阅读说明：本技术 燃料电池车辆 (Fuel cell vehicle ) 是由 金沢卓磨 于 2019-06-13 设计创作，主要内容包括：本公开涉及燃料电池车辆。燃料电池车辆(10)具备燃料电池系统(12)和排气管(13)。燃料电池系统(12)具有燃料电池堆(20)、氧化剂气体供给线(44)、氧化剂气体排出线(46)以及气泵(48)。气泵(48)具有在氧化剂气体供给线(44)设置的压缩机(48a)和在氧化剂气体排出线(46)设置的扩展器(48c)。在压缩机(48a)的上游侧设置空气净化器(52)。排气管(13)与扩展器(48c)连接。压缩机(48a)配置在比扩展器(48c)靠空气净化器(52)侧。(The present disclosure relates to a fuel cell vehicle. A fuel cell vehicle (10) is provided with a fuel cell system (12) and an exhaust pipe (13). A fuel cell system (12) is provided with a fuel cell stack (20), an oxidant gas supply line (44), an oxidant gas discharge line (46), and a gas pump (48). The air pump (48) has a compressor (48a) provided in the oxidant gas supply line (44) and an expander (48c) provided in the oxidant gas discharge line (46). An air cleaner (52) is provided upstream of the compressor (48 a). The exhaust pipe (13) is connected to the expander (48 c). The compressor (48a) is disposed closer to the air cleaner (52) than the expander (48 c).)

1. A fuel cell vehicle (10) is provided with a fuel cell system (12) and an exhaust pipe (13) for discharging cathode exhaust gas flowing out of the fuel cell system (12) to the outside of the vehicle,

the fuel cell system includes:

a fuel cell stack (20);

an oxidant gas supply line (44) connected to the fuel cell stack;

an oxidant gas discharge line (46) connected to the fuel cell stack;

a gas pump (48) having a compressor (48a) provided in the oxidizing gas supply line and an expander (48c) provided in the oxidizing gas discharge line as a recovery and reuse mechanism; and

an air cleaner (52) provided on an upstream side of the compressor,

wherein the exhaust pipe is connected with the expander,

the compressor is disposed closer to the air cleaner than the expander.

2. The fuel cell vehicle according to claim 1,

the air cleaner is disposed on the vehicle front side of the exhaust pipe,

the compressor is disposed on the vehicle front side of the expander.

3. The fuel cell vehicle according to claim 1 or 2,

an intercooler (54) for cooling the oxidizing gas is provided on the downstream side of the compressor of the oxidizing gas supply line,

the compressor is disposed on the intercooler side of the expander.

4. The fuel cell vehicle according to claim 3,

the intercooler is disposed on the vehicle front side of the air pump,

the compressor is disposed on the vehicle front side of the expander.

5. The fuel cell vehicle according to claim 1, 2, or 4,

the front end portion of the exhaust pipe is located at a position rearward and below the air cleaner in the vehicle.

6. The fuel cell vehicle according to claim 1, 2, or 4,

the front end of the exhaust pipe is located on the vehicle rear side of the compressor.

7. The fuel cell vehicle according to claim 1,

the exhaust pipe is connected with the outlet of the expander,

the front end portion of the exhaust pipe is located at a position rearward and below the air cleaner in the vehicle.

8. The fuel cell vehicle according to claim 1,

an intercooler for cooling the oxidizing gas is provided on a downstream side of the compressor of the oxidizing gas supply line,

the front end portion of the exhaust pipe is located on the vehicle rear side of the intercooler.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a fuel cell vehicle.

Background

For example, japanese patent application laid-open No. 2010-269760 discloses a fuel cell vehicle on which a fuel cell stack is mounted. Air is supplied as an oxidant gas to the fuel cell stack by an air pump. The exhaust pipe is connected to the cathode outlet side of the fuel cell stack, and cathode exhaust gas containing air is discharged to the outside of the vehicle through the exhaust pipe. Typically, the fuel cell stack is mounted on the front portion of the vehicle, the exhaust pipe is disposed along the bottom surface (japanese: bed surface) of the vehicle and extends to the rear portion of the vehicle, and the cathode exhaust gas is discharged from the rear portion of the vehicle to the outside of the vehicle.

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

The air pump is provided with piping, an exhaust pipe, and the like around the air pump to connect the air pump to the fuel cell stack. From the viewpoint of rationalization of the structure, it is desirable to be able to efficiently lay out these pipes.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a fuel cell vehicle capable of improving the piping layout efficiency around an air pump provided in association with a fuel cell stack.

Means for solving the problems

In order to achieve the above object, one aspect of the present invention relates to a fuel cell vehicle including a fuel cell system and an exhaust pipe that discharges cathode exhaust gas flowing out of the fuel cell system to the outside of the vehicle, the fuel cell system including: a fuel cell stack; an oxidant gas supply line connected to the fuel cell stack; an oxidant gas discharge line connected to the fuel cell stack; a gas pump having a compressor provided on the oxidizing gas supply line and an expander (Japanese エ キ ス パ ン ダ) as a recovery and reuse means (Japanese) provided on the oxidizing gas discharge line; and an air cleaner provided upstream of the compressor, wherein the exhaust pipe is connected to the expander, and the compressor is disposed closer to the air cleaner than the expander.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

According to the fuel cell vehicle of the present invention, since the compressor is disposed on the air cleaner side of the expander, the efficiency of the layout of the piping connecting the air cleaner and the compressor can be improved. In addition, since the expander is disposed at a position farther from the air cleaner than the compressor, the layout efficiency of the exhaust pipe can be improved. Therefore, according to the fuel cell vehicle, the piping layout efficiency around the air pump can be improved.

The above objects, features and advantages can be easily understood by describing the following embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a front portion of a fuel cell vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an overall schematic diagram of the fuel cell vehicle.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a fuel cell system.

Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an air pump according to another configuration.

Detailed Description

As shown in fig. 1, a fuel cell vehicle 10 including a fuel cell system 12 according to an embodiment of the present invention is, for example, a fuel cell electric vehicle. In the following description, the upper side (upper portion) refers to the upper side (upper portion) in the vertical direction. The lower part (lower part) means the lower part (lower part) in the vertical direction. In the fuel cell vehicle 10, a stack case 14 that houses a fuel cell stack 20 is disposed in a front chamber (motor chamber) formed in front of an instrument panel 16 (in the direction of arrow Af).

The fuel cell stack 20 includes a cell stack body 21 in which a plurality of power generation cells are stacked in the vehicle width direction (the direction of arrow B). A plurality of power generation cells may be stacked in the vertical direction. The first terminal plate 22a and the first insulating plate 24a are disposed in this order outward at one end (the side in the direction of arrow BL) of the cell stack body 21 in the stacking direction. The second terminal plate 22b and the second insulating plate 24b are disposed in this order outward at the other end (the side indicated by arrow BR) of the cell laminate 21 in the lamination direction.

The fuel cell system 12 includes a stack case 14 that houses the fuel cell stack 20, and an auxiliary equipment case 14a that houses the auxiliary equipment 19 for the fuel cell. The stack case 14 and the auxiliary device case 14a constitute a case unit 15. The case unit 15 formed by the stack case 14 and the auxiliary device case 14a has a quadrangular shape (a rectangular shape with long sides extending in the vehicle width direction) in plan view.

The auxiliary device case 14a is a protective case for protecting the auxiliary device 19 for the fuel cell, and is joined to the stack case 14 in the horizontal direction of the stack case 14. A fuel gas system device and an oxidant gas system device are housed in the auxiliary equipment case 14a as the auxiliary equipment 19 for a fuel cell. The fuel gas system components housed in the auxiliary equipment case 14a are the injector 32, the ejector 34, the hydrogen pump 42, valves (not shown), and the like.

A ventilation duct, not shown, is connected to an upper portion of the case unit 15, and when the fuel gas leaks from the fuel cell stack 20 or the fuel cell auxiliary equipment 19, the fuel gas is discharged to the outside of the vehicle through the ventilation duct.

As shown in fig. 2, the fuel cell vehicle 10 includes: a fuel cell system 12 having a fuel cell stack 20 that generates electricity using a fuel gas and an oxidant gas; and an exhaust pipe 13 that discharges the cathode exhaust gas flowing out of the fuel cell system 12 to the outside of the vehicle. The fuel cell stack 20 is disposed in a motor chamber (below the cover 18) provided in the front of the vehicle. Although not shown in the drawings, the fuel cell vehicle 10 further includes electric components such as a traveling motor, an ECU (Electronic control unit), and the like that operate using the electric power generated by the fuel cell system 12 as a power source.

As shown in fig. 3, the fuel cell system 12 further includes a fuel gas supply device 24 that supplies a fuel gas (for example, hydrogen gas) to the fuel cell stack 20, and an oxidizing gas supply device 26 that supplies air as an oxidizing gas to the fuel cell stack 20. Although not shown in the drawings, the fuel cell system 12 further includes a battery as an energy storage device and a cooling medium supply device that supplies a cooling medium to the fuel cell stack 20.

Each of the power generation cells constituting the fuel cell stack 20 includes an electrolyte membrane-electrode assembly in which an anode electrode and a cathode electrode are disposed on both surfaces of an electrolyte membrane (for example, a solid polymer electrolyte membrane), and a pair of separators sandwiching the electrolyte membrane-electrode assembly from both sides. A fuel gas flow path is formed between the anode electrode and one of the separators. An oxidizing gas channel is formed between the cathode electrode and the other separator.

The fuel gas supply device 24 includes: a fuel gas tank 28 that stores high-pressure fuel gas (high-pressure hydrogen), a fuel gas supply line 30 that guides the fuel gas to the fuel cell stack 20, an ejector 32 provided on the fuel gas supply line 30, and an ejector 34 provided on the downstream side of the ejector 32. The fuel gas supply line 30 is connected to the fuel gas inlet 20a of the fuel cell stack 20. The injector 32 and the ejector 34 constitute a fuel gas injection device.

The fuel gas discharge line 36 is connected to the fuel gas outlet 20b of the fuel cell stack 20. The fuel gas discharge line 36 leads anode off-gas (fuel off-gas), which is fuel gas at least a part of which is used at the anode of the fuel cell stack 20, out of the fuel cell stack 20. A gas-liquid separator 38 is provided in the fuel gas discharge line 36. The circulation line 40 is connected to the fuel gas discharge line 36. The recycle line 40 directs the anode exhaust to the eductor 34. A hydrogen pump 42 (circulation pump) is provided in the circulation line 40. The hydrogen pump 42 may not be provided.

The oxidizing gas supply device 26 includes: an oxidant gas supply line 44 connected to the oxidant gas inlet 20c of the fuel cell stack 20, an oxidant gas discharge line 46 connected to the oxidant gas outlet 20d of the fuel cell stack 20, an air pump 48 that feeds air toward the fuel cell stack 20, and a humidifier 50 that humidifies the air supplied to the fuel cell stack 20.

The air pump 48 includes a compressor 48a for compressing air, a motor 48b for rotationally driving the compressor 48a, and an expander (recycling mechanism) 48c connected to the compressor 48 a. The oxidant gas supply line 44 is provided with a compressor 48 a. An air cleaner 52 is provided on the upstream side of the compressor 48a in the oxidizing gas supply line 44. Air is directed to the compressor 48a via an air cleaner 52. The oxidizing gas supply line 44 is provided with an air-cooled intercooler 54 that cools the air supplied to the fuel cell stack 20 on the downstream side of the compressor 48a (specifically, on the downstream side of the compressor 48a and on the upstream side of the humidifier 50).

As shown in fig. 2, an air cleaner 52 and an intercooler 54 are disposed at the front of the fuel cell vehicle 10. An air cleaner 52 is disposed below the hood 18, above the air pump 48, and on the vehicle front side (the arrow Af direction side) of the air pump 48. Air is introduced into the air cleaner 52, for example, through an air introduction port provided in the cover 18.

The air cleaner 52 and the compressor 48a communicate with each other via a pipe 60. The pipe 60 is connected to the air inlet 48f of the compressor 48 a. The air cleaner 52 incorporates a filter to remove dust and moisture from the introduced air and sends the air to the air pump 48. The air cleaner 52 is disposed on the vehicle front side of the exhaust pipe 13.

The intercooler 54 is disposed on the vehicle front side of the air pump 48. For example, the intercooler 54 is disposed inside the front bar 62, and is configured to cool the air (oxidant gas) supplied to the fuel cell stack 20 by exchanging heat between the air of the compressor 48a of the air pump 48 and the air from the front of the vehicle. The air outlet 48g of the compressor 48a communicates with the intercooler 54 via a pipe 64. For example, the intercooler 54 is disposed below the air cleaner 52 and on the vehicle front side of the air cleaner 52.

As shown in fig. 3, the expander 48c is provided in the oxidant gas discharge line 46. The pipe 46a constituting the oxidizing gas discharge line 46 is connected to the inlet 48h of the expander 48 c. The impeller of the expander 48c is coupled to the impeller of the compressor 48a via a coupling shaft 48 d. The impeller of the compressor 48a, the coupling shaft 48d, and the impeller of the expander 48c integrally rotate about the rotation shaft a. The cathode off-gas is introduced into the impeller of the expander 48c, and the fluid energy is recovered and reused by the cathode off-gas. The recovered and reused energy (japanese: regeneration エ ネ ル ギ) provides a portion of the driving force for rotating the compressor 48 a.

The humidifier 50 has a plurality of hollow fiber membranes that allow moisture to pass therethrough, and humidifies the air flowing toward the fuel cell stack 20 by exchanging moisture between the air flowing toward the fuel cell stack 20 and the wet cathode off-gas discharged from the fuel cell stack 20 by the hollow fiber membranes.

As shown in fig. 1, the air pump 48 is disposed at a lower portion of the front portion of the vehicle body (below the fuel cell stack 20). The air pump 48 is disposed below the auxiliary device case 14 a. That is, the air pump 48 is disposed at a position at least partially overlapping the auxiliary device case 14a when viewed in the vertical direction (the direction of arrow C). Further, the air pump 48 may be disposed on the vehicle rear side of the fuel cell stack 20. The air pump 48 may be disposed at a height at which at least a portion thereof overlaps the fuel cell stack 20 in the vertical direction.

As shown in fig. 2, the air pump 48 is disposed with its rotation axis a parallel to the vehicle front-rear direction (the direction of arrow a). The air pump 48 is disposed such that the rotation axis a thereof is orthogonal to the stacking direction of the fuel cell stack 20 (the direction of arrow B in fig. 1). In the present embodiment, the motor 48b is disposed between the compressor 48a and the expander 48 c. The coupling shaft 48d is provided with a motor rotor.

As shown in fig. 4, a compressor 48a and an expander 48c may be disposed on one end side (vehicle front side) of the motor 48 b. In this case, the air pump 48 is disposed such that the compressor 48a is positioned on the vehicle front side (the arrow Af direction side) of the expander 48 c.

As shown in fig. 2, the compressor 48a is disposed on the vehicle front side of the expander 48 c. The compressor 48a is disposed closer to the air cleaner 52 than the expander 48 c. The compressor 48a is disposed on the intercooler 54 side of the expander 48 c. The air pump 48 may be disposed such that the rotation axis a thereof is in the vertical direction, and the compressor 48a is disposed above the expander 48c (on the air cleaner 52 side).

The exhaust pipe 13 is connected to an outlet 48i of the expander 48 c. The front end portion 13a of the exhaust pipe 13 (the connection portion with the expander 48c) is located on the vehicle rear side and below the air cleaner 52. The front end portion 13a of the exhaust pipe 13 is located on the vehicle rear side of the compressor 48 a. The front end portion 13a of the exhaust pipe 13 is located on the vehicle rear side of the intercooler 54. The exhaust pipe 13 extends from the outlet 48i of the expander 48c, along the vehicle body bottom, to the vehicle body rear. Therefore, the outlet 13b of the exhaust pipe 13 is located at the position of the rear of the vehicle body.

Next, the operation of the fuel cell vehicle 10 (mainly the operation of the fuel cell system 12) configured as described above will be described.

In fig. 3, in the fuel gas supply device 24, the fuel gas is supplied from the fuel gas tank 28 to the fuel gas supply line 30. At this time, the fuel gas is injected by the injector 32 toward the ejector 34, introduced from the fuel gas inlet 20a into the fuel gas flow path in the fuel cell stack 20 via the ejector 34, and supplied to the anode.

On the other hand, in the oxidizing gas supply device 26, air as the oxidizing gas is sent to the oxidizing gas supply line 44 by the rotation of the air pump 48 (compressor 48 a). After being humidified by the humidifier 50, the air is introduced from the oxidizing gas inlet 20c into the oxidizing gas flow path in the fuel cell stack 20, and is supplied to the cathode. In each power generation cell, the fuel gas supplied to the anode and the oxygen in the air supplied to the cathode are consumed by the electrochemical reaction in the electrode catalyst layer to generate power.

The fuel gas that is not consumed at the anode is discharged as anode off-gas from the fuel gas outlet 20b to the fuel gas discharge line 36. The anode off-gas is introduced from the fuel gas discharge line 36 to the ejector 34 via the circulation line 40. The anode off-gas introduced into the ejector 34 is mixed with the fuel gas injected by the injector 32 and supplied to the fuel cell stack 20.

The wet cathode off-gas containing oxygen not consumed at the cathode and water as a reaction product at the cathode are discharged from the oxidant gas outlet 20d of the fuel cell stack 20 to the oxidant gas discharge line 46. The cathode off-gas is subjected to moisture exchange with air toward the fuel cell stack 20 at the humidifier 50, and then introduced into the expander 48c of the air pump 48. In the expander 48c, energy is recovered (recovered and reused) from the cathode off-gas, and the recovered and reused energy becomes a part of the driving force of the compressor 48 a. The cathode exhaust gas and the water are discharged from the expander 48c to the exhaust pipe 13, and are discharged to the outside of the vehicle through the exhaust pipe 13.

In this case, the fuel cell vehicle 10 achieves the following effects.

As shown in fig. 2, according to the fuel cell vehicle 10, since the compressor 48a is disposed on the air cleaner 52 side of the expander 48c, the efficiency of the layout of the piping 60 connecting the air cleaner 52 and the compressor 48a can be improved. Further, since the expander 48c is disposed at a position farther from the air cleaner 52 than the compressor 48a, the layout efficiency of the exhaust pipe 13 can be improved. Therefore, according to the fuel cell vehicle 10, the efficiency of piping layout around the air pump 48 can be improved.

The air cleaner 52 is disposed on the vehicle front side of the exhaust pipe 13, and the compressor 48a is disposed on the vehicle front side of the expander 48 c. With this configuration, the piping 60 connecting the air cleaner 52 and the compressor 48a is disposed on the vehicle front side with respect to the air pump 48, and the exhaust pipe 13 is disposed on the vehicle rear side with respect to the air pump 48, so layout efficiency can be improved.

An intercooler 54 for cooling the oxidizing gas is provided on the downstream side of the oxidizing gas supply line 44 relative to the compressor 48 a. The compressor 48a is disposed on the intercooler 54 side of the expander 48 c. With this configuration, the layout efficiency of the pipe 64 connecting the compressor 48a and the intercooler 54 can be improved.

The intercooler 54 is disposed on the vehicle front side of the air pump 48, and the compressor 48a is disposed on the vehicle front side of the expander 48 c. With this configuration, the pipe 64 connecting the intercooler 54 and the compressor 48a is disposed on the vehicle front side with respect to the air pump 48, and the exhaust pipe 13 is disposed on the vehicle rear side with respect to the air pump 48, so layout efficiency can be improved.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.