Gas supply module and gas supply system

Abstract

To provide a gas supply module capable of reducing the number of pressure measurement devices.SOLUTION: A gas supply module is equipped with a plurality of tanks filled with gas, solenoid valves that are respectively provided on the plurality of tanks and controls the discharging of gas filled in the tanks, an intermediate channel that extends respectively from the plurality of tanks to the downstream side through the solenoid valves, a merging portion connected with the plurality of intermediate channels, a gas discharging channel extending from the merging portion to the downstream side, a pressure measurement device provided on the merging portion or on the downstream side of the merging portion, and a control portion that controls the opening / closing the solenoid valves. The control portion, when starting gas discharging, controls any one of the solenoid valves to be in an opening state, and when finishing gas discharging, control the solenoid valves to be in a closing state. The control portion also memorizes pressure measured by the pressure measurement device as the pressure of the tank equipped with the solenoid valves controlling in the closing state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present application relates to a gas supply module and a gas supply system. [Background technology]

[0002] A fuel cell is a device that generates electricity using hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen used for power generation is usually stored in a hydrogen tank and supplied to the fuel cell when power is generated.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a hydrogen supply device that supplies hydrogen gas to a fuel cell in a fuel cell system. The hydrogen supply device in Patent Document 1 has multiple hydrogen tanks, on-off valves provided for each of the multiple hydrogen tanks, and a control unit that controls the on-off valves. The control unit is characterized in that, during fuel cell operation, it selects a hydrogen tank in order starting with the hydrogen tank with the largest capacity, and controls each on-off valve so that hydrogen gas is supplied to the fuel cell from the selected hydrogen tank.

[0004] According to Patent Document 1, by using such a hydrogen supply device, it is possible to extend the life of the hydrogen supply device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-68652 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Incidentally, a gas supply module equipped with multiple hydrogen tanks may be used to fill hydrogen into a hydrogen tank provided in a fuel cell system. In such a gas supply module, the pressure inside the hydrogen tanks is monitored. The pressure in each hydrogen tank is measured by a pressure sensor provided in each hydrogen tank. However, providing a pressure sensor for each hydrogen tank poses a problem of making the device configuration complicated.

[0007] In view of the above circumstances, a main object of the present disclosure is to provide a gas supply module and a gas supply system that can reduce the number of pressure measurement devices. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] As one aspect for solving the above-described problems, the present disclosure provides a gas supply module comprising: a plurality of tanks filled with gas; a solenoid valve provided in each of the plurality of tanks for controlling the release of the gas filled in the tank; an intermediate flow path extending downstream from each of the plurality of tanks via the solenoid valve; a junction connecting the plurality of intermediate flow paths; a gas release flow path extending downstream from the junction; a pressure measuring device provided at the junction or downstream of the junction; and a control unit for controlling the opening and closing of the solenoid valves, wherein the control unit controls one of the solenoid valves to an open state when gas release starts, and controls the solenoid valve to a closed state when gas release ends, and records the pressure measured by the pressure measuring device as the pressure of the tank having the solenoid valve controlled to a closed state.

[0009] As one aspect for solving the above-mentioned problems, the present disclosure provides a gas supply system comprising a plurality of the above-mentioned gas supply modules, a plurality of devices having a fuel cell system, and a server connected to the plurality of gas supply modules via a network, wherein one gas supply module forms a pair with one device, the server has device requirement information including the amount of gas and minimum pressure required for operation of each device, the server obtains gas supply module information including the gas amount and pressure of each tank included in each gas supply module, compares the gas supply module information with the device requirement information for each pair, determines pairs having a gas supply module that does not meet the device requirements, and, for a set of pairs having a gas supply module that does not meet the device requirements, compares the gas supply module information of one pair of gas supply modules with the device requirement information of the other pair of devices, and searches for a gas supply module that meets the requirements of the other pair of devices. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the gas supply module of the present disclosure, the number of pressure measurement devices can be reduced, and according to the gas supply system of the present disclosure, the gas supply module can be operated efficiently. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a gas supply module 100. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the change in pressure of each tank 10 over time when four tanks 10 (tank 11 to tank 14) are used in sequence. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the change in flow rate over time when four tanks 10 (tank 11 to tank 14) are used in sequence. [Figure 4] 1 is a schematic diagram of a gas supply system 1000. FIG. [Figure 5] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a specific example of a gas supply system 1000. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] [Gas supply module] The gas supply module of the present disclosure will be described using one embodiment of a gas supply module 100. A block diagram of the gas supply module 100 is shown in FIG.

[0013] The gas supply module 100 includes a plurality of tanks 10, an electromagnetic valve 20 provided in each of the plurality of tanks 10, an intermediate flow path 30 extending downstream from each of the plurality of tanks 10 via the electromagnetic valve 20, a confluence 40 connecting the plurality of intermediate flow paths 40, a gas discharge flow path 50 extending downstream from the confluence 40, a pressure measuring device 60, and a control unit 70 that controls the opening and closing of the electromagnetic valve.

[0014] <Tank 10> The tank 10 is filled with gas. The type of gas is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, a fuel gas used in a fuel cell. Examples of fuel gas include hydrogen and reformed gas. The capacity and number of the tanks 10 are not particularly limited and may be set appropriately depending on the purpose.

[0015] <Solenoid valve 20> The battery valve 20 is provided in each of the multiple tanks 10 and is an on-off valve that controls the release of gas filled in the tanks 10. The electromagnetic valve 20 is opened and closed by the control unit 70. The type of electromagnetic valve 20 is not particularly limited, but an example is a solenoid valve.

[0016] <Intermediate flow path 30> The intermediate flow paths 30 are flow paths that extend downstream from each of the multiple tanks 10 via the solenoid valves 20. As shown in FIG. 1, the intermediate flow paths 30 connect each tank 10 to the junction 40.

[0017] <Confluence 40> The confluence 40 is a component that connects multiple intermediate flow paths 30. The number of confluences 40 is not particularly limited and may be one or two or more. When there is one confluence 40, all of the intermediate flow paths 30 are connected to one confluence 40. When there are two or more confluences 40, at least one intermediate flow path 30 is connected to one confluence 40, and the confluences 40 are connected to each other. However, the number of confluences connected to the gas release flow path 50 is one. Figure 1 shows an embodiment with two confluences 40. As shown in Figure 1, the confluences 40 are connected to each other, and the gas release flow path 50 is connected to one confluence 40.

[0018] <Gas release flow path 50> The gas discharge channel 50 is a channel that extends downstream from the confluence 40. The other end of the gas discharge channel 50 may be connected to the outside.

[0019] <Pressure measuring device 60> The pressure measuring device 60 is a device that measures the pressure of the gas released from the tank 10. The pressure measuring device 60 is provided at the confluence 40 or downstream of the confluence 40. This makes it possible to reduce the number of pressure measuring devices 60 provided in the gas supply module 100. The reason for this will be described later.

[0020] <Control unit 70> The control unit 70 is a device that controls the opening and closing of the solenoid valve 20. The control unit 70 is a computer such as an ECU (Electronic Control Unit).

[0021] The control unit 70 is characterized in that when gas release starts, it controls one of the solenoid valves 20 to an open state, and when gas release ends, it controls the solenoid valve 20 to a closed state, and records the pressure measured by the pressure measuring device 60 as the pressure of the tank 10 equipped with the solenoid valve 20 controlled to a closed state.

[0022] As described above, at the start of gas release, the control unit 70 controls one of the solenoid valves 20 to an open state, and the other solenoid valves 20 to a closed state. That is, the gas supply module 100 is always controlled to release gas from one tank 10. Therefore, when the tank 10 from which gas is to be released is changed from one tank 10 to another, the solenoid valve 20 of the first tank 10 is closed, and then the solenoid valve of the other tank 10 is opened. By controlling in this manner, the pressure of the gas flowing through the junction 40 and downstream thereof is always equal to the pressure of the tank 10 with the solenoid valve 20 in the open state. Therefore, at the end of gas release, the solenoid valve 20 is controlled to a closed state, and the pressure measured by the pressure measuring device 60 is recorded, thereby making it possible to identify the pressure of the tank 10 with the solenoid valve 20 controlled to the closed state. From the above, by controlling the gas supply module 100 in the above manner, the control unit 70 can constantly monitor the pressure of each tank 10.

[0023] Conventionally, there have been known techniques for monitoring the pressure of each tank in a gas supply module, but these involve providing a pressure measurement device for each tank. In other words, conventionally, the number of tanks and the number of pressure measurement devices were equal. However, in the gas supply module 100, by implementing the above-described control, the number of pressure measurement devices 60 can be reduced to at least one. This simplifies the device configuration and reduces installation costs.

[0024] FIG. 2 shows the change in pressure of each tank 10 over time when four tanks 10 (tank 11 to tank 14) are used in sequence. For ease of viewing, the dotted lines indicating the pressure measurements and the solid lines indicating the pressure of each tank 10 are separated in FIG. 2, but in reality, these lines overlap. As shown in FIG. 2, when the solenoid valve 20 of one tank 10 is open, the solenoid valves 20 of the other tanks 10 are controlled to a closed state. When the four tanks 10 are used in sequence under this control, the pressure measurements when the solenoid valves 20 of each tank 10 are changed to a closed state indicate the pressure of each tank 10. Therefore, FIG. 2 demonstrates that the gas supply module 100 can monitor the pressure of each tank 10 even if the number of pressure measurement devices 60 is reduced.

[0025] 3 shows the change in flow rate over time when the four tanks 10 (tank 11 to tank 14) are used in sequence. The flow rate was measured at the gas release flow path 60. As shown in FIG. 3, it was demonstrated that the gas supply module 100 can maintain an appropriate flow rate even when the four tanks 10 are used in sequence.

[0026] (Application) The gas supply module 100 may be used as a pressure accumulator for a simple filling device that supplies gas to a tank normally provided in a fuel cell system, and therefore may be in a portable form.

[0027] The gas supply module according to the present disclosure has been described above using one embodiment. According to the gas supply module according to the present disclosure, the number of pressure measurement devices can be reduced.

[0028] [Gas supply system] The gas supply system of the present disclosure will be described using one embodiment, a gas supply system 1000. A schematic diagram of the gas supply system 1000 is shown in FIG.

[0029] The gas supply system 1000 includes a plurality of gas supply modules 100, a plurality of devices 200 each having a fuel cell system, and a server 300 connected to the plurality of gas supply modules 100 via a network.

[0030] <Gas supply module 100> As described above, the pressure of each tank 10 in the gas supply module 100 is monitored. Therefore, the pressure of each tank 10 provided in the gas supply module 100 is recorded by the control unit 70. In this way, the pressure of each tank 10 in the gas supply module 100 used in the gas supply system 1000 is known.

[0031] The gas supply system 1000 uses the gas supply module 100. However, the gas supply module used in the gas supply system of the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, any gas supply module in which the pressure of each tank is known may be used. For example, a conventional gas supply module may be used.

[0032] An example of a conventional gas supply module is as follows: That is, a gas supply module including a plurality of tanks filled with gas, a solenoid valve provided in each of the plurality of tanks to control the release of the gas filled in the tank, an intermediate flow path extending downstream from each of the plurality of tanks via the solenoid valve, a junction connecting the plurality of intermediate flow paths, a gas release flow path extending downstream from the junction, a pressure measuring device provided in each of the plurality of tanks, and a control unit that controls the opening and closing of the solenoid valve.

[0033] <Device 200> The device 200 includes a fuel cell system. The fuel cell system includes at least a fuel cell and a fuel gas tank (hydrogen tank). Fuel cell systems are well known, so a detailed description will be omitted here. An example of the device 200 is a fuel cell vehicle.

[0034] In the gas supply system 1000, one gas supply module 100 and one apparatus 200 form a pair. The term "pair" refers to the relationship in which the gas supply module 100 is intended to supply gas (e.g., hydrogen) to a specific apparatus 200.

[0035] <Server 300> The server 300 is connected to the multiple gas supply modules 100 via a network. The network connection method is not particularly limited. It may be a wired network or a wireless network. The type of network is also not particularly limited. For example, the Internet or Wi-Fi may be used.

[0036] The server 300 is a computer that optimizes the combination of the gas supply module 100 and the apparatus 200. Therefore, the server 300 has apparatus requirement information including the amount of gas and the minimum pressure required for the operation of each apparatus 200.

[0037] The server 300 optimizes the combination of gas supply modules 100 and apparatuses 200 as follows: (1) First, the server 300 obtains gas supply module information including the amount and pressure of gas in each tank 10 included in each gas supply module 100. The amount of gas in a tank 10 can be calculated, for example, from the capacity and pressure of the tank 10. (2) Next, the server 300 compares the gas supply module information with the apparatus requirement information for each pair to determine pairs that have a gas supply module that does not meet the requirements of the apparatus. (3) Next, for a set of pairs that have a gas supply module that does not meet the requirements of the apparatus 200, the server 300 compares the gas supply module information of one pair of gas supply modules 100 with the apparatus requirement information of the other pairs of apparatus 200 to search for a gas supply module 100 that meets the requirements of the apparatus of the other pair. The search results may be displayed so that the user can see them.

[0038] By carrying out the above steps (1) to (3), even if the gas supply module 100 in one pair does not satisfy the requirements of the apparatus 200, it is possible to search for another pair of apparatus 200 to which the gas supply module 100 can be applied. Then, based on the search results, the user can replace the gas supply module 100 as appropriate, thereby enabling efficient operation of the gas supply module 100.

[0039] Fig. 5 shows a specific example of the gas supply system 1000. Fig. 5 shows an example using two pairs of gas supply modules A and B, E and F, and devices C and D.

[0040] First, we will explain pair E, which is formed by gas supply module A and device C. As shown in Figure 5, gas supply module A is in use, and the pressures of tanks 1 to 4 are 70 MPa, 35 MPa, 35 MPa, and 35 MPa, respectively. Here, the minimum pressure required for device C to operate is 35 MPa. Therefore, tank 1 meets this requirement. However, the amount of gas required for device C to operate cannot be met by tank 1 alone. Therefore, the server determines that pair E is a pair having gas supply module A that does not meet the requirements of device C.

[0041] Next, we will explain pair F, which is formed by gas supply module B and device D. As shown in Figure 5, gas supply module B is in use, and the pressures of tanks 5 to 8 are 5 MPa, 0.8 MPa, 0.8 MPa, and 0.8 MPa, respectively. Here, the minimum pressure required for operation of device D is 0.8 MPa. Therefore, tank 5 meets this requirement. However, the amount of gas required for operation of device D cannot be met by tank 5 alone. Therefore, the server determines that pair F is a pair having gas supply module B that does not meet the requirements of device D.

[0042] Next, for the set of pairs E and F, the server compares the gas supply module information of gas supply module A of pair E with the equipment requirement information of equipment D of another pair F. As a result, gas supply module A of pair E meets the requirements of equipment F of another pair F. Therefore, the server can provide this search result to the user. Furthermore, the user can replace gas supply module B with gas supply module A based on this search result. Therefore, the gas supply modules can be operated efficiently.

[0043] The gas supply system according to the present disclosure has been described above using one embodiment. According to the gas supply system according to the present disclosure, the gas supply module can be operated efficiently. [Explanation of symbols]

[0044] 10 Tank 20 Solenoid valve 30 Intermediate flow path 40 Junction 50 Gas release channel 60 Pressure measuring device 70 Control Unit 100 Gas Supply Module 200 equipment 300 servers 1000 Gas Supply System

Claims

[Claim 1] a plurality of gas supply modules; a plurality of devices having fuel cell systems; a server connected to the plurality of gas supply modules via a network; One of the gas supply modules and one of the devices form a pair, The gas supply module comprises: a plurality of tanks filled with gas; an electromagnetic valve provided in each of the plurality of tanks to control the release of the gas filled in the tank; an intermediate flow path extending downstream from each of the plurality of tanks via the solenoid valve; a junction portion connecting the plurality of intermediate flow paths; a gas discharge flow path extending downstream from the confluence; a pressure measuring device provided at the confluence or downstream of the confluence; a control unit that controls opening and closing of the solenoid valve, The control unit At the start of gas release, any one of the solenoid valves is controlled to an open state; At the end of gas release, the solenoid valve is controlled to a closed state, and the pressure measured by the pressure measuring device is recorded as the pressure of the tank having the solenoid valve controlled to a closed state; the server has equipment requirement information including the amount of gas and minimum pressure required for operation of each of the equipment; The server obtains gas supply module information including the gas amount and pressure of each of the tanks included in each of the gas supply modules, comparing the gas supply module information and the equipment requirement information for each of the pairs to determine which of the pairs has a gas supply module that does not meet the equipment requirements; In the set of pairs having the gas supply module that does not satisfy the requirements of the device, comparing the gas supply module information of the gas supply module of one of the pairs with the device requirement information of the device of the other pair, and searching for the gas supply module that satisfies the requirements of the device of the other pair. Gas supply system.

Images