JP2010272313A - Fuel cell - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily and quickly assemble a plurality of fuel cells and to efficiently disassemble and assemble the fuel cells. <P>SOLUTION: A power generating unit 12 constituting the unit cell 10 includes a first separator 14, a first electrolyte membrane-electrode structure 16a, a second separator 18, a second electrolyte membrane-electrode structure 16b, and a third separator 20. Resin fastening parts 110a, 110b, 110c are arranged in the peripheral parts of the first separator 14, second separator 18, and third separator 20. A connecting pin 112 is integrated into the resin fastening part 110a, a first hole 114a and a second hole 114b into which a rebuilt pin 118 can be selectively inserted are formed on both sides of the connecting pin 112. Holes 116 for inserting the connecting pin 112 are formed in the central parts of the resin fastening parts 110b, 110c, and the first hole 114a and the second hole 114b are formed on both sides of the hole 116. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuel cell in which an electrolyte membrane / electrode structure provided with a pair of electrodes on both sides of an electrolyte membrane and a separator are laminated.

  For example, in a polymer electrolyte fuel cell, an electrolyte membrane / electrode structure (MEA) in which an anode side electrode and a cathode side electrode are disposed on both sides of an electrolyte membrane made of a polymer ion exchange membrane is sandwiched by separators. ing. This type of fuel cell is normally used as a fuel cell stack by stacking a predetermined number of fuel cells.

  In this type of fuel cell, several tens to several hundreds of fuel cells are usually stacked to form a fuel cell stack. At that time, the fuel cell itself and the fuel cells need to be accurately positioned. For example, a fuel cell disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known.

  The conventional fuel cell includes a plurality of metal clip members that hold the outer circumferences of the first and second separators at a plurality of locations, and the metal clip member is bent at a side plate portion and an end portion of the side plate portion. The first and second tongue pieces gripping the outer circumferences of the first and second separators, the first and second tongue pieces being configured to be longer than the side plate, and springs It has sex.

JP 2004-241208 A

  In said fuel cell, the operation | work which mounts | wears with a metal clip member in multiple places for every fuel cell is required. For this reason, the mounting operation of the metal clip member becomes complicated, and particularly when the fuel cell stack is assembled by stacking several hundreds of fuel cells, the operation takes considerable time and labor. As a result, there is a problem that efficient assembly work is not performed.

  Moreover, the fuel cell needs to be disassembled when it is necessary to analyze the fuel cell or when it is necessary to replace parts of the fuel cell. At that time, the metal clip member is attached and detached, and this kind of attachment and detachment work is considerably complicated.

  The present invention solves this type of problem, and provides a fuel cell capable of easily and quickly assembling a plurality of fuel cells and efficiently disassembling and assembling the fuel cells. Objective.

  The present invention relates to a fuel cell in which an electrolyte membrane / electrode structure provided with a pair of electrodes on both sides of an electrolyte membrane and a separator are laminated.

  In this fuel cell, a resin fastening portion for fastening the separators disposed at both ends in the stacking direction by a first resin coupling body is provided on the outer peripheral edge portion of the separator, and the resin fastening portion includes The second resin coupling body for fastening between the separators is provided with at least a first fastening portion and a second fastening portion that can be selectively arranged in place of the first resin coupling body. .

  Moreover, it is preferable that the 1st resin connection body is integrally molded by the resin connection part provided in the separator arrange | positioned at the end of the lamination direction.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that an end portion of the first resin coupling body is welded to the resin coupling portion in a state where the first resin coupling body is inserted into a hole provided in the resin coupling portion of the separator.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that the second resin coupling body is provided separately from the resin fastening portion.

  According to the present invention, since the separators constituting the fuel cell are fastened by the first resin connector, the fuel cell can be efficiently assembled by a simple operation.

  When disassembling the assembled fuel cell, the first resin connector is removed, while the second resin connector is disposed in either the first fastening part or the second fastening part. As a result, the fuel cell can be reassembled easily and quickly.

  In addition, at least a first fastening portion and a second fastening portion are provided in order to place the second resin connector. For this reason, for example, the fuel cell can be disassembled and assembled several times, and various processes such as replacement and analysis of the fuel cell can be satisfactorily performed.

  Furthermore, for each fuel cell, the second resin coupling body can be alternately arranged in the first fastening portion and the second fastening portion. Accordingly, the second resin coupling bodies adjacent to each other in the stacking direction do not overlap with each other, and it is possible to suppress an increase in the dimension in the stacking direction.

It is a principal part disassembled perspective explanatory drawing of the fuel cell which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the one surface side of the 1st separator which comprises the said fuel cell. It is explanatory drawing of the one surface side of the 2nd separator which comprises the said fuel cell. It is front explanatory drawing of the 3rd separator which comprises the said fuel cell. It is the VV sectional view taken on the line of FIG. 1 of the resin fastening part which comprises the said fuel cell. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 1 when a rebuilt pin is inserted into the resin fastening portion. It is explanatory drawing at the time of assembling the said fuel cell by the said resin-made fastening parts. It is principal part cross-sectional explanatory drawing of the electric power generation unit which comprises the fuel cell which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a principal part disassembled perspective explanatory drawing of the fuel cell which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional explanatory drawing of the resin-made fastening parts which comprise the said fuel cell.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the fuel cell 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is configured by stacking a plurality of power generation units 12 in the horizontal direction (arrow A direction) or the gravity direction (arrow C direction). . The power generation unit 12 includes a first separator 14, a first electrolyte membrane / electrode structure (electrolyte / electrode structure) (MEA) 16 a, a second separator 18, a second electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 16 b, and a third separator 20. Provide.

  The 1st separator 14, the 2nd separator 18, and the 3rd separator 20 are comprised, for example with the steel plate, the stainless steel plate, the aluminum plate, the plating treatment steel plate, or the metal plate which gave the surface treatment for anticorrosion to the metal surface. The 1st separator 14, the 2nd separator 18, and the 3rd separator 20 have cross-sectional uneven | corrugated shape by pressing a metal thin plate into a waveform. The first separator 14, the second separator 18, and the third separator 20 may be carbon separators instead of metal separators.

  The first electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 16a is set to have a smaller surface area than the second electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 16b. The first and second electrolyte membrane / electrode structures 16a and 16b include, for example, a solid polymer electrolyte membrane 22 in which a perfluorosulfonic acid thin film is impregnated with water, and an anode side sandwiching the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 22 The electrode 24 and the cathode side electrode 26 are provided.

  The anode side electrode 24 constitutes a so-called stepped MEA having a smaller surface area than the cathode side electrode 26. The solid polymer electrolyte membrane 22, the anode side electrode 24, and the cathode side electrode 26 are each provided with a cutout at the top and bottom of both ends in the direction of arrow B to reduce the surface area.

  The anode side electrode 24 and the cathode side electrode 26 are uniformly coated on the surface of the gas diffusion layer with a gas diffusion layer (not shown) made of carbon paper or the like and porous carbon particles carrying a platinum alloy on the surface. And an electrode catalyst layer (not shown) formed. The electrode catalyst layers are formed on both surfaces of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 22.

  An oxidant gas inlet communication hole 30a for supplying an oxidant gas, for example, an oxygen-containing gas, communicates with each other in the arrow A direction at the upper edge of the long side direction (arrow C direction) of the power generation unit 12. And a fuel gas inlet communication hole 32a for supplying a fuel gas, for example, a hydrogen-containing gas.

  A lower end edge of the power generation unit 12 in the long side direction (arrow C direction) communicates with each other in the direction of arrow A to discharge the fuel gas outlet communication hole 32b for discharging the fuel gas, and to discharge the oxidant gas. The oxidant gas outlet communication hole 30b is provided.

  At one edge of the power generation unit 12 in the short side direction (arrow B direction), there is provided a cooling medium inlet communication hole 34a that communicates with each other in the direction of arrow A and supplies a cooling medium. A cooling medium outlet communication hole 34b for discharging the cooling medium is provided at the other end edge in the short side direction.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the first fuel gas flow that communicates the fuel gas inlet communication hole 32a and the fuel gas outlet communication hole 32b to the surface 14a of the first separator 14 facing the first electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 16a. A path 36 is formed. The first fuel gas channel 36 has a plurality of wave-shaped channel grooves extending in the direction of arrow C, and in the vicinity of the inlet (upper end) and outlet (lower end) of the first fuel gas channel 36, An inlet buffer portion 38 and an outlet buffer portion 40 each having a plurality of embossments are provided.

  A cooling medium flow path 44 that connects the cooling medium inlet communication hole 34 a and the cooling medium outlet communication hole 34 b is formed on the surface 14 b of the first separator 14. The cooling medium flow path 44 has a back surface shape of the first fuel gas flow path 36.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the surface 18a of the second separator 18 facing the first electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 16a is connected to the oxidant gas inlet communication hole 30a and the oxidant gas outlet communication hole 30b. An agent gas flow path 50 is formed. The first oxidant gas flow channel 50 has a plurality of wavy flow channel grooves extending in the direction of arrow C. In the vicinity of the inlet (upper end) and outlet (lower end) of the first oxidant gas flow path 50, an inlet buffer portion 52 and an outlet buffer portion 54 are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the second fuel gas flow that communicates the fuel gas inlet communication hole 32a and the fuel gas outlet communication hole 32b to the surface 18b of the second separator 18 facing the second electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 16b. A path 58 is formed. The second fuel gas channel 58 has a plurality of wavy channel grooves extending in the direction of arrow C, and in the vicinity of the inlet (upper end) and outlet (lower end) of the second fuel gas channel 58, An inlet buffer unit 60 and an outlet buffer unit 62 are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the surface 20a of the third separator 20 facing the second electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 16b is connected to the oxidant gas inlet communication hole 30a and the oxidant gas outlet communication hole 30b. An agent gas channel 66 is formed.

  The second oxidant gas flow channel 66 has a plurality of wavy flow channel grooves extending in the direction of arrow C. In the vicinity of the inlet (upper end) and outlet (lower end) of the second oxidant gas flow channel 66, an inlet buffer portion 68 and an outlet buffer portion 70 are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a cooling medium flow path 44 that connects the cooling medium inlet communication hole 34 a and the cooling medium outlet communication hole 34 b is formed on the surface 20 b of the third separator 20. The cooling medium flow path 44 is formed by overlapping the back surface shapes (wave shapes) of the first fuel gas flow path 36 and the second oxidant gas flow path 66.

  A first seal member 74 is integrally formed on the surfaces 14 a and 14 b of the first separator 14 around the outer peripheral edge of the first separator 14. On the surfaces 18a and 18b of the second separator 18, a second seal member 76 is integrally formed around the outer peripheral edge of the second separator 18, and on the surfaces 20a and 20b of the third separator 20, A third seal member 78 is integrally formed around the outer peripheral edge of the third separator 20.

  As the first to third seal members 74, 76 and 78, for example, EPDM, NBR, fluorine rubber, silicone rubber, fluorosilicone rubber, butyl rubber, natural rubber, styrene rubber, chloroprene or acrylic rubber or the like, cushion A material or packing material is used.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the first separator 14 has an inlet-side first connection channel 80 a that communicates the fuel gas inlet communication hole 32 a and the first fuel gas channel 36, and a fuel gas outlet communication hole. An outlet-side first connection channel 80 b that communicates 32 b with the first fuel gas channel 36 is provided. The inlet-side first connection channel 80a has a plurality of outer supply holes 82a and a plurality of inner supply holes 82b.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of passages 84a are provided on the surface 14a side to communicate the fuel gas inlet communication holes 32a and the outer supply hole portions 82a. As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of passages 84b communicating the outer supply hole 82a and the inner supply hole 82b are formed on the surface 14b side. Similarly, the outlet-side first connection flow path 80b includes a plurality of outer discharge holes 86a and a plurality of inner discharge holes 86b.

  On the surface 14a side, a plurality of passages 88a communicating the fuel gas outlet communication holes 32b and the respective outer discharge hole portions 86a are formed. On the surface 14b side, a plurality of passages 88b communicating the outer discharge hole portion 86a and the inner discharge hole portion 86b are formed (see FIG. 2).

  As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of inlet-side connection flow paths 89 a and a plurality of outlets are provided at the communication portion between the oxidant gas inlet communication hole 30 a and the oxidant gas outlet communication hole 30 b and the first oxidant gas flow path 50. A plurality of receiving portions 90a and 90b that form the side connection channel 89b are provided.

  The second separator 18 includes an inlet-side second connection channel 92 a that communicates the fuel gas inlet communication hole 32 a and the second fuel gas channel 58, a fuel gas outlet communication hole 32 b, and the second fuel gas channel 58. And an outlet-side second connection channel 92b that communicates with each other. The inlet-side second connection channel 92 a has a supply hole 94. On the surface 18a side, a passage 96a that connects the fuel gas inlet communication hole 32a and the supply hole portion 94 is formed.

  Similarly, the outlet-side second connection channel 92b has a plurality of discharge holes 98. On the surface 18a side, a plurality of passages 100a that connect the discharge hole portion 98 to the fuel gas outlet communication hole 32b are formed.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the third separator 20 includes a plurality of inlet-side connection flows in the communication portion between the oxidant gas inlet communication hole 30 a and the oxidant gas outlet communication hole 30 b and the second oxidant gas flow channel 66. A plurality of receiving portions 102a and 102b that form the channel 101a and the plurality of outlet-side connecting flow channels 101b are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of resin fastening portions 110a, 110b, and 110c are provided on the outer peripheral edge portions of the first separator 14, the second separator 18, and the third separator 20, respectively. The resin fastening portions 110a, 110b and 110c are made of PPS (polyphenylene sulfide), POM (polyacetal), PBT (polybutylene terephthalate), PEEK (polyether ether ketone), LCP (liquid crystal polymer), polyimide or ABS resin, or the like. Is done.

  The resin fastening portions 110a, 110b, and 110c are fixed in advance to the notches provided in the metal plates constituting the first separator 14 to the third separator 20 by caulking, bonding, etc. Alternatively, an insulating resin may be integrally injection-molded in the notch portion of the metal plate.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the resin fastening portion 110 a provided in the first separator 14 integrally forms a connection pin portion (first resin connection body) 112 protruding to the surface 14 a side. On both sides of the connecting pin portion 112, a rebuilt pin (second resin-made connecting body) 118, which will be described later, can be selectively disposed, and at least the first hole portion (first connecting portion) 114a and the second hole portion (first pin). 2 fastening portions) 114b are formed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the resin fastening portions 110 b and 110 c provided in the second and third separators 18 and 20 have a fastening hole portion 116 for fastening when a connecting pin portion 112 is inserted in the center. At the same time, at least a first hole 114 a and a second hole 114 b are formed on both sides of the hole 116.

  As shown in FIG.1 and FIG.6, the rebuild pin 118 used instead of the connection pin part 112 is comprised with insulating resin similarly to the resin fastening parts 110a-110c. The rebuild pin 118 is set to have a larger diameter than the first hole portion 114a and the second hole portion 114b of the first separator 14, and has a large-diameter flange portion 118a that comes into contact with the surface 14b side of the first separator 14. .

  The column body 118b bulging from the flange 118a is selectively inserted into each first hole 114a or second hole 114b. The distal end of the column body portion 118b constitutes a head portion 118c whose diameter has been increased by a welding process described later, and this head portion 118c is locked to the surface 20b side of the third separator 20.

  Note that the rebuilt pin 118 may be configured to be expandable and contractable in the radial direction by forming a head portion 118c in advance and providing a plurality of slits in the axial direction in the head portion 118c.

  The operation of assembling the fuel cell 10 configured as described above will be described below.

  When each power generation unit 12 is newly assembled, as shown in FIG. 7, the connecting pin portion 112 provided in the resin fastening portion 110 a of the first separator 14 is replaced with the resin fastening portion 110 b of the second and third separators 20. , 110c are inserted into the respective holes 116 provided integrally.

  In this state, the welding tip 120 constituting the welding die is pressed against the tip of the connecting pin portion 112 while being heated to a predetermined temperature. Specifically, the welding tip 120 heated to a temperature of 250 ° C. to 300 ° C. is pressed against the tip of the connecting pin portion 112 with a pressure of 1N to 2N for 10 seconds to 30 seconds.

  A molding surface 120 a having a predetermined shape is provided on the tip side of the welding tip 120. For this reason, when the molding surface 120a comes into contact with the tip of the connecting pin portion 112, the tip is melted and deformed to form the head portion 112a (see FIG. 5). The head portion 112 a is enlarged in diameter on the surface 20 b side of the third separator 20 and is formed to have a larger diameter than the hole portion 116. Thereby, the 1st separator 14, the 2nd separator 18, and the 3rd separator 20 can be assembled | attached integrally.

  As described above, after each power generation unit 12 is fastened, a predetermined number of the power generation units 12 are stacked to constitute the fuel cell 10.

  Next, the operation of the fuel cell 10 will be described below.

  First, as shown in FIG. 1, an oxidant gas such as an oxygen-containing gas is supplied to the oxidant gas inlet communication hole 30a, and a fuel gas such as a hydrogen-containing gas is supplied to the fuel gas inlet communication hole 32a. Further, a cooling medium such as pure water, ethylene glycol, or oil is supplied to the cooling medium inlet communication hole 34a.

  Therefore, the oxidant gas is introduced from the oxidant gas inlet communication hole 30a into the first oxidant gas channel 50 of the second separator 18 and the second oxidant gas channel 66 of the third separator 20 (FIG. 3). And FIG. 4). The oxidant gas moves in the direction of arrow C (the direction of gravity) along the first oxidant gas flow path 50 and is supplied to the cathode side electrode 26 of the first electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 16a. It moves in the direction of arrow C along the oxidant gas flow channel 66 and is supplied to the cathode electrode 26 of the second electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 16b (see FIG. 1).

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the fuel gas is introduced into the passages 84 a and 96 a formed between the first separator 14 and the second separator 18 from the fuel gas inlet communication hole 32 a. As shown in FIG. 2, the fuel gas introduced into the passage 84a moves to the surface 14b side of the first separator 14 through the outer supply hole 82a. Further, the fuel gas is introduced from the inner supply hole 82b to the surface 14a side through the passage 84b.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, the fuel gas is sent to the inlet buffer 38 through the passage 84b, moves in the direction of gravity (in the direction of arrow C) along the first fuel gas flow path 36, 1 is supplied to the anode electrode 24 of the electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 16a.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the fuel gas introduced into the passage 96 a moves to the surface 18 b side of the second separator 18 through the supply hole portion 94. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 1, the fuel gas is supplied to the inlet buffer 60 on the surface 18b side, and then moves in the direction of arrow C along the second fuel gas flow path 58. It is supplied to the anode side electrode 24 of the electrode structure 16b.

  Therefore, in the first and second electrolyte membrane / electrode structures 16a and 16b, the oxidant gas supplied to the cathode side electrode 26 and the fuel gas supplied to the anode side electrode 24 are electrically generated in the electrode catalyst layer. It is consumed by chemical reaction to generate electricity.

  Next, the oxidant gas consumed by being supplied to the cathode-side electrodes 26 of the first and second electrolyte membrane / electrode structures 16a and 16b is discharged in the direction of arrow A along the oxidant gas outlet communication hole 30b. The

  As shown in FIG. 2, the fuel gas that is consumed by being supplied to the anode-side electrode 24 of the first electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 16a passes through the inner discharge hole 86b from the outlet buffer 40 and flows through the first separator 14 as shown in FIG. Derived to the surface 14b side.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the fuel gas derived | led-out to the surface 14b side is introduce | transduced into the outer discharge hole part 86a, and moves to the surface 14a side again. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, the fuel gas is discharged from the outer discharge hole 86a through the passage 88a to the fuel gas outlet communication hole 32b.

  In addition, the fuel gas supplied to and consumed by the anode electrode 24 of the second electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 16 b moves from the outlet buffer 62 to the surface 18 a through the discharge hole 98. As shown in FIG. 3, the fuel gas passes through the passage 100a and is discharged to the fuel gas outlet communication hole 32b.

  On the other hand, after the cooling medium supplied to the cooling medium inlet communication hole 34a is introduced into the cooling medium flow path 44 formed between the first separator 14 and the third separator 20, as shown in FIG. Circulate in the direction of arrow B. The cooling medium cools the first and second electrolyte membrane / electrode structures 16a and 16b, and then is discharged into the cooling medium outlet communication hole 34b.

  In this case, in the first embodiment, the connecting pin portion 112 is integrally formed with the resin fastening portion 110 a provided in the first separator 14. And after the connection pin part 112 is inserted in each hole 116 of the 2nd and 3rd separators 18 and 20, the electric power generation unit 12 is assembled | attached by welding the front-end | tip of the said connection pin part 112. As shown in FIG.

  Therefore, there is an advantage that the power generation unit 12 can be assembled by a simple operation, and the entire assembly operation of the fuel cell 10 can be performed quickly and easily.

  Next, when the assembled fuel cell 10 is disassembled for parts replacement or analysis due to a failure or the like, first, the head portion 112a of the connecting pin portion 112 is removed and the power generation units 12 are separated from each other. Is done. On the other hand, rebuilt pins 118 configured individually are prepared (see FIG. 1).

  Further, the first separator 14, the second separator 18, and the third separator 20 are stacked with the first electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 16a and the second electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 16b interposed therebetween, and the rebuilt pin 118 is stacked. For example, the first hole 114a is integrally inserted.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in the rebuilt pin 118, the column body portion 118 b is integrally inserted into each first hole portion 114 a, and the flange portion 118 a is abutted and supported by the first separator 14. In this state, for example, a welding process is performed on the front end of the column body part 118b via the welding tip 120 to form a head part 118c. Accordingly, the power generation unit 12 is integrally sandwiched between the flange portion 118a and the head portion 118c of the rebuilt pin 118, and reassembly is performed.

  Here, in the power generation units 12 adjacent to each other, the rebuild pin 118 is inserted into the first hole 114 a constituting one power generation unit 12, and the rebuild pin is inserted into the second hole 114 b constituting the other power generation unit 12. 118 is inserted. For this reason, in the power generation units 12 adjacent to each other, the rebuilt pins 118 are arranged in a staggered manner along the stacking direction, whereby interference between the rebuilt pins 118 can be prevented, and the dimension in the stacking direction can be reduced. It becomes possible to make it as short as possible.

  As described above, when the power generation unit 12 is reassembled, a separate rebuild pin 118 is used instead of the connecting pin portion 112. The rebuilt pin 118 is simply inserted into each first hole portion 114a or each second hole portion 114b, so that the effect of reassembling the power generation unit 12 quickly and satisfactorily can be obtained.

  In addition, when the power generation unit 12 is reassembled, the rebuilt pin 118 is inserted integrally into each first hole 114a, while when the power generation unit is reassembled, the rebuilt pin 118 is inserted integrally into each second hole 114b. can do. Thereby, since the assembly of the power generation unit 12 is easily performed a plurality of times, various processes such as component replacement and analysis of the power generation unit 12 can be satisfactorily performed.

  Therefore, when the first electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 16a or the second electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 16b needs to be repaired or replaced, the first separator 14, the second separator 18 and the third separator 20 are re-installed. Can be used. For this reason, there is an advantage that it is economical and the operation of disassembling and reassembling the power generation unit 12 is simplified at once.

  FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of a main part of the power generation unit 132 constituting the fuel cell 130 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  The same components as those of the fuel cell 10 according to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted. Similarly, in the third embodiment described below, detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The first separator 14, the second separator 18, and the third separator 20 constituting the power generation unit 132 are provided with resin fastening portions 134 a, 134 b, and 134 c at the outer peripheral edge portions, respectively. The resin fastening portion 134a provided in the first separator 14 bulges in the stacking direction and is integrally formed with a connecting pin portion 136. The third separator 20 circulates around the hole portion 116 and tapers 138. Is formed.

  In the second embodiment configured as described above, the connecting pin portion 136 integrally formed with the resin fastening portion 134 a of the first separator 14 is integrated with each hole 116 of the second separator 18 and the third separator 20. Then, the tip portion is subjected to a welding process to form a conical head portion 136a.

  The head 136a is formed along the shape of the tapered surface 134 of the third separator 20, and can be assembled with the first separator 14, the second separator 18 and the third separator 20 positioned relative to each other. Therefore, the second embodiment can improve the positioning accuracy and can obtain the same effects as the first embodiment.

  FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of a fuel cell 140 according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

  The fuel cell 140 is configured by stacking a plurality of power generation units 142, and the power generation unit 142 includes a first separator 144, an electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 146, and a second separator 148.

  An oxidant gas inlet communication hole 30a, a fuel gas inlet communication hole 32a, and a cooling medium inlet communication hole 34a are formed at the upper edge of the power generation unit 142 in the long side direction (arrow C direction). An oxidant gas outlet communication hole 30b, a fuel gas outlet communication hole 32b, and a cooling medium outlet communication hole 34b are formed at the lower edge of the power generation unit 142 in the long side direction.

  A first fuel gas flow path 36 is formed on a surface 14a of the first separator 144 facing the electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 146, and a surface 20a of the second separator 148 facing the electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 146 is formed on the surface 20a. A first oxidant gas flow path 50 is formed. A cooling medium flow path 44 is formed between the surface 14 b of the first separator 144 and the surface 20 b of the second separator 148.

  As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a plurality of resin fastening portions 150a are provided on the outer peripheral edge of the first separator 144, and the resin fastening portions 150a are provided on the outer peripheral edge of the second separator 148. A plurality of resin fastening portions 150b are provided correspondingly.

  In the resin fastening portion 150a, the connecting pin portion 112 is integrally formed at the center, and at least a first hole portion 114a and a second hole portion 114b are formed on both sides of the connecting pin portion 112. The resin fastening portion 150b is formed with a hole 116 at the center and at least a first hole 114a and a second hole 114b on both sides of the hole 116. In the third embodiment configured as described above, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained, and the second embodiment can be adopted.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10, 130, 140 ... Fuel cell 12, 132, 142 ... Electric power generation unit 14, 18, 20, 144, 148 ... Separator 16a, 16b, 146 ... Electrolyte membrane electrode structure 22 ... Solid polymer electrolyte membrane 24 ... Anode side Electrode 26 ... Cathode side electrode 30a ... Oxidant gas inlet communication hole 30b ... Oxidant gas outlet communication hole 32a ... Fuel gas inlet communication hole 32b ... Fuel gas outlet communication hole 34a ... Cooling medium inlet communication hole 34b ... Cooling medium outlet communication hole 36, 58 ... Fuel gas channel 44 ... Cooling medium channel 50, 66 ... Oxidant gas channel 74, 76, 78 ... Seal members 110a-110c, 134a-134c, 150a, 150b ... Resin fastening portions 112, 136 ... Connecting pin portion 114a, 114b, 116 ... Hole portion 118 ... Rebuilt pin 138 ... Taper surface

Claims (4)

A fuel cell in which an electrolyte membrane / electrode structure provided with a pair of electrodes on both sides of an electrolyte membrane and a separator are laminated,
The outer peripheral edge portion of the separator is provided with a resin fastening portion for fastening the separators disposed at both ends in the stacking direction with a first resin connector,
In the resin fastening portion, a second resin coupling body for fastening between the separators can be selectively disposed instead of the first resin coupling body, and at least the first fastening portion and the second A fuel cell comprising a fastening portion.   2. The fuel cell according to claim 1, wherein the first resin coupling body is integrally formed with the resin coupling portion provided in the separator disposed at one end in the stacking direction. .   3. The fuel cell according to claim 1, wherein the first resin connector is inserted into a hole provided in the resin connector of the separator, and an end thereof is welded to the resin connector. A fuel cell.   4. The fuel cell according to claim 1, wherein the second resin coupling body is provided separately from the resin fastening portion. 5.

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