Fuel cell
US8404399B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 21, 2007 |
| Grant date | Mar 26, 2013 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 23, 2030 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02E60/50
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The present invention relates to a fuel cell including: a membrane electrode assembly (2) having a fuel electrode (13), an air electrode (16), and an electrolyte membrane (17) sandwiched therebetween; and a fuel storage unit (4) storing a liquid fuel. The fuel cell is capable of continuously generating electricity for long hours only by being replenished with a fuel, and therefore, attempts have been made to miniaturize the fuel cell to use it as a power source of portable electronic devices. When the membrane electrode assembly and the fuel storage unit in the fuel cell are connected via a flow path, a fuel supply state becomes uneven depending on the shape and the like of the flow path even though a supply amount of the fuel can be adjusted, which causes a problem such as a decrease in an output of the fuel cell. The present invention solves the aforethe problem by providing, in the fuel cell, a fuel distributing mechanism (3) which supplies the fuel to a plurality of places of the fuel electrode, and connecting the fuel distributing mechanism and the fuel storage unit via the flow path (5).
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.