Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Hideo Nagaosa

Yoshihito Moriya

Shuuji Nakano

Shinichiro Kikuoka

Norihiko Nakamura

Yoshihiko Masuda

Toshio Tanahashi

Toyokazu Baika

Kenichi Nomura

Hiroshi Noguchi

Toshio Itoh

Kota Manabe

Masaaki Matsusue

Eiichi Kamiyama

Tatsuo Kobayashi

Masayuki Ito

Katsuhiko Hirose

Kazuhisa Mogi

Masanobu Kanamaru

Naoki Takehiro

Makoto Adachi

Tatehito Ueda

Kingo Horii

Toshio Ito

Makoto Ueno

Yoshihiro Shinozaki

Hiroyuki Kawase

Tetsu Yamada

Hiroshi Tada

Kazuhiro Ito

Takahiro Kushibe

Katsuhiko Aoyama

Shinichi Sano

Kouichi Nakae

A fuel cell is provided with: a membrane electrode assembly (MEA); and a cathode-side separator assembled to the MEA, the cathode-side separator including first passages on a first surface of the cathode-side separator on a side closer to the MEA, and second passages on a second surface of the cathode-side separator on an opposite side, the first and second passages allowing oxidant gas to flow through the first and second passages, respectively. The first passages include first recessed portions on the first surface so as to extend from one end of the cathode-side separator to the other end, the second passages include second recessed portions on the second surface so as to extend from the one end to the other end and to be arranged alternately with the first recessed portions, and a penetration hole on a bottom face of the second recessed portion penetrating through the cathode-side separator.

Fuel cell and fuel cell separator

A fuel cell stack includes: a first stack including: first unit cells stacked; and a first outer peripheral surface around a first stacking direction of the first unit cells; a second stack that is juxtaposed to the first stack including; second unit cells stacked along the first stacking direction of the first unit cells; and a second outer peripheral surface around a second stacking direction of the second unit cells; an external gas manifold that supplies and discharges a reactant gas to and from the first and second stacks; and an external coolant manifold that supplies and discharges a coolant to and from the first and second stacks.

Fuel cell stack

A manufacturing method of a fuel cell stack includes: stacking fuel cells on a first end plate; superposing a pressure plate, on which protruding portions are provided along an outer periphery thereof, on a stacked body of the fuel cells so that the protruding portions protrude outward from side faces of the stacked body; pressing the protruding portions so that the stacked body is pressed between the first end and the pressure plates; measuring a length of the stacked body in a stacking direction while pressing the protruding portions; superposing on the pressure plate an adjustment plate having a thickness in accordance with the measured length while pressing the protruding portions; and fixing a second end plate to the first end plate so as to sandwich the stacked body, the pressure plate and the adjustment plate between the first and the second end plates while pressing the protruding portions.

Manufacturing method of fuel cell stack

A fuel cell stack includes: a stacked body including unit cells stacked; end plates sandwiching the stacked body in a stacking direction in which the unit cells are stacked; a tension plate fastening the end plates; and fixing mechanisms fixing the tension plate to the end plates.

Fuel cell stack having fixing mechanisms

When it is determined that the vehicle is stopped, a control unit blocks communication between a first opening and a fuel cell by a first valve. When a fan is being driven and communication between the first opening and the fuel cell is blocked by the first valve, a second valve opens a third opening.

Air-cooled fuel cell vehicle

An air-cooled fuel-cell vehicle includes: a drive motor for the vehicle; an air-cooled fuel cell; an intake duct which is placed on a vehicle front side relative to the fuel cell and guides air to the fuel cell; an air-intake shutter mechanism which opens and closes the intake duct; a storage chamber provided on the vehicle front side relative to a passenger compartment of the vehicle and accommodates the fuel cell, the intake duct, and the air-intake shutter mechanism; a controlling portion which controls the air-intake shutter mechanism; and a collision detector which detects a front collision of the vehicle. The controlling portion controls the air-intake shutter mechanism to a closed side when the front collision of the vehicle is detected, and the intake duct includes a tubular metal plate portion or a resin portion containing an elastomer component.

Air-cooled fuel-cell vehicle

An electrically driven vehicle comprises: a body frame arranged in a holding compartment formed in front of a passenger compartment; a suspension member fastened to the body frame in the holding compartment through a rear side fastening structure; and a fuel cell stack supported on the suspension member through a rear side mount at a position in front of the rear side fastening structure. When a serious collision occurs, the fuel cell stack moves rearward and strikes the fastening structure whereby the fastening structure breaks and thereby suspension member separates from the body frame and the fuel cell stack moves downward and heads toward the inside of the shelter space between the holding compartment and a road surface.

Electrically driven vehicle

In order to secure a driving performance of an electric vehicle while stably supporting a fuel cell stack, a fuel cell stack generating electric power, a motor generator, and an electrical adjuster are accommodated in an accommodation compartment formed at a front side of a passenger compartment in a vehicle length direction. The electric motor and the electrical adjuster are housed in a common, bottom casing and the bottom casing is arranged at a bottom of the accommodation compartment. A stack support surface which is flat and extends in substantially a horizontal direction is formed at a top of the casing. The fuel cell stack is arranged above the casing and is supported by the casing through mounts arranged on the stack support surface.

Electric vehicle

A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell of a solid polymer type that generates power by using a hydrogen-containing gas as a fuel gas, a reformer that generates the fuel gas by reforming ammonia, and a supply amount ratio control unit that controls a supply amount ratio of oxygen and ammonia to be supplied the reformer.

Fuel cell system and control method for fuel cell system

A valve timing control apparatus of an internal combustion engine that includes a biasing device that applies bias force to a camshaft of intake or exhaust valves so as to bring the valve timing of the engine into a predetermined state when the valve timing is in a predetermined range, for example, when the valve timing is on the retard side of the engine start valve timing with which the engine is started is controlled by a controller that controls the valve timing in view of the bias force of the biasing device.

Valve timing control apparatus and method of internal combustion engine

The cam face of an intake cam has a main lift portion, which causes an intake valve to execute a basic lift operation, and a sub lift portion, which assists the action of the main lift portion. The main lift portion and the sub lift portion continuously change in an axial direction of the intake cam. An axial movement mechanism moves the intake cam in the axial direction to adjust the axial position of the cam face that drives the intake valve. The axial movement of the intake cam results in the valve being given a variety of valve lift characteristics in the form of a combination of a cam lift pattern realized by the main lift portion and a cam lift pattern realized by the sub lift portion. Therefore, various engine performances required according to the running conditions of the engine can be fully satisfied by the valve characteristics.

Engine valve characteristic controller

A three-dimensional cam has a cam profile surface shape that changes along a rotating axis of the cam, and is produced by net-shape-sintering. The sintered density of a sintering material at the time of net-shape-sintering is set to 7 to 7.4 g/cm to achieve a hole rate of the cam profile surface within the range of 5 to 10%. The three-dimensional cam has an improved durability, while securing high productivity.

Three-dimensional cam and production method thereof

A valve train for an internal combustion engine has a variable valve performance mechanism for changing the valve open angle of at least one set of intake valves and exhaust valves. The valve train further includes an electronic control unit (ECU) for controlling the variable valve performance mechanism and a sensor for detecting the running state of the engine. The ECU judges whether there is a malfunction in the engine based on detection signals from the sensor. If there is a malfunction in the engine, the ECU actuates the variable valve performance mechanism to decrease the valve overlap thereby performing a failsafe. The ECU also advances the closing timing of the intake valves. Alternatively, the ECU retards the opening timing of the exhaust valves.

Variable performance valve train having three-dimensional cam

A variable valve apparatus of an internal combustion engine is capable of realizing more precise valve characteristic control by reducing the error in-detection of the amount of movement of a camshaft caused by a difference in the rate of thermal expansion. The variable valve apparatus has a camshaft that is supported so as to be rotatable and slidable in a direction of an axis thereof and that has three-dimensional cams whose cam profile continuously changes in the direction of the axis. The apparatus also has an actuator for moving the camshaft in the direction of its axis. The apparatus further has a camshaft position sensor provided in a cylinder head, a detected portion provided in the camshaft, and a camshaft movement amount detection portion for detecting the amount of movement of the camshaft in the direction of the axis. The camshaft movement amount detection portion is provided near a camshaft reference position.

Variable valve apparatus of internal combustion engine and method of varying the open-close characteristic of an engine valve

Variable valve characteristic control apparatuses realize a change in a valve characteristic in accordance with a requirement of an internal combustion engine and a three-dimensional cam for use in the variable valve characteristic control apparatus. In the case of an intake valve, two lift patterns and continuously varying lift patterns between the two lift patterns are realized by the three-dimensional cam through the driving of the variable valve characteristic control apparatus. The two lift patterns provide different amounts of lift in the delay side of a peak within a valve operation angle, but provide equal amounts of lift in the delay side of the peak. Since the intake cam has the two lift patterns, it is possible to select a phase where the two lift patterns provide equal amounts of lift and provide different amounts of lift in phases other than the equal-lift phase so as to accord to the characteristics of the internal combustion engine. Therefore, it is possible to achieve conformation to the characteristics of the engine and therefore constantly realize a suitable valve characteristic in accordance with the operational condition of the engine. Hence, improvements can be achieved in the output performance of the engine, the fuel consumption, the combustion stability and the like.

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Susono, Japan

Hideo Nagaosa