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US 12,671,098 B2Granted
Separator for fuel cell
AssigneeToyota Boshoku Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsHaruyuki Aono, Satoshi Kawabe
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A separator for a fuel cell includes a contact surface configured to contact a power generating unit of the fuel cell. Groove passages are arranged side by side in the contact surface. Reactant gas flows through the groove passages. At least one of the groove passages includes a wavy section that extends in a wavy shape in planar directions of the contact surface. An upstream portion and a downstream portion in a flow direction of the reactant gas in each groove passage are defined as an upstream portion and a downstream portion, respectively. A wavelength of the wavy section is smaller in the downstream portion than in the upstream portion.
Claims18
A separator for a fuel cell, comprising:
- a contact surface configured to contact a power generating unit of the fuel cell;
- and
- groove passages arranged side by side in the contact surface, reactant gas flowing through the groove passages, wherein
- a direction in which the groove passages are arranged side by side is defined as an arrangement direction, wherein
- the grooves passages extend such that entireties of the groove passages are oriented obliquely with respect to the arrangement direction,
- wherein
- the groove passages include an outer side groove passage that is located at an outermost position in, and
- the outer side groove passage includes a section that is located at a same position as or on an outer side of an outermost edge of the contact surface in the arrangement direction;
- and
- the groove passages include a first groove passage and a second groove passage that extend in wavy shapes in planar directions of the contact surface and are adjacent to each other in the arrangement direction,
- at least one of the first groove passage and the second groove passage includes branched passages that are arranged side by side in the arrangement direction,
- a number of passages arranged side by side in the arrangement direction in the first groove passage is defined as a first passage count,
- a number of passages arranged side by side in the arrangement direction in the second groove passage is defined as a second passage count, and
- the first passage count of a predetermined section in the first groove passage is different from the second passage count of a section in the second groove passage that is adjacent to the predetermined section.
11 more elements
A separator for a fuel cell, comprising:
- a contact surface configured to contact a power generating unit of the fuel cell;
- and
- groove passages arranged side by side in the contact surface, reactant gas flowing through the groove passages, wherein
- an upstream portion and a downstream portion in a flow direction of the reactant gas in each groove passage are defined as an upstream portion and a downstream portion, respectively,
- the groove passages each includes a wavy section that extends in a wavy shape in planar directions of the contact surface,
- and
- the wavy section includes tributary passages and a merging portion at which the tributary passages merge from an upstream side toward a downstream side,
- wherein the merging portion of each wavy section includes multiple merging portions, and
- wherein spacing between amplitudes in respective wavy sections of adjacent groove passages continuously increase from an upstream side to the downstream side.
6 more elements
A separator for a fuel cell, comprising:
- a contact surface configured to contact a power generating unit of the fuel cell;
- and
- groove passages arranged adjacently in the contact surface, reactant gas flowing through the groove passages, wherein
- a direction in which the groove passages are arranged side by side is defined as an arrangement direction,
- the groove passages include a first groove passage and a second groove passage that extend in wavy shapes in planar directions of the contact surface and are adjacent to each other in the arrangement direction, and
- a wavelength of a predetermined section in the first groove passage is different from a wavelength of a section in the second groove passage that is adjacent to the predetermined section, and
- wherein spacing between adjacent groove passages continuously changes from an upstream most side of the wavy section to a downstream most side of the wavy section.
4 more elements
A separator for a fuel cell, comprising:
- a contact surface configured to contact a power generating unit of the fuel cell;
- and
- groove passages arranged side by side in the contact surface, reactant gas flowing through the groove passages, wherein
- a direction in which the groove passages are arranged side by side is defined as an arrangement direction,
- the groove passages include a first groove passage and a second groove passage that extend in wavy shapes in planar directions of the contact surface and are adjacent to each other in the arrangement direction,
- an amplitude of a predetermined section in the first groove passage is different from an amplitude of a section in the second groove passage that is adjacent to the predetermined section,
- wherein
- the first groove passage includes a first part and a second part of which the amplitude is smaller than the amplitude of the first part,
- the amplitude of a part of the second groove passage that is adjacent to the first part is smaller than the amplitude of the first part, and
- the amplitude of a part of the second groove passage that is adjacent to the second part is larger than the amplitude of the second part, and
- wherein a wavelength of the wavy shapes in a same one of the groove passages is the same.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.