Nissan Motor Company Limited

Akira Yasutake

Motoki Yaginuma

Norihiro Tajima

Kazuhiro Kageyama

Keiji Ichihara

Manabu Sugino

Koichi Kawasaki

A spring member is used in a fuel cell stack. The spring member includes a planar portion and a spring portion. The planar portion is joined to a separator in a state of surface contact with the separator. The spring portion extends from the planar portion and generates an elastic force for pressing the separator toward a power generation cell by receiving force in a stacking direction of a cell unit and undergoing bending deformation.

Spring member, fuel cell unit, and fuel cell stack

The fuel cell single cell of the present invention includes: a membrane electrode assembly; a low-rigidity frame that supports the membrane electrode assembly; a pair of separators that holds the low-rigidity frame and the membrane electrode assembly therebetween; a gas channel for supplying gas to the membrane electrode assembly between the pair of separators; manifold parts that are formed in the low-rigidity frame and the pair of separators to supply the gas to the gas channel; restraining ribs that restrain the low-rigidity frame near the manifold parts; a projected part of the low-rigidity frame that projects toward the manifold parts beyond the restraining ribs; and a gas flow part that is formed in the projected part to supply the gas from the manifold part to the gas channel.

Single cell structure for fuel cells, and fuel cell stack structure wherein said fuel cell single cells are stacked

A fuel cell stack FS includes: a plurality of cell modules M each including an integrally stacked plurality of single cells C; a sealing plate P intervened between each of the plurality of cell modules M; a manifold Mthat penetrates the plurality of cell modules M and the sealing plate(s) P in a stacking direction to distribute reaction gas, wherein the sealing plate P includes a sealing member Sthat surrounds and seals the manifold Mbetween the sealing plate P and each of the plurality of cell modules M, and the sealing member Sincludes an extended portion E that extends toward the manifold Mso that an end face Fof the extended portion E is flush with an inner wall of the manifold M. Generated water is suitably discharged through the manifold Mwithout a decrease of the flowability of the reaction gas and an increase of the production cost.

Fuel cell stack

A fuel cell stack includes a stacked plurality of single cells that includes respective membrane electrode assemblieswith peripheral framesand respective pairs of separatorsA,B holding the framesand the membrane electrode assembliesbetween them, in which the framesand the separatorsA,B of the single cells C include respective distribution holes Hthat continue to each other in the stacked position to form a manifold Mfor distributing reaction gas, at least a part of the inner wall of the manifold Mis formed in a continuous flat shape that extends in the stacking direction of the single cells C. Generated water is suitably discharged through the manifold Mwithout a decrease of the flowability of reaction gas and an increase of the production cost.

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Akira Yasutake