Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Sumitomo Riko Company Limited

Tokai Rubber Industries, Ltd.

Hideaki Tanahashi

Yutaka Ishioka

Kenji Sato

Hideya Kadono

Fumishige Shizuku

Shinichi Haga

Hiroo Yoshikawa

Takuya Kurihara

Chisato Kato

Kazutaka Iizuka

Hiroki Itakura

Yasuhiko Mihara

Takuji Nagano

A rubber gasket for a fuel cell is interposed between a first member and a second member stacked in the fuel cell. The fuel cell includes: a seat portion arranged on a surface of the first member; and a lip portion that includes a first hill portion projecting from the seat portion toward the second member and having a curved surface with a first curvature radius and a second hill portion projecting from the first hill portion toward the second member and having a curved surface with a second curvature radius smaller than the first curvature radius, and that makes elastic contact with the second member. The seat portion includes a planar inclined surface inclined with respect to the surface direction at a connecting portion leading to a bottom of the first hill portion.

Rubber gasket for fuel cell

A manufacturing method of a fuel cell module includes: forming an outer divided body having a frame shape and formed from an uncrosslinked item of solid rubber having adhesiveness in a seal member arrangement portion of a separator to produce an outer temporary assembly, and forming an inner divided body having a frame shape and formed from an uncrosslinked item of solid rubber in a peripheral edge portion of an electrode member to produce an inner temporary assembly; fitting the inner temporary assembly into a frame of the outer temporary assembly to produce a cell assembly temporary assembly; arranging a cell assembly stack, in which a plurality of the cell assembly temporary assemblies are stacked, in a forming die; and pressurizing and heating the forming die to crosslink the uncrosslinked item

Manufacturing method of fuel cell module and manufacturing method of fuel cell

A manufacturing method of a fuel cell module includes: forming an outer divided body having a frame shape and formed from an uncrosslinked item of solid rubber having adhesiveness in a seal member arrangement portion of a separator to produce an outer temporary assembly, and forming an inner divided body having a frame shape and formed from an uncrosslinked item of solid rubber in a peripheral edge portion of an electrode member to produce an inner temporary assembly fitting the inner temporary assembly into a frame of the outer temporary assembly to produce a cell assembly temporary assembly; arranging a cell assembly stack, in which a plurality of the cell assembly temporary assemblies are stacked, in a forming die; and pressurizing and heating the forming die to crosslink the uncrosslinked item.

A manufacturing method of a cell assembly for a fuel cell includes: producing an electrode member, a separator, and a seal member preform, which has a frame shape and which is formed from an uncrosslinked item of solid rubber having adhesiveness, in a predetermined shape in advance; arranging the electrode member, the separator, and the seal member preform in a forming die including a pressing member, and closing the forming die while the pressing member is pressing a side of the electrode member that is opposite to the separator in the thickness direction; and pressurizing and heating the forming die to crosslink the uncrosslinked item so that the seal member seals the peripheral edge portion of the electrode member and integrates the electrode member and the separator with each other.

Manufacturing method of cell assembly for fuel cell and manufacturing method of fuel cell

A fuel cell includes a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) having an electrolyte membrane and a pair of electrodes arranged on both sides of the electrolyte membrane in the thickness direction, a pair of frames having a frame shape and holding an outer periphery portion of the electrolyte membrane, a pair of gas diffusion layers arranged inside the pair of frames and on both sides of the MEA in the thickness direction, and a gasket covering at least a part of the pair of frames. The fuel cell further includes a first cross-linking adhesive member formed of rubber which includes a membrane accommodating portion having an indented shape for accommodating the outer periphery portion of the electrolyte membrane and a first intermediate portion interposed between the pair of frames and which is subjected to cross-linking adhesion with the outer periphery portion of the electrolyte membrane and the pair of frames.

Fuel cell, fuel cell stack, and method for manufacturing fuel cell

A fuel cell module includes: an electrode member having a membrane electrode assembly, which is formed from an electrolyte membrane and a pair of electrode catalyst layers that is disposed on both sides of the electrolyte membrane in the thickness direction, and having a pair of porous layers disposed on both sides of the membrane electrode assembly in the thickness direction; a separator disposed layered on the electrode member so as to contact at least one of the porous layers; and an adhesive rubber member sealing a peripheral edge portion of the electrode member, wherein the electrode member and the separator are integrated by the adhesive rubber member, and a tensile product of the adhesive rubber member is 1,500 MPa&#xb7;% or more.

Fuel cell module and manufacturing method thereof

A unit cell for use in a solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell comprising: a membrane/electrode assembly including a fuel electrode and an oxidant electrode disposed on either side of a solid polymer electrolyte membrane, the assembly being sandwiched from either side by a first separator and a second separator to give a stacked construction to form therebetween a fuel gas flow passage and an oxidant gas flow passage. The solid polymer electrolyte membrane has a projecting portion projecting outwardly beyond the fuel electrode and the oxidant electrode, and the projecting portion is coated by a reinforcing resin member. Connecting grooves formed on a primary face of the separators connecting both ends of the fuel gas/oxidant gas flow passages with a fuel/oxidant gas feed/discharge ports, respectively. The reinforcing resin member is placed so as to bridge openings of the connecting grooves in order to give a tunnel construction to the connecting grooves.

Growing community of inventors

Komaki, Japan

Hideaki Tanahashi