Fuel cell

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9450253-B2
Application number	US-74352109-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 27, 2009
Priority date	Aug 27, 2008
Publication date	Sep 20, 2016
Grant date	Sep 20, 2016

Abstract

In a fuel cell having a cell structure in which a gas flow passage is formed by an expanded metal, a bond portion connecting a mesh of the expanded metal stands partially upright in a position where a bond length is shortened so as to form a part of a strand portion. Hence, in an opening formed by the mesh of the expanded metal, a surface area on which front and rear openings overlap in a direction increases when seen from an direction. Thus, a sectional area of gas flow passages constituted by a continuum in the direction of the openings overlapping in the direction increases. As a result, a gas flow flows without making repeated narrow turns, leading to a reduction in gas pressure loss.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A fuel cell having a cell structure in which a gas flow passage is formed by an expanded metal disposed between cell constitutional members, the expanded metal being configured to have a mesh,
wherein the mesh includes a plurality of bond portions, and a plurality of strand portions in at least a first plane and a second plane, the first plane being parallel to the second plane, and the first plane and the second plane being arranged in a materials forwarding direction,
wherein each of the plurality of strand portions includes at least one of an inclined segment and a non-inclined segment, the non-inclined segment extending in a tool forwarding direction and the inclined segment elevating from the tool forwarding direction, the tool forwarding direction being orthogonal to the materials forwarding direction,
wherein the plurality of bond portions connect non-inclined segments of strand portions in the first plane to non-inclined segments of strand portions in the second plane to form a plurality of openings, each of the plurality of openings having an upper-half portion and a lower-half portion when each of the plurality of openings is halved along a diagonal in the tool forwarding direction,
wherein the upper-half portion is shifted relative to the lower-half portion in the tool forwarding direction, and
wherein the plurality of openings are repeatedly formed for a predetermined number of times such that the plurality of openings are arranged to form a wave-like passage in the materials forwarding direction.

2. The fuel cell according to claim 1 , wherein a shape of at least one of the plurality of openings formed by the mesh of the expanded metal is basically hexagonal when seen from a step width direction of the mesh, and becomes polygonal when one trapezoid formed by halving the hexagon along a diagonal of the tool forwarding direction is shifted relative to the other trapezoid in the tool forwarding direction.

3. The fuel cell according to claim 2 , wherein one of the trapezoids formed by halving the hexagon of the at least one of the plurality of openings formed by the mesh of the expanded metal along the diagonal of the tool forwarding direction is shifted relative to the other trapezoid in an identical tool forwarding direction over a plurality of openings arranged in a materials forwarding direction.

4. The fuel cell according to claim 3 , wherein a continuous number in the materials forwarding direction of the at least one of the plurality of openings shifted in the identical tool forwarding direction differs in each location or region of the expanded metal.

5. The fuel cell according to claim 3 , wherein at least one of a continuous number in the materials forwarding direction of the at least one of the plurality of openings shifted in the tool forwarding direction, a shift amount by which one of the trapezoids formed by halving the hexagon of the at least one of the plurality of openings formed by the mesh of the expanded metal along the diagonal of the tool forwarding direction is shifted relative to the other trapezoid in the tool forwarding direction, and the location or region in which the shift amount is either zero or smaller than a shift amount in another location or region adjacent thereto in the materials forwarding direction, is varied in each of a plurality of stacked cells.

6. The fuel cell according to claim 2 , wherein a shift amount by which one of the trapezoids formed by halving the hexagon of the at least one of the plurality of openings formed by the mesh of the expanded metal along the diagonal of the tool forwarding direction is shifted relative to the other trapezoid in the tool forwarding direction differs in each location or region of the expanded metal.

7. The fuel cell according to claim 2 , wherein the at least one of the plurality of openings formed by the mesh of the expanded metal is polygonal when seen from the step width direction of the mesh.

8. The fuel cell according to claim 2 , comprising a location or region in which a shift amount by which one of the trapezoids formed by halving the hexagon of the at least one of the plurality of openings formed by the mesh of the expanded metal along the diagonal of the tool forwarding direction is shifted relative to the other trapezoid in the tool forwarding direction is either zero or smaller than a shift amount in another location or region adjacent thereto in a materials forwarding direction.

9. The fuel cell according to claim 8 , wherein a continuum in a shift direction of the at least one of the plurality of openings shifted in the identical tool forwarding direction is interrupted on either side of the location or region in which a shift amount by which one of the trapezoids formed by halving the hexagon of the at least one of the plurality of openings formed by the mesh of the expanded metal along the diagonal of the tool forwarding direction is shifted relative to the other trapezoid in the tool forwarding direction is either zero or smaller than a shift amount in another location or region adjacent thereto in the materials forwarding direction.

10. The fuel cell according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of a step width and a step depth of the mesh of the expanded metal differs in a materials forwarding direction while an overall thickness thereof is fixed in the materials forwarding direction.

11. A fuel cell having a cell structure in which a gas flow passage is formed by an expanded metal disposed between cell constitutional members, the expanded metal being configured to have a mesh,
wherein the mesh includes a plurality of bond portions, and a plurality of strand portions in at least a first plane and a second plane, the first plane being parallel to the second plane, and the first plane and the second plane being separated from each other in a materials forwarding direction,
wherein the plurality of bond portions connect strand portions in the first plane to strand portions in the second plane to form a plurality of openings each of the plurality of openings having an upper-half portion and a lower-half portion when each of the plurality of openings is halved along a diagonal in a tool forwarding direction, wherein the upper-half portion is shifted relative to the lower-half portion in the tool forwarding direction,
wherein each of the plurality of strand portions include an inclined segment and a non-inclined segment, the non-inclined segment extending in the tool forwarding direction and the inclined segment elevating from the tool forwarding direction, and
wherein each of the plurality of bond portions is aligned with a fraction of an edge of a non-inclined segment connected to the bond portion, thereby forming a continuous surface not having a step relative to the fraction of the edge of the non-inclined segment.

12. The fuel cell according to claim 11 , wherein a shape of at least one of the plurality of openings formed by the mesh of the expanded metal is basically hexagonal when seen from a step width direction of the mesh, and becomes polygonal when one trapezoid formed by halving the hexagon along a diagonal of a tool forwarding direction is shifted relative to the other trapezoid in the tool forwarding direction.

13. The fuel cell according to claim 12 , wherein one of the trapezoids formed by halving the hexagon of the at least one of the plurality of openings formed by the mesh of the expanded metal along the diagonal of the tool forwarding direction is shifted relative to the other trapezoid in an identical tool forwarding direction over a plurality of openings arranged in a materials forwarding direction.

Assignees

• Hayashi Tomokazu
• Miyamoto Naotoshi
• Toyota Motor Co Ltd
• Toyota Auto Body Co Ltd

Inventors

• Hayashi Tomokazu
• Miyamoto Naotoshi

Classifications

• H01M8/0232 Primary

  Metals or alloys · CPC title

• Y02E60/50

  Fuel cells · CPC title