Nissan Motor Company Limited

Dana Canada Corporation

Kazuhiro Kageyama

Yasuhiro Numao

Shigetaka Uehara

Takanori Oku

Mitsutaka Abe

Hiroshi Watanabe

Takashi Fukuda

Hiroshi Tanaka

Kazuyuki Sato

Hayato Chikugo

Atsushi Miyazawa

Satoshi Okano

Junichi Hasegawa

Yoshinori Nakano

Mitsunori Kumada

Ryoichi Shimoi

Ken Nakayama

Hidetaka Nishimura

Keiji Ichihara

Tsutomu Yamazaki

Tomokatsu Himeno

Hiromi Sugimoto

Hisashi Niioka

Satomi Furukawa

Kotaro Akashi

Manabu Sugino

Akihiro Sakakida

Manaf Hasan

Akira Yasutake

Akira Matsunaga

Takayoshi Nabeta

Akio Hoshina

Douglas Vanderwees

Mark Britton

Craig Hogg

Nobuo Sakatsume

A fuel cell stack FS includes: a stack A that includes a single cells C that are stacked, each of the single cells including a framethat holds an outer periphery of a membrane electrode assemblyand a pair of separatorssandwiching the membrane electrode assemblyand the frameand a casethat houses the stack A. The framecomprises a protrusionthat protrudes outward from an outer periphery of a frame bodyA beyond an outer peripheral edge of the pair of separatorsA protrusion length of the protrusionis greater than at least a gap between the frameand one of the pair of separatorsand the protrusionis bendable with respect to the frame bodyA. The protrusions prevent a contact between the separatorsof the single cell C and a contact between the end faces of the separatorsand the caseso as to prevent a short circuit of the single cell C.

Fuel cell stack

A fuel cell stack includes a plurality of cell modules each formed by stacking a plurality of fuel cells, each of the plurality of fuel cells having a membrane electrode assembly having an insulating member at an outer periphery portion thereof and paired separators sandwiching the membrane electrode assembly, and by attaching the insulating members of adjacent fuel cells together, and a seal plate interposed between the stacked cell modules. The seal plate includes a plurality of manifold holes from which two power-generation gases flow separately through the plurality of fuel cells, and a first seal member provided along a peripheral portion of each of the plurality of manifold holes to seal a corresponding one of the two power-generation gases flowing through the manifold hole.

Fuel cell stack and seal plate used for the same

A fuel cell in a fuel cell stack is provided with a gas seal projection and a coolant seal projection projecting from at least one of two separators toward a membrane electrode assembly. The gas seal projection and the coolant seal projection are provided with recesses serving as coolant passages on the side opposite to the membrane electrode assembly. At least one of the gas seal projection and the coolant seal projection is provided with a resistance portion for suppressing a flow of a coolant out of a power generation portion cooling portion.

A fuel cell stack has stacked individual fuel cells, each of the fuel cells having a cell frame, and an anode separator and a cathode separator disposed on respective sides of the cell frame, in which an electrolyte membrane joined with an anode side gas diffusion layer and a cathode side gas diffusion layer on respective sides thereof is disposed in the cell frame, an anode side load bearing member that bonds and fixes the anode separator, the cell frame, and the gas diffusion layer to each other, so as to receive a compressive load acting in a stacking direction of the fuel cell, and a cathode side load bearing member that bonds and fixes the cathode separator, the cell frame, and the gas diffusion layer to each other so as to receive a compressive load acting in the stacking direction of the fuel cell.

Fuel cell stack and load bearing method involving use of fuel cell stack

A cell structure for a fuel cell stack that is formed by stacking unit cells C each including a membrane electrode assemblyand a pair of separatorsholding the membrane electrode assemblytherebetween. The membrane electrode assemblyincludes a framein the periphery having such a size as to extend outward over the edges of the separators. Communication holesin communication with the front and back sides are formed in the framein an area from a sealing partbetween framesadjacent in the cell stacking direction to a sealing partsbetween the membrane electrode assemblyand the separators. The air in a space Q formed between the inner and outer sealing partsis allowed to be released to the outside through the communication holes, and a breakage of the adhesive of the sealing partsis thereby prevented.

Cell structure for fuel cell stack

The fuel cell stack FS includes; a stacked plurality of single cells C each including a frameof a membrane electrode assemblyand a pair of separators; and a sealing memberdisposed between the plurality of single cells C. The pair of separatorsinclude respective supporting portionsthat are in contact with the frame, and the sealing memberis disposed on one supporting member. Further, the supporting portionsof the separatorshave different sizes so that an overlapped portion W is formed in which a base surfacewhere the supporting portionof one separatoris in contact with the frameis overlapped with a top surfacewhere the supporting portionof the other separatoris in contact with the framein the stacking direction. The overlapped portion W receives and transmits reaction force of the sealing memberbetween the single cells, which prevents narrowing of gas channels or decrease of the sealing surface pressure.

A fuel cell stack includes at least two cell modules adjacent to each other, the at least two cell modules each being formed by stacking a plurality of fuel cells into an integrated unit and a seal plate interposed in a cooling flow channel defined between separators of the at least two cell modules, the cooling flow channel configured to allow a cooling fluid to flow therethrough. The seal plate includes a manifold portion in which a plurality of manifold holes are formed to allow two power-generation gases to flow separately through the plurality of manifold holes and through the plurality of fuel cells and a seal member provided along a peripheral portion of each of the plurality of manifold holes to provide sealing for a corresponding one of the two power-generation gases flowing through the manifold hole.

Seal plate and fuel cell stack using the same

A fuel cell stack includes bonding members for joining projecting sections of adjacent frames in cell modules, an inter-cell module seal member forming a seal between the cell modules, and supporting members disposed between adjacent frames in the cell modules. As viewed from above in the direction in which the cell modules are layered, the supporting members overlap at least a part of a section of the inter-cell module seal member that contacts the cell modules.

A fuel-cell single cell has a membrane electrode assembly sandwiched between a pair of separators, and a sealing member that seals a gas channel formed between the membrane electrode assembly and the separators. An uneven portion is formed in a part of the membrane electrode assembly where the sealing member is disposed. A sealing member sump to trap the sealing member is provided at a side exposed to reactant gas pressure and a holder part for the sealing member are provided within a part of the separators where the sealing member is disposed. The uneven portion is opposed to the holder part.

Fuel-cell single cell

To prevent inflow of liquid water into a power generating portion even if the liquid water remains in a manifold, and to enable size reduction by making constant the contact or surface pressure. According to the present invention, in a fuel cell comprising a power generating section including an electrolyte membrane joined between an anode and a cathode, and a manifold to cause inflow and outflow of an hydrogen containing gas and an oxygen containing gas separately from each other to the anode and cathode; the manifold is formed with an inflow preventing portion to prevent inflow of a liquid water remaining in the manifold, into the power generating portion.

Fuel cell

A method is provided for manufacturing a fuel-cell stack that has a laminate including of a plurality of fuel cells that are laminated together. In each of these fuel cells, an MEA has an anode and a cathode joined respectively to the two sides of an electrolyte membrane is sandwiched between a pair of separators. The aforementioned method has the following steps: a sealing member layout step, in which fuel cells with sealing members applied at least between adjacent fuel cells are laminated together, forming a fuel cell module; and a pressure application step, in which pressure is applied to the fuel cell module in the lamination direction of the fuel cells, forming sealed regions from the sealing members. The lamination-direction thickness of the fuel cell module is controlled by controlling the amount of pressure applied to the fuel cell module in the pressure application step.

Fuel-cell-stack manufacturing method and manufacturing device

This insulating structure is for a fuel cell stack or a fuel cell of the fuel cell stack. The fuel cell stack includes a membrane electrode assembly with a peripheral frame and a pair of separators that hold the frame and the membrane electrode assembly in between and is formed by stacking a plurality of sets of the membrane electrode assembly and the pair of separators. The insulating structure includes: a coupling member disposed on at least a part of an outer periphery of the fuel cell stack or the fuel cell; and a projection formed on the coupling member in an area surrounded by the pair of separators and the frame.

Insulating structure, fuel cell and fuel cell stack

A fuel cell stack has a stacked plurality of cell modules, each of the plurality of cell modules comprising a stacked plurality of single cells, each of the plurality of single cells comprising a membrane electrode assembly sandwiched between a pair of separators, a pair of end plates that sandwich the plurality of cell modules in the stacking direction, sealing plates to seal a reactant gas, disposed between the plurality of cell modules and between outermost cell modules and the end plates, and a voltage measuring terminal protruding to an outside of the cells, provided in at least one of the sealing plates.

A sealing structure includes: components () respectively having sealing surfaces () on surfaces thereof facing each other; and a seal member () interposed between the sealing surfaces to make the sealing surfaces closely adhere to each other, and at least a hard carbon film () is formed on one or both of the sealing surfaces.

Sealing structure and fuel cell having the sealing structure

At shutdown of a fuel cell system, a system-shutdown controller is configured to cause a current extraction device to extract current from a fuel cell in a state where a supply of a fuel gas through a fuel supply system is continued and a supply of an oxidant gas through an oxidant supply system is stopped, and the system-shutdown controller is configured to airtightly close fresh-air control valves after increasing pressure of the fuel gas in a fuel electrode to not less than atmospheric pressure and not less than pressure of the oxidant gas in an oxidant electrode.

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Kazuhiro Kageyama