Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Kenji Nagumo

Toshikatsu Katagiri

Motohiro Suzuki

Yoshio Kusano

Kentaro Ishida

Ryoichi Yoshitomi

Kazunori Fukuma

Takaharu Sato

Tadashi Nishiyama

Masaharu Suzuki

Naoki Yamano

Yuta Ikeda

Tsuyoshi Kobayashi

Yuji Asano

Takashi Kato

Takayuki Ogawa

Tohru Ono

Ryo Jinba

Yu Tomana

Shuji Sato

Kimiharu Mizusaki

Yoshihito Kimura

Akihiro Matsui

Yohei Hidaka

Keisuke Suda

Hiroaki Ota

Akira Nakashima

Shujiro Nozaki

Syuji Sato

Yoshiro Ichikawa

Takanori Moori

A fuel cell stack includes a stacked body, a first insulator and a second insulator. The stacked body includes power generation cells. The power generation cells are stacked in a stacking direction. The power generation cells include a first end power generation cell a second end power generation cell. Each of the power generation cells includes a membrane electrode assembly, a cathode separator and an anode separator. The first end power generation cell has an outermost cathode separator. The second end power generation cell has an outermost anode separator. The first insulator has a first recess in which a first heat-insulating body and a first terminal plate are accommodated. The second insulator has a second recess in which a second heat-insulating body and a second terminal plate are accommodated. A first number of first stacked heat-insulating layers is larger than a second number of second stacked heat-insulating layers.

Fuel cell stack

A fuel cell stack includes a stacked body, a first insulator, and a first shim. The stacked body includes electrolyte-electrode assemblies and separators. The electrolyte-electrode assemblies are stacked in a stacking direction and have a first end electrolyte-electrode assembly disposed at a first end of the stacked body. The separators includes a first end separator disposed at the first end of the stacked body between the first end electrolyte-electrode assembly and a first contact end plate having a first contact surface which the first end separator contacts. The first shim is provided in a first recess between the first contact end plate and the first insulator and has a thickness such that an outer peripheral surface of the first end separator is positioned between the first contact surface of the first contact end plate and an outer peripheral surface of the first insulator in the stacking direction.

A fuel cell includes a membrane electrode assembly, a separator, a reactant gas channel, a reactant gas manifold, and a buffer portion. The buffer portion includes a first buffer region and a second buffer region. The second buffer region is located in a vicinity of the reactant gas manifold and is deeper than the first buffer region in a stacking direction. Embossed portion groups are arranged in a plurality of rows in the second buffer region between the reactant gas manifold and the first buffer region. Each of the embossed portion groups includes a plurality of embossed portions. A disposition density of the plurality of embossed portions of one of the embossed portion groups in a vicinity of the reactant gas manifold is lower than a disposition density of the plurality of embossed portions of another of the embossed portion groups in a vicinity of the first buffer region.

Fuel cell

A fuel cell stack includes fuel cells, a reactant gas channel, a reactant gas inlet manifold, a reactant gas outlet manifold, an inlet buffer portion, and an outlet buffer portion. A reactant gas flows through the reactant gas channel along a surface of a separator. The reactant gas flows through the reactant gas inlet manifold and the reactant gas outlet manifold in a stacking direction. The inlet buffer portion connects an inlet of the reactant gas channel to the reactant gas inlet manifold. The inlet buffer portion includes linear inlet guide protrusions. Inlet guide channels are provided between the linear inlet guide protrusions and connect the reactant gas inlet manifold to the reactant gas channel. A pitch between the linear inlet guide protrusions increases in accordance with an increase in a distance from the reactant gas inlet manifold to the linear inlet guide protrusions.

A fuel cell stack has an asymmetrical triangular inlet buffer. An inlet connection channel connects a coolant supply passage on the upper side and the inlet buffer, and an inlet connection channel connects a coolant supply passage on the lower side and the inlet buffer. The number of flow grooves in the inlet connection channel is different from the number of flow grooves in the inlet connection channel.

A power generation unit of a fuel cell stack includes a first metal separator, a first membrane electrode assembly, a second metal separator, a second membrane electrode assembly, and a third metal separator. A first oxygen-containing gas flow field includes a plurality of wavy flow grooves. An outlet merging area is provided at the end of the wavy flow grooves on the outlet side. The outlet merging area is connected to a plurality of straight connection flow grooves. The groove depth of the straight connection flow grooves is smaller than the groove depth of the wavy flow grooves.

A fuel cell stack includes a stack body formed by stacking a plurality of power generation cells. At one end of the stack body, a terminal plate, an insulating member, and an end plate are stacked. At the other end of the stack body, a terminal plate, an insulating member, and an end plate are stacked. A coolant channel is formed between the insulating member and the end plate for allowing a coolant to flow along a surface of the end plate.

A fuel cell system mounted in a vehicle includes a fuel cell stack, a coolant supply mechanism, and a fuel gas supply mechanism. The coolant supply mechanism includes a coolant supply pipe and a coolant discharge pipe, provided on a front side in a traveling direction of the vehicle, relative to the fuel cell stack. The fuel gas supply mechanism includes a fuel gas supply pipe, provided on a rear side in the traveling direction, relative to the fuel cell stack.

In-vehicle fuel cell system

A humidifier for humidifying a fuel cell composed of an anode side humidifier and a cathode side humidifier each possessing a plurality of hollow fiber membrane modules for migrating moisture between a supply gas, which is supplied to a fuel cell, and an exhaust gas, which is exhausted from the fuel cell to thereby humidify the supply gas, the humidifier comprising: a pair of heads which hold both ends of the hollow fiber membrane modules, a connecting member which connects each of heads, and a device for warming the supply gas composed of conduits through which a cooling medium exhausted from the fuel cell is passed. The device for warming the supply gas is configured so that first warms a humidifier at an outlet side of the supply gas, and then warms a humidifier at an inlet side of the supply gas.

Humidifier for fuel cell and process for warming the same

In a humidifier including a hollow fiber membrane bundle housed in a case, the hollow fiber membranes exchange water therethrough between the first and second gases flowing inside and outside the hollow fiber membrane to humidify one of the first and second gases having the water content lower than the other, and an annular mesh member throttles a part near the gas outlet of the second gas to provide a space between the part and the gas outlet of the second gas to easily discharge the second gas.

Humidifier

A fuel cell system that is compact and has stabilized performance is provided. The fuel cell system includes two fuel cell stacks or a first fuel cell stack () and a second fuel cell stack (), a high-pressure hydrogen tank () as a hydrogen supplying device for supplying hydrogen to the first and second fuel cell stacks (), a compressor () as an air supplying device for supplying air to the fuel cell stack, and a humidifier () for humidifying air to be supplied to the first and second fuel cell stacks (). The humidifier () is disposed between the first and second fuel cell stacks (); a supply air exhaust port of the humidifier () and air supply ports (Q) of the first and second fuel cell stacks () are connected by air supply pipes () having the same length.

Fuel cell system and fuel cell automotive vehicle

Fuel cell system and fuel cell automobile vehicle

A fuel cell vehicle includes: a vehicle body; a floor panel provided on the bottom of the vehicle body; a floor tunnel that is formed bulging upward in the center of the floor panel in the vehicle body width; a pair of front seats that are disposed on the floor panel, outside of the floor tunnel in the vehicle body width direction; center frames that support the floor tunnel, disposed at the center in the vehicle body width and extending along the vehicle body longitudinal direction; a sub-frame provided on the bottom of the floor panel and joined to the center frames; and a fuel cell stack mounted on the sub-frame and provided under the floor tunnel.

Fuel cell vehicle

A humidifier of the present invention includes a humidifier main body for humidifying a second fluid, using a humidified first fluid discharged from a fuel cell; a head portion of which one end is connected to an end of the humidifier main body and the other end is connected to the fuel cell or a supply passage extending from the fuel cell, and which supplies the second fluid after humidification to the fuel cell; and a chamber for communicating a bottom portion of a humidified gas flow passage formed within the head portion.

Growing community of inventors

Saitama, Japan

Kenji Nagumo