Back to results
US 2006/0040156 A1Published application
Fuel cell stack, fuel cell system, and manufacturing method of fuel cell stack
AssigneeToyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsYutaka Tano, Kenji Kimura, Hiromichi Sato, Koichi Numata, Naoki Ito
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The technique of the invention prepares a thin electrolyte layer without causing cracks. An electrolyte membrane 30 includes a dense inorganic electrolyte layer 36 formed on a dense base member 31. Each unit fuel cell includes the electrolyte membrane 30, a fuel electrode, and an oxygen electrode. Multiple unit fuel cells are laminated in series to complete a fuel cell stack.
Claims18
A fuel cell stack comprising a lamination of multiple unit fuel cells,
- each unit fuel cell comprising:
- an electrolyte membrane having a base member composed of a dense hydrogen permeable material and a dense inorganic electrolyte layer formed on at least one face of the base member;
- a fuel electrode that is located on one face of the electrolyte membrane and receives a supply of a hydrogen-containing fuel gas;
- and
- an oxygen electrode that is located on the other face of the electrolyte membrane and receives a supply of an oxygen-containing oxidizing gas.
2 more elements
A manufacturing method of a fuel cell stack, said manufacturing method comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a metal separator to connect a pair of adjacent unit fuel cells in series;
- (b) bonding a base member made of a dense hydrogen permeable material to the metal separator;
- (c) forming a dense inorganic electrolyte layer on at least one face of the base member;
- (d) bonding another metal separator, which has a different polarity from a polarity of the metal separator bonded to the base member in said step (b), to an outer face of the electrolyte layer, so as to complete one unit fuel cell;
- (e) repeating said steps (a) through (d) to form multiple unit fuel cells and laminating the multiple unit fuel cells;
- and
- (f) clamping the lamination of the multiple unit fuel cells by a clamping member.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.