Fuel cell separator and single fuel cell
AssigneeToyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorHua Li
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A fuel cell separator includes ribs. The fuel cell separator has a plurality of gas flow paths separated from each other by the ribs. The fuel cell separator has, on a surface of the ribs on the gas flow path side, a liquid water flow path provided separately from the gas flow paths along the gas flow paths. The liquid water flow path has an expanded region in which a cross-sectional area of the liquid water flow path in a direction perpendicular to a flow direction of the liquid water flow path is larger than a cross-sectional area of the liquid water flow path in the direction perpendicular to the flow direction in a remaining region of the liquid water flow path.
Claims5
A fuel cell separator comprising ribs, wherein:
- the fuel cell separator has a plurality of gas flow paths defined in a first surface of the fuel cell separator that is configured to contact a gas diffusion layer in a fuel cell, the gas flow paths being separated from each other by the ribs;
- and
- the fuel cell separator has liquid water flow paths also defined in the first surface of the fuel cell separator, wherein
- (i) the liquid water flow paths and the gas flow paths are configured to contact the gas diffusion layer,
- (ii) each of the liquid water flow paths being on a surface of a corresponding one of the ribs,
- (iii) the liquid water flow paths being separated from the gas flow paths, and
- (iv) the liquid water flow paths extending along the gas flow paths;
- and
- each of the liquid water flow paths has an expanded region having a cross-sectional area that is larger than a cross-sectional area of a remaining region of the liquid water flow path that is a region of the liquid water flow path other than the expanded region, the cross-sectional area of the expanded region and the cross-sectional area of the remaining region of the liquid water flow path each being an area of a cross-section perpendicular to a flow direction of the liquid water flow path.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.