JP7643444B2 - Supply Station - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a supply station that can handle both charging electric vehicles and filling fuel cell vehicles with hydrogen.

In recent years, with environmental concerns in mind, electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles are expected to rapidly replace cars with internal combustion engines. However, amid the global trend toward moving away from engines, it is unclear whether electric vehicles or fuel cell vehicles will take the lead in the future. In this situation, the government is supporting the spread of both electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles by providing subsidies for the purchase of vehicles and the installation of supply equipment.

Under these circumstances, the present applicant has proposed a compact gas filling device that is easy to handle the filling hose and allows for rapid filling of fuel gas (see Patent Document 1). Although this proposal is effective, the construction and operating costs of hydrogen stations are high, hindering the development of infrastructure such as supply equipment, which is necessary as next-generation vehicles become more widespread.

Patent Document 2 also proposes a supply station that can simultaneously or separately charge electric vehicles and fill fuel cell vehicles with hydrogen, and dynamically adjust charging and hydrogen filling according to the demand of electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles.

JP 2014-109350 A Special Publication No. 2021-517549

However, for example, at event venues where next-generation vehicles are test-driven, it is necessary to charge and refuel each vehicle with hydrogen. However, considering safety and the installation space required, it is not realistic to permanently set up the supply stations described in the above patent documents.

The present invention aims to provide a supply station that can be used safely and conveniently even in limited spaces.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned objective, the present invention is a supply station comprising a hydrogen tank, a hydrogen filling mechanism for filling a fuel cell vehicle with hydrogen from the hydrogen tank, and a charging mechanism for converting hydrogen from the hydrogen tank into electricity and charging the electric vehicle, wherein the hydrogen filling mechanism and/or the charging mechanism are movable, and when the hydrogen tank becomes low pressure and can no longer be used to fill the fuel cell vehicle with hydrogen, the hydrogen in the hydrogen tank is converted into electricity via an FC module for charging .

According to the present invention, the hydrogen filling mechanism and/or charging mechanism is movable, making it possible to fill hydrogen and charge electrically in a variety of locations, minimizing installation space , and enabling hydrogen in the hydrogen tank that has become low pressure and can no longer be used to fill the fuel cell vehicle with hydrogen to be effectively utilized without waste via the FC module .

At the supply station, the hydrogen filling mechanism is equipped with multiple hydrogen tanks, and by selecting one of the multiple hydrogen tanks to supply hydrogen from depending on the initial pressure of the fuel tank of the fuel cell vehicle, hydrogen can be supplied from the most suitable hydrogen tank, improving supply efficiency.

The charging mechanism is also equipped with multiple storage batteries, and by selecting one of the multiple storage batteries to be charged depending on the initial voltage of the electric vehicle's storage batteries, charging can be performed from the optimal storage battery, improving supply efficiency.

Furthermore, by installing the electrical equipment that constitutes the hydrogen filling mechanism and charging mechanism within an explosion-proof area, accidents such as sparks or heat generated in the electrical circuits igniting the hydrogen gas can be prevented, making the system safe.

In addition, by supplying power to the electrical equipment that constitutes the hydrogen filling mechanism and charging mechanism from the charging mechanism, there is no transmission loss and it is efficient.

As described above, the present invention provides a supply station that can be used safely and effectively even in a limited space.

1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a supply station according to the present invention; 2 is a flow chart showing a hydrogen filling operation of the supply station of FIG. 1 . 2 is a flow chart showing the charging operation of the supply station of FIG. 1;

Next, the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Figure 1 shows one embodiment of a supply station according to the present invention. This supply station 1 is equipped with a hydrogen tank 2 (2A-2D), a hydrogen filling mechanism 4 that fills hydrogen from the hydrogen tank 2 into a fuel cell vehicle 23, and a charging mechanism 13 that converts hydrogen from the hydrogen tank 2 into electricity to charge an electric vehicle 24. The hydrogen tank 2, hydrogen filling mechanism 4, and charging mechanism 13 are fixed to a base of a trailer 22.

The hydrogen filling mechanism 4 comprises a first switching means 5 for switching the flow path of the hydrogen being filled, a compressor 6, a pressure accumulator 7, a charger 9, and a pressure release valve 10. The compressor 6 and pressure accumulator 7, which are electrically powered devices, are placed in an explosion-proof area 8 to prevent accidents such as sparks or heat generated in the electrical circuit igniting the hydrogen gas.

The charging mechanism 13 comprises a pressure reducing valve 11, a buffer tank 12, an FC module 14, a second switching means 17 for switching the charging circuit, a DC-AC converter 19, storage batteries 20 (20A-20C), and a charger 21. Hydrogen of about 1 MPa is stored in the buffer tank 12 via the pressure reducing valve 11. The FC module 14, second switching means (17), DC-AC converter 19, and storage batteries 20, which are electrical appliances, are placed in an explosion-proof area 18 to prevent accidents caused by hydrogen gas.

The control device 3 includes a hydrogen tank selection and decision means 3a for selecting a hydrogen tank to be used for filling, a battery selection and decision means 3b for selecting a battery to be used for charging, a compressor drive means 3c for driving the compressor 6, a first switching means 3d for sending a command to a first switching means 5 for switching the flow path of hydrogen to be filled, a valve drive means 3e for opening and closing each valve between each hydrogen tank 2 (2A-2D) and the first switching means 5 or the pressure reducing valve 11, a second switching means 3f for sending a command to a second switching means 17 for switching the charging circuit, an FC module drive means 3g for driving the FC module 14, and an external power source drive means 3h for driving an external power source 26 (e.g., a solar panel, a wind power generator, a commercial power source).

Between the filling machine 9 and the FC module 14, a cooling tower 15 for cooling the FC module 14 and a refrigerator 16 for cooling the hydrogen during rapid filling are arranged.

The charging mechanism 13 can charge an emergency power source (such as a power source used for household or commercial electrical equipment 25) via a DC-AC converter 19 in preparation for a power outage due to a disaster or the like.

Next, the operation of the supply station 1 having the above configuration will be described with reference to the drawings. First, the operation of filling hydrogen into the fuel cell vehicle 23 using the hydrogen filling mechanism 4 will be described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2. The pressure inside the hydrogen tanks 2 (2A-2D) is assumed to be, for example, 82 MPa for hydrogen tank 2A, 50 MPa for 2B, 30 MPa for 2C, and 10 MPa for 2D. In addition, in the steps where the route in Fig. 2 branches, the downward direction corresponds to Yes and the horizontal direction corresponds to No.

In step S1 of the filling machine 9, it is determined whether the filling nozzle is connected to the filling port of the on-board tank of the fuel cell vehicle 23. If it is connected (step S1; Yes), it is determined whether the pressure inside the on-board tank of the fuel cell vehicle 23 has been input (step S2). If it has been input (step S2; Yes), the input initial pressure is output to the control device 3.

When the control device 3 receives an input of the initial pressure from the filling machine 9 (step S11; Yes), it selects one of the hydrogen tanks 2A to 2D based on the input initial pressure. For example, if the initial pressure is 20 MPa, it selects the hydrogen tank 2C with a pressure of 30 MPa, which is the lowest pressure exceeding that.

When the hydrogen tank to be used for filling is selected (step S12; Yes), the control device 3 switches the flow path to L2 using the first switching means 5, opens the corresponding valve to enable filling from the hydrogen tank 2C, and outputs a signal to the filling machine 9 to inform that preparations for filling are complete.

When a filling preparation signal is input from the control device 3 (step S4; Yes) and the start switch (SW) is pressed (step S5), the filling machine 9 fills hydrogen from the hydrogen tank 2C into the on-board tank of the fuel cell vehicle 23, and when the pressure in the on-board tank reaches the filling pressure (step S6; Yes), it outputs a tank switching signal to the control device 3 (step S7).

When the control device 3 receives a tank switching signal from the filling machine 9 (Step S14; Yes), it either switches the hydrogen tank used for filling to hydrogen tank 2B (then 2A) or operates compressor 6 (Step S15), and maintains the flow path at L2 or switches to L1 using first switching means 5, while opening the appropriate valve to enable filling. Hydrogen is basically filled into the on-board tank of the fuel cell vehicle 23 using the differential pressure between hydrogen tank 2 (2A-2D) and the on-board tank, and then hydrogen tank 2 is switched for filling, but when the full filling pressure is reached at 80 MPa, the compressor 6 is used to increase the pressure and complete filling.

When the pressure in the vehicle tank reaches a predetermined pressure (Step S8; Yes), the filling machine 9 outputs a filling end signal to the control device 3 (Step S9) and ends the operation. When the filling end signal is input from the filling machine 9 (Step S17; Yes), the control device 3 closes each valve that was open for filling and opens the depressurization valve 10 (Step S18). After that, when time t1 has elapsed (Step S19; Yes), it outputs a signal to close the depressurization valve 10 (Step S20) and ends the operation.

Next, the operation of charging the electric vehicle 24 using the charger 21 will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 3. The storage capacity of the storage batteries 20 (20A to 20C) is assumed to be, for example, 60 kWh for the storage battery 20A, 40 kWh for the storage battery 20B, and 20 kWh for the storage battery 20C. In addition, in the steps where the route in Figure 3 branches, the downward direction corresponds to Yes and the horizontal direction corresponds to No.

In step S21, the charger 21 determines whether the charging coupler is connected to the charging connector of the electric vehicle 24, and if it is connected (step S21; Yes), it outputs a signal to notify the control device 3 of that fact (step S22). Next, if the voltage of the on-board battery is input (step S23; Yes), it outputs an initial voltage to the control device 3 (step S24).

When the control device 3 receives a signal from the charger 21 notifying that the charging coupler is connected (step S31; Yes), it locks the charging coupler (step S32), and when the initial voltage is input (step S33; Yes), it selects one of the storage batteries 20A to 20C to be used for charging (step S34). For example, it selects the storage battery 20B, which can be charged at a voltage higher than the initial voltage.

When the storage battery to be used for charging is selected (step S34; Yes), the second switching means 17 switches the charging circuit to L3 for rapid charging, supplies power to the charger 21, and outputs a signal to the charger 21 notifying that preparation for charging is complete (step S35).

When a charging preparation signal is input from the control device 3 (step S25; Yes) and the start switch (SW) is pressed (step S26), the charger 21 charges the on-board battery of the electric vehicle 24 from the storage battery 20B. When the on-board battery reaches the charging voltage (step S27; Yes), the charger 21 outputs a storage battery switching signal to the control device 3 (step S28).

When the control device 3 receives a battery switching signal from the charger 21 (step S36; Yes), it switches the battery to battery 20A, or if the amount of stored electricity in battery 20A is insufficient, it activates the FC module 14 (step S37) and switches the charging circuit to L3 or L4 using the second switching means 17, charging the electric vehicle 24 from the charger 21. Charging is performed by selecting and charging one of the batteries 20A-20C according to the initial voltage, gradually switching to the battery 20 with the greater amount of stored electricity, and charging via the FC module 14 when fully charged. In addition, hydrogen in the hydrogen tank 2 that has become low pressure and cannot be used for hydrogen filling can also be used for electrical charging via the FC module 14.

When the voltage of the vehicle battery reaches a predetermined voltage (step S29; Yes), the charger 21 outputs a charging end signal to the control device 3 (step S30) and ends operation. When the control device 3 receives a charging end signal from the charger 21 (step S39; Yes), it unlocks the charging coupler (step S40) and ends operation.

In the above embodiment, the hydrogen tank 2, hydrogen filling mechanism 4, and charging mechanism 13 are fixed to the base of the trailer 22 and made movable, but it is also possible to fix either the hydrogen filling mechanism 4 or the charging mechanism 13 to the base of the trailer 22, or to use a means of transportation other than the trailer 22.

In addition, by supplying power from the charging mechanism 13 to the compressor 6 and accumulator 7, which are electrical equipment in the hydrogen filling mechanism 4, and the FC module 14, second switching means 17, and DC-AC converter 19 in the charging mechanism 13, there is no transmission loss and electricity can be used efficiently.

Furthermore, when a filling preparation signal is not input from the control device 3 to the filling machine 9, the hydrogen in the hydrogen tank 2 that has become low pressure and cannot be used for hydrogen filling can be effectively used without waste via the buffer tank 12 and FC module 14.

The illustrated embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

Reference Signs List 1 Supply station 2 (2A to 2D) Hydrogen tank 3 Control device 4 Hydrogen filling mechanism 5 First switching means 6 Compressor 7 Accumulator 8 Explosion-proof area 9 Filling machine 10 Pressure release valve 11 Pressure reducing valve 12 Buffer tank 13 Charging mechanism 14 FC module 15 Cooling tower 16 Refrigeration machine 17 Second switching means 18 Explosion-proof area 19 DC-AC converter 20 (20A to 20C) Storage battery 21 Charger 22 Trailer 23 Fuel cell vehicle 24 Electric vehicle 25 Electrical equipment 26 External power source

Claims (5)

Hydrogen tanks and
a hydrogen filling mechanism for filling hydrogen from the hydrogen tank into the fuel cell vehicle;
a charging mechanism that converts hydrogen from the hydrogen tank into electricity and charges the electric vehicle;
the hydrogen filling mechanism and/or the charging mechanism are movable;
A supply station characterized in that, when the hydrogen tank becomes low pressure and can no longer be used to fill the fuel cell vehicle with hydrogen, the hydrogen in the hydrogen tank is converted into electricity via an FC module for charging . The supply station according to claim 1, characterized in that the hydrogen filling mechanism has multiple hydrogen tanks and selects one of the multiple hydrogen tanks to supply hydrogen to depending on the initial pressure of the fuel tank of the fuel cell vehicle. The supply station according to claim 1, characterized in that the charging mechanism includes a plurality of storage batteries, and selects a storage battery to be charged from the plurality of storage batteries according to the initial voltage of the storage battery of the electric vehicle. The supply station according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the electrical equipment constituting the hydrogen filling mechanism and the charging mechanism is installed in an explosion-proof area. The supply station according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the electrical equipment constituting the hydrogen filling mechanism and the charging mechanism is powered by the charging mechanism.

Images