KR100696639B1 - Fuel cell apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A fuel cell device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is for generating electrical energy by a reaction of fuel and air, and outputting the electrical energy to a predetermined electronic device, and at least one of generating the electrical energy. It includes a fuel cell body that is installed to be substantially removable with respect to the electronic device having an electricity generating portion of.

Fuel cell, main body, electricity generating part, mounting member, hinge part, detachable member, detachable, rotating, electronic device

Description

FUEL CELL APPARATUS {FUEL CELL APPARATUS}

1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a fuel cell device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a side configuration diagram of FIG. 1.

3 is a schematic front view of the fuel cell body illustrated in FIG. 1.

4 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the electricity generating unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the fuel cell body illustrated in FIG. 1.

6 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a fuel cell device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention relates to a fuel cell device, and more particularly to a fuel cell device of a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC).

As is known, a fuel cell is configured as a power generation system that directly converts the chemical reaction energy of hydrogen contained in a hydrocarbon-based fuel and oxygen supplied separately into electrical energy.

Such fuel cells may be broadly classified into polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEMFCs) and direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs).

The polymer electrolyte fuel cell is configured as a fuel cell body (hereinafter referred to as a "stack" for convenience), called a stack, and is composed of hydrogen supplied from a reformer and air supplied by operation of an air pump or fan. It consists of a structure that generates electrical energy through a chemical reaction. Here, the reformer functions as a fuel treatment apparatus for reforming fuel to generate hydrogen from the fuel and supplying this hydrogen to the stack.

Unlike a polymer electrolyte fuel cell, a direct methanol fuel cell is supplied with an alcohol, which is a fuel, without using hydrogen, and thus receives electrical energy by an electrochemical reaction of hydrogen contained in the fuel and separately supplied air. It consists of a structure that generates.

Among these, the direct methanol fuel cell may be a monopolar type in which a plurality of unit cells are arranged in a plane, and the monopolar type fuel cell may be formed by a natural convection of air. It consists of a structure that is supplied to each unit cell through the side.

However, since the monopolar type direct methanol type fuel cell is supplied with air through one side of the fuel cell body, air is not supplied to the unit cells according to the user's use environment. There was a problem that does not maximize. In addition, the monopolar type direct methanol fuel cell is not easily discharged from the heat generated by the unit cells as air is supplied through one side of the fuel cell body. There was a problem of falling.

Meanwhile, in recent years, electronic devices such as mobile communication terminals, portable multimedia players (PMPs), portable portable assistants (PSPs), and personal digital assistants (PDAs) are rapidly developing as lightweight, miniaturized, and advanced devices. It has been pointed out that it does not actively respond to the high power consumption of the device, the situation is focused on the development of fuel cells that are easy to carry and use, while maximizing the output of electrical energy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a fuel cell device which is portable and easy to use with an electronic device and easily mounts the electronic device while maximizing the output of electrical energy.

In order to achieve the above object, a fuel cell apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is for generating electrical energy by reaction of fuel and air, and outputting the electrical energy to a predetermined electronic device. It includes a fuel cell body that is installed to be substantially removable with respect to the electronic device having at least one electricity generating unit for generating the electrical energy.

The fuel cell apparatus includes a mount member on which the electronic device is mounted, a hinge portion hinged to the mount member and the fuel cell body so that relative rotation of the fuel cell body and the mount member is performed, and the mount member. It may further include a detachable member for detaching the electronic device.

In the fuel cell apparatus, the detachable member may include at least one first coupling protrusion protruding in a direction orthogonal to a plane direction of the mount member and selectively detachable with respect to a first coupling groove formed in the electronic device. Can be.

In the fuel cell apparatus, the detachable member may include at least one second coupling protrusion that is formed along a length direction of the mount member and is selectively detached while sliding with respect to a second coupling groove formed in the electronic device. .

The fuel cell apparatus may include a fuel tank installed at the mount member to store the fuel. In this case, the mount member may form an accommodating part for accommodating the fuel tank. The fuel tank may be detachably installed with respect to the housing, and may be configured as a cartridge capable of filling the fuel.

The fuel cell apparatus may include a fuel pump installed in the mount member and supplying the fuel stored in the fuel tank to the electricity generator.

In the fuel cell device, the fuel cell body may be formed as a flat plate type. In this case, the fuel cell body may include a case member having a plurality of ventilation holes on both sides thereof to embed the electricity generating unit.

In the fuel cell device, the electricity generating unit may be provided as at least one pair arranged symmetrically with each other. In this case, each of the electricity generating units is disposed on one side of the membrane-electrode assembly, an anode unit for supplying the fuel to the membrane-electrode assembly, and the other side of the membrane-electrode assembly. It may include a cathode for supplying air to the membrane electrode assembly.

The fuel cell device has a structure in which the cathode part is disposed facing both side surfaces of the case member.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art may easily implement the present invention. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention.

1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a fuel cell device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a side configuration diagram of FIG.

Referring to the fuel cell device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings, the fuel cell device 100, PMP (Portable Multimedia Player), PSP (Playstation Portable), PDA (Personal Digital Assistants), It is configured as a power generation system for outputting electrical energy to a portable electronic device 10 such as a mobile communication terminal.

The fuel cell apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment receives the liquid fuel such as methanol and ethanol directly and generates electrical energy by the oxidation reaction of hydrogen contained in the liquid fuel and the reduction reaction of oxygen contained in the air. It may be configured as a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) method.

The fuel cell device 100 includes a fuel cell body 20 configured as a direct methanol fuel cell, a mounting member 40 on which an electronic device 10 is mounted, a fuel cell body 20 and a mounting member ( It comprises a hinge portion 60 for hinge coupling 40, and a removable member 80 for attaching and detaching the electronic device 10 with respect to the mounting member (40). That is, the fuel cell device 100 according to the present embodiment has a structure in which the electronic device 10 can be selectively detached from the mount member 40.

FIG. 3 is a front configuration diagram schematically showing the fuel cell body shown in FIG. 1. Referring to this figure, the fuel cell body 20 is formed as a substantially rectangular flat plate body, and includes fuel and air. A plurality of electricity generating units 21 for generating electrical energy by the reaction is provided.

In this embodiment, these electricity generators 21 are continuously arranged in a planar direction with respect to both sides of the fuel cell body 20, and are arranged symmetrically with a pair facing each other in the thickness direction of the fuel cell body 20. May be (see FIG. 1).

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional configuration diagram schematically showing the electricity generator shown in FIG. 3. Referring to this diagram, each electricity generator 21 is a minimum unit for generating electrical energy by reaction of fuel and air. It is provided as a fuel cell of a fuel cell. These electricity generating units 21 are a membrane-electrode assembly (hereinafter referred to as "MEA") 21a, an anode portion 21b disposed on one side of the MEA 21a, It is comprised including the cathode part 21c arrange | positioned at the other side of the MEA 21a.

The MEA 21a is provided as a conventional MEA structure in which a first electrode layer is formed on one surface, a second electrode layer is formed on the other surface, and an electrolyte membrane is formed between these electrode layers. At this time, the first electrode layer separates the hydrogen contained in the fuel into electrons and hydrogen ions, the electrolyte membrane moves the hydrogen ions to the second electrode layer, and the second electrode layer provides electrons, hydrogen ions, and separately provided from the first electrode layer. The oxygen is reacted to generate moisture and heat.

The anode portion 21b serves to disperse fuel to the first electrode layer of the MEA 21a. This anode portion 21b is disposed in close contact with the first electrode layer of the MEA 21a while having a fuel passage (not shown) that enables the flow of fuel.

The cathode portion 21c functions to disperse air to the second electrode layer of the MEA 21a. The cathode portion 21c is arranged to be in close contact with the second electrode layer with a plurality of holes 21d for supplying the air to the second electrode layer of the MEA 21a by natural diffusion or convection. . Accordingly, the cathode portion 21c is exposed to the outside through both side surfaces of the fuel cell body 20 (FIG. 1).

As described above, in order to expose the cathode portions 21c of the electricity generating units 21 to the outside through both side surfaces of the fuel cell body 20, the fuel cell body 20 according to the present embodiment is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 5. As shown in the drawing, having a plurality of vent holes 23a on both sides, the case member 23 having the electricity generating units 21 therein is provided.

The case member 23 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped form to form a receiving space for embedding the electricity generating portions 21, and as shown in the drawing, the vent holes 23a are formed in the holes of the cathode portion 21c. Is formed corresponding to the field 21d (Fig. 4). That is, the cathode portion 21c of the electricity generating portions 21 may be disposed to face both sides of the case member 23 inside the case member 23. Alternatively, the vent holes 23a may be formed in sizes corresponding to the electrical generators 21 on both sides of the case member 23. Accordingly, the air in the atmosphere is formed through the vent holes 23a of the case member 23 and the holes 21d (Fig. 4) of the cathode portion 21c by natural diffusion or convection. Is supplied to the second electrode layer.

In addition, the anode portion 21b and the cathode portion 21c connect the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer in series in addition to supplying fuel and air to the first and second electrode layers of the MEA 21a (FIG. 4). It also functions as a conductor.

In the present embodiment, the mount member 40 is a portion in which the electronic device 10 is substantially mounted, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, by the hinge unit 60 described further below. 20) is rotatably coupled.

The mount member 40 may be a structure that is integrally coupled to the package forming the appearance of the electronic device 10 through a conventional fastening member, or may be a structure that is selectively detachable with respect to the package of the electronic device 10. However, in the present embodiment, the latter will be described further below.

In the present embodiment, the mount member 40 is configured as a base plate 41 that is substantially coupled to the back surface of the electronic device 10, and a support 43 for supporting the lower end of the electronic device 10.

The base plate 41 is formed as a case form forming a predetermined internal space, in which the pipeline for supplying fuel to the electricity generating units 21 (Fig. 3) of the fuel cell body 20 and / Alternatively, various components may be provided to process unreacted fuel and air, carbon dioxide, moisture, heat, etc. generated from the electricity generating units 21.

Here, the base plate 41 is electrically connected to the electronic device 10 and the separate electrical processing means for processing the electrical energy generated from the electricity generator 21 or the electricity generator 21 of the fuel cell body 20. Connection terminals or the like for connecting may be provided.

In addition, the base plate 41 is provided with a fuel tank 30 for storing fuel, and the fuel tank 30 may be installed to be accommodated in an accommodating part 45 formed in the base plate 41. . At this time, the accommodating part 45 is formed along the direction orthogonal to the support 43 as a groove of a shape corresponding to the appearance of the fuel tank 30. In addition, the fuel tank 30 is detachably installed with respect to the housing part 45, and is formed as a cartridge that can be filled with fuel. The fuel tank 30 is connected to the fuel by the pipeline as described above in the state accommodated in the housing part 45. It may be connected to the electricity generating units 21 of the battery body 20.

And the support base 43 is arrange | positioned along the direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the base board 41, having predetermined internal space. The support 43 has a function of stably maintaining the standing state of the apparatus 100 and the electronic device 10 when the fuel cell body 20 and the mounting member 40 are rotated relative to each other.

The internal space of the support 43 processes and applies various control signals necessary for the overall driving of the inverter, the converter, or the apparatus for adjusting the voltage level of the power output from the electric generators 21 of the fuel cell body 20. A controller (not shown) may be provided.

In addition, in the internal space of the support 43, a fuel pump for discharging the fuel stored in the fuel tank 30 at a predetermined pumping pressure, and supplying the fuel to the electricity generating units 21 of the fuel cell body 20 ( 50). The fuel pump 50 is connected to the fuel tank 30 by a pipeline or the like, and preferably may be disposed at a position close to the fuel tank 30.

In the present embodiment, the hinge portion 60, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, to enable the relative rotation of the fuel cell body 20 and the mounting member 40, the upper end of the fuel cell body 20 And the upper end of the mount member 40 is hingedly formed.

The hinge portion 60 forms a hinge point 61 to rotate the fuel cell body 20 and the mounting member 40 by a predetermined angle, and the hinge point 61 is formed of the fuel cell body 20. The upper end and the upper end of the mount member 40 are formed by hinged coaxially. At this time, it is preferable that the rotation angle θ of the fuel cell body 20 and the mounting member 40 by the hinge portion 60 satisfy approximately 45 °.

Here, the hinge part 60 may include a pipeline for connecting the fuel cell body 20 and the fuel tank 30, and a conductor wire for electrically connecting the electricity generating units 21 and the controller of the fuel cell body 20 to the fuel cell body 20. It can be made as a structure that can pass easily. In addition, the hinge portion 60 is a conventional on-off switch for selectively turning on and off the operation of the entire apparatus 100 as the fuel cell body 20 and the mounting member 40 are rotated relative to each other. It may be provided.

In the present embodiment, the detachable member 80 is to easily detach the electronic device 10 with respect to the mounting member 40 of the apparatus 100, as shown in Figure 1 and 2, the mounting member At least one first coupling protrusion 81 formed at 40 is provided.

Specifically, the first coupling protrusion 81 is provided as a plurality on the substantially lower edge portion of the base plate 41, and is formed to protrude in a direction orthogonal to the plane direction of the base plate 41.

On the other hand, a plurality of first coupling grooves 11 are formed in the package of the electronic device 10 corresponding to the first coupling protrusion 81, the first coupling protrusion 81 according to the present embodiment is a first It is formed in the form of a circular shape that can be easily male and female easily coupled to the coupling groove 11 or easily separated from the first coupling groove 11. Accordingly, the fuel cell apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes the first coupling protrusion 81 formed in the mounting member 40 and the first coupling groove 11 formed in the electronic apparatus 10. It is possible to selectively detach the 10 with respect to the mounting member (40).

In the present invention, the detachable member 80 is not limited to the structure of the grooves and protrusions as described above, and may be configured by employing an elastic protrusion elastically biased by the elastic force of the spring to the mounting member 40, By employing a predetermined bracket to the mounting member 40 may be a structure of the longitudinal edge portion of the electronic device 10 is sliding along the bracket.

Referring to the operation of the fuel cell device according to an embodiment of the present invention configured as described above in detail as follows.

First, in a state in which the fuel cell body 20 and the mounting member 40 are folded to each other, the electronic device 10 is coupled to the first coupling protrusion 81 of the mounting member 40. At this time, since the first coupling groove 11 is formed in the package of the electronic device 10, the first coupling protrusion 81 is forcibly fitted into the first coupling groove 11 so that the mounting member ( 40) to be firmly fixed.

In this state, the fuel cell body 20 or the mounting member 40 is rotated around the hinge portion 60. In this case, the fuel cell body 20 is in a state where both sides thereof are exposed to the air while maintaining a rotation angle of approximately 45 ° with respect to the mount member 40.

After that, the normal operation of the apparatus 100 is performed, and the fuel pump 50 discharges the fuel stored in the fuel tank 30, and uses the fuel to generate electricity 21 of the fuel cell body 20. To supply. Then, the anode portion 21b of the electricity generating portions 21 distributes the fuel to the first electrode layer of the MEA 21a.

At the same time, the air in the air passes through the air vents 23a of the case member 23 by natural diffusion or convection, as both sides of the fuel cell body 20 are exposed to the air. Is supplied. Then, the cathode portion 21c of the electricity generating portions 21 distributes air to the second electrode layer of the MEA 21a.

Accordingly, the electricity generating units 21 generate electric energy of a predetermined capacity by the oxidation reaction of the fuel by the first electrode layer of the MEA 21a and the reduction reaction of oxygen by the second electrode layer of the MEA 21a. This electrical energy is output to the electronic device 10.

As a result, the electronic device 10 is driven by receiving electric energy, and thus, the standing state can be stably maintained by the rotational structure of the apparatus 100. That is, the electronic device 10 is driven while being mounted on the mounting member 40 of the device 100, the user can watch a video or the like in a comfortable posture through the electronic device 10 or various information, games, etc. You can then run

On the other hand, in this state, when the fuel cell body 20 is rotated around the hinge portion 60 to be folded with the mounting member 40, the device 100 is stopped the driving of the electronic device 10 It turns off the driving of.

And when the user's external force acts on the electronic device 10 in a direction opposite to the coupling direction of the electronic device 10, the electronic device 10 is the first coupling projection 81 from the first coupling groove (11) It is separated from the mount member 40 while being separated.

6 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a fuel cell device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, the fuel cell device 200 according to the present embodiment is based on the structure of the electrical embodiment, while the removable member 180 for attaching and detaching the electronic device 110 with respect to the mounting member 140 in a sliding manner. Can be configured.

Specifically, the detachable member 180 according to the present embodiment includes at least one second coupling protrusion 181 that is formed to extend in the longitudinal direction of the base plate 141 of the mount member 140.

The second coupling protrusion 181 is formed to protrude elongated on the upper and lower edge portions of the base plate 141 and is formed in parallel to each other along the longitudinal direction of the base plate 141. At this time, the second coupling protrusion 181 is provided as a rail form detachable while sliding with respect to the second coupling groove 111 of the electronic device 110 which will be described later.

Meanwhile, a second coupling groove 111 is formed in the package of the electronic device 110 corresponding to the second coupling protrusion 181. The second coupling protrusion 181 according to the present embodiment is the electronic device 110. Sliding with respect to the second coupling groove 111 of the) or is separated from the second coupling groove (111).

Therefore, the fuel cell apparatus 200 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes a mounting member formed by the second coupling protrusion 181 formed on the mounting member 140 and the second coupling groove 111 formed on the electronic device 110. The electronic device 110 may be detachably attached to the 140 in a sliding manner.

Since the rest of the configuration and operation of the fuel cell device 200 according to the present embodiment is the same as the above embodiment, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the claims and the detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings. Naturally, it belongs to the scope of the invention.

According to the present invention as described above, by supplying air through both sides of the fuel cell body, the fuel cell body is made of a foldable structure that can be rotated with respect to the electronic device and has a detachable member for attaching and detaching the electronic device, the fuel cell It not only ensures the safety of temperature rise of the main body but also maximizes the output of electric energy, and it is easy to install fuel cells for electronic devices, and it is portable with electronic devices regardless of various usage environments of electronic devices. And the effect is easy to use.

Claims (13)

A fuel cell device for generating electrical energy by reaction of fuel and air, and outputting the electrical energy to a predetermined electronic device, comprising: A fuel cell body having a at least one electricity generating unit for generating the electrical energy, the fuel cell main body being detachably mounted to the electronic device; A mounting member mounted to the fuel cell body to mount the electronic device; And Detachable member formed on the mount member for detaching the electronic device Including; The detachable member includes at least one first engaging protrusion protruding in a direction orthogonal to a plane direction of the mount member and selectively detachable with respect to a first coupling groove formed in the electronic device. According to claim 1, And a hinge portion hingedly coupled to the mount member and the fuel cell body such that relative rotation of the fuel cell body and the mount member is achieved. delete A fuel cell device for generating electrical energy by reaction of fuel and air, and outputting the electrical energy to a predetermined electronic device, comprising: A fuel cell body having a at least one electricity generating unit for generating the electrical energy, the fuel cell main body being detachably mounted to the electronic device; A mounting member mounted to the fuel cell body to mount the electronic device; And Detachable member formed on the mount member for detaching the electronic device Including; The detachable member includes at least one second coupling protrusion formed along a length direction of the mount member and selectively detachable while sliding with respect to a second coupling groove formed in the electronic device. The method according to claim 1 or 4, And a fuel tank installed on the mount member to store the fuel. The method of claim 5, And the mount member forms an accommodating portion for accommodating the fuel tank. The method of claim 6, The fuel tank is provided detachably to the housing portion, the fuel cell device is formed in the form of a cartridge capable of filling the fuel. The method of claim 5, And a fuel pump installed in the mount member to supply the fuel stored in the fuel tank to the electricity generator. The method according to claim 1 or 4, A fuel cell device in which the fuel cell body is a flat plate type. The method according to claim 1 or 4, The fuel cell body includes a case member having a plurality of vent holes on both sides to embed the electricity generating unit. The method of claim 10, And the electricity generating unit is provided as at least one pair arranged symmetrically with each other. The method of claim 11, wherein Each of the electricity generating unit, Membrane-electrode assembly, An anode unit disposed at one side of the membrane electrode assembly to supply the fuel to the membrane electrode assembly; A cathode disposed on the other side of the membrane electrode assembly to supply the air to the membrane electrode assembly; Fuel cell device comprising a. The method of claim 12, And a cathode part disposed to face both side surfaces of the case member.

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