Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba

Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

Yuichi Yoshida

Nobuyasu Negishi

Hideyuki Oozu

Hirofumi Kan

Yukinori Akamoto

Yuuichi Sato

Genta Oomichi

Yuji Sasaki

Kenichi Takahashi

Hiroyuki Hasebe

Takahiro Terada

Daisuke Watanabe

Koichi Kawamura

Yasutada Nakagawa

Asako Sato

Hidenori Suzuki

Takashi Shimoyamada

A fuel cell () includes an electromotive unit () having a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) (), a fuel storage unit () storing a liquid fuel, and a fuel supply mechanism () supplying the fuel from the fuel storage unit () to a fuel electrode () of the membrane electrode assembly (). The membrane electrode assembly () has a gas vent hole () provided in a manner to penetrate through at least an electrolyte membrane () to let a gas component generated on a side of the fuel electrode () escape to a side of an air electrode ().

Fuel cell

The present invention relates to a fuel cell including: a membrane electrode assembly () having a fuel electrode (), an air electrode (), and an electrolyte membrane () sandwiched therebetween; and a fuel storage unit () storing a liquid fuel. The fuel cell is capable of continuously generating electricity for long hours only by being replenished with a fuel, and therefore, attempts have been made to miniaturize the fuel cell to use it as a power source of portable electronic devices. When the membrane electrode assembly and the fuel storage unit in the fuel cell are connected via a flow path, a fuel supply state becomes uneven depending on the shape and the like of the flow path even though a supply amount of the fuel can be adjusted, which causes a problem such as a decrease in an output of the fuel cell. The present invention solves the aforethe problem by providing, in the fuel cell, a fuel distributing mechanism () which supplies the fuel to a plurality of places of the fuel electrode, and connecting the fuel distributing mechanism and the fuel storage unit via the flow path ().

A method of adjusting a fuel distribution includes: adjusting a distribution of a fuel supply amount to a membrane electrode assembly so that a temperature distribution in the membrane electrode assembly becomes substantially uniform by a membrane provided in a fuel supply side of the membrane electrode assembly of a fuel cell. A membrane adjusts a fuel distribution, which is provided in a fuel supply side of a membrane electrode assembly of a fuel cell. The membrane is provided with openings so that a temperature distribution in the membrane electrode assembly becomes substantially uniform.

Method of adjusting fuel distribution, membrane which adjusts fuel distribution, method of producing membrane which adjusts fuel distribution, fuel cell, and method of producing fuel cell

A membrane electrode assembly is constituted of a solid electrolyte membranemade of a polymeric material, and a fuel electrodeand an air electrodewhich are disposed on both sides of the solid electrolyte membrane. A porous membraneis attached to the back surface of the fuel electrode, and a fuel tankis formed between a casingof the fuel electrodeside and the porous membrane. The fuel tankis filled with liquid-retaining sheets. An air chamberis formed on the back surface of the air electrode, and the air chamberis filled with moisture-retaining sheets. A casingof the air electrodeside is provided with a number of inlet ports. Further, finsare formed on an outer surface of the casingof the air electrode side.

Growing community of inventors

Yokohama, Japan

Yuichi Yoshida