Daido Metal Company Ltd.

Yukio Naruse

Yasuo Ido

Shoji Nawa

Eiji Kato

Noboru Owaki

Takehisa Takagi

Takashi Inaba

Koji Kitagawa

Noboru Ohwaki

An airbreathing fuel cell, in which oxygen can be adequately supply to oxygen passage plates to obtain a power generating capacity conformed to a demand, comprises a cell stack formed in the form of a rectangle by stacking a plurality of those unit cells, which comprise a solid polymer electrolyte membrane, an oxygen electrode and a fuel electrode, which are provided on both sides of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane to be opposed to each other, an oxygen passage plate provided adjacent and toward the oxygen electrode, and separator plates provided adjacent and outside the oxygen passage plate and the fuel electrode, and the oxygen passage plate comprises a plurality of opened grooves on a surface thereof opposed to the oxygen electrode, the grooves being opened outside at both ends thereof.

Airbreathing fuel cell

An airbreathing fuel cell comprising a power generating cell stack constituted by laminating a plurality of cell parts together, which cell part comprises a polymer electrolyte membrane, an oxygen electrode and a fuel electrode, which are provided on both sides of the polymer electrolyte membrane to be opposed to each other, an oxygen passage plate provided adjacent to the oxygen electrode, and separator plates provided adjacent to an outside of the oxygen passage plate and an outside of the fuel electrode, and a cell stack for removal of moisture, connected to the power generating cell stack and comprising at least one cell, which is constructed in the same manner as the cell part, and to which resistances are connected to be capable of power generation, and wherein moisture generated in the power generating cell stack due to an operation over a long period of time is conducted to the cell stack for removal of moisture together with a fuel, and removed through natural evaporation to outside and around the fuel cell, thus suppressing a decrease in power generating capacity.

An airbreathing fuel cell, in which a fuel can be adequately supplied to a cell part from outside even at low fuel pressures and air replacement can be easily performed to provide a stable power generating capacity, comprises a cell stack formed by stacking a plurality of those unit cells, which comprise a solid polymer electrolyte membrane, an oxygen passage plate and a fuel electrode, which are provided on both sides of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane to be opposed to each other, the oxygen passage plate provided adjacent and toward the oxygen electrode, and separator plates provided adjacent and outside the oxygen passage plate and the fuel electrode, the fuel distribution manifold being formed into a rod-shaped body having a polygonal-shaped cross section, a fuel supply passage formed in the tie bolt, and a plurality of fuel distribution passages provided to be communicated to the fuel supply passage and formed between central holes of the unit cells and an outer peripheral surface of the fuel distribution manifold.

There is provided a split cell type fuel cell stacks having a thin design and high-voltage and low-current output characteristics, in which a cell portion is divided into a plurality of sections electrically insulated from one another at both sides of a polymer electrolyte membrane. This fuel cell stack includes end plates, a unit cell provided between the end plates, a fuel distribution manifold provided in a central portion of the unit cell for supplying fuel thereto, a single tie bolt passing through a central portion of the fuel distribution manifold and the central portion of the unit cell so as to clamp the fuel cell components together into a unitary construction, and fixing nuts threaded respectively on both end portions of the tie bolt through washers, O-rings or the like to clamp the unit cell between the end plates. The cell portion includes a polymer electrolyte membrane, an oxygen electrode and a fuel electrode disposed oppositely on both sides of the polymer electrolyte membrane, a flow field plate disposed adjacent to the oxygen electrode, and a pair of separator plates contacting an outer side of the flow field plate and an outer side of the fuel electrode, respectively. Each of the fuel electrode and the separator plates, disposed on one side of the polymer electrolyte membrane, and each of the oxygen electrode, the oxygen flow field plate and the separator plate disposed on the other side thereof are divided into sections electrically insulated from one another.

Split cell type fuel cell stack

A portable fuel cell stack is provided in which the number of components is reduced by reducing the number of flow field plates, cell performance is improved by reducing the number of contact portions to thereby lower internal resistance, and fuel is supplied from the center of an end plate directly to a fuel distribution manifold. The portable fuel cell stack includes two end plates, a plurality of unit cells positioned between the two end plates, a fuel distribution manifold positioned in the center of the unit cell for fuel supply thereto, a tie bolt passed through the centers of the fuel manifold and the unit cell for integration of these members, and fixing nuts threaded to both ends of the tie bolt for integrally clamping the plurality of unit cells together between the end plates via an O-ring, etc. The unit cell includes a polymer electrolyte membrane, an oxygen electrode and a fuel electrode installed on both sides of the polymer electrolyte membrane, a flow field plate adjacent to the oxygen electrode side, and a separator plate on the outside of the flow field plate adjacent in contact therewith and another separator plate on the outside of the fuel electrode side in contact therewith. One of the fixing nuts has a fuel supply port connecting to the fuel distribution manifold.

Growing community of inventors

Inuyama, Japan

Yukio Naruse