JPH0136672B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to an air-cooled fuel cell, and particularly to a fuel cell in which cooling air and reaction air are supplied separately.

(B) Prior art The method for supplying cooling air to a fuel cell is to use a part of the air sent to the common manifold as reaction air to flow through the gas separation plate passage, and to send the majority of the air to the cooling plate passage as cooling air. There are two methods: a method in which each air is introduced separately, and a method in which cooling air is supplied separately from the reaction air.

The former has the advantage that the pattern of each passage is simple, but it is difficult to allocate the amount of air required for reaction and cooling to each passage, which disrupts the balance between battery reaction and battery temperature, which affects battery characteristics. Undesirable.

On the other hand, in the latter case, reaction air and cooling air are separated and supplied using a stacker and a manifold drawer as shown in Figures 1 and 2, so the pattern of the reaction gas passages is particularly complicated, making it difficult to create a gas separation plate and distributing the gas. There were problems such as increased resistance and the need for a large-capacity blower.

In view of this problem, the present applicant has developed an air-cooled fuel cell that is capable of separately supplying cooling air and reaction air by making slight improvements to the stack that commonly supplies cooling air and reaction air. has already been proposed in patent application No. 157133/1983.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, each of the above-mentioned batteries is equipped with cooling plates 2 interposed in the battery stack 1 that protrude from the air circulation surface of the stack and are connected to windows 4 of a reaction air manifold 3 attached to the stack. The reaction air manifold 6 is mounted airtightly so that the air passages 5 of the cooling plate 3 are exposed at each window, and the cooling air manifold 6 is mounted on the reaction air manifold 3. Further, on one side of the reaction air manifold 3, communication ports 7 corresponding to the substack between each cooling plate 2 are bored, and an auxiliary manifold 8 is provided to cover these communication ports 7.
has. A hydrogen gas supply manifold 9 is attached to the hydrogen flow surface of the stack 2 as usual.

In this case, in order to seal the space between the protruding part 2' of the cooling plate 2 and the window 4 of the reaction air manifold 3, generally the window 4 and the protruding part 2 of the cooling plate 2 are sealed as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. A conceivable method is to fill and apply the fluoro rubber 10 into the gap between the two. However, when the number of stacked cells in the stack 1 increases as the size of the battery increases, the spacing between the cooling plates 2 becomes uneven due to variations in the thickness of the substack 1'. There is a possibility that it will not match. This can be done by enlarging the dimensions of the window 4 to provide some extra space, but the gap between the window 4 and the cooling plate protrusion 2' will naturally become larger, making it impossible to seal it using the method described above. There was a problem.

(c) Purpose of the Invention The purpose of the present invention is to provide an air-cooled fuel cell of a cooling air separation type with a simple configuration, and in particular, to provide a reaction air manifold and a cooling plate protrusion that solve the above-mentioned problems. The purpose of this invention is to provide a seal configuration.

(d) Structure of the Invention The present invention is characterized in that a reaction air manifold and a cooling air manifold are sequentially stacked and mounted on the air circulation surface of a battery stack, and each cooling plate interposed in the stack protrudes from the air circulation surface. In the air-cooled fuel cell, the reaction air manifold is provided with a window through which the cooling plate protrusion is loosely connected, and the reaction air manifold is provided with a window through which the cooling plate protrusion fits loosely. It is characterized in that a heat-resistant insulating elastic plate integrally formed with a seal frame having a smaller circumferential dimension is attached, and the cooling plate protruding portion is hermetically fitted into the seal frame.

Further, in the air-cooled fuel cell of the above-mentioned type, the present invention provides that the surface of the reaction air manifold facing the cooling air manifold is integrally formed with a sealing frame that airtightly fits each of the cooling plate protrusions. The present invention is characterized in that it is constructed of a heat-resistant insulating elastic plate, and a reinforcing plate in which openings for fitting the seal frames are bored is attached on the elastic plate.

(e) Embodiment The battery stack 1 according to the present invention includes a unit cell in which an electrolyte matrix is interposed between negative and positive gas electrodes, and a carbonaceous cell in which reaction gas passages (hydrogen gas and air) are arranged in mutually intersecting directions on both sides. A large number of gas separation plates are stacked alternately, carbonaceous cooling plates 2 having air passages 5 are interposed every 4 to 5 units, and the upper and lower end plates are tightened.

This configuration is similar to a battery stack in a so-called die gas system that commonly supplies reaction air and cooling air, but in the present invention, each cooling plate 2 is connected to a stack 1.
It protrudes from the air circulation surface and communicates with the cooling air manifold 6 to provide a cooling separation system.

The present invention relates to a seal structure for the portion where each of the cooling plate protrusions 2' penetrates the reaction air manifold 3, and an embodiment thereof is shown in FIGS. 8 to 1.
Figure 1 will be explained.

Embodiment 1 The reaction air manifold 3 shown in FIG. 8 is composed of a frame portion 3 ₁ and a plate portion 3 ₂ , but both may be integrally formed by metal press working. Plate body part 3
₂ is provided with windows 4 at intervals, through which the cooling plate protrusions 2' fit together, and a heat-resistant insulating elastic plate 11 made of fluorine rubber or the like attached to the plate body ₃₂ is provided with windows 4 at intervals. is a sealing frame 1 into which the cooling plate protrusion 2' is hermetically fitted;
2 are integrally formed.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the seal part shown in FIG. 8. Since the seal part is made of an elastic plate made of rubber or the like and can be expanded and contracted, even if there is some uneven spacing between the cooling plate protrusions 2', In addition, the window 4 of the reaction air manifold 3 is sized to accommodate uneven spacing between the cooling plate protrusions 2', thereby preventing contact with the cooling plate.

The cooling air manifold 6 is fastened and fixed to the reaction air manifold 3 by using the peripheral portion of the elastic plate 11 as a sealing member.

Embodiment 2 The reaction air manifold 3 shown in FIG. 9 is composed of a frame portion 3 ₁ and an elastic plate 11' similar to that of Embodiment 1, and a seal frame 12' formed on the elastic plate 11' is provided with Similarly, the cooling plate protrusion 2' is fitted airtightly.
On this elastic plate 11', a metal reinforcing plate 13 having a relief window 4' for the seal frame 12' is attached,
A cooling air manifold 6 is attached onto this reinforcing plate 13 via a seal member. The reason for providing this reinforcing plate 13 is to prevent the elastic plate 11' from deforming due to the pressure difference since the internal pressure of the supply air of the reaction air manifold 3 is higher than the internal pressure of the cooling air manifold 6. It is.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the seal part in FIG. 9, and the relationship between the sealing elastic plate and the metal plate [reinforcement plate 13 or reaction air manifold plate body 3 ₂ ] is reversed, but the embodiment It can be easily understood that the same effect as shown in 1 can be obtained.

(E) Effects of the Invention According to the present invention, a cooling air separation system is achieved by slightly modifying a normal stack in which passages for cooling air and reaction air are opened on the same side of the battery stack. Therefore, compared to conventional separation methods, the pattern of each reaction gas passage is extremely simple, and the production of the gas separation plate is simplified.

In addition, the parts protruding from the cooling plates interposed in the stack are hermetically fitted into seal frames formed from elastic plates such as heat-resistant rubber, and pass through the reaction air manifold, so that each protruding cooling Even if the spacing between the plates is somewhat uneven, it is flexible and advantageous for assembly, and the window on the reaction air manifold surface to which this elastic plate is attached can be made larger to prevent contact with the protruding cooling plate. In addition, when the reaction air manifold surface is constructed of an elastic plate, the reinforcing plate having the relief window for the seal frame has elasticity due to the pressure difference in the reaction air and cooling air manifolds that are mounted overlapping each other. Prevents board deformation.

Furthermore, the periphery of the elastic plate attached to the manifold is
It has various advantages such as being able to double as a mounting seal member for a cooling air manifold.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are both plan views of a conventional air-cooled battery having a separate cooling air path. Third
5 to 5 show the fuel cell of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the same, FIG. 4 is a partially exploded perspective view, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the cell stack. 6 and 7 show a general reaction air manifold and a sealing portion of a protruding cooling plate, FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the main part, and FIG. 7 is a front view. Figures 8 and 9 are exploded perspective views of essential parts of the fuel cell of the present invention, Figures 10 and 11.
The figures show sectional views of the seal portion corresponding to FIGS. 8 and 9, respectively. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Battery stack, 2...Cooling plate, 2'...Cooling plate protrusion, 3...Reaction air manifold, 4, 4'...
Window, 5... Air passage, 6... Manifold for cooling air, 7... Communication port, 8... Auxiliary manifold, 9... Manifold for reaction hydrogen, 11, 11'... Insulating elastic plate,
12, 12'... Seal frame, 13... Reinforcement plate.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A reaction air manifold and a cooling air manifold are sequentially stacked and mounted on the air circulation surface of a battery stack, and each cooling plate interposed in the stack is provided to protrude from the air circulation surface. The air passage is communicated with the inside of the cooling air manifold, and the reaction air manifold is formed with a window through which the cooling plate protrusion fits loosely, and a sealing frame smaller than the window is integrally formed. 1. An air-cooled fuel cell characterized in that a heat-resistant insulating elastic plate is attached, and each of the cooling plate protrusions is hermetically fitted to each of the seal frames. 2. The air-cooled fuel cell according to claim 1, wherein the peripheral portion of the elastic plate also serves as a mounting seal member for a cooling air manifold. 3. A reaction air manifold and a cooling air manifold are sequentially stacked and mounted on the air circulation surface of the battery stack, and each cooling plate interposed in the battery stack is provided to protrude from the air circulation surface to open the air passage. The reactor air manifold is connected to the inside of the cooling air manifold, and the reaction air manifold has a sealing frame integrally protruding from the surface facing the cooling air manifold to airtightly fit each of the cooling plate protrusions. 1. An air-cooled fuel cell comprising a heat-resistant insulating elastic plate, and a reinforcing plate having relief windows for each of the seal frames attached to the elastic plate.