| US 7,611,788 B2 | ||
| Fuel cell stack | ||
| Hideaki Kikuchi, Kawachi-gun (Japan); Masaaki Sakano, Utsunomiya (Japan); Yasuhiro Watanabe, Kawaguchi (Japan); and Satoshi Tanimoto, Utsunomiya (Japan) | ||
| Assigned to Honda Motor Co., Ltd., Tokyo (Japan) | ||
| Filed on Nov. 09, 2006, as Appl. No. 11/595,570. | ||
| Claims priority of application No. 2005-327090 (JP), filed on Nov. 11, 2005. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2007/0154758 A1, Jul. 05, 2007 | ||
| Int. Cl. H01M 8/04 (2006.01); H01M 8/00 (2006.01); H01M 2/14 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 429—26 [429/12; 429/38; 429/39] | 14 Claims |
| 1. A fuel cell stack comprising:
a plurality of unit fuel cells stacked with each other, each of the unit fuel cells being formed by disposing separators so
as to make close contacts with anodes and cathodes of membrane electrode assemblies, and each of the membrane electrode assemblies
being formed by disposing the anode and the cathode on both sides of an electrolyte membrane;
a reactant gas passage formed by a space between the separators and the anode and the cathode;
a coolant passage formed between the separators by disposing at least one of the separators so as to make a close contact
with another of the separators;
a reactant-gas-supplying penetration hole and a reactant-gas-discharging penetration hole each communicating with the reactant
gas passage and each penetrates the unit fuel cells in a stacking direction thereof; and
a coolant-supplying penetration hole formed along a first side of the unit fuel cell and a coolant-discharging penetration
hole formed along a second side of the unit fuel cell opposite the first side, each of said holes communicating with the coolant
passage and each of said holes penetrating the unit fuel cells in a stacking direction thereof, wherein
the coolant-supplying penetration hole and the coolant-discharging penetration hole are arranged in a horizontal direction
opposing with each other so as to sandwich a power generating region therebetween; and
the fuel cell stack further comprising:
an air draining penetration hole formed along a third side of the unit fuel cell communicating with the coolant passage and
arranged such that at least one part thereof is located at a higher position than an uppermost position of the coolant supplying
penetration hole and the coolant-discharging penetration hole, and penetrates the unit fuel cells in the stacking direction;
and
a coolant draining penetration hole formed along a fourth side of the unit fuel cell opposite the third side and different
from the first and second sides, the coolant draining penetration hole communicating with the coolant passage and arranged
such that at least one part thereof is located at a lower position than a lowermost position of the coolant-supplying penetration
hole and the coolant-discharging penetration hole, and penetrates the unit fuel cells in the stacking direction.
|