JPS632264A - Fuel cell - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate reaction gas supply to each cell using gas separating plate and electrical connection between unit cells on a substrate to obtain a lightweight, compact fuel cell by arranging unit cells in a plurality of through holes installed in an insulating substrate, and connecting current terminals installed in gas manifolds. CONSTITUTION:A plurality of unit cells 5 are arranged in a substrate 1 and connected to current terminals 8 installed in gas manifolds 6, 7. Therefore, reaction gas supply to each cell using gas separating plate is unnecessary, and fuel gas and oxidizing agent gas only flows on each side of the substrate. Electrical connection between unit cells 5 on the substrate 1 is unnecessary, selection of parallel or series connection can be decided after connection of current terminals 8. Therefore, the cell is made lightweight and compact, and output current and output voltage can be optionally selected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a small, lightweight, and compact fuel cell.

[Conventional technology]

As is well-known, a fuel cell is an electrolyte tank that holds a Kt electrolyte between a fuel electrode and an oxidizer electrode that are arranged opposite each other.
This is a type of bottom ignition device that is operated by supplying fuel 2 and oxidizer to the fuel electrode and oxidizer, respectively, with J-lux interposed between them.

As for one fuel tank, ■ High efficiency can be expected as there is no restriction of Carnot cycle, ■ Waste heat can be easily utilized effectively at a relatively high temperature close to the battery operating temperature, and ■ Efficiency can be achieved even if the output is changed. - There are no advantages such as poor responsiveness to load fluctuations, and it is necessary to distribute power in the city or near the city on the scale of a distribution substation, or as an alternative power generation device for thermal power plants. Various forms of use are being considered, such as:

Fuel cells are classified into alkaline type, phosphoric acid bottle, molten carbonate type, etc. depending on the type of 'tMM used.These types use gases such as hydrogen and methane as fuel, but they also use liquid as fuel. There are also fuel cells such as the methanol direct improved type.

The basic structural unit of a fuel cell is a single cell, or a cell, but since the single cell voltage of a single cell is as low as about 0.7 V, it is difficult to stack tens or hundreds of single cells to form an aggregate battery. Regarding the structure of batteries and battery packs, please refer to Beien Patent Publication No. 4.
2'76355.

In recent years, fuel cells have been considered for practical use on a small scale, such as as a power source for automobiles, but while fuel cells can draw a high current of several hundred mA per square centimeter, they have a low voltage of around 0.7V. It has an essential feature that it can only be taken out. On the other hand, for small-scale applications, a small current may be required, but a high voltage of about 100 to 200 μm is required. Therefore, in order to meet such uses with conventional fuel cells, it is necessary to stack 150 to 300 single cells with an area of about 1% 100 am2.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

Conventional fuel cells, such as those mentioned above, require at least 5
Since the battery pack has a thickness of about a millimeter, the height of the battery pack must be more than 1 m, and manifolds must be attached on all sides, resulting in considerable size and weight. Therefore, there has been a problem that practical application of such fuel cells on a small scale has not been realized.

The object of the present invention is to obtain a small and lightweight fuel cell in which the fuel cells have been used to solve the above problems.

[Failure to solve the problem]

A plurality of through-holes were provided in the board, cells were fitted into these through-holes, a gas manifold having a plurality of current terminals was attached to the upper and lower surfaces of the board, and each cell and the current terminal were electrically connected. It is something.

[Effect]

In this invention, a plurality of cells are arranged on one board and connected to a current terminal provided on a gas manifold, so that the supply of reaction gas to each cell using a conventional gas separation plate is no longer possible. It is not necessary, and it is only necessary to apply fuel gas and oxidizing gas current to the front and back sides of the board, and there is no need to electrically connect the cells on the board, so it is possible to connect the cells in series or in parallel.
Combinations such as these can be determined arbitrarily by connections after the current terminal, so a lightweight and compact fuel cell can be created in which the output current and output voltage can be arbitrarily selected.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1st
The figure is a cross-sectional view, and (1) is an electrically insulating substrate, in which a plurality of through holes are provided.

(2) is a fuel electrode, (3) is an electrolyte retention matrix provided adjacent to this fuel electrode (2), and (4) is an electrolyte retention matrix provided adjacent to this electrolyte retention matrix (3).
The fuel electrode (2), the electrolyte holding matrix (3), and the oxidant electrode (4) constitute a unit cell (5), which is arranged in the above-mentioned through-hole manner. (6) is the fuel gas manifold, (7) is the oxidizer gas manifold, (8) is the current terminal attached to the gas manifold, (9) is the current collector, and 00 is the backing for attaching the current terminal to the gas manifold. wood,
(9) is a fuel gas chamber, and @ is an oxidant gas chamber.

FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are a plan view and a cross-sectional view, respectively, showing an enlarged view of a unit cell. In these figures, the α force is the base (1
) is a protrusion that supports the cell. In Fig. 2, the fuel electrode (2) of the hexagonal unit cell is composed of a gas-permeable fuel electrode base material Q] and a fuel electrode catalyst layer Q4), and the oxidant electrode (4) is composed of an oxidant electrode base material OG. The cross-sectional view of FIG. 3 shows that the oxidizing agent electrode catalyst layer is composed of an oxidizing agent electrode catalyst layer and an oxidizing agent electrode catalyst layer.

1@4 and FIG. 5 show the unit cells shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, respectively, with a current terminal provided in the fuel gas manifold. The three-legged current collector (9) is connected to the current terminal (8
) and the fuel electrode (2), and its spring-like elasticity allows it to connect to the gas manifold (
Even if the distance between the electrode (6) and the substrate (1) changes slightly, electrical contact can be maintained, and when pressure is applied to the electrode (2), the electrode (2) cracks and serves to bring the battery into close contact with the substrate (1). . Because the backing material (J) supports the current terminal (8) to the gas manifold (6), fuel gas leaks from the fuel gas chamber 0υ to the outside through the gap between the gas manifold (6) and the current terminal (8). prevent Furthermore, when the gas manifold (6) is made of metal or the like instead of an electrical insulator, it also serves as an electrical insulator. The same applies to the arrangement of current terminals to the oxidizer electrodes. Figure 1 shows three unit cells arranged side by side. In a fuel cell configured in this way, fuel gas is flowed into the fuel gas chamber,
By flowing the oxidizing gas into the oxidizing gas chamber, the electromotive force generated by the reaction of these gases is collected by the current collector (9),
Figure 6 is a plan view of a fuel cell in which 32 cells (5) are arranged on a base (1), and Figure 7 shows the fuel cell shown in Figure 6. FIG. 2 is a plan view of a fuel gas manifold of a battery. Q'J is a current socket for connecting to external wiring, and (G) is a lead wire connecting the current terminal (8) and the current socket.

Also, the handle is the fuel gas supply connection plug installed in the fuel gas manifold (6). Similarly, υ is a fuel gas discharge plug provided in the fuel gas manifold 6).

The lead wire marked O is connected to the gas manifold (6) as shown in Figure 8.
A fence that may be provided on the outside (a) or on the inside,
It may also be built-in.

Also, if the gas manifold is made of conductive material such as metal, the lead wires should be installed after coating with an insulating material (c) such as alumina or silica, as shown in Figures 9 and 10. Good. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 11, a printed circuit board on which lead wires (to) are already arranged from the outside of the gas manifold (6) may be brought into contact with the current terminals (8).

In Figure 7, the lead wires (to) are printed up to the current socket 09 for each cell.

Depending on how the external wiring is connected,
The 32 cells a) to (ff) can be freely selected in parallel or series. Therefore, for any output voltage,
Output current can be obtained and determined by external wiring depending on the application.

In addition, unit cells can be connected in parallel or in series to a gas manifold (61
, (7) or by importing a printed circuit board. Furthermore, the e, n, w, and ff cells can be kept as spares, and in case of overload: C, they can be connected with external wiring to obtain output.

12 and 13 are a schematic plan view and a front view, respectively, of the fuel cell shown in FIG. 6 with a gas manifold attached thereto. In the figure, □□□ is the oxidizing gas supply plug,
The handle is a fuel gas discharge plug.

Fuel gas is supplied from the supply connection plug of the fuel gas manifold (6) and discharged from the discharge plug Q1).

- On the other hand, the oxidant gas is supplied from the supply connection plug (E) of the oxidant gas manifold (7) and is discharged from the discharge plug (G). This kind of fuel cell is very compact and can be called a fuel cell card, and the connection to external wiring and piping is simple, so it can be easily connected like a household electric socket and generate electricity. can do. Therefore, it is easy to carry and can be applied to various small-scale power generation applications.

2. In the above embodiment, 32 single cells were arranged, but the number may be 100 or more. It is also possible to use several fuel cell cards each containing about 100 single cells.
Therefore, a DC voltage of 100 to 200 V can be easily obtained.

〔Effect of the invention〕

In addition to the above explanation, this invention has single cells arranged in a plurality of through holes provided in an electrically insulating substrate and connected to a current terminal provided in a gas manifold, thereby eliminating the need for conventional gas separation. It is not necessary to supply reactant gas to each cell using a plate, and there is no need to electrically connect the cells to each other on the substrate, so that a small, lightweight, and compact fuel cell can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 2 to 5 are enlarged views of the single cell in FIG. 1, and FIGS. Plan view, Figure 3,
Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view, Figures 6 and 7 are 32 mm on the base, respectively.
A plan view of a fuel cell in which single cells are arranged, Figures 8 to 1
Figure 1 is a cutaway view showing the arrangement of lead wires, Figures 12 and 13.
The figures are a schematic plan view and a side view, respectively, of the fuel cell shown in FIG. 6 with a manifold attached thereto. In flash, (1) is the base, (2) is the fuel electrode, (3)
is an electrolyte retention matrix, (4) is an oxidizer electrode, and (5
) is a single cell, (6) is a fuel gas manifold, (7) is an oxidizer gas manifold, (8) is a current terminal, (9) is a current collector, (IcI is a current socket. Note that in each figure , the same reference numerals indicate the same or equivalent parts.

Claims (8)

[Claims] (1) Single cells each consisting of a fuel electrode, an oxidizer electrode, and an electrolyte matrix are arranged in a plurality of through holes provided in an electrically insulating substrate, and on the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate,
In a fuel cell equipped with a fuel gas manifold and an oxidizing gas manifold, each of the fuel gas manifold and the oxidizing gas manifold is provided with a plurality of current terminals, and each unit cell has a fuel electrode connected to the fuel gas manifold. A fuel cell characterized in that the oxidant electrode is electrically connected to a current terminal provided on an oxidant gas manifold. (2) The fuel cell according to claim 1, further comprising a current socket electrically connected to a plurality of current terminals provided on the gas manifold. (3) The connection between the current socket and the current terminal is made through a printed circuit board placed on the inner surface, outer surface, or outside of the gas manifold. 2. The fuel cell according to item 2. (4) Claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the cells are connected in series, parallel, or series-parallel in the middle of the connection between the current socket and the current terminal. fuel cell. (5) Claims 2 to 4 characterized in that in the electrical connection of the cells to the current socket, there are a plurality of cells that are not electrically connected in series or in parallel. The fuel cell according to any one of. (6) The fuel cell according to claim 1, wherein the manifold is provided with a supply connection plug and a discharge plug. (7) The fuel electrode is comprised of a gas permeable fuel electrode base material and a fuel electrode catalyst layer, and the oxidant electrode is comprised of a gas permeable oxidant electrode base material and an oxidant electrode catalyst layer. A fuel cell according to claim 1. (8) The fuel cell according to claim 1, wherein electrical contact between the current terminal and the fuel electrode or the oxidizer electrode is made by a resilient current collector fitting such as a spring.