JP5481421B2 - Fuel cell module - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuel cell module including a fuel cell configured by stacking a plurality of battery cells and a terminal for measuring a voltage of the battery cell.

  As a conventional fuel cell module, for example, a fuel cell module having a cell voltage detection structure described in Patent Document 1 is known. The fuel cell module described in Patent Document 1 includes a fuel cell configured by stacking a plurality of battery cells each having a membrane electrode assembly sandwiched between a pair of separators, and a separator arranged in the stacking direction of the battery cells. And a plurality of cell voltage measurement terminals in contact with each other. In this fuel cell module, a V groove is formed by a chamfered portion provided in one of the adjacent separators and a chamfered portion provided in the other separator, and a cell voltage measurement terminal is formed on the inner surface of the V groove. Are in contact.

JP 2002-184434 A

  By the way, in recent years, in the fuel cell module as described above, the battery cells constituting the fuel cell are becoming thinner. For this reason, in order to measure the voltage of the battery cell in the thinned and stacked state, it is desired to closely arrange the cell voltage measurement terminals.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a situation, and makes it a subject to provide the fuel cell module which can arrange | position a cell voltage measurement terminal closely.

  In order to solve the above problems, a fuel cell module according to the present invention is a fuel cell stack configured by stacking a plurality of battery cells in which a first separator, a membrane electrode assembly, and a second separator are sequentially stacked. And a plurality of cell voltage measurement terminals for measuring the voltage of the battery cell, wherein the fuel cell stack is a first of one of the two battery cells adjacent to each other. The cell voltage measuring terminal has a recess formed across the separator and the second separator of the other battery cell, and the cell voltage measuring terminal is pulled out from the body and is in contact with the inner surface of the recess And a connection part that is drawn out from the main body part and connected to a predetermined voltage measuring circuit, the main body part protruding in the stacking direction of the battery cells, and the protruding direction of the first lead-out part Protruding in the opposite direction And a second lead portion that contact portion is extended from the first extraction portion, the connecting portion, the second being drawn from the pull-out unit, characterized in that.

  This fuel cell module includes a plurality of cell voltage measurement terminals for measuring the voltage of the battery cell. Each cell voltage measurement terminal has a main body part, a contact part that contacts the separator of the battery cell, and a connection part connected to the voltage measurement circuit. The main body portion includes a first lead portion from which the contact portion is pulled out and a second lead portion from which the connection portion is pulled out. The 1st drawer part protrudes in the lamination direction of a battery cell, and the 2nd drawer part protrudes in the direction opposite to the projection direction of the 1st drawer part. For this reason, it is possible to arrange the cell voltage measurement terminals while avoiding interference between the first lead portion and the second lead portion of the cell voltage measurement terminals adjacent to each other. For this reason, according to this fuel cell module, the cell voltage measurement terminals can be closely arranged.

  The fuel cell module of the present invention preferably further includes a holding member that holds the plurality of cell voltage measurement terminals in a state of being electrically insulated from each other. According to this configuration, since a plurality of cell voltage measurement terminals can be handled together, the cell voltage measurement terminals can be easily handled.

  In such a fuel cell module of the present invention, the holding member is preferably made of an elastic material. According to this configuration, even when the positions of the recesses are shifted when the battery cells are stacked, the contact member is securely abutted against the inner surface of the recess by elastically deforming the holding member and adjusting the position of the contact part. It becomes possible to touch.

  Furthermore, in the fuel cell module of the present invention, it is preferable that a protrusion that contacts the inner surface of the recess is formed at the tip of the contact portion. According to this configuration, it is possible to reduce the contact area between the contact portion and each separator.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a fuel cell module in which cell voltage measurement terminals can be closely arranged.

1 is a perspective view schematically showing a first embodiment of a fuel cell module of the present invention. It is an enlarged view of the area | region A shown by FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the fuel cell module shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the fuel cell module shown in FIG. 1. It is an enlarged view of the area | region B shown by FIG. It is a perspective view of a cell voltage measurement terminal. It is a fragmentary sectional view along the VII-VII line of FIG. It is the elements on larger scale of the fuel cell module shown by FIG. It is a perspective view which shows typically 2nd Embodiment of the fuel cell module of this invention. FIG. 10 is a partial sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. 9. FIG. 10 is a rear view of the terminal unit shown in FIG. 9. It is a perspective view which shows typically 3rd Embodiment of the fuel cell module of this invention. It is a perspective view of a cell voltage measurement terminal. It is a perspective view which shows the modification of a cell voltage measurement terminal.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the part which is the same or it corresponds in each figure, and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.
[First Embodiment]

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a first embodiment of a fuel cell module of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a region A shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the fuel cell module shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the fuel cell module 1 includes a fuel cell stack 10 and a terminal unit 20.

  The fuel cell stack 10 is configured by stacking a plurality of battery cells 11 and connecting them in series. The battery cell 11 may be, for example, a PEFC (Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell), a SOFC (Solid Oxide Fuel Cell), or the like. A plurality of stacked battery cells 11 are fixed by being sandwiched between end plates 13 arranged at both ends in the stacking direction. The battery cell 11 is configured by sequentially laminating an anode side separator (first separator) 14, a membrane electrode assembly 15, and a cathode side separator (second separator) 16.

  The membrane electrode assembly 15 is configured by sandwiching a predetermined electrolyte membrane (not shown) between an anode (not shown) and a cathode (not shown). The anode side separator 14 is in contact with the anode, and the cathode side separator 16 is in contact with the cathode. The anode side separator 14 and the cathode side separator 16 can be made of, for example, a conductive carbon material.

  The battery cell 11 configured as described above generates electric power using hydrogen in the hydrogen-containing gas supplied to the anode and oxygen in the oxygen-containing gas supplied to the cathode. As the hydrogen-containing gas, for example, a reformed gas supplied from a reformer (not shown), a pure hydrogen gas supplied from a hydrogen cylinder (not shown), or the like can be used. As the oxygen-containing gas, for example, pure oxygen gas, oxygen-enriched air, air, or the like can be used.

  FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the fuel cell module shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of region B shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, a rectangular cutout portion 14 b opened on the side of the cathode side separator 16 in contact with the anode side separator 14 is formed on the side surface 14 a of the anode side separator 14. Further, a rectangular cutout portion 16 b opened on the side of the anode side separator 14 in contact with the cathode side separator 16 is formed on the side surface 16 a of the cathode side separator 16.

  The cutout portion 14b and the cutout portion 16b face each other. Therefore, the rectangular recess 30 is formed by the notch 14b and the notch 16b of the anode side separator 14 and the cathode side separator 16 which are in contact with each other. In other words, the fuel cell stack 10 is a recess formed across the anode-side separator 14 of one battery cell 11 and the cathode-side separator 16 of the other battery cell 11 of the two adjacent battery cells 11. 30. The recesses 30 are arranged along the stacking direction of the battery cells 11.

  Here, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the terminal unit 20 holds a plurality of cell voltage measurement terminals 21 arranged along the stacking direction of the battery cells 11 and a plurality of cell voltage measurement terminals 21. And a resin rail (holding member) 22 as a single unit. The cell voltage measurement terminal 21 is in contact with the anode side separator 14 and the cathode side separator 16.

  FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the cell voltage measurement terminal 21. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the cell voltage measurement terminal 21 is pulled out from the main body 23, the abutting portion 24 that is pulled out from the main body 23 and contacts the inner surface of the recess 30, and the main body 23. And a connection portion 25 connected to a predetermined voltage measurement circuit (not shown). The main body 23, the contact part 24, and the connection part 25 are formed in a long plate shape.

The main body part 23 is located at one end 23c in the longitudinal direction of the main body part 23, and has a drawer part (first drawer part) 23a that projects in the stacking direction (x-axis direction) of the battery cells 11, and the main body part 23. And a lead-out part (second lead-out part) 23b that is located at the other end 23d in the longitudinal direction of the lead-out part and projects in a direction opposite to the projecting direction (x-axis direction) of the lead-out part 23a . Thus the, the lead portion 23a and the lead portion 23b, is provided at a position spaced from each other in the direction along one diagonal line of the body portion 23.

  The contact portion 24 is pulled out from the lead-out portion 23a of the main body portion 23 and extends in a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction of the main body portion 23 (that is, a direction from the main body portion 23 toward the anode side separator 14 and the cathode side separator 16). doing. The contact portion 24 is in contact with the anode side separator 14 and the cathode side separator 16. More specifically, the tip 24 a of the contact portion 24 is in contact with the inner surface (here, the upper surface) of the recess 30 formed by the anode side separator 14 and the cathode side separator 16. The tip 24a of the contact portion 24 is curved so that the contact with the inner surface of the recess 30 is a line contact.

  The connecting portion 25 is pulled out from the protruding portion 23 b of the main body portion 23 and extends in the longitudinal direction of the main body portion 23. The connection portion 25 is connected to a predetermined voltage measurement circuit via a wiring cable (not shown) that is crimped to the distal end portion 25a. Thus, in the fuel cell module 1, the voltage of the battery cell 11 can be measured using the cell voltage measurement terminal 21.

  The cell voltage measurement terminal 21 can be manufactured as follows, for example. First, a long plate-like conductive member is prepared. A first cut is made along the longitudinal direction of the conductive member from one end in the longitudinal direction of the conductive member. Further, a second cut is made along the longitudinal direction of the conductive member from the other end in the longitudinal direction of the conductive member. Then, the conductive member is bent along each of the first cut and the second cut. Thereby, the cell voltage measurement terminal 21 is produced.

  The cell voltage measuring terminal 21 configured as described above is held by the resin rail 22 and configured as a single unit (terminal unit 20). More specifically, by inserting the end portions 23c and 23d of the body portion 23 of each cell voltage measurement terminal 21 into the slit 22c provided in the bottom portion 22b of the opening 22a of the resin rail 22, the cell voltage measurement terminal 21 is gripped by the resin rail 22. The contact portion 24 and the connection portion 25 of the cell voltage measurement terminal 21 are drawn from the opening 22 a of the resin rail 22.

  In the terminal unit 20, the cell voltage measurement terminals 21 are separated from each other. The resin rail 22 is made of a resin material that can ensure insulation between the cell voltage measurement terminals 21. Therefore, in the terminal unit 20, the cell voltage measurement terminals 21 are held in a state of being electrically insulated from each other.

  The terminal unit 20 has the resin rail 22 in a state where the tip 24a of the contact portion 24 is brought into contact with the upper surface of the recess 30 by inserting the tip 24a of the contact portion 24 into the recess 30 and then lifting it upward. Are fixed to the end plate 13. Thereby, the state in which the tip 24 a of the contact portion 24 and the upper surface of the recess 30 are in contact with each other can be reliably maintained by the elastic force of the cell voltage measurement terminal 21.

  As described above, the fuel cell module 1 includes the plurality of cell voltage measurement terminals 21 for measuring the voltage of the battery cell 11. Each cell voltage measurement terminal 21 has a main body portion 23, a contact portion 24 that is in contact with the anode side separator 14 and the cathode side separator 16 of the battery cell 11, and a connection portion 25 that is connected to a voltage measurement circuit. doing. The main body part 23 includes a drawing part 23a from which the contact part 24 is drawn and a drawing part 23b from which the connection part 25 is drawn. The lead-out part 23a protrudes in the stacking direction of the battery cells 11, and the lead-out part 23b protrudes in a direction opposite to the protrusion direction of the lead-out part 23a.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, the cell voltage measurement terminals 21 can be arranged while avoiding interference between the lead portions 23 a and the lead portions 23 b of the cell voltage measurement terminals 21 adjacent to each other. As a result, according to the fuel cell module 1, it is possible to closely arrange the cell voltage measurement terminals 21 while ensuring insulation between the cell voltage measurement terminals 21.

Further, the cell voltage measuring terminal 21 is formed as a single terminal unit 20 by the resin rail 22. For this reason, for example, when the cell voltage measurement terminal 21 is brought into contact with the anode side separator 14 and the cathode side separator 16, a plurality of cell voltage measurement terminals 21 can be handled together. Handling becomes easy.
[Second Embodiment]

  FIG. 9 is a perspective view schematically showing a second embodiment of the fuel cell module of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. FIG. 11 is a rear view of the terminal unit shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 9 to 11, the fuel cell module 1 </ b> A of the present embodiment is different from the fuel cell module 1 of the first embodiment in that a terminal unit 20 </ b> A is provided instead of the terminal unit 20.

  The terminal unit 20A includes a plurality of cell voltage measurement terminals 21 arranged along the stacking direction of the battery cells 11, and a long plate-like resin plate that holds the plurality of cell voltage measurement terminals 21 and forms a single unit. (Holding member) 40. In the terminal unit 20 </ b> A, the cell voltage measurement terminal 21 is embedded in the resin plate 40.

  More specifically, the main body portion 23 of the cell voltage measurement terminal 21 is embedded in the resin plate 40. Thereby, a plurality of cell voltage measurement terminals are held to form a single terminal unit 20A. In the terminal unit 20A, the cell voltage measurement terminals 21 are separated from each other. The resin plate 40 is made of a resin material that can ensure insulation between the cell voltage measurement terminals 21. Therefore, in the terminal unit 20A, the cell voltage measurement terminals 21 are held in an electrically insulated state. In addition, the contact part 24 and the connection part 25 protrude from the back surface 40 a of the resin plate 40.

In such a fuel cell module 1 </ b> A, similarly to the fuel cell module 1, it is possible to closely arrange the cell voltage measurement terminals 21 while ensuring insulation between the cell voltage measurement terminals 21. Further, the cell voltage measurement terminal 21 is held by the resin plate 40 to form a single terminal unit 20A. For this reason, also in the fuel cell module 1A, handling of the cell voltage measurement terminal 21 becomes easy.
[Third Embodiment]

  FIG. 12 is a perspective view schematically showing a third embodiment of the fuel cell module of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 12, the fuel cell module 1 </ b> B of the present embodiment is different from the fuel cell module 1 of the first embodiment in that a terminal unit 20 </ b> B is provided instead of the terminal unit 20.

  The terminal unit 20B includes a plurality of cell voltage measurement terminals 21 arranged along the stacking direction of the battery cells 11, a plurality of resin members 50 provided so as to individually cover the cell voltage measurement terminals 21, and a plurality of resins. It has the metal rail (holding member) 60 which hold | maintains the member 50 (namely, several cell voltage measurement terminal 21), and makes it a single unit.

  FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the cell voltage measurement terminal 21. As shown in FIG. 13, the cell voltage measurement terminal 21 is embedded in the resin member 50. More specifically, the main body 23 of the cell voltage measurement terminal 21 is embedded in the resin member 50. The contact portion 24 and the connection portion 25 of the cell voltage measurement terminal 21 are not embedded in the resin member 50 and are exposed from the resin member 50.

  The resin member 50 includes a rectangular parallelepiped resin portion 50a and a resin portion 50b. The resin portion 50 a is provided so as to cover the half body including the lead portion 23 a of the main body portion 23 of the cell voltage measurement terminal 21. The resin part 50 b is provided so as to cover the half body including the lead part 23 b of the main body part 23 of the cell voltage measurement terminal 21. The resin part 50a and the resin part 50b are joined in a state where the central axis La and the central axis Lb along the longitudinal direction are shifted from each other in the stacking direction (x-axis direction) of the battery cells 11. For this reason, when the resin members 50 are arranged, the resin portion 50a and the resin portion 50b can be partially overlapped with each other in the resin members 50 adjacent to each other.

  In the present embodiment, the cell voltage measurement terminal 21 is configured as a single terminal unit 20 </ b> B by gripping both ends of the resin member 50 configured as described above by the metal rail 60. In the terminal unit 20 </ b> B, the cell voltage measurement terminals 21 are separated from each other by the thickness of the resin member 50. The resin member 50 is made of a resin material that can ensure insulation between the cell voltage measurement terminals 21. Therefore, in the terminal unit 20B, the cell voltage measurement terminals 21 are held in an electrically insulated state.

  In such a fuel cell module 1B, as in the fuel cell module 1, the cell voltage measurement terminals 21 can be closely arranged while ensuring insulation between the cell voltage measurement terminals 21. The cell voltage measurement terminal 21 is a single terminal unit 20 </ b> B by a metal rail 60. For this reason, also in the fuel cell module 1B, handling of the cell voltage measurement terminal 21 becomes easy.

  The above first to third embodiments describe one embodiment of the fuel cell module of the present invention, and the fuel cell module of the present invention is limited to the above fuel cell modules 1, 1A, 1B. is not. The fuel cell module of the present invention can be obtained by modifying the fuel cell modules 1, 1A, 1B without departing from the scope of the claims.

  For example, in the cell voltage measurement terminal 21, as shown in FIG. 14A, a hemispherical protrusion 24 b can be provided at the tip 24 a of the contact portion 24. In this case, the protrusion 24 b comes into contact with the upper surface of the recess 30. For this reason, the contact area between the contact portion 24 and the anode-side separator 14 and the cathode-side separator 16 is reduced, and the contact surface pressure can be improved.

  Further, in the cell voltage measurement terminal 21, as shown in FIG. 14B, the contact portion 24 can be formed by twisting about 90 ° in the middle in the extending direction. In this case, since the direction of the distal end portion 24 a of the contact portion 24 is rotated by about 90 °, the distal end portion 24 a can be brought into contact with the side surface of the recess 30.

  The resin rail 22, the resin plate 40, and the metal rail 60 are preferably made of an elastic material (for example, rubber or spring). In this case, even if the position of the concave portion 30 is shifted when the battery cells 11 are stacked, the contact portion 24 is adjusted by elastically deforming the resin rail 22, the resin plate 40, or the metal rail 60 to adjust the position of the contact portion 24. The tip 24 a of the portion 24 can be reliably brought into contact with the inner surface of the recess 30.

  In the first to third embodiments described above, a plurality of cell voltage measurement terminals 21 are held by holding members (resin rail 22, resin plate 40, and metal rail 60) to form a single unit. Alternatively, a plurality of holding members may be used to hold the cell voltage measuring terminals 21 for each predetermined number to form a plurality of units. If the cell voltage measuring terminal 21 is divided into a plurality of units as described above, even if the position of the recess 30 is shifted when the battery cells 11 are stacked, the position of the contact portion 24 is adjusted by adjusting the position of each unit. The portion 24 a can be reliably brought into contact with the inner surface of the recess 30.

  In addition, the opening size of the recess 30 of the fuel cell stack 10 is preferably set larger than the width of the tip 24 a of the contact portion 24 of the cell voltage measurement terminal 21. More specifically, the opening size of the recess 30 is such that the tip 24a of the contact portion 24 can be inserted even when the position of the recess 30 is shifted when the battery cells 11 are stacked. It is preferable to set it larger than the width.

  Further, it is preferable to form the upper surface of the recess 30 of the fuel cell stack 10 flat. By flattening the upper surface of the recess 30, the gap between the anode-side separator 14 and the cathode-side separator 16 constituting the recess 30 when the tip 24 a of the contact portion 24 is in contact with the upper surface of the recess 30. The force is prevented from acting in the direction of spreading.

  The contact portion 24 of the cell voltage measurement terminal 21 may extend obliquely downward (that is, in a direction away from the connection portion 25). In that case, the front end portion 24 a of the contact portion 24 comes into contact with the lower surface of the recess 30. Therefore, in such a case, it is preferable to form the lower surface of the recess 30 flat. By flattening the lower surface of the recess 30, when the tip 24 a of the contact portion 24 comes into contact with the lower surface of the recess 30, the gap between the anode side separator 14 and the cathode side separator 16 constituting the recess 30. The force is prevented from acting in the direction of spreading.

  Furthermore, in the third embodiment, the metal rail 60 may be made of resin. In this case, the cell voltage measurement terminals are more reliably insulated from each other.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,1A, 1B ... Fuel cell module, 10 ... Fuel cell stack, 11 ... Battery cell, 14 ... Anode side separator (first separator), 15 ... Membrane electrode assembly, 16 ... Cathode side separator (second separator) ), 21... Cell voltage measurement terminal, 22... Resin rail (holding member), 23... Main body, 23 a .. drawer part (first drawer part), 23 b ... drawer part (second drawer part), 24. Contact part, 24a ... tip part, 24b ... projection, 25 ... connection part, 30 ... recess, 40 ... resin plate (holding member), 60 ... metal rail (holding member).

Claims (4)

A fuel cell stack configured by stacking a plurality of battery cells formed by sequentially stacking a first separator, a membrane electrode assembly, and a second separator, and a plurality of cell voltages for measuring the voltage of the battery cell A fuel cell module comprising a measurement terminal,
The fuel cell stack has a recess formed across the first separator of one of the two battery cells adjacent to each other and the second separator of the other battery cell. Have
The cell voltage measurement terminal includes a main body portion, a contact portion that is pulled out from the main body portion and is in contact with an inner surface of the recess, and a connection portion that is pulled out from the main body portion and connected to a predetermined voltage measurement circuit. Have
The main body includes a first drawer protruding in the stacking direction of the battery cells, and a second drawer protruding in a direction opposite to the protruding direction of the first drawer,
The contact portion is drawn from the first lead portion so as not to overlap the first lead portion as viewed from the stacking direction of the battery cells ,
The connection portion is drawn from the second lead portion so as not to overlap the second lead portion as viewed from the stacking direction of the battery cells ,
The contact portion and the connection portion do not overlap each other when viewed from the stacking direction of the battery cells,
A fuel cell module.   The fuel cell module according to claim 1, further comprising a holding member that holds the plurality of cell voltage measurement terminals in a state of being electrically insulated from each other.   The fuel cell module according to claim 2, wherein the holding member is made of an elastic material.   The fuel cell module according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a protrusion that is in contact with an inner surface of the recess is formed at a tip of the contact portion.

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