JP5214297B2 - Fuel cell stack - Google Patents

Description

  In the present invention, an electrolyte membrane / electrode structure provided with a pair of electrodes on both sides of an electrolyte membrane and a separator are laminated, end plates are disposed at both ends of the lamination direction, and a cooling medium or The present invention relates to an in-vehicle fuel cell stack in which a communication hole for at least fluid supply or fluid discharge for flowing a reaction gas is formed.

  For example, a polymer electrolyte fuel cell has a power generation cell in which an electrolyte membrane / electrode structure in which an anode side electrode and a cathode side electrode are arranged on both sides of an electrolyte membrane made of a polymer ion exchange membrane is sandwiched by separators. I have. This type of fuel cell is normally used as a fuel cell stack in which a predetermined number of power generation cells are stacked and end plates are disposed at both ends in the stacking direction.

  In the above fuel cell, a fuel gas channel for flowing fuel gas to the anode side electrode and an oxidant gas channel for flowing oxidant gas to the cathode side electrode are provided in the plane of the separator. . Furthermore, between the power generation cells, a cooling medium flow path for flowing the cooling medium is provided along the surface direction of the separator.

  At this time, for example, an end plate disposed at one end in the stacking direction has at least a fuel gas supply communication hole for supplying fuel gas to the fuel gas passage, and a fuel for discharging used fuel gas from the fuel gas passage. A gas discharge communication hole, an oxidant gas supply communication hole for supplying oxidant gas to the oxidant gas flow path, and an oxidant gas discharge communication hole for discharging used oxidant gas from the oxidant gas flow path are formed. The end plate disposed at the other end in the stacking direction has a cooling medium supply communication hole for supplying the cooling medium to the cooling medium flow path, and a cooling medium for discharging the used cooling medium from the cooling medium flow path. A discharge communication hole is formed.

  For example, in the fuel cell stack disclosed in Patent Document 1, as shown in FIG. 9, a plurality of single cells 1 are stacked, and a front plate 2 and a rear plate 3 are disposed at both ends in the stacking direction. ing. The front plate 2 and the rear plate 3 are fastened by bolts 4. The front plate 2 is formed with a refrigerant supply manifold 5a and a refrigerant discharge manifold 5b made of synthetic resin.

JP 2007-273447 A

  By the way, the fuel cell stack is often used for in-vehicle use and is disposed in the vehicle body. At this time, if deformation is caused in the wall portion on the vehicle body side due to an external load or the like, the wall portion is likely to come into contact with the refrigerant supply manifold 5a or the refrigerant discharge manifold 5b. For this reason, there is a possibility that the synthetic resin refrigerant supply manifold 5a and the refrigerant discharge manifold 5b may be damaged.

  The present invention solves this type of problem, and reliably prevents resin manifold members provided on the end plate from interfering with and damaging the wall when the wall in the vehicle body is deformed. An object of the present invention is to provide a fuel cell stack that can be used.

In the present invention, an electrolyte membrane / electrode structure provided with a pair of electrodes on both sides of an electrolyte membrane and a separator are laminated, end plates are disposed at both ends of the lamination direction, and a cooling medium or communication holes for at least a fluid supply or fluid discharge flow reaction gas is formed, it relates to a fuel cell stack for vehicle that will be mounted on the vehicle body.

  In this fuel cell stack, a resin manifold member communicating with the communication hole and a bracket member protecting the resin manifold member are mounted on one end plate.

  The fuel cell stack further includes a lid member attached to at least one opening end in the longitudinal direction of the resin manifold member, and the bracket member is formed from the resin manifold member with respect to the wall portion in the vehicle body. Are also arranged close to each other and preferably protect the lid member.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that the fuel cell stack is housed in a vehicle body, and the vehicle body has an inclined wall surface that is inclined to face the resin manifold member of the fuel cell stack.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that the fuel cell stack is accommodated in a center console in the vehicle body, and the center console has an inclined wall surface.

  According to the present invention, when the wall portion in the vehicle body is deformed to the resin manifold member side due to an external load or the like, the wall portion does not contact the bracket member and interfere with the resin manifold member. . Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the resin-made manifold member from being damaged due to the deformation of the wall portion in the vehicle body.

  FIG. 1 is a partial plan explanatory view of a vehicle 12 on which the fuel cell stack 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is mounted, and FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective explanatory view of the fuel cell stack 10.

  The fuel cell stack 10 is located in a substantially central part of the vehicle 12 in the vehicle length direction (arrow L direction), and is disposed, for example, in the center console 14. The center console 14 has an inclined wall surface 14a that is inclined forward in the vertical direction (arrow L1 direction) facing the fuel cell stack 10 in the forward direction of the vehicle 12 (arrow L1 direction).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the fuel cell stack 10 includes a unit cell (fuel cell) having an electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 16 and a first separator 18 and a second separator 20 that sandwich the electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 16. ) 21 and the unit cells 21 are stacked in the direction of arrow A. Although the 1st separator 18 and the 2nd separator 20 are comprised by the carbon separator, you may use a metal separator.

  As shown in FIG. 2, terminal plates 22a and 22b, insulating plates 23a and 23b, and end plates 24a and 24b are disposed outward at both ends of the unit cell 21 in the stacking direction. The end plates 24a and 24b are made of a light metal such as aluminum or magnesium, for example.

  In the fuel cell stack 10, for example, rectangular end plates 24 a and 24 b are integrally clamped and held by a plurality of tie rods 25 extending in the arrow A direction. The fuel cell stack 10 may be integrally held by a box-like casing (not shown) including the end plates 24a and 24b as end plates.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the first separator 18 and the second separator 20 have a vertically long shape, and the long sides are directed in the direction of gravity (arrow C direction) and the short sides are directed in the horizontal direction (arrow B direction). Configured.

  The upper end edge of the unit cell 21 in the long side direction communicates with each other in the direction of arrow A, and an oxidant gas supply communication hole 26a for supplying an oxidant gas, for example, an oxygen-containing gas, and a fuel gas, for example, A fuel gas supply passage 28a for supplying a hydrogen-containing gas is provided.

  The lower end edge of the unit cell 21 in the long side direction communicates with each other in the direction of the arrow A, the fuel gas discharge communication hole 28b for discharging the fuel gas, and the oxidant gas discharge for discharging the oxidant gas. A communication hole 26b is provided.

  At one end edge of the unit cell 21 in the short side direction (arrow B direction), there are provided four cooling medium supply communication holes 30a communicating with each other in the arrow A direction for supplying the cooling medium. Four cooling medium discharge communication holes 30b for discharging the cooling medium are provided at the other end edge of the cell 21 in the short side direction.

  The electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 16 includes, for example, a solid polymer electrolyte membrane 34 in which a perfluorosulfonic acid thin film is impregnated with water, and a cathode side electrode 36 and an anode side electrode 38 sandwiching the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 34. With.

  The cathode side electrode 36 and the anode side electrode 38 are uniformly coated on the surface of the gas diffusion layer with a gas diffusion layer (not shown) made of carbon paper or the like, and porous carbon particles carrying a platinum alloy on the surface. An electrode catalyst layer (not shown). The electrode catalyst layers are formed on both surfaces of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 34.

  An oxidant gas flow path 40 that connects the oxidant gas supply communication hole 26 a and the oxidant gas discharge communication hole 26 b is formed on the surface 18 a of the first separator 18 facing the electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 16. The oxidizing gas channel 40 extends in the direction of arrow C (vertical direction).

  A fuel gas flow path 42 that connects the fuel gas supply communication hole 28 a and the fuel gas discharge communication hole 28 b is formed on the surface 20 a of the second separator 20 facing the electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 16. The fuel gas channel 42 extends in the direction of arrow C.

  Between the surface 20b of the second separator 20 and the surface 18b of the first separator 18, a cooling medium flow path 44 that communicates with the cooling medium supply communication hole 30a and the cooling medium discharge communication hole 30b is formed. The cooling medium flow path 44 extends in the arrow B direction.

  Between the electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 16 and the first separator 18 and the second separator 20, and between the first separator 18 and the second separator 20 adjacent to each other (between adjacent unit cells 21), Although not shown, a seal member is provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, at the left and right edge portions of the end plate 24a, a cooling medium inlet manifold 50a that communicates with each cooling medium supply communication hole 30a and a cooling medium that communicates with each cooling medium discharge communication hole 30b. The outlet manifold 50b is integrally formed. The cooling medium inlet manifold 50a and the cooling medium outlet manifold 50b are resin manifold members and are provided on both sides of the end plate 24a in the width direction along the arrow C direction, and pipes 52a and 52b are provided at the respective central portions. Provided integrally.

  Although not shown, the upper and lower end edges of the end plate 24b are connected to the oxidant gas supply communication hole 26a, the oxidant gas inlet manifold, the fuel gas supply manifold connected to the fuel gas supply communication hole 28a, and the oxidant gas discharge communication. The oxidant gas outlet manifold that communicates with the hole 26b and the fuel gas outlet manifold that communicates with the fuel gas discharge communication hole 28b are integrally formed.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the cooling medium inlet manifold 50 a has a single manifold chamber 54 a that integrally communicates with the plurality of cooling medium supply communication holes 30 a and extends along the long side direction. Opening end portions 56a that open the manifold chamber 54a to the outside are provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the cooling medium inlet manifold 50a. A lid member (plug) 58a is interposed in the opening end portion 56a with a seal 60a. It is mounted (see FIGS. 4 and 5).

  The cooling medium outlet manifold 50b is configured in the same manner as the cooling medium inlet manifold 50a described above. The same reference numerals are assigned to the same constituent elements, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the end plate 24a has an upper bracket for holding lid members 58a and 58b attached to one end (upper end) in the longitudinal direction of the cooling medium inlet manifold 50a and the cooling medium outlet manifold 50b. A member 62a and a lower bracket member 62b for holding lid members 58a and 58b attached to the other end portions (lower end portions) in the longitudinal direction of the cooling medium inlet manifold 50a and the cooling medium outlet manifold 50b are attached. The

  The upper bracket member 62a and the lower bracket member 62b are made of a material having a strength higher than that of resin, and are made of metal, for example, aluminum or iron alloy. The upper bracket member 62a and the lower bracket member 62b are fixed to the end plate 24a via a pair of bolts 64, respectively.

  The upper bracket member 62a includes a holding plate portion 68a that holds the lid member 58a of the cooling medium inlet manifold 50a, and a holding plate portion 68b that holds the lid member 58b of the cooling medium outlet manifold 50b. The holding plate portions 68a and 68b are integrally connected via the bridge plate portion 70, and the reinforcing plate portions 72a and 72b are bent. The holding plate portions 68a and 68b have openings 76a and 76b into which boss portions 74a and 74b provided on the lid members 58a and 58b are inserted.

  Note that the lower bracket member 62b is configured in the same manner as the upper bracket member 62a described above, and the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 4, at least the upper bracket member 62a is disposed closer to the inclined wall surface 14a of the center console 14 than the cooling medium inlet manifold 50a and the cooling medium outlet manifold 50b. Specifically, the distance H1 between the corners of the reinforcing plate portions 72a and 72b constituting the upper bracket member 62a and the inclined wall surface 14a is equal to the corners of the cooling medium inlet manifold 50a and the cooling medium outlet manifold 50b and the inclined wall surface 14a. The distance H2 is shorter than the distance H2 (H1 <H2).

  The operation of the fuel cell stack 10 configured as described above will be described below.

  First, as shown in FIG. 2, in the fuel cell stack 10, an oxidant gas such as an oxygen-containing gas and a fuel gas such as a hydrogen-containing gas are supplied from the end plate 24b side, and cooled from the end plate 24a side. A cooling medium such as pure water or ethylene glycol is supplied through the medium inlet manifold 50a.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the oxidant gas is introduced into the oxidant gas flow path 40 of the first separator 18 from the oxidant gas supply communication hole 26 a constituting each unit cell 21, and the electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 16 It moves vertically downward along the cathode side electrode 36.

  On the other hand, the fuel gas is introduced into the fuel gas flow path 42 of the second separator 20 from the fuel gas supply communication hole 28 a constituting each unit cell 21, and vertically along the anode side electrode 38 of the electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 16. Move down.

  As described above, in each electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 16, the oxidant gas supplied to the cathode side electrode 36 and the fuel gas supplied to the anode side electrode 38 are electrochemically reacted in the electrode catalyst layer. It is consumed and power is generated.

  Next, the oxidant gas consumed by being supplied to the cathode side electrode 36 is discharged from the oxidant gas discharge communication hole 26b to the end plate 24b side (see FIG. 2). Similarly, the fuel gas supplied to and consumed by the anode side electrode 38 is discharged from the fuel gas discharge communication hole 28b to the end plate 24b side.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the cooling medium is supplied to the manifold chamber 54a in the cooling medium inlet manifold 50a, and then is divided into the four cooling medium supply communication holes 30a. The cooling medium supplied to each cooling medium supply communication hole 30a is introduced into the cooling medium flow path 44 between the first and second separators 18 and 20, as shown in FIG.

  The cooling medium flows along the arrow B direction (horizontal direction), cools the electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 16, and then is discharged from the cooling medium discharge communication hole 30b to the manifold chamber 54b in the cooling medium outlet manifold 50b. (See FIG. 4).

  In this case, in the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the upper bracket member 62a is fixed to the end plate 24a via the bolts 64, and the upper bracket member 62a includes the cooling medium inlet manifold 50a and the cooling medium. Holding plate portions 68a and 68b for holding the cover members 58a and 58b of the medium outlet manifold 50b are provided.

  Further, the reinforcing plate portions 72a and 72b constituting the upper bracket member 62a are disposed closer to the inclined wall surface 14a of the center console 14 than the cooling medium inlet manifold 50a and the cooling medium outlet manifold 50b (see FIG. 4). .

  For this reason, when the inclined wall surface 14a of the center console 14 is deformed to the cooling medium inlet manifold 50a and the cooling medium outlet manifold 50b side due to an external load or the like, the inclined wall surface 14a comes into contact with the upper bracket member 62a to contact the cooling medium. There is no interference with the inlet manifold 50a and the cooling medium outlet manifold 50b. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the cooling medium inlet manifold 50a and the cooling medium outlet manifold 50b from being damaged by the deformation of the inclined wall surface 14a of the center console 14.

  Moreover, the upper bracket member 62a has a function of holding the cover members 58a and 58b attached to the cooling medium inlet manifold 50a and the cooling medium outlet manifold 50b, and the cooling medium inlet manifold 50a due to the deformation of the inclined wall surface 14a of the center console 14. And a function of preventing damage to the cooling medium outlet manifold 50b. Thereby, there is an advantage that the configuration is effectively simplified and the cost can be reduced and the weight can be reduced.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of a fuel cell stack 90 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The same components as those of the fuel cell stack 10 according to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The end plate 24a constituting the fuel cell stack 90 includes an upper bracket member 92a that holds lid members 58a and 58b attached to one end in the longitudinal direction of the cooling medium inlet manifold 50a and the cooling medium outlet manifold 50b, A lower bracket member 92b that holds lid members 58a and 58b attached to the other ends in the longitudinal direction of the cooling medium inlet manifold 50a and the cooling medium outlet manifold 50b is attached.

  The upper bracket member 92a is provided with protective plate portions 94a and 94b at the tips of the holding plate portions 68a and 68b so as to cover the upper corners of the cooling medium inlet manifold 50a and the cooling medium outlet manifold 50b (see FIGS. 6 and 7). ).

  Thereby, in 2nd Embodiment, the upper end side corner | angular part of the cooling-medium inlet manifold 50a and the cooling-medium outlet manifold 50b can be reliably protected via the protection board parts 94a and 94b of the upper side bracket member 92a. Therefore, the deformation of the inclined wall surface 14a of the center console 14 can more reliably prevent the cooling medium inlet manifold 50a and the cooling medium outlet manifold 50b from being damaged, and the like, as in the first embodiment. An effect is obtained.

  In the first and second embodiments, the fuel cell stacks 10 and 90 are disposed in the center console 14 of the vehicle 12a as shown in FIG. 1, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. In addition, it can be appropriately arranged on the trunk side or the like.

1 is a partial plan view of a vehicle on which a fuel cell stack according to a first embodiment of the present invention is mounted. It is a schematic perspective view of the fuel cell stack. It is a principal part disassembled schematic perspective view of the said fuel cell stack. FIG. 3 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of an end plate and a cooling medium inlet manifold constituting the fuel cell stack. It is a disassembled perspective explanatory view of a cooling medium inlet manifold and an upper bracket member. FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective explanatory view of a fuel cell stack according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of an end plate and a cooling medium inlet manifold constituting the fuel cell stack. FIG. 5 is a partial plan view of another vehicle on which the fuel cell stack is mounted. 2 is a partial perspective explanatory view of a fuel cell disclosed in Patent Document 1. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10, 90 ... Fuel cell stack 12, 12a ... Vehicle 14 ... Center console 14a ... Inclined wall surface 16 ... Electrolyte membrane and electrode structure 18, 20 ... Separator 21 ... Unit cell 24a, 24b ... End plate 26a ... Oxidant gas supply communication Hole 26b ... Oxidant gas discharge communication hole 28a ... Fuel gas supply communication hole 28b ... Fuel gas discharge communication hole 30a ... Cooling medium supply communication hole 30b ... Cooling medium discharge communication hole 34 ... Solid polymer electrolyte membrane 36 ... Cathode side electrode 38 ... Anode side electrode 40 ... Oxidant gas flow path 42 ... Fuel gas flow path 44 ... Cooling medium flow path 50a ... Cooling medium inlet manifold 50b ... Cooling medium outlet manifolds 58a, 58b ... Cover members 62a, 92a ... Upper bracket member 62b, 92b ... Lower bracket members 68a, 68b ... Holding plate portions 72a, 72b ... Reinforcing plates 94a, 94b ... Protective plate

Claims (4)

An electrolyte membrane / electrode structure provided with a pair of electrodes on both sides of the electrolyte membrane and a separator are laminated, end plates are disposed at both ends of the lamination direction, and a cooling medium or a reactive gas is allowed to flow in the lamination direction. at least the fluid passage of the supply or fluid discharge is formed, a fuel cell stack for vehicle that will be mounted on the body,
One end plate has a resin manifold member communicating with the communication hole,
A bracket member for protecting the resin manifold member;
Is a fuel cell stack. The fuel cell stack according to claim 1, further comprising a lid member attached to at least one opening end in the longitudinal direction of the resin manifold member,
It said bracket member, a fuel cell stack, characterized in that while being disposed close than the resin manifold member to the wall portion of the inner body, to protect the lid member. The fuel cell stack according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the fuel cell stack is accommodated in the vehicle body,
The fuel cell stack, wherein the vehicle body has an inclined wall surface that is inclined to face the resin manifold member of the fuel cell stack. The fuel cell stack according to claim 3, wherein the fuel cell stack is accommodated in a center console in the vehicle body,
The fuel cell stack, wherein the center console has the inclined wall surface.

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