply device having an auxiliary fan, it is preferable that the vents include a first vent where the auxiliary fan is provided, and a second vent that is provided separately from the first vent and can be opened or closed. In this way, air is taken in from the outside into the secondary battery chamber through the first vent. Conversely, air that has been sent from the heat exhaust chamber and used to warm the secondary battery is discharged without resistance by opening the second vent.

[0011] In any of the above-mentioned aspects of the fuel cell power supply device, it is desirable to have a secondary battery temperature sensor that acquires information on the temperature of the secondary battery, and a control unit that performs secondary battery heating control by causing air to flow from the heat exhaust chamber through the ventilation path to the secondary battery chamber when the temperature of the secondary battery is lower than expected. In this way, the control unit can perform secondary battery heating control in accordance with the temperature of the secondary battery.

[0012] In a fuel cell power supply device having a control unit that performs secondary battery heating control, it is desirable to further have a fuel cell temperature sensor that acquires information on the temperature of the fuel cell, and the control unit performs secondary battery heating control only when the temperature of the secondary battery is lower than expected and the temperature of the fuel cell is higher than the temperature of the secondary battery. In this way, secondary battery heating control is performed only when the secondary battery can be warmed by blowing air from the heat exhaust chamber to the secondary battery chamber.

[0013] In a fuel cell power supply device having a control unit that performs secondary battery heating control, it is also desirable that the control unit controls the drive of the blower fan and performs secondary battery heating control only when the temperature of the secondary battery is lower than expected and the blower fan is driven. In this manner, secondary battery heating control is performed only when the secondary battery can be warmed by blowing air from the heat exhaust chamber to the secondary battery chamber. This is because the blower fan is generally used when it is necessary to cool the fuel cell.

[0014] In any of the above-mentioned aspects of the fuel cell power supply device, it is desirable to have a secondary battery temperature sensor that acquires information on the temperature of the secondary battery, and a control unit that performs secondary battery cooling control by causing air to flow from the secondary battery chamber through the ventilation path to the heat exhaust chamber when the temperature of the secondary battery is higher than expected. In this way, the secondary battery cooling control can be performed by the control unit in accordance with the temperature of the secondary battery.

[0015] In a fuel cell power supply device having a control unit that performs secondary battery cooling control, it is desirable to have an outside air temperature sensor that obtains information on the outside air temperature outside the ventilation opening, and the control unit performs secondary battery cooling control only when the temperature of the secondary battery is higher than expected and the outside air temperature is lower than the temperature of the secondary battery. In this way, secondary battery cooling control is performed only when the secondary battery can be cooled by taking in outside air into the secondary battery chamber.

[0016] In a fuel cell power supply device having a control unit that performs secondary battery cooling control, it is also preferable that the control unit has an auxiliary fan that draws air from the outside into the secondary battery chamber through an air vent, and that the control unit controls the drive of the auxiliary fan and drives the auxiliary fan when performing secondary battery cooling control. In this way, the auxiliary fan can be used to draw outside air into the secondary battery chamber to perform secondary battery cooling control. Effect of the Invention

[0017] According to the disclosed technique, a fuel cell power supply device is provided that has a configuration in which the secondary battery is warmed by exhaust heat from the fuel cell, and that has low ventilation resistance to the air blown to cool the fuel cell. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration diagram of a fuel cell power supply device according to an embodiment; [Diagram 2] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the state of the fuel cell power supply device when secondary battery heating control is being performed. [Diagram 3]FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the state of the fuel cell power supply device when secondary battery cooling control is being performed. [Figure 4] 5 is a flowchart of switching control between secondary battery heating control and secondary battery cooling control. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing the state of the fuel cell power supply device when the temperature of the control unit chamber is being adjusted. [Figure 6] 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the state of the fuel cell power supply device when the auxiliary fan is rotated in reverse. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] This embodiment embodies the disclosed technology as a fuel cell power supply device 1 shown in FIG. 1. The fuel cell power supply device 1 has an FC stack 2 and a secondary battery 3. The FC stack 2 is made by stacking a large number of fuel cells. The fuel cell power supply device 1 further has a heat exchanger 4. The heat exchanger 4 releases heat from the FC stack 2 to the air. Cooling water W is circulated between the FC stack 2 and the heat exchanger 4. The fuel cell power supply device 1 is provided with a heat exhaust chamber 5, a fuel cell chamber 6, and a secondary battery chamber 7. The heat exchanger 4, the FC stack 2, and the secondary battery 3 are arranged in the heat exhaust chamber 5, the fuel cell chamber 6, and the secondary battery chamber 7, respectively.

[0020] The heat exhaust chamber 5 is provided with an intake port 8 and an exhaust port 9. The intake port 8 is an opening that takes in air from the outside into the heat exhaust chamber 5. However, in the fuel cell power supply device 1 of this embodiment, a blower fan 10 is attached to the intake port 8. The exhaust port 9 is a heat exhaust chamber exhaust port that exhausts air from the heat exhaust chamber 5 to the outside. The blower fan 10 creates an air current inside the heat exhaust chamber 5 from the intake port 8 to the exhaust port 9.

[0021] The secondary battery chamber 7 is provided with a vent hole for discharging air in the secondary battery chamber 7 to the outside or for drawing air into the secondary battery chamber 7 from the outside. In the fuel cell power supply device 1 of this embodiment, a first vent hole 11 and a second vent hole 12 are provided as the vent holes. An auxiliary fan 13 is attached to the first vent hole 11. The auxiliary fan 13 draws air into the secondary battery chamber 7 from the outside. The second vent hole 12 is provided separately from the first vent hole 11 and can be opened and closed. In the fuel cell power supply device 1 of this embodiment, air is drawn into the secondary battery chamber 7 from the outside by the first vent hole 11 and the auxiliary fan 13, and air in the secondary battery chamber 7 is exhausted to the outside by the second vent hole 12.

[0022] In the fuel cell power supply device 1, a ventilation path is provided between the heat exhaust chamber 5 and the secondary battery chamber 7. In this embodiment, the ventilation paths include a first ventilation path 14 and a second ventilation path 15. An opening 16 in the heat exhaust chamber 5 of the first ventilation path 14 and an opening 17 in the heat exhaust chamber 5 of the second ventilation path 15 are arranged based on the relationship with the blowing direction of the air by the blower fan 10. The opening 16 is located downstream of the opening 17 in the blowing direction. The opening 16 is also located downstream of the position where the heat exchanger 4 is arranged in the heat exhaust chamber 5. The opening 17 is located within the range in which the heat exchanger 4 is present with respect to the blowing direction.

[0023] The first ventilation path 14 and the second ventilation path 15 are respectively provided with an on-off valve 18 and an on-off valve 19. In the fuel cell power supply device 1 of this embodiment, the first ventilation path 14 is used to blow air from the heat exhaust chamber 5 to the secondary battery chamber 7, and the second ventilation path 15 is used to blow air from the secondary battery chamber 7 to the heat exhaust chamber 5.

[0024] The fuel cell power supply device 1 is a device that supplies power generated in the FC stack 2 to power consuming devices. In the fuel cell power supply device 1, in addition to directly supplying the power generated in the FC stack 2 to power consuming devices, it can also store the power in the secondary battery 3. When the secondary battery 3 has a certain amount of stored power, the fuel cell power supply device 1 can also supply the power stored in the secondary battery 3 to the power consuming devices. The wiring for power supply in the fuel cell power supply device 1 is not a feature of the disclosed technology and is similar to that of the conventional wiring. Therefore, description and illustration will be omitted. The same is true of the fuel supply system to the fuel cells in the FC stack 2 in the fuel cell power supply device 1.

[0025] The fuel cell power supply device 1 has a control unit 20. The control unit 20 is located in a control unit room 27. The role of the control unit 20 in the present disclosed technology is to control the temperature of the fuel cell power supply device 1. The temperature control of the fuel cell power supply device 1 involves preventing an excessive rise in temperature of the FC stack 2 and maintaining the temperature of the secondary battery 3 within an appropriate range. Of these, it is the temperature control of the secondary battery 3 that is characteristic of the present disclosed technology. Preventing an excessive rise in temperature of the FC stack 2 involves operating the blower fan 10 to create an airflow in the heat exhaust chamber 5 and promoting heat exhaust by the heat exchanger 4.

[0026] The temperature control of the secondary battery 3 will now be described. The temperature control of the secondary battery 3 includes secondary battery heating control when the temperature is too low, and secondary battery cooling control when the temperature is too high. FIG. 2 shows the state of the fuel cell power supply device 1 when performing secondary battery heating control, and FIG. 3 shows the state of the fuel cell power supply device 1 when performing secondary battery cooling control. In secondary battery heating control, air is caused to flow from the heat exhaust chamber 5 to the secondary battery chamber 7. In secondary battery cooling control, air is caused to flow conversely from the secondary battery chamber 7 to the heat exhaust chamber 5. Specifically, in these controls, the control unit 20 controls the drive of the blower fan 10 and the auxiliary fan 13, and controls the opening and closing of the second ventilation port 12, the on-off valve 18, and the on-off valve 19.

[0027] The secondary battery heating control will now be described. When performing secondary battery heating control, in the fuel cell power supply device 1 (Fig. 2), the blower fan 10 is turned on. This generates an airflow A1 in the heat exhaust chamber 5. The airflow A1 flows from the intake port 8 to the exhaust port 9. The airflow A1 flows while absorbing heat from the heat exchanger 4. This cools the FC stack 2 via the heat exchanger 4 and the cooling water W. The temperature of the air flowing as the airflow A1 rises.

[0028] In the fuel cell power supply device 1 in the state shown in Figure 2, the on-off valve 18 is open and the on-off valve 19 is closed. The second ventilation port 12 is open and the auxiliary fan 13 is stopped. This causes a portion of the airflow A1 in the heat exhaust chamber 5 to branch off and flow into the first ventilation path 14. The airflow that has flowed into the first ventilation path 14 is called airflow A2. Airflow A2 flows into the secondary battery chamber 7 and finally flows out of the fuel cell power supply device 1 through the second ventilation port 12.

[0029] The opening 16 through which the airflow A2 flows from the heat exhaust chamber 5 into the first ventilation path 14 is located downstream of the heat exchanger 4 in the flow direction of the airflow A1. Therefore, the air flowing as the airflow A2 is air that has been heated by absorbing heat from the heat exchanger 4. In this way, air with a relatively high temperature flows into the secondary battery chamber 7 as the airflow A2. This warms the secondary battery 3. This is the secondary battery heating control. By performing this secondary battery heating control when the temperature of the secondary battery 3 is too low, the secondary battery 3 can be made to function as it should.

[0030] In the fuel cell power supply device 1, even when secondary battery heating control is being performed, there is no particular resistance factor to the discharge of airflow A1 from exhaust port 9. The remaining part of airflow A1 other than the part that branches into airflow A2 passes through exhaust port 9 without any resistance and goes out to the outside. In other words, even if secondary battery heating control is performed, there is no increase in the path pressure loss of blower fan 10. For this reason, the air volume of blower fan 10 is hardly reduced by performing secondary battery heating control. Therefore, there is no need to increase the output of blower fan 10 when performing secondary battery heating control, and there is almost no risk of an increase in noise.

[0031] Secondary battery cooling control will now be described. Even in the fuel cell power supply device 1 (FIG. 3) when secondary battery cooling control is being performed, the blower fan 10 is turned on and airflow A1 is generated. In the fuel cell power supply device 1 in the state of FIG. 3, the on-off valve 19 is also opened and the on-off valve 18 is closed. The auxiliary fan 13 is turned on and the second ventilation port 12 is closed. This causes outside air to flow into the secondary battery chamber 7 through the first ventilation port 11. The airflow that flows into the secondary battery chamber 7 is called airflow A3. The airflow A3 flows from the secondary battery chamber 7 through the second ventilation path 15 into the heat exhaust chamber 5. The airflow A3 that flows into the heat exhaust chamber 5 merges with the airflow A1 and finally flows out of the fuel cell power supply device 1 through the exhaust port 9.

[0032] The airflow A3 removes heat from the secondary battery 3 in the secondary battery chamber 7 and then flows to the heat exhaust chamber 5. This cools the secondary battery 3. This is the secondary battery cooling control. By performing this secondary battery cooling control when the temperature of the secondary battery 3 is too high, it is possible to suppress performance degradation and deterioration due to excessively high temperature of the secondary battery 3, and to allow the secondary battery 3 to exhibit its original functions.

[0033] In the fuel cell power supply device 1, even when secondary battery cooling control is being performed, this does not pose any particular resistance to the exhaust of airflow A1 from exhaust port 9. This is because airflow A3 simply passes through exhaust port 9 together with airflow A1 to the outside. For this reason, there is no need to increase the output of blower fan 10 when secondary battery cooling control is being performed, and there is almost no risk of an increase in noise.

[0034] In fact, by performing secondary battery cooling control, it is often possible to reduce the output of blower fan 10. This is because airflow A3 flows toward heat exhaust chamber 5 after it has been heated by heat absorbed from secondary battery 3, but in many cases, the temperature of airflow A3 does not reach the temperature of heat exchanger 4 even after it has been heated. In such cases, airflow A3 that has flowed into heat exhaust chamber 5 also contributes to cooling heat exchanger 4. Another factor that contributes to this is that opening 17 through which airflow A3 flows into heat exhaust chamber 5 is located within the range in which heat exchanger 4 is present. Accordingly, the output of blower fan 10 can be reduced to suppress its noise.

[0035] Of course, if the auxiliary fan 13 is also operating, it will also be a noise source. However, if the output of the blower fan 10 is reduced while performing secondary battery cooling control, the total noise level from the blower fan 10 and auxiliary fan 13 will not increase significantly compared to when only the blower fan 10 is operated without reducing its output. Also, by controlling the auxiliary fan 13 and the blower fan 10 in conjunction with each other so that the operating output of the auxiliary fan 13 is smaller than the operating output of the blower fan 10, it is possible to ensure the necessary cooling performance for the secondary battery 3 without making the noise from the auxiliary fan 13 too noticeable.

[0036] We will now explain the temperature control in the fuel cell power supply device 1. In addition to those described above, the fuel cell power supply device 1 has a secondary battery temperature sensor 21, an FC stack temperature sensor 22, and an outside air temperature sensor 23 as information sources necessary for this temperature control, as shown in Fig. 1. These sensors are omitted in Figs. 2 and 3.

[0037] The secondary battery temperature sensor 21 is attached to the secondary battery 3 and is a sensor that outputs a signal that is an index of the temperature of the secondary battery 3. The FC stack temperature sensor 22 is attached to the FC stack 2 and is a sensor that outputs a signal that is an index of the temperature of the FC stack 2. The outside air temperature sensor 23 is a sensor that outputs a signal that is an index of the temperature of the air outside the fuel cell power supply device 1. The outside air temperature sensor 23 is disposed outside the first ventilation opening 11. In the following description, the output temperature of the secondary battery temperature sensor 21 is referred to as the secondary battery temperature T1, the output temperature of the FC stack temperature sensor 22 as the FC temperature T2, and the output temperature of the outside air temperature sensor 23 as the outside air temperature Tex.

[0038] The control unit 20 controls each part of the fuel cell power supply device 1 while referring to the above three temperature indicator signals. Its most basic operation is to maintain the temperature of the FC stack 2 at or below a certain level. For this reason, the control unit 20 turns on and off the operation of the blower fan 10 while referring to the FC temperature T2. That is, when the FC temperature T2 exceeds a predetermined reference temperature T0, the operation of the blower fan 10 is turned on, and when the FC temperature T2 is less than the reference temperature T0, the operation of the blower fan 10 is turned off. This prevents the temperature of the FC stack 2 from greatly exceeding the reference temperature T0. It is desirable to specify, as the reference temperature T0, the maximum temperature allowed as the temperature of the FC stack 2, or the upper limit temperature of the temperature range recommended as the normal state of the FC stack 2, or a temperature slightly lower than either of these.

[0039] The temperature control by the control unit 20, which is characteristic of the disclosed technology, is the switching control between the secondary battery heating control and the secondary battery cooling control described above. This switching control will be explained with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 4. In the explanation of this flow, the second ventilation port 12, the on-off valve 18, and the on-off valve 19 are all assumed to be in a closed state unless otherwise specified. The blower fan 10 is assumed to be on-off controlled by comparing the FC temperature T2 with the reference temperature T0 as described above. The control unit 20 is assumed to constantly know whether the blower fan 10 is currently operating or not. The auxiliary fan 13 is assumed to be in an off state unless otherwise specified.

[0040] In the flow of FIG. 4, first, the secondary battery temperature T1 is compared with a predetermined reference temperature Tr1 (S1). If the secondary battery temperature T1 is equal to or lower than the reference temperature Tr1 (S1: Yes), the secondary battery temperature T1 is compared with the FC temperature T2 (S2). If the secondary battery temperature T1 is lower than the FC temperature T2 (S2: Yes), it is confirmed whether the blower fan 10 is currently operating (S3). If the blower fan 10 is operating (S3: Yes), the second ventilation port 12 and the on-off valve 18 are opened (S4). This puts the fuel cell power supply device 1 into the state of secondary battery heating control shown in FIG. 2.

[0041] In other words, secondary battery heating control is executed only when the temperature of the secondary battery 3 is lower than expected (T1 ≦ Tr1), is lower than the temperature of the FC stack 2 (T1 < T2), and furthermore, the blower fan 10 is operating. As a result, the airflow A2 heated by the heat exchanger 4 is passed through the secondary battery chamber 7, causing the temperature of the secondary battery 3 to rise. It is desirable to specify as the reference temperature Tr1 the lowest temperature permitted as the temperature of the secondary battery 3, or the lower limit temperature of the temperature range recommended for the normal state of the secondary battery 3, or a temperature slightly higher than either of these.

[0042] After S4, the flow returns to S1. This repeats the determination of whether or not to continue the secondary battery heating control. As long as the state in which S1, S2, and S3 are all Yes continues, the secondary battery heating control continues.

[0043] If the determination is No in any of S1, S2, and S3, the flow does not proceed to S4 but proceeds to S5. In S5, the second ventilation port 12 and the on-off valve 18 are closed. If the second ventilation port 12 and the on-off valve 18 are not open, this step is skipped. In other words, the secondary battery heating control is not performed. Even if the secondary battery heating control has already been started in S4, the secondary battery heating control is ended.

[0044] Then, the secondary battery temperature T1 is compared with a predetermined reference temperature Tr2 (S6). The reference temperature Tr2 is a temperature higher than the above-mentioned reference temperature Tr1. If the secondary battery temperature T1 is equal to or higher than the reference temperature Tr2 (S6: Yes), the secondary battery temperature T1 is compared with the outside air temperature Tex (S7). If the secondary battery temperature T1 is higher than the outside air temperature Tex (S7: Yes), the auxiliary fan 13 is operated and the on-off valve 19 is opened (S8). This places the fuel cell power supply device 1 in the secondary battery cooling control state shown in FIG. 3.

[0045] In other words, secondary battery cooling control is executed only when the temperature of the secondary battery 3 is higher than expected (T1 ≧ Tr2) and higher than the outside air temperature (T1 > Tex). As a result, outside air is taken into the secondary battery chamber 7 by the auxiliary fan 13 to cool the secondary battery 3. It is desirable to specify as the reference temperature Tr2 the maximum temperature allowed for the secondary battery 3, or the upper limit temperature of the temperature range recommended for the normal state of the secondary battery 3, or a temperature slightly lower than either of these.

[0046] When performing secondary battery cooling control, there is no step of checking whether or not blower fan 10 is operating. Therefore, even when blower fan 10 is not operating, secondary battery cooling control is performed by auxiliary fan 13 and on-off valve 19. In secondary battery cooling control when blower fan 10 is not operating, airflow A1 in FIG. 3 does not flow. However, this does not prevent airflow A3 that has flowed from secondary battery chamber 7 into heat exhaust chamber 5 from flowing out to the outside through exhaust port 9. This is because exhaust port 9 is always open.

[0047] After S8, the flow returns to S6. This repeats the determination of whether or not to continue the secondary battery cooling control. As long as both S6 and S7 remain Yes, the secondary battery cooling control continues.

[0048] If the determination is No in either S6 or S7, the flow does not proceed to S8 but proceeds to S9. In S9, the auxiliary fan 13 is stopped and the on-off valve 19 is closed. If the auxiliary fan 13 is not operating and the on-off valve 19 is not open, this step is skipped. In other words, secondary battery cooling control is not performed. Even if secondary battery cooling control has already been started in S8, the secondary battery cooling control ends.

[0049] After S9, the flow returns to S1. This brings the system into a state where it is determined whether to start secondary battery heating control or secondary battery cooling control depending on the state of secondary battery temperature T1 and other factors. If all of S1, S2, and S3 are Yes, secondary battery heating control is started, and if both S6 and S7 are Yes, secondary battery cooling control is started. The flow of Figure 4 is basically executed all the time when the fuel cell power supply device 1 is in operation.

[0050] In the explanation of FIG. 4 above, it was written that the condition for starting the secondary battery heating control is that all three of S1, S2, and S3 must be Yes. However, it is also possible to make a determination for only one of S2 and S3. In other words, it is also possible to make a determination for only one of S2 and S3 in the flow of FIG. 4. The reason is as follows.

[0051] Consider the case where the determination in S2 is Yes. In this case, since the temperature of the FC stack 2 is higher than the temperature of the secondary battery 3, it can be said that the temperature of the FC stack 2 is at least somewhat elevated. Therefore, even if there is no confirmation as to whether the blower fan 10 is currently operating, in reality, there is a high possibility that the blower fan 10 is operating. Therefore, there is no major problem in starting secondary battery heating control based on only the two conditions (S1: Yes) and (S2: Yes).

[0052] Consider the case where the determination in S3 is Yes. In this case, because the blower fan 10 is operating, the temperature of the FC stack 2 should be at least equal to or higher than the reference temperature T0. In reality, there are not many situations in which the temperature of the secondary battery 3 is higher than that. This is because the FC stack 2 generally tends to rise in temperature more easily than the secondary battery 3. Therefore, there is no major problem with starting secondary battery heating control based on only the two conditions (S1: Yes) and (S3: Yes).

[0053] The fuel cell power supply device 1 can be configured to perform temperature adjustment of the control unit chamber 27 in addition to the secondary battery cooling control. FIG. 5 shows an example. In the configuration example of FIG. 5, an opening 25 is provided in the partition wall 24 between the secondary battery chamber 7 and the control unit chamber 27 in the fuel cell power supply device 1. Furthermore, a third ventilation port 26 is provided in the control unit chamber 27. The secondary battery cooling control is performed with the opening 25 and the third ventilation port 26 open. In this way, a part of the airflow A3 branches off within the secondary battery chamber 7 and flows into the control unit chamber 27 from the opening 25 as airflow A4. The airflow A4 flows through the control unit chamber 27 and is discharged to the outside from the third ventilation port 26.

[0054] The airflow A4 regulates the temperature of the control unit chamber 27. The air that flows into the control unit chamber 27 as the airflow A4 is air whose temperature has increased to a certain extent due to heat absorption from the secondary batteries 3. When the temperature of the control unit 20 is higher than the temperature of the airflow A4, the control unit 20 is cooled by the airflow A4. When the temperature of the control unit 20 is lower than the temperature of the airflow A4, the control unit 20 is warmed by the airflow A4. This is the temperature regulation of the control unit chamber 27.

[0055] It is desirable to keep the opening 25 closed except when adjusting the temperature of the control unit chamber 27. The third ventilation port 26 may be opened only when adjusting the temperature of the control unit chamber 27, or may be open all the time. The third ventilation port 26 may be provided even in a configuration in which the temperature of the control unit chamber 27 is not adjusted.

[0056] In the above, the auxiliary fan 13 has been described as taking in air from the outside into the secondary battery chamber 7. In the fuel cell power supply device 1, a fan that can rotate in reverse may be used as the auxiliary fan 13. In this case, when the auxiliary fan 13 is rotated in reverse, the air in the secondary battery chamber 7 can be discharged to the outside through the first ventilation port 11. FIG. 6 shows a state in which the auxiliary fan 13 is rotating in reverse while the secondary battery heating control is being performed. The state in FIG. 6 is also different from FIG. 2 in that the second ventilation port 12 is closed. In the secondary battery heating control in FIG. 6, the air flow A2 that has flowed into the secondary battery chamber 7 warms the secondary battery 3, and then goes out to the outside through the first ventilation port 11 instead of the second ventilation port 12.

[0057] In this way, by performing the reverse rotation of the auxiliary fan 13 in the secondary battery heating control, the air volume of the airflow A2 can be increased accordingly. This makes it possible to warm up the secondary battery 3 that is in a low temperature state. Alternatively, by performing the reverse rotation of the auxiliary fan 13, the operating output of the blower fan 10 can be reduced accordingly. This is beneficial when it is necessary to reduce the operating noise of the blower fan 10.

[0058] In a fuel cell power supply device 1 using a reverse-rotatable auxiliary fan 13, the auxiliary fan 13 may or may not always be rotated in reverse when secondary battery heating control is performed. If this is not the case, the auxiliary fan 13 will be rotated in reverse only when secondary battery heating control is performed and it is necessary to rotate the auxiliary fan 13 in reverse. Also, even if the temperature of the secondary battery 3 is low but the blower fan 10 is not operating, secondary battery heating control is possible by rotating the auxiliary fan 13 in reverse.

[0059] As explained in detail above, in the fuel cell power supply device 1 according to this embodiment, an air passage is provided between the heat exhaust chamber 5 and the secondary battery chamber 7. This allows part of the airflow A1 that has cooled the FC stack 2 to be branched into airflow A2 and used to heat the secondary battery 3 without increasing the exhaust pressure loss of the blower fan 10. In addition, the airflow A3 that has cooled the secondary battery 3 can be guided to the heat exhaust chamber 5 and exhausted outside the device together with the airflow A1. In this way, a fuel cell power supply device 1 has been realized that has a configuration in which the secondary battery 3 is warmed by the exhaust heat of the FC stack 2, and that has low ventilation resistance to the air blown to cool the FC stack 2.

[0060] The present embodiment and examples are merely illustrative and do not limit the disclosed technology in any way. Therefore, the disclosed technology can be naturally improved and modified in various ways without departing from the gist of the technology. For example, the heat transfer material circulated between the FC stack 2 and the heat exchanger 4 may be a fluid other than water. Although the FC stack 2 is given as an example of a fuel cell, a single fuel cell may also be used. The heat exhaust chamber 5 and the fuel cell chamber 6 may be a single connected chamber that is not partitioned. A configuration may be used in which a heat dissipation fin is provided on the case member of the FC stack 2 and the airflow A1 is directly applied to the fin. In that case, the heat exchanger 4 and the cooling water W are not necessary.

[0061] In the above embodiment, the first ventilation path 14 and the second ventilation path 15 are provided separately as ventilation paths, but this is not essential. A single ventilation path may be configured to serve as both the flow path of the airflow A2 in the secondary battery heating control and the flow path of the airflow A3 in the secondary battery cooling control. However, as described above, it is more advantageous to have the first ventilation path 14 and the second ventilation path 15 separate.

[0062] The on-off valve 18 and the on-off valve 19 in the first ventilation path 14 and the second ventilation path 15 may be disposed arbitrarily. Contrary to the illustrated example, the on-off valve 18 may be disposed on the secondary battery chamber 7 side, and the on-off valve 19 on the heat exhaust chamber 5 side. Both on-off valves may be disposed on the same side, or may be disposed in the middle of the first ventilation path 14 and the second ventilation path 15.

[0063] The position of the blower fan 10 does not have to be the intake port 8. The blower fan 10 may be disposed in the heat exhaust chamber 5. The blower fan 10 may be disposed at the exhaust port 9. In that case, however, it is desirable to provide an auxiliary fan 13 capable of reverse rotation in order to perform secondary battery heating control.

[0064] Regarding the ventilation openings of the secondary battery chamber 7, it is not essential that the first ventilation opening 11 and the second ventilation opening 12 are provided separately. Only the first ventilation opening 11 provided with the auxiliary fan 13 may be provided. In that case, however, in order to perform secondary battery heating control, it is desirable that the auxiliary fan 13 be capable of reverse rotation. When only secondary battery heating control is performed and secondary battery cooling control is not performed and the blower fan 10 is located upstream of the opening 16, the auxiliary fan 13 is not essential.

[0065] The FC stack temperature sensor 22 may be attached to the heat exchanger 4 instead of to the FC stack 2. Alternatively, the FC stack temperature sensor 22 may detect the temperature of the cooling water W flowing from the FC stack 2 to the heat exchanger 4 or a fluid other than water.

[0066] [Preliminary Claim 1] 5. A fuel cell power supply device according to claim 3 or 4, a secondary battery temperature sensor for acquiring information on the temperature of the secondary battery; a control unit that performs secondary battery heating control to cause air to flow from the heat exhaust chamber through the ventilation path to the secondary battery chamber when the temperature of the secondary battery is lower than expected.

[0067] [Preliminary Claim 2] A fuel cell power supply apparatus according to claim 1, a fuel cell temperature sensor for acquiring information on the temperature of the fuel cell; The control unit performs the secondary battery heating control only when the temperature of the secondary battery is lower than expected and the temperature of the fuel cell is higher than the temperature of the secondary battery.

[0068] [Preliminary Claim 3] A fuel cell power supply device according to claim 6, spare claim 1 or spare claim 2, wherein the control unit: The blower fan is driven and controlled. A fuel cell power supply device in which the secondary battery heating control is performed only when the temperature of the secondary battery is lower than expected and the blower fan is being driven.

[0069] [Preliminary Claim 4] 10. The fuel cell power supply device of claim 9, an auxiliary fan that draws air from the outside into the secondary battery chamber through the vent hole; The control unit is The auxiliary fan is driven and controlled. The fuel cell power supply device is configured to drive the auxiliary fan when performing the secondary battery cooling control.

[0070] [Preliminary Claim 5] 11. The fuel cell power supply device according to claim 10, wherein the control unit: A fuel cell power supply device in which the operating output of the auxiliary fan when performing the secondary battery cooling control is set to be smaller than the operating output of the blower fan.

[0071] [Preliminary Claim 6] A fuel cell power supply device according to any one of claims 5 to 7 and spare claims 1 to 3, an auxiliary fan that draws air from the outside into the secondary battery chamber through the vent hole or exhausts air from the secondary battery chamber to the outside; The control unit, when performing the secondary battery heating control, causes the auxiliary fan to exhaust air from the secondary battery chamber to the outside through the vent hole.

[0072] [Preliminary Claim 7] A fuel cell power supply apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 10 and spare claims 4 and 5, A control unit chamber that houses the control unit, The control unit causes a portion of the air in the secondary battery chamber to flow into the control unit chamber when performing the secondary battery cooling control. [Explanation of symbols]

[0073] 1 Fuel cell power supply 2. FC Stack 3 Secondary battery 4 Heat exchanger 5. Heat exhaust chamber 6 Fuel cell room 7 Secondary battery compartment 8 Intake port 9. Exhaust port 10 Blower fan 11 First Vent 12 Second Vent 13 Auxiliary fan 14 First ventilation path 15 Second ventilation path 16 Aperture 17 Aperture 18 On-off valve 19. On-off valve 20 Control section 21 Secondary battery temperature sensor 22 FC stack temperature sensor 23 Outside Air Temperature Sensor

Claims

1. A fuel cell power supply device having a fuel cell and a secondary battery that stores power generated by the fuel cell, a heat exhaust chamber for exhausting heat generated by the fuel cell to air; An intake port for taking in air from the outside into the heat exhaust chamber; a heat exhaust chamber exhaust port for exhausting air from the heat exhaust chamber to the outside; a blower fan that generates an air current from the intake port to the exhaust port of the heat exhaust chamber inside the heat exhaust chamber; a secondary battery chamber that houses the secondary battery; a vent hole for discharging air from the secondary battery chamber to the outside or for taking air from the outside into the secondary battery chamber; A fuel cell power supply device having a ventilation path between the heat exhaust chamber and the secondary battery chamber.

2. 2. The fuel cell power supply device of claim 1, The ventilation path includes a first ventilation path and a second ventilation path, an opening of the first ventilation path in the heat exhaust chamber is located downstream of an opening of the second ventilation path in the heat exhaust chamber in a blowing direction of the blower fan, an opening / closing valve provided in each of the first ventilation path and the second ventilation path;

3. 3. The fuel cell power supply device according to claim 1, a fuel cell power supply device having an auxiliary fan that draws air into the secondary battery chamber from the outside through the vent hole;

4. 4. The fuel cell power supply device according to claim 3, wherein the vent is: a first ventilation port in which the auxiliary fan is provided; a second vent hole that is provided separately from the first vent hole and that can be opened and closed.

5. 3. The fuel cell power supply device according to claim 1, a secondary battery temperature sensor for acquiring information on the temperature of the secondary battery; a control unit that performs secondary battery heating control to cause air to flow from the heat exhaust chamber through the ventilation path to the secondary battery chamber when the temperature of the secondary battery is lower than expected.

6. 6. The fuel cell power supply device of claim 5, a fuel cell temperature sensor for acquiring information on the temperature of the fuel cell; The control unit performs the secondary battery heating control only when the temperature of the secondary battery is lower than expected and the temperature of the fuel cell is higher than the temperature of the secondary battery.

7. 6. The fuel cell power supply device according to claim 5, wherein the control unit: The blower fan is driven and controlled. A fuel cell power supply device in which the secondary battery heating control is performed only when the temperature of the secondary battery is lower than expected and the blower fan is being driven.

8. 3. The fuel cell power supply device according to claim 1, a secondary battery temperature sensor for acquiring information on the temperature of the secondary battery; a control unit that performs secondary battery cooling control to cause air to flow from the secondary battery chamber through the ventilation path to the heat exhaust chamber when the temperature of the secondary battery is higher than expected.

9. 9. The fuel cell power supply system of claim 8, an outside air temperature sensor for acquiring information on the outside air temperature outside the vent, The control unit performs the secondary battery cooling control only when the temperature of the secondary battery is higher than expected and the outside air temperature is lower than the temperature of the secondary battery.

10. 9. The fuel cell power supply system of claim 8, an auxiliary fan that draws air from the outside into the secondary battery chamber through the vent hole; The control unit is The auxiliary fan is driven and controlled. The fuel cell power supply device is configured to drive the auxiliary fan when performing the secondary battery cooling control.

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