JP4525837B2 - Energy output device and method for controlling energy output device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an energy output device that includes a plurality of energy output sources including a fuel cell and outputs energy to the outside using at least one of the plurality of energy output sources, and a control method thereof.

  Conventionally, as an energy output device including a plurality of energy output sources including a fuel cell, a device including a secondary battery together with the fuel cell is known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a power supply device including a fuel cell and a secondary battery. In this power supply device, when the load supplied with power from the power supply device is in a predetermined low load state, the power generation in the fuel cell is stopped and the power supply from the secondary battery is performed. Such control is based on the property of the fuel cell that the efficiency of the entire system is reduced in a low load state. In the low load state, the efficiency of the entire power supply device is reduced by stopping the fuel cell and using the secondary battery. It is intended to improve.

JP 2001-307758 A JP 2001-224105 A

  However, when power generation by the fuel cell is stopped at such a low load and then the fuel cell is restarted when the load increases, inconveniences such as a delay in power generation response and a decrease in cell voltage may occur at the same time as the restart. There is. Possible causes of such inconvenience include, for example, that the generated water that accompanies power generation condenses in the gas flow path in the fuel cell, or the electrolyte membrane is wet when the fuel cell is a solid polymer type. Is partially reduced. As described above, even when the power generation stop control of the fuel cell is performed based on the efficiency of the entire system, there is a case where high-efficiency operation as in theory cannot be realized. When the power generation of the fuel cell is stopped, there is a problem in that it may cause inconvenience when the fuel cell is started next time. In the energy output device including a plurality of energy output sources including the fuel cell, the fuel cell under a predetermined condition. It was a common problem when performing control to stop power generation.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described conventional problems, and an object thereof is to prevent inconvenience when the fuel cell is started next time by performing control to stop the fuel cell. .

In order to achieve the above object, a first energy output device according to another aspect of the present invention includes a plurality of energy output sources including a fuel cell, and at least one of the plurality of energy output sources is provided. An energy output device that uses and outputs energy to the outside,
When outputting energy from the energy output device, an output control unit that stops power generation of the fuel cell and outputs energy from an energy output source other than the fuel cell under a predetermined condition;
When the fuel cell is stopped, a determination unit that determines whether or not performance degradation of the fuel cell occurs at the next startup of the fuel cell, during power generation of the fuel cell;
An FC forcible operation unit for continuing power generation of the fuel cell regardless of whether or not the predetermined condition is satisfied when the determination unit determines that the performance degradation of the fuel cell occurs. To do.

According to the first energy output device as another aspect of the present invention configured as described above, when it is determined that the performance of the fuel cell is deteriorated, the fuel cell is continuously generated. It is possible to prevent a decrease in fuel cell performance that may occur the next time it is started after being stopped.

In the first energy output device according to another aspect of the present invention , the performance degradation of the fuel cell may be a degradation of current-voltage characteristics of the fuel cell. In such a case, it is possible to prevent the current-voltage characteristic of the fuel cell from deteriorating by continuing the power generation of the fuel cell.

In the first energy output device according to another aspect of the present invention , the determination unit is configured so that the impurity concentration in the gas containing the electrode active material supplied to the fuel cell is equal to or higher than a predetermined value. It may be determined that the performance degradation occurs. In such a case, it is possible to prevent the current-voltage characteristics of the fuel cell from being deteriorated due to an increase in the impurity concentration in the gas.

In such an energy output device,
A hydrogen gas supply path for introducing hydrogen gas to the anode of the fuel cell;
An exhaust gas circulation path for guiding at least a part of the anode exhaust gas discharged from the anode of the fuel cell to the hydrogen gas supply path,
The determination unit may determine that the performance degradation of the fuel cell occurs when the impurity concentration in the anode exhaust gas guided to the hydrogen gas supply path is equal to or higher than a predetermined value.

  According to the above configuration, it is possible to prevent the current-voltage characteristics of the fuel cell from deteriorating due to the increase in the concentration of impurities in the gas accompanying the operation of circulating at least part of the anode exhaust gas to the anode. Can do.

In such an energy output device,
The exhaust gas circulation path includes a gas purge unit capable of discharging a part of the anode exhaust gas to the outside,
The determination unit determines that the fuel cell performance is deteriorated when an elapsed time from the previous time when the gas purge unit discharges part of the anode exhaust gas is within a predetermined reference time. It is also good.

  In the gas flow path immediately after the gas purge unit performs an operation for discharging part of the anode exhaust gas, the impurity concentration in the vicinity of the gas purge unit decreases, but the impurity concentration remains high in other regions including the inside of the fuel cell. . Therefore, if the elapsed time from the discharge operation of the gas purge unit is within a predetermined time, it can be determined that the impurity concentration in the gas supplied to the fuel cell is high.

In such an energy output device,
It is good also as providing the hydrogen dilution part which dilutes the anode waste gas discharged | emitted by the said gas purge part with the cathode waste gas discharged | emitted from the cathode of the said fuel cell, and discharges outside.

  With such a configuration, it is possible to further prevent the disadvantage that hydrogen having a relatively high concentration is discharged from the hydrogen dilution section when the fuel cell is started next time. If the fuel cell is stopped in a state where the time elapsed since the operation of discharging the anode exhaust gas is performed and hydrogen having a relatively high concentration is supplied into the hydrogen dilution section, the hydrogen is not diluted by the cathode exhaust gas. Therefore, when the supply of the cathode exhaust gas is restarted at the next start-up, hydrogen having a relatively high concentration staying in the hydrogen dilution section is discharged from the hydrogen dilution section. Such inconvenience can be prevented.

In the first energy output device according to another aspect of the present invention , the determination unit is configured such that, in the fuel cell, an output voltage value with respect to an output current value is equal to or less than a reference value determined corresponding to the output current value. If so, it may be determined that performance degradation of the fuel cell occurs. By determining that the performance of the fuel cell is degraded in this way, it is possible to effectively prevent the current-voltage characteristic of the fuel cell from being degraded.

In the first energy output apparatus as another aspect of the present invention , the determination unit determines that the performance of the fuel cell is degraded if the temperature of the fuel cell is equal to or lower than a predetermined reference temperature. It's also good. As a result, it is possible to prevent a decrease in power generation performance of the fuel cell due to a decrease in fuel cell temperature.

According to another aspect of the present invention , a second energy output apparatus includes a plurality of energy output sources including a fuel cell, and outputs energy to the outside using at least one of the plurality of energy output sources. An energy output device,
When outputting energy from the energy output device, an output control unit that stops power generation of the fuel cell and outputs energy from an energy output source other than the fuel cell under a predetermined condition;
If the fuel cell is kept in a stopped state, a determination unit that determines whether or not the performance of the fuel cell is degraded at the next start-up of the fuel cell;
An FC forcible operation unit that starts power generation of the fuel cell regardless of whether or not the predetermined condition is satisfied when the determination unit determines that the performance degradation of the fuel cell occurs. To do.

According to the second energy output device as another aspect of the present invention configured as described above, when it is determined that the performance of the fuel cell is deteriorated, the fuel cell is immediately started. If the stop of the fuel cell is continued, it is possible to prevent the deterioration of the performance of the fuel cell that may occur when the fuel cell is subsequently started.

In the second energy output device as another aspect according to the present invention , the determination unit determines that the performance of the fuel cell is degraded if the temperature of the fuel cell is equal to or lower than a predetermined reference temperature. It is also good to do. With such a configuration, it is possible to prevent a decrease in the performance of the fuel cell due to a decrease in the temperature of the fuel cell.

Et Nerugi output apparatus of the present invention comprises a plurality of energy output sources including fuel cells, an energy output device that outputs the energy to the outside with at least one of the plurality of energy output sources,
When outputting energy from the energy output device, power generation of the fuel cell is stopped under conditions where it is determined that energy efficiency in the energy output device is reduced if the fuel cell is used. An output controller for outputting energy from the energy output source of
When the fuel cell generates power, a fuel cell auxiliary machine that operates along with power generation;
An operating state of the fuel cell auxiliary device is detected during power generation of the fuel cell, and an abnormal transient state is a transient state before the fuel cell auxiliary device is determined to be abnormal based on the detected operating state. A determination unit for determining whether or not there is,
An FC forced operation unit for continuing power generation of the fuel cell regardless of whether or not the predetermined condition is satisfied when the determination unit determines that the fuel cell auxiliary device is in an abnormal transient state. Is the gist.

According to e Nerugi output device of the present invention configured as described above, when the fuel cell auxiliary machinery is determined to be abnormal transient state, in order to continue the power generation of the fuel cell, operation in the fuel cell auxiliary machinery The state detection can be continued. For this reason, when an abnormality occurs in the fuel cell auxiliary machine, it is possible to quickly detect the abnormality.

In d Nerugi output apparatus of the invention, the determination unit is configured to detect the temperature of the fuel cell auxiliary machinery, the temperature of the fuel cell auxiliary machinery is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference temperature, the fuel cell auxiliary machinery is abnormal transient It is good also as determining with it being in a state.

  With such a configuration, by continuing the power generation of the fuel cell, it is possible to continuously detect the temperature rise of the fuel cell auxiliary device, and to quickly detect the abnormality when there is an abnormality.

  The present invention can be realized in various forms other than those described above. For example, the present invention can be realized in the form of a control method for an energy output apparatus or a moving body in which the energy output apparatus is mounted as a power source.

It is a block diagram showing the outline of a structure of the electric vehicle 10 as an embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing showing the relationship between the magnitude | size of the output of the fuel cell 22, and energy efficiency. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the output current in a fuel cell 22, and an output voltage or output electric power. It is a flowchart showing an operation control processing routine. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the circuit with which the control part 70 is provided as a circuit in connection with the process for judgment of whether to perform intermittent operation mode. It is a flowchart showing a performance fall prediction process routine. It is a flowchart showing an abnormal transient state processing routine.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following order based on examples.
A. Overall configuration of the device:
B. Operation control with intermittent operation:
C. Control prohibiting intermittent operation:
D. Real施例:
E. Variations:

A. Overall configuration of the device:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of the configuration of an electric vehicle 10 as an embodiment according to the present invention. The electric vehicle 10 includes a drive motor 33 and an auxiliary motor 34 as loads that consume power, and includes a power supply device 15 as a power source that supplies power to these loads. A wiring 50 is provided between the power supply device 15 and the load, and power is exchanged between the power supply device 15 and the load via the wiring 50.

  The power supply device 15 includes a fuel cell device 20 and a secondary battery 30. The fuel cell device 20 includes a fuel cell 22 that is a main body of power generation. The secondary battery 30 is connected to the wiring 50 via the DC / DC converter 32, and the DC / DC converter 32 and the fuel cell 22 are connected to the wiring 50 in parallel. The wiring 50 is provided with a switch 52 that turns on and off the connection between the wiring 50 and the fuel cell 22.

The fuel cell device 20 includes a fuel cell 22, a hydrogen tank 23 that stores hydrogen to be supplied to the fuel cell 22, and an air compressor 24 for supplying compressed air to the fuel cell 22. Although various types of fuel cells can be used as the fuel cell 22, in this embodiment, a polymer electrolyte fuel cell is used as the fuel cell 22. The fuel cell 22 has a stack structure in which a plurality of single cells are stacked.

  The hydrogen tank 23 can be, for example, a hydrogen cylinder that stores high-pressure hydrogen. Or it is good also as a tank which stores hydrogen by providing a hydrogen storage alloy inside and making it store in a hydrogen storage alloy. The hydrogen gas stored in the hydrogen tank 23 is discharged to the hydrogen gas supply path 60 and is decompressed by the pressure reducing valve 61 provided in the hydrogen gas supply path 60, and then adjusted to a predetermined pressure by the pressure regulating valve 62. And supplied to the anode of the fuel cell 22. The anode exhaust gas discharged from the anode is guided to the anode exhaust gas path 63 and flows into the hydrogen gas supply path 60 again. In this way, the remaining hydrogen gas in the anode exhaust gas circulates in the flow path and is used again for the electrochemical reaction.

In order to circulate the anode exhaust gas, a hydrogen pump 65 is provided in the anode exhaust gas passage 63. Further, an exhaust gas discharge path 64 is provided branching from the anode exhaust gas path 63. The exhaust gas discharge path 64 includes an on-off valve 66. By opening the on-off valve 66, a part of the anode exhaust gas flowing through the anode exhaust gas passage 63 can be discharged to the outside through the exhaust gas discharge passage 64. The on-off valve 66 is provided to reduce the impurity concentration (nitrogen concentration) in the gas supplied to the anode again via the anode exhaust gas passage 63. When hydrogen gas is circulated between the fuel cell 22 and the anode exhaust gas passage 63, nitrogen contained in a trace amount in the hydrogen gas is concentrated and the nitrogen concentration is increased as the electrochemical reaction proceeds. The nitrogen concentration in the hydrogen gas also increases when nitrogen leaks from the cathode side to which nitrogen-containing air is supplied to the anode side . In electric vehicles 10, by opening the on-off valve 66 at predetermined time intervals, by discharging a portion of the anode exhaust to the outside, thereby suppressing an increase in nitrogen concentration in the hydrogen gas supplied to the anode. The opening timing of the on-off valve 66 may be performed at predetermined time intervals, for example, or may be performed every time the integrated value of the amount of power generated by the fuel cell 22 reaches a predetermined value.

  Here, the exhaust gas discharge path 64 is connected to the diluter 26 which is a container having a larger cross-sectional area than the exhaust gas discharge path 64. The diluter 26 has a structure for diluting hydrogen in the anode exhaust gas with a cathode exhaust gas described later prior to the discharge when the anode exhaust gas is discharged to the outside.

  The anode exhaust gas path 63 is provided with a gas-liquid separator 27. As the electrochemical reaction proceeds, water is generated at the cathode, and the generated water is also introduced into the gas on the anode side through the electrolyte membrane. The gas-liquid separator 27 removes the water vapor accumulated in the anode exhaust gas in this way from the anode exhaust gas by condensing on the inner wall surface of the gas-liquid separator 27 having a low temperature.

  The air compressor 24 supplies pressurized air as an oxidizing gas to the cathode of the fuel cell 22 via the oxidizing gas supply path 67. When the air compressor 24 compresses air, the air is taken in from outside through an air flow meter 28 provided with a filter. The cathode exhaust gas discharged from the cathode is guided to the cathode exhaust gas path 68 and discharged to the outside. Here, the oxidizing gas supply path 67 and the cathode exhaust gas path 68 pass through the humidification module 25. In the humidification module 25, a part of the wall surface of the oxidizing gas supply path 67 and a part of the wall surface of the cathode exhaust gas path 68 are in contact with each other, and a water vapor permeable membrane is disposed at this contact portion. By separating the oxidizing gas supply path 67 and the cathode exhaust gas path 68 by a water vapor permeable film, water vapor can be supplied from the cathode exhaust gas side to the pressurized air side. That is, the cathode exhaust gas contains the water produced by the electrochemical reaction in the form of water vapor, but the humidification module 25 uses the cathode exhaust gas containing water vapor to humidify the pressurized air supplied to the cathode. Is doing. Further, an exhaust gas branch path 69 is provided that branches from the cathode exhaust gas path 68. The exhaust gas branch path 69 is connected again to the cathode exhaust gas path 68 via the diluter 26. Therefore, the anode exhaust gas that has flowed into the diluter 26 via the exhaust gas discharge path 64 is diluted by being mixed with a part of the cathode exhaust gas in the diluter 26, and then merged into the cathode exhaust gas path 68, so that the remaining Further diluted with the cathode exhaust gas and discharged to the outside.

  The fuel cell device 20 further includes a cooling unit 40 for cooling the fuel cell 22 so that the operating temperature of the fuel cell 22 becomes a predetermined temperature. The cooling unit 40 includes a cooling water channel 41, a cooling pump 42, and a radiator 29. The cooling water channel 41 is a channel that guides the cooling water so that the cooling water circulates between the inside of the fuel cell 22 and the radiator 29. The cooling pump 42 circulates the cooling water in the cooling water channel 41. The radiator 29 includes a cooling fan, and cools the cooling water whose temperature has risen via the inside of the fuel cell 22. In the vicinity of the connection portion between the cooling water channel 41 and the fuel cell 22, temperature sensors 43 and 44 for detecting the cooling water temperature are provided. The operating temperature of the fuel cell 22 is controlled by adjusting the driving amounts of the cooling fan and the cooling pump 42 based on the detection results of the temperature sensors 43 and 44. The above-described devices that operate in accordance with the power generation of the fuel cell 22, such as the air compressor 24, the hydrogen pump 65, the cooling pump 42, the radiator fan, or the valve provided in the flow path, are hereinafter referred to as fuel cell accessories. .

As the secondary battery 30, various secondary batteries such as a lead storage battery, a nickel-cadmium storage battery, a nickel-hydrogen storage battery, and a lithium secondary battery can be used. As shown in FIG. 1, the secondary battery 30 is also provided with a remaining capacity monitor 31 for detecting the remaining capacity (SOC) of the secondary battery 30. In aspects of this embodiment, the remaining capacity monitor 31 is configured as a SOC meter that integrates the current value and time of charging and discharging in the battery 30. Alternatively, the remaining capacity monitor 31 may be configured by a voltage sensor instead of the SOC meter. Since the secondary battery 30 has the property that the voltage value decreases as the remaining capacity thereof decreases, the remaining capacity of the secondary battery 30 can be detected by measuring the voltage.

  When the remaining capacity of the secondary battery 30 becomes a predetermined value or less, the secondary battery 30 is charged by the fuel cell 22. Further, when the electric vehicle 10 is braked (when the driver depresses the brake while the vehicle is running), the drive motor 33 is used as a generator, and the secondary power is generated by the electric power generated by the power generation of the drive motor 33. The battery 30 can be charged.

  The DC / DC converter 32 adjusts the voltage in the wiring 50 by setting a target voltage value on the output side, thereby adjusting the output voltage from the fuel cell 22 and controlling the output power of the fuel cell 22. The DC / DC converter 32 also serves as a switch for controlling the connection state between the secondary battery 30 and the wiring 50, and when the secondary battery 30 does not need to be charged / discharged, The connection with the wiring 50 is disconnected.

  The drive motor 33, which is one of the loads that receive power from the power supply device 15, is a synchronous motor and includes a three-phase coil for forming a rotating magnetic field. Electric power is supplied to the drive motor 33 from the power supply device 15 via the drive inverter 35. The drive inverter 35 is a transistor inverter provided with a transistor as a switching element corresponding to each phase of the drive motor 33. An output shaft 37 of the drive motor 33 is connected to a vehicle drive shaft 39 via a reduction gear 38. The reduction gear 38 transmits the power output from the drive motor 33 to the vehicle drive shaft 39 after adjusting the rotational speed.

  In FIG. 1, an auxiliary motor 34 is shown as another load that receives supply of electric power from the power supply device 15. Specifically, the auxiliary motor 34 is a motor included in the air compressor 24, the cooling pump 42, and the hydrogen pump 65 described above, and inverters provided corresponding to the motors (in FIG. The power is supplied from the power supply device 15 through the power supply device 15. In addition, the auxiliary equipment to which electric power is supplied from the power supply device 15 includes fuel cell auxiliary equipment such as a cooling fan of the radiator 29 and a valve provided in each flow path, an air conditioner (air conditioner) provided in the electric vehicle 10 and the like. And electrical equipment related to vehicles. Among these auxiliary machines, power is supplied to a device having a low operating voltage (for example, a valve provided in the flow path) via a predetermined step-down DC / DC converter (not shown).

  The electric vehicle 10 further includes a control unit 70 that controls the movement of each part of the electric vehicle 10. The control unit is configured as a logic circuit centered on a microcomputer, and more specifically, a CPU that executes predetermined calculations in accordance with a preset control program, and a control program necessary to execute various arithmetic processes by the CPU And a ROM in which control data and the like are stored in advance, a RAM in which various data necessary for performing various arithmetic processes by the CPU are temporarily read and written, an input / output port for inputting and outputting various signals, and the like. The control unit 70 receives detection signals from various sensors such as the temperature sensors 43 and 44 described above and a signal output from the remaining capacity monitor 31, and also acquires information related to vehicle operation such as accelerator opening and vehicle speed. (Not shown). In addition, a drive signal is output to a DC / DC converter 32, a drive inverter 35, a pump provided in the fuel cell device 20, a valve provided in a flow path, or the like.

B. Operation control with intermittent operation:
In electric vehicles 10, usually mainly supplied by the fuel cell device 20 the power required to drive the vehicle. When the fuel cell device 20 is used and the energy efficiency is lowered, control (intermittent operation) is performed to stop the fuel cell device 20 and power is supplied from the secondary battery 30 . Power supplies 15, when the condition to perform the intermittent operation Based on the energy efficiency is satisfied, there is a behavior characteristic when actually further performs the determination whether or not to perform intermittent operation, firstly, Normal operation control and intermittent operation will be described.

When power is obtained from the power supply device 15, the amount of power generated from the fuel cell 22 and the secondary battery 30 is controlled so that the efficiency of the power supply device 15 is higher. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the output level of the fuel cell 22 and the energy efficiency. FIG. 2A shows the relationship between the efficiency of the fuel cell 22 (FC efficiency) , the power required for the fuel cell auxiliary machine, and the output of the fuel cell 22. As shown in FIG. 2A, the efficiency of the fuel cell 22 gradually decreases as the output of the fuel cell 22 increases. Further, as the output of the fuel cell 22 increases, the power of auxiliary machinery, that is, the energy consumed to drive the auxiliary machinery increases. Here, while the output of the fuel cell 22 is very small, the auxiliary machine power ratio with respect to the output of the fuel cell 22 is high. Therefore, the efficiency of the entire fuel cell device 20 (FC system efficiency) required based on the efficiency of the fuel cell 22 and the auxiliary machine power is low at low load as shown in FIG. It shows the property that the output becomes the highest when the value is a predetermined value and decreases again when the load becomes higher.

Therefore, the electric vehicles 10, the low load efficiency of the entire fuel cell device 20 is deteriorated, by stopping the fuel cell 22 in principle, the energy efficiency is prevented from decreasing. When power generation is performed by the fuel cell 22, control is performed so that power is obtained only from the fuel cell 22 in a load state where the energy efficiency of the fuel cell device 20 is particularly high. When the load is larger than this, control is performed so that power is obtained at a predetermined ratio from both the fuel cell 22 and the secondary battery 30.

Here, the output state from the power supply device 15 is also affected by the SOC of the secondary battery 30. If the SOC of the secondary battery 30 is sufficient, the energy efficiency of the power supply device 15 as a whole may be improved by partially outputting from the secondary battery 30. If the SOC of the secondary battery 30 is insufficient, the secondary battery 30 needs to be charged by the fuel cell 22. Therefore, in this embodiment , in order to extract power from the power supply device 15 more efficiently, the fuel cell 22 and the secondary battery 30 depend on the required load (power supply device required power described later) and the SOC of the secondary battery 30. And the amount of power to be generated is determined in advance and stored in the control unit 70 as a map (power distribution map).

  Hereinafter, an operation mode in which power generation of the fuel cell 22 is stopped and power is obtained only from the secondary battery 30 when the required load is small is referred to as “intermittent operation mode”, and an operation mode in which the fuel cell 22 generates power is referred to as “FC operation”. This is called “mode”.

  When the intermittent operation mode is selected, the fuel cell auxiliary machine is stopped, and the supply of hydrogen gas and air to the fuel cell 22 is stopped. Further, the switch 52 is opened, and the connection between the wiring 50 and the fuel cell 22 is disconnected.

When the FC operation mode is selected, the amount of power output from the fuel cell 22 and the secondary battery 30 is controlled by the output voltage of the DC / DC converter 32. FIG. 3 shows the relationship between the output current in the fuel cell 22 and the output voltage or output power. As shown in FIG. 3, if Sadamare power P _FC to be output from the fuel cell 22, the magnitude I _FC of the output current of the fuel cell 22 at that time is determined. If the output current I _FC is determined from the output characteristics of the fuel cell 22, the output voltage V _FC of the fuel cell 22 at that time is determined. When the FC operation mode is selected, if the amount of power to be output from the fuel cell 22 is determined with reference to the power distribution map described above, the control unit 70 notifies the DC / DC converter 32 in this way. The output voltage V _FC obtained as described above is commanded as a target voltage. At this time, the fuel cell auxiliary machine is driven so that gas corresponding to the amount of power generated by the fuel cell 22 is supplied, and a drive signal is output to the inverter 35 according to the required load, whereby the fuel cell 22 and the secondary battery 30 are output. From each of these, a desired amount of power is supplied to the load.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a driving control processing routine executed in control unit 70 of electric vehicle 10. This routine is repeatedly executed while the electric vehicle 10 is in operation.

When this routine is executed, the control unit 70 acquires information on the vehicle speed and the accelerator opening (step S100). Thereafter, the control unit 70 calculates the required power in the drive motor 33 based on the accelerator opening and the vehicle speed (step S110). When the motor required power P _Mreq is calculated, the control unit 70 calculates the required power P _req in the power supply device 15 (step S120). The power supply device required power P _req is obtained by adding the required power in the motor load power P _Mreq to another load (fuel cell auxiliary machine or air conditioner included in the electric vehicle 10). This is the total amount of power to be output.

After calculating the power supply device required power P _req , the control unit 70 acquires the SOC of the secondary battery 30 from the remaining capacity monitor 31 (step S130). The control unit 70 should output from each of the fuel cell 22 and the secondary battery 30 with reference to the power distribution map described above based on the obtained SOC and the value of the power supply device required power P _req. The power (power distribution) is determined (step S140). Thereafter, the control unit 70 determines whether or not the power distribution determined in step S140 corresponds to the intermittent operation mode (step S150). When the power distribution corresponding to the intermittent operation mode is determined, the control unit 70 shifts to a performance degradation prediction processing routine described later (step S160) and ends this routine. When determining that the determined power distribution corresponds to the FC operation mode, the control unit 70 outputs a drive signal to each unit of the electric vehicle 10 so that the power distribution determined in step S140 is realized. Then, the FC operation mode is controlled (step S170), and this routine is terminated. Specifically, the fuel cell device 20 and the DC / DC converter 32 are driven so that the fuel cell 22 and the secondary battery 30 output the power determined with reference to the map, and in accordance with the required power P _Mreq . The inverters 35 and 36, etc., are driven for each part related to the load and the fuel cell auxiliary machine.

C. Control prohibiting intermittent operation:
In electric vehicles 10, or when the power distribution corresponding to the intermittent drive mode in the step S140 is determined, and based on whether or not corresponding to the performance degradation prediction condition, actually controls the operation in the intermittent operation mode Decide whether or not. FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a circuit included in the control unit 70 as a circuit related to processing for determining whether or not to execute such an intermittent operation mode. As shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 70 includes an output control unit 72, a determination unit 74, and an FC forced operation unit 76. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a performance degradation prediction processing routine executed by control unit 70 when it is determined that the power distribution determined in step S150 of FIG. 4 corresponds to the intermittent operation mode. If it is determined that the power distribution corresponds to the intermittent operation mode, in step S160, the performance deterioration prediction processing routine is executed, and the determination and the power distribution determined in step S140 are output from the control unit 70. This is transmitted to the control unit 72.

  When the routine of FIG. 6 is executed, the control unit 70 inputs information related to performance degradation prediction (step S200). And the determination part 74 of the control part 70 determines whether it corresponds to performance degradation prediction conditions based on the information regarding the said performance degradation prediction (step S210).

  Here, the performance degradation prediction condition is that when the fuel cell device 20 is started next time when the intermittent operation mode is selected and the fuel cell device 20 is stopped when the current operation is in the FC operation mode. This refers to a condition that is determined to cause a drop in performance of the fuel cell 22. Further, if the fuel cell 22 is not currently generating power, if the fuel cell device 20 is kept stopped, it is determined that there is a possibility that the performance of the fuel cell 22 may be degraded when the fuel cell device 20 is started next time. The condition.

  First, the performance degradation prediction condition that is determined when currently operating in the FC operation mode will be described. Specifically, the information related to the performance degradation prediction includes the nitrogen concentration in the gas supplied to the anode of the fuel cell 22, the output voltage of the fuel cell 22, the voltage of each cell constituting the fuel cell 22, and The operating temperature of the fuel cell 22 can be mentioned.

If the fuel cell device 20 is temporarily stopped in a state where the nitrogen concentration in the gas supplied to the anode of the fuel cell 22 has increased, the power generation efficiency of the fuel cell 22 at the time of restarting decreases, and the output characteristics (with respect to the output current) There is a possibility that the current-voltage characteristic (output voltage) may be lowered. Therefore, in this embodiment, the fact that the nitrogen concentration in the gas supplied to the anode is increased is added to the performance deterioration prediction condition.

The nitrogen concentration in the gas can be calculated as an estimated value based on, for example, the elapsed time after the previous opening / closing operation of the opening / closing valve 66 or the accumulated power generation amount in the fuel cell 22 after the opening operation. . In aspects of this embodiment, the control unit 70 performs continuously the integrated measurement and the power generation amount of elapsed time, as described above, in step S200, by referring to the elapsed time and the cumulative power amount, the gas Nitrogen concentration is calculated. In step S210, when the value calculated in this way exceeds a predetermined reference value, it is determined that the performance degradation prediction condition is met. Alternatively, the determination may be made based only on the elapsed time after the opening operation of the on-off valve 66 without calculating the nitrogen concentration. That is, a nitrogen accumulation reference time that is a reference time for predicting that the nitrogen concentration in the gas has increased is set in advance, and the elapsed time after the opening operation of the on-off valve 66 exceeds the nitrogen accumulation reference time. Sometimes, it may be determined that the performance deterioration prediction condition is met. Further, when the accumulated power generation amount of the fuel cell 22 after the opening / closing operation of the on-off valve 66 exceeds a predetermined reference value where the nitrogen concentration in the gas is predicted to increase, it is determined that the performance deterioration prediction condition is satisfied. It is also good.

  Alternatively, when determining whether or not the performance deterioration prediction condition is satisfied based on the nitrogen concentration in the gas, the elapsed time after the previous opening / closing operation of the on-off valve 66 is much longer than the nitrogen accumulation reference time. If it is within the reference time immediately after opening the valve set to be short, it may be determined that the performance degradation prediction condition is met. When the on-off valve 66 is opened, the nitrogen concentration in the anode exhaust gas passage 63 rapidly decreases in the vicinity of the on-off valve 66, but the nitrogen concentration remains high in other parts of the gas flow path such as inside the fuel cell 22. In order for the nitrogen concentration to be uniform in the flow path and the nitrogen concentration to be sufficiently low in the entire flow path, it takes some time after the opening / closing valve 66 is opened. Therefore, after the opening operation of the on-off valve 66, a reference time immediately after the valve opening is set as a time required for the nitrogen concentration in the entire flow path to be lowered, and the elapsed time after the opening operation of the on-off valve 66 is opened. If it is within the reference time immediately thereafter, it can be determined that the performance degradation prediction condition is met.

  Here, when the elapsed time since the previous opening / closing valve 66 was opened is within the reference time immediately after the valve opening, in addition to the inconvenience that the nitrogen concentration in the gas remains high, There is also a problem that hydrogen having a relatively high concentration remains. When the fuel cell device 20 is stopped, the air compressor 24 is stopped and the supply of cathode exhaust gas to the diluter 26 is stopped. Therefore, if the fuel cell device 20 is temporarily stopped immediately after the opening / closing valve 66 is opened, hydrogen having a relatively high concentration is discharged from the diluter 26 to the outside when the air compressor 24 starts to operate at the next startup. there is a possibility. As described above, the elapsed time from the opening operation of the opening / closing valve 66 is very short (within the reference time immediately after opening), which means that the power generation performance of the fuel cell 22 is attributed to the high nitrogen concentration in the gas. It can be said that in addition to the deterioration in performance, the disadvantage is that hydrogen having a relatively high concentration is discharged.

The output voltage of the fuel cell 22 and the voltage of each cell constituting the fuel cell 22 are such that when the electrolyte membrane constituting the fuel cell 22 becomes deficient in water or when the condensed water stays in the gas flow path in the fuel cell 22. When gas flow is hindered, it can drop. Thus, if the fuel cell device 20 is temporarily stopped in a state where the electrolyte membrane is insufficient in moisture or in a state where the condensed water stays in the flow path, the power generation efficiency of the fuel cell 22 at the time of restarting decreases. The current-voltage characteristics may be degraded. Therefore, in this embodiment, the fact that the output voltage of the fuel cell 22 and the voltage of each cell constituting the fuel cell 22 are reduced is added to the performance deterioration prediction condition.

In power supplies 15, and an ammeter for detecting an output current of the fuel cell 22, and a voltmeter for detecting an output voltage of the fuel cell 22 (the voltage of the wiring 50), the voltage of each unit cell constituting the fuel cell 22 And a single cell voltmeter (not shown). In step S200 of FIG. 6, the control unit 70 acquires a detection signal from the ammeter, the voltmeter, and the single cell voltmeter. Then, in step S210, when the value of the output voltage with respect to the output current is lower than a predetermined reference value, it is determined that the performance degradation prediction condition is met. Here, the predetermined reference value is allowed to continue power generation, but is set to a voltage value lower than usual to such an extent that water shortage of the electrolyte membrane or stagnation of condensed water is suspected. In the present embodiment , both the output voltage of the entire fuel cell 22 and the voltage of each single cell are detected, but in particular, there is a possibility that inconvenience may occur due to the voltage based on each single cell. It becomes possible to detect at an early stage. That is, it becomes possible to quickly detect that the moisture content of the electrolyte membrane in a specific single cell is insufficient, or that condensate remains in a part of the gas flow path in the specific single cell.

The current-voltage characteristic of the fuel cell 22 is also reduced by a decrease in the operating temperature of the fuel cell 22. Therefore, if the fuel cell device 20 is stopped when the temperature of the fuel cell 22 starts to decrease, the temperature of the fuel cell 22 further decreases, and the output characteristics of the fuel cell 22 may further decrease upon restart. is there. Thus, when a larger load is connected to the fuel cell 22 when the temperature of the fuel cell 22 is lower than normal, a reaction different from the normal electrochemical reaction occurs in the fuel cell 22. There is a possibility that the power generation performance of the fuel cell 22 will further decrease as it progresses. Therefore, in this embodiment , the operating temperature of the fuel cell 22 is added to the performance deterioration prediction condition.

  The temperature of the fuel cell 22 may be detected directly by providing a temperature sensor in the fuel cell 22 or may be a temperature that reflects the temperature of the fuel cell 22. For example, the temperature of the fuel cell 22 can be estimated based on the detection signal of the temperature sensor 43 provided in the cooling water channel 41. In step S200 of FIG. 6, the control unit 70 acquires a detection signal from the temperature sensor described above. In step S210, if the detected temperature is equal to or lower than the predetermined temperature, it is determined that the performance degradation prediction condition is met.

  In step S210 of FIG. 6, when the determination unit 74 determines that the performance deterioration prediction condition is satisfied, that is, when the determination unit 74 determines that the performance deterioration of the fuel cell 22 occurs, this determination is performed by the FC compulsion of the control unit 70. It is transmitted to the driving unit 76. Here, in addition to the above-described normal power distribution map, the control unit 70 stores an intermittent operation stop power distribution map. In a normal power distribution map, the amount of power that the fuel cell 22 should generate is set to zero in a predetermined low load state where the energy efficiency of the fuel cell device 20 is low. On the other hand, in the intermittent operation stop power distribution map, the amount of power to be generated by the fuel cell 22 and the secondary battery 30 is such that the fuel cell 22 generates power even in such a low load state. It is remembered. In step S220, the FC forced operation unit 76 refers to the intermittent operation stop power distribution map to determine the amount of power (power distribution) to be generated by the fuel cell 22 and the secondary battery 30. When the power distribution is determined, the FC forced operation unit 76 outputs a drive signal to each unit of the power supply device 15 to control the FC operation mode so that the determined power distribution is realized (step S230). Exit. In step S210, when the determination unit 74 determines that the performance deterioration prediction condition is satisfied, this determination is also transmitted to the output control unit 72 of the control unit 70. Thereby, the determination (determination that power distribution corresponds to the intermittent operation mode) transmitted to the output control unit 72 in step S160 and the power distribution corresponding to the intermittent operation mode are cancelled.

In step S210, when the determination unit 74 determines that none of the performance deterioration prediction conditions is satisfied, that is, when the determination unit 74 determines that the performance of the fuel cell 22 does not deteriorate, this determination is performed by the control unit 70. This is transmitted to the output control unit 72. Thereby, the output control part 72 outputs a drive signal to each part of the power supply device 15 according to the electric power distribution corresponding to the intermittent operation mode transmitted in step S160. As a result, the intermittent operation mode control in which the secondary battery 30 outputs power corresponding to the power supply device required power P _req is executed (step S240), and this routine is terminated.

According to the thus constructed power supplies 15 as described above, when the true performance degradation prediction condition, since not performed intermittent operation regardless energy efficiency of the power supply device 15, to prevent performance degradation of the fuel cell 22 Can do.

  When the performance deterioration prediction condition is that the nitrogen concentration in the gas is high, by continuing the power generation by the fuel cell 22, the valve opening operation of the on-off valve 66 is performed thereafter, and the nitrogen concentration in the gas is reduced. Since it falls, performance fall can be prevented. Alternatively, when the intermittent operation is not performed because the elapsed time after the opening / closing operation of the on-off valve 66 is short, inconvenience that hydrogen having a relatively high concentration is discharged to the outside can be prevented. As described above, the deterioration in the performance of the fuel cell 22 widely includes inconveniences caused by the operation of the fuel cell 22 in addition to the inconveniences related to the performance of the fuel cell 22.

  When the performance degradation predicting condition is that the output voltage of the fuel cell 22 or the voltage of each cell constituting the fuel cell 22 is low, the power generation by the fuel cell 22 is continued, so that the electrolyte membrane has insufficient moisture. It is possible to recover the water and remove the condensate that stays, and to prevent performance degradation. That is, in the fuel cell 22, if the gas flow rate is adjusted or the gas is humidified normally, the output voltage of the fuel cell 22 and each cell voltage constituting the fuel cell 22 are recovered by continuing power generation. It becomes possible to do.

  If the performance deterioration prediction condition is that the operating temperature of the fuel cell 22 is low, the power generation by the fuel cell 22 is continued, and the temperature of the fuel cell 22 is utilized using heat generated by the electrochemical reaction. Can be suppressed, and performance degradation can be prevented.

  When the performance deterioration prediction condition is resolved by continuing the power generation of the fuel cell 22, the intermittent operation mode is executed when the performance deterioration prediction processing routine is executed after the low load state is reached. The device 20 is stopped. As described above, if the performance degradation prediction condition is eliminated, the performance degradation described above does not occur when the fuel cell device 20 is started again with an increase in the load thereafter.

  In the above description, the performance degradation prediction condition determined when currently operating in the FC operation mode has been described, but the same control is performed even when power generation by the fuel cell 22 is not currently performed. . As the information input in step S200 when the fuel cell 22 is not currently generating power (in the intermittent operation mode), specifically, for example, the temperature of the fuel cell 22 can be cited. When the temperature of the fuel cell 22 is equal to or lower than a predetermined reference temperature, it is determined that the performance deterioration prediction condition is satisfied, and the fuel cell device 20 is immediately started (in the FC operation mode), whereby the temperature of the fuel cell 22 is reached. The decrease in power generation performance is prevented by suppressing the decrease. By performing such control, it is possible to prevent the performance of the fuel cell 22 from being deteriorated at the next startup due to continuing the intermittent operation mode.

  When performing such control, in addition to directly detecting the temperature of the fuel cell 22, when the elapsed time exceeds a predetermined reference time based on the elapsed time since the start of the intermittent operation mode, In S210, it may be determined that the performance degradation prediction condition is satisfied. That is, it is good also as providing a restriction | limiting in the time which continues an intermittent operation mode, and not performing an intermittent operation continuously more than predetermined reference time. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the temperature of the fuel cell 22 from excessively decreasing by continuing the intermittent operation. Furthermore, by providing a limit on the time for which the intermittent operation mode is continued, it is possible to prevent inconvenience due to insufficient moisture in the electrolyte membrane due to continuing the intermittent operation. In addition to the time limit for continuing such intermittent operation, a time limit may be provided until the intermittent operation mode is started again after the transition from the intermittent operation mode to the FC operation mode. That is, the elapsed time from the end of the previous intermittent operation in step S200 may be input, and it may be determined that the performance deterioration prediction condition is satisfied when the elapsed time is less than a predetermined reference time in step S210. Thus, by ensuring the time for the fuel cell 22 to generate power after intermittent operation, the temperature of the fuel cell 22 can be maintained sufficiently high, or the humidified state of the electrolyte membrane can be sufficiently ensured.

  Further, OCV (open circuit voltage) in each single cell constituting the fuel cell 22 may be input as other information input in step S200 of FIG. When the condensed water stays in the gas flow path in a specific single cell, the OCV does not rise to the normal value. Therefore, when the OCV is equal to or lower than the predetermined reference voltage, it can be determined that the performance degradation prediction condition is met. . Even if the intermittent operation mode is once started, if the OCV is equal to or lower than the predetermined reference voltage in step S200, the FC operation mode in step S230 is immediately started to start the gas supply to the fuel cell 22 and the condensed water. It is possible to eliminate the stagnation and to prevent the performance from deteriorating.

D. Real施例:
In embodiments of the above you facilities, and restarting the fuel cell after the intermittent operation when the performance degradation of the fuel cell is determined to occur, it is assumed that not performed intermittent operation, the fuel cell auxiliary provided in the fuel cell device 20 Intermittent operation may not be performed in a state in which it is detected that the state is in a transitional state before any of the machines is determined to be abnormal. Such a configuration will be described below as an actual施例.

Electric car real施例of the present invention, electrodeposition has the same structure as the air vehicle 10, a detailed description be given the same reference numerals to common components will be omitted. Figure 7 is a flowchart showing an abnormal transient state processing routine executed by the control unit 70 of the electric vehicle 10 of the real施例. This routine performs the same processing as the operation control processing routine in FIG. 4 in the control unit 70, and when it is determined in step S150 that the conditions are intermittent operation conditions, the performance degradation prediction processing routine in step S160 (FIG. 6). Is executed instead.

When this routine is executed, the control unit 70 determines whether or not it is currently operating in the intermittent operation mode (step S300). If it is determined that the vehicle is not operating in the intermittent operation mode, the control unit 70 next inputs information related to the abnormal transient state (step S305). Thereafter, the determination unit 74 of the controller 70 in real施例determines, based on information relating to the abnormal transient state, whether or not corresponding to the abnormal transient state (step S310).

  Here, the abnormal transient state means that a condition set in advance as a transient state before any abnormality is detected is satisfied in any of the fuel cell auxiliary devices included in the fuel cell device 20. In particular, when the intermittent operation is performed and the fuel cell device 20 is stopped, the abnormal transient state that was being detected is eliminated, and the abnormality detection operation cannot be continued when there is an abnormality. It is set as a condition regarding.

  In order to determine such an abnormal transient state, in step S305 of this embodiment, the temperature of compressed air discharged from the air compressor 24, the temperature of hydrogen gas discharged from the hydrogen pump 65, and the temperature of the inverter 36 are calculated. Detected. For such detection, an air temperature sensor 54 is provided in a flow path from which compressed air is discharged from the air compressor 24, and a portion where compressed hydrogen is discharged from the hydrogen pump 65 in the anode exhaust gas path 63. Is provided with a hydrogen temperature sensor 56 (see FIG. 1). Further, the inverter 36 is provided with a temperature sensor (not shown) that detects the temperature of the inverter 36. In step S305, the control unit 70 acquires detection signals from these sensors.

  Air and hydrogen gas are heated by being compressed by the air compressor 24 and the hydrogen pump 65, respectively. However, when any abnormality occurs in the air compressor 24 or the hydrogen pump 65, the temperature of the air or hydrogen gas is set to a predetermined temperature. It may rise gradually beyond this. In addition, when an abnormality occurs in the inverter 36, the temperature of the inverter 36 may gradually rise beyond a predetermined temperature. In this embodiment, each of the compressed air, hydrogen gas, and inverter 36 temperature is a temperature that exceeds the normal temperature range, and is an abnormal time when the fuel cell device 20 should be stopped. Is determined in advance, and stored in the control unit 70 in advance. Further, an abnormal transient reference temperature for determining that the temperature is between the normal temperature range and the abnormal reference temperature and is in an abnormal transient state is determined in advance and stored in the control unit 70. is doing. In step S310, it is determined whether or not an abnormal transient state is present, depending on whether or not at least one of the three types of temperatures exceeds the abnormal transient reference temperature.

  In step S310 of FIG. 7, when the determination unit 74 determines that the abnormal transient state is satisfied, the determination result is transmitted to the FC forced operation unit 76 of the control unit 70. Thereafter, processing similar to that in step S220 in FIG. 6 is executed (step S320), and a drive signal is output to each part of the power supply device 15 so as to realize the determined power distribution, and the FC operation mode is controlled ( Step S330), this routine is finished.

In step S <b> 310, when the determination unit 74 determines that none of the abnormal transient states is satisfied, the determination result is transmitted to the output control unit 72 of the control unit 70. Thereafter, the output control unit 72 outputs a drive signal to each unit of the power supply device 15 according to the power distribution corresponding to the intermittent operation mode transmitted in step S160 of the operation control processing routine, similarly to step S240 of FIG. Thus, the intermittent operation mode control in which the secondary battery 30 outputs power corresponding to the power supply device required power P _req is executed (step S340), and this routine is terminated.

  Further, if it is determined in step S300 that the operation is in the intermittent operation mode, the fuel cell device 20 has already been stopped, so that it is not necessary to make a determination regarding the abnormal transient state. Therefore, the control unit 70 proceeds to step S340 as it is, performs control to continue the intermittent operation mode, and ends this routine.

According to the power supply unit 15 of the real施例configured as described above, any of the air compressor 24 and the hydrogen pump 65 and the inverter 36, when it is detected an abnormal transient state, the fuel cell device 20 Therefore, when an abnormality has actually occurred, the operation for detecting the abnormality can be continued. When intermittent operation is performed in an abnormal transient state that is a stage before abnormality and the fuel cell device 20 is stopped, the air compressor 24 and the like that are determined to be in an abnormal transient state while the temperature is rising are stopped. Lower the temperature. Therefore, when the fuel cell device 20 is started next time, it takes time to raise the temperature corresponding to the abnormal transient state and further to the reference temperature at the time of abnormality. It will take a longer time to be detected. In this embodiment, when it is determined that the state is an abnormal transient state, the fuel cell device 20 is not stopped. Therefore, when an abnormality occurs in the air compressor 24 or the like, it is possible to quickly detect the abnormality.

In the real施例, it is assumed that detects an abnormal transient state in an air compressor 24 hydrogen pump 65 and the inverter 36. For other fuel cell auxiliary machinery included in the fuel cell device 20, to perform the same determination It is also good. When the fuel cell device 20 is stopped, the abnormal transient state that was being detected is eliminated, and when there is an actual abnormality, the abnormality is not detected. If an abnormal transient state is detected, the same effect can be obtained. For example, the temperature of anode exhaust gas or cathode exhaust gas discharged from the fuel cell 22 may be measured to detect that the fuel cell 22 is in an abnormal transitional state accompanied by a temperature rise. Alternatively, the pressure of anode exhaust gas or cathode exhaust gas discharged from the fuel cell 22 is measured, and the fuel cell 22 is in an abnormal state (such as damage to the electrolyte membrane) accompanied by a decrease in the exhaust gas pressure. It may be detected.

E. Variations:
The present invention is not limited to the above-described examples and embodiments, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the gist thereof. For example, the following modifications are possible.

E1. Modification 1:
In embodiments Oyo BiMinoru施例embodiment according to the present invention, determination of whether to stop the fuel cell unit 20 is performed based on the energy efficiency of the whole power supply unit 15. On the other hand, the above determination is made by further considering conditions other than energy efficiency or based on conditions other than energy efficiency, and control using the secondary battery 30 is performed by stopping the fuel cell device 20. It is also good. Even when the determination is based on conditions other than energy efficiency, the same effect can be obtained if the stop of the fuel cell device 20 is canceled based on the performance degradation prediction condition or the abnormal transient state.

E2. Modification 2:
In embodiments Oyo BiMinoru施例embodiment according to the present invention is based on a power supply 15 and a fuel cell device 20 and the secondary battery 30, instead of the battery 30, or in addition to the battery 30 Furthermore, the present invention can be similarly applied to an energy output device including an internal combustion engine. If the internal combustion engine is mounted on the vehicle together with the fuel cell device, power for driving the vehicle can be obtained from both the motor supplied with electric power from the fuel cell device and the internal combustion engine. As described above, in an energy output device including a plurality of energy output sources including a fuel cell, the present invention can be applied when energy is output to the outside using at least one of the energy output sources. In such an energy output device, when performing control to stop the power generation of the fuel cell under a predetermined condition based on energy efficiency or the like, the stop of the fuel cell device 20 is stopped based on the performance degradation prediction condition or the abnormal transient state. If cancellation is performed, the same effect can be obtained.

E3. Modification 3:
In embodiments Oyo BiMinoru施例embodiment according to the present invention, a fuel cell system 20 supplies a high purity hydrogen gas to the anode, a configuration for circulating the anode exhaust gas to the anode, and different configurations You can also. For example, the present invention can be similarly applied to a power supply device including a fuel cell device having a reformer that generates hydrogen by reforming a hydrocarbon-based fuel such as gasoline or alcohol. As a power supply device including a fuel cell device having a reformer, a secondary battery is further provided, a secondary battery is used as a main power source, a fuel cell is mainly used for charging the secondary battery, and the secondary battery is fully charged. In some cases, a configuration in which power generation of the fuel cell device is stopped is conceivable. In such a power supply device, even if it is determined that the secondary battery is fully charged and the fuel cell device is stopped, the stop of the fuel cell device is released based on the performance degradation prediction condition or the abnormal transient state. If so, the same effect can be obtained.

In such a configuration, the impurity concentration in the gas containing the electrode active material, which is one of the performance deterioration prediction conditions, can be the impurity concentration (for example, carbon monoxide concentration ) in the reformed gas. When the impurity concentration in the reformed gas is high, by continuing to operate the fuel cell device, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the temperature of the reformer and the temperature of the reactor equipped with a catalyst for purifying the reformed gas. . Therefore, by stopping the fuel cell device, the temperature of the reformer or reactor decreases, and when the fuel cell device is started next time, the impurity concentration in the reformed gas further increases and exceeds the allowable range. Can be prevented.

E4. Modification 4:
In embodiments Oyo BiMinoru施例embodiment according to the present invention, it is assumed that includes the power supply device 15 including a fuel cell device 20 in the electric vehicle 10, the energy output device such as a power supply device including a fuel cell device, It may be a stationary type.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Electric vehicle 15 ... Power supply device 20 ... Fuel cell apparatus 22 ... Fuel cell 23 ... Hydrogen tank 24 ... Air compressor 25 ... Humidification module 26 ... Diluter 27 ... Gas-liquid separator 28 ... Air flow meter 29 ... Radiator 30 ... Secondary Battery 31 ... Remaining capacity monitor 32 ... DC / DC converter 33 ... Drive motor 34 ... Auxiliary motor 35,36 ... Inverter 37 ... Output shaft 38 ... Deceleration gear 39 ... Vehicle drive shaft 40 ... Cooling section 41 ... Cooling water channel 42 ... Cooling Pump 43, 44 ... Temperature sensor 50 ... Wiring 52 ... Switch 54 ... Air temperature sensor 56 ... Hydrogen temperature sensor 60 ... Hydrogen gas supply path 61 ... Pressure reducing valve 62 ... Pressure regulating valve 63 ... Anode exhaust gas path 64 ... Exhaust gas discharge path 65 ... Hydrogen pump 66 ... On-off valve 67 ... Oxidizing gas supply path 68 ... Cathode exhaust gas path 69 ... Exhaust gas branch Road 70 ... Control unit 72 ... Output control unit 74 ... Determining unit 76 ... FC forced operation unit

Claims (3)

An energy output device comprising a plurality of energy output sources including a fuel cell and outputting energy to the outside using at least one of the plurality of energy output sources,
When the fuel cell generates power, a fuel cell auxiliary machine that operates along with power generation;
When the fuel cell is used when outputting energy from the energy output device, under the condition that the energy efficiency of the entire fuel cell system including the fuel cell and the fuel cell auxiliary device is judged to be reduced, An output control unit that stops power generation of the fuel cell and outputs energy from an energy output source other than the fuel cell ;
Detecting an operating state of the fuel cell auxiliary machinery during power generation of the previous SL fuel cell, based on the detected operating state, the abnormal transient state the fuel cell auxiliary machinery is transient state before it is determined that abnormality A determination unit for determining whether or not
When the determination unit determines that the fuel cell auxiliary machine is in an abnormal transition state, an FC forcible operation unit that continues power generation of the fuel cell regardless of whether or not the predetermined condition is satisfied. Output device. The energy output device of claim 1, further comprising:
The determination unit detects the temperature of the fuel cell auxiliary device, and determines that the fuel cell auxiliary device is in an abnormal transient state if the temperature of the fuel cell auxiliary device is equal to or higher than a predetermined reference temperature. . A control method for an energy output device comprising a plurality of energy output sources including a fuel cell and outputting energy to the outside using at least one of the plurality of energy output sources,
(A) an FC power generation mode in which the fuel cell generates power based on conditions based on energy efficiency of the entire fuel cell system including the fuel cell and a fuel cell auxiliary device when energy is output from the energy output device; A step of selecting any operation mode of FC stop mode in which power generation of the fuel cell is stopped and energy is output from an energy output source other than the fuel cell;
(B) Detecting the operating state of the fuel cell auxiliary machine that operates in conjunction with the power generation of the fuel cell, and in a transient state before the fuel cell auxiliary machine is determined to be abnormal based on the detected operating state Determining whether or not there is a certain abnormal transient state;
(C) When the FC stop mode is selected in the step (a) when it is determined in the step (b) that the fuel cell auxiliary device is in an abnormal transient state, the FC stop mode Deselecting, and
(D) When the selection of the FC stop mode is canceled in the step (c), drive control of the fuel cell and an energy output source other than the fuel cell is performed so as to enter the FC power generation mode. And (c) a step of performing the drive control so as to be in the operation mode selected in the step (a) when the selection is not canceled in the step (c).

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