Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Nok Corporation

Suguru Ohmori

Takuro Okubo

Yukihito Tanaka

Kentaro Ishida

Seiji Sugiura

Shuhei Goto

Yutaka Ebato

Yoshihito Kimura

Akihito Giga

Masaki Tani

Masashi Sugishita

Shintaro Tanaka

Ryugo Fujitsuka

Shigeru Watanabe

Takashi Kato

Hiroyuki Tanaka

Satoshi Oyama

Hiroshi Morikawa

Naoki Yamano

Satoru Terada

Eri Terada

Kosuke Takagi

Masayuki Katsuno

Kensuke Umezawa

Yohei Sano

A first outer peripheral seal in a first metal separator of a fuel cell stack includes a first peripheral metal bead. A first bypass stopper is provided in a space between a first end ridge and a first outer peripheral seal. The first bypass stopper prevents bypassing of an oxygen-containing gas by blocking part of the space. A gap is provided between the first bypass stopper and the first metal bead of a first outer peripheral seal. The gap separates the first bypass stopper from the first metal bead.

Metal separator and fuel cell stack

A load receiver member of a fuel cell separator member of a fuel cell stack includes an attachment portion disposed between an outer peripheral portion of a first metal separator and an outer peripheral portion of a second metal separator, and a tab continuous with the attachment portion and protruding from an outer peripheral portion of a joint separator. The attachment portion is joined to the outer peripheral portion of the joint separator by a joint portion.

Fuel cell separator member, fuel cell stack, and method of producing fuel cell separator member

A fuel cell separator member forming a power generation cell includes a first separator, and a load receiver member disposed in a manner to protrude outward from the first separator. Reinforcement ribs extending in a direction in which the load receiver member protrudes are provided in a part of an outer peripheral portion of the first separator, the part being adjacent to a joint portion.

Fuel cell separator member and fuel cell

A first metal separator includes a seal bead protruding from a base plate. The seal bead includes a curved section having a curved shape in a plan view of the first metal separator. The combination of the radius of curvature and the angle of the curved section is set within a specific zone where variation in a seal surface pressure in a direction in which the seal bead extends is suppressed.

Fuel cell metal separator and power generation cell

A tab of a load receiver forming a fuel cell separator member includes a base portion in the form of a metal plate, and a resin member covering the base portion. A hole, into which the resin member is partially inserted, is formed in the base portion. The resin member includes a thick portion, and a thin portion positioned closer to a first separator than the thick portion is. The hole is disposed so as to be overlapped with the thick portion.

Each of separator members of a fuel cell stack includes a cell voltage terminal protruding outward from an outer peripheral portion of a separator body. Each of the cell voltage terminals includes a plate shaped terminal, first protrusions, and second protrusions. At least some of the cell voltage terminals are arranged in a line in a stacking direction. In the cell voltage terminals facing each other in the stacking direction, the first protrusion of one of the cell voltage terminals and the second protrusion of the other of the cell voltage terminals face each other, and contact each other through an electrically insulating member.

Fuel cell stack

A passage bead seal of a fuel cell joint separator includes a straight portion and curved portions. An oxygen-containing gas bridge section connecting the inside and the outside of a portion surrounded by a passage bead seal includes inner tunnels and outer tunnels coupled to an inner side wall and an outer side wall of a straight portion, and protruding in a separator thickness direction. The tunnel height is determined to be smaller than the bead seal height by not less than a predetermined value in a manner that a line pressure applied by a compression load to a front end surface of the straight portion becomes the same as a line pressure applied by the compression load to a front end surface of the curved portion.

Fuel cell separator and power generation cell

In a fuel cell separator member of a fuel cell stack, a first metal bead and first ribs are formed integrally with and protruded from a surface of the first metal separator. Each of the first ribs includes a first rib body and two first retracted portions. The protruding height of each of the two first retracted portions is smaller than the protruding height of the first rib body.

Fuel cell separator member and fuel cell stack

In a fuel cell stack and a method of producing the fuel cell stack, a first thickness of a first rubber seal member in a stacking direction before a tightening load is applied to a stack body is set such that, when the tightening load is applied to the stack body, a first amount of deformation of the first rubber seal member in the stacking direction is larger than a second amount of deformation of a top part of a first seal bead in the stacking direction.

Fuel cell stack and method of producing fuel cell stack

A method includes a forming step of forming a first metal separator and a second metal separator each including a protruding sealing bead portion and a protruding stopper bead portion; a joining step of joining surfaces of the first metal separator and the second metal separator on sides opposite to sides on which their respective sealing bead portions protrude, and attaching seal members in an extension direction or on distal ends of the sealing bead portion; and a preload applying step of applying preload to a bead seal section formed of one pair of the sealing bead portions and the seal members and a stopper section formed of one pair of the stopper bead portions in a height direction thereof, thereby plastically deforming the bead seal section and the stopper section simultaneously.

Method of manufacturing separator

A checking method of a resin-framed membrane electrode assembly includes checking whether there is breakage in one of short sides of a first rectangular peripheral shape of a clearance provided in the resin-framed membrane electrode assembly without checking whether there is breakage in any other part of the clearance, the resin-framed membrane assembly including a solid polymer electrolyte membrane, a gas diffusion layer provided on the solid polymer electrolyte membrane, and a resin frame member that has a second rectangular peripheral shape and surrounds the solid polymer electrolyte membrane and the gas diffusion layer to provide the clearance between the resin frame member and the gas diffusion layer, the solid polymer electrolyte membrane being made from a solid polymer electrolyte membrane roll in which a solid polymer electrolyte membrane sheet is wound in a winding direction, long sides of the rectangular peripheral shape extending in the winding direction.

Checking method of resin-framed membrane electrode assembly

A fuel cell joint separator includes a passage bead and an outer bead. In a dual seal section where the passage bead and the outer bead extend next to each other, a ridge protruding from one surface of a metal separator is formed integrally with the metal separator, between the passage bead and the outer bead. The height of the ridge is smaller than the height of the bead seal compressed by the tightening load. A joining line is provided between the outer bead and the ridge.

Fuel cell joint separator and fuel cell

A fuel cell separator member of a fuel cell stack includes a metal separator on which a seal bead is formed, and a pressure receiving member provided on a surface of the metal separator, separately from the metal separator. The pressure receiving member is provided along a seal bead, and the height of the pressure receiving member is lower than the height of the seal bead in the state where the tightening load is applied and no impact load is applied.

A fuel cell stack includes a cell stack body and a terminal plate and an insulator disposed at an end of the cell stack body in a stacking direction. The cell stack body includes a plurality of stacked power generation cells. Each of the power generation cells includes a membrane electrode assembly and a separator. The terminal plate is disposed between the cell stack body and the insulator. Elastic structure which elastically presses the terminal plate toward the cell stack body is provided between the insulator and the terminal plate.

A resin frame equipped membrane electrode assembly includes a membrane electrode assembly and a resin frame member around an outer peripheral portion of the membrane electrode assembly. An inner end of the resin frame member is joined to an electrolyte membrane. In the state before the inner end is joined to the electrolyte membrane, the inner end is narrowed inward in a manner that a surface of the inner end adjacent to the electrolyte membrane gets closer to a surface of the inner end opposite to the electrolyte membrane.

Growing community of inventors

Wako, Japan

Suguru Ohmori