Toyota Boshoku Kabushiki Kaisha

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Kunihiro Yamaura

Kazuya Yoshijima

Kouichi Oda

Hirotsugu Kojima

Yoshiaki Sumiya

Takahiro Yamazaki

Noriyuki Yagi

Hiroshi Morita

A manifold includes an end plate having a flat surface and a plastic layer. A hole for forming a flow path is opened in the flat surface. The plastic layer covers the flat surface and the inner surface of the hole. An inclined surface is formed on the inner circumferential surface of the open end of the hole that is located on the flat surface. The inclined surface has a straight cross section inclined relative to the center line of the hole.

Manifold and method for manufacturing manifold

An end plate of a fuel cell stack includes a metal plate body including a plurality of through holes and a resin cover that covers a wall surface defining each of the through holes. The cover includes a body, a flange projecting outward in a radial direction from an outer end of the body, an annular rim extending toward the inner side from an outer edge of the flange, and a coupling rib that couples an inner circumferential surface of the rim to an outer circumferential surface of the body. The plate body further includes an outer end surface including a recess. The recess is filled with the flange, the rim, and the coupling rib.

End plate of fuel cell stack

A manifold includes an end plate, which has an opposed surface facing an end in a cell stacking direction of a cell stack, a recess, which opens in the opposed surface and forms a flow path, and ribs protruding from the bottom surface of the recess to the opening position of the recess. Portions of a plastic layer that cover the opposed surface and the distal end faces in the protruding direction of the ribs contact the end in the cell stacking direction of the cell stack. The portions of the plastic layer that cover the distal end faces in the protruding direction of the ribs each have a cooling passage, which causes cooling water in the flow path to flow to the space between those portions of the plastic layer and a contact surface of the end in the cell stacking direction of the cell stack.

Manifold

An end plate for a fuel cell stack includes a metal plate body having through-holes and inner circumference covering portions, which cover the inner circumferential surfaces of the through-holes. A part of the outer circumferential surface of the plate body that corresponds to inner ends of the inner circumference covering portions in the thickness direction is covered by an outer circumference covering portion, which is formed integrally with the inner circumference covering portions. The circumferential edge of the outer end of each through-hole is constituted by four linear portions and four arcuate portions connecting the ends of the linear portions to each other. The radius of curvature of each arcuate portion is in the range between 8 mm and 15 mm inclusive.

End plate for fuel cell stack

An end plate has a recess extending in the horizontal direction and configured to form a flow path in which cooling water flows. Ribs are formed on the bottom surface of the recess and arranged at intervals in the vertical direction so as to extend in the horizontal direction. The cooling water flows in from the passage of a cell stack at one end in the horizontal direction of the recess. A hole that allows the cooling water to flow out is provided at the other end and at a position higher than the portion into which the cooling water flows. The inner wall surfaces of the recess spread vertically toward the hole in the portion connected to the passage. The end close to the passage of the lowermost one of the ribs is closer to the hole than the ends close to the passage of the other ribs.

End plate

An end plate includes a plate body, fastening portions, and ribs. The plate body is rectangular and includes two long sides and two short sides. The plate body is arranged on an end of a cell stack of a fuel cell. The fastening portions are fastened to a case containing the cell stack. The fastening portions extend along edges of the plate body. The ribs are arranged in a grid-like manner on the plate body surrounded by the fastening portions. The ribs are arranged so that recesses defined between the ribs each have a quadrilateral shape in which two diagonals have different lengths. The ribs are arranged so that the recesses extend in a direction in which the ribs extend and so that a longer one of the two diagonals of each of the recesses extends parallel to the short sides of the plate body.

End plate for a fuel cell

An integrated metal-and-plastic molded article includes a metal plate having a first surface and a second surface in the thickness direction, a first plastic portion on the first surface, a second plastic portion on the second surface, a through-hole that extends through the metal plate in the thickness direction and opens in the first surface and the second surface, and an intermediate plastic portion arranged to fill the through-hole and to be continuous with the first plastic portion and the second plastic portion.

Integrated metal-and-plastic molded article and method for manufacturing integrated metal-and-plastic molded article

A metal plate includes a machining subject surface. The metal plate includes a first holding portion designed to be held by a chuck and a second holding portion located at a position separated from the first holding portion and designed to be held by the chuck. The method for manufacturing the metal plate includes performing reference surface machining that machines a surface of the second holding portion that is to be held by the chuck into a predetermined shape in a state in which the first holding portion is held by the chuck. The method includes releasing the first holding portion from the chuck and holding the second holding portion with the chuck. The method also includes machining the machining subject surface in a state in which the second holding portion is held by the chuck.

Method for manufacturing metal plate

An end plate of a fuel cell stack includes a metal plate body and a resin cover. The plate body includes a main portion, through holes extending through the main portion, and a flange portion including a fastening surface fastened to a flange of a case. The main portion includes a peripheral surface including a peripheral recess and an inner end surface that projects toward the inner side from the fastening surface. The cover includes an inner portion, a peripheral portion that covers the peripheral surface of the main portion, and an opposing portion that covers an inner end surface of the flange portion and opposes the flange of the case. The peripheral portion includes a peripheral projection that fills the peripheral recess and restricts contraction of the peripheral portion toward the inner side.

End plate of fuel cell stack and seal structure of fuel cell stack

A gasket is arranged between a fastening portion of an end plate arranged at an end in a cell stacking direction of a cell stack of a fuel cell and a case covering a periphery of the cell stack. The gasket is configured to seal a gap between the fastening portion and the gasket and a gap between the case and the gasket. The gasket includes a base plate and an elastic material layer. The base plate has a slope section that connects an inner peripheral section and an outer peripheral section to each other. The inner peripheral section and the outer peripheral section are located at different positions in a thickness direction of the base plate. The slope section is inclined with respect to the inner peripheral section and the outer peripheral section.

Gasket and fuel cell

An oxidation gas discharging structure is applied to a fuel cell stack that includes an end plate arranged on an end of a fuel cell body. The oxidation gas inside the fuel cell body is discharged to the outside through a through hole extending through the end plate. A slope is formed on the bottom face of the through hole to rise toward the downstream side. The slope restricts condensed water from moving downstream.

Oxidation gas discharging structure

A gas-liquid separator includes a housing that draws in emission from a fuel cell unit. The gas-liquid separator separates water from the emission and drains the separated water out of the housing. The housing includes a case including an emission inlet, a cap including a drain port that drains the separated water out of the housing, and a filter fitted into the emission inlet from an inner side of the housing. The filter captures foreign matter entering the housing.

Gas-liquid separator including filter at emission inlet for fuel cell

An end plate arranged on one end of a fuel cell unit includes a plate body, which is formed from a metal material, and a gas-liquid separator, which includes a housing into which emission from the fuel cell unit is drawn in. The gas-liquid separator separates water from the emission and drains the separated water out of the housing. The housing is formed from a resin material and is in contact with the plate body.

End plate of fuel cell

A gas-liquid separator separates water from exhaust gas discharged from a fuel cell mounted in a vehicle after the fuel cell generates electricity. The gas-liquid separator includes a case that includes a water storage region. The water storage region is located at a lowermost part in the case. The exhaust gas is introduced into the case, where water is separated from the exhaust gas. After the separated water is stored in the water storage region, the water is drained to the outside from the case. The case has in it a barrier that is formed to protrude upward to restrict water from flowing out of the water storage region when the vehicle is inclined. The barrier restricts outflow of water to the outside of the water storage region when the vehicle is inclined.

Gas-liquid separator for vehicle-mounted fuel cell

A fuel cell apparatus includes a fuel cell stack in which an end plate is arranged at both ends of a cell stacked body, and a conduit that is bolted to the fuel cell stack and that supplies and discharges fluid to and from the fuel cell stack. An end plate internal manifold that extends at an angle inclined with respect to a direction in which a stacked body internal manifold extends is formed inside the end plate. A conduit internal flow path is formed inside the conduit. A direction in which a portion that includes an end plate-connecting portion of the conduit internal flow path extends is inclined in the same direction as the direction in which the end plate internal manifold is inclined, with respect to a direction perpendicular to a surface of the end plate.

Growing community of inventors

Tokai, Japan

Kunihiro Yamaura