Toyota Boshoku Kabushiki Kaisha

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Satoshi Kawabe

Takashi Kondou

Daisuke Kanno

Yoshinori Shinozaki

Haruyuki Aono

Makoto Sazawa

Naohiro Matsubara

A separator for a fuel cell includes a contact surface. Groove passages are arranged side by side in the contact surface. The groove passages include a first groove passage and a second groove passage that are adjacent to each other in an arrangement direction of the groove passages. The contact surface includes a rib located between the first groove passage and the second groove passage. The rib includes at least one wide section. The first groove passage includes at least one first contiguous section that is adjacent to the at least one wide section. The second groove passage includes at least one second contiguous section that is adjacent to the at least one wide section. A cross-sectional flow area of the first contiguous section is less than a cross-sectional flow area of the second contiguous section.

Separator for fuel cell

A fuel cell stack includes single cells stacked in a first direction. Each single cell includes a power generating unit, a first separator, and a second separator. The first separator and the second separator hold the power generating unit between the first separator and the second separator. The first separator of each single cell includes first protrusions. The second separator of each single cell includes second protrusions. A distal end of each second protrusion includes a depression that is located at a center in a second direction and extends in a third direction. A length of the depression in the second direction is greater than a length of the first protrusion in the second direction. A distal end of each first protrusion is located inside the depression.

Fuel cell stack

A fuel cell stack includes a cell stack body, a terminal plate, an end plate, and a passage portion. The terminal plate is disposed to be adjacent to the cell stack body in a stacking direction and is configured to collect power. The end plate is disposed on a side of the terminal plate that is opposite to the cell stack body. The terminal plate and the end plate have a through-hole that discharges reactant gas from the cell stack body. The passage portion covers an inner peripheral surface of the through-hole. The passage portion includes a peripheral wall that is formed of a plastic having an electrical insulation property and a hydrophilic portion disposed on an inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall and is made of a plastic having a hydrophilicity higher than that of the plastic forming the peripheral wall.

Fuel battery stack

A separator for a fuel cell includes a metal separator base, crest sections, and a trough sections. Regions surrounded by the respective trough sections and a corresponding electrode layer each constitute a passage that supplies oxidation gas or fuel gas to the electrode layer. A first thin film is placed over the entire surfaces of the crest sections and the trough sections that face the corresponding electrode layer. The first thin film has conductivity and a corrosion resistance higher than that of the separator base. A second thin film having conductivity is placed at least on each of the parts of the first thin film that are placed on top surfaces of the crest sections. The second thin film on the top surface of each crest section has a groove. At least one end of the groove is connected to the passage.

A separator for a fuel cell includes a separator base, crest sections, and trough sections. Regions surrounded by the respective trough sections and a corresponding electrode layer each constitute a passage that supplies oxidation gas or fuel gas to the electrode layer. A thin film having conductivity is placed at least on the top surface of each crest section. The thin film on the top surface of each crest section has a groove that connects the passages on the opposite sides of the crest section to each other. Each trough section has a flow resistance increasing portion on the downstream side of the groove in the flow direction of the gas. The flow resistance increasing portion reduces the cross-sectional flow area of the passage such that the cross-sectional flow area at the flow resistance increasing portion is smaller than that at the section to which the groove is connected.

An electrostatic oil mist separator for an internal combustion engine includes a positive plate and a negative plate facing each other, a filter arranged between the positive plate and the negative plate, a case having an inlet and an outlet and houses the positive plate, the negative plate, and the filter, and a voltage generator. The electrostatic oil mist separator is configured to cause blow-by gas to flow from the inlet to the outlet between the positive plate and the negative plate in a state in which the voltage generator is applying a voltage across the positive plate and the negative plate, thereby separating oil mist from the blow-by gas by electrostatic adsorption force. At least one of the positive plate and the negative plate is made of a metal plate and includes a plurality of protrusions that are formed by cutting and raising the metal plate.

Electrostatic oil mist separator for internal combustion engine

A fuel cell separator includes a separator body configured to be arranged between membrane electrode assemblies and includes recesses and projections formed in the separator body. The projections include first projections that are configured to face an electrode layer of the membrane electrode assembly. A thin film is arranged on a surface of each of the first projections. The recesses include first recesses that open in a protruding direction of the first projections. Each of the first recesses is configured to form a passage through which oxidizing gas or fuel gas is supplied to the electrode layer. A portion of each of the thin films that is in contact with the electrode layer of the membrane electrode assembly includes a groove, the groove connecting to at least one of the passages located on opposite sides of one of the first projections that includes the thin film.

Growing community of inventors

Ichinomiya, Japan

Satoshi Kawabe