Patent Description:
The present disclosure relates to an air supply system and air supply method which supplies air to supply oxygen to a fuel cell. Relevant prior art is disclosed in <CIT> and <CIT>.

Fuel cells receive air and hydrogen and generate electric energy using hydrogen and oxygen contained in the air.

In this case, the air supplied to the fuel cell is compressed external air, and only when a temperature and a humidity are maintained within a specific range, electric energy generation efficiency may be improved.

Thus, to improve the efficiency of the fuel cell, there is an urgent need to develop an air supply system for supplying the air to the fuel cell.

The invention provides an air supply system for a fuel cell with the features of claim <NUM>, the air supply system including an air supply device configured to reduce a temperature of compressed air using heat exchange air and to provide the cooled air as power generation air to a fuel cell stack, and an indoor temperature adjustment device configured to provide external air as the heat exchange air to the air supply device or to cool the external air to provide the cooled external air as the heat exchange air to the air supply device, based on operation control information.

The air supply device includes an air compressor configured to compress the external air, an air cooler configured to cool the air compressed by the air compressor using cooling water, and a heat exchanger configured to cool the air cooled by the air cooler using the heat exchange air.

The air supply system includes a controller configured to generate the operation control information based on a temperature of the air cooled by the air cooler, a temperature of the air cooled by the heat exchanger, heat transfer efficiency of the heat exchanger, and a temperature of the external air.

The air supply device further may include an air filter configured to remove a pollutant from the external air and to provide, to the air compressor, the external air from which the pollutant source is removed, and a humidifier configured to add moisture to the air cooled by the heat exchanger and to provide, to the fuel cell stack, the air to which the moisture is added.

The indoor temperature adjustment device may include a condenser, an expansion valve, an evaporator, and a compressor of which operations are determined based on the operation control information.

The indoor temperature adjustment device further may include a blower motor configured to suck the external air, and a distributor configured to provide, to the air supply device, the external air sucked by the blower motor or the external air cooled by the evaporator as the heat exchange air.

The controller may be configured to determine whether a temperature of the power generation air is reduced to a temperature needed by the fuel cell stack only using the external air based on the temperature of the air cooled by the air cooler, the temperature of the air cooled by the heat exchanger, the heat transfer efficiency of the heat exchanger, and the temperature of the external air, and to provide a result of the determination as the operation control information to the indoor temperature adjustment device.

The controller may be configured to determine that the temperature of the power generation air is not cooled to a temperature needed by the fuel cell stack only using the external air, in response to the temperature of the external air exceeding a value of the following formula TACL,out-<NUM>/η*(TACL,out - TAHF,in) , wherein η is the heat transfer efficiency of the heat exchanger, TACL,out is the temperature of the air cooled by the air cooler, and TAHF,in is the temperature of the air cooled by the heat exchanger, and to generate the operation control information so that the external air is cooled and provided as the heat exchange air to the air supply device.

The controller may be configured to determine that the temperature of the power generation air is cooled to the temperature needed by the fuel cell stack only using the external air, in response to the temperature of the external air being less than or equal to the value of the following formula TACL,out-<NUM>/η*(TACL,out - TAHF,in), and to generate the operation control information so that the external air is provided as the heat exchange air to the air supply device.

The invention further provides a processor-implemented air supply method for a fuel cell with the features of claim <NUM>, wherein the method comprises: identifying whether a vehicle is started up; supplying heat exchange air to an air supply device, in response to the startup of the vehicle being identified, wherein the air supply device comprises: an air compressor configured to compress the external air, an air cooler configured to cool the air compressed by the air compressor using cooling water, and a heat exchanger configured to cool the air cooled by the air cooler using the heat exchange air and provide the cooled air to a fuel cell stack; determining whether a cooling condition of the heat exchange air is satisfied based on a temperature of the air cooled by the air cooler, a temperature of the air cooled by the heat exchanger, heat transfer efficiency of the heat exchanger, and a temperature of the external air; cooling external air and supplying the cooled external air as the heat exchange air to the air supply device by an indoor temperature adjustment device, in response to the cooling condition of the heat exchange air being satisfied, or supplying external air as the heat exchange air to the air supply device by the indoor temperature adjustment device, in response to the cooling condition of the heat exchange air not being satisfied; and determining whether the vehicle is started up, in response to the supplying of the heat exchange air having the temperature lower than that of the external air.

The determining of whether the cooling condition of the heat exchange air is satisfied may include supplying the heat exchange air having a temperature lower than that of the external air to the air supply device, in response to the temperature of the external air exceeding a value of the following formula TACL,out-<NUM>/η*(TACL,out - TAHF,in) , wherein η is the heat transfer efficiency of the heat exchanger, TACL,out is the temperature of the air cooled by the air cooler, and TAHF,in is the temperature of the air cooled by the heat exchanger.

The determining of whether the cooling condition of the heat exchange air is satisfied further may include supplying the external air as the heat exchange air to the air supply device, in response to the temperature of the external air being less than or equal to the value of the following formula TACL,out-<NUM>/η*(TACL,out - TAHF,in).

Although terms such as "first," "second," and "third," A, B, C, (a), (b), (c), or the like may be used herein to describe various members, components, regions, layers, or sections, these members, components, regions, layers, or sections are not to be limited by these terms.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms including technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to <FIG>.

<FIG> is a view illustrating a configuration of an air supply system for a fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to <FIG>, an air supply device <NUM>, a fuel cell stack <NUM>, an indoor temperature adjustment device <NUM>, and a controller <NUM> of the air supply system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may be implemented inside a vehicle. In this case, the controller <NUM> may be formed integrally with internal controllers of the vehicle or may be implemented as a separate device and connected to the controllers of the vehicle through a separate connection part.

Referring to <FIG>, the air supply system for a fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include the air supply device <NUM>, the fuel cell stack <NUM>, the indoor temperature adjustment device <NUM>, and the controller <NUM>.

The air supply device <NUM> may suck and compress external air, reduce a temperature of the compressed air using heat exchange air provided from the indoor temperature adjustment device <NUM>, and provide the air as power generation air to the fuel cell stack <NUM>.

In this case, the air supply device <NUM> may discharge, to the outside, the power generation air returning from the fuel cell stack <NUM>, that is, a part of humid air having high humidity, to adjust the pressure inside the fuel cell stack <NUM> and may return, to the indoor temperature adjustment device <NUM>, the heat exchange air used to reduce the temperature of the power generation air.

Further, the air supply device <NUM> may provide, to the controller <NUM>, temperature information corresponding to the temperature of internal air of the air supply device <NUM>.

The fuel cell stack <NUM> may generate electric energy by reacting oxygen contained in the power generation air provided from the air supply device <NUM> and hydrogen provided from a hydrogen storage device (not illustrated).

In this case, to increase electric energy production efficiency of the fuel cell stack <NUM>, the air supply device <NUM> may provide, to the fuel cell stack <NUM>, the power generation air that satisfies a preset temperature range and satisfies a preset relative humidity.

For example, the power generation air provided to the fuel cell stack <NUM> may be adjusted by the air supply device <NUM> such that the temperature of the power generation air is maintained within a range from <NUM> degrees to <NUM> degrees and the relative humidity thereof is maintained within a range from <NUM>% to <NUM>%.

The indoor temperature adjustment device <NUM> may suck the external air and cool or heat the sucked air.

In this case, the indoor temperature adjustment device <NUM> according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a vehicle air conditioner as a device that sucks the external air, cools the sucked air, and provides the cooled air to at least one of a vehicle interior or the air supply device <NUM>.

Further, the indoor temperature adjustment device <NUM> may provide the sucked external air as the heat exchange air to the air supply device <NUM> according to operation control information provided from the controller <NUM> and cool the sucked air to provide the cooled air as the heat exchange air to the air supply device <NUM>.

When the external air sucked by the indoor temperature adjustment device <NUM> is provided to the vehicle interior, the air provided to the vehicle interior is illustrated as cooling air in <FIG>.

Meanwhile, when the external air sucked by the indoor temperature adjustment device <NUM> is provided to the air supply device <NUM>, the air provided to the air supply device <NUM> is illustrated as the heat exchange air in <FIG>.

The controller <NUM> may generate the operation control information for determining whether to perform a cooling operation of the indoor temperature adjustment device <NUM>, on the basis of the temperature information provided from the air supply device <NUM>.

In this case, when the cooling operation of the indoor temperature adjustment device <NUM> is performed by the controller <NUM>, the air supply device <NUM> may receive the heat exchange air obtained by cooling the external air.

Meanwhile, when the cooling operation of the indoor temperature adjustment device <NUM> is stopped by the controller <NUM>, the air supply device <NUM> may receive the external air as the heat exchange air.

A detailed configuration of the air supply system for a fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present disclosure as configured above will be described below in detail with reference to <FIG>.

<FIG> is a view illustrating configurations of an air supply device and an indoor temperature adjustment device constituting the air supply system for a fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to <FIG>, the air supply device <NUM> may include an air filter <NUM>, an air compressor <NUM>, an air cooler <NUM>, a heat exchanger <NUM>, a humidifier <NUM>, and a pressure adjustment valve <NUM>.

The air filter <NUM> may remove a pollutant source of the sucked external air and provide, to the air compressor <NUM>, the air from which the pollutant source is removed.

The air compressor <NUM> may compress the air provided from the air filter <NUM> and provide the compressed air to the air cooler <NUM>.

In this case, the air compressed by the air compressor <NUM> may be high-temperature air, the temperature of which is high.

The air cooler <NUM> may primarily cool, using cooling water, the high-temperature compressed air provided from the air compressor <NUM>. In this case, the temperature of the air provided from the air cooler <NUM> to the heat exchanger <NUM> may be provided as the temperature information to the controller <NUM>.

The heat exchanger <NUM> may secondarily cool the air primarily cooled by the air cooler <NUM> using the heat exchange air provided from the indoor temperature adjustment device <NUM>.

The humidifier <NUM> may supply moisture to the air secondarily cooled by the heat exchanger <NUM>. In this case, the temperature of the air provided from the heat exchanger <NUM> to the humidifier <NUM> may be provided as the temperature information to the controller <NUM>.

Further, the air to which the moisture is supplied by the humidifier <NUM> may be provided to the fuel cell stack <NUM>. The air supplying oxygen thereof to the fuel cell stack <NUM> may be sucked back into the humidifier <NUM> and supply the moisture to the humidifier <NUM>.

The air supplying the moisture thereof to the humidifier <NUM> may be provided to the pressure adjustment valve <NUM>, and the pressure adjustment valve <NUM> may discharge, to the outside, the air provided from the humidifier <NUM>.

The indoor temperature adjustment device <NUM> may include a condenser <NUM>, an expansion valve <NUM>, an evaporator, and a compressor <NUM>. In this case, the indoor temperature adjustment device <NUM> may further include a blower motor for supplying the external air to the evaporator and a distributor for providing the air cooled by the evaporator or the air sucked from the blower motor to at least one of the vehicle interior and the heat exchanger <NUM> of the air supply device <NUM>.

The condenser <NUM> may release heat of high-temperature and high-pressure gas compressed by the compressor <NUM> to liquefy the high-temperature and high-pressure gas provided from the compressor <NUM>.

The expansion valve <NUM> may reduce the pressure of the low-temperature and high-pressure liquid from which heat is released by the condenser <NUM>, to generate a low-temperature and low-pressure liquid.

The evaporator may evaporate a low-temperature and low-pressure liquid (a refrigerant) of which the pressure is reduced by the expansion valve <NUM>.

The compressor <NUM> may compress the gas evaporated by the evaporator to generate the high-temperature and high-pressure gas so as to provide the high-temperature and high-pressure gas to the condenser <NUM>.

In this case, when the liquid (refrigerant) is evaporated by the evaporator, the vaporized liquid (refrigerant) absorbs the heat of the external air sucked by the blower motor. Thus, the external air sucked by the blower motor may be cooled and provided to at least one of the heat exchanger <NUM> of the air supply device <NUM> and the vehicle interior through the distributor.

The distributor having a partition wall installed therein may distribute the air cooled by the evaporator or the air sucked by the blower motor to the heat exchanger <NUM> and the vehicle interior.

Further, a temp door is installed inside the distributor, and the amount of air transferred to the vehicle interior, that is, cooling air, may be adjusted according to the opening amount of the temp door.

In this case, the air supply system for a fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may always operate the blower motor of the indoor temperature adjustment device <NUM> and control whether the condenser <NUM>, the expansion valve <NUM>, the evaporator, and the compressor <NUM> are operated, that is, whether the cooling operation is operated (is turned on or off), using the operation control information generated by the controller <NUM>.

That is, the external air sucked by the indoor temperature adjustment device <NUM> may be always provided as the heat exchange air to the air supply device <NUM>, and the controller <NUM> may determine whether the condenser <NUM>, the expansion valve <NUM>, the evaporator, and the compressor <NUM> are operated, to adjust the temperature of the heat exchange air provided to the air supply device <NUM>.

For example, according to the operation control information of the controller <NUM>, the indoor temperature adjustment device <NUM> may provide the sucked external air as the heat exchange air to the heat exchanger <NUM> of the air supply device <NUM> or cool the sucked external air to provide the cooled air as the heat exchange air to the heat exchanger <NUM> of the air supply device <NUM>.

As a result, the controller <NUM> may determine whether the indoor temperature adjustment device <NUM> performs a cooling operation, to adjust the temperature of the heat exchange air provided to the heat exchanger <NUM> of the air supply device <NUM>.

In this case, the controller <NUM> may receive, as temperature information, the temperature of the air provided from the air cooler <NUM> to the heat exchanger <NUM> and the temperature of the air provided from the heat exchanger <NUM> to the humidifier <NUM>.

The controller <NUM> may determine whether the indoor temperature adjustment device <NUM> performs a cooling operation on the basis of the temperature information (the temperature of the air provided from the air cooler <NUM> to the heat exchanger <NUM> and the temperature of the air provided from the heat exchanger <NUM> to the humidifier <NUM>), the heat transfer efficiency of the heat exchanger <NUM>, and the temperature of the external air.

An operation of the air supply system for a fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present disclosure as configured above will be described below in detail.

When the vehicle is started up, the indoor temperature adjustment device <NUM> may provide the external air that is not cooled, that is, sucked, as the heat exchange air to the air supply device <NUM>.

The air supply device <NUM> may suck and compress the external air, primarily cool the air, of which the temperature is increased due to the compression, using the air cooler <NUM>, secondarily cool the air using the heat exchanger <NUM>, and provide the air as the power generation air to the fuel cell stack <NUM>.

In this case, the heat exchange air provided to the air supply device <NUM> by the indoor temperature adjustment device <NUM> may be the external air sucked by the blower motor not the air cooled through the cooling operation.

That is, after the vehicle is started up, the heat exchanger <NUM> of the air supply device <NUM> may secondarily cool the air provided from the air cooler <NUM> using the external air sucked by the blower motor and provide the cooled air to the humidifier <NUM>.

Thereafter, the controller <NUM> may determine whether the indoor temperature adjustment device <NUM> performs the cooling operation on the basis of the temperature of the air primarily cooled by the air cooler <NUM>, the temperature of the air secondarily cooled by the heat exchanger <NUM>, the temperature of the external air, and the heat transfer efficiency of the heat exchanger <NUM>.

That is, when it is determined that, in the heat exchanger <NUM>, the heat exchange air having the temperature of the external air does not satisfy a power generation air temperature range required by the fuel cell stack <NUM> on the basis of the temperature of the air primarily cooled by the air cooler <NUM>, the temperature of the air secondarily cooled by the heat exchanger <NUM>, and the temperature of the external air, the controller <NUM> may generate the operation control information so that the indoor temperature adjustment device <NUM> performs the cooling operation. In this case, the operation control information generated from the controller <NUM> may be provided to the indoor temperature adjustment device <NUM>.

The controller <NUM> may generate the operation control information for performing a cooling operation of the indoor temperature adjustment device <NUM> when TAmbient > TACL,out-<NUM>/η*(TACL,out - TAHF,in) is satisfied and may generate the operation control information for stopping the cooling operation of the indoor temperature adjustment device <NUM> when TAmbient ≤ TACL,out-<NUM>/η*(TACL,out - TAHF,in) is satisfied.

In this case, TAmbient may mean the temperature of the external air, η may mean the heat transfer efficiency of the heat exchanger <NUM>, TACL,out may mean the temperature of the air output from the air cooler <NUM>, and TAHF,in may mean the temperature of the air provided to the humidifier <NUM> and the heat transfer efficiency of the heat exchanger <NUM> may be a value preset during the design.

The formulas TAmbient 〉 TACL,out-<NUM>/η*(TACL,out - TAHF,in) and TAmbient ≤ TACL,out -<NUM>/η*(TACL,out - TAHF,in) for determining whether the controller <NUM> performs the cooling operation of the indoor temperature adjustment device <NUM> may be formulas derived from a formula for calculating the heat transfer efficiency of the heat exchanger <NUM>.

The heat transfer efficiency η of the heat exchanger <NUM> may be defined as (actual heat transfer rate)/(maximum possible heat transfer rate), and η = (TACL,out - TAHF,in)/(TACL,out - TAmbient) may be expressed.

When the formula for calculating the heat transfer efficiency of the heat exchanger <NUM> is arranged for the temperature TAmbient of the external air, the formula may be arranged in TAmbient= TACL,out -<NUM>/η*(TACL,out - TAHF,in). In this case, the heat transfer efficiency may be a preset value at the time of design.

Thus, when the temperature TAmbient of the external air exceeds a value of TACL,out-<NUM>/η*(TACL,out - TAHF,in), the controller <NUM> may determine that the heat exchanger <NUM> does not satisfy the temperature of the power generation air required by the fuel cell stack <NUM> using the external air and may generate the operation control information for performing the cooling operation of the indoor temperature adjustment device <NUM>.

Meanwhile, when the temperature TAmbient of the external air is less than or equal to the value of TACL,out-<NUM>/η*(TACL,out - TAHF,in), the controller <NUM> may determine that the heat exchanger <NUM> satisfies the temperature of the power generation air required by the fuel cell stack <NUM> using the external air and may generate the operation control information for stopping the cooling operation of the indoor temperature adjustment device <NUM>.

As a result, in the air supply system for a fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, since the compressed air provided to the fuel cell stack <NUM> is primarily cooled by the air cooler <NUM> and is secondarily cooled by the heat exchanger <NUM>, the temperature of the compressed air may be reduced as much as the temperature required by the fuel cell stack <NUM>, and thus power generation efficiency of the fuel cell stack <NUM> may be improved.

In addition, in the air supply system for a fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the secondarily cooled air does not satisfy the required temperature of the power generation air of the fuel cell stack <NUM> only using the external air in the heat exchanger <NUM>, the cooling operation of the indoor temperature adjustment device <NUM> (that is, an air conditioner) is performed, and thus the heat exchanger <NUM> may be controlled to receive air having a lower temperature than the external air.

Thus, in the air supply system for a fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the temperature of the power generation air required by the fuel cell stack <NUM> is satisfied regardless of the temperature of the external air, and thus the power generation efficiency of the fuel cell stack <NUM> may be improved.

<FIG> is a flowchart for describing an air supply method for a fuel cell according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to <FIG>, the air supply method for a fuel cell according to another embodiment of the present disclosure may include a start-up identifying operation S1, a heat exchange air supplying operation S2, a heat exchange air cooling condition satisfaction determining operation S3, a vehicle air conditioner operating operation S4, and a vehicle air conditioner stopping operation S5.

The start-up identifying operation S1 may include an operation of identifying whether a vehicle is started up.

When it is determined in the start-up identifying operation S1 that the vehicle is started up, the heat exchange air supplying operation S2 may be performed.

Meanwhile, when the starting of the vehicle is not identified in the start-up identifying operation S1, the air supply method for a fuel cell according to another embodiment of the present disclosure may be terminated.

The heat exchange air supplying operation S2 may include an operation of supplying the heat exchange air from the indoor temperature adjustment device <NUM> (hereinafter, a vehicle air conditioner) to the air supply device <NUM> and an operation of cooling the power generation air provided to the fuel cell stack <NUM> using the heat exchange air by the air supply device <NUM>.

In this case, the air supply device <NUM> may compress the external air, may primarily cool the compressed air using the cooling water by the air cooler <NUM>, may secondarily cool the air using the heat exchange air by the heat exchanger <NUM>, and may provide the cooled air to the fuel cell stack <NUM>.

The heat exchange air cooling condition satisfaction determining operation S3 may include an operation of determining whether the power generation air may be cooled to a temperature required by the fuel cell stack <NUM> using the heat exchange air having the temperature of the external air.

For example, in the heat exchange air cooling condition satisfaction determining operation S3, when it is determined (YES) that the power generation air cannot be cooled to the temperature required by the fuel cell stack <NUM> only using the external air, the vehicle air conditioner operating operation S4 may be performed.

In this case, in the heat exchange air cooling condition satisfaction determining operation S3, when the temperature TAmbient of the external air exceeds a value of TACL,out-<NUM>/η*(TACL,out - TAHF,in) (YES), it is determined that the power generation air may not be cooled to the temperature required by the fuel cell stack <NUM> only using the external air, and thus the vehicle air conditioner operating operation S4 may be performed.

Meanwhile, in the heat exchange air cooling condition satisfaction determining operation S3, when it is determined (NO) that the power generation air may be cooled to the temperature required by the fuel cell stack <NUM> using the heat exchange air having the temperature of the external air, the vehicle air conditioner stopping operation S5 may be performed.

In this case, in the heat exchange air cooling condition satisfaction determining operation S3, when the temperature TAmbient of the external air is less than or equal to the value of TACL,out-<NUM>/η**(TACL,out - TAHF,in) (NO), it is determined that the power generation air may be cooled to the temperature required by the fuel cell stack <NUM> using the heat exchange air having the temperature of the external air, and thus the vehicle air conditioner stopping operation S5 may be performed.

In the formula of TACL,out-<NUM>/η*(TACL,out - TAHF,in), η may mean heat transfer efficiency of the heat exchanger <NUM>, TACL,out may mean the temperature of the air output from the air cooler <NUM>, TAHF,in may mean the temperature of the air provided to the humidifier <NUM>, and the heat transfer efficiency of the heat exchanger <NUM> may be a preset value at the time of design.

The vehicle air conditioner operating operation S4 may include an operation of cooling the external air and providing the cooled air as the heat exchange air.

The vehicle air conditioner stopping operation S5 may include an operation of providing the sucked external air as the heat exchange air.

After the vehicle air conditioner operating operation S4 and the vehicle air conditioner stopping operation S5 are performed, the start-up identifying operation S1 may be performed again.

As a result, in the air supply method for a fuel cell according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, when the external air is compressed, the temperature of the compressed air is reduced, and the air is provided as the power generation air to the fuel cell stack <NUM>, it is determined whether the power generation air may be cooled to the temperature required by the fuel cell stack <NUM> only using the external air, and thus it may be determined whether to operate a vehicle air conditioner.

Further, in the air supply method for a fuel cell according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, when the power generation air cannot be cooled to the temperature required by the fuel cell stack only using the external air, the vehicle air conditioner may be operated to cool the power generation air using the heat exchange air having a temperature lower than that of the external air.

The present technology has an advantage in that power generation efficiency of a fuel cell may be increased by controlling a temperature of air supplied to a fuel cell.

An aspect of the present disclosure provides an air supply system and an air supply method for improving power generation efficiency of a fuel cell.

The air supply device <NUM>, the indoor temperature adjustment device <NUM>, the controller <NUM>, and other apparatuses, devices, units, modules, and components described herein are implemented by hardware components. Examples of hardware components that may be used to perform the operations described in this application where appropriate include controllers, sensors, generators, drivers, memories, comparators, arithmetic logic units, adders, subtractors, multipliers, dividers, integrators, and any other electronic components configured to perform the operations described in this application. In other examples, one or more of the hardware components that perform the operations described in this application are implemented by computing hardware, for example, by one or more processors or computers. A processor or computer may be implemented by one or more processing elements, such as an array of logic gates, a controller and an arithmetic logic unit, a digital signal processor, a microcomputer, a programmable logic controller, a field-programmable gate array, a programmable logic array, a microprocessor, or any other device or combination of devices that is configured to respond to and execute instructions in a defined manner to achieve a desired result. In one example, a processor or computer includes, or is connected to, one or more memories storing instructions or software that are executed by the processor or computer. Hardware components implemented by a processor or computer may execute instructions or software, such as an operating system (OS) and one or more software applications that run on the OS, to perform the operations described in this application. The hardware components may also access, manipulate, process, create, and store data in response to execution of the instructions or software. For simplicity, the singular term "processor" or "computer" may be used in the description of the examples described in this application, but in other examples multiple processors or computers may be used, or a processor or computer may include multiple processing elements, or multiple types of processing elements, or both. For example, a single hardware component or two or more hardware components may be implemented by a single processor, or two or more processors, or a processor and a controller. One or more hardware components may be implemented by one or more processors, or a processor and a controller, and one or more other hardware components may be implemented by one or more other processors, or another processor and another controller. One or more processors, or a processor and a controller, may implement a single hardware component, or two or more hardware components. A hardware component may have any one or more of different processing configurations, examples of which include a single processor, independent processors, parallel processors, single-instruction single-data (SISD) multiprocessing, single-instruction multiple-data (SIMD) multiprocessing, multiple-instruction single-data (MISD) multiprocessing, multiple-instruction multiple-data (MIMD) multiprocessing, a controller and an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a DSP, a microcomputer, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic unit (PLU), a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a neural processing unit (NPU), or any other device capable of responding to and executing instructions in a defined manner.

The methods that perform the operations described in this application are performed by computing hardware, for example, by one or more processors or computers, implemented as described above executing instructions or software to perform the operations described in this application that are performed by the methods.

The Instructions or software to control a processor or computer to implement the hardware components and perform the methods as described above are written as computer programs, code segments, instructions or any combination thereof, for individually or collectively instructing or configuring the processor or computer to operate as a machine or special-purpose computer to perform the operations performed by the hardware components and the methods as described above. In one example, the instructions or software include machine code that is directly executed by the processor or computer, such as machine code produced by a compiler. In an example, the instructions or software includes at least one of an applet, a dynamic link library (DLL), middleware, firmware, a device driver, an application program storing the air supply method for a fuel cell. In another example, the instructions or software include higher-level code that is executed by the processor or computer using an interpreter. Programmers of ordinary skill in the art can readily write the instructions or software based on the block diagrams and the flow charts illustrated in the drawings and the corresponding descriptions in the specification, which disclose algorithms for performing the operations performed by the hardware components and the methods as described above.

The instructions or software to control a processor or computer to implement the hardware components and perform the methods as described above, and any associated data, data files, and data structures, are recorded, stored, or fixed in or on one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media. Examples of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium include read-only memory (ROM), random-access programmable read only memory (PROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), random-access memory (RAM), magnetic RAM (MRAM), spin-transfer torque(STT)-MRAM, static random-access memory (SRAM), thyristor RAM (T-RAM), zero capacitor RAM (Z-RAM), twin transistor RAM (TTRAM), conductive bridging RAM(CBRAM), ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM), phase change RAM (PRAM), resistive RAM(RRAM), nanotube RRAM, polymer RAM (PoRAM), nano floating gate Memory(NFGM), holographic memory, molecular electronic memory device), insulator resistance change memory, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), flash memory, non-volatile memory, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, CD+Rs, CD-RWs, CD+RWs, DVD-ROMs, DVD-Rs, DVD+Rs, DVD-RWs, DVD+RWs, DVD-RAMs, BD-ROMs, BD-Rs, BD-R LTHs, BD-REs, blue-ray or optical disk storage, hard disk drive (HDD), solid state drive (SSD), flash memory, a card type memory such as multimedia card micro or a card (for example, secure digital (SD) or extreme digital (XD)), magnetic tapes, floppy disks, magneto-optical data storage devices, optical data storage devices, hard disks, solid-state disks, and any other device that is configured to store the instructions or software and any associated data, data files, and data structures in a non-transitory manner and providing the instructions or software and any associated data, data files, and data structures to a processor or computer so that the processor or computer can execute the instructions. In an example, the instructions or software and any associated data, data files, and data structures are distributed over network-coupled computer systems so that the instructions and software and any associated data, data files, and data structures are stored, accessed, and executed in a distributed fashion by the one or more processors or computers.

While this disclosure includes specific examples, it will be apparent after an understanding of the disclosure of this application that various changes in form and details may be made in these examples without departing from the scope of the claims. The examples described herein are to be considered in a descriptive sense only, and not for purposes of limitation. Descriptions of features or aspects in each example are to be considered as being applicable to similar features or aspects in other examples. Suitable results may be achieved if the described techniques are performed in a different order, and/or if components in a described system, architecture, device, or circuit are combined in a different manner, and/or replaced or supplemented by other components or their equivalents.

Claim 1:
An air supply system for a fuel cell, the air supply system comprising:
- an air supply device (<NUM>) configured to reduce a temperature of compressed air using heat exchange air and to provide the cooled air as power generation air to a fuel cell stack (<NUM>),
wherein the air supply device (<NUM>) comprises:
an air compressor (<NUM>) configured to compress the external air,
an air cooler (<NUM>) configured to cool the air compressed by the air compressor (<NUM>) using cooling water; and
a heat exchanger (<NUM>) configured to cool the air cooled by the air cooler (<NUM>) using the heat exchange air;
- an indoor temperature adjustment device (<NUM>) configured to provide external air as the heat exchange air to the air supply device (<NUM>) or to cool the external air to provide the cooled external air as the heat exchange air to the air supply device (<NUM>), based on operation control information; and
- a controller (<NUM>) configured to generate the operation control information based on a temperature of the air cooled by the air cooler (<NUM>), a temperature of the air cooled by the heat exchanger (<NUM>), heat transfer efficiency of the heat exchanger (<NUM>), and a temperature of the external air.