JP3352907B2 - Hydrogen fueled vehicles - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hydrogen-fueled vehicle, and more particularly to a hydrogen-fueled vehicle having a function of accurately detecting the remaining amount of hydrogen fuel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a hydrogen-fueled vehicle, a system for storing hydrogen as a fuel in an MH tank containing a hydrogen storage alloy (MH) and supplying the hydrogen to a hydrogen consuming unit such as a fuel cell or a hydrogen engine from the MH tank. The ones that have been applied are proposed. When such a hydrogen-fueled vehicle is actually driven, it is necessary to grasp how many kilometers of the vehicle can be continuously driven, that is, how much hydrogen remains in the current MH tank.

[0003] In a conventional hydrogen-fueled vehicle, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
As shown in JP-A-101255, a fuel gauge having three types of fuel gauges has been proposed. The first fuel gauge is of a type that calculates the remaining amount from a change in the weight of the MH tank. The second fuel meter measures the amount of hydrogen flowing into and out of the MH tank and calculates the difference from the difference. The third fuel meter is provided with an auxiliary fuel tank, and the auxiliary fuel tank is filled with another hydrogen storage alloy having a large change in the released hydrogen pressure with respect to a change in the hydrogen storage amount. In this method, the residual hydrogen amount is calculated from the released hydrogen pressure.

[0004]

However, the fuel gauge system (remaining hydrogen amount detection system) in the conventional hydrogen fueled vehicle has the following problems. That is, in the fuel meter of the first type, for example, generally, an MH of 100 kg is used.
The amount of hydrogen fully charged to the tank is about 1-2 kg,
The change is in units of 100 g. Therefore, 100k
A sensor capable of weighing g requires 0.1% accuracy, which is not practical.

In the fuel meter of the second type, it is necessary to measure both the amount of charged hydrogen and the amount of released hydrogen, and an accumulation error of both occurs due to repetition of filling and discharging (fuel replenishment and fuel consumption). The measurement accuracy is reduced. In the third type of fuel gauge, it is necessary to mount a plurality of MH tanks using different types of hydrogen storage alloys. It is very difficult due to the characteristics described above, and sufficient measurement accuracy cannot be obtained. Further, in the case of this system, there is a problem that a sub-tank is required only for the fuel gauge, and the configuration of the hydrogen fuel vehicle becomes complicated.

The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a hydrogen-fueled vehicle capable of accurately detecting a residual hydrogen amount without complicating the structure. is there.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an MH tank including a hydrogen consuming unit for generating a driving force, a hydrogen storage alloy for storing hydrogen to be supplied to the hydrogen consuming unit, and an MH tank.
A hydrogen pump for pumping hydrogen from the H tank to the hydrogen consuming unit, an inverter for controlling the rotation speed of the hydrogen pump, a pressure sensor for measuring the pressure of the MH tank,
A hydrogen fueled vehicle having a remaining hydrogen amount calculating unit for calculating the remaining hydrogen amount in the MH tank, wherein the remaining hydrogen amount calculating unit is configured to calculate the remaining hydrogen amount based on rotation speed data of the inverter and pressure data of the pressure sensor. A hydrogen-fueled vehicle is configured to calculate the amount of residual hydrogen in the MH tank.

[0008] Most notably in the present invention, the supply of hydrogen from the MH tank to the hydrogen consuming section is performed by a hydrogen pump, and the amount of residual hydrogen in the MH tank is determined by the hydrogen pump of the inverter. It is configured to calculate from the rotational speed data and the pressure data of the MH tank in the pressure sensor. That is, it is important to find out that there is a correlation between the number of revolutions of the hydrogen pump and the pressure in the MH tank and the amount of residual hydrogen in the MH tank. It is applied to the calculation of the residual hydrogen amount.

The calculation in the remaining hydrogen amount calculation unit is, for example, the rotation speed of the hydrogen pump, the pressure of the MH tank,
A relational expression with the amount of hydrogen remaining in the H tank is experimentally obtained in advance, and a method using this relational expression can be adopted. In addition, since the relational expression in this case may change according to the type of the MH tank, the hydrogen pump or the hydrogen consuming unit, it is necessary to obtain the relational expression for each of these types.

[0010] Further, the hydrogen consuming unit and the MH tank are
The hydrogen pump is connected by a hydrogen flow path provided with the hydrogen pump, and hydrogen is supplied by the hydrogen pump. Examples of the hydrogen consuming unit include a fuel cell and a hydrogen engine. When a fuel cell is used, a driving force of the vehicle can be exhibited by combining the fuel cell with an electric motor.

As the hydrogen storage alloy in the MH tank, for example, LaNi-based, MmNiAl-based,
iFe-based and other various alloys can be applied. Further, as a pressure sensor provided in the MH tank, a pressure sensor conventionally used for management of the MH tank can be used as it is, or a new pressure sensor can be provided.

The above-mentioned hydrogen pump has a rotary part which causes a pressure difference between the suction side and the discharge side, and its output is changed by controlling the number of rotations of the rotary part. is there. As the hydrogen pump, for example, a compressor, a blower, a pump, or the like can be used. The rotation speed of the hydrogen pump is controlled by changing the frequency of the power supply by the inverter.

Further, as shown in an embodiment to be described later, a bypass passage having no hydrogen pump is provided between the hydrogen consuming section and the MH tank in parallel with the hydrogen passage having the hydrogen pump. It may be provided. In this case, MH
When the pressure in the tank is high and the amount of residual hydrogen does not need to be grasped very accurately, the operation of the hydrogen pump can be stopped and energy saving can be achieved.

Next, the operation of the present invention will be described. In the hydrogen fueled vehicle of the present invention, the supply of hydrogen from the MH tank to the hydrogen consuming unit is performed by a hydrogen pump. The output of the hydrogen pump is controlled by the rotation speed control by the inverter as described above, and the rotation speed data can be easily detected by the inverter. On the other hand, the pressure data in the MH tank can be detected by the pressure sensor.

It is difficult to find a correlation between the number of revolutions of the hydrogen pump and the pressure in the MH tank alone with the amount of residual hydrogen alone. A relationship can be derived. By using the relational expression of the correlation, the residual hydrogen amount calculation unit can easily calculate the residual hydrogen amount.

For this reason, in the present invention, instead of statistically calculating the remaining hydrogen amount by, for example, integrating the charging and releasing data of hydrogen as in the prior art, the above two data detected at any time are used. The current remaining hydrogen amount can be calculated directly at any time. Therefore, the calculation accuracy can be improved more than before.

Further, it is not necessary to newly provide a special configuration such as a conventional auxiliary tank, and the data used for operation control can be used as it is. Also, for example, the existing CP installed in the operation control unit
U can also be used as the residual hydrogen amount calculation unit. Therefore, the structure is simple.

Therefore, in the hydrogen-fueled vehicle of the present invention, the amount of residual hydrogen can be accurately detected without particularly complicating the structure. The residual hydrogen amount can be taken out as an electric signal and displayed on a general display.

Next, a heat exchanger for introducing waste heat discharged from the hydrogen consuming section is provided in the hydrogen consuming section, and a heat medium is circulated between the heat exchanger and the MH tank. And a temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of the heat medium outlet at the outlet of the MH tank in the circuit. It is preferable that the apparatus is configured to calculate the residual hydrogen amount in the MH tank from the pressure data of the pressure sensor and the temperature data of the temperature sensor.

In this case, the temperature of the MH tank can be heated to a temperature suitable for the hydrogen release reaction, and hydrogen release can be facilitated. Therefore, the hydrogen pump can be operated in a low output state, and energy can be saved. Further, the calculation accuracy can be further improved by adding the heat medium outlet temperature as an element of the calculation of the residual hydrogen amount. Further, since the above-mentioned MH tank is heated using the above-mentioned heat exchanger utilizing the exhaust heat of the above-mentioned hydrogen consuming section, it is not necessary to separately provide a dedicated heat source, etc., thereby further saving energy and preventing the structure from becoming complicated. Can contribute.

Further, one or more MH tanks are provided so that they can be used by switching sequentially, and the residual hydrogen amount calculation unit calculates the residual hydrogen amount of the total MH tank total at the end of the previous operation. It has an operation information storage unit for storing information on the total amount of hydrogen at the end of a certain operation and information on the presence or absence of refueling after the end of the previous operation, and calculates the remaining hydrogen amount of the MH tank during operation, From the stored total remaining amount information at the end of the operation and the fuel supply presence / absence information, a total remaining amount, which is a total remaining hydrogen amount of all the current MH tanks, is calculated.
Further, at the end of the operation, the total remaining amount at that time may be stored in the operation information storage unit as the total remaining amount information at the end of the operation.

Here, one or more MH tanks, that is, one
Provide one or more. When the number of MH tanks is one, the inside of the tank can be virtually divided, or can be left alone without being divided.
In any case, the driving information storage unit is provided.

In this case, the remaining hydrogen amount calculation unit calculates the remaining hydrogen amount of each MH tank, and, based on the data in the operation information storage unit, the total remaining hydrogen amount of all MH tanks (the remaining hydrogen amount of the entire system). (Amount of hydrogen) can also be calculated, and the function as a fuel gauge when a plurality of MH tanks are provided can be enhanced (Embodiment 5)
reference).

[0024] Thus, the effect of using a plurality of MH tanks can be sufficiently exhibited. For example, effects such as downsizing each MH tank, shortening the heating time when heating the MH tank as described above, and shortening the fuel supply time can be obtained.

Next, the hydrogen-fueled vehicle has one or more MH tanks so that the MH tanks can be used by being sequentially switched, and a charged hydrogen amount detection for grasping the charged hydrogen amount when refueling the MH tank. And an operation information storage unit for storing information on the total hydrogen amount at the end of the operation, which is the total remaining hydrogen amount of all the MH tanks at the end of the previous operation. And has
From the above-described charged hydrogen amount, the calculation result of the remaining hydrogen amount of the MH tank during operation, and the stored total remaining amount information at the end of operation, the total remaining amount, which is the total remaining hydrogen amount of all current MH tanks, is obtained. Alternatively, when the operation is completed, the total remaining amount at that time may be stored in the operation information storage unit as the operation-completed total remaining amount information.

In this case, the calculation of the remaining hydrogen amount of the total of all the MH tanks can be performed more easily by adding the above charged hydrogen amount detecting means. Here, as the above-mentioned charged hydrogen amount detecting means, a method in which a hydrogen flow meter is provided at a hydrogen filling port of the MH tank and the integrated value of the output is used, or the MH tank after filling using the equilibrium pressure characteristics of the hydrogen storage alloy is used. Means such as a method of detecting the amount of hydrogen in the MH tank from the pressure and the temperature of the heat medium at the outlet of the MH tank, and a method of receiving the filling amount data from the hydrogen replenishing equipment side can be used (see Embodiment 6). .

[0027]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiment 1 A hydrogen-fueled vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The hydrogen-fueled vehicle of this example is a hydrogen-fueled vehicle in which a fuel cell is mounted on a hydrogen consuming unit and an electric motor is driven by electric power generated by the fuel cell to run the vehicle.

That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the hydrogen fueled vehicle 1 of this embodiment incorporates a hydrogen consuming portion 11 for generating a driving force and a hydrogen storage alloy for storing hydrogen to be supplied to the hydrogen consuming portion 11. MH tank 12 and hydrogen pump 13 for pumping hydrogen from MH tank 12 to hydrogen consuming section 11
And In addition, it has an inverter 14 for controlling the rotation speed of the hydrogen pump 13, a pressure sensor 16 for measuring the pressure of the MH tank 12, and a remaining hydrogen amount calculating unit 15 for calculating the remaining hydrogen amount in the MH tank 12.

The remaining hydrogen amount calculation unit 15 is configured to calculate the remaining hydrogen amount in the MH tank 12 from the rotation speed data of the inverter 14 and the pressure data of the pressure sensor 16. The details are described below.

The hydrogen consuming unit 11 in this embodiment is a fuel cell, and is connected to a driving electric motor (not shown). The hydrogen consuming unit 11 is connected to a hydrogen flow path 2 and an air flow path 3 for introducing hydrogen and air for power generation. The hydrogen flow path 2 is connected to the MH tank 12 on the upstream side, and has a branch portion 20 on the way that branches into a main flow path 22 provided with a hydrogen pump 13 and a bypass flow path 23.

A main opening / closing valve 41 is provided upstream of the branch portion 20, and a second opening / closing valve 42 and a third opening / closing valve 43 are also provided in the main passage 22 and the bypass passage 23, respectively. ing. In the main flow path 22, the hydrogen pump 13 is disposed downstream of the second on-off valve.

The bypass passage 23 is provided in the MH tank 12
Using the pressure difference between the hydrogen pump and the hydrogen consuming unit 11
3 is a path for directly pumping hydrogen without using hydrogen. To realize this function, three on-off valves 41 to 4
3 is configured to open and close the main flow path 22 and the bypass flow path 23 according to the pressure of the MH tank 12.

More specifically, when the pressure of the MH tank 12 is equal to or higher than a predetermined value (supply pressure + 0.05 MPa), the main open / close valve 41 and the third open / close valve 43 are opened, and the second open / close valve 42 is closed. , The bypass passage 23 is made effective. On the other hand, when the pressure of the MH tank 12 is lower than the predetermined value, the main on-off valve 4
Open the first and second on-off valves 42, close the third on-off valve 43,
The main channel 22 is made effective.

Further, a pressure sensor 16 for measuring the pressure in the MH tank 12 is arranged further upstream of the main opening / closing valve 41 of the hydrogen flow path 2, that is, immediately near the outlet side of the MH tank 12. . The MH tank 12 uses a normal temperature operation type alloy having an operation range in a temperature range of 0 to 50 ° C. as a built-in hydrogen storage alloy. Here, the operating range refers to a range in which the equilibrium pressure is 0.1 to 1.1 MPa. And M of this example
Although the pressure of the H tank 12 varies depending on the temperature (outside air) condition, it is often higher than the supply pressure of hydrogen to the hydrogen consuming unit 11 immediately after the start of the operation, and is supplied in a state where about 5 to 15% of hydrogen is released. The pressure is equal to or lower than the pressure. In particular, in summer when the temperature is high with hydrogen being fully charged, the pressure becomes similar after about 15 to 20% of hydrogen is released.

A compressor is employed as the hydrogen pump 13 and is connected to an inverter 14 for controlling the number of revolutions. The inverter 14 is connected to the remaining hydrogen amount calculation unit 15 for transmitting the rotation speed data Nc of the hydrogen pump 13. The above-mentioned pressure sensor 16 is also connected to the residual hydrogen amount calculation unit 15 for transmitting the pressure data P.

The remaining hydrogen amount calculation unit 15 includes a pressure sensor 16
Converter for inputting the pressure value P sent from the inverter and the rotation speed data Nc of the hydrogen pump 13 sent from the inverter 14, and an arithmetic unit including a CPU for calculating the current remaining hydrogen amount from these input values. , And a DA converter for outputting the operation result. The D / A converter is provided on an indicator 1 provided on a front panel of a driver seat of the hydrogen fueled vehicle 1.
9 is electrically connected.

The calculating unit of the remaining hydrogen amount calculating unit 15 stores in advance a relational expression between the input values Nc and P and the remaining hydrogen amount in the MH tank 12, and calculates the remaining hydrogen amount as needed based on this relational expression. It is configured as follows. The above relational expression is specifically obtained as a function of the following expression F (X). F (X) = {(Nc / Nmax) ⁿ¹ } × {(P / P ₀ )
ⁿ² ｝ where Nmax is the maximum rotation speed of the hydrogen pump, and P ₀ is M
Minimum pressure in the hydrogen storage alloy use area of the H tank, n
1, n2 is an index unique to the configuration system.

FIG. 2 shows the relationship between F (X) and the amount of residual hydrogen HS (%). In FIG. 2, the horizontal axis represents F (X) and the vertical axis represents the residual hydrogen amount HS (%), and the correlation curve is shown by a curve G1. As is known from FIG. 2, F (X) and HS have a clear correlation, and by calculating F (X), HS can be easily calculated. Utilizing this relationship, the calculation unit of the remaining hydrogen calculation unit 15 converts the input Nc and P into F
(X) is obtained, and HS is calculated from F (X).

Next, the procedure for actually detecting the remaining hydrogen amount HS (%) in the hydrogen-fueled vehicle 1 of this embodiment will be described. First, a case where the operation is started from a state in which the pressure of the MH tank 12 is higher than a predetermined pressure (supply pressure to the hydrogen consuming unit 11 +0.05 MPa) will be described. In this case, the main on-off valve 41 and the third on-off valve 43 are opened, the second on-off valve 42 is closed, the bypass flow path 23 is made effective, and the supply of hydrogen is started. That is, the MH tank 12 and the hydrogen consuming unit 1
The pumping of hydrogen is started using the pressure difference from 1.

At this time, the pressure data P of the MH tank 12
Is sent to the residual hydrogen amount calculation unit 15 as needed, but the rotation speed data Nc of the hydrogen pump 13 is not sent. Therefore, the calculation of the remaining hydrogen amount cannot be performed when hydrogen is supplied through the bypass passage 23. However, the state in which the pressure of the MH tank 12 is higher than that of the hydrogen consuming unit 11 is, as described above, when 15 to 20% is used from the fully charged state, that is, while 80 to 85% of the hydrogen remains. ,
There is no need to know the exact amount of residual hydrogen, and when the amount of residual hydrogen is small, the amount of hydrogen used is 5% or less, and there is no actual harm.

Next, when the pressure of the MH tank 12 becomes lower than the predetermined pressure, the second opening / closing valve is opened and the third opening / closing valve 43 is closed to make the main flow path 22 effective. Start pumping hydrogen. From this point, the rotation speed data Nc of the hydrogen pump 13 is sent from the inverter 14 to the remaining hydrogen amount calculation unit 15 as needed. Then, the remaining hydrogen amount calculation unit 15 calculates F (X) based on Nc and P, and further calculates the remaining hydrogen amount HS (%) from F (X) and displays it on the display 19.

When the operation of the hydrogen fueled automobile 1 is started from a state where the pressure of the MH tank 12 is lower than the predetermined pressure, the supply of hydrogen using the main flow path 22 is started from the beginning. Therefore, immediately after the start of the operation, the accurate remaining hydrogen amount HS (%) is calculated and displayed on the display 19.

As described above, in this embodiment, when the amount of residual hydrogen in the MH tank 12 is less than 80 to 85%, the rotation speed data Nc of the hydrogen pump 13 and the pressure P
Thus, the remaining hydrogen amount HS (%) can be directly calculated at any time by the remaining hydrogen amount calculation unit 15. The structure required for this is simple as described above. Therefore, according to this example, it is possible to obtain a hydrogen-fueled vehicle that can accurately detect the amount of residual hydrogen without complicating the configuration.

Embodiment 2 In this embodiment, an experiment was conducted to confirm the calculation accuracy of the residual hydrogen amount HS (%) in the hydrogen fueled vehicle 1 of Embodiment 1. In the experiment, the rotation speed data Nc and MH of the hydrogen pump 13 were measured.
The pressure data P of the tank 12 was measured to obtain F (X), and the hydrogen amount in the MH tank 12 at that time was actually measured and obtained. The amount of hydrogen was measured by measuring the amount of charged hydrogen and the amount of released hydrogen, and the difference was obtained.

The experimental results are shown in FIG.
Indicated by 2). As is known from FIG. 2, there was almost no difference between the above calculation result G1 and the experimental value E2. In particular, in the region where the residual hydrogen amount HS (%) is 50% or less, it corresponds within the range of 5%, and especially in the region where it is necessary to accurately grasp the residual hydrogen amount HS (%), the accuracy becomes higher. ing. on the other hand. When the residual hydrogen amount HS (%) is 78% or more, a maximum error of 14% occurs, but such an error in this region is considered to be practically acceptable. This proves that the calculation shown in the first embodiment is extremely accurate and can be used effectively in practice.

Embodiment 3 In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, in the hydrogen-fueled vehicle 1 of Embodiment 1, the hydrogen consuming unit 11 is
A heat exchanger 5 for introducing the exhaust heat discharged from the heat exchanger is provided via an exhaust heat introduction path 51, and a circulation path 52 for circulating a heat medium is provided between the heat exchanger 5 and the MH tank 12.

The MH tank 12 in the circulation path 52
At the outlet, a temperature sensor 17 for measuring the heat medium outlet temperature was provided. The remaining hydrogen amount calculation unit 15 is configured to calculate the remaining hydrogen amount in the MH tank 12 from the rotation speed data Nc of the inverter 14, the pressure data P of the pressure sensor, and the temperature data T of the temperature sensor 17. .

The temperature data T detected by the temperature sensor 17 is represented by rotation speed data Nc and pressure data P
At the same time, it is configured to be transmitted to the residual hydrogen amount calculation unit 15 as needed. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

The calculation in the residual hydrogen amount calculation unit 15 of this embodiment is performed by the following equation F to which the temperature data T is newly added.
This is performed using the function of (Z). F (Z) = ｛(Nc / Nmax) ⁿ¹ ｝ × ｛(P / P ₀ )
ⁿ² × e ^{(-1000 / T) Ｔ} Here, T is the heating medium temperature (absolute temperature) at the outlet of the MH tank.

Next, the above F (Z) and the residual hydrogen amount HS
(%) Is shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, the horizontal axis is F (Z).
Is plotted on the vertical axis, and the residual hydrogen amount HS (%) is plotted on the vertical axis, and these correlation curves are shown by a curve G2. As is known from FIG. 4, F (Z) and HS have a clear correlation, and by calculating F (Z), HS (HS) can be easily calculated.
Can be calculated. Utilizing this relationship, the calculation unit of the remaining hydrogen calculation unit 15 calculates Nc, P,
F (Z) is obtained from T, and HS is calculated from F (Z).

In this embodiment, the MH tank 12 is heated by utilizing the exhaust heat of the hydrogen consuming unit 11 after the start of the operation. The heating of the MH tank 12 may be started at any time before or after the start of the operation of the hydrogen pumping machine 13. However, in consideration of the fact that a certain time is required for the temperature rise of the heating medium, the heating start timing Set.

The heating of the MH tank 12 can facilitate the release reaction of the built-in hydrogen storage alloy. This is because, because the hydrogen release reaction is a chemical reaction, generally, the higher the temperature, the more the molecular motion becomes active and the reaction is accelerated, and the equilibrium pressure rises as the temperature rises.

The operation of the hydrogen pump 13 is performed by the MH
The pressure data of the tank 12 is controlled by feedback. This is because the MH tank 12
By increasing the pressure, the output of the hydrogen pump 13 can be reduced and the rotation speed can be reduced, so that the above feedback control optimizes the rotation speed of the hydrogen pump 13 and saves energy.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, by adding the heat exchanger 5 and the temperature sensor 17, it is possible to promote the hydrogen release reaction and to save energy by reducing the number of revolutions of the hydrogen pump 13 and to save the temperature data. Accurate residual hydrogen amount HS (%) using arithmetic expression F (Z) with T added
Can be calculated. In addition, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.

Fourth Embodiment In this embodiment, an experiment was conducted to confirm the calculation accuracy of the residual hydrogen amount HS (%) in the hydrogen fueled vehicle 1 of the third embodiment. In the experiment, the rotation speed data Nc and MH of the hydrogen pump 13 were measured.
Measure the pressure data P and temperature data T of the tank 12 and
(Z) and the actual MH tank 1 at that time
The amount of hydrogen in 2 was actually measured and found. The measurement of the amount of hydrogen was performed in the same manner as in Example 2.

The experimental results are shown in FIG.
Indicated by 4). As is known from FIG. 4, there was almost no difference between the above calculation result G2 and the experimental value E4. The error between them is 9% or less in the entire region, and particularly corresponds to the error range of 4% in the region where the residual hydrogen amount HS (%) is 40% or less. The accuracy was improved more than that. This is considered to be because the temperature data T due to the addition of the temperature sensor was included in the calculation.

Further, the power consumed in the experiment of the present embodiment was significantly reduced as compared with the experiment of the second embodiment. The reduction effect is as high as 30 to 50%,
It has been found that adopting a configuration for heating the tank 12 has a great effect on energy saving.

Embodiment 5 In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the MH tanks 12 (1) to 12 (1) to 1
2 (n) are arranged, and these are sequentially switched and used. Each MH tank 12 (1) -1
2 (n) has a pressure sensor 16 and a temperature sensor 17 similar to those of the third embodiment before and after, respectively, and has a main open / close valve 41 downstream of the pressure sensor 16, respectively. And each MH tank 12 (1) -12
(N) is connected to the circulation path 52 of the heat exchanger 5 using the exhaust heat of the hydrogen consuming unit 11 as in the third embodiment.

The remaining hydrogen amount calculation unit 15 of this embodiment calculates the total hydrogen amount at the end of operation (HST), which is the total remaining hydrogen amount (remaining hydrogen amount of the entire system) at the end of the previous operation. An operation information storage unit is provided for storing information and fuel supply presence / absence information (RF) after the end of the previous operation.

Then, based on the calculation result of the remaining hydrogen amount HS (m) of the MH tank 12 (m) during operation, the stored total remaining amount HST information at the end of operation and the refueling presence / absence information RF, the current value is obtained. It is configured to calculate a total remaining amount HST that is a total remaining hydrogen amount of all MH tanks. Further, at the end of the operation, the entire remaining amount HST at that time is stored in the operation information storage unit as the total remaining amount HST at the end of the operation. Others are the same as the third embodiment.

Hereinafter, the procedure for calculating the amount of residual hydrogen in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.
First, as shown in FIG. 6, in step 601, the total remaining amount HST at the end of operation and the fuel supply presence / absence information RF stored in the operation information storage unit are read at the same time as the operation starts, and the fuel supply is performed in steps 603 to 605. Determine pre-start information. The information before the start of fuel supply is the initial total hydrogen amount HSA and the initial hydrogen amount HSS per tank. Here, the above initial state means a state immediately after refueling.

More specifically, as the fuel supply presence / absence information RF, no supply (RF = 0), arbitrary amount supply (RF = 1),
The above HSA and H are divided into the case of full filling (RF = 2).
Determine SS. In the case of RF = 0, since the remaining amount of hydrogen has not changed at all from the end of the previous operation, HSA =
HSA, HSS = HSA / n, and the operation is started by taking over the data from the previous time. Here, n is the number of MH tanks.

When RF = 1, HSA = (HSF +
HST) / 2, HSS = HSA / n. When RF = 2, HSA = HSF, HSS = H
It is calculated by SF / n × 0.9. Here, HSF is the hydrogen amount when all tanks are fully filled. It should be noted that the HSA and HSS determined here are reviewed as needed by the later-described calculation, and therefore need not be so accurate.

The above-described fuel supply presence / absence information RF is obtained by connecting a hydrogen filling pipe to a hydrogen filling port of the MH tank at a fuel supply stand or the like, thereby automatically opening the hydrogen valve and providing information that fuel is present. It is recorded in the operation information storage means. In this case, whether the fuel supply is full or an arbitrary amount can be determined, for example, from the pressure value of the MH tank. This utilizes a relationship in which the MH tank and the filling pressure become substantially equal when a full filling state is reached.

It should be noted that the above-described detection method at the time of full filling can be a simplified type in which a method based on driver input is used. That is, since whether or not to perform the full filling is determined by the driver, it is also possible to determine the full filling by the reset switch provided on the driver's seat front panel.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7, after the operation of the hydrogen pump 13 starts in accordance with the command of the operation control program,
Using the data of Nc, P, and T input in step 701, detection of the remaining hydrogen amount HS (m) in the MH tank is started in step 702. In this case, the above equation of F (Z) is used. The above HS (m) is a ratio, which is a value that becomes% by multiplying by 100.

Next, in steps 703 to 706, a total remaining amount HST, which is the current remaining hydrogen amount of all the tanks, is calculated using the above HS (m). However,
If this is the first calculation (NN = 1) after the start of the measurement and the above-described fuel supply presence / absence information RF is 1 or 2, the correction unit determines whether or not the HSA correction is necessary. In particular,
In step 704, the HSS and (HS (1) × HS
F / n) is within an error range of 10%, and if the error is within 10%, no correction is performed. If the error exceeds 10%, HSA = HS (1) × HSF, HSS = H
Correct to SA / n. Here, HS (1) is the first MH
Indicates the amount of residual hydrogen in the tank.

Next, at step 706, the current total remaining amount HST is (nm) × HSS + HS (m) × H
It is determined by calculating SF / n. After that, step 70
In step 7, the operation control program determines whether or not the MH tank needs to be switched based on the amount of remaining hydrogen in the MH tank being used, and repeats steps 701 to 706 to detect the amount of remaining hydrogen in the individual MH tanks and to determine the total amount of hydrogen. The calculation of the remaining amount HST is continued.

When the operation of the hydrogen fueled vehicle is completed, at step 709, the current total remaining amount HS
T is stored in the operation information storage means as the total remaining amount HST at the end of operation. In this way, in the hydrogen-fueled vehicle of this example, despite the use of a plurality of MH tanks,
The remaining hydrogen amount of each MH tank and the total remaining hydrogen amount of all MH tanks can be directly and accurately calculated at any time.

Therefore, even when a system having a plurality of MH tanks is constructed, the amount of residual hydrogen can be accurately grasped, so that a hydrogen-fueled vehicle can be run with peace of mind. The effect can be sufficiently obtained. That is, when a plurality of MH tanks are used, the capacity of each MH tank can be reduced as compared with the case where a tank having the same total capacity is constituted by one MH tank. Therefore, for example, when the MH tank is heated at the start of operation, the MH tank can be heated rapidly, and the fuel supply time can be shortened.

The reason why the fuel supply time can be reduced is that the smaller the amount of residual hydrogen is, the faster the hydrogen filling speed is due to the characteristics of the hydrogen storage alloy. For example, in a state where 50% of hydrogen is consumed, if there is one large-capacity tank and four tanks whose capacity is 1/4 of that, 50% of the former is used.
Comparing the time for fully filling the tank with the remaining hydrogen amount of hydrogen with the empty tank for two of the four tanks, the latter two tanks have a shorter time. Become.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, a heat exchanger 5 for heating the MH tanks 12 (1) to 12 (n) is provided, and a temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of the MH tank is provided. Although 17 is provided, a system configuration similar to that of the first embodiment except for these may be adopted.
Also in this case, the residual hydrogen amount and the total residual amount of each MH tank can be obtained at any time with practically accurate accuracy.

Embodiment 6 This embodiment is a hydrogen-fueled vehicle of a type having a plurality of MH tanks which are sequentially switched and used as in Embodiment 5. However, this embodiment does not have the function of storing the refueling presence / absence information RF in the fifth embodiment. Instead, a charged hydrogen amount detecting means for grasping the charged hydrogen amount when refueling the MH tank is provided. Have. The calculation of the total remaining hydrogen amount of all the MH tanks is facilitated by using the charged hydrogen amount.

As the means for detecting the amount of charged hydrogen in the present embodiment, a method was used in which a hydrogen flow meter was provided at the hydrogen filling port of the MH tank, and the hydrogen flow meter detected the integrated value. In addition, utilizing the equilibrium pressure characteristics of the hydrogen storage alloy,
A method of detecting the amount of hydrogen in the MH tank from the MH tank pressure after filling and the temperature of the heating medium at the outlet of the MH tank may be used. Others are the same as the fifth embodiment.

Next, a method for detecting the amount of residual hydrogen in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. In the case of this example, the total remaining hydrogen amount HST at the end of the operation is stored in the same manner as in the fifth embodiment, and the above-mentioned charged hydrogen amount HRF (fuel replenishment amount) is added to this value, so that the initial hydrogen amount can be easily initialized. The total remaining hydrogen amount HSA can be accurately obtained.

That is, as shown in FIG. 8, at the time of refueling, the HSA =
Step 8 calculates the total remaining hydrogen amount as HST + HRF.
02, the total remaining hydrogen amount HST at the end of the operation is
Change to Next, when fuel is supplied (when the vehicle is running), in step 803, the total remaining hydrogen amount HST at the end of operation is
From the information before the fuel supply start, the total remaining amount HSI before the operation start, the hydrogen amount HSS at the beginning of the tank (immediately after refueling),
MH tank No. in use m and the remaining hydrogen amount HSE in the tank during use are determined.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9, similarly to the fifth embodiment, the hydrogen pump 1
After the start of the operation of the fuel cell 3, the remaining hydrogen HS (m) in the MH tank is detected in step 901. In this example, since the amount of charged hydrogen is known, the total remaining amount HSI before the start of operation (before the start of supply) can be determined.
The remaining hydrogen amount HST of the entire system is calculated from HSI to HSE-HS (m) × HSF /
It is obtained by subtracting n.

That is, as shown in step 902, the current total remaining hydrogen amount HST can be easily calculated by the following equation. HST = HSI−HSE + HS (m) × HSF / n Further, when the MH tank is switched in step 903, in step 904, the M
H tank residual hydrogen amount HSE was replaced with HSS, and the following M
By starting the fuel supply from the H tank, the current total remaining amount HST can be continuously obtained.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the information before the start of fuel supply can always be determined, the total remaining amount can be detected more accurately. Other effects are the same as those of the fifth embodiment.

[0080]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a hydrogen fueled vehicle capable of accurately detecting the amount of residual hydrogen without complicating the structure.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a hydrogen-fueled vehicle according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between F (X) and a residual hydrogen amount in the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a hydrogen-fueled vehicle according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between F (Z) and the amount of residual hydrogen in Embodiment 3;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a hydrogen-fueled vehicle according to a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a residual hydrogen amount calculation flow of the entire system in the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a flow of calculating the amount of residual hydrogen in the entire system according to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a residual hydrogen amount calculation flow of the entire system in the sixth embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a residual hydrogen amount calculation flow of the entire system in the sixth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1. . . 12. hydrogen-fueled vehicles, . . 13. hydrogen pump, . . Inverter, 15. . . 15. Residual hydrogen amount calculation unit, . . Pressure sensor, 17. . . 1. temperature sensor, . . Hydrogen channel, 22. . . Main flow path, 23. . . 4. bypass flow path; . . Heat exchanger,

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Hiroshi Aoki 41 No. 41, Yokomichi, Chukku-cho, Nagakute-cho, Aichi-gun, Aichi Prefecture Inside Toyota Central R & D Laboratories, Inc. Automobile Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hideto Kubo 2-1-1, Toyota-cho, Kariya-shi, Aichi Prefecture Inside Toyota Industries Corporation (72) Inventor Keiji Fuji 2-1-1, Toyota-cho, Kariya-shi, Aichi Prefecture Toyota Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-2-140641 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F02M 21/02 F02B 43/10 G01F 23/00

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A hydrogen consuming section for generating a driving force, an MH tank containing a hydrogen storage alloy for storing hydrogen to be supplied to the hydrogen consuming section, and hydrogen pumping from the MH tank to the hydrogen consuming section. Pump, an inverter for controlling the number of revolutions of the hydrogen pump, a pressure sensor for measuring the pressure of the MH tank, and a residual hydrogen amount calculator for calculating the residual hydrogen amount in the MH tank. Wherein the remaining hydrogen amount calculation unit is configured to calculate the remaining hydrogen amount in the MH tank from the rotation speed data of the inverter and the pressure data of the pressure sensor. A hydrogen-fueled vehicle characterized by the following.