Hydrogen Filling Control Unit Switching to Non-Communication Mode

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Solution Overview

Problem

Hydrogen filling systems face challenges when pressure and temperature data from in-vehicle tanks cannot be accurately transmitted during communication filling, leading to potential unsafe high filling rates.

Innovation Solution

A hydrogen filling system with a control unit that judges abnormalities in pressure and temperature data, switching from communication filling to non-communication filling when abnormalities are detected, ensuring safe filling by comparing data with previous values and assessing communication establishment before starting filling.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If communication filling is used to enable high filling rate hydrogen filling, then filling efficiency is improved, but safety deteriorates when pressure or temperature data cannot be accurately transmitted

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvefilling rateVSAvoidsafety
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system continuously monitors pressure and temperature data from the in-vehicle tank during hydrogen filling and uses this feedback to dynamically adjust the filling rate. When data transmission is reliable, high filling rates are maintained for efficiency. When abnormalities are detected, the system responds by reducing the filling rate or stopping filling, thus maintaining safety while preserving productivity under normal conditions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The hydrogen filling system dynamically adjusts the filling rate based on real-time communication status and data quality. The control unit modifies operating parameters (filling rate) according to the reliability of pressure and temperature data transmission, transitioning between high-speed communication filling and safer non-communication or reduced-rate filling modes as conditions change.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

2Productivity

If communication filling continues when data transmission is unreliable, then filling efficiency is maintained, but harmful effects increase due to potential overfilling

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvefilling efficiencyVSAvoidoverfilling risk
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The control unit continuously receives feedback regarding the quality and reliability of pressure and temperature data transmission. When feedback indicates abnormality (data not transmitted accurately), the system automatically adjusts the filling operation to prevent overfilling, thus eliminating the harmful effect while minimizing impact on filling efficiency.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The system takes preliminary action by monitoring communication status and detecting data transmission abnormalities before they can lead to dangerous overfilling conditions. By identifying unreliable data transmission early, the control unit can proactively adjust the filling rate or stop filling, preventing the harmful effect of overfilling before it occurs.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #9Preliminary anti-action

Data Source

PatentEP3683490B1Hydrogen filling system and hydrogen filling method
Publication Date: 2023.03.08 TOKYO TATSUNO CO LTD
  • EP3683490B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3683490B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP3683490B1 patent drawingFigure 4

AI summary

To provide a hydrogen filling system and a hydrogen filling method capable of preventing hydrogen from being filled at high filling rate in the same manner as the communication filling despite a condition that pressure, temperature and so on in the in-vehicle tank are not precisely grasped. The hydrogen filling system (100) of the present invention includes a control unit (CU1, CU2, CU3) for controlling hydrogen filling, wherein the control unit has a function of judging whether or not there is an abnormality in pressure or temperature data in an in-vehicle tank (IT) at communication filling and a function of stopping the communication filling and converting to non-communication filling when there is an abnormality in the pressure or the temperature data.