JP2008034115A - Vehicle equipped with fuel cell - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To secure a sufficient living space, and to achieve a weight balance without causing restriction in arrangement of components or the like. <P>SOLUTION: This vehicle equipped with a fuel cell includes: an armoring body directly contacting the outside air, constituting the outside surface of the vehicle equipped with a fuel cell, and used for introducing the air; a fuel tank 41 for supplying a fuel; and a membrane-electrode assembly arranged by being extended along the armoring body in the inside of the armoring body and generating power by reacting the air with the fuel. Since at least a part of the body of the vehicle equipped with a fuel cell is composed by the fuel cell 11, it is not necessary to form the fuel cell 11 into a stack structure, and it is not necessary to install a pump for supplying the air to the fuel cell 11 and draining water from the fuel cell 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuel cell vehicle.

  Conventionally, in a vehicle equipped with a fuel cell, that is, a fuel cell-equipped vehicle, electric power generated by a stacked fuel cell, that is, a fuel cell stack is supplied to a drive motor as a current to drive the drive motor. Thus, torque is generated.

  For this purpose, an in-vehicle fuel cell system is provided in the vehicle, and the in-vehicle fuel cell system is a fuel tank in which hydrogen gas as high-pressure fuel is stored, hydrogen gas is supplied from the fuel tank, and air is supplied. The fuel cell stack is provided. The fuel cell stack includes a supply manifold for supplying air to the upper end portion and a discharge manifold for discharging the mixed flow to the lower end portion.

  In the fuel cell stack, a module is accommodated in a stack case. In the module, hydrogen of the hydrogen gas and oxygen in the air are reacted to generate water, and current is generated along with the reaction. Is generated. For this purpose, the module is composed of an assembly formed by stacking a plurality of unit cells constituting elements of a fuel cell and electrically connecting them in series, and each unit cell sandwiches an electrolyte membrane. The membrane electrode assembly (MEA) formed by disposing the air electrode and the fuel electrode at the same time, and the membrane electrode assembly of the adjacent unit cell are separated from each other, facing the air electrode and air. A separator is provided that forms a fuel flow path with the flow path facing the fuel electrode.

Further, when the fuel cell system is mounted on the fuel cell-equipped vehicle, the fuel cell stack and the fuel tank are arranged in a lower floor area of the vehicle to secure a living space in the vehicle interior (for example, a patent) Reference 1).
JP 2006-151130 A

  However, in the conventional vehicle equipped with a fuel cell, the fuel cell stack is formed by stacking as many unit cells as possible to generate the necessary power, so that a considerable amount of the underfloor region is obtained. Not only does this occupy a part and the living space is reduced accordingly, but there are restrictions on the arrangement of other parts.

  In addition, since the fuel cell stack and the fuel tank have a considerable weight, it is difficult to balance the overall weight of the fuel cell-equipped vehicle when the fuel cell stack and the fuel tank are disposed at predetermined positions in the underfloor region.

  The present invention solves the problems of the conventional fuel cell-equipped vehicle, can secure a sufficient living space, and can take a weight balance without any restrictions on the arrangement of components. An object is to provide a fuel cell vehicle.

  Therefore, in the fuel cell-equipped vehicle of the present invention, the outer surface of the fuel cell-equipped vehicle is in direct contact with the outside air, constitutes the outer surface, takes in the air, the fuel tank for supplying the fuel, Inside the exterior body, it is provided extending along the exterior body, and has a membrane electrode assembly that generates electricity by reacting the air taken in and the fuel supplied from the fuel tank.

  According to the present invention, in the fuel cell-equipped vehicle, the outer surface of the vehicle equipped with the fuel cell is in direct contact with the outside air, the exterior body for taking in the air, the fuel tank for supplying the fuel, A membrane electrode assembly is provided inside the exterior body so as to extend along the exterior body and reacts with the air taken in and the fuel supplied from the fuel tank to generate power.

  In this case, the membrane electrode assembly is disposed inside the exterior body so as to extend along the exterior body, and generates electric power by reacting the taken-in air and the fuel supplied from the fuel tank. Do.

  Therefore, since at least a part of the body of the fuel cell-equipped vehicle is configured by the fuel cell, it is not necessary to make the fuel cell a stack structure in which unit cells are stacked, and a pump for supplying air to the fuel cell is provided. It becomes unnecessary. Moreover, since a part of the body itself is configured as a fuel cell, not only can the weight of the fuel cell-equipped vehicle be reduced, but the living space can be increased accordingly, and there are restrictions on the arrangement of other components. It can be prevented from occurring.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the fuel cell vehicle according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In the figure, 13 is a platform constituting the floor surface of a vehicle equipped with a fuel cell as a vehicle such as a passenger car, bus, truck, passenger cart, luggage cart, etc., 15 and 16 are doors, 19 is a roof, 21 is a bonnet hood, 23 Is a trunk lid, and 24 is a fender. Each body of the platform 13, roof 19, doors 15 and 16, hood hood 21, trunk lid 23, fender 24, and the like is a fuel cell structure mi (i = 1, 2, ...), and each fuel cell structure mi constitutes a fuel cell system. Further, whj (j = 1 to 4) is a wheel (in the drawing, only two wheels whj (j = 1, 3) of the four wheels whj are shown).

  Next, each fuel cell structure mi will be described.

  FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the fuel cell structure according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the fuel cell structure according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In the figure, mi is a fuel cell structure, and constitutes a door 15 in the present embodiment. Reference numeral 11 denotes a fuel cell which is formed over the entire door 15 and constitutes a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC). The fuel cell 11 is mounted as an energy supply source in a fuel cell-equipped vehicle. Is supplied to a drive motor (not shown), and each wheel whj is rotated by driving the drive motor.

  Reference numeral 41 denotes a fuel tank as a fuel supply device in which liquid hydrogen is stored and as a hydrogen supply device. The fuel tank 41 is formed in close contact with the entire inner surface of the fuel cell 11. Then, hydrogen gas as fuel and as fuel gas is supplied to the fuel cell 11.

  Since the fuel tank 41 is built in the fuel cell structure mi, the internal volume can be increased. Therefore, an internal pressure of about 20 atmospheres is sufficient, but when the cruising distance is increased, it is preferable to increase it to about 50 atmospheres.

  In the present embodiment, the polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) is used as a fuel cell, but instead of the polymer electrolyte fuel cell, an alkaline aqueous fuel cell (AFC), phosphoric acid fuel A battery (PAFC), a molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC), a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), a hydrazine fuel cell, a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC), or the like can also be used.

  By the way, in the fuel cell 11, the hydrogen gas supplied from the fuel tank 41 and oxygen as an oxidant contained in the air taken in from the outside air are reacted to generate water. Current is generated. For this purpose, the fuel cell 11 has a laminated structure formed by laminating elements from the outside to the inside of the fuel cell-equipped vehicle, and is made of a metal porous body that directly contacts outside air and takes in air. A porous outer plate 26 as an outer body constituting the outer surface of the vehicle equipped with a fuel cell, an air electrode side diffusion layer 27 as a first diffusion layer, a membrane electrode assembly 28, and a second diffusion layer A fuel electrode side diffusion layer 29 is provided, and the fuel tank 41 is attached to the fuel electrode side diffusion layer 29. The membrane electrode assembly 28 is extended and laminated along the porous outer plate 26, the air electrode side diffusion layer 27, the fuel electrode side diffusion layer 29, and the fuel tank 41.

  A wall in contact with the fuel electrode side diffusion layer 29 in the fuel tank 41 constitutes a permeable wall that allows hydrogen gas to pass therethrough, and hydrogen gas is directly supplied from the fuel tank 41 to the fuel cell 11. The porous outer plate 26 and the air electrode side diffusion layer 27 constitute an air electrode (oxygen electrode), and the fuel electrode side diffusion layer 29 constitutes a fuel electrode. The air electrode side diffusion layer 27 and the fuel electrode side diffusion layer 29 are formed of carbon cloth, carbon paper, a metal porous body, or the like, and have a network structure.

  The membrane electrode assembly 28 is made of a solid polymer, and in the present embodiment, the air electrode side diffusion layer 27 is sandwiched by an electrolyte membrane 31 as a solid electrolyte that transmits ions, that is, hydrogen ions. The air electrode side catalyst layer 32 is disposed on the side, and the fuel electrode side catalyst layer 33 is disposed on the fuel electrode side diffusion layer 29 side. The air electrode side catalyst layer 32 and the fuel electrode side catalyst layer 33 are formed by uniformly dispersing a paste-like substance by mixing a platinum-based catalyst and a solid polymer with carbon at a predetermined thickness. .

  By the way, when the air electrode functions as a cathode, the fuel electrode functions as an anode, air is supplied to the air electrode, hydrogen gas is supplied to the fuel electrode, and a load device (not shown) such as an inverter is connected to the air electrode and the fuel electrode, Catalytic reaction takes place at the fuel electrode, hydrogen is decomposed into hydrogen ions and electrons, and the hydrogen ions move to the air electrode side in the electrolyte membrane 31 containing moisture in the form of protons, combined with oxygen in the air. To produce water. In addition, electrons generated at the fuel electrode move to the air electrode side through the inverter, and accordingly, current is generated to generate power. That is, a current is generated by reacting hydrogen and oxygen, and the current can be supplied to the inverter. The inverter is connected to the drive motor. Therefore, the drive motor can be driven by generating U-phase, V-phase, and W-phase phase currents by the inverter and supplying the phase currents to the drive motor.

  In the fuel cell 11 configured as described above, when the fuel cell-equipped vehicle is stopped, air is supplied into the fuel cell 11 by the natural intake air through the porous outer plate 26, and the fuel cell-equipped vehicle is running. Sometimes, air is supplied into the fuel cell 11 through the porous outer plate 26 by the ram flow.

  The generated water is removed by the outside air when the fuel cell vehicle is stopped, and is removed or evaporated by the traveling wind when the fuel cell vehicle is traveling.

  As described above, since the fuel cell 11 and the fuel tank 41 constitute at least a part of the body of the vehicle equipped with the fuel cell, the fuel cell 11 does not need to have a stack structure in which unit cells are stacked and air is used as fuel. There is no need to provide a pump for supplying the battery 11, a pump for discharging water from the fuel cell 11, and the like. Therefore, not only can the weight of the fuel cell-equipped vehicle be reduced, but the living space can be widened accordingly, and it is possible to prevent the arrangement of other components from being restricted.

  Further, the strength of the body of the vehicle equipped with the fuel cell is obtained by the porous outer plate 26, and the electrode of the fuel cell 11 is formed by the porous outer plate 26 that does not contribute to power generation. The degree can be increased.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In addition, about the thing which has the same structure as 1st Embodiment, the same code | symbol is provided and the effect of the same embodiment is used about the effect of the invention by having the same structure.

  FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the fuel cell structure according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  In the figure, reference numeral 35 denotes an outer plate unit as an exterior body. The outer plate unit 35 includes an outer plate 36 that comes into contact with outside air, and air formed between the outer plate 36 and the air electrode side diffusion layer 27. A flow path portion 37 is provided. A plurality of grooves 39 extending in the vertical direction are formed in the air flow path portion 37 by a plurality of partition walls 38 arranged in parallel. Each groove 39 is closed by the outer plate 36 and constitutes a plurality of air flow paths. Further, an air inlet 48 for taking in air and supplying it to the air flow path is formed at a predetermined location on the outer plate 36.

  Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In addition, about the thing which has the same structure as 1st Embodiment, the same code | symbol is provided and the effect of the same embodiment is used about the effect of the invention by having the same structure.

  FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a fuel cell structure according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

  In the figure, 43 is a porous outer plate as an outer package made of a metal porous body, 44 is an air electrode side diffusion layer as a first diffusion layer, the porous outer plate 43 and the air electrode side diffusion layer. 44 constitutes an air electrode (oxygen electrode).

  The air electrode side diffusion layer 44 is formed of carbon cloth, carbon paper, a metal porous body, or the like, and has a network structure. Further, the porous outer plate 43 and the air electrode side diffusion layer 44 are integrated to form an exterior body / diffusion layer unit 45.

  As described above, the porous outer plate 43 and the air electrode side diffusion layer 44 are integrated to form a joint made of a composite material between the porous outer plate 43 and the air electrode side diffusion layer 44. . Therefore, the strength of the fuel cell 11 can be increased.

  In integrating the porous outer plate 43 and the air electrode side diffusion layer 44, in order to increase the bonding area between the porous outer plate 43 and the air electrode side diffusion layer 44, It is preferable not to form a plurality of air flow paths with the air electrode side diffusion layer 44.

  Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In addition, about the thing which has the same structure as 1st Embodiment, the same code | symbol is provided and the effect of the same embodiment is used about the effect of the invention by having the same structure.

  FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the fuel cell structure according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

  In this case, reference numeral 47 denotes an air electrode side diffusion layer as an reinforced diffusion layer formed so as to increase in strength, and the air electrode side diffusion layer 47 functions as an exterior body. For this purpose, the air electrode side diffusion layer 47 is made of a composite material formed by impregnating a base material such as carbon cloth, carbon paper, or a metal porous body with an impregnation material such as a resin. Therefore, the strength of the air electrode side diffusion layer 47 can be made higher than that of a normal steel plate and the elasticity can be increased. Note that the amount of impregnation of a material such as resin is preferably set to an amount that does not hinder air permeation.

  Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In addition, about the thing which has the same structure as 1st Embodiment, the same code | symbol is provided and the effect of the same embodiment is used about the effect of the invention by having the same structure.

  FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a fuel cell structure according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

  In this case, 27 is an air electrode side diffusion layer as a first diffusion layer, and also functions as an exterior body. Further, the strength of the wall of the fuel tank 41 is increased, and the fuel electrode side diffusion layer 29 and the fuel tank 41 are firmly joined. Therefore, the air electrode side diffusion layer 27 has a structure of a normal air electrode side diffusion layer.

  Next, a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In addition, about the thing which has the same structure as 1st Embodiment, the same code | symbol is provided and the effect of the same embodiment is used about the effect of the invention by having the same structure.

  FIG. 8 shows a fuel cell system according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

  In the figure, reference numeral 50 denotes a fuel supply system. The fuel supply system 50 includes a fuel tank 41, a regulator 53 for adjusting the pressure and flow rate of hydrogen gas discharged from the fuel tank 41, and the fuel tank 41 and the regulator 53. A fuel supply path 55 to be connected, a fuel supply path 56 to connect the regulator 53 and the fuel cell 11, and the like are provided.

  Further, a fuel flow path portion 61 is formed between the fuel cell 11 and the fuel tank 41, and a plurality of partition walls 63 arranged in parallel are provided in the fuel flow path portion 61 so as to extend in the horizontal direction. The groove 64 is formed. Each groove 64 constitutes a plurality of fuel flow paths, and hydrogen gas is supplied to the fuel flow paths via the fuel supply path 56.

  Next, a seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described. In addition, about the thing which has the same structure as 1st, 6th embodiment, the same code | symbol is provided and the effect of the embodiment is used about the effect of the invention by having the same structure.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a fuel cell system according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

  In this case, the hydrogen gas is supplied to the fuel electrode side diffusion layer 29 via the fuel supply path 56. The fuel electrode side diffusion layer 29 is sealed so that hydrogen gas does not escape.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the fuel tank 41 in which liquid hydrogen is stored is used as the fuel supply device and the hydrogen supply device. A hydrogen storage alloy tank that accommodates the hydrogen storage alloy thus formed can be used. In that case, when releasing hydrogen gas, the vehicle interior can be cooled by absorbing heat from the surroundings.

1 is an exploded perspective view of a fuel cell structure according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view of a fuel cell vehicle according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing of the fuel cell structure in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the fuel cell structure in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the fuel cell structure in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the fuel cell structure in the 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the fuel cell structure in the 5th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the fuel cell system in the 6th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the fuel cell system in the 7th Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

26, 43 Porous outer plates 27, 47 Air electrode side diffusion layer 28 Membrane electrode assembly 35 Outer plate unit 41 Fuel tank

Claims (6)

  Directly in contact with the outside air, constituting the outer surface of the vehicle equipped with a fuel cell, an exterior body for taking in air, a fuel tank for supplying fuel, and extending along the exterior body inside the exterior body A fuel cell-equipped vehicle comprising: a membrane electrode assembly that generates electricity by reacting air taken in and taken in and fuel supplied from a fuel tank.   The first diffusion layer is disposed between the exterior body and the membrane electrode assembly, and the second diffusion layer is disposed between the membrane electrode assembly and a fuel tank. Vehicle with fuel cell.   The fuel cell-equipped vehicle according to claim 2, wherein an air flow path is formed between the exterior body and the first diffusion layer.   The fuel cell-equipped vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the exterior body and the first diffusion layer are integrated, and a joint portion made of a composite material is formed between the exterior body and the first diffusion layer. .   The fuel cell vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the fuel tank and the second diffusion layer are firmly joined. The fuel cell vehicle according to claim 2, wherein a fuel flow path is formed between the fuel tank and the second diffusion layer.

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