US 11,814,027 B2
Fuel reactant leak detection system and method of detecting fuel reactant leaks
Giorgio L Zoia, Los Angeles, CA (US); and Takehito Yokoo, Mission Viejo, CA (US)
Assigned to Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., Plano, TX (US)
Filed by Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc, Plano, TX (US)
Filed on Feb. 4, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/665,100.
Prior Publication US 2023/0249672 A1, Aug. 10, 2023
Int. Cl. B60W 20/50 (2016.01); B60W 10/06 (2006.01); B60W 10/08 (2006.01); B60W 20/16 (2016.01); B60W 50/02 (2012.01); F02D 41/00 (2006.01); F02M 25/08 (2006.01); B60W 50/029 (2012.01)
CPC B60W 20/50 (2013.01) [B60W 10/06 (2013.01); B60W 10/08 (2013.01); B60W 20/16 (2016.01); B60W 50/0205 (2013.01); F02D 41/0037 (2013.01); F02M 25/0809 (2013.01); B60W 2050/0297 (2013.01); B60W 2510/0638 (2013.01); B60W 2510/0657 (2013.01); B60W 2710/0644 (2013.01); B60W 2710/0666 (2013.01); B60Y 2200/92 (2013.01); F02M 2025/0845 (2013.01)] 12 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A vehicle, comprising:
one or more fuel cell modules;
a fuel supply source to supply a fuel reactant to the one or more fuel cell modules via a high-pressure fuel supply line, wherein the fuel supply source is to supply the fuel reactant to the one or more fuel cell modules at a pressure substantially the same as a pressure at the fuel supply source;
a fuel supply valve configured to open and close fuel reactant flow through the high-pressure fuel supply line;
one or more pressure sensors, operatively connected to a computing device, and configured to detect pressure in the high-pressure fuel supply line downstream of the fuel supply valve at a region between the one or more fuel cell modules and the fuel supply valve; and
a vehicle fuel reactant leak detection system that includes the computing device, operatively connected to the fuel supply source, the computing device having one or more processors and a non-transitory memory operatively coupled to the one or more processors comprising a set of instructions executable by the one or more processors to cause the one or more processors to:
conduct, in response to a detection as sensor data of pressure in the high-pressure fuel supply line when the vehicle engine is in a non-operating state, fuel pressure analysis of the sensor data; and
detect, based on the fuel pressure analysis, leakage of the fuel reactant at the fuel supply valve.