Power Supply System

Abstract

To provide a power supply system capable of suppressing deterioration of a power generation unit as much as possible regardless of occurrence of an earthquake.SOLUTION: A power supply system comprises: a power generation unit M having a fuel cell 7 that is supplied with fuel gas to generate power; and an operation control unit C for controlling power generation of the power generation unit M. The operation control unit C stops power generation of the power generation unit M by executing either of normal stop processing of stopping power generation of the power generation unit M according to a normal stop procedure including a temperature lowering step and emergency stop processing of stopping power generation of the power generation unit M according to an emergency stop procedure. There is provided an earthquake arrival determination unit that on the basis of power generation unit location information indicating an installation location of the power generation unit M and earthquake information on occurrence of an earthquake, determines an earthquake arrival prediction state in which arrival of an earthquake with set magnitude and within a set time at the installation location is predicted. When the earthquake arrival prediction state is determined, the operation control unit C executes the normal stop processing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention provides a fuel cell system including a power generation unit having a fuel cell that generates power by supplying a fuel gas, and an operation control unit that controls the power generation of the power generation unit, The present invention relates to a power supply system in which, when stopping power generation of the power generation unit, the operation control unit executes either a normal shutdown process that stops power generation of the power generation unit in accordance with a normal shutdown procedure including a cooling process, or an emergency shutdown process that stops power generation of the power generation unit in accordance with an emergency shutdown procedure. [Background technology]

[0002] As an electric power supply system, Patent Document 1 discloses a fuel cell system including a power generation unit having a fuel cell that generates electric power through an electrochemical reaction between a hydrogen-containing gas and air, equipment for supplying fuel gas to the power generation unit, a blower for supplying air to the fuel cell, an inverter for adjusting the output power of the fuel cell, and a control unit for controlling these.

[0003] This fuel cell system is configured as a cogeneration system that utilizes heat generated during power generation in the fuel cell, and the fuel cell is configured by stacking multiple cells with a solid oxide electrolyte layer. The power generation unit has a reformer that generates reformed gas mainly composed of hydrogen by a reforming reaction between fuel gas and reforming steam, and is equipped with an abnormality detection sensor that detects abnormalities in the reformer and associated devices.

[0004] Furthermore, when a normal stop command is input from the operation unit, the control unit executes normal stop processing in accordance with a normal stop procedure including a temperature reduction process, and when an abnormality is detected by the abnormality detection sensor, it is configured to assume that an emergency stop command has been input and to stop power generation by emergency stop processing without going through the temperature reduction process. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2015-191863 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] For example, power supply systems are often installed in ordinary homes and are operated by supplying city gas as fuel gas. The supply of fuel gas may be stopped due to an earthquake. In such a case, the stop of the fuel gas supply is detected and an emergency stop process is performed.

[0007] However, when power generation of the power generation unit is stopped by emergency shutdown processing, the power generation unit including the fuel cell is more deteriorated than when power generation of the power generation unit is stopped by normal shutdown processing, as described in Patent Document 1. Therefore, in order to avoid early deterioration of power generation efficiency, it is desirable to avoid stopping power generation of the power generation unit by emergency shutdown processing as much as possible.

[0008] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and has an object to provide an electric power supply system capable of minimizing deterioration of a power generation unit regardless of the occurrence of an earthquake. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The power supply system of the present invention includes a power generation unit having a fuel cell that generates power by supplying a fuel gas, and an operation control unit that controls the power generation of the power generation unit, When the operation control unit stops power generation of the power generation unit, the operation control unit executes either a normal stop process for stopping power generation of the power generation unit according to a normal stop procedure including a temperature decreasing process, or an emergency stop process for stopping power generation of the power generation unit according to an emergency stop procedure, and the characteristic configuration thereof is as follows: an earthquake arrival determination unit is provided which determines, based on power generation unit location information indicating the installation location of the power generation unit and earthquake information regarding the occurrence of an earthquake, that the installation location is in an earthquake arrival predicted state in which an earthquake of a set magnitude is predicted to occur within a set time; The operation control unit executes the normal stop process when the earthquake occurrence determination unit determines that the earthquake occurrence is predicted.

[0010] In other words, the earthquake arrival discrimination unit determines, based on the power generation unit location information indicating the installation location of the power generation unit and earthquake information regarding the occurrence of an earthquake, that an earthquake arrival prediction state exists in which an earthquake of a set magnitude is predicted to occur at the installation location of the power generation unit within a set time. When the earthquake arrival determination unit determines that an earthquake is predicted to occur, the operation control unit executes normal shutdown processing in advance before the earthquake occurs.

[0011] In this way, the operation control unit will initiate normal shutdown processing in advance, before an earthquake occurs, so that power generation in the power generation unit can be stopped in accordance with normal shutdown procedures, including the cooling process, until the earthquake occurs and the supply of fuel gas is stopped.As a result, deterioration of the power generation unit can be minimized regardless of the occurrence of an earthquake.

[0012] In short, according to the characteristic configuration of the power supply system of the present invention, deterioration of the power generation unit can be suppressed as much as possible regardless of the occurrence of an earthquake.

[0013] A further characteristic configuration of the power supply system of the present invention is provided with a supply stop detection unit that detects a supply stop of the fuel gas, When the supply stop detection unit detects a stop of the supply of the fuel gas while the normal stop process is being performed, the operation control unit stops the normal stop process and executes the emergency stop process.

[0014] In other words, the operation control unit will initiate normal shutdown processing in advance before an earthquake occurs, but if the supply stoppage detection unit detects a stoppage in the supply of fuel gas before the normal shutdown processing is completed, the normal shutdown processing will be stopped and emergency shutdown processing will be executed.

[0015] Therefore, even if the supply of fuel gas is stopped before the normal shutdown process that was started before the earthquake hits is completed, the power generation unit can be stopped by emergency shutdown processing, so that power generation by the power generation unit can be appropriately stopped while preventing major problems such as breakdown of the power generation unit from occurring.

[0016] In short, according to a further characteristic configuration of the power supply system of the present invention, power generation by the power generation unit can be appropriately stopped even if the supply of fuel gas is stopped before the normal shutdown process that was started in advance before the earthquake occurs is completed.

[0017] A further characteristic feature of the power supply system of the present invention is that when the earthquake occurrence determination unit acquires earthquake intensity notification type earthquake occurrence information indicating the earthquake occurrence area where an earthquake has occurred and the seismic intensity as the earthquake information, if the installation location is included in the earthquake occurrence area and the seismic intensity is equal to or higher than a set determination seismic intensity, it determines that the earthquake is predicted to occur.

[0018] That is, as earthquake information, the Japan Meteorological Agency and other organizations transmit earthquake occurrence information with seismic intensity reporting, which indicates the region where the earthquake occurred and the seismic intensity. When the earthquake arrival discrimination unit acquires intensity notification earthquake occurrence information, if the location of the power generation unit is included in the earthquake occurrence area and the seismic intensity is equal to or higher than the set discrimination intensity, it will determine that an earthquake is predicted to occur, and the operation control unit will initiate normal shutdown processing.

[0019] In addition, when the earthquake occurrence determination unit acquires seismic intensity notification earthquake occurrence information, if the location of the power generation unit is not included in the earthquake occurrence area or if the seismic intensity is less than the set determination seismic intensity, it will not determine that an earthquake is predicted to occur, and the operation control unit will not unnecessarily start normal shutdown processing.

[0020] In other words, if the location of the power generation unit is included in the earthquake-prone area and the seismic intensity is equal to or greater than the set seismic intensity, there is a high possibility that the supply of fuel gas (city gas, etc.) to the power generation unit will be stopped, and normal shutdown processing will be appropriately initiated. However, if the location of the power generation unit is not included in the earthquake-prone area or if the seismic intensity is less than the set seismic intensity, normal shutdown processing will not be initiated unnecessarily.

[0021] In short, according to a further characteristic configuration of the power supply system of the present invention, when there is a high possibility that the supply of fuel gas to the power generation unit will be stopped, the normal shutdown process can be started appropriately, while preventing the normal shutdown process from being started unnecessarily.

[0022] A further characteristic feature of the power supply system of the present invention is that the earthquake arrival determination unit determines that the system is in an earthquake prediction state when, within a set period, the installation location is included in the earthquake occurrence area and the seismic intensity notification earthquake occurrence information is obtained a set number of times, the seismic intensity being equal to or greater than a set preliminary discrimination intensity which is lower than the set discrimination intensity.

[0023] In other words, when the earthquake occurrence determination unit acquires a set number of times (e.g., three or more) of intensity alert earthquake occurrence information within a set period (e.g., within 24 hours) in which the location of the power generation unit is included in an earthquake-prone area and the seismic intensity is equal to or greater than the set preliminary discrimination intensity, which is lower than the set discrimination intensity, the unit will determine that an earthquake is predicted to occur, and the operation control unit will initiate normal shutdown processing.

[0024] In other words, if the location of the power generation unit is included in an earthquake-prone area and the seismic intensity notification earthquake occurrence information is transmitted a set number of times (for example, three or more times) from the Japan Meteorological Agency or other organizations, where the seismic intensity is equal to or greater than the set preliminary discrimination intensity, which is lower than the set discrimination intensity, there is a high possibility that the supply of fuel gas will be stopped, for example, by a gas company stopping the supply of fuel gas (city gas, etc.), so normal shutdown processing can be initiated.

[0025] In short, according to a further characteristic configuration of the power supply system of the present invention, even if an earthquake with a high seismic intensity does not occur, if there is a high possibility that the supply of fuel gas to the power generation unit will be stopped, normal shutdown processing can be appropriately initiated.

[0026] A further characteristic feature of the power supply system of the present invention is that when the earthquake arrival determination unit acquires intensity reporting earthquake occurrence information indicating the epicenter and intensity of the earthquake as the earthquake information, it determines that the earthquake is predicted to arrive if the installation position is within a set distance from the epicenter and the intensity is equal to or greater than a set determination value.

[0027] That is, as earthquake information, the Japan Meteorological Agency and other organizations issue intensity-based earthquake occurrence information indicating the epicenter and intensity of the earthquake. When the earthquake arrival discrimination unit acquires intensity reporting earthquake occurrence information, if the installation location of the power generation unit is within a set distance from the epicenter and the intensity of the earthquake is equal to or greater than the set discrimination value, it will determine that an earthquake is predicted to occur, and the operation control unit will initiate normal shutdown processing.

[0028] In addition, when the earthquake arrival discrimination unit acquires intensity notification earthquake occurrence information, if the installation location of the power generation unit is farther away from the epicenter than the set distance or if the intensity of the earthquake is less than the set discrimination value, it will not determine that an earthquake is predicted to occur, and the operation control unit will not unnecessarily start normal shutdown processing.

[0029] In other words, if the installation location of the power generation unit is within a set distance from the epicenter and the intensity of the earthquake is equal to or greater than the set discrimination value, it is deemed likely that the supply of fuel gas (city gas, etc.) to the power generation unit will be stopped, and normal shutdown processing will be appropriately initiated. However, if the installation location of the power generation unit is farther away from the epicenter than the set distance or if the intensity of the earthquake is less than the set discrimination value, normal shutdown processing will not be initiated unnecessarily.

[0030] In short, according to a further characteristic configuration of the power supply system of the present invention, when there is a high possibility that the supply of fuel gas to the power generation unit will be stopped, normal shutdown processing is appropriately initiated, while normal processing is prevented from being initiated unnecessarily.

[0031] A further characteristic feature of the power supply system of the present invention is that the earthquake arrival determination unit determines that the system is in an earthquake prediction state when, within a set period, the installation location is within a set distance from the epicenter and the intensity reporting earthquake occurrence information is obtained a set number of times, the intensity of which is equal to or greater than a set preliminary determination intensity which is lower than a set determination value.

[0032] In other words, when the earthquake occurrence discrimination unit obtains intensity notification earthquake occurrence information a set number of times (e.g., three or more) within a set period (e.g., within 24 hours) where the installation location of the power generation unit is within a set distance from the epicenter and the intensity of the earthquake is equal to or greater than the set preliminary discrimination intensity, which is lower than the set discrimination value, the unit will determine that an earthquake is predicted to occur, and the operation control unit will initiate normal shutdown processing.

[0033] In other words, if the Japan Meteorological Agency or other organization issues a set number of intensity notification earthquake occurrence information (e.g., three or more times) indicating that the location of the power generation unit is within a set distance from the epicenter and the earthquake's intensity is equal to or exceeds a set preliminary discrimination intensity, which is lower than the set discrimination value, there is a high possibility that the supply of fuel gas will be stopped, for example, by a gas company stopping the supply of fuel gas (city gas, etc.), so normal shutdown processing can be initiated.

[0034] In short, according to a further characteristic configuration of the power supply system of the present invention, even if a large earthquake does not occur, if there is a high possibility that the supply of fuel gas to the power generation unit will be stopped, normal shutdown processing can be appropriately initiated. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0035] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a power supply system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of an operation control device. [Diagram 3] 4 is a flowchart of power generation stop control. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0036] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. [Outline of the power supply system] As shown in Figure 1, a cogeneration type power supply system A is configured to include a power generation module M (an example of a power generation unit) that generates electricity using city gas (hereinafter sometimes referred to as fuel gas) supplied from outside as fuel gas, a power conversion unit 1 that converts the generated electricity into alternating current, an exhaust heat recovery heat exchange unit 2 that recovers exhaust heat generated during power generation in the power generation module M, a hot water storage tank 3 that heats water with the exhaust heat recovered in the exhaust heat recovery heat exchange unit 2 and stores it as hot water, and an operation control device C (an example of an operation control unit) that controls the entire system.

[0037] This power supply system A is arranged outside a house such as an ordinary home, and is configured to be operable by an indoor remote controller 4. Also, it is configured to supply hot water stored in a hot water tank 3 indoors, and the generated power is converted to AC by a power conversion unit 1 and supplied to electrical devices inside the house.

[0038] [Specific configuration of the power supply system] As shown in Fig. 1, the power generation module M is configured as a hot module by housing a vaporizer 5, a reformer 6, a cell stack 7 (an example of a fuel cell) in which multiple cells are stacked, and a burner 8 for burning a portion of the city gas in a case 9. The multiple cells that make up the cell stack 7 use solid oxide fuel cells.

[0039] The power supply system A has a gas supply system in which an electromagnetic fuel valve 12, a gas pressure sensor 13, a gas blower 14, and a desulfurizer 15 are arranged in this order along a gas supply flow path 11 to which city gas is supplied, and the city gas that passes through the desulfurizer 15 is supplied to the vaporizer 5 of the power generation module M. Incidentally, when the gas pressure sensor 13 detects that the supply pressure of city gas has dropped below a set pressure, it functions as a supply stop detection unit that determines that the supply of city gas (fuel gas) has been stopped.

[0040] In the gas supply flow path 11 configured in this manner, it is possible to switch between supplying and cutting off city gas by controlling the electromagnetic fuel valve 12, and it is possible to detect the pressure of the city gas by the gas pressure sensor 13. In addition, the gas blower 14 has a blower driven by an electric motor, and it is possible to switch between supplying and cutting off city gas by controlling the electric motor.

[0041] The power supply system A configures a reforming water supply system by providing a reforming water pump 19 for a reforming water passage 18 that sends reforming water stored in a reforming water tank 17, and the reforming water from the reforming water passage 18 is supplied to the vaporizer 5.

[0042] The power supply system A has an air supply passage 21 that supplies air to the case of the power generation module M, and is equipped with an air blower 22 that sends air to this air supply passage 21.

[0043] In the power generation module M, a high-temperature environment is created in the internal space of the case 9 by burning a portion of the city gas with the burner 8, and the reformer 6 is also heated to a high temperature in this high-temperature environment. For this reason, in the power generation module M, city gas is supplied from the gas supply passage 11 to the reformer 6 via the vaporizer 5, and water supplied from the reforming water passage 18 to the reformer 6 via the vaporizer 5 is converted to steam, which mixes with the city gas in the reformer 6 and undergoes a chemical reaction, resulting in reforming into fuel gas containing a large amount of hydrogen.

[0044] Furthermore, fuel gas is supplied to the anode of each cell constituting the cell stack 7, and shared air from an air supply passage 21 is supplied to the cathode of each cell constituting the cell stack 7. This generates electricity through an electrochemical reaction, and the electricity is sent to the power conversion unit 1. Furthermore, an exhaust gas passage 23 is formed to send out high-temperature exhaust gas from the case 9 of the power generation module M, and this exhaust gas passage 23 is equipped with an exhaust heat recovery heat exchange unit 2.

[0045] A circulation flow path 25 is formed to supply the water (hot water) stored in the hot water tank 3 to the exhaust heat recovery heat exchange section 2 and return it to the hot water tank 3, and a circulation pump 26 is provided to circulate water through this circulation flow path 25. In addition, a water supply flow path 27 is provided to supply water (basically tap water) to the hot water tank 3, and an electromagnetic hot water valve 29 is provided on a hot water flow path 28 that sends the water (hot water) stored in the hot water tank 3 to the outside.

[0046] Although not shown in the drawing, a water temperature sensor is provided to detect the water temperature in the hot water tank 3, and when the water temperature detected by the water temperature sensor falls below a set value, the operation control device C executes control to drive the circulation pump 26 to raise the water temperature.

[0047] [Regarding operation control devices] The operation control device C includes a microprocessor, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), and the like, and executes processes according to pre-stored programs.

[0048] 2, the operation control device C includes a power generation control unit 31, a hot water control unit 32, a start control unit 33, a stop control unit 34, and an earthquake occurrence determination unit 35, all of which are implemented by software. The operation control device C further includes a memory unit 36, a location information acquisition unit 37, and a receiving unit 38.

[0049] Furthermore, the power generation control unit 31, the hot water control unit 32, the start control unit 33, and the stop control unit 34 may be configured in combination with hardware so that part of the software control is performed by the hardware.

[0050] 2 shows an overview of targets for acquiring information related to power generation stop control (described later) and targets for outputting control information. In other words, the operation control device C receives information from the remote controller 4, as well as information from the gas pressure sensor 13, the start switch 40, the stop switch 41, and the GPS receiving unit 42.

[0051] In addition, the operation control device C outputs control information to the fuel valve 12, the gas blower 14, the reformed water pump 19, the air blower 22, and a display 43 (an example of an information output unit). The receiving unit 38 is connected to an earthquake information server 45 that transmits information related to the occurrence of an earthquake via the Internet IN as a communication network. Incidentally, the earthquake information server 45 is a server of the Japan Meteorological Agency or a management server of a gas company that acquires information on earthquakes transmitted by the Japan Meteorological Agency and transmits the information.

[0052] The power generation control unit 31 controls power generation by determining the amount of city gas supplied to the power generation module M, the amount of reformed water supplied, the amount of air supplied, the temperature inside the case 9, etc. The hot water control unit 32 controls the temperature of the hot water (water) stored in the hot water tank 3, and controls the hot water supply.

[0053] The start control unit 33 starts power generation in the power generation module M that is in a stopped state based on the operation of the start switch 40. The stop control unit 34 executes control to stop the power generation module M. The control form of the stop control unit 34 will be described later.

[0054] The storage unit 36 ​​includes a non-volatile memory such as an EEPROM. The location information acquisition unit 37 acquires location information of the power generation module M (power supply system A) based on information from a plurality of positioning satellites received by the GPS receiving unit 42. The location information acquired in this manner is longitude information and latitude information, and in addition to the longitude information and latitude information, information on the address or land number is stored in the storage unit 36 ​​as location information.

[0055] The receiving unit 38 acquires information from the Internet IN (communication network). The display 43 (information output unit) is an example of an information output unit that outputs information in a form that can be recognized by humans, and is assumed to be provided in an exposed state on the outer surface of the housing of the power supply system A to display information.

[0056] The earthquake arrival determination unit 35 determines, based on the power generation unit location information indicating the installation location of the power generation module M and earthquake information regarding the occurrence of an earthquake, that an earthquake arrival prediction state is present, in which an earthquake of a set magnitude is predicted to arrive at the installation location of the power generation module M within a set time period.

[0057] In FIG. 2, the start switch 40, the stop switch 41, and the display 43 are directly connected to the operation control device C, but they may be provided in the remote controller 4.

[0058] [Outline of stop control] Gas meters that measure the amount of gas used in ordinary homes have a function to detect earthquakes of high seismic intensity and automatically stop the gas supply. When the gas meter stops the city gas supply in this way during an earthquake, the city gas pressure detected by the gas pressure sensor 13 drops significantly, and the stop control unit 34 performs emergency stop processing in cooperation with this.

[0059] In this emergency shutdown process, when a drop in gas pressure is detected, power generation in the power generation module M is stopped according to an emergency shutdown procedure that prioritizes a quick shutdown. In this emergency shutdown process, when a drop in gas pressure is detected, the gas blower 14, the reforming water pump 19, and the air blower 22 are immediately stopped, thereby lowering the temperature inside the case 9 of the power generation module M by natural heat dissipation.

[0060] During power generation, the temperature inside the case 9 of the power generation module M is maintained at a high temperature that enables reforming and power generation, and the temperatures of the fuel electrodes and air electrodes of the cells that make up the cell stack 7 are also maintained at high temperatures. However, if the supply of city gas is cut off by emergency shutdown processing, the temperature will drop without being managed, causing the fuel electrodes and air electrodes to deteriorate, leading to a decrease in power generation efficiency.

[0061] For this reason, the shutdown control unit 34 is configured to perform normal shutdown processing to stop power generation in the power generation module M in accordance with a normal shutdown procedure that includes a temperature reduction process that prioritizes protection of the power generation module M (power generation unit).

[0062] That is, in the normal shutdown process, the shutdown control unit 34 controls the gas blower 14, the reforming water pump 19, and the air blower 22 to gradually reduce the supply amounts of city gas, reforming water, and air over time, thereby achieving a temperature drop (temperature lowering process) slower than natural heat dissipation. To enable such normal shutdown process, the power generation module M is equipped with multiple temperature sensors (not shown), and the shutdown control unit 34 has a program that enables control in accordance with such a normal shutdown procedure.

[0063] The normal shutdown process requires a longer time to complete than the emergency shutdown process, and the temperature of the power generation module M is lowered to a set temperature under controlled conditions in the temperature reduction process, and after this temperature drop is confirmed, the supply of city gas, reforming water, and air is completely stopped to prevent deterioration of the fuel electrode and air electrode. Note that in the normal shutdown process, the timing of stopping the air blower 22 may be delayed in order to lower the temperature in multiple stages during heat dissipation.

[0064] Incidentally, when the power generation module M is stopped by emergency stop processing, the load placed on the cell stack 7, etc. may be, for example, about 10 times the load placed on the cell stack 7, etc. when the power generation module M is stopped by normal stop processing, and therefore it is desirable to avoid stopping the power generation module M by emergency stop processing as much as possible. For this reason, as will be described in detail later, when the earthquake arrival discriminator 35 discriminates that an earthquake is predicted, the stop controller 34 executes normal stop processing. Then, when the stop controller 34 is executing the normal stop processing and the gas pressure sensor 13 detects a supply of fuel gas due to an earthquake or the like, the stop controller 34 stops the normal stop processing and executes emergency stop processing.

[0065] [Details of earthquake arrival detection unit] The earthquake arrival discrimination unit 35 is configured to, when it receives earthquake intensity notification type earthquake occurrence information indicating the earthquake occurrence area where an earthquake occurred and the seismic intensity as earthquake information, determine that an earthquake is predicted to occur if the installation location of the power generation module M is included in the earthquake occurrence area and the seismic intensity is equal to or higher than a set discrimination seismic intensity (for example, seismic intensity 4 or higher).

[0066] In addition, the earthquake arrival determination unit 35 is configured to determine that an earthquake is predicted to occur when, within a set period (e.g., within 24 hours), the installation location of the power generation module M is included in an earthquake-prone area and when seismic intensity notification earthquake occurrence information with a seismic intensity equal to or higher than a set preliminary discrimination intensity (e.g., seismic intensity 2 or higher) that is lower than a set discrimination intensity (e.g., seismic intensity 4) is acquired a set number of times (e.g., three or more times).

[0067] In addition, when the earthquake arrival discrimination unit 35 receives intensity reporting earthquake occurrence information indicating the epicenter and intensity of the earthquake as earthquake information, it is configured to determine that an earthquake is predicted to occur if the installation location of the power generation module M is within a set distance from the epicenter (e.g., within a radius of 20 km) and the intensity is equal to or greater than a set discrimination value (e.g., magnitude 5 or greater).

[0068] In addition, the earthquake arrival discrimination unit 35 is configured to determine that an earthquake is predicted to occur when, within a set period (e.g., within 24 hours), the installation location of the power generation module M is within a set distance (e.g., within a radius of 20 km) from the epicenter and intensity notification earthquake occurrence information with an intensity equal to or greater than a set preliminary discrimination intensity (e.g., magnitude 3 or greater) that is lower than a set discrimination value (e.g., magnitude 5) is obtained a set number of times (e.g., three or more).

[0069] In other words, when the earthquake occurrence determination unit 35 acquires seismic intensity notification type earthquake occurrence information and strength notification type earthquake occurrence information, if any of the above-mentioned four conditions are satisfied, it is configured to determine that an earthquake is predicted to occur.

[0070] [Details of control operation of the stop control unit] Next, the control operation of the stop control unit 34 when the gas pressure sensor 13 detects a fuel gas supply stop and when the earthquake occurrence determination unit 35 determines that an earthquake is predicted to occur is as follows: The following description will be given based on the flow chart of FIG.

[0071] First, it is determined whether or not the gas pressure sensor 13 has detected a stop in the supply of fuel gas and thus the fuel gas supply has been stopped (#1). If the fuel gas supply has been stopped, emergency stop processing is executed (#2).

[0072] If it is determined in process #1 that the fuel gas supply is not stopped, then the earthquake occurrence determination unit 35 determines whether or not an earthquake is predicted (#3), and if it is not a predicted earthquake state, the process proceeds to process #1.

[0073] If it is determined in the process of #3 that an earthquake is predicted to occur, normal shutdown processing is executed (#4). Next, it is determined whether the power generation module M has been completely shut down by the normal shutdown processing that was started (#5). If the power generation module M has not been completely shut down, it is determined whether the gas pressure sensor 13 has detected a fuel gas supply stoppage and the fuel gas supply has been stopped (#6). If the fuel gas supply stoppage is not occurring, the process proceeds to #4.

[0074] If it is determined in process #6 that the fuel gas supply has been stopped, emergency shutdown processing is executed in #2, and if it is determined in process #5 that the power generation module M has been completely shut down, the shutdown control processing is terminated.

[0075] In other words, when the normal shutdown process of #4 is initiated, the normal shutdown process of #4 will be executed until the power generation module M is stopped by the normal shutdown process, but if it is determined that the fuel gas supply is stopped while the normal shutdown process is being executed, the power generation module M will be stopped in an emergency by the emergency shutdown process of #2.

[0076] [Another embodiment] Next, other embodiments will be listed. (a) In the above embodiment, an example was given of the case where the earthquake arrival discrimination unit 35 is configured in the operation control device C as an operation control unit. However, the earthquake arrival discrimination unit 35 may be configured as a control unit separate from the operation control device C, and the discrimination result of the earthquake arrival discrimination unit 35 may be communicated to the operation control device C.

[0077] (b) In the above embodiment, an example was given of a case where the stop of the fuel gas supply is detected by gas pressure sensor 13 which detects the gas pressure of the fuel gas flowing through gas supply flow path 11. However, a flow sensor which detects the flow rate of the fuel gas flowing through gas supply flow path 11 may be provided, and the stop of the fuel gas supply may be detected when the flow rate of the fuel gas falls below a set flow rate.

[0078] (c) In the above embodiment, an example was given of the case where the earthquake arrival discrimination unit 35 discerns the predicted state of an earthquake based on earthquake intensity reporting type earthquake occurrence information or earthquake intensity reporting type earthquake occurrence information that is reported after an earthquake actually occurs as earthquake information regarding the occurrence of an earthquake. However, in cases where intensity reporting type earthquake occurrence information that is predicted before an earthquake occurs is reported as earthquake information regarding the occurrence of an earthquake, the embodiment may be implemented in a form in which the predicted state of an earthquake arrival is discerned based on that information.

[0079] (d) In the above embodiment, an example was given of a case where the power generation unit location information indicating the installation position of the power generation module M as the power generation unit was obtained using the GPS receiving unit 42. However, the form of inputting the power generation unit location information indicating the installation position can be changed in various ways, for example, by manually inputting and storing an address as the installation position in advance.

[0080] (e) In the above embodiment, city gas is used as the fuel gas, but various hydrocarbon gases can be used as the fuel gas.

[0081] Furthermore, the configurations disclosed in the above embodiments (including other embodiments) can be applied in combination with configurations disclosed in other embodiments, provided that no contradiction arises. Furthermore, the embodiments disclosed in this specification are illustrative, and the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto, and can be appropriately modified within the scope that does not deviate from the purpose of the present invention. [Industrial Applicability]

[0082] The present invention can be used in a power supply system including a power generation unit that generates power by supplying fuel gas. [Explanation of symbols]

[0083] 7 fuel cell 35 Earthquake arrival determination unit C Operation control unit M Power Generation Division

Claims

1. a power generation unit having a fuel cell that generates power by supplying a fuel gas; and an operation control unit that controls the power generation of the power generation unit, a power supply system in which, when stopping power generation of the power generation unit, the operation control unit executes either a normal stop process for stopping power generation of the power generation unit according to a normal stop procedure including a temperature decreasing process or an emergency stop process for stopping power generation of the power generation unit according to an emergency stop procedure, an earthquake arrival determination unit is provided which determines, based on power generation unit location information indicating the installation location of the power generation unit and earthquake information regarding the occurrence of an earthquake, that the installation location is in an earthquake arrival predicted state in which an earthquake of a set magnitude is predicted to occur within a set time; The power supply system, wherein the operation control unit executes the normal shutdown process when the earthquake occurrence determination unit determines that the system is in the earthquake occurrence predicted state.

2. a supply stop detection unit that detects a stop of the supply of the fuel gas, The power supply system according to claim 1 , wherein when the supply stop detection unit detects a stop in the supply of the fuel gas while the normal stop process is being performed, the operation control unit stops the normal stop process and performs the emergency stop process.

3. The power supply system of claim 1 or 2, wherein when the earthquake occurrence determination unit acquires earthquake occurrence information with seismic intensity notification indicating the earthquake occurrence area where an earthquake has occurred and the seismic intensity as the earthquake information, if the installation location is included in the earthquake occurrence area and the seismic intensity is equal to or higher than a set determination seismic intensity, the unit determines that the earthquake is in a predicted state.

4. The power supply system of claim 3, wherein the earthquake occurrence determination unit determines that the system is in an earthquake prediction state when, within a set period, the installation location is included in the earthquake occurrence area and the seismic intensity notification earthquake occurrence information is obtained a set number of times, the seismic intensity being equal to or greater than a set preliminary discrimination seismic intensity that is lower than the set discrimination seismic intensity.

5. The power supply system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the earthquake arrival determination unit, when acquiring intensity reporting earthquake occurrence information indicating the epicenter and intensity of the earthquake as the earthquake information, determines that the installation location is within a set distance from the epicenter and that the intensity is equal to or greater than a set determination value, and determines that the system is in an earthquake prediction state.

6. The power supply system of claim 5, wherein the earthquake arrival determination unit determines that the system is in an earthquake prediction state when, within a set period, the installation location is within a set distance from the epicenter and the intensity reporting earthquake occurrence information is obtained a set number of times, the intensity of which is equal to or greater than a set preliminary determination intensity that is lower than a set determination value.

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