Fuel cell housing

Abstract

The invention provides a fuel cell case capable of preventing breakage of the fuel cell case. The fuel cell case is a fuel cell case in which a plurality of fuel cell units (10) are housed. The fuel cell case comprises: a case body (12) in which the lower end of an upper case (12a) and the upper end of a lower case (12b) are joined and assembled at a joint (14); a protection member (20), and an upper coupling part (20a) which is coupled to the outer surface of the upper case (12a), a lower coupling part (20b) which is coupled to the outer surface of the lower case (12b), and a protruding part (20c) which covers the joining part (14) so as to be spaced apart from the joining part (14) between the upper coupling part and the lower coupling part. A portion of the upper case (12a) to which the upper coupling portion (20a) is coupled and a portion of the lower case (12b) to which the lower coupling portion (20b) is coupled are thicker than other portions.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to a fuel cell housing that internally houses multiple fuel cell units. Background Technology

[0002] Previously, a fuel cell vehicle was known, which used electricity generated by oxidizing hydrogen in a fuel cell to power an electric motor for propulsion. Here, the vehicle requires a large amount of electricity, thus necessitating the use of fuel cell stacks, which consist of multiple fuel cell units that generate smaller amounts of electricity, to obtain the necessary power.

[0003] As mentioned above, fuel cell stacks are components that generate large amounts of electricity, and therefore, a fuel cell casing forming the outer wall is prepared to ensure safety. For example, Patent Document 1 shows a structure that is divided into upper and lower sections as the fuel cell casing.

[0004] Prior art literature

[0005] Patent documents

[0006] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-196386 Summary of the Invention

[0007] The problem that the invention aims to solve

[0008] In fuel cell vehicles, the fuel cell casing is often housed in the front compartment at the front of the vehicle. This front compartment houses various electrical components, making it difficult to ensure sufficient space around the fuel cell casing.

[0009] Therefore, there are situations where the fuel cell casing is positioned close to other components. In such cases, for example, during a frontal collision, a component moving from the front of the vehicle may collide with the fuel cell casing. Therefore, there is a need to utilize the most effective means possible to prevent damage to the fuel cell casing.

[0010] Methods for solving problems

[0011] The fuel cell housing disclosed herein is a fuel cell housing that internally houses multiple fuel cell units, and includes: a housing body, which is assembled by joining and connecting the lower end of an upper housing and the upper end of a lower housing at a joint; a protective member, which includes an upper joint portion attached to the outer surface of the upper housing, a lower joint portion attached to the outer surface of the lower housing, and a raised portion covering the joint portion between the upper joint portion and the lower joint portion in a spaced apart from the joint portion, wherein the portion of the upper housing attached to the upper joint portion and the portion of the lower housing attached to the lower joint portion are thicker than other portions.

[0012] Alternatively, the joint may be located on the outer surface side of the upper housing and the lower housing, and on the inner surface side there may be an upper end of the upper housing and an unjoined portion that is not joined to the upper end of the lower housing.

[0013] Invention Effects

[0014] According to the present invention, in the event of a collision between a component moving from the front and the fuel cell housing, the impact application position can be changed by a protective component to prevent damage to the fuel cell housing. Attached Figure Description

[0015] Figure 1 A perspective view showing the general structure of the fuel cell housing.

[0016] Figure 2 This is a partial perspective view showing the structure of the joint 14, and also shows the cross-sectional structure of one side wall of the upper shell and the lower shell.

[0017] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the state during a collision, and Figure 3 (A) in the text indicates the absence of protective components. Figure 3 (B) in the text indicates the presence of protective components.

[0018] Figure 4 The diagram shows two variations of the main body of the shell.

[0019] Figure 5 A diagram showing an example of the frontal structure of the thick-walled portion of the main body of the shell.

[0020] Figure 6 A cross-sectional view showing a structural example of the protective component 20. Detailed Implementation

[0021] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Furthermore, the following embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure; additionally, structures selectively combined from multiple examples are also included in this disclosure.

[0022] "Structure of fuel cell casing"

[0023] Figure 1This is a perspective view showing the general structure of the fuel cell housing 100. A unit stack 10, composed of multiple fuel cell units, is housed within the interior space of the housing body 12. The fuel cell housing body 12 is divided into an upper housing 12a and a lower housing 12b. Both the upper housing 12a and the lower housing 12b are quadrilateral shapes formed by four side walls, and the lower end face of the upper housing 12a and the upper end face of the lower housing 12b are approximately the same shape and overlap. Furthermore, the upper surface of the upper housing 12a and the bottom surface of the lower housing 12b can be sealed using plate-shaped upper surface members and bottom surface members, respectively, thus enabling a sealed box-like structure. For the fuel cell unit stack 10, gases such as fuel gas and oxidizing gas, as well as wiring for power output, are required, passing through the housing body 12 and connecting to the unit stack 10. The unit stack 10, or the fuel cell housing that houses the unit stack 10, is sometimes referred to as a fuel cell stack.

[0024] In this example, the lower end face of the upper shell 12a is overlapped with the upper end face of the lower shell 12b to form a joint 14, and the two are integrally joined at the joint 14 by friction stirring.

[0025] Furthermore, a protective member 20 is installed on the side of the housing body 12 located at the front of the vehicle. Although in this example, the protective member 20 is only provided on the front side of the housing body 12 under the premise that a component moving from the front due to a frontal collision of the vehicle collides with the housing body 12, the protective member 20 may also be provided on other sides or all sides.

[0026] The protective component 20 is a four-sided plate with a C-shaped cross-section. Specifically, it has an upper joining portion 20a at the upper end, which is a strip-shaped area attached to the outer surface of the upper housing 12a, and a lower joining portion 20b at the lower end, which is a strip-shaped area attached to the outer surface of the lower housing 12b. The upper joining portion 20a and the lower joining portion 20b are joined to the outer surface of the housing body 12 by threaded connection. In the accompanying drawings, the connection points achieved by the threaded connection are indicated by circles. Furthermore, the connection method is not limited to threaded connection; it can also be achieved through bonding, welding, etc.

[0027] Furthermore, the upper joint 20a and the lower joint 20b are raised in the middle to separate from the joint 14 of the housing body 12, thereby forming a raised portion 20c. That is, the raised portion 20c covers the joint 14 at a distance D from the outer surface.

[0028] "Structure of the joint"

[0029] Figure 2 A partial perspective view showing the structure of the joint 14 is provided, and a cross-sectional structure of one sidewall of the upper housing 12a and the lower housing 12b is shown. In this example, the upper housing 12a is joined at the joint 14 where the two contact each other, with the upper housing 12a positioned above the lower housing 12b. Here, in this example, the joining of the upper housing 12a and the lower housing 12b is carried out by friction stirring as described above.

[0030] This friction stirring joint is implemented by pressing a tool against the joint 14 from the outside and rotating it. Therefore, although the lower end of the upper housing 12a is integrated near the contact surface of the lower housing 12b, this integration is performed from the outside inwards. In this example, both the upper housing 12a and the lower housing 12b have considerable thickness, making it difficult to continue integration to the end on the inner surface side. Therefore, as shown by ellipses in the figures, an integrated actual joint A is formed on the outer surface side, while an unintegrated unjoined part B remains on the inner surface side. Since the unjoined part B is not integrated, there is essentially no resistance to force in the direction of separation between the two.

[0031] Furthermore, in the illustrated example, the upper shell 12a and lower shell 12b are not flat plates; their cross-sectional shape is E-shaped, and the thickness increases at the upper end, lower end, and middle portion. In other words, by forming two recesses, the thickness of the upper end, lower end, and middle portion is increased. The thicker portion in the middle is referred to as the thick-walled portion C. Moreover, the upper joint portion 20a and lower joint portion 20b of the protective member 20 are respectively joined to the outer surface side of the thick-walled portion C of the upper shell 12a and lower shell 12b. Therefore, the joint portion is less prone to deformation compared to the adjacent upper and lower portions, thereby preventing the protective member 20 from peeling off due to impacts such as collisions.

[0032] "The effect during a collision"

[0033] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the state during a collision. Figure 3 Figure (A) shows the case without the protective member 20. Without the protective member 20, when an impact is applied to the joint 14 from the outside, the tensile input (the input in the direction that causes the joint to separate) will enter the unjoined portion B inside the joint 14. As a result, as shown in the figure, a stress that causes the inner portion to separate will be applied with the outer portion of the joint 14 as the fulcrum. Due to such stress concentration, it is possible for fracture to occur at approximately one-third of the elastic limit stress of the raw material (base material) of the housing body 12.

[0034] Figure 3Figure (B) shows the case with the protective member 20. When the protective member 20 is configured, the impact is first applied to the protective member 20, thus preventing direct impact on the joint 14. Furthermore, the protective member 20 transmits the input impact to the thick-walled portions C of the upper housing 12a and lower housing 12b via the upper joint 20a and lower joint 20b, respectively. Therefore, as shown in the figure, the transmission of the impact can be controlled so that a compressive input, rather than a tensile input, enters the unjoined portion B, thereby effectively preventing damage to the housing body 12. In particular, since the impact is input to the thick-walled portion C, damage to the housing body 12 can be effectively prevented.

[0035] "Change example"

[0036] Figure 4 Two variations of the housing body 12 are shown. Figure 4 In (A), the upper shell 12a and the lower shell 12b form a thick-walled portion C protruding to the outer surface by forming two recesses on the outer surface side. Furthermore, in Figure 4 In (B), the thick-walled portions C of the upper shell 12a and the lower shell 12b protrude to both the outer surface side and the inner surface side.

[0037] In such a structure, also with Figure 2 Similarly, the thick-walled portion C can withstand impacts from the protective member 20, thereby effectively preventing damage to the main body 12 of the housing.

[0038] Figure 5 This diagram shows the frontal structure of the thick-walled portion C of the main body 12 of the housing. Figure 5 In example (A), the thick-walled portion C is a strip-shaped protrusion in the transverse direction (left-right direction) of the housing body 12. Figure 5 In example (B), the thick-walled portion C is a rod-shaped protrusion discretely formed in the transverse direction (left-right direction) of the housing body 12. In either structure, it can withstand impacts from the protective member 20.

[0039] Figure 6 This is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the structure of the protective component 20. (Example:) Figure 2 , Figure 4 As shown, in Figure 6 In (A), the bulge 20c is formed as a gently sloping, stepped elevation. Figure 6 In (B), the raised part is a triangular mountain shape. Figure 6 In section (C), the raised portion 20c is a stepped raised portion that rises perpendicularly to the periphery. In either case, the impact can be transmitted to the thick-walled portion C.

[0040] Symbol Explanation

[0041] 10. Unit stack; 12. Shell body; 12. Fuel shell body; 12a. Upper shell; 12b. Lower shell; 14. Joint; 20. Protective component; 20a. Upper joint; 20b. Lower joint; 20c. Raised part; 100. Fuel cell shell.

Claims

1. A fuel cell housing, which internally houses a plurality of fuel cell units, and includes: The main body of the shell is assembled by joining and connecting the lower end of the upper shell and the upper end of the lower shell at the joint. The protective component includes an upper joint portion attached to the outer surface of the upper housing, a lower joint portion attached to the outer surface of the lower housing, and a raised portion covering the joint portion at a distance between the upper joint portion and the lower joint portion relative to the joint portion. The portion of the upper housing that is joined with the upper joint and the portion of the lower housing that is joined with the lower joint are thicker than the other portions.

2. The fuel cell housing as described in claim 1, wherein, The joint is located on the outer surface side of the upper housing and the lower housing, and on the inner surface side there is the upper end of the upper housing and an unjoined part that is not joined to the upper end of the lower housing.

Images