Structure of integrated packed fuel cell

#1. Field of the Invention

#The present invention relates to a fuel cell, and more particularly, to an integrated packed fuel cell.

#2. Description of the Prior Art

#FIG. 1 is a perspective diagram showing the energy management system of a conventional fuel cell.

#FIG. 2 is a perspective, exploded diagram illustrating an integrated packed fuel cell with five serially connected basic cell units in accordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention.

#FIG. 3 through FIG. 7 are perspective diagrams showing the method of fabricating an integrated packed fuel cell according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

#Please refer to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a perspective, exploded diagram illustrating an integrated packed fuel cell 700 with five serially connected basic cell units in accordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention. It is to be understood that the integrated packed fuel cell 700 with five serially connected basic cell units is merely an exemplary embodiment. Depending on the requirements of the applied apparatuses, other numbers of basic cell units such as ten or twenty may be utilized. As shown in FIG. 2, the integrated packed fuel cell 700 generally comprises an integrated thin cathode electrode sheet 200, Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA) unit 300, intermediate bonding layer 400, integrated thin anode electrode sheet 500, and a fuel container 600.

#The integrated thin cathode electrode sheet 200 comprises a substrate 210, cathode electrode areas 201, 202, 203, 204, and 205, and conductive via through holes 211, 212, 213, 214, and 215. Preferably, on the surface area of the substrate 210 outside the cathode electrode areas 201, 202, 203, 204, and 205, and the conductive via through hole 211, 212, 213, 214, and 215, a layer of solder resist is coated thereon. At the corners of the substrate 210, mounting through holes 221, 222, 223, and 224 are provided. It is noteworthy that the integrated thin cathode electrode sheet 200 is fabricated by utilizing PCB compatible processes. The substrate 210 may be made of ANSI-grade glass fiber reinforced polymeric materials such as FR-1, FR-2, FR-3, FR-4, FR-5, CEM-1, or CEM-3, but not limited thereto. Each of the cathode electrode areas 201, 202, 203, 204, and 205, on which a plurality of through holes are formed, is defined by a patterned copper foil. The opening ratio of each of the cathode electrode areas 201, 202, 203, 204, and 205, is the ratio of the surface area of the through holes to the area of each of the cathode electrode areas. The opening ratio of each of the cathode electrode areas 201, 202, 203, 204, and 205, is preferably no less than 50%.

#The conductive via through hole 212 is electrically connected to the cathode electrode area 201 with the conductive wire 250. The conductive via through hole 213 is electrically connected to the cathode electrode area 202 with the conductive wire 251. The conductive via through hole 214 is electrically connected to the cathode electrode area 203 with the conductive wire 252. The conductive via through hole 215 is electrically connected to the cathode electrode area 204 with the conductive wire 253. The cathode electrode area 205 is electrically connected to a positive (cathode) electrode node 261, which, in operation, is further electrically connected with an external circuit. The conductive via through hole 211, which acts as a negative (anode) electrode node of the DMFC 20, is electrically connected with the external circuit in operation.