Emergency Starting System for Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicles
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Fuel cell hybrid vehicles face challenges when the starting DC power converter fails, requiring towing and component replacement, which is inefficient and costly.
Innovation Solution
An emergency starting system that includes a fuel cell, super capacitor, driving inverter, balance-of-plant, and a starting controller with relays and resistors to enable an emergency start using the super capacitor when the starting DC power converter malfunctions, allowing the fuel cell to be activated and the vehicle to transition to a normal driving state.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a starting DC power converter is used to activate the fuel cell, then the vehicle can start normally, but the system reliability deteriorates when the converter fails
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the starting function with the super capacitor charging function. The super capacitor is normally charged during vehicle operation through the driving inverter, and this stored energy is utilized for emergency starting when the DC power converter fails. This combines two functions (charging and starting) into a unified system that improves reliability without proportionally increasing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit acts as an intermediary that detects DC power converter failure and automatically switches to emergency starting mode. It manages the transition between normal starting and emergency starting, controlling the relays and coordinating the super capacitor discharge to activate the fuel cell balance-of-plant without requiring manual intervention or complex mechanical modifications.
2Reliability
If the vehicle requires towing when the starting DC power converter fails, then component replacement is ensured, but time loss and operational efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The super capacitor is pre-charged during normal vehicle operation through the driving inverter, storing energy in advance specifically for emergency starting scenarios. This preliminary energy storage ensures that when DC power converter failure occurs, the vehicle can immediately perform emergency starting without external assistance, eliminating towing time and operational delays.
3Ease of operation
If multiple relays and resistors are added to enable emergency starting, then the starting controller complexity increases, but the ease of operation improves
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit automatically detects DC power converter failure and executes the emergency starting sequence without driver intervention. The system self-manages the relay switching, super capacitor discharge control, and fuel cell balance-of-plant activation. This automation simplifies operation for the user while the internal complexity is encapsulated within the intelligent control unit.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables the vehicle to perform an emergency start even when the starting DC power converter fails, reducing the need for towing and component replacement, thereby saving time and expenses.
Implementation Method 1
a super capacitor connected through a main bus terminal in parallel
Implementation Method 2
A fuel cell hybrid vehicle, which is one of the environmentally-friendly future vehicles, travels by continuously outputting constant power by a fuel cell
Data Source
AI summary
An emergency starting system and an emergency starting method of a fuel cell hybrid vehicle perform an emergency start when a DC power converter for starting fails. The emergency starting system includes: a fuel cell and a super capacitor connected through a main bus terminal in parallel; a driving inverter connected to the main bus terminal; a driving motor connected to the driving inverter; a balance-of-plant configured to activate the fuel cell; a starting DC power converter configured to drive the balance-of-plant; and a starting controller configured to control the super capacitor at the time of a start. The starting controller includes a super capacitor relay, an initial charging relay, and an initial charging resistor, the initial charging relay includes a plurality of relays, and the initial charging resistor includes a plurality of resistors.