Seal structure of a fuel cell
AssigneeToyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsTomokazu Hayashi, Mikio Wada, Iwao Myojin
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A seal structure of a fuel cell includes an interrupted back-up disposed at least one of a connecting gas passage and a connecting coolant passage. The back-up located on one side of a separator and a portion of a seal line located on the other side of the separator are disposed such that the back-up and the portion of the seal line are overlapped with each other in a fuel cell stacking direction. The interrupted back-up may be formed in the seal or in the separator.
Claims10
A seal structure of a fuel cell, said fuel cell including an MEA, a separator made from metal, a gas passage formed in said separator, a gas manifold formed in said separator, a connecting gas passage formed in said separator and between said gas passage and said gas manifold, a coolant passage formed in said separator, a coolant manifold formed in said separator, a connecting coolant passage formed in said separator and between said coolant passage and said coolant manifold, and a seal including a gas seal line and a coolant seal line for preventing gas and/or coolant from leaking and defining a continuous seal line, said seal structure of a fuel cell, comprising:
- an interrupted back-up disposed at an at least one of said connecting gas passage and said connecting coolant passage,
- wherein said back-up is located on one side of said separator and a portion of the gas or coolant seal line located on the other side of said separator being disposed such that said back-up and said portion of said seal line are overlapped with each other in a fuel cell stacking direction,
- wherein said back-up is integrated within said separator and includes a rib having a convex and concave structure, and
- wherein the other of the gas or coolant seal line is located on the same side as said back-up and includes a straight line portion located on a same straight line as said back-up and wherein the gas seal line is made of adhesive.
A seal structure of a fuel cell, said fuel cell including an MEA, a separator made from metal, a gas passage formed in said separator, a gas manifold formed in said separator, a connecting gas passage formed in said separator and between said gas passage and said gas manifold, a coolant passage formed in said separator, a coolant manifold formed in said separator, a connecting coolant passage formed in said separator and between said coolant passage and said coolant manifold, and a seal including a gas seal line and a coolant seal line for preventing gas and/or coolant from leaking and defining a continuous seal line, said seal structure of a fuel, comprising:
- an interrupted back-up disposed at an at least one of said connecting gas passage and said connecting coolant passage,
- wherein said back-up being located on one side of said separator and a portion of the gas or coolant seal line located on the other side of said separator being disposed such that said back-up and said portion of said seal line are overlapped with each other in a fuel cell stacking direction,
- wherein said back-up is integrated within said separator and includes a rib having a convex and concave structure,
- wherein the other of the gas or coolant seal line is located on the same side as said back-up and includes a straight line portion located on a same straight line as said back-up and the gas seal line is made from an adhesive,
- wherein said back-up is formed at the at least one of said connecting gas passage and said connecting coolant passage at a portion of said separator where the seal does not exist, and
- wherein said back-up is formed in said separator and includes a rib having a plurality of tunnels formed in said rib, between the separator and a cover plate, and spaced from each other, and the cover plate contacts an adjacent separator.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.