EP-4738491-A1 - POWER SUPPLY DEVICE APPLIED TO FUEL CELLS AND OPERATION METHOD THEREFOR

EP4738491A1EP 4738491 A1EP4738491 A1EP 4738491A1EP-4738491-A1

Abstract

A power supply device applied to fuel cells, comprising a power conversion circuit and a control circuit. The power conversion circuit is configured to output corresponding power to a load on the basis of a power input signal of a fuel cell. The control circuit is configured to generate an input current control signal on the basis of an input power command and a power ramp rate command, or an input current command and a current ramp rate command, and a measured power value or a measured current value. On the basis of the input current control signal, the control circuit generates a control signal, and accordingly controls the power conversion circuit to adjust the power or current of the power input signal of the fuel cell. The input current of the power supply device can reach the expected target more quickly, and the power supply device is prevented from excessively drawing input power or current from the fuel cell. The present application also relates to an operation method.

Inventors

PENG, YUNG-WEI
HUANG, CHIA-HSIONG
HSU, CHE-JUNG
YANG, YUNG-HSIANG
HSU, Hsueh-wen
TSAI, TERNG-WEI
HUNG, CHUNG-YU

Assignees

Delta Electronics, Inc.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260506
Application Date: 20250123

Claims (9)

A power supply unit, configured to be coupled to a fuel cell and a load, comprising: a power conversion circuit, comprising a power conversion input end configured to be coupled to the fuel cell and a power conversion output end configured to be coupled to the load, wherein the power conversion circuit generates an electric power output signal to the load based on an electric power input signal of the fuel cell; and a control circuit, coupled to the power conversion circuit and configured to: generate an input current control signal based on an input power command and a power change rate command or based on an input current command and a current change rate command, and also based on a measured power value or a measured current value; generate an output current control signal based on the input current control signal and an output current measurement value; generate an output voltage control signal based on a reference voltage value and an output voltage measurement value; and generate a power conversion control signal based on at least one of the output current control signal and the output voltage control signal to control the power conversion circuit to adjust a power of the electric power input signal of the fuel cell based on the power change rate command, or to control the power conversion circuit to adjust a current of the electric power input signal of the fuel cell based on the current change rate command.
The power supply unit according to claim 1, wherein the control circuit comprises an input signal control circuit, which comprises: a reference generation circuit, configured to generate a target reference power value or a target reference current value based on the input power command and the power change rate command or based on the input current command and the current change rate command; an input signal difference generation circuit, configured to generate an input power difference or an input current difference based on the measured power value and the target reference power value or based on the measured current value and the target reference current value; and an input signal control generation circuit, to generate the input current control signal based on the input power difference or the input current difference.
The power supply unit according to claim 1, wherein the control circuit further comprises: an output current control circuit, configured to compare the input current control signal and the output current measurement value to generate a current difference value, and generate the output current control signal based on the current difference value; and an output voltage control circuit, configured to compare the reference voltage value and the output voltage measurement value to generate a voltage difference value, and generate the output voltage control signal based on the voltage difference value; a multiplexer, configured to generate a modulation control signal based on the output current control signal or the output voltage control signal; and a signal modulation circuit, configured to generate the power conversion control signal based on the modulation control signal.
The power supply unit according to claim 3, wherein when an output power provided by the power supply unit is less than a required power of the load, the multiplexer correspondingly generates the modulation control signal based on the output current control signal; and when the output power provided by the power supply unit is greater than the required power of the load, the multiplexer correspondingly generates the modulation control signal based on the output voltage control signal.
An operating method of a power supply unit, comprising: receiving an electric power input signal from a fuel cell; correspondingly generating an input current control signal based on an input power command and a power change rate command or based on an input current command and a current change rate command, and based on a measured power value or a measured current value; generating an output current control signal based on the input current control signal and an output current measurement value; generating an output voltage control signal based on a reference voltage value and an output voltage measurement value; and generating a power conversion control signal based on at least one of the output current control signal and the output voltage control signal, to control the power supply unit to adjust a power of the electric power input signal of the fuel cell based on the power change rate command, or to control the power supply unit to adjust a current of the electric power input signal of the fuel cell based on the current change rate command.
The operating method according to claim 5, further comprising: correspondingly outputting an electric power output signal to a load based on the output current control signal and the output voltage control signal.
The operating method according to claim 5, further comprising: correspondingly generating a target reference power value or a target reference current value based on the input power command and the power change rate command or based on the input current command and the current change rate command; correspondingly generating an input power difference or an input current difference based on the measured power value and the target reference power value or based on the measured current value and the target reference current value; and generating the input current control signal based on the input power difference or the input current difference.
The operating method according to claim 5, further comprising: comparing the input current control signal and the output current measurement value to generate a current difference value, and generating the output current control signal based on the current difference value; and comparing the reference voltage value and the output voltage measurement value to generate a voltage difference value, and generating the output voltage control signal based on the voltage difference value; generating a modulation control signal based on the output current control signal or the output voltage control signal; and generating the power conversion control signal based on the modulation control signal.
The operating method according to claim 8, wherein when an output power provided by the power supply unit is less than a required power of a load, a modulation control signal is correspondingly generated based on the output current control signal; and when the output power provided by the power supply unit is greater than the required power of the load, the modulation control signal is correspondingly generated based on the output voltage control signal.

Description

BACKGROUND Technical field The present disclosure relates to a power supply unit, and in particular, to a power supply unit for a fuel cell and an operating method thereof. Description of Related Art In the application of a general existing power supply unit, an input end of the power supply unit is coupled to an input power source, and a power conversion circuit is configured to convert a voltage, a current, or a power according to various load requirements to provide appropriate electric power to a load. However, in the application in which an existing power supply unit uses a fuel cell as an input power source, the fuel cell cannot immediately provide a required current or power to the power conversion circuit due to the restriction of a reaction rate of its fuel. Therefore, in an existing manner, a current control device is provided between the fuel cell and the power conversion circuit to restrict the rate at which the power conversion circuit extracts a current from the fuel cell, thereby avoiding over-consuming or damaging the fuel cell caused by the power conversion circuit extracting an excessive large current or power from the fuel cell. The current control device is often implemented using a variable resistor or a semiconductor element operating in a variable resistor mode, which not only consumes additional energy but also affects the reaction speed and performance of the power supply unit. FIG. 1 is a timing diagram of an input current of a power conversion circuit of a fuel cell at different current change rates. Due to the reaction time of the current control device, an output delay is caused after the output of the fuel cell passes through the current control device. As a result, the input current of the power conversion circuit rises or falls in a step-like manner, which is more obvious when the current rises and falls at a relatively high rate, resulting in reduction of the reaction speed and performance of the power supply unit. SUMMARY Therefore, it is necessary to improve a power supply unit of an existing fuel cell to resolve the above technical problems. An aspect of the present disclosure is a power supply unit. The power supply unit is coupled to a fuel cell and a load. The power supply unit comprises a power conversion circuit and a control circuit. The power conversion circuit comprises a power conversion input end configured to be coupled to the fuel cell and a power conversion output end configured to be coupled to the load. The power conversion circuit correspondingly outputs an electric power output signal to the load based on an electric power input signal of the fuel cell. The control circuit is coupled to the power conversion circuit. The control circuit is configured to perform: correspondingly generating an input current control signal based on an input power command and a power change rate command or based on an input current command and a current change rate command, and based on a measured power value or a measured current value; generating an output current control signal based on the input current control signal and an output current measurement value; generating an output voltage control signal based on a reference voltage value and an output voltage measurement value; and generating a power conversion control signal based on at least one of the output current control signal and the output voltage control signal, to control the power conversion circuit to adjust a power of the electric power input signal of the fuel cell based on the power change rate command, or to control the power conversion circuit to adjust a current of the electric power input signal of the fuel cell based on the current change rate command. Another aspect of the present disclosure is an operating method applied to a power supply unit. The operating method comprises: receiving an electric power input signal from a fuel cell; correspondingly generating an input current control signal based on an input power command and a power change rate command or based on an input current command and a current change rate command, and based on a measured power value or a measured current value; generating an output current control signal based on the input current control signal and an output current measurement value; generating an output voltage control signal based on a reference voltage value and an output voltage measurement value; and generating a power conversion control signal based on at least one of the output current control signal and the output voltage control signal, to control the power supply unit to adjust a power of the electric power input signal of the fuel cell based on the power change rate command, or to control the power supply unit to adjust a current of the electric power input signal of the fuel cell based on the current change rate command. The present disclosure provides a power supply unit for a fuel cell and an operating method thereof. A power conversion control signal is gene