JP5401438B2 - Flat type solid electrolyte fuel cell - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a flat plate type solid electrolyte fuel cell.

  Conventionally, there has been known a solid oxide fuel cell (hereinafter referred to as SOFC) in which a ceramic flat plate type solid electrolyte membrane is used as a fuel cell electrolyte and a cell is formed by sandwiching the electrolyte membrane from both sides with an anode and a cathode. It has been. This SOFC has higher power generation efficiency than a solid polymer fuel cell such as a direct methanol fuel cell, and can use all hydrocarbon fuels such as carbon monoxide and methane in addition to hydrogen gas as a fuel gas. Furthermore, since the operating temperature is high, there is an advantage that it is not necessary to use an expensive catalyst such as Pt (platinum) for the reaction.

  The SOFCs described above are stacked with an intermediate member sandwiched between adjacent cells to constitute a fuel cell stack. The intermediate member includes a current collector disposed on the anode and cathode of the cell, a gasket that is housed so as to surround the current collector, and takes out the electric power generated in the cell via the current collector, and also supplies fuel gas to the anode of the cell. And an interconnector for distributing the oxidant gas to the cathode, respectively.

  By the way, the current collector described above employs a mesh in which a heat-resistant SUS material or a noble metal wire is knitted, and is configured so that the reaction gas (fuel gas and oxidant gas) can flow through the cell surface. There are also examples in which foam metal, porous conductive ceramic itself, or a metal rod embedded in them is used as a current collector.

  However, in the conventional configuration described above, there is a problem that it is impossible to follow cell warpage or distortion during operation of the fuel cell stack, and contact between the current collector and the cell surface becomes insufficient. Furthermore, since the conventional current collector is a point contact with the cell surface, the contact area is small and the electric resistance is large. On the other hand, in order to reduce the electrical resistance, it is necessary to apply a large pressure to the current collector with a spring or the like to improve the contact area with the cell. In this case, however, stress is locally applied to the cell. Since it is necessary to use a material having excellent heat resistance as a spring for acting or applying pressure, the manufacturing cost increases.

  Therefore, as shown in Patent Documents 1 and 2, a current collector is formed by forming irregularities on the surface of a thin metal plate by pressing or the like, and a configuration in which the tips of the irregularities are in contact with the surface of the cell is known. ing. According to this configuration, even if each part expands and contracts due to a temperature change during operation of the fuel cell, etc., the thermal stress can be absorbed by the elastic deformation of the unevenness, so that the contact with the cells is maintained and the energization between the cells is interrupted. In addition, it is said that cell damage due to thermal stress can be suppressed.

JP 2001-35514 A JP 2001-68132 A

  However, in the current collectors of Patent Documents 1 and 2 described above, the unevenness described above is formed by pressing the metal thin plate. However, since the metal thin plate is a very thin material, the metal thin plate is pulled by pressing. By extending, a metal thin plate (for example, the base end part of an unevenness | corrugation etc.) may become thin, and there exists a possibility that it may fracture | rupture.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a flat-plate solid electrolyte fuel cell that can suppress breakage of a current collecting member.

  In order to solve the above problems, the invention described in claim 1 is a fuel cell in which a fuel electrode is provided on one surface and an oxidizer electrode on the other surface of the flat solid electrolyte (for example, A flat plate comprising: a cell 11) in the embodiment; and a current collecting member (for example, the mesh portion 32 in the embodiment) that collects electric power from the fuel cell in contact with the fuel electrode or the oxidant electrode. In a solid electrolyte fuel cell, a metal member (for example, the metal member 33 in the embodiment) disposed so as to surround the fuel cell and having a sealing surface, and the current collecting member disposed inside the metal member And a band-shaped portion (for example, the band-shaped portion 40 in the embodiment) that connects between the metal member and the current collecting member, and the current collecting member is a plate material extending from the band-shaped portion, Wavy and bent Characterized in that it comprises Te.

  The invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that the belt-like portion is disposed at a central portion in the in-plane direction of the fuel cell.

  In the invention described in claim 3, the current collecting member has slits (for example, slits 101 to 103 in the embodiment) that extend the current collecting member in a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the belt-like portion. It is formed.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of the fuel cells and the current collecting members are alternately stacked, and the fuel cells adjacent to each other with the current collecting members sandwiched between the fuel electrodes and the oxidant electrodes. The fuel gas flow paths (for example, the fuel gas flow path 57 in the embodiment) are formed between the fuel electrodes, and the oxidant gas flow between the oxidant electrodes. A path (for example, the oxidizing gas channel 56 in the embodiment) is formed.

According to the invention described in claim 1, the metal member and the current collecting member are integrally connected to each other by the belt-shaped portion, so that the number of parts can be reduced as compared with the case where the metal member and the current collecting member are configured separately. Can be reduced. In addition, when the fuel cell is assembled (during stacking), the relative position between the metal member and the current collecting member does not shift, so that work efficiency can be improved.
In particular, since the current collecting member can be formed by folding the plate material extending from the belt-like portion into a wave shape, unlike the case where the current collecting member is formed by press molding the plate material, the plate material is not thinned by processing. Yield can be improved by suppressing breakage of the plate material.

  According to the invention described in claim 2, since the belt-like portion is disposed in the center portion in the in-plane direction of the fuel cell in the metal member, when pressure is applied to the current collecting member along the thickness direction, The elongation of the current collecting member that occurs when following the warpage or distortion of the fuel cell during the operation of the fuel cell can be dispersed on both sides of the belt-like portion. Therefore, the influence by extension of a current collection member can be controlled.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the extension of the current collecting member can be permitted by opening the slit. Then, the above-described current collecting member can be formed by bending the elongated metal member into a wave shape. In this case, since the plate material is stretched and then bent, the length of the current collecting member after forming can be ensured unlike the case where the plate material is simply bent.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in the adjacent fuel cells, the regions surrounded by these fuel cells can be used as the reaction gas flow path by stacking them with the same poles facing each other. . Therefore, unlike the case where the fuel cells are stacked with different electrodes facing each other, there is no need to partition the electrodes, so that each flow path can be enlarged. Furthermore, since power generation can be performed on both sides of the flow path of the reaction gas, the reaction area with respect to the passage cross-sectional area can be increased. In addition, since the reaction gas can be supplied to adjacent fuel cells under the same conditions, the power generation efficiency can be made uniform between cells. Thereby, a fuel utilization rate can be improved and a highly efficient fuel cell stack can be provided.

It is a disassembled perspective view of the fuel cell stack in 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which follows the AA line of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the state by which the cell was clamped by the separator. It is a perspective view of the separator of a cathode intermediate member. It is a perspective view of the separator of an anode intermediate member. It is a perspective view of the cell for demonstrating the contact area | region of a separator. It is a perspective view of a cell and a separator for explaining a distribution direction of a reaction gas. It is a figure for demonstrating the manufacturing method of a separator, Comprising: It is a top view of a separator. It is a figure for demonstrating the manufacturing method of a separator, Comprising: It is a side view of a separator.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
(Fuel cell stack)
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a fuel cell according to the embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.
The fuel cell stack 10 of the present embodiment (hereinafter referred to as the fuel cell 10) includes a cell 11 formed by sandwiching a ceramic-based flat-type solid electrolyte membrane (hereinafter referred to as an electrolyte membrane) between an anode and a cathode, And an intermediate member 21 disposed between the adjacent cells 11. The cells 11 and the intermediate member 21 are alternately stacked along the thickness direction to constitute a fuel cell 10 having a rectangular shape in plan view.

  The fuel cell 10 is supplied with a fuel gas (for example, HC gas fuel) from a fuel gas supply means (not shown) toward the anode, and an oxidant gas (for example, air) from an oxidant gas supply means (not shown) toward the cathode. ) Is supplied.

  The electrolyte membrane of the cell 11 is made of a material such as YSZ (Yttria Stabilized Zirconia). The anode is made of, for example, a sintered body of nickel and YSZ, and the cathode is made of, for example, a sintered body of lanthanum, strontium, or manganese. Further, an oxidant gas communication hole 12 through which the oxidant gas supplied from the oxidant gas supply means flows and an oxidant exhaust gas through which the oxidant exhaust gas supplied for power generation in the cell 11 circulates in the outer peripheral portion of the cell 11. The communication hole 13, the fuel gas communication hole 14 through which the fuel gas supplied from the fuel gas supply means flows, and the fuel exhaust gas communication hole 15 through which the fuel exhaust gas supplied to the power generation in the cell 11 correspond to each side. Is formed. Among the communication holes 12 to 15, the oxidant gas communication hole 12 and the oxidant exhaust gas communication hole 13, the fuel gas communication hole 14, and the fuel exhaust gas communication hole 15 face each other at the outer peripheral portion of each side of the cell 11. Are arranged as follows.

(Intermediate member)
The intermediate member 21 includes a cathode intermediate member 21a disposed on the cathode side of the cell 11 and an anode intermediate member 21b disposed on the anode side.

First, the cathode intermediate member 21 a includes a separator 22 and a pair of gaskets 23 that sandwich the separator 22 from both sides in the thickness direction and seal between the cell 11 and the separator 22.
The gasket 23 is a rectangular flat plate made of mica or the like, and a rectangular through hole 24 penetrating along the thickness direction is formed at the center thereof. That is, the gasket 23 has a seal portion 29 formed in a rectangular frame shape.

  Further, on each side of the seal portion 29 of the gasket 23, an oxidant gas communication hole 25 and an oxidant exhaust gas communication hole 26 that penetrate the seal portion 29 in the thickness direction so as to overlap the communication holes 12 to 15 of the cell 11. A fuel gas communication hole 27 and a fuel exhaust gas communication hole 28 are formed. The oxidant gas communication hole 25 and the oxidant exhaust gas communication hole 26, the fuel gas communication hole 27, and the fuel exhaust gas communication hole 28 are respectively formed on opposite sides of the seal portion 29. Further, in the seal portion 29, the through hole 24, the oxidant gas communication hole 25, and the oxidant exhaust gas communication hole 26 are communicated with the sides where the oxidant gas communication hole 25 and the oxidant exhaust gas communication hole 26 are formed. A notch 31 is formed. As a result, among the communication holes 25 to 29 in the gasket 23, the oxidant gas communication hole 25 and the oxidant exhaust gas communication hole 26 are opened toward the through hole 24.

(Separator)
The separator 22 is a rectangular flat plate member made of, for example, heat-resistant SUS, a copper-carbon composite material, copper, a copper alloy, or a material obtained by plating the surface of these materials. The mesh part (current collecting member) 32 formed in the part and the metal member 33 surrounding the outside of the mesh part 32 are integrally formed via the belt-like part 40.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state where the cell is sandwiched between the separators of the cathode intermediate member, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the separator of the cathode intermediate member. In FIG. 3, the metal member 33 and the gasket 23 between the cell 11 and the separator 22 are omitted for easy understanding.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, first, the metal member 33 is formed in a rectangular frame shape, and the frame region has a seal surface sandwiched between the gaskets 23. Then, on each side of the frame region of the metal member 33, an oxidant gas communication hole 41 that penetrates the metal member 33 in the thickness direction so as to overlap the communication holes 12 to 15 of the cell 11, and an oxidant exhaust gas communication hole 42. A fuel gas communication hole 43 and a fuel exhaust gas communication hole 44 are respectively formed.
In addition, a terminal portion 39 that protrudes outward is formed on the side of the metal member 33 that faces the direction from the oxidant gas communication hole 41 to the oxidant exhaust gas communication hole 42 (hereinafter referred to as the oxidant gas flow direction Ca). Is formed.

  The oxidant gas communication holes 12, 25, 41 described above constitute an oxidant gas communication path 52 through which the oxidant gas flows along the stacking direction of the fuel cell 10, and the oxidant exhaust gas communication holes 13, 26, 42 constitutes an oxidant exhaust gas communication passage 53 through which the oxidant exhaust gas flows along the stacking direction of the fuel cells 10.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 4, a belt-like portion 40 is formed in the central portion of the oxidant gas flow direction Ca in the metal member 33. The belt-like portion 40 is a thin plate-like member extending along a direction from the fuel gas communication hole 43 toward the fuel exhaust gas communication hole 44 (hereinafter referred to as fuel gas flow direction An). The sides facing each other in the distribution direction An are connected.

  The mesh portion 32 has a pair of thin plate-like members each extending in a cantilevered manner from both edges of the oxidant gas flow direction Ca in the belt-like portion 40 toward the oxidant gas flow direction Ca. It is configured to be bent in a rectangular wave shape along the direction. Therefore, the mesh part 32 and the metal member 33 are connected only by the belt-like part 40, and an opening 30 is formed between the outside of the mesh part 32 and the inside of the metal member 33. Further, in the metal member 33, the opening 30, the oxidant gas communication hole 41, and the oxidant exhaust gas communication hole 42 communicate with the side where the oxidant gas communication hole 41 and the oxidant exhaust gas communication hole 42 are formed. A notch 45 is formed. Accordingly, the oxidant gas communication hole 41 and the oxidant exhaust gas communication hole 42 among the communication holes 41 to 44 are opened toward the opening 30.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the mesh portion 32 has a plurality of peak portions 34 and valley portions 35 constituting the top surface thereof, and a connection portion 36 connecting these peak portions 34 and valley portions 35. doing. The crest 34 protrudes toward the one side in the thickness direction with respect to the metal member 33, and the trough 35 protrudes toward the other side in the thickness direction with respect to the metal member 33. In this case, the crests 34 and the troughs 35 are arranged at symmetrical positions along the thickness direction with the metal member 33 interposed therebetween, and are alternately arranged along the flow direction Ca of the oxidizing gas.
In addition, the peak portion 34 and the valley portion 35 extend in parallel with each other in a state in which the extending direction (ridge line direction) coincides with the fuel gas flow direction An.

  A plurality of through holes 37 penetrating in the respective thickness directions are formed in the belt-like portion 40, the mountain portion 34, and the valley portion 35 described above. Each through-hole 37 is formed at equal intervals along the extending direction of the crest 34 and the trough 35.

  The connecting portion 36 is an inclined surface that connects one end side of the peak portion 34 and the other end side of the valley portion 35, and the other end side of the peak portion 34 and one end side of the valley portion 35. The connecting portion 36 is formed with a plurality of through holes 38 penetrating along the thickness direction. Each through-hole 38 is formed at the same pitch as the through-hole 37 described above along the extending direction of the peak portion 34 and the valley portion 35.

  Among the intermediate members 21, the anode intermediate member 21b has substantially the same configuration as the above-described cathode intermediate member 21a, and is arranged in a state rotated 90 degrees around the stacking direction of the fuel cell 10 with respect to the cathode intermediate member 21a. Has been. In the following description, the same components as those of the cathode intermediate member 21a described above are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  The gasket 23 of the anode intermediate member 21b is formed with a notch 51 that allows the fuel gas communication hole 27, the fuel exhaust gas communication hole 28, and the through hole 24 to communicate with each other. Thus, the fuel gas communication hole 27 and the fuel exhaust gas communication hole 28 among the communication holes 25 to 28 are opened toward the inside of the through hole 24. The fuel gas communication holes 14, 27, 43 described above constitute a fuel gas communication path 54 through which fuel gas flows along the stacking direction of the fuel cell 10, and the fuel exhaust gas communication holes 15, 28, 44 are fuel A fuel exhaust gas communication path 55 through which fuel exhaust gas flows along the stacking direction of the batteries 10 is configured.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the separator of the anode intermediate member.
Here, as shown in FIG. 5, a band-like portion 40 is formed in the central portion of the metal member 33 in the fuel gas flow direction An. The belt-like portion 40 is a thin plate-like member extending along the oxidant gas flow direction Ca, and connects the sides facing each other in the oxidant gas flow direction Ca in the metal member 33.

  The mesh portion 32 is configured by a pair of thin plate-like members that cantileverly extend from both edges of the fuel gas flow direction An in the belt-shaped portion 40 toward the fuel gas flow direction An. These thin plate-like members are each bent and formed in a rectangular wave shape along the thickness direction. In addition, in the metal member 33, the side where the fuel gas communication hole 43 and the fuel exhaust gas communication hole 44 are formed is a notch for communicating the opening 30 with the fuel gas communication hole 43 and the fuel exhaust gas communication hole 44. 46 is formed. Thus, the fuel gas communication hole 43 and the fuel exhaust gas communication hole 44 among the communication holes 41 to 44 are opened toward the opening 30.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the cell for explaining the contact area of the separator.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, 5, and 6, the mesh portion 32 in the anode intermediate member 21 b includes a plurality of crests 34 and troughs 35 that constitute the top surface thereof, and the crests 34 and troughs. And a connecting portion 36 for connecting 35. The crests 34 and the troughs 35 are alternately arranged along the fuel gas flow direction An. Moreover, the peak part 34 and the trough part 35 are mutually extended in parallel in the state which made the extension direction (ridgeline direction) correspond with the distribution direction Ca of oxidant gas. That is, in the present embodiment, the separators 22 of the cathode intermediate member 21a and the separators 22 of the anode intermediate member 21b are arranged so that the extending directions of the crests 34 and the troughs 35 are perpendicular to each other with the cell 11 therebetween. ing. And the cell 11 is clamped from the thickness direction both sides by the peak part 34 in the separator 22 of one intermediate member 21, and the trough part 35 in the separator 22 of the other intermediate member 21. In this case, the contact region (overlapping portion) between the peak portion 34 and the valley portion 35 is defined as an intersection region K with the cell 11 interposed therebetween.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the cathode intermediate member 21 a is arranged on the cathode side of the cell 11, while the anode intermediate member 21 b is arranged on the anode side. The fuel cells 10 of the present embodiment are configured by stacking the adjacent cells 11 so that the two face each other. In this case, the separator 22 is sandwiched with the crest 34 and the trough 35 in surface contact with the same polarity of the adjacent cells 11.

  Specifically, between adjacent cells 11 where the cathodes face each other, the crest portion 34 of the separator 22 of the cathode intermediate member 21 a is in surface contact with the cathode of one cell 11 through the through hole 24 of the gasket 23. . A trough 35 is in surface contact with the cathode of the other cell 11 through the through hole 24 of the gasket 23. Between adjacent cells 11 where the anodes face each other, the crest portion 34 of the separator 22 of the anode intermediate member 21 b is in surface contact with the anode of one cell 11 through the through hole 24 of the gasket 23. Further, the valley portion 35 is in surface contact with the anode of the other cell 11 through the through hole 24 of the gasket 23. Thereby, the electric power generated in the cell 11 is collected by the metal member 33 through the mesh portion 32 and is taken out as a current from the terminal portion 39.

  Further, the terminal portions 39 of the separator 22 in each cathode intermediate member 21a and the terminal portions 39 of the separator 22 in the anode intermediate member 21b are connected in parallel by wiring (not shown), respectively, and the electric power output from the fuel cell 10 is supplied. I'm taking it out. In addition, the electric power after taking out is boosted and used by a DC-DC converter (not shown).

End plates (not shown) are disposed at both ends of the fuel cell 10 in the stacking direction. The end plates are fastened by fastening means, whereby the fuel cell 10 is sandwiched between the end plates. . The above-described oxidant gas supply means such as a compressor is disposed at one end side of the fuel cell 10 in the stacking direction, and the oxidant gas supplied from the oxidant gas supply means passes through the oxidant gas communication path 52 and is a cathode intermediate member. 21a is supplied to the space surrounded by the cathode of the cell 11 facing it. That is, the space surrounded by the cathode intermediate member 21a and the cathode of the cell 11 facing the oxidant gas channel 56 through which the oxidant gas flows.
On the other hand, the fuel gas supply means for the above-described fuel gas is disposed on one end side in the stacking direction of the fuel cell 10, and the fuel gas supplied from the fuel gas supply means passes through the fuel gas communication passage 54 and the anode intermediate member 21b. It is supplied to a space surrounded by the anode of the opposing cell 11. That is, a space surrounded by the anode intermediate member 21b and the anode of the cell 11 facing the anode constitutes a fuel gas flow path 57 through which fuel gas flows along the surface of the anode.

(Function)
Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
First, while heating the fuel cell 10 shown in FIG. 1 to a predetermined temperature, the oxidant gas is supplied from the oxidant gas supply means, and the fuel gas is supplied from the fuel gas supply means.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a cell and a separator for explaining the flow direction of the reaction gas.
As shown in FIG. 1, the oxidant gas supplied from the oxidant gas supply means flows through the oxidant gas communication path 52 formed in the fuel cell 10, and the oxidant gas flow path from the notches 45 and 31. 56 flows into. As shown in FIG. 7, the oxidant gas that has flowed into the oxidant gas flow channel 56 circulates in the surface of the cathode toward the oxidant exhaust gas communication holes 13 and 26. That is, the oxidant gas passes through the through-hole 38 formed in the connection portion 36, and the direction in which the peaks 34 and valleys 35 of the mesh portion 32 are arranged (the direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the peaks 34 and valleys 35. ) To distribute. At this time, the oxidant gas reaches the cathode of the facing cell 11 through the through hole 37 of the peak portion 34 and the valley portion 35.

  On the other hand, the fuel gas supplied from the fuel gas supply means flows through the fuel gas communication passage 54 formed in the fuel cell 10 and flows into the fuel gas passage 57 from the notches 46 and 51. The fuel gas that has flowed into the fuel gas flow path 57 flows through the anode surface toward the fuel exhaust gas communication holes 28 and 44. That is, the fuel gas passes through the through-hole 38 formed in the connection portion 36, and the arrangement direction of the peaks 34 and valleys 35 of the mesh portion 32 (the direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the peaks 34 and valleys 35). Circulate along. At this time, since the crests 34 and the troughs 35 of the separator 22 of the cathode intermediate member 21a and the separator 22 of the anode intermediate member 21b are arranged so as to be orthogonal to each other with the cell 11 therebetween, the fuel gas The flow direction An and the direction orthogonal to the flow direction Ca of the oxidant gas described above are orthogonal to each other. Then, the fuel gas reaches the anode of the facing cell 11 through the through hole 37 of the peak portion 34 and the valley portion 35.

Here, when the oxidant gas flowing through the oxidant gas flow path 56 reaches the cathode, it becomes oxide ions by a catalytic reaction at the cathode. Then, oxide ions generated at the cathode permeate the electrolyte membrane and move to the anode.
On the other hand, when the fuel gas flowing in the fuel gas channel 57 reaches the anode, the fuel gas that has reached the anode and the oxide ions that have moved to the anode are combined. In this reaction process, electricity is generated by emitting electrons (H ₂ + O ²⁻ → H ₂ O + 2e ⁻ ).

  The oxidant exhaust gas used for power generation in the oxidant gas flow channel 56 flows into the oxidant exhaust gas communication holes 13 and 26 from the notches 45 and 31, passes through the oxidant exhaust gas communication channel 53, and the fuel cell. 10 is discharged. On the other hand, the fuel exhaust gas supplied to the power generation in the fuel gas flow path 57 flows into the fuel exhaust gas communication holes 28 and 44 from the notches 46 and 51, passes through the fuel exhaust gas communication passage 55, and exits from the fuel cell 10. Discharged.

(Manufacturing method of separator)
Next, the manufacturing method of the separator 22 in each intermediate member 21a, 21b mentioned above is demonstrated. In addition, since the separator 22 of each intermediate member 21a, 21b can be produced by the same method, respectively, in the following description, the separator 22 of the cathode intermediate member 21a will be described as an example.

  8 and 9 are views for explaining a method of manufacturing the separator, in which FIG. 8 is a plan view of the separator and FIG. 9 is a side view. Note that FIG. 8 shows only the mesh portion in the separator, and in the following description, a method for manufacturing the mesh portion will be mainly described. Moreover, since the mesh part 32 of each intermediate member 21a, 21b can be produced by the same method, the following description demonstrates the manufacturing method of the mesh part 32 of the cathode intermediate member 21a.

  First, as shown in FIG. 8A, a plate material 100 that is a base material of the separator 22 is prepared, and slits are formed in the formation regions of the through holes 37 and 38 in the plate material 100. Specifically, etching is performed through the mask pattern to form a plurality of first slits 101 having an H shape in plan view along the flow direction of the oxidant gas and the fuel gas, and the first in the flow direction An of the fuel gas. A rectangular second slit 102 is formed between the slits 101. In the first slit 101, a pair of third slits 101a extending along the fuel gas flow direction An are arranged at intervals along the oxidant gas flow direction Ca, and the third slits 101a are connected to each other. Is formed to extend along the flow direction Ca of the oxidant gas. At the same time, a fifth slit 103 that communicates with the second slit 102 and extends from the second slit 102 toward the fourth slit 101b is also formed. In addition, each communicating hole 41-44 of the separator 22, the notch part 45, and the opening 30 may be formed before this process, and may be formed simultaneously with this process. As a result, a belt-like portion 40 is formed at the central portion Ca of the oxidant gas flow direction Ca in the rectangular frame-shaped metal member 33, and a formation region of the mesh portion 32 is formed in a cantilever manner from the belt-like portion 40. Become.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 8B, when the plate member 100 in which the slits 101 to 103 are formed is stretched along the flow direction Ca of the oxidant gas, the slits 101 to 103 are opened and the plate member 100 is made to be the oxidant. It extends along the gas flow direction Ca. Thereby, as shown in FIG.8 (c), the through-holes 37 and 38 can be formed along the distribution direction of oxidant gas and fuel gas.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9A, the formation region of the mesh portion 32 in the plate member 100 (region where the through holes 37 and 38 are formed) is cut out from the opening 30 with the belt-like portion 40 as a starting point. Then, as shown in FIG. 9 (b), the cut and raised mesh portion 32 is bent into a rectangular wave shape and then returned to the opening 30 again.
As a result, as shown in FIG. 9C, the separator 22 in which the metal member 33 and the mesh portion 32 are integrally connected by the belt-like portion 40 can be formed as described above.

  By the way, the current collector in the above-described prior art forms unevenness by pressing a metal thin plate. However, since the metal thin plate is a very thin material, the metal thin plate is stretched by the press working. The foil plate (for example, the base end portion of the unevenness) becomes thin and may be broken. Therefore, there is a problem that the yield decreases.

In contrast, in the present embodiment, the separator 22 is integrally formed by the metal member 33, the mesh portion 32, and the belt-like portion 40 that connects the metal member 33 and the mesh portion 32.
According to this configuration, by forming the separator 22 integrally, the number of parts can be reduced as compared with the case where the metal member 33 and the mesh portion 32 are configured separately. Further, when the fuel cell 10 is assembled (stacked), the metal member 33 and the mesh portion 32 can be stacked without shifting their relative positions, so that work efficiency can be improved.

  In particular, since the mesh portion 32 can be formed by folding a region extending from the belt-like portion 40 into a rectangular wave shape, the plate material 100 is not thinned by processing unlike the case of press molding. For this reason, it is possible to suppress the breakage of the plate member 100 and improve the yield. Moreover, since the contact with the cell 11 is not a point contact but a line contact or a surface contact, the contact area with the cell 11 can be improved. Therefore, the electrical resistance of the separator 22 can be reduced, and the power generated by the fuel cell 10 can be collected efficiently.

  Further, since the belt-like portion 40 is formed in the central portion of the metal member 33 and the mesh portions 32 are formed on both sides thereof, the case where pressure is applied to the mesh portion 32 along the thickness direction, or the fuel cell The elongation of the mesh portion 32 in the case of following the warp or distortion of the cell 11 during the operation of 10 can be distributed on both sides of the belt-like portion 40. Therefore, the influence by the elongation of the mesh part 32 can be suppressed.

By the way, in the manufacturing process of the mesh part 32, after forming the through-holes 37 and 38 by punching, for example, if the rectangular wave-like mesh part 32 is formed by bending the plate material 100, the reaction of the mesh part 32 The length in the gas flow direction is reduced.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, the extension of the mesh portion 32 can be allowed by opening the slits 101 to 103. And after extending the board | plate material 100 in which the slits 101-103 were formed by etching etc., the mesh part 32 mentioned above can be formed by giving a bending process. In this case, since the bending is performed after the plate member 100 is stretched, the length of the mesh portion 32 in the reaction gas flow direction can be secured.

  Moreover, in the fuel cell 10 of the present embodiment, the adjacent cells 11 are stacked with the same poles facing each other, so that the region surrounded by the cells 11 is used as the reaction gas flow paths 56 and 57. be able to. Therefore, unlike the case where the cells 11 are stacked with different electrodes facing each other, there is no need to partition between the electrodes, so that each flow path can be enlarged. Furthermore, since power generation can be performed on both sides of the reaction gas flow paths 56 and 57, the reaction area with respect to the cross-sectional area of the passage can be increased. Further, since the reaction gas can be supplied to the adjacent cells under the same conditions, the power generation efficiency between the cells 11 can be made uniform. Thereby, a fuel utilization rate can be improved and the highly efficient fuel cell 10 can be provided.

The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and includes those in which various modifications are made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In other words, the configuration described in the above-described embodiment is merely an example, and can be changed as appropriate.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the fuel cell according to the present invention has been described by taking the fuel cell stack 10 in which the cells 11 and the intermediate members 21 are alternately stacked as an example, but the present invention can also be applied to a single-layer fuel cell. That is, a single-layer fuel cell can be manufactured by disposing the intermediate member 21 on both sides of the cell 11 and sandwiching the stacked body between the end plates.
Moreover, the formation position of the strip | belt-shaped part 40 can be changed suitably.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the mesh portion 32 is bent and formed in a rectangular wave shape has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the design can be appropriately changed such as a wave shape in which curved surfaces are continuous.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Cell (fuel cell) 32 ... Mesh part (current collecting member) 33 ... Metal member 40 ... Band-shaped part 56 ... Oxidant gas flow path 57 ... Fuel gas flow path 101-103 ... Slit

Claims (4)

Of the front and back surfaces of the flat plate type solid electrolyte, a fuel cell having a fuel electrode on one side and an oxidant electrode on the other side;
A flat solid electrolyte fuel cell comprising: a current collecting member that contacts the fuel electrode or the oxidant electrode and collects electric power from the fuel cell;
A metal member disposed so as to surround the periphery of the fuel cell and having a sealing surface; the current collecting member disposed inside the metal member; and a belt-shaped portion connecting between the metal member and the current collecting member; , Integrally molded,
The current collecting member is a flat-type solid electrolyte fuel cell, wherein a plate material extending from the belt-like portion is bent into a wave shape.   2. The flat plate solid electrolyte fuel cell according to claim 1, wherein the belt-shaped portion is disposed at a central portion in the in-plane direction of the fuel cell.   The flat plate type according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the current collecting member is formed with a slit for extending the current collecting member in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the belt-like portion. Solid electrolyte fuel cell. A plurality of the fuel cells and the current collecting members are alternately stacked,
In the fuel cells adjacent to each other with the current collecting member interposed therebetween, the fuel electrodes and the oxidant electrodes are arranged to face each other, and a fuel gas flow path is formed between the fuel electrodes. The flat plate solid electrolyte fuel cell according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an oxidant gas flow path is formed between the oxidant electrodes.

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