Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Takashi Kajiwara

Kazunori Shibata

Masayuki Ito

Hiromichi Sato

Yuichi Yagami

Atsushi Ida

Seiji Sano

Haruyuki Aono

Sachio Okada

Yoshifumi Ota

Fumihiko Inui

Norihiko Nakamura

Shinichi Matsumoto

Yasushi Araki

Tomohiro Ogawa

Satoshi Futami

Masaaki Kondo

Hitoshi Hamada

Norishige Konno

Fumishige Shizuku

Tsutomu Shirakawa

Makoto Ueno

Sho Usami

Naohiro Takeshita

Masami Aga

Susumu Oda

Naohiro Hoshikawa

Tomoyuki Takamura

Kohsei Yoshida

Koji Fukunaga

Joji Tomiyasu

Syo Usami

Naoki Tajima, Deceased

A fuel cell includes: a membrane electrode gas diffusion layer assembly in which a membrane electrode assembly is sandwiched by a pair of gas diffusion layers; an insulating member formed into a frame shape, and being in contact with an outer peripheral portion of the membrane electrode gas diffusion layer assembly; and first and second separators sandwiching the membrane electrode gas diffusion layer assembly and the insulating member.

Fuel cell

A fuel cell stack in which unit cells are stacked, wherein the unit cell includes: a membrane electrode assembly; an insulating member; a first separator; a second separator; and a gasket, a hole penetrates through the insulating member and the first and second separators, the gasket extends around the hole on the insulating member, a flow path portion is formed in at least one of the first and second separators, the first and second separators define a communicating portion, one of the first and second separators includes: first and second protruding portions; and a recessed portion, at least a part of the communicating portion is defined by the first and second protruding portions, the recessed portion, and the other of the first and second separators, and the first separator includes a support portion contacting and supporting the insulating member on a back side of the gasket.

Fuel cell stack

A fuel cell stack includes a plurality of single cells stacked and a manifold. The plurality of single cells each include a first separator including a seal portion surrounding the manifold and including a hollow protrusion and a fluid passage portion allowing the fluid to flow between the manifold and a space on the opposite side of the seal portion from the manifold via the hollow of the seal portion, a second separator disposed on the side opposite to the side on which the seal portion projects, of the first separator, and an electric insulating frame disposed on the opposite side of the second separator from the first separator. The second separator includes a flat-and-bulge portion in a surface facing the seal portion, along an abutment region of the seal portion and the electric insulating frame.

A relation of X&#xd7;&#x394;T&#xd7;CTE&#x3c;L&#xd7;t is satisfied, where X represents a distance between a circumferentially innermost position of a bonded portion of a resin frame bonded to first projections of separators and a circumferentially inner end of the resin frame; L represents a distance between the circumferentially inner end of the resin frame and a circumferentially outermost position of a held portion of a membrane electrode gas-diffusion-layer assembly that is interposed and held between second projections of the separators: &#x394;T represents a temperature difference from a low temperature Tof &#x2212;40&#xb0; C. to a high temperature Tof 100&#xb0; C. CTErepresents an average coefficient of linear expansion of the resin frame within a range of the low temperature Tto the high temperature T; t represents a breaking elongation of the electrolyte membrane at the low temperature T; and the distances X, L represents dimensions at the high temperature T

Fuel cell resin frame assembly

A fuel cell includes a membrane electrode assembly; a frame configured to support the membrane electrode assembly from its outer edge; a first separator plate and a second separator plate configured to sandwich the membrane electrode assembly and the frame therebetween; and an elastomer. The first separator plate includes an elastically deformable protruding portion projecting toward an opposite side to the frame. The frame has a recessed cavity portion facing the protruding portion of the first separator plate. The elastomer is placed in at least part of the cavity portion.

An anode separator of a fuel cell forms: a plurality of gas flow channels arranged in parallel to let a fuel gas flow to an MEA; a supply passage configured to supply the plurality of gas flow channels with the fuel gas; and a recovery passage configured to recover the fuel gas from the plurality of gas flow channels. The plurality of gas flow channels include: a gas flow channel connects the supply passage and the recovery passage; and a gas flow channel having the supply passage side blocked.

The separator of which the region facing the MEA is a flat includes the first electrode facing plate and the second electrode facing plate. The separator includes the reaction gas supply manifold to which the reaction gas is supplied. The first electrode facing plate includes a plurality of reaction gas supply holes formed at the end of the cell-reaction region. The intermediate plate includes a plurality of reaction gas supply path slits that forms the reaction gas supply paths, wherein each of the reaction gas supply paths has one end connected to the reaction gas supply manifold and other end connected to at least one of the plurality of reaction gas supply holes.

Fuel cell separator

A fuel cell has: an electrolyte; an anode provided on one side of the electrolyte and having a fuel-gas consuming face at which fuel gas is consumed; a cathode provided on the other side of the electrolyte and having an oxidizing-gas consuming face at which oxidizing gas is consumed; and a fuel-gas passage portion forming a passage through which fuel gas is supplied to predetermined regions of the fuel-gas consuming face of the anode. The fuel cell has an operation mode in which almost the entire amount of the supplied fuel gas is consumed at the fuel-gas consuming face of the anode.

Fuel cell and vehicle having fuel cell

A separator of a fuel cell stack, which has flat surfaces that face MEAs, includes a cathode-side plate, an anode-side plate and an intermediate plate. The intermediate plate has a plurality of oxidant gas supply channel openings that communicate with an oxidant gas supply manifold and oxidant gas supply holes of the cathode-side plate, and a plurality of oxidant gas exhaust channel openings that communicate with an oxidant gas exhaust manifold and oxidant gas exhaust holes of the anode-side plate. The width and spacing of the oxidant gas exhaust channel openings are set to be larger than those of the oxidant gas supply channel openings.

A four-wheel steering system for an automotive vehicle includes a front wheel steering mechanism operable in response to a steering effort applied thereto to steer a pair of dirigible front road wheels, a rear wheel steering mechanism arranged to steer a pair of dirigible rear road wheels in response to steerage of the front road wheels, and a control apparatus arranged to control the rear wheel steering mechanism in such a manner that the rear road wheels are retained in their neutral positions when the front road wheels are steered at an angle less than a predetermined small angle and that the rear road wheels are steered in an opposite direction relative to the front road wheels when the front road wheels are steered at a larger angle than the predetermined small angle. The control apparatus is further arranged to control the rear wheel steering mechanism in such a manner that a changing rate of the rear wheel steering angle per a unit steering angle of the front road wheels increases in accordance with an increase of the front wheel steering angle.

Four-wheel steering system for automotive vehicles

Growing community of inventors

Gotemba, Japan

Takashi Kajiwara