Panasonic Corporation

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Matushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Pansonic Corporation

Hiroki Kusakabe

Toshihiro Matsumoto

Shinsuke Takeguchi

Hideo Ohara

Kazuhito Hatoh

Norihiko Kawabata

Eiichi Yasumoto

Nobuhiro Hase

Takashi Morimoto

Soichi Shibata

Yoshiki Nagao

Hisaaki Gyoten

Teruhisa Kanbara

Mitsuo Yoshimura

Masuo Takigawa

Yoshiaki Yamamoto

Yoichiro Tsuji

Susumu Kobayashi

Yasushi Sugawara

Masayo Sugou, Legal Representative

Makoto Uchida

Tatsuto Yamazaki

Osamu Sakai

Takeshi Tomizawa

Takayuki Urata

Tohru Okauchi

Shigeyuki Unoki

Atsushi Murata

Akihiko Yoshida

Junji Morita

Junji Niikura

Yoshihiro Hori

Yasuo Takebe

Masato Hosaka

Shinichi Arisaka

Katsuzou Kokawa

Masaki Yamauchi

Satoru Fujii

Hidenobu Wakita

Shinya Kosako

Hiroyuki Nagai

Kenji Arai

Masaki Nobuoka

Kazufumi Nishida

Takahiro Umeda

Hideo Kasahara

Masatoshi Teranishi

Tomohiro Kijima

Susumu Hatano

Naotsugu Koashi

Yasuhiro Seki

Masayo Sugou

Hiroaki Matsuoka

Yusuke Ikeshima

Naoko Yoshizawa

Yoko Yamaguchi

Tatsuto (deceased) Yamazaki

Yasumoto Eiichi

A close attachment region is provided on the outer side relative to an outer edge portion of a gas diffusion layer and on the inner side relative to the inner edge portion of a gasket as seen from the thickness direction of a polymer electrolyte membrane, such that separators and a frame member are closely attached to each other. Thus, it becomes possible to suppress an increase in the manufacturing cost and a reduction in the power generation performance, which is attributed to the impurity eluted from the gasket and flowing toward the gas diffusion layer.

Fuel cell

A fuel cell of the present invention includes: four fastening bolts which extend in a stack direction of a stack structure so as to penetrate through openings of end plates and nuts which are disposed at both ends of the fastening bolts and can adjust fastening forces applied by the fastening bolts to the stack structure sandwiched between the end plates. Each fastening bolt is disposed in the vicinity of an intermediate point of each side of the end plate. In an electrode facing region of the end plate, one or more springs are disposed on a first straight line passing through two fastening bolts one or more springs are disposed on a second straight line passing through two fastening bolts one or more springs are disposed on a third straight line passing through two fastening bolts and one or more springs are disposed on a fourth straight line passing through two fastening bolts.

Fuel cell having a fastening structure including a specified configuration of elastic members

In an electrode-membrane-frame assembly production method, a principal part is formed by an electrolyte membrane, first and second catalyst layers and first and second gas diffusion layers, with the first and second gas diffusion layers arranged with their outer circumferences at different positions. The principal part is arranged in a molding die with a circumferential region of the principal part disposed on a flat region of a primary molded body. A circumferential portion of one of the gas diffusion layers is arranged to oppose a flat region of the primary molded body so that the membrane is interposed between the circumferential portion and the flat region. Subsequently, a secondary molded body is formed to integrate with the primary molded body and the principal part.

Method for producing an electrode-membrane-frame assembly

A cell stack of a fuel cell comprises a cell stack body including a cell stack structure including plural cells stacked together; an elastic member disposed at an end of the cell stack structure in a direction in which the plural cells are stacked, and a pair of end plates sandwiching the cell stack structure and the elastic member, and a fastener band extending to surround the cell stack body and to cover a pair of end surfaces and a pair of opposing side surfaces of the cell stack body, the fastener band including a first band engagement portion and a second band engagement portion at both end portions thereof, respectively, and the cell stack body is fastened by the fastener band by direct or indirect engagement between the first band engagement portion and the second band engagement portion.

Cell stack of fuel cell and method of fastening cell stack of fuel cell

A polymer electrolyte fuel cell of the present invention includes: plate-shaped cells () each having a pair of plate-shaped separators () and () and a membrane-electrode assembly () disposed between the separators () and (); a cell stack () configured by stacking and fastening the cells (); and a covering member () covering a peripheral surface of the cell stack (), and voltage measuring terminal insertion holes () used to measure the voltages of the cells () are formed on the covering member () so as to be located at positions corresponding to the separators () and () of the cells ().

Polymer electrolyte fuel cell and method for measuring voltages of cells in polymer electrolyte fuel cell

An object of the present invention is to provide a fuel cell including a reaction gas supply path which makes it difficult to cause water condensation in a region near an end plate. A fuel cell of the present invention comprises a cell stackhaving a reaction gas passageinside thereof and having on one end surface thereof a reaction gas supply inletfrom which a reaction gas is supplied to the reaction gas passage, a jointconnecting the reaction gas supply inletto an external pipe P for supplying the reaction gas, plate-shaped end memberswhich are disposed on one end surface of the cell stackand have through-holesinto which the jointis inserted so as not to contact inner wall surfaces thereof, and a closing memberfor substantially closing a space formed between the jointand the inner wall surfaces of the through-holes

The invention provides a fuel cell comprising one or more cells () stacked therein, each of the cells () including:

Fuel cell having improved contact between separators and gas diffusion layers

A polymer electrolyte fuel cell is provided with a fuel cell stack assembled by sandwiching a plurality of stacked single cell modules with a plurality of fastening members through a pair of end plates. The fuel cell includes a first elastic member arranged between the fastening member and the end plate and a plurality of second elastic members arranged between the end plate and the end of the fuel cell stack. Each of the second elastic members is arranged on the surface of the end plate corresponding to the electrode portion of a membrane electrode assembly in each of the single cell module, and each of the first elastic members is arranged on the surface of the end plate corresponding to a seal member arrangement region in which the seal member is arranged between the periphery of the membrane electrode assembly and a pair of separator plates in each single cell module.

Polymer electrolyte fuel cell having a fastening structure including elastic members

In a solid polyelectrolyte fuel cell, with a frame including a frame body main part placed along a peripheral edge portion of a membrane, a plurality of first retaining portions which are arrayed so as to protrude from an inner edge of the frame body main part and which retain the front surface side of the membrane, and a plurality of second retaining portions which are arrayed so as to protrude from the inner edge of the frame body main part and which retain the back surface side of the membrane, the first retaining portions and the second retaining portions are so arrayed that retaining positions of the membrane by the first retaining portions and retaining positions of the membrane by the second retaining portions are alternately placed. A plurality of front-surface side elastic members are placed on the front surface of the membrane between neighboring ones of the first retaining portions while a plurality of back-surface side elastic members are placed on the back surface of the membrane between neighboring ones of the second retaining portions.

Electrode-membrane-frame assembly for polyelectrolyte fuel cell, manufacturing method therefor, and polyelectrolyte fuel cell

A fuel cell separator and a fuel cell are provided that can improve uniformity in reaction gas flow rate and can prevent flooding due to excessive condensed water in passage grooves appropriately. A reaction gas passage region () of a separator () has a flow splitting region () having a passage groove group where the reaction gas is split, and one or more flow merge regions () having a recessed portion in which the reaction gas is mixed and connecting a plurality of flow splitting regions so that the passage groove group of the adjacent flow splitting regions () are connected to the recessed portion, and protrusions () vertically extend from a bottom face of the recessed portion and arranged in an island form. A pair of passage groove groups connected to the recessed portion of the flow merge region () is formed so as to have a greater number of grooves in the upstream passage groove group than the number of grooves of grooves in the downstream passage groove group. The recessed portion of the flow merge region () is defined, in a turn portion of a serpentine shaped reaction gas passage region (), by oblique boundaries between the recessed portion and a pair of passage groove groups which are connected to the recessed portion and by the outer end of the turn portion.

Serpentine fuel cell separator with protrusions and fuel cell including the same

In a manufacturing method for an electrode-membrane-frame assembly in a fuel cell, a first frame member and an electrolyte membrane member are arranged in a first mold for injection molding such that the edge of the electrolyte membrane member is arranged on the first frame member, a second mold is arranged to form a resin flow passage for forming a second frame member which is in contact with the first frame member by interposing the electrolyte membrane member, and a part of the edge of the electrolyte membrane member is pressed and fixed to the first frame member by a presser member mounted on the second mold and a molding resin material is injected into the resin flow passage to form a second frame member.

Polymer electrolyte fuel cell and manufacturing method for electrode-membrane-frame assembly

Even if reaction gas flows into a substantially rectangular anode-side and cathode-side gaps formed between an annular main body portion and a membrane electrode assembly in an anode side and a cathode side of a fuel cell, the reaction gas is prevented from flowing out from an outlet without passing through an electrode to cause degradation of power generation efficiency. At least one of anode-side gasket and cathode-side gasket in the fuel cell is provided with an extra sealing portion connected to an annular main body portion in such a manner that, among two pairs of gap portions opposing to each other in the anode-side gap and the cathode-side gap, the extra sealing portion intersects with one pair of gap portions having a larger pressure gradient of fuel gas and oxidant gas in a direction from an upstream side to a downstream side of a fuel gas flow channel and an oxidant gas flow channel.

An MEA having an MEA body partC; a framemade of a plate-like thermoplastic resin; and gasketsformed on opposed surfaces of the frameso as to hold the framebetween. The gasketseach have an annular portionA that is annularly formed so as to extend along the inner periphery of the frameand elongated portionsBtoBthat extend from the annular portionA and come into contact with the side faces of an associated electrode layerC after passing over the inner periphery of the frameand a peripheral regionD of a polymer electrolyte membrane.

MEA, MEA manufacturing method, and polymer electrolyte fuel cell

Disclosed is a fuel cell stack which includes: a cell assembly formed of stacked unit cells, each composed of a membrane electrolyte assembly and separators which sandwich the membrane electrolyte assembly; a pair of collector plates A and B which sandwiches the cell assembly; a pair of end plates A and B which sandwiches the cell assembly and the collector plates; and an elastic member disposed between end plate A and collector plate A, wherein end plate A has a convexed portion and a concaved portion on a surface facing collector plate A, and the concaved portion of end plate A holds therein the elastic member, and a bottom surface of the concaved portion includes a second convexed portion and a second concaved portion.

Fuel cell stack

A preservation assembly of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell stack is provided. The assembly includes an uninstalled polymer electrolyte fuel cell stack and sealing units. The uninstalled polymer electrolyte fuel cell stack is provided with an oxidizing agent passage having an inlet and an outlet and extending through a cathode and a reducing agent passage having an inlet and an outlet and extending through an anode. The sealing units include sealing plugs or containers and are configured to seal the inlet and the outlet of the oxidizing agent passage within which an oxygen concentration has been decreased and to seal the inlet and the outlet of the reducing agent passage within which the oxygen concentration has been decreased. The uninstalled polymer electrolyte fuel cell stack is in a state before an assembled polymer electrolyte fuel cell stack is incorporated into a fuel cell system.

Preservation assembly of polymer electrolyte fuel cell stack

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Hiroki Kusakabe