JP2012064412A - Fuel cell module and fuel cell system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fuel cell module containing a thin power generation cell capable of maintaining high efficiency in power generation causing little variation in a power generating region even when an impurity material enters into an anode space.SOLUTION: A fuel cell module comprises a solid polymer electrolyte membrane, an anode side catalyst body provided on one side of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane, a supply for supplying fuel to the anode side catalyst body, and a diffusion part which is provided between the supply and the anode side catalyst body and diffuses the fuel. The supply contains an anode passage spreading along the anode side catalyst body, and a storage for storing gas displaced from the diffusion part by supply of the fuel, the anode passage contains an anode through hole for supplying the fuel to the anode side catalyst body, and the anode passage and the storage are provided along the diffusion part.

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuel cell and a fuel cell device including a fuel storage source.

  Currently, there are many types of fuel cells. However, fuel cells used in electronic devices are promising to be applied to polymer electrolyte fuel cells because the system can be easily downsized and simplified. A polymer electrolyte fuel cell is composed of a unit cell composed of an anode electrode, a cathode electrode, and a solid polymer electrolyte membrane sandwiched between both electrodes, and supplies fuel such as methanol and hydrogen to the anode electrode side, An oxidant gas, for example, oxygen or air, is supplied to the battery to generate electric power through these electrochemical reactions.

  Here, it is necessary to supply fuel evenly to any place in the plane direction with respect to the power generation region without variation. In locations where fuel is not sufficiently supplied, resistance increases due to diffusion overvoltage, and there is a possibility that sufficient generated power cannot be extracted. In addition, a portion where the fuel is not sufficiently supplied may increase heat generation only in the portion due to the diffusion overvoltage, which may deteriorate the power generation performance of the entire fuel cell.

  In response to this problem, by providing a new layer with a flow path that is divided into branches so that fuel can be supplied to the entire power generation region, the concentration variation of fuel supplied to the entire power generation region can be reduced. There is a technique for reducing this (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The power generation cell according to Patent Literature 1 includes a plate portion that sandwiches a power generation cell member including a membrane electrode assembly and a conductive layer, and a back cover, and the back cover includes a fuel supply plate. In the fuel supply plate, the fuel supplied from the fuel supply source through the fuel injection port passes through the pipe portion arranged so as to reach the entire fuel supply plate, and moves to the fuel discharge port connected to the pipe portion. The fuel discharge ports are equally spaced apart from each other in the entire power generation region, and the fuel supplied from the discharge port spreads throughout the entire power generation region of the anode electrode.

  However, although the power generation cell according to Patent Document 1 described above has reduced variations in the fuel concentration in the power generation region, the thickness of the power generation cell increases because the fuel supply plate is provided as a new component. Resulting in.

  The fuel supply system for the anode is roughly classified into a flow system and a dead end system. The dead end system is a system in which fuel gas is not discharged outside the fuel cell during power generation, but fuel is supplied to the anode electrode by the amount of fuel gas consumed by power generation.

  In power generation of such a polymer electrolyte fuel cell system, a gas (impure gas) such as air enters the flow path in the anode electrode from the cathode electrode side through the electrolyte membrane. Further, in the power generation reaction of the fuel cell, water is generated on the cathode electrode side, and the generated water penetrates into the anode electrode through the electrolyte membrane. Here, in the dead end system, these impurities are not discharged to the outside of the fuel cell but are accumulated in the anode electrode.

  Thus, in order to maintain power generation for a long time in a dead-end type power generation cell, it is necessary to remove impurities from the vicinity of the catalyst layer. Here, it is easily considered that a space is provided in the anode electrode and the impurity is moved to the space. However, this method increases the thickness of the anode electrode by the volume of the space.

JP 2008-218048 A

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and a fuel having a thin power generation cell that can maintain high power generation performance with little variation in the power generation region even when impurities enter the anode space. The purpose is to provide batteries.

  The first feature of the fuel cell of the present invention for solving the above problems is that a solid polymer electrolyte membrane, an anode side catalyst body provided on one surface of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane, and the anode side catalyst body A fuel cell comprising: a supply member that supplies fuel; and a diffusion portion that is provided between the supply member and the anode side catalyst body and diffuses the fuel, wherein the supply member is the anode side catalyst body An anode channel provided so as to spread in the surface direction, and a storage unit for storing gas pushed away from the diffusion unit by the supply of the fuel, the anode channel is formed in the anode side catalyst body In summary, the fuel cell has an anode communication hole for supplying fuel, and the anode flow path and the accommodating portion are provided along the surface direction of the diffusion portion.

  According to this feature, when impurities enter the anode side through the solid polymer electrolyte membrane from the cathode side, the impurities present in the diffusion part can move to the accommodating part, and the fuel can contact the anode side. By moving in the anode flow path provided so as to spread in the surface direction of the medium, it spreads over the entire power generation region, so that variation in fuel concentration in the power generation region can be reduced.

  Furthermore, since the accommodating portion and the anode flow path are provided along the surface direction of the diffusion portion, the power generation cell can be made thinner. As a result, in the thin power generation cell, even if the anode channel enters the anode space of the pure material, there is little variation in the power generation region, and high power generation performance can be maintained.

A second feature of the fuel cell according to the present invention is that, in the fuel cell according to the first feature, the anode communication hole is provided facing the diffusion portion.
According to such a feature, since the anode communication hole is disposed facing the diffusion portion, the fuel is easily supplied to the diffusion portion, and the ability to remove impurities present near the anode catalyst layer is enhanced. Can do.

According to a third aspect of the fuel cell of the present invention, in the fuel cell according to the first or second aspect, the anode flow path and the accommodating portion are on a substrate, and the substrate is in contact with the diffusion portion. A plurality of convex portions projecting and a concave portion constituted by the adjacent convex portions, wherein the convex portion is the anode flow path, and the concave portion is the accommodating portion. And
According to this feature, even if a plurality of anode flow paths are arranged, a large volume of the storage section can be secured, so that the fuel having the storage section and the anode flow path in the same layer regardless of the size of the power generation region of the fuel cell. A battery structure can be realized.

The fourth feature of the fuel cell according to the present invention is that, in any one of the first to third fuel cells, the anode flow path and the accommodating portion are formed from the same substrate.
According to such a feature, since the anode channel and the accommodating portion are formed from the same substrate, the fuel cell structure of the present invention can be realized with a smaller number of members.

According to a fifth aspect of the fuel cell of the present invention, in the first or second fuel cell, the supply member is a cylinder provided in parallel to the surface of the diffusion portion. .
According to this feature, since the anode flow path and the accommodating portion can be easily formed in the same layer by providing the cylindrical supply member, the assembly of the fuel cell of the present invention can be simplified. Is possible.

According to a sixth aspect of the fuel cell of the present invention, in any one of the first to fifth fuel cells, the diffusion section has a plurality of fuel flow holes through which fuel flows.
According to such a feature, the diffusion part is provided with a fuel circulation hole through which the fuel can move in the thickness direction of the power generation cell, so that the fuel supply capability to the vicinity of the catalyst layer and the mobility to the impurity containing part can be obtained. Can be improved.

According to a seventh aspect of the fuel cell of the present invention, in the sixth fuel cell, the anode communication hole is disposed so as to overlap at least a part of the plurality of fuel flow holes.
According to this feature, the fuel circulation hole partially overlaps with the anode communication hole, so that it is possible to more reliably improve the fuel supply capability to the vicinity of the catalyst layer.

An eighth aspect of the fuel cell of the present invention is that, in any one of the first to seventh fuel cells, the area of the anode communication hole is smaller than a cross-sectional area perpendicular to the flow direction of the anode channel. The gist.
According to this feature, since the cross-sectional area of the anode flow path is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the anode communication hole, the fuel can move through the anode flow path more easily than being supplied from the anode communication hole to the vicinity of the catalyst layer. Therefore, it is possible to further reduce variations in fuel supply to the entire power generation region.

According to a ninth aspect of the fuel cell of the present invention, in any one of the first to eighth fuel cells, the fuel cell includes a branch channel that communicates each of the plurality of anode channels, and is perpendicular to the flow direction of the branch channel. The gist is that the cross-sectional area is equal to or larger than the cross-sectional area perpendicular to the flow direction of the anode channel.
According to such a feature, since the cross-sectional area of the plurality of anode flow paths is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the branch flow paths, the fuel is more likely to move in the branch flow paths than to reach the respective anode flow paths. Therefore, since the fuel concentration in the branch flow path becomes uniform, it is possible to further reduce variations in fuel supply to the entire power generation region.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a fuel cell including a thin power generation cell that can maintain high power generation performance with little variation in the power generation region even when impurities enter the anode space. .

1 is an overall schematic configuration diagram of a fuel cell device according to the present invention. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a fuel cell in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a fuel cell in Embodiment 1. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a fuel cell in a second embodiment. FIG. It is a perspective view of the specific example of a supply member. It is a perspective view of the specific example of other supply members. It is a disassembled perspective view of the fuel cell carrying another supply member. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a supply member having a branch channel in the third embodiment. It is a perspective view of the supply member which has several branch flow paths. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a fuel cell in a fourth embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the normal closed type fuel cell which does not use this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.
(Embodiment 1)
A fuel cell device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration diagram of an entire fuel cell device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the fuel cell device 1 is built in a fuel cell 2 composed of power generation cells, a fuel unit 3 that stores fuel required for power generation reaction of the fuel cell 2, and the fuel unit 3. It comprises a fuel supply means 4 for supplying fuel to the fuel cell, and a control circuit 5 for controlling the generated power.

  The fuel used in the fuel cell 2 is hydrogen, methanol, ethanol, borohydride aqueous solution, or the like, that is, the fuel unit 3 stores these fuels. Moreover, the substance which becomes the precursor of a fuel may be stored even if the fuel itself is not stored. In this case, the fuel unit 3 generates fuel by chemically reacting the precursor inside the fuel unit 3 during a power generation reaction. The fuel supply means 4 is a flow path for moving fuel to the fuel cell 2 as described above. In addition, in order to supply fuel more smoothly and reliably, the fuel supply means 4 may be equipped with auxiliary equipment such as a pump and a valve. Here, it is preferable that the fuel unit 3 is of a cartridge type so that continuous power generation is possible by replacing the fuel unit 3 with a new fuel unit 3 after exhausting all of the built-in fuel.

  Some of the control circuits 5 have a power storage function by providing a secondary battery in addition to increasing the high voltage and controlling the amount of electric current obtained by the power generation of the fuel cell 2. The electric power controlled by the control circuit is used for the use device 6 connected to the fuel cell device 1.

  FIG. 2 shows an exploded view of the fuel cell of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the fuel cell 2 includes a solid polymer electrolyte membrane 11, a diffusion portion 13 provided on both sides of the solid polymer membrane 11, and an anode body having a diffusion portion 13 and having an anode electrode as a chamber structure. 14, a cathode body 15 having a space in which the cathode side diffusion portion 13 is fixed, a supply member 20 that is accommodated in the anode body and is provided in the anode body 14 and arranged along the anode side diffusion portion, and all of these members Is comprised of a support 16 that sandwiches the two from both sides.

  The support body 16 includes a fastening means 17. The fastening means applies a load in a direction in which the two support bodies are compressed, and a member to be sandwiched is given a compressive force by the support body 16. Specific examples of the fastening means 17 include a bolt, a metal band, a rivet, and the like. However, the fastening means 17 is not limited to the above example as long as it can hold a compressive stress on the support 16.

  The anode body 14 is provided with a fuel supply port 141 for taking the fuel supplied from the fuel supply means 4 into the anode electrode. The fuel that has flowed into the anode electrode from the fuel supply port 141 is supplied to an anode channel 22 described later through an anode channel inlet 21 provided in the supply member 20.

  The cathode body 15 is connected to an external space so as to give oxygen in the air to the cathode-side catalyst layer 12 described later. In FIG. 2, oxygen is circulated by providing openings on two of the side surfaces, but the openings may be provided on any surface. In order to more reliably supply oxygen, a blower fan or a pump may be used as the oxygen supply means.

  FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view in which the fuel cell 2 of FIG. 2 is assembled and taken along a plane indicated by a dotted line and a broken line. Hereinafter, the structure of the power generation cell of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. A catalyst layer 12 is provided on both surfaces of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 11. The catalyst layer 12 is a layer in which carbon particles carrying a catalyst typified by platinum, ruthenium, and cobalt are coated on the entire surface. The fuel that has reached the catalyst layer 12 on the anode electrode side is converted into protons and electrons on the catalyst. Protons are transported through the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 11 to the catalyst layer 12 on the cathode electrode side, and combine with oxygen supplied to the catalyst layer 12 on the cathode electrode side and electrons moving through the external circuit to generate water. In addition, although the example of the catalyst was mentioned above, the kind of catalyst will not be restricted to this if it can produce | generate a proton in the electric power generation reaction of the fuel cell 2. FIG.

  A diffusion portion 13 is provided on the side of the catalyst layer 12 facing the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 11. The diffusing section 13 has two functions of being conductive and functioning as an electrode, and being capable of transmitting fuel to the catalyst layer 12 through the fluid. For this reason, a carbon sintered body and a fibrous GDL are mainly used, and the GDL contacts the catalyst layer 12 over the entire surface and acts as an electrode. In addition, GDL has a higher resistance in the surface direction than conductive materials such as metal materials. Therefore, in order to effectively extract electrons generated in the catalyst layer 12, a current collector plate formed of a porous conductive material having rigidity such as metal or carbon is provided on the side facing the catalyst layer 12 of the GDL. The compressive force of the support 16 may be transmitted to the GDL. A conducting wire is drawn from the diffusion unit 13 as described above to the outside of the power generation unit 2, and power is transmitted to the control circuit 5.

  In order to supply high concentration fuel to the catalyst layer 12 on the anode side, the anode body 14 is isolated from the external space of the fuel cell 2 so that the fuel does not leak to the outside of the fuel cell 2. There is a need. For this purpose, the anode body is formed of a resin material typified by the above-described solid material acrylic that does not transmit fuel, a metal typified by SUS or aluminum, or a carbon resin such as graphite. Since the anode body 14 can be made an anode electrode by bringing the diffusion portion 13 and the anode body 14 made of a conductive material into contact with each other, the arrangement of the conductor can be simplified. It is desirable to be formed.

  A sealing means 18 is provided at the interface between the anode body 14 and the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 11 in order to prevent fuel leakage from the anode body. As shown in FIG. 3, the sealing means 18 of this embodiment achieves sealing by providing a groove formed in the anode body with a packing typified by silicone rubber, butyl rubber, nitrile rubber or the like. Here, as another example of the sealing means 18, sealing by an adhesive or heat fusion is conceivable, but any means can be used as long as the space between the inside and outside of the anode electrode can be realized.

  A supply member 20 is provided in the anode body 14 so as to be in contact with the diffusion portion 13. The supply member 20 divides the anode electrode into two spaces, an anode flow path 22 to which fuel is supplied from the fuel part 3 and a housing part 23. The two spaces are connected by an anode communication hole 24 provided in the supply member 20 that forms the anode flow path 22, and the fuel supplied to the anode flow path 22 passes through the anode communication hole 24, so that the presence of the catalyst layer 12 exists. Move to the containing section. Examples of a method for forming the supply member 20 include a method in which layered members are stacked and the overlapping portions are adhered by diffusion bonding or an adhesive, or the wall surface of the supply member 20 is formed by cutting, and then the lid is stacked. It is conceivable to form a flow path, but any method may be used as long as the anode flow path 22 and the accommodating portion 23 can be isolated.

Here, the operation of the fuel cell of the present invention during power generation will be described.
Most of the water generated in the catalyst layer 12 on the cathode side with the power generation reaction of the fuel cell 2 evaporates into the air, but a part of the water permeates into the anode body 14 through the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 11. Further, in the state where the anode body 14 is filled with fuel, a gas partial pressure difference is generated between the gas and the external gas across the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 11, so that gas such as air or nitrogen is solid polymer. It enters the anode body 14 through the electrolyte membrane 11. As the impurities such as water, air, and nitrogen that are not directly used in the power generation reaction of the fuel cell accumulate in the anode body 14, the fuel partial pressure in the anode body 14 decreases. However, the impurities can be prevented from suffocation due to the impurities in the catalyst layer 12 on the anode side by moving to the accommodating portion 23.

  FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a fuel cell not carrying out the present invention. In this structure, high-purity fuel is supplied in the vicinity of the fuel supply port 141. However, impurities are likely to accumulate in a region far from the fuel supply port 141 on the right side in the figure, and eventually the suffocation of the catalyst layer 12 due to the impurity will occur. It will occur.

  On the other hand, in the fuel cell structure according to the present invention, since hydrogen is always consumed on the housing part 23 side during power generation, the fuel is supplied from the anode flow path 22 to the housing part 23 through the anode communication hole 24. Impurities do not move to the anode channel 22. Therefore, high-purity fuel is always supplied from the anode communication hole 24 to the accommodating portion 23 side. The anode channel is provided so as to extend in the surface direction of the power generation region, and the anode communication holes 24 are also provided separately in the surface direction. For this reason, since high-purity fuel is supplied from the plurality of anode communication holes 24, the phenomenon that impurities are accumulated in a part hardly occurs, and the power generation performance of the entire power generation region can be maintained high. Moreover, since the accommodating part 23 and the anode flow path 22 can be formed in the same layer by the supply member 20, the fuel cell can also be made thin.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the fuel cell 2 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, FIG. 6 is a component diagram of the supply member 20, FIG. 7 is another example 1 of the supply member 20, and FIG. FIG. 8 shows an exploded view of the fuel cell 2 on which is mounted. Note that the same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description of similar configurations and operations is omitted. Hereinafter, the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of fuel cell 2 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In the second embodiment, the supply member 20 has a structure different from that of the first embodiment, and a plurality of lid-like supply members 20 protruding toward the catalyst layer 12 are arranged inside the anode body 14. Further, the supply member 20 may have a rectangular structure as shown in FIG. 6 (a) or a semicircular structure as shown in FIG. 6 (b). The material of the supply member 20 may be any material having rigidity that can isolate the anode flow path 22 and the accommodating portion 23, such as a resin such as acrylic, a metal typified by SUS or aluminum, or a carbon material such as graphite. . However, since the supply member 20 is in contact with both the anode body 14 and the diffusion portion 13, when the anode body 14 is formed of a conductive material, the conduction between the diffusion portion 13 and the anode body 14 is more reliable. In order to make it a thing, it is desirable to make the supply member 20 into a conductive material. As described above, the anode flow path 22 and the accommodating portion 23 are formed by the substrate-like supply member 20, so that the assemblability of the fuel cell 2 is greatly improved.

  Further, in the supply member 20, the cross-sectional area of the anode flow path 22 is preferably larger than the cross-sectional area of the anode communication hole 24. The fuel that has entered the anode channel inlet 21 from the fuel supply port 141 passes through the anode channel 22 and reaches the anode communication hole 24 a located near the anode channel inlet 21. Here, the cross-sectional area of the anode communication hole 24a is small, and the fuel does not easily move to the accommodating portion 23 side where the catalyst layer 12 exists. Therefore, the fuel is likely to move through the anode flow path 22 toward the next anode communication hole 24b. The same phenomenon occurs in the anode communication hole 24b, and the fuel can easily move to the next anode communication hole 24c. The anode communication hole 24c is disposed on the end side of the anode flow path 22, and when the fuel reaches the end, there is no place to go, and the fuel moves to the accommodating portion 23 through the anode communication holes 24a, 24b, and 24c. On the other hand, when the cross-sectional area of the anode communication hole 24 is large, the fuel that has reached the anode communication hole 24a immediately moves to the accommodating portion side. Therefore, the fuel concentration is high only in the vicinity of the anode communication hole 24a, and the fuel concentration is low on the end side far from the anode communication hole 24a, resulting in variations in power generation performance in the power generation region. As described above, since the cross-sectional area of the anode flow path 22 is larger than the cross-sectional area of the anode communication hole 24, variation in power generation performance in the power generation region can be suppressed. Although FIG. 5 shows an example in which three anode communication holes 24 are arranged, the above-described operation occurs even if two to four or more are provided.

  The space surrounded by the supply member 20 and the bottom surface of the anode body 14 becomes the anode flow path 22, and the anode flow path inlet 21 on the front side in the figure is connected to the fuel supply port 141, whereby fuel is supplied to the anode flow path 22. Is done. In the first embodiment, since the accommodating portion 23 exists only in the outer peripheral portion of the power generation region, there is a possibility that the impurity that has entered the central portion of the power generation region of the anode electrode cannot reliably move to the accommodating portion 23. was there. However, in the second embodiment, the accommodating portion 23 is provided between the plurality of supply members 20 and is disposed in a well-balanced manner over the entire surface of the power generation region, so that the impurity can be more reliably moved to the accommodating portion 23. Can be done.

  The anode communication hole 24 is preferably arranged so that the cross section thereof is parallel to the diffusion portion 13. By doing so, since the moving distance in the thickness direction from the anode communication hole 24 to the diffusion portion 13 is the shortest and the fuel is easily supplied to the catalyst layer 12, the fuel concentration in the vicinity of the catalyst layer 12 can be maintained higher. . Further, it is desirable that the anode communication hole 24 is disposed at the highest portion of the supply member 20. Since the supply member 20 is disposed along the diffusion portion 13, the vertex of the supply member 20 is in contact with the diffusion portion 13. Since the anode communication hole 24 is disposed at the contact location, the fuel supplied from the anode flow path 22 reliably reaches the diffusion section 13 and the fuel can be more reliably diffused to the catalyst layer 12. .

  A plurality of supply members 20 are arranged on the anode body 14, and a space between the adjacent supply members 20 serves as the accommodating portion 23. Further, the supply member 20 may be provided away from the side wall of the anode body 14 to form the accommodating portion 23a.

  FIG. 6 shows another example of the supply member 20. The supply member 20 has three anode flow paths 22, and the three anode flow paths 22 are formed from a single substrate. The supply member 20 is composed of a metal material formed by sheet metal processing, a resin material formed by bending, injection molding, or the like. In this way, even when there are a plurality of anode flow paths 22, the supply member 20 is configured by a single member, so that the fuel cell 2 can be easily assembled.

  In FIG. 6, the supply member 20 has three anode flow paths 22, but of course, the present embodiment can be applied even if other numbers of anode flow paths are provided.

  FIG. 7 is an exploded view of the fuel cell 2 on which another example of the supply member 20 is mounted. In this example, the supply member 20 has a cylindrical shape, and the plurality of supply members 20 are separately provided in the anode body 14. In FIG. 7, the supply member 20 is a square cylinder, but the shape is not limited to this and may be a cylinder. Also in this example, the same effect as that of the structure of the fuel cell 2 shown in FIG. 4 can be obtained, and the supply member 20 is formed of a cylinder having better workability, so that the fuel cell having the structure of the present invention at low cost. 2 can be realized.

(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of the supply member 20 according to the fuel cell 2 in Embodiment 3 of the present invention, and FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of other supply members 20. The same parts as those in Embodiments 1 and 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description of similar configurations and operations is omitted. Hereinafter, the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 8 shows a supply member 20 in which a plurality of anode flow paths 22 are made of the same substrate. In the fuel cell described in the second embodiment, the fuel supply port 141 is supplied from the anode channel inlet 21 disposed in each anode channel 22. On the other hand, in the supply member 20 of Embodiment 3, the fuel supplied from one fuel supply port 141 passes from the anode channel inlet 21 to each anode channel 22 through the branch channel 25 connected to the plurality of anode channels 22. Supplied with. Here, the cross-sectional area of the arbitrary cross section B of the branch flow path 25 is larger than the cross-sectional area of the arbitrary cross section A of each of the anode flow paths 22a, 22b, 22c, and 22d. The fuel supplied to the branch flow path 25 reaches the anode flow path 22b and the anode flow path 22c that are close to the anode flow path inlet 21. Here, the cross-sectional areas of the anode flow path 22b and the anode flow path 22c are smaller than that of the branch flow path 25, and the fuel passes through the branch flow path 25 rather than filling the anode flow paths 22b and 22c with the next anode flow path 22a. And 22d. On the other hand, when the cross-sectional area in the arbitrary cross section A of the anode flow paths 22a, 22b, 22c, and 22d is larger than the cross-sectional area of the arbitrary cross section B in the branch flow path 25, the fuel that has reached the anode flow paths 22a and 22b The passages 22a and 22b are filled and moved to the accommodating portion 23, and moved from the respective anode communication holes 24 to the accommodating portion 23. For this reason, the fuel concentration is high only in the vicinity of the anode flow paths 22a and 22b, and the fuel concentration is low on the terminal side far from the anode flow path inlet 21, resulting in variations in power generation performance within the power generation region. End up. Thus, since the cross-sectional area of the branch flow path 25 is large and the cross-sectional area of the anode flow path 22 is large, variation in power generation performance in the power generation region can be suppressed. Although FIG. 8 shows an example in which four anode channels 22 are arranged, the above-described operation occurs even when other numbers of anode channels 22 are provided.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 9, a plurality of branch channels 25 may be provided. In this example, in addition to the branch channel 25 provided near the anode channel inlet 21 as shown in FIG. 8, a branch channel 25 ′ is provided at a location separated from the branch channel 25. In a fuel cell provided with a plurality of branch channels, if a part of the branch channel 25 or the anode channel 22 is blocked by a substance such as water and the supply of fuel is obstructed, the fuel cell is supplied to the anode channel 22. The fuel flows through the branch channel 25 ′ to the blocking portion of the anode channel 22. As a result, even when part of the anode flow path 22 and the branch flow path 25 is blocked, the fuel can be more reliably supplied to the entire power generation region.

(Embodiment 4)
A cross-sectional view of the fuel cell 2 in Embodiment 4 of the present invention is shown in FIG. The same parts as those in the first to third embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description of the same configuration and operation is omitted. Hereinafter, the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  10 includes a gas diffusion layer 131 and a current collecting plate 132 having a plurality of fuel flow holes 133 through which fuel can flow in the thickness direction in the fuel cell 2 shown in FIG. The fuel flow hole 133 is a through hole, and overlaps with the anode communication hole 24 when the fuel cell 2 is assembled. Further, an error occurs during assembly, and the fuel flow hole 133 and the anode communication hole 24 do not have the same axis, but they may overlap even partly. For this purpose, the diameter of the fuel circulation hole 133 may be made larger than the diameter of the anode communication hole 24 so as to be surely overlapped. Conversely, the same effect can be expected even if the diameter of the annual anode communication hole 24 is made larger than the diameter of the fuel circulation hole 133. In the fuel cell 2 having such a structure, each of the plurality of anode communication holes 24 partially overlaps with the fuel flow hole 133, so that the fuel supplied from the anode communication hole 24 is reliably supplied to the catalyst layer 12. .

  Further, in order to improve the mobility of impurities to the accommodating portion 23, the fuel circulation hole 133 may be further provided in a portion that does not overlap with the anode communication hole 24, particularly in the region of the accommodating portion 23. Since impurities are generated in the entire power generation region, it is preferable that a plurality of fuel circulation holes 133 overlapping the accommodating portion 23 are provided so as to be scattered in the power generation region. By providing the fuel flow hole 133 so as to overlap the housing part 23, the mobility of impurities to the housing part 23 can be improved, and the fuel cell 2 can perform more stable power generation.

  Although an example of the present invention has been described above, only a specific example has been described. The present invention is not particularly limited, and the specific configuration and the like of each part can be changed as appropriate. In addition, the operation and effect of each embodiment and the modification only enumerate the most preferable operation and effect resulting from the present invention, and the operation and the effect of the present invention are described in each embodiment and modification. It is not limited to things. Further, in the specification, for convenience of explanation, the fuel cell is constituted by a single cell, but the present invention can also be applied to a fuel cell having a structure having a plurality of power generation cells sandwiched between supports.

  The present invention can be used in the industrial field of fuel cells and fuel cell devices.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fuel cell apparatus 2 Fuel cell 3 Fuel part 4 Fuel supply system 5 Control circuit 6 Use apparatus 11 Solid polymer electrolyte membrane 12 Catalyst layer 13 Diffusion part 14 Anode body 15 Cathode body 16 Support body 17 Fastening means 20 Supply member 21 Anode flow Road entrance 22 Anode flow path 23 Housing portion 24 Anode communication hole 25 Branch flow path 131 Gas diffusion layer 132 Current collecting plate 133 Fuel flow hole 141 Fuel supply port

Claims (9)

A solid polymer electrolyte membrane;
An anode side catalyst body provided on one surface of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane;
A supply member for supplying fuel to the anode side catalyst body;
In a fuel cell comprising a diffusion portion provided between the supply member and the anode side catalyst body and diffusing the fuel,
The supply member is
An anode flow path provided so as to spread in the surface direction of the anode-side catalyst body;
An accommodating portion for accommodating the gas pushed away from the diffusion portion by the supply of the fuel;
The anode flow path has an anode communication hole for supplying fuel to the anode side catalyst body,
The fuel cell according to claim 1, wherein the anode flow path and the accommodating portion are provided along a surface direction of the diffusion portion.   The fuel cell according to claim 1, wherein the anode communication hole is provided facing the diffusion portion. The anode channel and the accommodating portion are on a substrate,
The substrate has a plurality of convex portions protruding with respect to the diffusion portion, and a concave portion constituted by the adjacent convex portions,
The convex portion is the anode channel;
The fuel cell according to claim 1, wherein the concave portion is the accommodating portion.   The fuel cell according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the anode flow path and the accommodating portion are formed from the same substrate.   The fuel cell according to claim 1, wherein the supply member is a cylinder provided in parallel to the surface of the diffusion portion.   The fuel cell according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the diffusing section has a plurality of fuel circulation holes through which fuel flows.   The fuel cell according to claim 6, wherein the anode communication hole is disposed so as to overlap at least a part of the plurality of fuel circulation holes.   The fuel cell according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein an area of the anode communication hole is smaller than a cross-sectional area perpendicular to a flow direction of the anode flow path.   A branch flow path that communicates each of the plurality of anode flow paths is provided, and a cross-sectional area perpendicular to the flow direction of the branch flow path is equal to or greater than a cross-sectional area perpendicular to the flow direction of the anode flow path. Item 9. The fuel cell according to any one of Items 1 to 8.

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