JP2009081060A - Wiring installation structure for fuel cell and wiring for fuel cell - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wiring installation structure for fuel cell in which a precise positioning work is not required and, even if the dimension accuracy is low, a voltage can be measured appropriately, and a wiring for fuel cell. <P>SOLUTION: In the wiring installation structure for fuel cell, an FPC 50 is installed on a side wall face of a cell stack 10 in which a plurality of unit cells are laminated and a plurality of electrodes 51a installed on the FPC 50 are electrically connected respectively to the side wall face of the separators 12, 13 provided at each unit cell, thereby, a voltage of the unit cells can be measured. The width D1 in lamination direction of the unit cells in the electrode 51a is established smaller than a spacing S2 of the adjoining separators 12, 13, and the spacing D2 between the adjoining electrodes 51a is established smaller than the thickness S1 in lamination direction of the separators 12, 13. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuel cell wiring mounting structure and a fuel cell wiring.

  Conventionally, as a method for easily measuring a voltage between arbitrary single cells in a cell stack, a plurality of electrodes provided in a flexible printed circuit (hereinafter referred to as FPC) are electrically connected to separators provided in each single cell. What is connected is known (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  However, in recent years, fuel cells tend to be further thinned by using a metal thin separator (for example, 1 mm or less). Therefore, the interval between adjacent separators also tends to be narrowed. This makes it difficult to properly electrically connect a plurality of electrodes provided in the FPC to separators provided in each single cell. This point will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship between the separator according to the conventional example and the electrodes in the FPC. In addition, what is shown in FIG. 8 corresponds to the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1.

  As shown in FIG. 8, a predetermined interval is provided between the adjacent separators 200. The plurality of conductive members 500 provided in the FPC are also spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance. Each of the plurality of conductive members 500 is provided with an electrode portion 500a, and an FPC is attached so that each electrode portion 500a is electrically connected to each separator 200.

  As described above, in the conventional example, the electrode portions 500 a are provided so as to correspond to the respective separators 200. Therefore, in order to appropriately connect the electrode portions 500a to the respective separators 200, when the interval between the adjacent separators 200 is set to be equal to the interval between the adjacent electrode portions 500a and the FPC is attached. It is necessary to position accurately.

However, as the thickness is reduced, positioning when attaching the FPC becomes difficult, and variations in the spacing between adjacent separators 200 cannot be ignored.
JP 2005-294154 A JP-A-2005-302372

  An object of the present invention is to provide a fuel cell wiring mounting structure and a fuel cell wiring capable of measuring a voltage appropriately even if accurate positioning work is unnecessary and dimensional accuracy is low.

  The present invention employs the following means in order to solve the above problems.

That is, the fuel cell wiring mounting structure of the present invention is
A wiring is attached to a side wall surface of a cell stack formed by stacking a plurality of single cells, and a plurality of electrodes provided in the wiring are electrically connected to a side wall surface of a separator provided in each single cell, respectively. In the fuel cell wiring mounting structure that enables measurement of voltage between single cells,
The width of the single cell in the stacking direction of the electrodes is set smaller than the interval between the adjacent separators, and the interval between the adjacent electrodes is set smaller than the thickness of the separators in the stacking direction.

  In the present invention, the term “lamination” does not necessarily mean that they are used in a state where they are stacked in the vertical direction, and for example, they may be used in a state where they are arranged in a horizontal direction. .

  According to the present invention, the width in the stacking direction of the single cells in the electrode is set smaller than the interval between the adjacent separators, and the interval between the adjacent electrodes is set smaller than the thickness in the stacking direction in the separator. Therefore, if the wiring is attached to the cell stack, at least one electrode is necessarily connected to each separator in terms of dimensions. Moreover, one electrode is not connected to two separators. Therefore, there is no need to perform positioning work when attaching the wiring to the cell stack. Moreover, even if there is a variation in the spacing between adjacent separators, the electrodes can be more reliably connected to each separator.

  The wiring is preferably a flexible printed circuit.

A pressing member that presses the wiring toward the side wall surface of the cell stack;
An elastic member provided so as to fill a space between the pressing member and the wiring;
It is good to have.

  Thereby, an electrode can be reliably connected with the side wall surface of a separator by pressing wiring by a pressing member. Further, by providing the elastic member so as to be buried between the pressing member and the wiring, the pressing force of each electrode with respect to the separator can be made uniform even if the various members have dimensional variations.

  The electrode may have a protrusion protruding from the surface of the wiring body.

  Thereby, an electrode can be more reliably connected with respect to the side wall surface of a separator.

  An anisotropic conductive material made of an anisotropic conductive material is preferably provided so as to fill a space between the electrode and the side wall surface of the cell stack.

  Thereby, an electrode and the side wall surface of a cell stack can be electrically connected more reliably.

Also, the fuel cell wiring of the present invention,
Attached to the side wall surface of a cell stack composed of multiple single cells, and the electrodes can be electrically contacted to the side wall surface of the separator provided in each single cell, and the voltage between the single cells can be measured. In the fuel cell wiring,
The width of the single cell in the stacking direction of the electrodes is set smaller than the interval between the adjacent separators, and the interval between the adjacent electrodes is set smaller than the thickness of the separators in the stacking direction.

According to the present invention, the width in the stacking direction of the single cells in the electrode is set smaller than the interval between the adjacent separators, and the interval between the adjacent electrodes is set smaller than the thickness in the stacking direction in the separator. Therefore, if the wiring is attached to the cell stack, at least one electrode is necessarily connected to each separator in terms of size. Moreover, one electrode is not connected to two separators. Therefore, there is no need to perform positioning work when attaching the wiring to the cell stack. Moreover, even if there is a variation in the spacing between adjacent separators, the electrodes can be more reliably connected to each separator.

  In addition, said each structure can be employ | adopted combining as much as possible.

  As described above, according to the present invention, an accurate positioning operation is not required, and a voltage can be appropriately measured even when the dimensional accuracy is low.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be exemplarily described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the components described in this embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to those unless otherwise specified. .

Example 1
A fuel cell wiring mounting structure and a fuel cell wiring according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a part of a plan view showing a state where wiring is attached in a fuel cell according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a part of a side view (partially cross-sectional view) showing a state where wiring is attached in the fuel cell according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 3 and 4 are arrangement relationship diagrams for explaining the arrangement relationship between the cell stack and the wiring according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 3 is an arrangement relation diagram seen in a plane, and FIG. 4 is an arrangement relation diagram seen in a section (a section perpendicular to the direction in which the conductive member extends in the FPC). FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion indicated by A in FIG. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a portion indicated by B in FIG.

<Fuel cell>
In particular, a fuel cell will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The fuel cell 100 includes a cell stack 10 configured by stacking a plurality of single cells. In this embodiment, the pair of fixing plates 31 and 32 are fixed by bolts 41 and nuts 42 with the insulators 21 and 22 disposed on both sides of the cell stack 10, respectively. The cell is fixed.

  The single cell is composed of MEA (membrane electrode assembly) 11 and separators 12 and 13 disposed on both sides of the MEA 11 (see FIGS. 3 to 6). The MEA 11 is a well-known technique and therefore will not be described in detail. The MEA 11 is composed of an electrolyte membrane and a pair of electrodes (consisting of a catalyst layer and a gas diffusion layer) provided so as to sandwich the electrolyte membrane. The Here, one of the pair of electrodes is an anode electrode and the other is a cathode electrode. And, it is a mechanism for generating power by exchanging ions between the pair of electrodes by the electrolyte membrane.

  The generated power of the single cell configured as described above is generally about 0.7V. Then, by stacking a plurality of single cells, a structure in which a plurality of single cells are connected in series via separators 12 and 13 made of a conductive material is obtained, and a large power generation is obtained in the entire cell stack. .

<Fuel cell wiring mounting structure and fuel cell wiring>
The fuel cell wiring mounting structure and the fuel cell wiring will be described with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, the FPC 50 is used as the wiring. The FPC 50 includes a pair of flexible films 52 and 53 and a plurality of conductive members (electric wires) 51 disposed in the pair of films 52 and 53. The FPC 50 is characterized by being thin and flexible. In addition, an electrode 51 a having a protruding portion 51 b that protrudes from the surface of the FPC main body (projects from the surface of the film 53) is provided at the tip of each conductive member 51. A connector 55 is provided on the side of the FPC 50 opposite to the side where the electrode 51a is provided.

  The FPC 50 configured as described above is attached to the cell stack 10 so that the electrode 51 a side contacts the side wall surface of the cell stack 10. In this embodiment, the FPC 50 is attached to the cell stack 10 by a clip 60 as a pressing member that presses the FPC 50 toward the side wall surface of the cell stack 10.

  The clip 60 is provided with four arms 61 each having a locking claw at the tip. Then, the clips 60 are fixed to the cell stack 10 by engaging the engaging claws at the tips of these arms 61 with the engaging portions 21 a and 22 a provided on the insulators 21 and 22, respectively. In this embodiment, an elastic member 70 made of rubber or elastomer is provided so as to fill the gap between the clip 60 and the FPC 50.

  In this embodiment, the width D1 in the stacking direction of the single cells in the electrode 51a is set smaller than the interval S2 between the adjacent separators 12 and 13. Further, the interval D2 between the adjacent electrodes 51a is set smaller than the thickness S1 of the separators 12 and 13 in the stacking direction. In the present embodiment, the width D1 of the single cells in the stacking direction of the electrode 51a is set to be equal to or less than the thickness S1 of the separators 12 and 13 in the stacking direction. Further, the interval D2 between the adjacent electrodes 51a is set smaller than the interval S2 between the adjacent separators 12 and 13.

<Measurement method of voltage>
By fixing the FPC 50 configured as described above to the cell stack 10, at least one electrode 51 a is electrically connected (contacted in the case of this embodiment) to each separator 12 and 13. In the case shown in FIG. 6, the electrode 51X and the electrode 51Y are electrically connected to the separators 12 and 13, respectively. In the present embodiment, there are a plurality of electrodes 51 a that are not electrically connected to the separators 12 and 13.

  In measuring the voltage, first, one having a voltage output is identified from among the plurality of conductive members 50. That is, when there is a voltage output, the electrode 51a is electrically connected to the separators 12 and 13, and when there is no voltage output, the electrode 51a is not electrically connected to the separators 12 and 13. .

  If a suitable two conductive members 50 are selected from those having a voltage output, the voltage between any single cells can be measured.

<Excellent points of this embodiment>
According to the present embodiment, the width D1 in the stacking direction of the single cells in the electrode 51a is set smaller than the interval S2 between the adjacent separators 12 and 13, and the interval D2 between the adjacent electrodes 51a is in the separators 12 and 13. It is set smaller than the thickness S1 in the stacking direction.

Therefore, if the FPC 50 is attached to the cell stack 10, at least one electrode 51a is always electrically connected (contacted in this embodiment) to each separator 12 and 13 in terms of dimensions. In addition, one electrode 51 a is not connected to the two separators 12 and 13. Therefore, when the FPC 50 is attached to the cell stack 10, there is no need to perform positioning work. Further, even if there is a variation in the spacing S2 between the adjacent separators 12 and 13, the electrode 51a can be more reliably connected to each separator 12 and 13, and the voltage can be measured appropriately.

  In the present embodiment, the electrode 51a can be reliably connected to the side walls of the separators 12 and 13 by pressing the FPC 50 with the clip 60 as a pressing member. Further, by providing the elastic member 70 so as to be buried between the clip 60 and the FPC 50, the various members have dimensional variations (when the dimensional variations of the MEA 11 and the separators 12 and 13 and the surface of the cell stack 10 are uneven). Even if there exists, the pressing force with respect to the separators 12 and 13 of each electrode 51a can be equalized.

  Further, in this embodiment, the electrode 51a has the protruding portion 51b protruding from the surface of the FPC main body, so that the electrode 51a (the tip of the protruding portion 51b) is more reliably connected to the side wall surfaces of the separators 12 and 13. be able to.

(Example 2)
FIG. 7 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment, a configuration in which an anisotropic conductive material made of an anisotropic conductive material is provided so as to fill between the electrode and the side wall surface of the cell stack will be described. To do. Since other configurations and operations are the same as those in the first embodiment, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged view of a layout relationship diagram seen from a cross section, explaining the layout relationship between the cell stack and the wiring according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 corresponds to FIG. 6 in the first embodiment.

  In this embodiment, an anisotropic conductive material 80 made of an anisotropic conductive material is provided so as to fill between the electrode 51a and the side wall surface of the cell stack. Preferred examples of the anisotropic conductive material 80 include ACF (anisotropic conductive film) and ACP (anisotropic conductive paste). Since this anisotropic conductive material 80 has the property of exhibiting conductivity in the pressed direction, the conduction between the side wall surfaces of the separators 12 and 13 and at least one electrode 51a corresponding to each separator 12 and 13 is more reliable. Can be.

(Other)
In the said Example, although the clip was demonstrated as an example as a pressing member which presses FPC toward the side wall surface of a cell stack, the said pressing member is not limited to a clip. For example, an appropriate one such as a clamp can be applied. In the illustrated example, an example is shown in which one electrode is electrically connected to one separator. However, two or more electrodes may be electrically connected to one separator. good.

FIG. 1 is a part of a plan view showing a state where wiring is attached in a fuel cell according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a part of a side view (partially cross-sectional view) showing a state where wiring is attached in the fuel cell according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an arrangement relation diagram for explaining the arrangement relation between the cell stack and the wiring according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an arrangement relation diagram for explaining the arrangement relation between the cell stack and the wiring according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion indicated by A in FIG. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a portion indicated by B in FIG. FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged view of an arrangement relation diagram seen from a cross section, explaining an arrangement relation between the cell stack and the wiring according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship between the separator according to the conventional example and the electrodes in the FPC.

Explanation of symbols

10 Cell stack 11 MEA
12, 13 Separator 21, 22 Insulator 21a, 22a Locking portion 31, 32 Fixing plate 41 Bolt 42 Nut 50 Conductive member 51a Electrode 51b Protruding portion 52, 53 Film 55 Connector 60 Clip 61 Arm 70 Elastic member 80 Anisotropic conductive Material 100 Fuel cell

Claims (6)

A wiring is attached to a side wall surface of a cell stack formed by stacking a plurality of single cells, and a plurality of electrodes provided in the wiring are electrically connected to a side wall surface of a separator provided in each single cell, respectively. In the fuel cell wiring mounting structure that enables measurement of voltage between single cells,
The width of the single cell in the stacking direction of the electrodes is set smaller than the interval between the adjacent separators, and the interval between the adjacent electrodes is set smaller than the thickness of the separators in the stacking direction. Wiring mounting structure.   The fuel cell wiring mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the wiring is a flexible printed circuit. A pressing member that presses the wiring toward the side wall surface of the cell stack;
An elastic member provided so as to fill a space between the pressing member and the wiring;
The fuel cell wiring mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the fuel cell wiring mounting structure is provided.   4. The fuel cell wiring mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the electrode has a projecting portion projecting from the surface of the wiring body. 5.   The fuel according to claim 1, wherein an anisotropic conductive material made of an anisotropic conductive material is provided so as to fill a space between the electrode and the side wall surface of the cell stack. Battery wiring mounting structure. Attached to the side wall surface of a cell stack composed of a stack of multiple single cells, the voltage between the single cells can be measured by electrically connecting the electrodes to the side wall surface of the separator provided in each single cell. In the fuel cell wiring,
The width of the single cell in the stacking direction of the electrodes is set smaller than the interval between the adjacent separators, and the interval between the adjacent electrodes is set smaller than the thickness of the separators in the stacking direction. wiring.

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