Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Hideichi Yamamura

Tadashi Tsunoda

Shigeru Toda

Tetsuya Ogawa

Hiroki Homma

Keiji Tsukamoto

Hidemi Kimura

A fuel cell module is equipped with a fuel cell stack having a stack body in which a plurality of flat plate-shaped fuel cells adapted to generate electrical power by an electrochemical reaction between a fuel gas and an oxygen-containing gas are stacked, and a start-up combustor adapted to generate a combustion gas for raising a temperature of the fuel cells. In the fuel cell module, the start-up combustor is arranged in the vicinity of oxygen-containing gas introduction ports through which the oxygen-containing gas in the interior of the fuel cell stack is introduced into the fuel cells.

Fuel cell module

A fuel cell module includes a first casing containing the fuel cell stack, and a second casing containing the first casing, an exhaust gas combustor, and a heat exchanger. The exhaust gas combustor has a combustion gas discharge opening opened to a combustion gas chamber formed between the first casing and the second casing.

A fuel cell includes electrolyte electrode assembly and separators. An annular member and a ring foil are provided between the separators. The annular member is provided around an outer circumferential portion of the electrolyte electrode assembly, and includes grooves for discharging a first exhaust gas FGoff which has been consumed at an anode to the outside of the electrolyte electrode assembly. The ring foil is provided adjacent to a cathode, and extends from a position between an outer end of the electrolyte electrode assembly to a position between the annular member and the separator.

Fuel cell

A fuel cell includes electrolyte electrode assembly and separators. An exhaust gas separation member is provided between the separators. The exhaust gas separation member includes an annular portion formed around an outer circumferential portion of the electrolyte electrode assembly, a seal portion fixed to the annular portion and sandwiched between the outer end of the electrolyte electrode assembly and one of the separators, and a stopper provided integrally with the annular portion and fixedly engaged with the other separator.

A fuel cell includes a plurality of electrolyte electrode assemblies and a pair of separators sandwiching the electrolyte electrode assemblies. A substantially ring shaped stopper is formed integrally with a plate of the separator. The stopper has a guide inclined surface, and the guide inclined surface contacts an anode inclined surface formed in an outer circumferential region of the anode of the electrolyte electrode assembly for preventing exposure of the anode to the exhaust gas.

Fuel cell having separator with stopper

A heat exchanger is provided in which second heat transfer plates () and first heat transfer plates (not illustrated) are alternately superimposed so as to form high pressure fluid passages () and low pressure fluid passages (not illustrated). The high pressure fluid passages () include inlet fluid passages () defined by inlet ridges (to) extending from a compressed air inlet (), and main fluid passages () defined by a plurality of main ridges () extending parallel to each other in the longitudinal direction of the second heat transfer plates () so as to be perpendicular to the inlet fluid passages (). The two inlet fluid passages () have different widths (Wa, Wb), and gaps (&#x3b1;, &#x3b2;) are formed between the downstream ends of the two inlet ridges () and the upstream ends of the main ridges (). A high pressure fluid can thereby be uniformly distributed into the main fluid passages () connected to the inlet fluid passages () of the high pressure fluid passages () of the heat exchanger.

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Tokorozawa, Japan

Hideichi Yamamura