System used for vehicle

Abstract

To provide a liquid of an amount and a temperature that are desired by a user to the user.SOLUTION: Each of cooling mechanisms 12 and 14 cools an exhaust gas (containing a moisture vapor) exhausted from a fuel battery 100, and liquefies the moisture vapor. A tank 16 stores a liquid obtained by liquefaction. The liquid stored in the tank 16 can be fetched out via a take-out port 18. A system 10 repeatedly executes a moisture vapor generation step of generating the exhaust gas containing the moisture vapor by performing a power generation by the fuel battery 100 and a liquefaction promoting step of promoting the liquefaction of the moisture vapor by suppressing the power generation by the fuel battery 100 while controlling a traveling of the vehicle by the power generation by a secondary battery 102 until an amount of the liquid becomes a target amount or larger. The system 10 heats the liquid stored in the tank 16 by performing the power generation by the fuel battery 100 in the case where the temperature of the liquid is lower than the target temperature.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a system for use in a vehicle having a fuel cell and a secondary battery. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a technology in which high-temperature water discharged from a fuel cell is used for hot water supply, heating, or to prevent the fuel cell stack from freezing in cold regions, and is ultimately discharged to the outside as low-temperature water. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2004-60550 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, when providing a liquid (for example, water or hot water) discharged from a fuel cell to a user, the technique described in Patent Document 1 makes it difficult to provide the user with the amount and temperature of liquid desired by the user.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a user with liquid in the amount and temperature desired by the user. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One aspect of the present disclosure is a system for use in a vehicle having a fuel cell and a secondary battery, the system including a cooling mechanism that cools exhaust gas containing water vapor exhausted from an exhaust pipe connected to the fuel cell and liquefies the water vapor, a tank that stores the liquefied liquid, and an outlet through which the liquid stored in the tank can be removed, the system comprising: a water vapor generation process that generates exhaust gas containing water vapor by generating power using the fuel cell; and a liquefaction promotion process that promotes liquefaction of the water vapor by suppressing power generation by the fuel cell while controlling the running of the vehicle by power generation by the secondary battery, the system repeatedly performs these steps until the amount of liquid obtained by liquefaction reaches or exceeds a target amount, and a liquid heating process that heats the liquid stored in the tank by generating power using the fuel cell when the temperature of the liquid is lower than the target temperature. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a user with liquid in the amount and temperature desired by the user. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of operations of the system according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] A system 10 according to an embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the system 10.

[0010] The system 10 is a system that is installed in and used on a vehicle having a fuel cell 100 and a secondary battery 102. A control device 104 is also installed in the vehicle and controls the fuel cell 100, the secondary battery 102, and each of the components included in the system 10.

[0011] The system 10 includes cooling mechanisms 12, 14, a tank 16, and an outlet 18 to provide water or hot water discharged from the fuel cell 100 to a user.

[0012] The cooling mechanisms 12 and 14 cool exhaust gas containing water vapor discharged from the fuel cell 100, and liquefy the water vapor. The cooling mechanism 12 is a liquid-cooled double-pipe heat exchanger. The cooling mechanism 14 is an air-cooled cooling device. The tank 16 is a container for storing the liquid obtained by liquefaction. An outlet 18 is provided in the tank 16, allowing the liquid stored in the tank 16 to be taken out.

[0013] An example of the operation of the system 10 will now be described.

[0014] First, exhaust gas (exhaust gas containing water vapor) exhausted from the fuel cell 100 enters the system 10 through the exhaust pipe 20, and is stored in the exhaust pipe 24 by the action of the valve 22. As a result, water vapor is stored in the exhaust pipe 24. A temperature sensor 26 is provided in the exhaust pipe 24 to measure the temperature of the exhaust gas in the exhaust pipe 24.

[0015] The water vapor is sent through exhaust pipe 24 to cooling mechanism 12, and then sent to cooling mechanism 14, where it is cooled. This causes the water vapor to liquefy, and a liquid (e.g., hot water) is obtained. The obtained liquid is temporarily stored in tank 28. A temperature sensor 30 is provided in tank 28, and measures the temperature of the liquid in tank 28.

[0016] The liquid in the tank 28 is pumped through a pipe 34 to the tank 16 by the action of a pump 32. This causes the liquid to be stored in the tank 16. The tank 16 has a thermal insulation function. A temperature sensor 36 is provided in the tank 16 to measure the temperature of the liquid in the tank 16. A liquid level sensor 38 is provided in the tank 16 to measure the amount of liquid in the tank 16.

[0017] When the liquid in the tank 16 cools, the liquid is pumped by the pump 40 through the tube 42 to the cooling mechanism 12, where it can be heated. At the same time, the temperature of the water vapor in the exhaust pipe of the cooling mechanism 12 is lowered, facilitating liquefaction. The heated liquid returns to the tank 16 through the tube 44.

[0018] A user can take the liquid in the tank 16 out of the tank 16 through the outlet 18. For example, water at a temperature desired by the user is supplied to the user through the outlet 18.

[0019] For example, information indicating the time when the user will use the liquid (e.g., hot water), information indicating the target temperature of the liquid, information indicating the destination, information indicating the outside temperature of the vehicle, information indicating the road load (e.g., the route conditions), information indicating the amount of water vapor to be taken into the exhaust pipe (e.g., information indicating the opening degree of the exhaust control valve), the amount of liquid pumped to the tank 16, information indicating the amount of liquid in the tank 16 to be returned to the exhaust pipe for heating, information indicating the SOC (State Of Charge) of the driving battery (e.g., the secondary battery 102), and information indicating the amount of power generated by the fuel cell 100 (e.g., the amount of water vapor and temperature) are input to the control device 104. Based on this information, the control device 104 controls each component of the system 10 to generate liquid having a target temperature at the time when the liquid is to be used. The control by the control device 104 may be performed by artificial intelligence (AI).

[0020] An example of the flow of processing by the system 10 will be described below with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of the processing.

[0021] 2 shows a graph showing the change over time in temperature of the liquid in the tank 16, a graph showing the change over time in SOC of the driving battery (secondary battery 102), and a graph showing the change over time in FC load (load on the fuel cell 100). The horizontal axis represents time.

[0022] (1) From the start to the steam generation process In the water vapor generation process, in order to generate hot water, and in (2) in the liquefaction promotion process, in order to drive while reducing the SOC, the system 10 causes the fuel cell 100 to generate electricity so that the SOC of the driving battery (secondary battery 102) reaches a certain value (e.g., 95%), thereby generating a large amount of water vapor.

[0023] (2) Liquefaction promotion process In the liquefaction promotion step following the water vapor generation step, the system 10 minimizes power generation by the fuel cell 100 in preparation for liquefying the water vapor in the exhaust pipe and for the (3) heating step, and runs the vehicle on the driving battery (secondary battery 102) to lower the SOC of the driving battery. If the amount of liquid is less than the target amount, the process returns to the (1) water vapor generation step. Also, if the SOC of the driving battery is low (for example, about 10%), the process returns to the (1) water vapor generation step.

[0024] In this manner, the system 10 repeatedly executes (1) a water vapor generation process in which exhaust gas is generated by generating electricity using the fuel cell 100, and (2) a liquefaction promotion process in which the liquefaction of the water vapor is promoted by suppressing power generation by the fuel cell 100 while controlling the vehicle's running by generating electricity using the secondary battery 102, until the amount of liquid obtained reaches or exceeds a target amount.

[0025] (3)Heating process In the heating step following the liquefaction promotion step, the system 10 generates high-temperature steam by making the fuel cell 100 generate electricity at maximum, anticipating that the liquid (hot water) will cool down after arriving at the destination and before it is used. This heats the liquid in the tank 16. The electricity generated by the power generation by the fuel cell 100 is used to charge the driving battery (secondary battery 102) that was lost in the (2) liquefaction promotion step. For example, when the temperature of the liquid in the tank 16 is lower than the target temperature, the system 10 heats the liquid in the tank 16 by making the fuel cell 100 generate electricity.

[0026] (4) Use of liquids (hot water) from the time of arrival at the destination Even after arriving at the destination, the liquid (hot water) liquefied by the cooling of the exhaust pipe is stored in the tank 16. The system 10 provides the user with liquid (hot water) at a target temperature (e.g., 45°C) at a time designated by the user.

[0027] As described above, according to this embodiment, by controlling the flow rate and temperature of water vapor (e.g., water vapor at 80°C) emitted while driving, it is possible to provide the user with liquid at the user's desired temperature (e.g., hot water at 45°C) without using water or energy to newly generate hot water.

[0028] For example, when a user wants to use hot water at a destination (e.g., outdoor sports, camping, etc.), the user would conventionally need to carry a tank filled with hot water from home to the destination. According to the present embodiment, this is no longer necessary.

[0029] For example, the generated hot water can be used for a foot bath at a destination such as camping. The hot water can also be used to melt snow on the body, glass, and headlights of a vehicle. Hot water can be poured around the driving wheels of a vehicle such as a truck that has slipped due to snow or ice to melt the snow and ice, thereby ensuring driving force. Locations with a lot of ice or snow can be determined from driving data of a traveling vehicle (for example, slip ratio for driving control and camera information for safety support, etc.), and the data on the location can be managed by a server. A vehicle equipped with the system 10 can pour hot water on the road surface to melt snow and ice, making it easier for other vehicles to travel. There is also a demand for humidifying the interior of the vehicle to create a comfortable interior space, but in order to do so, water supply for humidification is required. According to this embodiment, the interior of the vehicle can be humidified with the generated hot water, so there is no need to supply water for humidification.

[0030] The control device 104 can be realized by using hardware resources such as a processor and an electronic circuit, and a device such as a memory may be used as necessary in the realization. The control device 104 may also be realized by, for example, a computer. That is, the control device 104 may be realized in whole or in part by cooperation between hardware resources such as a central processing unit (CPU) and a memory provided in a computer and software (program) that defines the operation of the CPU and the like. The program is stored in the storage device of the control device 104 via a recording medium such as a CD or a DVD, or via a communication path such as a network. As another example, the control device 104 may be realized by a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or the like. Of course, a graphics processing unit (GPU), or the like, may be used. The functions of the control device 104 may be realized by a single device or by multiple devices. The control device 104 may be provided in a vehicle or an external device such as a server. When the control device 104 is provided in an external device, the control device 104 controls each component of the system 10 by communicating with the vehicle via a communication path such as the Internet. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] 10 system, 12, 14 cooling mechanism, 16 tank, 18 outlet, 100 fuel cell, 102 secondary battery, 104 control device.

Claims

[Claim 1] A system for use in a vehicle having a fuel cell and a secondary battery, a cooling mechanism that cools exhaust gas containing water vapor exhausted from an exhaust pipe connected to the fuel cell and liquefies the water vapor; A tank for storing the liquid obtained by liquefaction; an outlet through which the liquid stored in the tank can be taken out; Including, a water vapor generating step of generating exhaust gas containing water vapor by generating power using the fuel cell; a liquefaction promotion step of promoting liquefaction of water vapor by suppressing power generation by the fuel cell while controlling running of the vehicle by power generation by the secondary battery; Repeat the above steps until the amount of liquid obtained by liquefaction is equal to or greater than the target amount. a liquid heating step of heating the liquid stored in the tank by generating power using the fuel cell when the temperature of the liquid is lower than a target temperature; 1. A system for use in a vehicle.

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