A moisture sensor working to measure a moisture content of a specified measurement gas is provided which consists of an electrochemical cell having a first electrode exposed to the measurement gas and a second electrode exposed to a reference gas and a controller. The electrochemical cell outputs a
A moisture sensor working to measure a moisture content of a specified measurement gas is provided which consists of an electrochemical cell having a first electrode exposed to the measurement gas and a second electrode exposed to a reference gas and a controller. The electrochemical cell outputs an electrical energy arising from chemical reaction of the measurement gas with the reference gas. The controller controls at least one of voltage appearing across and current flowing through the electrochemical cell and uses one of them to measure the moisture content of the measurement gas. This enables the moisture content to be determined free from the humidify of the measurement gas.
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What is claimed is: 1. A fuel cell system, comprising: a moisture sensor working to measure a moisture content of a measurement gas, said moisture sensor including (a) an electrochemical cell having a first electrode exposed to the measurement gas and a second electrode exposed to a reference gas,
What is claimed is: 1. A fuel cell system, comprising: a moisture sensor working to measure a moisture content of a measurement gas, said moisture sensor including (a) an electrochemical cell having a first electrode exposed to the measurement gas and a second electrode exposed to a reference gas, said electrochemical cell outputting an electrical energy arising from chemical reaction of the measurement gas with the reference gas, (b) a voltage detector working to measure a voltage appearing at said electrochemical cell, (c) a current detector working to measure a current produced by said electrochemical cell, and (d) a controller controlling at least one of the voltage and the current of said electrochemical cell, said controller determining the moisture content of the measurement gas using one of the voltage and the current and providing a signal indicative thereof; a fuel cell producing an electrical energy through chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen; a moisture controlling mechanism working to control a quantity of moisture within said fuel cell; and a system controller working to determine a moisture condition within said fuel cell using the signal outputted from said moisture sensor, said system controller actuating said moisture controlling mechanism to control the quantity of moisture within said fuel cell to a desired value based on the determined moisture condition, wherein the measurement gas and the reference gas are identical in kind with each other, and wherein said controller works to bring a potential difference between the first and second electrodes of said moisture sensor to a given potential difference and determines that the quantity of moisture within said fuel cell is excessive when the current produced by the electrochemical cell is smaller than a first preselected current value. 2. A fuel cell system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said controller determines that said fuel cell lacks in moisture content thereof when the current produced by the electrochemical cell is greater than a second preselected current value. 3. A fuel cell system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said controller determines that the quantity of moisture within said fuel cell is excessive when the a potential difference between the first and second electrodes of the electrochemical cell under control in which said controller controls the current flowing through the electrochemical cell to a given current value is greater than a first preselected potential difference. 4. A fuel cell system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said controller determines that said fuel cell lacks in moisture content when the potential difference between the first and second electrodes of the electrochemical cell under control in which said controller controls the current flowing through the electrochemical cell to a given current value is smaller than a second preselected potential difference. 5. A fuel cell system as set forth in claim 1, further comprising an oxygen gas drain line through which an oxygen gas discharged from an oxygen electrode of said fuel cell flows and a hydrogen gas drain line through which a hydrogen gas discharged from a hydrogen electrode of said fuel cell flows, and wherein said moisture sensor is installed in at least one of said oxygen gas drain line and said hydrogen gas drain line to measure a moisture content of at least one of the hydrogen gas and the oxygen gas discharged from said fuel cell. 6. A fuel cell system as set forth in claim 1, further comprising an oxygen supply line through which an oxygen gas is supplied to said fuel cell and a hydrogen gas supply line through which a hydrogen gas is supplied to said fuel cell, and wherein said moisture sensor is installed in at least one of said oxygen gas supply line and said hydrogen gas supply line to measure a moisture content of at least one of the hydrogen gas and the oxygen gas supplied to said fuel cell. 7. A fuel cell system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said moisture sensor is installed within said fuel cell and works to measure a moisture content of at least one of an oxygen or a hydrogen gas within said fuel cell. 8. A fuel cell system as set forth in claim 7, wherein the electrochemical cell of said moisture sensor is formed by a portion of said fuel cell. 9. A fuel cell system as set forth in claim 7, further comprising moisture sensors installed in some of the cells of said fuel cell stack which are identical in structure with said moisture sensor. 10. A fuel cell system, comprising: a moisture sensor working to measure a moisture content of a measurement gas, said moisture sensor including (a) an electrochemical cell having a first electrode exposed to the measurement gas and a second electrode exposed to a reference gas, said electrochemical cell outputting an electrical energy arising from chemical reaction of the measurement gas with the reference gas, (b) a voltage detector working to measure a voltage appearing at said electrochemical cell, (c) a current detector working to measure a current produced by said electrochemical cell, and (d) a controller controlling at least one of the voltage and the current of said electrochemical cell, said controller determining the moisture content of the measurement gas using one of the voltage and the current and providing a signal indicative thereof; a fuel cell producing an electrical energy through chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen; a moisture controlling mechanism working to control a quantity of moisture within said fuel cell; and a system controller working to determine a moisture condition within said fuel cell using the signal outputted from said moisture sensor, said system controller actuating said moisture controlling mechanism to control the quantity of moisture within said fuel cell to a desired value based on the determined moisture condition, wherein the measurement gas and the reference gas are different in kind from each other, and wherein said controller works to bring the voltage of the electrochemical cell to a given voltage and determines that the quantity of moisture within said fuel cell is excessive when the current produced by the electrochemical cell is smaller than a first preselected current value. 11. A fuel cell system as set forth in claim 10, wherein said controller determines that said fuel cell lacks in moisture content thereof when the current produced by the electrochemical cell is greater than a second preselected current value. 12. A fuel cell system, comprising: a moisture sensor working to measure a moisture content of a measurement gas, said moisture sensor including (a) an electrochemical cell having a first electrode exposed to the measurement gas and a second electrode exposed to a reference gas, said electrochemical cell outputting an electrical energy arising from chemical reaction of the measurement gas with the reference gas, (b) a voltage detector working to measure a voltage appearing at said electrochemical cell, (c) a current detector working to measure a current produced by said electrochemical cell, and (d) a controller controlling at least one of the voltage and the current of said electrochemical cell, said controller determining the moisture content of the measurement gas using one of the voltage and the current and providing a signal indicative thereof; a fuel cell producing an electrical energy through chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen; a moisture controlling mechanism working to control a quantity of moisture within said fuel cell; and a system controller working to determine a moisture condition within said fuel cell using the signal outputted from said moisture sensor, said system controller actuating said moisture controlling mechanism to control the quantity of moisture within said fuel cell to a desired value based on the determined moisture condition, wherein the measurement gas and the reference gas are different in kind from each other, and wherein said controller determines that the quantity of moisture within said fuel cell is excessive when a value of the voltage of the electrochemical cell under control in which the current flowing through the electrochemical cell is kept at a given current value is smaller than a first preselected voltage value. 13. A fuel cell system, comprising: a moisture sensor working to measure a moisture content of a measurement gas, said moisture sensor including (a) an electrochemical cell having a first electrode exposed to the measurement gas and a second electrode exposed to a reference gas, said electrochemical cell outputting an electrical energy arising from chemical reaction of the measurement gas with the reference gas, (b) a voltage detector working to measure a voltage appearing at said electrochemical cell, (c) a current detector working to measure a current produced by said electrochemical cell, and (d) a controller controlling at least one of the voltage and the current of said electrochemical cell, said controller determining the moisture content of the measurement gas using one of the voltage and the current and providing a signal indicative thereof; a fuel cell producing an electrical energy through chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen; a moisture controlling mechanism working to control a quantity of moisture within said fuel cell; and a system controller working to determine a moisture condition within said fuel cell using the signal outputted from said moisture sensor, said system controller actuating said moisture controlling mechanism to control the quantity of moisture within said fuel cell to a desired value based on the determined moisture condition, wherein the measurement gas and the reference gas are different in kind from each other, and wherein said controller determines said fuel cell lacks in moisture content thereof when a value of the voltage of the electrochemical cell under control in which the current flowing through the electrochemical cell is kept at a given current value is greater than a second preselected voltage value. 14. A fuel cell system comprising: a fuel cell stack including a plurality of cells each of which is made up of a pair of collection members and an electrolyte film disposed between the collection members; a moisture sensor working to measure a quantity of moisture within at least one of the cells and output a signal indicative thereof; a moisture controlling mechanism working to control a moisture content of said fuel cell stack; and a system controller working to determine a moisture condition within said fuel cell stack using the signal outputted from said moisture sensor, said system controller actuating said moisture controlling mechanism to control the quantity of moisture within said fuel cell stack to a desired value based on the determined moisture condition, wherein said moisture sensor includes (a) an electrochemical cell having electrodes formed by portions of the pair of collection members of the cell and said electrolyte film and (b) a resistance measuring circuit working to measure a resistance value of said electrochemical cell, and wherein the quantity of moisture within the cell is determined as a function of the resistance value of said electrochemical cell. 15. A fuel cell system as set forth in claim 14, wherein said resistance measuring circuit is designed to apply a sinusoidal wave signal to an output signal of said electrochemical cell and change a frequency of the sinusoidal wave signal to measure an AC impedance of said electrochemical cell, said resistance measuring circuit determines a resistance value of said electrolyte film and a reaction-caused resistance value of the electrodes of said electrochemical cell. 16. A fuel cell system as set forth in claim 15, wherein said system controller determines that said fuel cell stack lacks in moisture content thereof when the resistance value of the electrolyte film is greater than a first preselected resistance value. 17. A fuel cell system as set forth in claim 16, wherein said system controller determines that the quantity of moisture within said fuel cell stack lies within an allowable range when the resistance value of the electrolyte film is smaller than the first preselected resistance value and when the reaction-caused resistance value is smaller than a second preselected resistance value. 18. A fuel cell system as set forth in claim 17, wherein said system controller determines that the quantity of moisture within said fuel cell stack is excessive when the reaction-caused resistance value is greater than the second preselected resistance value.
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