JP3421607B2 - Fuel cell cylinder unit - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement of a fuel cell cylinder unit accommodating a plurality of hydrogen cylinders.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, there is known a fuel cell having a fuel cell stack in an outer case for generating electric power by reacting fuel with oxygen in the air. In this type, when operating the fuel cell for a long time, it is necessary to prepare a plurality of hydrogen cylinders filled with hydrogen to be supplied to the fuel cell stack. The ones stored in are proposed.

[0003]

However, in the conventional structure, auxiliary components such as the hydrogen sensor, the pressure sensor, the pressure reducing valve, etc. are stored in the cylinder unit body as they are, and are mistakenly stored when the hydrogen cylinder is replaced. There is a problem that a hydrogen cylinder hits these auxiliary machines and destroys these auxiliary machines.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a fuel cell cylinder unit in which auxiliary machines such as a hydrogen sensor, a pressure sensor, and a pressure reducing valve are not hit by a hydrogen cylinder and the auxiliary machines are not destroyed. is there.

[0005]

The invention according to claim 1 is
In a fuel cell cylinder unit that stores a plurality of hydrogen cylinders filled with hydrogen to be supplied to a fuel cell stack, a space is formed at approximately the center of the cylinder unit main body, and a space is formed at both sides of the space at the center. , A plurality of hydrogen cylinders are arranged, and a hydrogen sensor is provided in the central space,
A storage box for storing a pressure sensor, a pressure reducing valve, etc. is arranged.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the storage box is provided with a ventilation fan.

According to these inventions, the auxiliary devices such as the hydrogen sensor, the pressure sensor, the pressure reducing valve, etc. are housed in the storage box and are not exposed as they are in the conventional case. As a result, the hydrogen cylinders do not hit these auxiliary machines, and damage to these auxiliary machines can be prevented.
Further, since the storage box is provided with a ventilation fan, hydrogen gas leaking into the cylinder unit is carried into the storage box through the ventilation port by the ventilation fan, and the gas leak is detected by the hydrogen sensor in the storage box. Therefore, the operation of this fuel cell can be safely stopped.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an outer case of the fuel cell. In the exterior case 1, a solid polymer fuel cell stack 3 that reacts fuel with oxygen in air to generate electric power is provided. A fuel supply system 10 and an air supply system 20 are connected to the fuel cell stack 3.

The fuel supply system 10 comprises a fuel cell cylinder unit 11 accommodating a plurality of hydrogen cylinders. The fuel cell cylinder unit 11 is connected to a fuel supply side of the fuel cell stack 3 via a fuel supply conduit 12. It is connected to the.
The air supply system 20 includes an air fan 21, and the air fan 21 is connected to the fuel cell stack 3 via an air supply line 22.
Is connected to the air supply side of.

Further, the polymer electrolyte fuel cell stack 3
The fuel exhaust pipe line 30 and the air exhaust pipe line 40 are connected to the exhaust side of.

As shown in FIG. 2, the fuel cell stack 3 includes a gas separator 3a, a ribbed substrate 3b, a hydrogen electrode (anode) 3c, an electrolyte 3d, an oxygen electrode (cathode) 3e, and a ribbed substrate. Cell 1 in combination with 3f
00, and each cell 100 is laminated.

Then, hydrogen is supplied to the hydrogen electrode (anode) 3c as shown by the arrow X1, oxygen is supplied to the oxygen electrode (cathode) 3e as shown by the arrow X2, and this oxygen is supplied as shown in FIG. React with hydrogen to cause electron ions to flow from the hydrogen electrode 3c to the oxygen electrode 3e, and as a result, electric power is output.

In this embodiment, the fuel cell cylinder unit 11 is provided with a cylinder unit main body 51 having a box-shaped appearance, as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6. A space 52 is formed substantially in the center of the cylinder unit main body 51, and a plurality of hydrogen cylinders 53 are arranged on both sides of the space 52.

Each hydrogen cylinder 53 is leaned vertically with its mouth 53a facing upward, and each hydrogen cylinder 53 has its body 5
The middle of 3b is connected and fixed by a band 55 to a support bar 54 fixed to the cylinder unit body 51.

The mouth 53a of each hydrogen cylinder 53 has a gas pipe 5
This gas pipe 56 is connected to a single gas extraction pipe 57 as shown in FIG. 4 after connecting and gathering the mouth portions 53a of the respective hydrogen cylinders 53, and the gas pipe 56 is connected to the gas extraction pipe 57. Has a hydrogen outlet 58. A pressure reducing valve 61 for reducing the gas pressure when hydrogen is taken out, a pressure sensor 62 for detecting the hydrogen gas pressure, and the like are connected to the gas pipe 56.

A storage box 63 is installed in the space 52, and the pressure reducing valve 61 and the pressure sensor 62 described above are stored in the storage box 63, and the hydrogen sensor 59 for detecting hydrogen gas leakage or the seismic intensity. The sensor 64 and the like are stored.

Since the storage box 63 is installed in the space above the space 52 as shown in FIG.
1. Maintenance of the pressure sensor 62, the hydrogen sensor 59, etc. is easy. Also, the ventilation fan 6 is installed in the storage box 63.
5, the hydrogen gas and the like leaking into the cylinder unit 11 are carried into the storage box 63 by the ventilation fan 65 through the ventilation port 63a (FIG. 6) of the storage box 63.
Therefore, gas leakage is detected by the hydrogen sensor 59 in the storage box 63, and the operation of the fuel cell can be safely stopped.

In this embodiment, the fuel cell cylinder unit 11 is breathable and has a waterproofing means. Figure 6
As shown in FIG. 2, opening / closing doors 66 are provided on both side surfaces of the cylinder unit main body 51, and the hydrogen cylinders 53 are taken out by opening the opening / closing doors 66.

In this embodiment, auxiliary devices such as the hydrogen sensor 59, seismic intensity sensor 64, pressure sensor 62, pressure reducing valve 61,
Since it is stored in the storage box 63 and is not exposed as it is in the conventional case, it is possible to prevent damage to these auxiliary machines without accidentally hitting the hydrogen cylinders 53 on these auxiliary machines when replacing the hydrogen cylinders 53. .

Although the present invention has been described based on the embodiment, it is obvious that the present invention is not limited to this.

[0022]

According to the present invention, auxiliary devices such as a hydrogen sensor, a pressure sensor, and a pressure reducing valve are housed in a storage box and are not left exposed as they are in the conventional case. Since hydrogen cylinders do not hit these auxiliary machines, damage to these auxiliary machines can be prevented. Further, since the storage box is provided with a ventilation fan, hydrogen gas leaking into the cylinder unit is carried into the storage box through the ventilation port by the ventilation fan, and the gas leak is detected by the hydrogen sensor in the storage box. Therefore, the operation of this fuel cell can be safely stopped.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a fuel cell according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a fuel cell stack.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the principle of a fuel cell.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a fuel cell cylinder unit.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a cylinder unit for a fuel cell.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a cylinder unit for a fuel cell.

[Explanation of symbols]

3 Fuel cell stack 11 Fuel cell cylinder unit 51 cylinder unit 52 Space 53 Hydrogen cylinder 55 bands 56 gas pipe 58 Hydrogen outlet 59 Hydrogen sensor 61 Pressure reducing valve 62 Pressure sensor 63 storage boxes 64 Seismic intensity sensor 65 ventilation fan

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01M 8/00-8/24 F17C 13/00

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A fuel cell cylinder unit for accommodating a plurality of hydrogen cylinders filled with hydrogen to be supplied to a fuel cell stack, wherein a space portion is formed substantially at the center of a cylinder unit body, and the space portion at the substantially center is formed. A plurality of hydrogen cylinders are disposed on both sides of the fuel cell, and a storage box for storing a hydrogen sensor, a pressure sensor, a pressure reducing valve, etc. is disposed in the central space portion. . 2. The cylinder unit for a fuel cell according to claim 1, wherein the storage box is provided with a ventilation fan.