Proton exchange membrane fuel cell with stepped channel bipolar plate

US9786928B2 · US · B2

Patent metadata
FieldValue
Publication numberUS-9786928-B2
Application numberUS-201213593562-A
CountryUS
Kind codeB2
Filing dateAug 24, 2012
Priority dateAug 24, 2012
Publication dateOct 10, 2017
Grant dateOct 10, 2017

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  1. Title

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  2. Abstract

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  3. Assignees and inventors

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  4. Key dates

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  5. First independent claim

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  6. CPC / IPC classifications

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  7. Citations and related patents

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Abstract

Official abstract text for this publication.

A fuel cell stack includes a membrane electrode assembly and a bipolar plate. The bipolar plate has a corrugated portion defined by an adjacent pair of proximal and distal peak portions and a sidewall segment connecting the peak portions. The sidewall segment and membrane electrode assembly at least partially define a flow channel. The sidewall segment includes a shoulder portion defining a step spaced away from the peak portions.

First claim

Opening claim text (preview).

What is claimed is: 1. A vehicle comprising: a fuel cell stack to power the vehicle and including a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) and a bipolar plate having an adjacent pair of proximal and distal peak portions and a sidewall connecting the peak portions, partially defining a flow channel with the MEA, and including shoulder segments formed with a relative angle therebetween in a range of 40 to 140 degrees to define a step spaced away from the peak portions. 2. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the flow channel has a width and a depth greater than the width. 3. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the bipolar plate has a generally uniform thickness. 4. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein a thickness of the bipolar plate is approximately 100 microns. 5. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the bipolar plate is formed from metal. 6. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the bipolar plate is formed from stainless steel foil. 7. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the shoulder segments are formed with a relative angle therebetween in a range of 80 to 100 degrees.

Assignees

Inventors

Classifications

  • Operations & Transport · mapped topic

  • Operations & Transport · mapped topic

  • H01M8/0254Primary

    corrugated or undulated · CPC title

  • characterised by grooves, e.g. their pitch or depth · CPC title

  • Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

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Frequently asked questions

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What does patent US9786928B2 cover?
A fuel cell stack includes a membrane electrode assembly and a bipolar plate. The bipolar plate has a corrugated portion defined by an adjacent pair of proximal and distal peak portions and a sidewall segment connecting the peak portions. The sidewall segment and membrane electrode assembly at least partially define a flow channel. The sidewall segment includes a shoulder portion defining a ste…
Who is the assignee on this patent?
Wilkosz Daniel E, Brost Ronald David, Wagner Thomas A, and 1 more
What technology area does this patent fall under?
Primary CPC classification H01M8/0254. Mapped technology areas include Electricity.
When was this patent published?
Publication date Tue Oct 10 2017 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) (B2). Legal status and post-grant events are not shown on this page.
What related patents are in patentsdb?
We list 8 related publications on this page (citations in our corpus or others sharing the same primary CPC).