JP6561595B2 - Fuel cell system - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to a fuel cell system mounted on vehicles.

  A ventilation device is installed on the front side of the vehicle in the motor room where the motor is installed.The ventilation device takes the driving wind into the motor room and sends it under the floor of the passenger compartment. Further ventilation is provided behind the fuel cell stack mounted under the passenger compartment floor. The structure of the vehicle which has arrange | positioned the device is disclosed (refer patent document 1).

JP 2010/04649 A

  In the above-described vehicle, a space for arranging the fuel cell stack is secured under the floor of the passenger compartment. However, there are some vehicles in which it is difficult to arrange the fuel cell stack under the floor. In such a vehicle, when the fuel cell stack is arranged in the motor room, the air exhausted from the heat exchange device such as a ventilation device is shielded by the fuel cell stack or auxiliary machinery, and the amount of air passing through the heat exchange device Will fall.

  As described above, if a fuel cell stack or a battery, for example, is arranged as a driving means for driving the vehicle in addition to the motor, the pressure loss of the air discharged from the heat exchange device becomes large, and heat exchange is performed. There is a problem that the passing air volume of the apparatus is lowered.

The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object thereof is to provide a fuel cell system to secure the amount of air passing through the heat exchanger provided in the room to place the driving means.

  The present invention solves the above problems by the following means.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the vehicle is provided in a room in which driving means for driving the vehicle is disposed, and performs heat exchange using air flowing in from the front of the vehicle, and the heat exchange at least a portion of the air discharged from the apparatus, viewed including an exhaust means for discharging to the rear, the than the drive unit, the heat exchanger device includes a radiator to dissipate heat to the air, a fan for passing air to the radiator The exhaust means includes a passage disposed from the fan to the rear of the room, the passage joins an exhaust passage disposed rearward of the room, and the passage and the exhaust passage are exhaust gas flowing through the passage. The exhaust gas flowing through the exhaust passage flows in the same direction and merges so as to be adjacent to each other .

  According to the present invention, by extending the exhaust means from the heat exchange device to the rear of the motor room 100, even if a large number of devices are arranged behind the heat exchange device, the amount of air passing through the heat exchange device is ensured. be able to.

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle in the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a view showing a passage for discharging part of the air discharged from the fan of the radiator. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between fan exhaust pressure loss and radiator passing air volume. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a passage of air discharged from the fan. FIG. 5 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of the vehicle in the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of the vehicle in the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of the vehicle in the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle in the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The vehicle 1 has a motor room 100 in which the motor 10 is arranged in front of the passenger compartment 101. The motor room 100 is a room in which driving means for driving the vehicle 1 is arranged.

  In the motor room 100, the motor 10, the drive unit 20, the heat exchange device 30, and the heat exchange device exhaust passage 40 are arranged.

  The motor 10 is a driving unit that drives the vehicle 1. The motor 10 rotates the wheels of the vehicle 1.

  The drive unit 20 is a drive unit for driving the vehicle 1. The drive unit 20 is disposed above the motor 10. The drive unit 20 includes, for example, a fuel cell stack that supplies electric power to the motor 10, an auxiliary device of the fuel cell stack, and the like. Examples of the auxiliary device of the fuel cell stack include an air compressor that supplies air to the fuel cell stack and a humidifier that humidifies the inside of the fuel cell stack.

  The heat exchange device 30 is provided in front of the drive unit 20. The heat exchange device 30 is a device that performs heat exchange using air flowing in from the front of the vehicle 1. The heat exchange device 30 includes a radiator 31 and a fan 32.

  The radiator 31 is disposed on the vehicle front side of the motor room 100. In the present embodiment, the radiator 31 has the upper end portion of the radiator 31 inclined toward the drive unit 20 rather than the lower end portion. The radiator 31 is a heat exchanger that performs heat exchange between the heat of the refrigerant that flows inside the radiator 31 and the air that flows in from the front of the vehicle 1.

  The radiator 31 cools the refrigerant by, for example, traveling wind of the vehicle 1. In the present embodiment, the radiator 31 dissipates the heat of the refrigerant for cooling the drive unit 20 into the air passing through the radiator 31.

  The fan 32 is disposed behind the radiator 31 at an angle in the same manner as the radiator 31. The fan 32 is a fan that sucks air in front of the vehicle and supplies the air to the radiator 31. For example, the fan 32 is driven while the vehicle 1 is stopped, and allows the radiator 31 to pass air in front of the vehicle.

  The heat exchange device exhaust passage 40 is a discharge unit that discharges part of the air discharged from the heat exchange device 30 to the rear of the drive unit 20. The heat exchange device exhaust passage 40 includes a duct connection portion 41 and an exhaust duct 42.

  The duct connection part 41 connects a part of the fan 32 and the exhaust duct 42. The duct connecting portion 41 is formed so as to cover a part on the discharge side of the fan 32 so that the air discharged from the fan 32 passes through the exhaust duct 42. In the present embodiment, the duct connection portion 41 is formed so as to cover the lower portion of the exhaust port of the fan 32. Since the radiator 31 is disposed obliquely, the area covering the fan 32 is increased by disposing the duct connecting portion 41 at the lower portion of the fan 32, and the exhaust air volume behind the fan 32 can be improved.

  The exhaust duct 42 passes between the drive unit 20 and the motor 10 disposed on the upper side in the vertical direction of the motor 10 and extends to the rear of the motor room 100.

  FIG. 2 is a front view showing an example of the duct connecting portion 41 constituting the heat exchange device exhaust passage 40. In FIG. 2, the duct connection portion 41 is indicated by a solid line, and the fan 32 is indicated by a broken line.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the duct connection portion 41 is formed in an inferior arc (arc) shape so as to cover a part of the exhaust port of the fan 32. The duct connection portion 41 joined to a part of the fan 32 is connected to the open end of the exhaust duct 42. The exhaust duct 42 is formed in a circular shape.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a decrease in exhaust pressure loss of the fan 32 due to the heat exchange device exhaust passage 40.

  FIG. 3 shows fan characteristics representing the relationship between the exhaust pressure loss of the fan 32 and the passing air volume. Note that the exhaust pressure loss of the fan 32 is the air resistance behind the fan 32. In FIG. 3, the vertical axis indicates the exhaust pressure loss of the fan 32, and the horizontal axis indicates the amount of air passing through the radiator 31 when the fan 32 is driven.

  The exhaust pressure loss P0 is a pressure loss when the heat exchange device exhaust passage 40 is not provided behind the fan 32. The drive unit 20 disposed behind the fan 32 serves as a shield, and the exhaust pressure loss of the fan 32 is increased.

  The exhaust pressure loss P <b> 1 in the present embodiment is a pressure loss when the heat exchange device exhaust passage 40 is disposed behind the fan 32. By extending the heat exchange device exhaust passage 40 from the exhaust port of the fan 32 to the rear of the motor room 100, the exhaust pressure loss P1 is larger than the exhaust pressure loss P0 when the heat exchange device exhaust passage 40 is not provided. It is getting smaller.

As shown in FIG. 3, by providing the heat exchange device exhaust passage 40 in the motor room 100, the exhaust pressure loss of the fan 32 is reduced from the pressure loss P0 to the pressure loss P1, so the amount of air passing through the radiator 31 by the fan 32 Increases from the passing air volume F0 to the passing air volume F1. For example, just by reducing the exhaust pressure loss of the fan 32 by 20 (kPa), the passage flow rate of the radiator 31 increases by about 300 (m ³ / h).

  Thus, by extending the heat exchange device exhaust passage 40 to the rear of the drive unit 20, the passage flow rate of the radiator 31 can be improved. For this reason, since the cooling performance of the radiator 31 is ensured, for example, the situation where the temperature of the drive unit 20 rises too much and the drive unit 20 is forcibly stopped can be avoided.

  According to the first embodiment of the present invention, in the motor room 100 in which the drive unit 20 for driving the vehicle 1 is arranged, the heat exchange device 30 that performs heat exchange using air flowing from the front of the vehicle 1 is provided. Is provided. The motor room 100 is provided with a heat exchanger exhaust passage 40 that exhausts at least part of the air discharged from the heat exchanger 30 to the rear of the drive unit 20.

  Thus, even if the drive unit 20 is arranged behind the heat exchange device 30 by extending the heat exchange device exhaust passage 40 through which a part of the exhaust gas of the heat exchange device 30 passes to the rear of the motor room 100, heat exchange is performed. The passing air volume of the device 30 can be ensured. For this reason, it can be avoided that the temperature of the drive unit 20 becomes too high due to a decrease in the cooling performance of the heat exchange device 30.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the heat exchange device 30 includes a radiator 31 that cools the drive unit 20 and a fan 32 that allows air flowing from the front of the vehicle 1 to pass through the radiator 31. The heat exchanger exhaust passage 40 includes an exhaust duct 42 disposed from the fan 32 to the rear of the motor room 100.

  As described above, when the fan 32 is rotationally driven to dissipate the heat from the radiator 31, the exhaust duct 42 is disposed up to the rear of the motor room 100, thereby exhausting the rear of the fan 32 as shown in FIG. 3. Pressure loss can be reduced. Thereby, since the passing air volume of the radiator 31 increases, overheating of the drive unit 20 can be avoided.

  In the present embodiment, the exhaust duct 42 extends to the rear of the motor room 100. However, in a vehicle having an exhaust pipe for exhausting air behind the floor 102, the exhaust duct 42 is connected to the exhaust pipe. You may connect.

  FIG. 4 is a plan view illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of the vehicle 1 in which the exhaust duct 42 is connected to the exhaust pipe 50.

  The exhaust pipe 50 is an exhaust passage disposed behind the motor room 100. For example, the exhaust pipe 50 may exhaust air discharged from the fuel cell stack. Alternatively, the exhaust pipe 50 may exhaust gas discharged from the engine.

  The exhaust duct 42 is connected to an exhaust pipe 50 provided behind the vehicle interior 101. Thereby, the air discharged from the fan 32 can be discharged to the outside of the vehicle 1 without being shielded by the equipment arranged behind the motor room 100. Therefore, an increase in exhaust pressure loss behind the motor room 100 can be suppressed.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, the configuration of the vehicle when the fuel cell stack is mounted in the motor room 100 as the drive unit 20 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 5 is a side view showing an example of a schematic configuration of the fuel cell system 200 mounted in the motor room 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  The fuel cell system 200 is a power supply system that supplies a cathode gas and an anode gas to the fuel cell stack 20A and generates power in the fuel cell stack 20A according to an electric load such as the motor 10.

  The fuel cell system 200 includes a fuel cell stack 20A, a stack exhaust device 21, a radiator 31, a fan 32, and a heat exchange device exhaust passage 40A.

  The fuel cell stack 20A is configured by stacking a plurality of fuel cells. The fuel cell stack 20A is supplied with air as a cathode gas from a cathode gas supply device (not shown) and with hydrogen as an anode gas from an anode gas supply device (not shown). The fuel cell stack 20A is formed with a passage through which cooling water passes for each fuel cell.

  The cathode gas supply device includes an air compressor that supplies air to the fuel cell stack 20A, and the air compressor is disposed above or below the fuel cell stack 20A, for example. The anode gas supply device is a device that supplies anode gas to the fuel cell stack 20A, and includes a high-pressure tank, a pressure regulating valve, and the like. In the present embodiment, the high pressure tank is not provided in the motor room 100.

  Around the fuel cell stack 20A, as the drive unit 20, for example, an air compressor, a humidifier of the fuel cell stack 20A, a buffer tank, a measuring device for measuring the cell voltage of the fuel cell stack 20A, a power control unit, and the like are arranged. Is done.

  The stack exhaust device 21 is a device that exhausts the air discharged from the fuel cell stack 20A to the rear of the vehicle 1 as shown in FIG. The stack exhaust device 21 includes a stack exhaust passage 211 and a pressure regulating valve 212.

  The stack exhaust passage 211 extends downward from the fuel cell stack 20 </ b> A in the vertical direction and is bent toward the lower floor 102 of the vehicle interior 101. A stack exhaust passage 211 behind the motor room 100 passes through the under floor 102 and extends to the rear of the vehicle 1. In the present embodiment, the stack exhaust passage 211 joins the exhaust pipe 50 shown in FIG.

  The pressure regulating valve 212 is a valve that adjusts the pressure of the air supplied to the fuel cell stack 20A. In the fuel cell system 200, the anode gas discharge passage for discharging the anode gas from the fuel cell stack 20A is joined to the stack exhaust passage 211 downstream of the pressure regulating valve 212. Accordingly, hydrogen discharged from the fuel cell stack 20A is diluted using the air passing through the stack exhaust passage 211.

  In the present embodiment, the radiator 31 cools the cooling water of the fuel cell stack 20A. The radiator 31 is connected to a cooling water circulation passage (not shown). The fan 32 supplies air to the radiator 31 as described in FIG.

  The heat exchange device exhaust passage 40A is a radiator exhaust unit that exhausts air exhausted from the fan 32 to the rear of the fuel cell stack 20A. In the present embodiment, the heat exchange device exhaust passage 40A merges with the stack exhaust passage 211 of the fuel cell stack 20A.

  The heat exchange device exhaust passage 40A includes a duct connection portion 41 and an exhaust duct 42A. The duct connecting portion 41 is the same as that shown in FIG.

  The exhaust duct 42A is connected to the stack exhaust passage 211. In the present embodiment, the exhaust duct 42A and the stack exhaust passage 211 are disposed in parallel to each other, and a part of the exhaust duct 42A communicates with a part of the stack exhaust passage 211. That is, the exhaust duct 42A is formed so as to cover a part of the stack exhaust passage 211.

  As described above, by joining the exhaust duct 42A to the stack exhaust passage 211, the air flow rate from the exhaust duct 42A is added to the stack exhaust passage 211 downstream of the pressure regulating valve 212. To increase.

  The air flow rate in the stack exhaust passage 211 is used to dilute the hydrogen discharged from the fuel cell stack 20A. For this reason, the air compressor that supplies air to the fuel cell stack 20A is controlled so that the discharge flow rate is at least equal to or higher than the hydrogen dilution flow rate necessary for hydrogen dilution.

  In a situation where the discharge flow rate of the air compressor is controlled to be the hydrogen dilution flow rate, the discharge flow rate of the air compressor can be reduced by the flow rate of air flowing from the exhaust duct 42A into the stack exhaust passage 211. . Therefore, the power consumption of the air compressor constituting the fuel cell system 200 can be suppressed by joining the exhaust duct 42A to the stack exhaust passage 211.

  According to the second embodiment of the present invention, in the motor room 100 in which the motor 10 that drives the vehicle 1 is arranged, the radiator 31, the fan 32 that allows the air to pass through the radiator 31, and the fan 32 are arranged behind the fan 32. Fuel cell stack 20A. Furthermore, a heat exchange device exhaust passage 40 that exhausts a part of the air discharged from the fan 32 to the rear of the fuel cell stack 20A is provided.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 3, the exhaust pressure loss of the fan 32 decreases, so that the flow rate of the radiator 31 can be increased, and the cooling performance of the radiator 31 can be ensured. For this reason, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the temperature of the fuel cell stack 20A is excessively increased and the fuel cell system 200 is forcibly stopped.

  Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, the heat exchanger exhaust passage 40 is joined to the stack exhaust passage 211 that discharges the air discharged from the fuel cell stack 20A to the outside. In the present embodiment, the heat exchange device exhaust passage 40 </ b> A is formed so as to cover a part of the stack exhaust passage 211.

  Thus, in a situation where the air compressor that supplies air to the fuel cell stack 20A is controlled by the hydrogen dilution request, the rotation of the air compressor is equivalent to the amount of air that flows from the heat exchanger exhaust passage 40 into the stack exhaust passage 211. The speed can be reduced. Therefore, the power consumption of the air compressor constituting the fuel cell system 200 can be suppressed.

  In this way, the heat exchanger exhaust passage 40 is joined to the stack exhaust passage 211 that exhausts the exhaust from the fuel cell stack 20A to the rear, thereby preventing overheating of the fuel cell stack 20A and the power consumption of the fuel cell system 200. Can be reduced at the same time.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 6 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of the fuel cell system 201 according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

  The fuel cell system 201 has basically the same configuration as the fuel cell system 200 shown in FIG. 5, and the same components as those of the fuel cell system 200 are denoted by the same reference numerals. The fuel cell system 201 is different in the configuration of the stack exhaust passage 211 downstream from the pressure regulating valve 212.

  The stack exhaust passage 211 and the exhaust duct 42B downstream of the pressure regulating valve 212 are constituted by a double pipe. In the present embodiment, the stack exhaust passage 211 downstream of the pressure regulating valve 212 is covered with the exhaust duct 42B. That is, the exhaust duct 42B is formed so as to cover the entire stack exhaust passage 211.

  Thereby, the noise accompanying the exhaust_gas | exhaustion by the stack exhaust apparatus 21 can be reduced. For this reason, it is possible to reduce the amount of muffler wound around the stack exhaust passage 211 as a soundproofing measure.

  In addition, a check valve 213 is provided in the stack exhaust passage 211 downstream of the pressure regulating valve 212. The check valve 213 is a valve for preventing the air in the exhaust duct 42B from flowing back to the fuel cell stack 20A via the stack exhaust passage 211.

  Normally, the air flow rate in the exhaust duct 42A is several times the air flow rate in the stack exhaust passage 211. When the vehicle 1 is in the idle stop state, the flow rate of air discharged from the fuel cell stack 20A decreases and the pressure regulating valve 212 is opened, so that the air in the exhaust duct 42B flows back to the fuel cell stack 20A via the stack exhaust passage 211. It is assumed that For this reason, the check valve 213 is closed when the vehicle 1 enters the idle stop state.

  Alternatively, in the controller, whether the pressure of the exhaust duct 42A exceeds the pressure of the stack exhaust passage 211 based on the pressure of the air supplied to the fuel cell stack 20A, the temperature of the fuel cell stack 20A, the required power of the motor 10, etc. It may be determined whether or not. In this case, the controller closes the check valve 213 when it is determined that the pressure in the exhaust duct 42A exceeds the pressure in the stack exhaust passage 211.

  Thus, the cooling performance of the radiator 31 can be improved while avoiding the air in the exhaust duct 42B from flowing back to the fuel cell stack 20A.

  In this embodiment, the exhaust duct 42B is formed so as to cover the stack exhaust passage 211 from the upstream side of the check valve 213, but the exhaust duct 42B is covered so as to cover the stack exhaust passage 211 downstream of the check valve 213. May be formed. Even in such a configuration, the backflow of air from the exhaust duct 42B to the fuel cell stack 20A can be prevented by closing the check valve 213.

  According to the third embodiment of the present invention, the heat exchange device exhaust passage 40 </ b> B is formed so as to cover the entire stack exhaust passage 211. Thereby, noise generated when air is discharged from the fuel cell stack 20A through the stack exhaust passage 211 can be suppressed.

  The heat exchange device exhaust passage 40B is formed so as to cover the stack exhaust passage 211 downstream of the check valve 213. Thereby, the backflow of the air from the exhaust duct 42 to the fuel cell stack 20A can be prevented.

(Fourth embodiment)
FIG. 7 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of the vehicle 1 in the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

  In the present embodiment, an energy recovery mechanism 220 is arranged in the motor room 100 in addition to the configuration of the vehicle 1 shown in FIG. Since the configuration other than the energy recovery mechanism 220 is the same as that shown in FIG. 5, the same reference numerals as those in FIG.

  The energy recovery mechanism 220 is a mechanism that rotates the generator using wind power of air passing through the exhaust duct 42A. The energy recovery mechanism 220 rotates the generator by rotating a turbine provided in the exhaust duct 42A, for example. Alternatively, the energy recovery mechanism 220 may include an electric turbocharger. The energy recovery mechanism 220 charges the power recovered by the generator, for example, to a battery or supplies it to the motor 10.

  In this manner, by arranging the energy recovery mechanism 220 in the exhaust duct 42A, it is possible to effectively use surplus wind power while securing the amount of air passing through the fan 32.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described above. However, the above embodiment only shows a part of application examples of the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention is limited to the specific configuration of the above embodiment. Absent.

  In the above embodiment, the exhaust duct 42 is horizontally extended from the lower portion of the fan 32 to the underfloor 102. However, the exhaust duct 42 is extended from the upper portion or the central portion of the fan 32 to the underfloor 102 in accordance with the height of the motor 10 or the like. It may be.

  In the first embodiment, the motor 10 is arranged in the motor room 100. However, in the hybrid vehicle, the engine may be arranged in the motor room 100 in addition to the motor 10. Alternatively, an engine may be arranged instead of the motor 10. In such a case, the motor room 100 is referred to as an engine room because it is a room in which the engine is disposed.

  Further, in the first embodiment, the radiator 31 cools the refrigerant of the drive unit 20, but may cool the cooling water of the air conditioner of the passenger compartment 101 or the engine.

  In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the duct connection portion 41 covers a part of the exhaust port of the fan 32, but the duct connection portion 41 is formed so as to cover the entire exhaust port of the fan 32. May be. Even in such a case, the cooling performance of the heat exchange device 30 can be improved.

  Also, the piping path from the fan 32 to the exhaust pipe 50 shown in FIG. 4 is appropriately changed depending on the equipment arranged under the floor 102, its installation location, etc., and is limited to the path shown in FIG. It is not something.

  Moreover, although 1st Embodiment demonstrated the heat exchange apparatus 30 provided with the fan 32, even if it is a heat exchange apparatus which does not provide the fan 32 and heat-exchanges only by driving | running | working wind, it suppresses the fall of cooling performance. Can do.

  The fan 32 may be driven only when the traveling wind does not flow into the radiator 31, and may be always driven regardless of the amount of traveling wind flowing in.

  In addition, the said embodiment can be combined suitably.

1 vehicle 10 motor (driving means)
20 Drive unit (drive means)
20A Fuel cell stack (drive means)
21 Stack exhaust system (stack exhaust means, passage)
30 Heat Exchanger 31 Radiator 32 Fan 40 Heat Exchanger Exhaust Path (Exhaust Means, Radiator Exhaust Means)
42 Exhaust duct (passage)
50 Exhaust pipe (exhaust passage)
100 Motor room
200 Fuel Cell System 213 Check Valve

Claims (3)

A radiator provided in a room in which driving means for driving the vehicle is disposed;
A fan for passing air through the radiator;
A fuel cell stack disposed behind the fan;
Radiator exhaust means for discharging a part of the air discharged from the fan to the rear of the fuel cell stack,
The radiator exhaust means joins the stack exhaust means for discharging the air discharged from the fuel cell stack to the outside,
In the fuel cell system, the radiator exhaust means and the stack exhaust means join the exhaust gas flowing through the radiator exhaust means and the exhaust gas flowing through the stack exhaust means in the same direction and adjacent to each other. . The fuel cell system according to claim 1 ,
The radiator exhaust means is formed so as to cover at least a part of the stack exhaust means.
A fuel cell system. The fuel cell system according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein
The stack exhaust means includes a check valve that stops a reverse flow of air from the radiator exhaust means,
The radiator exhaust means is formed so as to cover the stack exhaust means downstream of the check valve.
A fuel cell system.

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