Fuel cell unit management system

Abstract

To provide a fuel cell unit management system that can reduce the amount of data communication between fuel cell units and a management communication device.SOLUTION: A management server, which is a management communication device, can set whether to transmit operating data from a fuel cell unit to the management server. The management server is set on in the case where the operating data is transmitted from the fuel cell unit to the management server. The management server is set off in the case where the operating data is not transmitted from the fuel cell unit to the management server. When an abnormality occurs in the fuel cell unit, a first communication unit of the fuel cell unit notifies the management server of the abnormality. If an operating data transmission setting is switched from off to on after the abnormality notification, the first communication unit transmits the operating data to the management server going way back starting from the operating data close to a time ts0 when the operating data transmission setting is switched from off to on, of the accumulated operating data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a management system for a fuel cell unit. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an operation management system for industrial vehicles. The operation management system for industrial vehicles includes a controller mounted on the industrial vehicle and a server that manages the operation status of the industrial vehicle. The server receives vehicle data from the controller via a communication line. The server manages the operation status of the vehicle based on the received vehicle data.

[0003] Such a management system can also be applied to a management system for a fuel cell unit. The management system for a fuel cell unit includes a fuel cell unit and a management communication device. The fuel cell unit includes a fuel cell, a control unit that controls the fuel cell unit, and a communication unit. The control unit acquires operating data related to the fuel cell unit and transmits the acquired operating data to the communication unit. The communication unit transmits the operating data received from the control unit to the management communication device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-201554 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In such a fuel cell unit management system, if all of the operational data acquired by the control unit is transmitted from the fuel cell unit to the management communication device, the amount of data communication between the fuel cell unit and the management communication device increases, which affects the communication charges between the fuel cell unit and the management communication device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A management system for a fuel cell unit to solve the above problems comprises a fuel cell unit and a management communication device, wherein the fuel cell unit has a fuel cell, a control unit that controls the fuel cell unit, and a communication unit, wherein the control unit acquires operational data related to the fuel cell unit and transmits the acquired operational data to the communication unit, wherein the communication unit stores the operational data received from the control unit and is capable of transmitting the operational data to the management communication device, and wherein the management communication device is capable of setting whether or not to transmit the operational data from the fuel cell unit to the management communication device, and when the communication unit is set to on when the operational data is transmitted from the fuel cell unit to the management communication device and off when the operational data is not transmitted from the fuel cell unit to the management communication device, if an abnormality occurs in the fuel cell unit, the communication unit notifies the management communication device of the abnormality, and when the operational data transmission setting is switched from off to on after the abnormality notification, the communication unit transmits to the management communication device the operational data it has accumulated, starting with the operational data closest to the time when the operational data transmission setting was switched from off to on.

[0007] The management communication device can be set to whether or not to send operational data from the fuel cell unit to the management communication device. When the operational data transmission setting is set to on, the communication unit of the fuel cell unit sends the operational data to the management communication device. Therefore, the amount of data communication between the fuel cell unit and the management communication device can be reduced compared to when the communication unit sends all of the operational data received from the control unit to the management communication device. Therefore, the communication fee between the fuel cell unit and the management communication device can be reduced.

[0008] Furthermore, when an abnormality occurs in the fuel cell unit and the operational data transmission setting is switched from off to on, the communication unit transmits the accumulated operational data to the management communication device, starting with the operational data closest to the time the operational data transmission setting was switched from off to on. Therefore, compared to when the communication unit transmits the accumulated operational data to the management communication device starting with the oldest operational data, the amount of data transmitted before transmitting the operational data around the time the abnormality occurred in the fuel cell unit can be reduced. Therefore, if the communication management device switches the operational data transmission setting from on to off after the operational data around the time the abnormality occurred is transmitted from the communication unit to the management communication device, the amount of data communication can be further reduced.

[0009] In the above-mentioned fuel cell unit management system, when the setting for transmitting the operational data is set to on, the communication unit may transmit a portion of the accumulated operational data to the management communication device.

[0010] When the operational data transmission setting is turned on, the communication unit thins out the operational data before transmitting it to the management communication device, thereby further reducing the amount of data communication between the fuel cell unit and the management communication device.

[0011] In the above-mentioned fuel cell unit management system, when an abnormality occurs in the fuel cell unit, the control unit transmits all of the operating data from a first time, which is a first predetermined time before the abnormality occurrence time, which is the time when the abnormality occurred in the fuel cell unit, to a second time, which is a second predetermined time after the abnormality occurrence time, as abnormal operating data to the communication unit, and the communication unit may transmit the abnormal operating data to the management communication device regardless of the operating data transmission settings.

[0012] Abnormal operation data is normally required because it is used to analyze the cause of an abnormality occurring in the fuel cell unit. Therefore, the communication unit transmits the abnormal operation data to the management communication device regardless of the operation data transmission settings. Furthermore, when analyzing the cause of an abnormality occurring in the fuel cell unit, it is preferable to have a large amount of abnormal operation data. Therefore, the communication unit transmits all operation data from the first time to the second time to the management communication device as abnormal operation data.

[0013] In the fuel cell unit management system, the communication unit may notify the management communication device of the abnormality by transmitting the abnormal operation data to the management communication device.

[0014] By transmitting the abnormal operation data and also serving as an abnormality notification, the communication unit does not need to separately notify the management communication device of the abnormality. In the above-mentioned fuel cell unit management system, the communication unit and the management communication device each hold transmission setting information including information on whether or not to send the operating data from the fuel cell unit to the management communication device, and the communication unit updates the transmission setting information held by the communication unit by synchronizing the transmission setting information held by the communication unit with the transmission setting information held by the management communication device, and may determine whether or not to send the operating data to the management communication device based on the updated transmission setting information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] According to the present invention, the amount of data communication between the fuel cell unit and the management communication device can be reduced. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a fuel cell unit management system according to an embodiment; [Figure 2](a) is a diagram showing the acquisition of operation data by the FCECU, (b) is a diagram showing the transmission of normal operation data from the FCECU to the first communication unit, (c) is a diagram showing the transmission of abnormal operation data from the FCECU to the first communication unit, (d) is a diagram showing the transmission of normal operation data from the first communication unit to the management server when the operation data transmission setting is set to on, and (e) is a diagram showing the transmission of abnormal operation data from the first communication unit to the management server. [Figure 3] (a) is a diagram showing the accumulation of normal operation data by the first communication unit, (b) is a diagram showing the transmission of abnormal operation data from the first communication unit to the management server, and (c) is a diagram showing the transmission of normal operation data from the first communication unit to the management server. [Figure 4] 4 is a flowchart showing the processing of a fuel cell unit management system according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] An embodiment of a fuel cell unit management system will now be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in Fig. 1, a fuel cell unit management system 10 includes a fuel cell unit 11 and a management unit 12. The fuel cell unit 11 of this embodiment is mounted on a forklift. The management unit 12 of this embodiment includes a management server 13 and an operation terminal 14.

[0018] <Fuel cell unit> The fuel cell unit 11 has a fuel cell 21, a detection unit 22, a component control unit 23, a first communication unit 24 as a communication unit, and an FCECU 25 as a control unit. The fuel cell 21 generates electricity through a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen. The detection unit 22 detects various parameter values ​​of the components that make up the fuel cell unit 11, including the fuel cell 21. Examples of parameters detected by the detection unit 22 include voltage, current, temperature, pressure, flow rate, and concentration. The component control unit 23 controls the components that make up the fuel cell unit 11, including the fuel cell 21. In this embodiment, the first communication unit 24 includes a wireless communication device.

[0019] The FCECU 25 has a processor and a memory unit. The memory unit includes a random access memory (RAM) and a read-only memory (ROM). The memory unit stores program code or instructions configured to cause the processor to execute a process. The memory unit, i.e., a computer-readable medium, includes any available medium accessible by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer. The FCECU 25 may be configured with a hardware circuit such as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). The FCECU 25, which is a processing circuit, may include one or more processors operating according to a computer program, one or more hardware circuits such as an ASIC or an FPGA, or a combination thereof.

[0020] The FCECU 25 performs overall control of the fuel cell unit 11. The FCECU 25 is connected to the detection unit 22, the component control unit 23, and the first communication unit 24. While the forklift is turned on, the FCECU 25 acquires operation data related to the fuel cell unit 11 from each of the detection unit 22 and the component control unit 23. The operation data includes the detection results of the detection unit 22 and the control values ​​of the component control unit 23.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 2(a), the FCECU 25 acquires operational data at a first period T1. In this embodiment, the first period T1 is set to 0.1 seconds. That is, the FCECU 25 acquires operational data every 0.1 seconds. The FCECU 25 temporarily stores the acquired operational data at each time. Note that time data is added to each operational data by a time stamp function.

[0022] Based on the acquired operation data, the FCECU 25 determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the fuel cell unit 11. Specifically, the FCECU 25 determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the fuel cell unit 11 by comparing a value included in the acquired operation data with a predetermined threshold value set for that value.

[0023] 2(b) and 2(c), the FCECU 25 transmits the acquired operation data to the first communication unit 24. Examples of a communication protocol between the FCECU 25 and the first communication unit 24 include CAN and UART.

[0024] As shown in Fig. 2(b), while the FCECU 25 is acquiring the operating data, it performs a normal transmission process that constantly transmits the operating data to the first communication unit 24. The normal transmission process is performed regardless of whether an abnormality has occurred in the fuel cell unit 11. The operating data transmitted during the normal transmission process is called normal operating data.

[0025] In the normal operation transmission process of this embodiment, the FCECU 25 transmits normal operation data to the first communication unit 24 at a first cycle T1. That is, the FCECU 25 transmits normal operation data to the first communication unit 24 every 0.1 seconds.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 2(c), when the FCECU 25 determines that an abnormality has occurred in the fuel cell unit 11, it performs an abnormality transmission process to transmit operation data to the first communication unit 24. The abnormality transmission process is performed only when an abnormality has occurred in the fuel cell unit 11. In other words, the abnormality transmission process is not performed when no abnormality has occurred in the fuel cell unit 11. The abnormality transmission process and the normal transmission process described above are performed separately and in parallel. The operation data transmitted during the abnormality transmission process is called abnormal operation data.

[0027] For example, suppose that an abnormality occurs in the fuel cell unit 11 at time te. In this case, as an abnormality transmission process, the FCECU 25 transmits operation data around the abnormality occurrence time te to the first communication unit 24. In detail, the FCECU 25 transmits all operation data from a first time te1, which is a first predetermined time Tb before the abnormality occurrence time te, to a second time te2, which is a second predetermined time Ta after the abnormality occurrence time te, to the first communication unit 24 as abnormal operation data.

[0028] In the abnormality transmission process of this embodiment, the FCECU 25 transmits the abnormal operation data to the first communication unit 24 at a first cycle T1. That is, the FCECU 25 transmits the abnormal operation data to the first communication unit 24 every 0.1 seconds.

[0029] When transmitting operation data as a normal transmission process, the FCECU 25 assigns an ID to the operation data indicating that the operation data is normal operation data. When transmitting operation data as an abnormal transmission process, the FCECU 25 assigns an ID to the operation data indicating that the operation data is abnormal operation data.

[0030] The first communication unit 24 receives operation data from the FCECU 25. The first communication unit 24 can recognize whether the operation data received from the FCECU 25 is normal operation data or abnormal operation data based on the ID of the operation data. The first communication unit 24 accumulates the operation data received from the FCECU 25. Specifically, the first communication unit 24 receives normal operation data from the FCECU 25 at a first cycle T1. The first communication unit 24 accumulates the received normal operation data. The first communication unit 24 receives abnormal operation data from the FCECU 25 at a first cycle T1. The first communication unit 24 accumulates the received abnormal operation data.

[0031] The first communication unit 24 can transmit the operation data received from the FCECU 25 to the management server 13 of the management unit 12. Examples of a communication protocol between the first communication unit 24 and the management server 13 include HTTP and MQTT.

[0032] The first communication unit 24 is capable of normal operation data transmission processing, which transmits accumulated normal operation data to the management server 13. The first communication unit 24 determines whether or not to perform normal operation data transmission processing based on the operation data transmission setting information held by the first communication unit 24. The operation data transmission setting information includes information on whether or not to transmit operation data from the fuel cell unit 11 to the management server 13. This is set to ON when operation data is to be transmitted from the fuel cell unit 11 to the management server 13. This is set to OFF when operation data is not to be transmitted from the fuel cell unit 11 to the management server 13.

[0033] 2(d), the first communication unit 24 performs normal operation data transmission processing when the operation data transmission setting is set to ON. On the other hand, the first communication unit 24 does not perform normal operation data transmission processing when the operation data transmission setting is set to OFF.

[0034] In the normal operation data transmission process of this embodiment, the first communication unit 24 transmits a portion of the accumulated normal operation data to the first communication unit 24. In other words, when the operation data transmission setting is turned on, the first communication unit 24 thins out the accumulated normal operation data and transmits it to the management server 13.

[0035] In the normal operation data transmission process of this embodiment, the first communication unit 24 transmits normal operation data to the management server 13 at a second cycle T2. The second cycle T2 is set to a time longer than the first cycle T1, which is the cycle at which the FCECU 25 acquires operation data. In this embodiment, the second cycle T2 is set to one second. In other words, the first communication unit 24 transmits normal operation data to the management server 13 every second.

[0036] For example, the first communication unit 24 transmits operation data Da at time t1 to the management server 13. The first communication unit 24 then transmits operation data Db at time t2, which is one second after time t1, to the management server 13. The first communication unit 24 does not transmit operation data Dc at any time after time t1 and before time t2 to the management server 13. In other words, the operation data Dc is thinned out when the normal operation data accumulated by the first communication unit 24 is transmitted to the management server 13.

[0037] 2(e), when the first communication unit 24 receives abnormal operation data from the FCECU 25, it performs abnormal operation data transmission processing to transmit the accumulated abnormal operation data to the management server 13. In this embodiment, the abnormal operation data transmission processing is performed regardless of the operation data transmission setting. In other words, the abnormal operation data transmission processing is performed not only when the operation data transmission setting is set to on, but also when the operation data transmission setting is set to off.

[0038] In the abnormal operation data transmission process of this embodiment, the first communication unit 24 transmits all abnormal operation data corresponding to one abnormality in the fuel cell unit 11 to the management server 13. In other words, the first communication unit 24 transmits all operation data every 0.1 seconds from the first time te1 to the second time te2 to the management server 13. In this embodiment, the first communication unit 24 transmits abnormal operation data to the management server 13 at a first cycle T1. In other words, the first communication unit 24 transmits abnormal operation data to the management server 13 every 0.1 seconds.

[0039] Furthermore, when the first communication unit 24 receives abnormal operation data from the FCECU 25, it notifies the management server 13 of the abnormality. This abnormality notification is intended to notify the management server 13 that an abnormality has occurred in the fuel cell unit 11. In this embodiment, the first communication unit 24 notifies the management server 13 of the abnormality by transmitting the abnormal operation data to the management server 13. In other words, the transmission of the abnormal operation data from the first communication unit 24 to the management server 13 also serves as an abnormality notification to the management server 13 by the first communication unit 24.

[0040] As shown in Figures 3(a) to 3(c), when the operation data transmission setting is switched from off to on after an abnormality notification to the management server 13, the first communication unit 24 transmits to the management server 13 the normal operation data it has accumulated, starting with the normal operation data closest to the time when the operation data transmission setting was switched from off to on.

[0041] As described above, in this embodiment, when the setting for transmitting operation data is set to ON, first communication unit 24 transmits part of the accumulated normal operation data to management server 13. Therefore, even if the setting for transmitting operation data is switched from OFF to ON after notifying management server 13 of an abnormality, first communication unit 24 transmits part of the accumulated normal operation data to management server 13.

[0042] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the first communication unit 24 transmits normal operation data to the management server 13 at the second cycle T2. Therefore, even if the setting for transmitting operation data is switched from off to on after an abnormality is notified to the management server 13, the first communication unit 24 transmits normal operation data to the management server 13 at the second cycle T2. In other words, the first communication unit 24 transmits normal operation data to the management server 13 every second.

[0043] For example, suppose that the operation data transmission setting is switched from OFF to ON at time ts0. Time ts0 is a time after the time at which the first communication unit 24 transmitted abnormal operation data to the management server 13 as an abnormality notification for the management server 13. In this case, of the normal operation data accumulated by the first communication unit 24, the normal operation data closest to the time at which the operation data transmission setting was switched from OFF to ON is the normal operation data D0 at time ts0. Therefore, the first communication unit 24 first transmits the normal operation data D0 at time ts0 to the management server 13. Next, the first communication unit 24 transmits to the management server 13, from the accumulated normal operation data, normal operation data D1 at time ts1, which is one second before time ts0. Next, the first communication unit 24 transmits to the management server 13, from the accumulated normal operation data, normal operation data D2 at time ts2, which is one second before time ts1. Next, first communication unit 24 transmits to management server 13, from among the accumulated normal operation data, normal operation data D3 for time ts3, which is one second before time ts2.

[0044] Of the accumulated normal operation data, the first communication unit 24 does not transmit normal operation data for times after time ts3 and before time ts2, after time ts2 and before time ts1, and after time ts1 and before time ts0 to the management server 13. In other words, the normal operation data for times after time ts3 and before time ts2, after time ts2 and before time ts1, and after time ts1 and before time ts0 is thinned out when the first communication unit 24 transmits the accumulated normal operation data to the management server 13.

[0045] The first communication unit 24 continues to send normal operation data to the management server 13 until the setting for sending operation data is switched from on to off. Therefore, the first communication unit 24 may send normal operation data going back as far as the normal operation data at the time when the FCECU 25 started acquiring operation data. If the setting for operation data is still set to on after the first communication unit 24 has sent normal operation data going back as far as the normal operation data at the time when the FCECU 25 started acquiring operation data, the first communication unit 24 sends the normal operation data to the management server 13 in the order in which it was received from the FCECU 25.

[0046] <Management Unit> As shown in FIG. 1 , the management server 13 has a storage unit 31 and a second communication unit 32. The second communication unit 32 includes a wireless communication device. The second communication unit 32 is capable of communicating with the first communication unit 24 of the fuel cell unit 11 and the operation terminal 14 via the Internet (not shown). In this embodiment, the operation terminal 14 is a PC. The operation terminal 14 is owned by an administrator 100 who manages the management server 13. The administrator 100 uses the operation terminal 14 to access the management server 13.

[0047] The management server 13 accumulates operation data. Specifically, the memory unit 31 accumulates normal operation data received by the second communication unit 32. The memory unit 31 also accumulates abnormal operation data received by the second communication unit 32. The administrator 100 can obtain the normal operation data and abnormal operation data accumulated in the memory unit 31 by accessing the management server 13 using the operation terminal 14. The administrator 100 analyzes the cause of the abnormality in the fuel cell unit 11, for example, using the acquired operation data.

[0048] When the second communication unit 32 of the management server 13 receives the abnormality notification from the first communication unit 24, the management server 13 notifies the operation terminal 14 of the abnormality. When the operation terminal 14 receives the abnormality notification from the management server 13, the administrator 100 can recognize that an abnormality has occurred in the fuel cell unit 11.

[0049] The management server 13 can set whether or not to transmit operational data from the fuel cell unit 11 to the management server 13. The management server 13 sets the transmission of operational data based on whether or not it is necessary to transmit operational data from the fuel cell unit 11 to the management server 13. In this embodiment, the administrator 100 determines whether or not it is necessary to transmit operational data from the fuel cell unit 11 to the management server 13.

[0050] More specifically, if the administrator 100 determines that it is not necessary to transmit operational data from the fuel cell unit 11 to the management server 13, the administrator 100 uses the operation terminal 14 to notify the management server 13 that it is not necessary to transmit operational data. When the management server 13 receives the notification from the operation terminal 14 that it is not necessary to transmit operational data, the administrator 100 sets the operational data transmission setting to OFF. On the other hand, if the administrator 100 determines that it is necessary to transmit operational data from the fuel cell unit 11 to the management server 13, the administrator 100 uses the operation terminal 14 to notify the management server 13 that it is necessary to transmit operational data. When the management server 13 receives the notification from the operation terminal 14 that it is necessary to transmit operational data, the administrator 100 sets the operational data transmission setting to ON. The management server 13 stores the operational data transmission setting content that it has set, i.e., ON or OFF, as transmission setting information. That is, the management server 13 stores transmission setting information that includes information on whether or not to transmit operational data from the fuel cell unit 11 to the management server 13.

[0051] The first communication unit 24 updates its own transmission setting information by synchronizing the transmission setting information it holds with the transmission setting information held by the management server 13. Specifically, if the transmission setting for operational data is set to on in the transmission setting information held by the management server 13, the first communication unit 24 sets the transmission setting for operational data in the transmission setting information it holds to on. If the transmission setting for operational data is set to off in the transmission setting information held by the management server 13, the first communication unit 24 sets the transmission setting for operational data in the transmission setting information it holds to off. In other words, by synchronizing the transmission setting information with the management server 13, the first communication unit 24 can recognize whether the transmission setting for operational data is set to on or off. Then, the first communication unit 24 determines whether to transmit operational data to the management server 13 based on the updated transmission setting information.

[0052] <Fuel cell unit management system processing> 4 is a flowchart showing the processing executed in the fuel cell unit management system. In the following example, at the start of the processing, the management server 13 sets the transmission setting for operational data to OFF.

[0053] In step S11, the FCECU 25 acquires operation data from the detection unit 22 and the component control unit 23 at a first cycle T1. In step S12, the FCECU 25 transmits the operation data acquired in step S11 to the first communication unit 24 at the first cycle T1 as normal operation data. In step S13, the first communication unit 24 accumulates the normal operation data received from the FCECU 25. At this time, the setting for transmitting operation data is set to off, so the first communication unit 24 does not transmit the normal operation data to the management server 13. In step S14, the FCECU 25 determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the fuel cell unit 11 based on the operation data acquired in step S11. Note that the processes in steps S11 to S14 are performed individually and in parallel while the forklift is ignition-on.

[0054] If no abnormality has occurred in the fuel cell unit 11 (step S14: NO), the process ends. If an abnormality has occurred in the fuel cell unit 11 (step S14: YES), the process proceeds to step S15. In step S15, the FCECU 25 transmits all operation data from a first time te1, which is a first predetermined time Tb before the abnormality occurrence time te, to a second time te2, which is a second predetermined time Ta after the abnormality occurrence time te, as abnormal operation data to the first communication unit 24 in a first cycle T1.

[0055] In step S16, the first communication unit 24 notifies the management server 13 of the abnormality upon receiving the abnormal operation data from the FCECU 25. In this embodiment, the first communication unit 24 notifies the management server 13 of the abnormality by transmitting the abnormal operation data to the management server 13 at a first cycle T1.

[0056] Upon receiving the abnormality notification from the first communication unit 24, the management server 13 notifies the operation terminal 14 of the abnormality. The administrator 100 recognizes that an abnormality has occurred in the fuel cell unit 11 when the operation terminal 14 receives the abnormality notification from the management server 13. The administrator 100 determines whether or not it is necessary to send operational data from the fuel cell unit 11 to the management server 13.

[0057] In step S17, the management server 13 sets the transmission setting for the operational data according to whether or not the administrator 100 determines that operational data should be transmitted. If the management server 13 has switched the transmission setting for the operational data from off to on (step S17: YES), the process proceeds to step S18. In step S18, the first communication unit 24 transmits to the management server 13, of the accumulated normal operation data, normal operation data that is closest to the time ts0 when the transmission setting for the operational data was switched from off to on. Because the transmission setting for the operational data is set to on, the first communication unit 24 transmits a portion of the accumulated normal operation data to the management server 13. That is, the first communication unit 24 thins out the normal operation data and transmits it to the management server 13. The first communication unit 24 also transmits it to the management server 13 at the second cycle T2. On the other hand, if the management server 13 has not switched the transmission setting for the operational data from off to on (step S17: NO), that is, if the transmission setting for the operational data remains off, the process ends.

[0058] [Actions and Effects of This Embodiment] The operation and effects of this embodiment will be described. (1) The management server 13 can set whether or not to send operational data from the fuel cell unit 11 to the management server 13. When the setting for sending operational data is set to on, the first communication unit 24 sends normal operational data to the management server 13. Therefore, the amount of data communication between the fuel cell unit 11 and the management server 13 can be reduced compared to when the first communication unit 24 sends all of the operational data received from the FCECU 25 to the management server 13. Therefore, the communication fee between the fuel cell unit 11 and the management server 13 can be reduced.

[0059] Furthermore, if an abnormality occurs in the fuel cell unit 11, the first communication unit 24 notifies the management server 13 of the abnormality. If the operation data transmission setting is switched from off to on after the abnormality notification, the first communication unit 24 transmits to the management server 13, from among the accumulated normal operation data, normal operation data that is closest to the time ts0 when the operation data transmission setting was switched from off to on. Therefore, compared to when the first communication unit 24 transmits to the management server 13 the accumulated normal operation data starting with the oldest normal operation data, the amount of data transmitted before transmitting the normal operation data around the time te when the abnormality occurred in the fuel cell unit 11 can be reduced. Therefore, if the management server 13 switches the operation data transmission setting from on to off after the first communication unit 24 transmits the normal operation data around the time te when the abnormality occurred to the management server 13, the amount of data communication can be further reduced.

[0060] (2) When the setting for transmitting operation data is set to ON, the first communication unit 24 transmits a portion of the accumulated normal operation data to the management server 13. In other words, when the setting for transmitting operation data is set to ON, the first communication unit 24 thins out the normal operation data before transmitting it to the management server 13. This makes it possible to further reduce the amount of data communication between the fuel cell unit 11 and the management server 13.

[0061] (3) When an abnormality occurs in the fuel cell unit 11, the FCECU 25 transmits all operation data from a first time te1, which is before the time te when the abnormality occurs, to a second time te2, which is after the time te when the abnormality occurs, as abnormal operation data to the first communication unit 24. The abnormal operation data is normally required because it is used, for example, to analyze the cause of the abnormality in the fuel cell unit 11. Therefore, the first communication unit 24 transmits the abnormal operation data to the management server 13 regardless of the operation data transmission settings. Furthermore, when analyzing the cause of the abnormality in the fuel cell unit 11, it is preferable to have a large number of abnormal operation data. Therefore, the first communication unit 24 transmits all operation data from the first time te1 to the second time te2 to the management server 13 as abnormal operation data.

[0062] (4) The first communication unit 24 notifies the management server 13 of the abnormality by transmitting the abnormal operation data to the management server 13. In this case, since the transmission of the abnormal operation data also serves as the abnormality notification, the first communication unit 24 does not need to separately notify the management server 13 of the abnormality.

[0063] (5) As a method for reducing the amount of data communication between the fuel cell unit 11 and the management server 13, for example, the following method can be considered. As a first method, if it is determined that it is not necessary to send operational data from the fuel cell unit 11 to the management server 13, it is possible to cancel the communication contract for the first communication unit 24. However, if it becomes necessary to send operational data from the fuel cell unit 11 to the management server 13 thereafter, it is necessary to re-establish the communication contract for the first communication unit 24. As a second method, if it is determined that it is not necessary to send operational data from the fuel cell unit 11 to the management server 13, it is possible to remove the first communication unit 24 from the fuel cell unit 11. However, if it becomes necessary to send operational data from the fuel cell unit 11 to the management server 13 thereafter, it is necessary to re-attach the first communication unit 24 to the fuel cell unit 11. Therefore, with the first and second methods, it is not easy to switch whether or not to send operational data from the fuel cell unit 11 to the management server 13.

[0064] In contrast to this, in this embodiment, the management server 13 can set whether or not to send operational data from the fuel cell unit 11 to the management server 13. Therefore, if it is determined that it is not necessary to send operational data from the fuel cell unit 11 to the management server 13, the management server 13 can set the transmission of operational data to off, thereby preventing the operational data from being sent from the fuel cell unit 11 to the management server 13. In this case, there is no need to change the communication contract for the first communication unit 24 or its attachment state to the fuel cell unit 11, so it is possible to easily switch whether or not to send operational data from the fuel cell unit 11 to the management server 13.

[0065] (6) One possible method for reducing communication charges between the fuel cell unit 11 and the management server 13 is to transmit operational data from the fuel cell unit 11 to the management server 13 via short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark). In this case, it is possible to reduce communication charges between the fuel cell unit 11 and the management server 13 without reducing the amount of data communication between the fuel cell unit 11 and the management server 13. However, in order for the fuel cell unit 11 and the management server 13 to communicate via short-range wireless communication, the distance between the fuel cell unit 11 and the management server 13 must be several meters to several dozen meters. Furthermore, because operational data that is not necessary for the management server 13 is transmitted, there is a risk that the capacity of the management server 13 will be insufficient.

[0066] In contrast to this, in this embodiment, the amount of data communication between the fuel cell unit 11 and the management server 13 is reduced, thereby reducing the communication charges between the fuel cell unit 11 and the management server 13. Therefore, even if the fuel cell unit 11 and the management server 13 are far apart, they can communicate with each other. In addition, the capacity of the management server 13 is less likely to be strained.

[0067] (7) The administrator 100 accesses the management server 13 using the operation terminal 14. Therefore, even if the administrator 100 is in a remote location away from the management server 13, the administrator 100 can access the management server 13.

[0068] [Example of change] The above embodiment can be modified as follows: The above embodiment and the following modifications can be combined with each other within the scope of technical compatibility.

[0069] The fuel cell unit 11 may be mounted on a vehicle other than a forklift. The management unit 12 does not have to include the management server 13. In this case, the operation terminal 14 serves as a management communication device.

[0070] The management unit 12 does not necessarily have to have the operation terminal 14. In this case, the administrator 100 accesses the management server 13 directly without going through the operation terminal 14. The management server 13 may set the transmission of the operational data by determining for itself whether or not operational data is required to be sent from the fuel cell unit 11 to the management server 13 based on, for example, the tendency of abnormal operational data.

[0071] The operation terminal 14 may be a smartphone or a tablet terminal. The FCECU 25 may transmit a portion of the acquired operation data as normal operation data to the first communication unit 24. In other words, the FCECU 25 may thin out the operation data instead of the first communication unit 24. In this case, the first communication unit 24 may transmit all of the normal operation data received from the FCECU 25 to the management server 13. In this case as well, the amount of data communication between the fuel cell unit 11 and the management server 13 can be reduced.

[0072] The FCECU 25 may transmit part of the operation data from a first time te1 before the abnormality occurrence time te to a second time te2 after the abnormality occurrence time te to the first communication unit 24 as abnormal operation data.

[0073] The period in which the FCECU 25 transmits the normal operation data to the first communication unit 24 may be changed as appropriate, as long as it is equal to or longer than the first period T1, which is the period in which the FCECU 25 acquires the operation data.

[0074] The period at which the first communication unit 24 transmits the normal operation data to the management server 13 may be changed as appropriate, as long as it is equal to or greater than the period at which the FCECU 25 transmits the normal operation data to the first communication unit 24 .

[0075] The period at which the FCECU 25 transmits the abnormal operation data to the first communication unit 24 may be changed as appropriate, as long as it is equal to or longer than the first period T1 at which the FCECU 25 acquires the operation data.

[0076] The period at which the first communication unit 24 transmits the abnormal operation data to the management server 13 may be changed as appropriate, as long as it is equal to or greater than the period at which the FCECU 25 transmits the abnormal operation data to the first communication unit 24 .

[0077] When the first communication unit 24 receives abnormal operation data from the FCECU 25, the first communication unit 24 may notify the management server 13 of the abnormality separately from transmitting the abnormal operation data to the management server 13. For example, the first communication unit 24 may notify the abnormality by transmitting an error message to the management server 13.

[0078] The operational data transmission setting information may include the transmission period of the operational data from the first communication unit 24 to the management server 13 when transmitting the operational data from the fuel cell unit 11 to the management server 13. In other words, when the management server 13 sets the operational data transmission setting to on, the management server 13 may also be able to set the transmission period of the operational data from the first communication unit 24 to the management server 13. [Explanation of symbols]

[0079] 10...Fuel cell unit management system, 11...Fuel cell unit, 13...Management server as management communication device, 21...Fuel cell, 24...First communication unit as communication unit, 25...FCECU as control unit.

Claims

1. a fuel cell unit and a management communication device; the fuel cell unit includes a fuel cell, a control unit that controls the fuel cell unit, and a communication unit; the control unit acquires operational data related to the fuel cell unit and transmits the acquired operational data to the communication unit; the communication unit is capable of storing the operational data received from the control unit and transmitting the operational data to the management communication device; the management communication device is capable of setting whether or not the operational data is to be transmitted from the fuel cell unit to the management communication device; When the operation data is transmitted from the fuel cell unit to the management communication device, the setting is ON, and when the operation data is not transmitted from the fuel cell unit to the management communication device, the setting is OFF. The communication unit If an abnormality occurs in the fuel cell unit, an abnormality notification is sent to the management communication device; A management system for a fuel cell unit, characterized in that when the setting for transmitting the operational data is switched from off to on after the abnormality notification, the accumulated operational data is transmitted to the management communication device, starting with the operational data closest to the time when the setting for transmitting the operational data was switched from off to on.

2. 2. The fuel cell unit management system according to claim 1, wherein the communication unit transmits a portion of the accumulated operational data to the management communication device when the setting for transmitting the operational data is set to on.

3. when an abnormality occurs in the fuel cell unit, the control unit transmits all of the operation data from a first time, which is a first predetermined time before the abnormality occurrence time, which is the time when the abnormality occurred in the fuel cell unit, to a second time, which is a second predetermined time after the abnormality occurrence time, as abnormal operation data to the communication unit; The fuel cell unit management system according to claim 2 , wherein the communication unit transmits the abnormal operation data to the management communication device regardless of a transmission setting for the operation data.

4. The fuel cell unit management system according to claim 3 , wherein the communication unit notifies the management communication device of the abnormality by transmitting the abnormal operation data to the management communication device.

5. the communication unit and the management communication device each hold transmission setting information including information on whether or not to transmit the operational data from the fuel cell unit to the management communication device; A management system for a fuel cell unit as described in claim 1, wherein the communication unit updates the transmission setting information held by the communication unit by synchronizing the transmission setting information held by the communication unit with the transmission setting information held by the management communication device, and determines whether or not to send the operating data to the management communication device based on the updated transmission setting information.

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