Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Akira Aoto

Toru Bisaka

Yutaka Hotta

Hideyuki Tanaka

Hiroaki Nishiumi

Susumu Oda

Shunichi Shibasaki

Shin Nishida

Syuji Hirakata

Junichi Matsubara

Tsutomu Kohara

Relays and the like are arranged so that any restriction is not imposed on a portion where a fastening member between end plates or the like is disposed. To realize this, a relay assembly is provided in a stack case. In this case, when the relay assembly is integrated with a service plug, cables between relays and the service plug can preferably be omitted. Moreover, the relay assembly includes a resin plate to which the relays and the service plug are attached, and these relays are electrically connected to the service plug via buses on the resin plate.

Fuel cell

A fuel cell module for a vehicle, which accommodates a stacked-cell body which is provided with electric output terminals for taking electric power from stacked power generating cells in a metallic casing which has an insulation layer on its inner surface, is disposed in a vehicle front room such that the stacked direction of the power generating cells is a longitudinal direction of the vehicle and the electric output terminals face the front of the vehicle. An insulating cover made of insulating rubber which is thicker than an insulation layer of a cover is disposed on the exterior surface of the electric output terminals to prevent short circuiting of the electric output terminals.

Fuel cell module for vehicles

A connector of the present invention has a at least one detection terminal that is connected to an electrode provided on the fuel cell, and an insulating connector case housing the detection terminal. The connector case may have either a channel-shaped groove or a protruding guide for mating with, and for causing sliding with a protruding guide or channel-shaped groove provided on the fuel cell when the connector is attached to the fuel cell.

Voltage detection connector for a fuel cell and a fuel cell adapted for same

Vehicle with fuel cell module

A housing case that houses a fuel cell is provided with mounts for fixing two ends of a lower surface of an end plate that retains stacked unit cells of the fuel cell, and a mount for fixing a central portion of a lower surface of another end plate. Using these three mounts, the fuel cell is fixed to the housing case.

Fuel cell mounting structure

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a cell monitor connector having a pair of terminals is connected to a fuel cell stack including a plurality of fuel cells each having two separators. One terminal of the pair of terminals is caused to contact a first fuel cell at one of the two separators of the first fuel cell, and the other terminal of the pair of terminals is caused to contact a second fuel cell located adjacent to the first fuel cell at one of the two separators of the second fuel cell having the same polarity as the one of the separators of the first fuel cell, whereby an interval of the pair of terminals can be widened.

Connecting structure of a cell monitor connector to a fuel cell stack

A separator for a fuel cell includes a metal plate that is formed of a gas passage portion and a contact portion of a part other than the gas passage portion. The contact portion is brought into contact with a terminal of a cell voltage monitor attached to the fuel cell. The surface treatment applied to the gas passage portion is different from the surface treatment applied to the contact portion. The surface treatment applied to the gas passage portion includes a carbon coat, and the surface treatment applied to the contact portion includes no carbon coat.

Separator for fuel cell including a terminal of a cell voltage monitor

A fuel cell apparatus is formed by connecting four stacks via a supply/discharge box. A cooling water supply opening and a cooling water discharge opening are short-circuited by a cable so as to eliminate the electric potential difference therebetween. To avoid hindrance of gas flow due to water droplets, a drain port for discharging water droplets is provided near a fuel gas discharge opening of the supply/discharge box. Each stack is formed by clamping end plates disposed on opposite ends of stacked cells through the use of upper and lower tension plates. The thus-formed fuel cell apparatus is housed in an outer case that has a sealed construction for preventing penetration of foreign substances. Thus, the apparatus achieves a size reduction and an improvement in practicality.

Growing community of inventors

Okazaki, Japan

Akira Aoto