Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Daisuke Wachi

Yosuke Fujii

Ken Takahashi

Narutoshi Sugita

Seiji Sugiura

Masaharu Suzuki

Hideaki Kikuchi

Yoshinori Wariishi

Hiromichi Yoshida

Masahiko Sato

Shuhei Goto

Masahiro Mohri

Toshiaki Ariyoshi

Ichiro Baba

Tadashi Nishiyama

Ryoichi Yoshitomi

Keisuke Andou

Takaki Nakagawa

Naoki Yamano

Ayumu Ishizuka

Yuya Sato

A unit cell of a fuel cell stack includes separators. Load receivers provided in the separators include projections, for example. The proximal ends of the projections are depressed to form inner curves. In the structure, sufficient flexibility of the projection is achieved. That is, when a force in a direction perpendicular to a stacking direction of fuel cell stack is applied to the projection, the projection is deformed in the direction perpendicular to the stacking direction.

Fuel cell stack

A casing of a fuel cell stack has stack deformation prevention structure for limiting the change of an interval between end plates on the lower side in a direction of gravity, due to swelling of the lower side of the stack body in the direction of gravity. The stack deformation prevention structure is configured such that elastic modulus of a side plate provided on a lower side of the stack body in the direction of gravity is higher than elastic modulus of a side plate provided on an upper side of the stack body in the direction of gravity.

A fuel cell stack includes a load receiver provided at an outer end of a fuel cell unit, a guide receiver provided in a box, and a pressure receiver provided in at least one corner in the box. The guide receiver abuts against the load receiver for receiving the external load. The pressure receiver protrudes toward the fuel cell unit. The pressure receiver abuts against a corner of the fuel cell unit for receiving the load. The pressure receiver has a resin receiver, and the resin receiver abuts against a curved portion of the fuel cell unit for supporting the fuel cell unit.

A fuel cell includes a membrane electrode assembly, and a first and second separators for sandwiching the membrane electrode assembly. The first separator has an oxygen-containing gas flow passage for allowing an oxygen-containing gas in a serpentine pattern to flow horizontally back and forth, and flow downwardly. Partition areas are provided along the oxygen-containing gas flow passage in the serpentine pattern. The partition areas are formed by partially cutting out a gas diffusion layer. Insulating seals for preventing leakage of the oxygen-containing gas are provided in the partition areas.

Fuel cell and fuel cell stack

A fuel cell includes a membrane electrode assembly and first and second separators for sandwiching the membrane electrode assembly. A serpentine oxygen-containing gas flow field is formed on a surface of the first separator. A seal member is provided around the oxygen-containing gas flow field, i.e., around the anode. Filling seals are provided in a clearance between the seal member and the cathode at positions where the leakage of an oxygen-containing gas is likely to occur.

Fuel cell with a seal tightly in contact with an electrode for preventing leakage of a reactant gas

A fuel cell of the invention has unified a processing circuit processing a cell voltage output signal of a fuel cell stack and a connector connecting an circuit unit with terminals provided extending from separators of the fuel cell, thereby having abolished connection points (in which harnesses are attached and detached) of an electrical circuit unit with the connector. So, for connection, reliability can be improved, and downsizing is possible. Moreover, with a casing enclosing the connector and electrical circuit unit, the fuel cell can be made compact and the processing circuit can be surely protected thanks to being shielded from surroundings, thereby handling as a unit being able to be facilitated.

Fuel cell

An intermediate plate is interposed between first and second sub-stacks. The intermediate plate has, defined in a surface thereof, an oxygen-containing gas mixing passage interconnecting an oxygen-containing gas outlet in the first sub-stack which is located upstream and an oxygen-containing gas inlet in the second sub-stack which is located downstream. In the first and second sub-stacks, an oxygen-containing gas is supplied from the oxygen-containing gas inlet and discharged to the oxygen-containing gas outlet at all times.

A cell assembly is formed by stacking a first cell and a second cell. In the cell assembly, oxygen-containing gas flow passages are connected in series by an intermediate oxygen-containing gas flow passage, and fuel gas flow passages are connected in series by an intermediate fuel gas flow passage. An additional oxygen-containing gas is supplied to an oxygen-containing gas passage which includes the intermediate oxygen-containing gas flow passage. An additional fuel gas is supplied to a fuel gas passage which includes the intermediate fuel gas flow passage.

Fuel cell stack and a method of supplying reactant gases to the fuel cell stack

A cell assembly has reactant gas passages connected in series in first and second unit cells, and oxygen-containing gas inlets, intermediate oxygen-containing gas inlets, oxygen-containing gas outlets, intermediate oxygen-containing gas outlets which are defined in the first and second unit cells. The oxygen-containing gas inlets and the intermediate oxygen-containing gas inlets are disposed upwardly of the oxygen-containing gas outlets and the intermediate oxygen-containing gas outlets. The oxygen-containing gas outlets and the intermediate oxygen-containing gas outlets are disposed at least partly below electric energy generating surfaces of the first and second unit cells.

There is provided a fuel cell stacking body that allows a connector unit to be used even when the thickness of the fuel cells has been made thinner. A fuel cell stacking body is provided with stacked fuel cells that each have a membrane electrode assembly and separators that sandwich this membrane electrode assembly. The fuel cells generate electricity when fuel gas and oxidizer gas are supplied. The separators of the fuel cells are provided with terminals that enable voltage to be measured by being connected to connectors that are connected an external voltage measuring apparatus. One of the voltage measuring sections is formed at a different position, with respect to the stacking direction, from the voltage measuring section that is adjacent in the stacking direction. The spacing between terminals that are at the same position with respect to the stacking direction is kept at a distance that allows a connector unit formed by grouping together a plurality of connectors to be inserted.

Growing community of inventors

Shioya-gun, Japan

Daisuke Wachi