The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 06, 2010
Filed:
Jan. 19, 2005
Soichi Shibata, Hirakata, JP;
Takayuki Urata, Kawabe-gun, JP;
Yasushi Sugawara, Higashiosaka, JP;
Takahiro Umeda, Nara, JP;
Junji Morita, Moriguchi, JP;
Kazuhito Hatoh, Osaka, JP;
Yukinobu Kitano, Hirakata, JP;
Soichi Shibata, Hirakata, JP;
Takayuki Urata, Kawabe-gun, JP;
Yasushi Sugawara, Higashiosaka, JP;
Takahiro Umeda, Nara, JP;
Junji Morita, Moriguchi, JP;
Kazuhito Hatoh, Osaka, JP;
Yukinobu Kitano, Hirakata, JP;
Panasonic Corporation, Osaka, JP;
Abstract
A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell that is subjected to a purge operation of supplying an inert gas to an anode and/or cathode upon shut-down of the fuel cell. The differential pressure ΔP is defined as ΔP=Pa−Pc where Pa is the pressure in an inlet-side flow path leading to the anode and Pc is the pressure in an inlet-side flow path leading to the cathode. The differential pressure during the purge operation is controlled such that the differential pressure during operation ΔPo and the differential pressure during the purge operation ΔPp satisfy the relation: 0<ΔPo×ΔPp. This makes it possible to reduce the stress exerted on a solid electrolyte membrane and improve the long-term reliability of the fuel cell.