Abstract: A fuel cell separator having excellent corrosion resistance, electric conductivity and durability comprising a substrate made of austenitic stainless steel, and a nitride layer formed on a surface of the substrate in contact with an oxygen electrode or a current collector on the oxygen electrode side, the nitride layer comprising a solid solution compound phase composed of an Fe4N crystal, in which part of Fe is substituted by at least Cr and Ni.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
June 21, 2005
Date of Patent:
July 20, 2010
Assignee:
Kabushiki Kaisha Riken
Inventors:
Yunzhi Gao, Jun Satou, Toshikatsu Hayashi
Abstract: The present invention relates to a fuel cell arrangement, containing at least one bipolar plate layer (1) and an bonding partner—preferably an membrane electrode assembly (MEA) (5), wherein the bonding partner is bonded onto the bipolar plate layer (1) with a pressure-sensitive adhesive or a physically bonding adhesive, which are located on a three-dimensional sealing structure of the bipolar plate layer and/or edge region of the bipolar plate layer adjacent thereon.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
September 21, 2005
Date of Patent:
July 6, 2010
Assignee:
Reinz-Dichtungs-GmbH
Inventors:
Joachim Scherer, Bernd Gaugler, Lothar Quick
Abstract: A fuel cell stack (30) includes an integrated end plate assembly having a current collector (40) secured adjacent and end cell (36) of the stack, a pressure plate (42) secured adjacent the current collector (40), and a backbone (60) secured within a backbone-support plane (44) defined within the plate (42). Tie rod ends (62, 64, 66, 68) of the backbone (60) extend over a gap (84) defined between the backbone-support plane (44) and a deflection plane (50) defined within the pressure plate (42) so that the tie rod ends deflect within the gap (84) upon tightening of tie rods (78, 80). Deflection of the backbone enables the backbone (60) to permit limited expansion of the fuel cell stack (30) during operation, and the backbone (60) has adequate flexural strength to prohibit expansion of the stack (30) beyond operating dynamic limits of the stack (30).
Type:
Application
Filed:
December 21, 2006
Publication date:
July 1, 2010
Inventors:
Jeffrey G. Lake, Leonard A. Bach, Pedro Inigo, Evan C. Rege, Chris Vargas, Stephen P. Victor
Abstract: A fuel cell stack includes a plurality of fuel cells, a plurality of interconnects, and a plurality of seal members, wherein the plurality of seal members comprises one or more first seal members and one or more additional seal members, where the one or more first seal members form a protective barrier between the reducing environment contained with the fuel cell stack and the remaining seal members.
Type:
Application
Filed:
December 7, 2009
Publication date:
June 24, 2010
Inventors:
Matthias Gottmann, Stephen Couse, Tad Armstrong, Emad El Batawi, Martin Janousek, Ananda H. Kumar
Abstract: An assembly having fuel cell plate structure adapted for use in a fuel cell in which gas flow channels are arranged to carry process gas adjacent the active and wet seal areas of the fuel cell, the plate structure having one or more baffles arranged such that when the plate structure is in the fuel cell the baffles of the plate structure cause the process gas flowing adjacent the wet seal areas to be directed away from the wet seal areas and toward the active areas of the cell.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
March 31, 2006
Date of Patent:
June 22, 2010
Assignee:
FuelCell Energy, Inc.
Inventors:
Zhiwen Ma, Chao-Yi Yuh, Dana A. Kelley, Mohammad Farooque, William Beesley
Abstract: The invention is directed to a method for the modification of the rate of release of a drug from a hydrogel which is based on the use of an effective amount of a pharmaceutically acceptable ionizable compound that is capable of providing a substantially zero-order release rate of drug from the hydrogel.