JP4815971B2 - Stacked fuel cell terminal unit - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a terminal unit in a stacked fuel cell, and more particularly to a configuration of a voltage monitoring terminal of a separator.

  In the stacked fuel cell, a mounting hole is provided in a separator made of a carbon material provided for each fuel cell or every several fuel cells, and the voltage for the fuel cell is measured in the mounting hole. As a voltage monitor terminal, a voltage measurement terminal or a measurement line is inserted, and the terminal or measurement line is bonded and fixed with a conductive paste or the like, or fastened with a screw (for example, Patent Document 1, Patent Document 1). 2).

  FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional voltage monitor terminal. In this conventional example, a round hole 22 is formed on the side surface of the separator 21 and the terminal 23 is inserted into the round hole 22 for voltage monitoring. .

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing another example of a conventional voltage monitor terminal. In this conventional example, a terminal 34 provided in a comb-like shape on a plate 33 with respect to a terminal coupling hole 32 formed on a side surface of a separator 31. It is the structure to insert.
JP-A-9-283166 JP 2002-124285 A

  The voltage monitoring terminal in the conventional stacked fuel cell has the above-described configuration, and the mounting hole for attaching the voltage monitoring terminal or the measurement line is provided, so that the separator may be cracked or cracked. Because of the large number of processing steps, the cost was high.

  In addition, the measurement line terminals are not only obstructive in the production process, but also require careful handling, resulting in a reduction in work efficiency.

  In addition, when the measurement line is attached, handling of the lead wire is complicated, and after completion as a fuel cell, not only is careful handling required for that part, but also the expansion of the stack during operation of the stacked fuel cell When this occurs, there is a problem in that stress is applied to the separator from the terminal portion that cannot follow it, causing problems such as cracks.

  Therefore, there is a strong demand for the development of a monitor unit that is compact, easy to handle, and can realize stable and reliable voltage monitoring as a stacked fuel cell stored in the system.

  The present invention eliminates the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, facilitates the mounting of the voltage monitor terminal to the separator and ensures electrical contact, and does not require a special configuration for the fuel cell. It is an object of the present invention to provide a terminal unit of a stacked fuel cell that can be easily detached.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is provided with a terminal for performing voltage monitoring in a stacked fuel cell in which a fuel cell and a separator made of an electrically conductive material are stacked. A plurality of elastic metal terminals are installed on at least one side of a holder made of an insulating member, and the holder can be attached to and detached from a recess formed on one side of the fuel cell body. and embedded in, the characterized in that each metallic terminal is respectively elastic contact with the separator, this arrangement, the mounting of each separator terminals for voltage monitoring is facilitated, for separator by the elasticity of the terminal Electrical contact is ensured, and the terminal can be easily attached and detached without providing a special member on the fuel cell side.

Invention according to claim 2, in the terminal unit of the stacked fuel cell according to claim 1 Symbol placement, constituted by a holder movably connected via a plurality of small holders guide rods, the small holders It is characterized in that a metal terminal having elasticity is installed in this, and by this configuration, it is possible to move the small holder and the terminal in correspondence with the separator that easily changes in the dimension in the stacking direction due to thermal expansion or the like. Each terminal can be made to follow the change in the stacking pitch in the separator with high accuracy.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the terminal unit of the stacked fuel cell according to the first or second aspect , the concave portion of the fuel cell main body is provided with a mounting surface of the fuel cell main body and an upper surface facing the mounting surface. It is characterized in that it is formed on a part of the side surface other than the above, and this configuration makes it easy to work during assembly and maintenance, and droplets are caused by condensation that forms in a sealed space such as a casing However, it is possible to prevent voltage from being accumulated in the recessed portion in which the separator is embedded, and to prevent corrosion of the terminal, thereby enabling stable voltage monitoring.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the terminal unit of the stacked fuel cell according to any one of the first to third aspects, the holder is fitted into the recess and the metal terminal is brought into close contact with the separator. This configuration provides stable contact to the separator due to the elasticity of the terminal. Compared to conventional methods such as bonding and fixing the terminal to the separator, adhesives, organic solvents, etc. This eliminates the need for the use of a battery, which eliminates substances that may affect the performance of the fuel cell, as well as the high structural stability of the terminals, and also provides high safety from the viewpoint of environmental friendliness. Will have.

The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that, in the terminal unit of the stacked fuel cell according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , metal terminals are respectively provided on opposite sides of the holder, With this configuration, the holder can be easily attached and detached, and reliable electrical contact is possible in accordance with various arrangement configurations of the separator.

  According to the present invention, it is easy to attach a voltage monitoring terminal to each separator, and the elasticity of the terminal ensures electrical contact with the separator, and without providing a special member on the fuel cell side. Terminals can be easily attached and detached.

  Further, since the holder is embedded in the recess, the heat insulating material, the external insulating coating material, the casing, and the like can be easily attached without being obstructed by the terminals, and the heat insulating property and the storage property are improved.

  In addition, since the unit body of the small holder and the terminal can be moved corresponding to each separator, each terminal can be made to follow the change of the stacking pitch in each separator with high accuracy, etc. Is obtained.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a stacked fuel cell and a voltage monitor terminal unit for explaining the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the voltage monitor terminal unit of the first embodiment.

  1 and 2, 1 is a voltage monitor terminal unit, 2 is a metal terminal having an elastic shape in a side view, 3 is a horizontally long holder made of an insulating member, and 4 is connected to the metal terminal 2. The lead wires 5 are connection connectors.

  Reference numeral 6 denotes a stacked fuel cell having a configuration in which a fuel cell 7 and a separator 8 made of an electrically conductive material are stacked.

  In FIG. 2, the metal terminal 2 applies an external force to the unconstrained shape a, bends inwardly and deforms into a restrained shape b, and then a plurality of recesses 3 a formed in the upper portion of the holder 3. A plurality of parts are held in the holder 3 so that the top part 2a protrudes to the outside and faces the separators 8. The holder 3 is formed with a vertical through hole 3b that communicates with each recess 3a and a horizontal groove 3c that communicates with the vertical through hole 3b and opens to the side of the holder.

  One end of the lead wire 4 is fixed to each metal terminal 2 by, for example, soldering or caulking. Each lead wire 4 is bound to the connector 5 for connection outside the holder 3 through the vertical hole 3b and the horizontal groove 3c from each recess 3a of the holder 3.

  In the stacked fuel cell 6, a recess 6d is formed along the mounting surface (bottom surface) 6a and a side surface 6c other than the upper surface 6b facing the mounting surface 6a. The holder 3 is placed in the recess 6d. It is removably inserted.

  When the voltage monitor terminal unit 1 of the first embodiment configured as described above is fitted into the recess 6d of the fuel cell main body 6, the top 2a of the metal terminal 2 integral with the holder 3 becomes the separator 8 as shown in FIG. The metal terminal 2 is deformed by coming into contact with the peripheral wall of the concave portion 6d of the portion, and the voltage monitor terminal unit 1 and the fuel cell main body are firmly connected and electrically connected by the elastic reaction force at the time of deformation. Thus, the voltage of each separator 8 can be monitored.

  In the connected state shown in FIG. 3, the voltage monitor terminal unit 1 can be attached to the main body of the stacked fuel cell 6 without protruding outward by the separator 8, and therefore the heat insulating material 9 attached to the fuel cell main body. , And the outer insulating covering material 10 can be formed of a flat plate, and allowance for design and the like.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3, in the stack type fuel cell installed so that the stacking direction is horizontal, the entire holder 3 is inserted into the recess 6d. Therefore, it is possible to prevent poor conduction and terminal corrosion due to the droplets.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the adjacent metal terminals 2 are configured to contact only the protruding portions 8 a of the separators 8. Further, by determining the separator 8 to be protruded on either the fuel electrode side or the reaction electrode side and monitoring the voltage, stable monitoring can be performed without being affected by the contact resistance of the separator 8.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the voltage monitor terminal unit according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The difference between the second embodiment and the voltage monitor terminal unit according to the first embodiment is that recesses 3 a are provided on both upper and lower sides of the holder 3. The metal terminals 2 are fitted into the recesses 3a so that the tops 2a protrude outward, and the vertical holes 3b communicating with the recesses 3a are formed in the holder 3 so that the lead wires 4 can be arranged. It is the composition made. By doing so, for example, voltage monitoring can be performed corresponding to the configuration in which the separator 8 is installed on the upper and lower side surfaces of the holder 3.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the protrusions 8a of the separator 8 are provided above and below the recess 6d so that the contact points with the metal terminals 2 are arranged in a staggered manner. It is also conceivable to increase the width so that the contact and conduction with the separator 8 are made more reliable.

  As the holding structure of the metal terminal 2 in the voltage monitor terminal unit 1, in addition to the elastic holding as described above, the metal terminal 2 is fastened to the holder 3 with screws 11 as shown in FIG. It is conceivable that the holder 3 and the metal terminal 2 can be fastened and fixed more securely by being fixed to the holder 3 by heat welding or the like.

  FIG. 8 is a view showing a modified example of the connection portion between the voltage monitor terminal unit and the load type fuel cell. In this example, a horizontal groove 3d that opens to the load type fuel cell 6 is formed in the holder 3, and the horizontal groove 3d is formed. In the inner wall, a receiving recess 3e into which the metal terminal 2 is fitted in the same manner as in the first embodiment is provided, and further, a vertical through hole 3f that connects the receiving recess 3e and the outside is formed so that the lead wire 4 passes through, The separator 8 and the metal terminal 2 are elastically contacted and electrically connected by inserting a separator 8 portion protruding from the stackable fuel cell 6 into the lateral groove 3d.

(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a voltage monitor terminal unit according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The third embodiment is different from the voltage monitor terminal unit 1 according to the first embodiment in that the holder 3 is arranged with a plurality of small holders 13 in parallel. In this configuration, the metal terminals 2 are installed in the respective small holders 13 in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment, and the respective small holders 13 are supported by the guide rod rods 14 so as to be laterally movable.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 9, support blocks 15 are provided on both sides of the small holders 13 arranged side by side to support the end of the guide rod rod 14 and protrude from one side (right side in the figure) of the support block 15. One end of the guide rod bar 14 is fixed to a fixing plate 16, and a compression spring 17 is wound around the guide rod bar 14 between the fixing plate 16 and the support block 15.

  In the third embodiment, the metal terminal 2 can be moved corresponding to the change in the stacking pitch in the separator. For example, during the operation of the stacked fuel cell, the separator may change its dimension in the stacking direction due to thermal expansion or the like and may be displaced from a predetermined position. Therefore, by sliding the small holder 13 together with the metal terminal 2 in accordance with the displacement of the separator, the metal terminal 2 and the separator can be reliably brought into elastic contact.

  The compression spring 17 is for applying a biasing force in the return direction to the small holder 13 when the small holder 13 moves following the movement of the separator.

  In this way, by connecting the small holders 13 and allowing the compression spring 17 to slide on the guide rod rod 14, the stacking pitch error and change in the stacked fuel cell separator can be accurately followed. can do.

  The voltage monitor terminal unit 1 in the embodiment of the above configuration is subjected to corrosion-resistant gold plating, for example, a resin holder 3 such as an engineering plastic that is sufficiently considered for the occurrence of problems that adversely affect the stacked fuel cell. If constituted by the metal terminal 2, the contact and conduction between the separator 8 and the metal terminal 2 are maintained by the elastic force of the metal terminal 2, so that problems such as adhesives and organic solvents occur as a whole. It is possible to provide a voltage monitoring unit that does not use a substance that causes the above-described problem.

  The present invention is applied to a terminal unit having a terminal for performing voltage monitoring of a stacked fuel cell, and various members such as a CPU, a battery, a detachable memory module, or a rewritable memory module inside the voltage monitoring device. It can also be applied to applications such as terminal units of data loggers that are independently arranged.

1 is a perspective view of a stacked fuel cell and a voltage monitor terminal unit for explaining Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. Vertical sectional view of the voltage monitor terminal unit of Embodiment 1 Sectional drawing which shows the contact state of the metal terminal in Embodiment 1, and a separator part. Sectional drawing which shows the contact state of the metal terminal in Embodiment 1, and the protrusion part of each separator A longitudinal sectional view of a voltage monitor terminal unit in Embodiment 2 of the present invention Sectional drawing which shows the contact state of the metal terminal in Embodiment 2, and the protrusion part of each separator FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing another example of the voltage monitor terminal unit in the second embodiment. The figure which shows the modification structural example in the connection part of the voltage monitor terminal unit which concerns on this embodiment, and a loading type fuel cell. The perspective view which shows the voltage monitor terminal unit in Embodiment 3 of this invention. A perspective view showing an example of a conventional voltage monitor terminal The perspective view which shows the other example of the conventional voltage monitor terminal

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Voltage monitor terminal unit 2 Metal terminal 2a Top part 3 Holder 3a Indentation part 3b Vertical through-hole 3c Horizontal groove 4 Lead wire 5 Connector 6 Stack type fuel cell 6d Recess 7 Fuel cell 8 Separator 8a Protrusion part 9 Thermal insulation 10 External Insulation coating 13 Small holder 14 Guide rod rod 15 Support block 17 Compression spring

Claims (5)

A terminal unit having a terminal for performing voltage monitoring in a stacked fuel cell having a configuration in which a fuel cell and a separator made of an electrically conductive material are stacked,
A plurality of elastic metal terminals are installed on at least one side of a holder made of an insulating member, and the holder is detachably embedded in a recess formed on one side of the fuel cell body. A terminal unit of a stacked fuel cell, wherein metal terminals are elastically contacted with the separators, respectively. Said holder, a plurality of small holders constitute by movably coupled via a guide rod, the No placement claim 1 Symbol, characterized in that it has established a metal terminal having the elasticity in each of the small holder Multi-layer fuel cell terminal unit. Wherein the recess of the fuel cell body, the laminated type fuel cell according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the formed part the fuel cell side of the mounting surface and the placing surface facing the outside top body Terminal unit. The terminal unit of the stacked fuel cell according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the holder is fitted into the recess, and the metal terminal is brought into close contact with the separator. 5. The terminal unit of a stacked fuel cell according to claim 1, wherein the metal terminals are provided on opposite sides of the holder . 6.

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