Granted Patent B2

US 7,081,193 · App. 10/360,998 · Granted Jul 25, 2006

Abstract

Claims (34)

1. A fault isolation detection circuit for detecting a fault condition in a multi-stack fuel cell system, said circuit comprising:

a plurality of stack input stages each being responsive to a voltage signal from a stack in the fuel cell system;

a positive stack input stage responsive to a voltage signal from a positive terminal of the multi-stack relative to reference ground;

a negative stack input stage responsive to a voltage signal from a negative terminal of the multi-stack relative to reference ground; and

a processor responsive to the voltage signals from the input stages, said processor storing percentages of voltages from each of the plurality of stacks that contribute to a voltage at the positive terminal of the multi-stack and the negative terminal of the multi-stack for a no-fault condition, said processor determining whether the fault condition exists by calculating the percentages of the voltage contributions of each stack for the positive and negative terminals and comparing the calculated voltage contributions to the actual voltages at the positive and negative terminals of the multi-stack.

2. The circuit according to claim 1 wherein the processor determines the calculated voltage percentages and the stored voltage percentages by adding the voltage contribution from each stack to the positive terminal and the negative terminal of the multi-stack.

3. The circuit according to claim 1 wherein the voltage signal at the positive terminal of the multi-stack is a voltage drop between a positive terminal of a first stack in the multi-stack and reference ground through a coolant loop in the fuel cell system, and the voltage signal at the negative terminal of the multi-stack is a voltage drop between a negative terminal of a last stack in the multi-stack and reference ground through the coolant loop in the system.

4. The circuit according to claim 1 wherein the multi-stack fuel cell includes four stacks.

5. The circuit according to claim 4 wherein the voltage percentage of a first stack for the positive terminal is 0.75, the voltage percentage of a second stack for the positive terminal is 0.5, the voltage percentage of a third stack for the positive terminal is 0.25 and the voltage percentage of a fourth stack for the positive terminal is 0, and wherein the voltage percentage of the first stack for the negative terminal is −0.25, the voltage percentage of the second stack for the negative terminal is −0.5, the voltage percentage of the third stack for the negative terminal is −0.75 and the voltage percentage of the fourth stack for the negative terminal is −1.00.

6. The circuit according to claim 1 wherein the processor opens a circuit to remove current flow through the fuel cell system if a fault condition is detected.

7. The circuit according to claim 6 further comprising a high voltage interlock loop, said interlock loop being responsive to a signal from the processor when a fault condition is detected and removing the current flow from the fuel cell system in response thereto.

8. The circuit according to claim 7 wherein the interlock loop includes an opto-isolator for electrically isolating the rest of the circuit from the fuel cell system.

9. The circuit according to claim 1 wherein each stage includes a voltage divider circuit for reducing the voltage signal and an opto-isolator for isolating the reduced voltage signal from the rest of the circuit.

10. The circuit according to claim 1 further comprising an output circuit, said output circuit being responsive to a signal from the processor when a fault condition is detected to notify a universal controller of the fault condition.

11. The circuit according to claim 10 wherein the output circuit includes an opto-isolator for electrically isolating the rest of the circuit from the universal controller.

12. The circuit according to claim 1 wherein the multi-stack fuel cell system is on a vehicle.

13. A fault isolation detection circuit for detecting a fault condition in a multi-voltage source system, said circuit comprising:

a plurality of source input stages each being responsive to a voltage signal from one of a plurality of sources in the system;

a system input stage responsive to a voltage signal from a terminal of the system; and

a processor responsive to the voltage signals from the input stages, said processor storing percentage of voltages from each of the plurality of sources that contribute to a voltage at the terminal of the system for a no-fault condition, said processor determining whether the fault condition exists by calculating the percentages of the voltage contributions of each source for the terminal and comparing the calculated voltage contributions to the actual voltage at the terminal of the source.

14. The circuit according to claim 13 wherein the processor determines the calculated voltage percentages and the stored voltage percentages by adding the voltage contribution from each source to the terminal of the system.

15. A method for detecting a fault condition in a multi-stack fuel cell system, comprising:

determining percentages of voltages from each of a plurality of stacks in the multi-stack that contribute to a voltage at a positive terminal of the multi-stack and a negative terminal of the multi-stack for a no-fault condition;

measuring a voltage from each stack in the fuel cell system;

measuring a voltage from the positive terminal of the multi-stack in the fuel cell system;

measuring a voltage from the negative terminal of the multi-stack in the fuel cell system;

calculating the percentages of the voltage contributions of each stack for the positive and negative terminals of the multi-stack; and

comparing the calculated voltage contributions to the actual voltages at the positive and negative terminals of the multi-stack to determine if the fault condition exists.

16. The method according to claim 15 wherein determining the percentages of voltages from each of a plurality of stacks in the multi-stack and calculating the percentages of the voltage contributions of each stack include adding the voltage contributions from each stack for the positive terminal and the negative terminal of the multi-stack.

17. The method according to claim 15 further comprising removing a current flow from the fuel cell system in response to the fault condition.

18. The method according to claim 17 wherein removing the current flow includes removing the current flow only after the fault condition has been detected for a predetermined period of time.

19. The method according to claim 18 wherein the predetermined period of time is 4 ms.

20. The method according to claim 15 further comprising notifying a vehicle universal controller of the fault condition.

21. The method according to claim 15 further comprising determining whether the fault occurred at a high side or a low side of the multi-stack.

Assignments (13)