Reference rail for a fuel cell stack system

Abstract

A reference rail for a fuel cell stack system includes a body extending along a longitudinal axis and comprising: a first end, a second end facing away from the first end, a channel extending between the first end and the second end, and one or more through-holes extending through the body with respect to the longitudinal axis. The reference rail further includes at least one rod disposed in each of the one or more through-holes and extending between the first end and the second end.

Description

INTRODUCTION

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to a reference rail for fuel cell systems and, more particularly, to a reinforced reference rail for fuel cell systems.

[0002] In general, a fuel cell stack system requires one or more plates to be assembled (e.g., stacked) and ultimately compressed into a stack. During assembly, one or more guides or support rails may be used to locate and align the one or more plates relative to one another. The one or more guides or support rails typically remain in the stack after the assembly process is completed and may serve as an insulator for a metal enclosure surrounding the stack. Existing guides or support rails are fragile and typically cannot withstand the mechanical stresses to which vehicles may be subjected. The deficiencies of existing devices and systems are addressed by one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

[0003] US 2020 / 0 127 316 A1 discloses a fuel cell stack with a coupling rod having a body with a first and second end and a channel. DE 10 2013 220 278 A1 discloses a fuel cell stack formed by stacks of a plurality of unit cells. SUMMARY

[0004] According to one aspect, a reference rail for a fuel cell stack system is provided and includes a body extending along a longitudinal axis, comprising: a first end, a second end facing away from the first end, a channel extending between the first end and the second end, and one or more through-holes extending through the body with respect to the longitudinal axis. The reference rail also includes at least one rod disposed in each of the one or more through-holes and extending between the first end and the second end. The at least one rod is bonded to the body by an adhesive and reinforces the body against forces acting orthogonal to the longitudinal axis.

[0005] Implementations of the disclosure may include one or more of the following optional features. In some examples, the body may include a first flange and a second flange, each extending between the first end and the second end with respect to the longitudinal axis. One of the one or more through-holes may extend through the first flange with respect to the longitudinal axis, and another of the one or more through-holes may extend through the second flange with respect to the longitudinal axis. The channel may be laterally disposed between the first flange and the second flange.

[0006] According to another example, the channel may be configured to correspond to an alignment device disposed in a fuel cell housing of each of one or more fuel cells.

[0007] According to at least one aspect, the body is made of an insulating material, and the at least one rod is made of a different material than the body. The insulating material may be made of plastic. The at least one rod may be made of metal. The at least one rod may be made of steel.

[0008] According to one aspect, a fuel cell stack assembly is provided that includes a fuel cell stack housing having a chamber, one or more fuel cells disposed within the chamber of the fuel cell stack housing, and one or more reference rails aligning the one or more fuel cells with respect to one another and separating the one or more fuel cells from the fuel cell stack housing. The one or more reference rails include a body extending with respect to a longitudinal axis, comprising: a first end, a second end facing away from the first end, and one or more through-holes extending through the body with respect to the longitudinal axis. The one or more reference rails further include at least one rod disposed within each of the one or more through-holes and extending between the first end and the second end.

[0009] Implementations of the disclosure may include one or more of the following optional features. In some examples, the body includes a first flange and a second flange, each extending between the first end and the second end with respect to the longitudinal axis. One of the one or more through-holes may extend through the first flange with respect to the longitudinal axis, and another of the one or more through-holes may extend through the second flange with respect to the longitudinal axis. The body may include a channel laterally disposed between the first flange and the second flange. The channel may be configured to correspond to an alignment device disposed within the fuel cell housings of each of the one or more fuel cells.

[0010] According to at least one example, the body is made of an insulating material, and the at least one rod is made of a different material than the body. The insulating material may be made of plastic. The at least one rod may be made of metal. The at least one rod may be made of steel.

[0011] According to at least one aspect, the at least one rod can reinforce the body against forces acting orthogonal to the longitudinal axis. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a fuel cell stack housing according to the principles of the present disclosure; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one or more fuel cells arranged with respect to one or more reference rails in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the one or more fuel cells and one or more reference rails of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is an exploded view of a reference rail according to the principles of the present disclosure; Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the reference rail of Fig. 4 along line 5-5; and Fig. 6 is a front view of the reference rail of Fig. 4.

[0013] Corresponding reference numbers indicate corresponding parts in the drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] Example configurations will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Example configurations are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and will convey the full scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Specific details are set forth, such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, in order to provide a thorough understanding of configurations of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that specific details need not be used, that example configurations may be embodied in many different forms, and that the specific details and example configurations should not be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure.

[0015] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing specific example configurations only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular articles "a," "an," and "the" can also include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms "comprises," "comprising," "containing," and "having" are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of features, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein should not be construed as necessarily being performed in the order discussed or illustrated unless they are expressly identified as being in order of performance.Additional or alternative steps may be applied.

[0016] When an element or layer is described as being "on," "engaging," "connected," "attached to," or "coupled" to another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaging, connected, attached, or coupled to the other element or layer, or there may be intervening elements or layers. Conversely, when an element is described as being "directly on," "directly engaging," "directly connected to," "directly attached to," or "directly coupled to" another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted similarly (e.g., "between" versus "directly between," "adjacent" versus "directly next to," etc.).As used herein, the term “and / or” includes all combinations of one or more of the related listed items.

[0017] The terms "first," "second," "third," etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers, and / or sections. These elements, components, regions, layers, and / or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may only be used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer, or section from another region, layer, or section, respectively. Terms such as "first," "second," and other numerical terms do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer, or section discussed below could be referred to as a second element, component, region, layer, or section without departing from the teachings of the example configurations.

[0018] In this application, including the definitions below, the term "module" may be replaced by the term "circuit". The term "module" may refer to, be part of, or include: an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC); a digital, analog, or mixed analog / digital discrete circuit; a digital, analog, or mixed analog / digital integrated circuit; a combinational logic circuit; a field-programmable gate array (FPGA); a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) executing code; memory (shared, dedicated, or group) storing code executed by a processor; other suitable hardware components providing the described functionality; or a combination of some or all of the above, e.g., in a system-on-chip.

[0019] The term "code" as used above can include software, firmware and / or microcode and can refer to programs, routines, functions, classes, and / or objects. The term "shared processor" includes a single processor that executes some or all of the code from multiple modules. The term "group processor" includes a processor that, in combination with other processors, executes some or all of the code from one or more modules. The term "shared memory" includes a single memory that stores some or all of the code from multiple modules. The term "group memory" includes memory that, in combination with other memory, stores some or all of the code from one or more modules. The term "memory" can be a subset of the term "computer-readable medium".The term "computer-readable medium" does not encompass transitory electrical and electromagnetic signals propagating through a medium and can therefore be considered tangible and non-transitory storage. Non-limiting examples of non-transitory storage include tangible, computer-readable medium, including non-volatile memory, magnetic storage, and optical storage.

[0020] The devices and methods described in this application may be implemented partially or entirely by one or more computer programs executed by one or more processors. The computer programs include processor-executable instructions stored on at least one non-transitory, tangible, computer-readable medium. The computer programs may also include and / or access stored data.

[0021] A software application (i.e., a software resource) may refer to computer software that causes a computing device to perform a task. In some examples, a software application may be referred to as an "application," "app," or "program." Example applications include, but are not limited to, system diagnostic applications, system management applications, system maintenance applications, word processing applications, spreadsheet applications, messaging applications, media streaming applications, social networking applications, and gaming applications.

[0022] Non-transitory memory can be physical devices used to temporarily or permanently store programs (e.g., instruction sequences) or data (e.g., program state information) for use by a computing device. Non-transitory memory can be volatile and / or non-volatile addressable semiconductor memory. Examples of non-volatile memory include flash memory and read-only memory (ROM) / programmable read-only memory (PROM) / erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) / electronically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) (e.g., typically used for firmware such as boot programs). Examples of volatile memory include random-access memory (RAM), dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), static random-access memory (SRAM), phase-change memory (PCM), and floppy disks or tapes.

[0023] These computer programs (also referred to as programs, software, software applications, or code) contain machine instructions for a programmable processor and may be implemented in a procedural and / or object-oriented high-level language and / or assembly / machine language. As used herein, the terms "machine-readable medium" and "computer-readable medium" refer to any computer program product, non-transitory computer-readable medium, apparatus, and / or device (e.g., magnetic disks, optical disks, memory, programmable logic devices (PLDs)) designed to deliver machine instructions and / or data to a programmable processor, including a machine-readable medium that receives machine instructions as a machine-readable signal.The term “machine-readable signal” refers to any signal used to convey machine instructions and / or data to a programmable processor.

[0024] Various implementations of the systems and techniques described herein may be realized in digital electronic and / or optical circuits, integrated circuits, purpose-built ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits), computer hardware, firmware, software, and / or combinations thereof. These various implementations may include implementation in one or more computer programs executable and / or interpretable on a programmable system comprising at least one programmable processor, which may be used for special or general purposes and is coupled to receive data and instructions from and transmit data and instructions to a storage system, and at least one input device and at least one output device.

[0025] The processes and logic flows described in this specification may be performed by one or more programmable processors, also known as data processing hardware, which run one or more computer programs to perform functions by responding to input data and generating output. The processes and logic flows may also be performed by special-purpose logic circuits, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). Processors suitable for executing a computer program include, for example, both general-purpose and special-purpose microprocessors, as well as one or more processors of any type of digital computer. Generally, a processor receives instructions and data from read-only memory or random-access memory, or both.The essential elements of a computer are a processor for executing instructions, and one or more storage devices for storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer will also include, or be operatively connected to, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g., magnetic, magneto-optical, or optical disks, or to receive or transfer data to or from them. However, a computer is not required to have such devices. Computer-readable media suitable for storing computer program instructions and data includes all forms of non-volatile memory, media, and storage devices, including, for example, semiconductor memory devices such as EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal hard disks or removable media; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks.The processor and memory can be supplemented by or integrated into special logic circuits.

[0026] To enable interaction with a user, one or more aspects of the disclosure may be implemented on a computer having a display device, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube), LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor, or a touchscreen for displaying information to the user, and optionally a keyboard and pointing device, e.g., a mouse or trackball, with which the user can provide input to the computer. Other types of devices may also be used to interact with the user; for example, the feedback to the user may be any form of sensory feedback, e.g., visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input from the user may be received in any form, including auditory, voice, or tactile input.In addition, a computer can interact with a user by sending and receiving documents to and from a device used by the user; for example, by sending web pages to a web browser on a user's client device in response to requests received from the web browser.

[0027] To illustrate the principles of the present disclosure, Fig. 1, a fuel cell stack assembly 10 is shown. The fuel cell stack assembly 10 includes a fuel cell stack housing 100, a fuel cell stack 200, and one or more rails, e.g., one or more alignment or reference rails 300. In general, the fuel cell stack housing 100 may be arranged to protect the fuel cell stack 200 from forces that may result, for example, from high or low impact shocks. The fuel cell stack housing 100 may include a chamber 102 with one or more walls made of metal or another material typically used for manufacturing fuel cell stack housings. For example, the chamber 102 may include at least a first set of parallel walls 104a, 104b and a second set of parallel walls 106a, 106b. The chamber 102 may further include top and bottom plates (not shown) configured to, for example,can be fluid-tightly connected to the walls 104a, 104b, 106a, 106b. According to one aspect of the present disclosure, one or more of the walls 104a, 104b, 106a, 106b can include one or more slots 108 configured to receive or otherwise align the one or more reference rails with respect to the fuel cell stack housing 100. The walls 104a, 104b, 106a, 106b or other aspects of the chamber 102 can include additional features (e.g., clips, slots, fasteners, etc.) for aligning, receiving, or retaining the one or more reference rails 300 with respect to the fuel cell stack housing 100.

[0028] The fuel cell stack 200 (see Fig. 2) includes one or more fuel cells 202 laterally disposed between the one or more reference rails 300. The fuel cell stack 200 may include one or more supply channels 204 and one or more exhaust channels 206 so that fluids such as gas, fuel gas, cooling gas, etc. can flow through the fuel cell stack 200. The one or more fuel cells 202 each include a membrane electrode (not shown) sandwiched within a fuel cell housing 208. The fuel cell housing 208 may be manufactured, for example, by stamping or another method for manufacturing fuel cell components. During assembly of the fuel cell stack 200, it may be desirable for each fuel cell 202 to be precisely aligned with the other fuel cells 202 in the fuel cell stack 200 before, for example, the fuel cells 202 are compressed.Thus, each fuel cell housing 208 may include one or more alignment features (e.g., grooves, recesses, etc.) 210 for aligning the fuel cells 202 within the fuel cell stack 200, as shown in FIG. Fig. 3 shown.

[0029] Again with reference to Fig. 1, the one or more reference rails 300 may be disposed between the fuel cell stack 200 and the walls 104a, 104b, 106a, 106b of the chamber 102. In other words, the one or more reference rails 300 may separate the fuel cell stack 200 from the chamber 102, which may be desirable to insulate the fuel cell stack 200 from a short circuit through a metallic fuel cell stack housing 100. Furthermore, the one or more reference rails 300 may be configured to align the one or more fuel cells 202 of the fuel cell stack 200. As shown in Fig. 4, the one or more reference rails 300 may include a body 302 extending along a longitudinal axis 304. The body 302 may have a first end 306, a second end 308 remote from the first end 306, and a channel 310 extending between the first end 306 and the second end 308. The body 302 may be made of, for example, plastic, a lightweight material, or another material used to manufacture reference rails for fuel cell stacks. The body 302 may include one or more through-holes 312 extending through the body 302 in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis 304. The one or more reference rails 300 also include one or more rods 314 that may be disposed in the one or more through-holes 312.For example, the one or more rods 314 may be made of metal, a reinforcement material, or a material that is stronger than plastic. Thus, the material of the body 302 may be different from the material of the one or more rods 314.

[0030] According to at least one configuration, the body 302 may have a C- or U-shaped cross-section, as shown in Fig. 5. In other words, the body 302 may have a first flange 316 and a second flange 318, each extending axially between the first end 306 and the second end 308 with respect to the longitudinal axis 304. The first and second flanges 316, 318 may each have a thickness T. The one or more through-holes 312 may include two through-holes, one passing through the first flange 316 and the other passing through the second flange 318. Each of the through-holes 312 may have a diameter D that is smaller than the thickness T. The diameter D of the one or more through-holes 312 may be determined based on the diameter of the one or more rods 314. In other words, the one or more rods 314 may be inserted into the one or more through-holes 312 and bonded to the body of the reference rails 300 (e.g., with an adhesive).In the present configuration, the channel 310 is disposed laterally between the first flange 316 and the second flange 318 and is configured such that the first flange 316 and the second flange 318 can correspond to the one or more alignment devices 210 of the fuel cell housing 208.

[0031] During assembly, Fig. 3, the one or more fuel cells 202 are arranged on the one or more reference rails 300 by aligning the first and second flanges 316, 318 of each reference rail 300 with respect to the alignment fixtures 210 of the fuel cell housing 208. During installation, each fuel cell 202 is clamped along a corresponding plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 304.

[0032] As previously mentioned, vehicles may experience forces from impacting other objects such as other vehicles, potholes, buildings, trees, etc. at low or high speeds. These forces may result in damage to one or more parts of the vehicle. For example, the fuel cell stack assembly 10 may be compromised by these forces. Reinforcing the reference rails 300 with one or more rods 314 may be desirable to mitigate and / or minimize the effect of the one or more forces to which the vehicle may be subjected from time to time. With reference to Fig.6, when the reference rail 300 is reinforced with one or more steel bars 314 and the reference rail is subjected to a lateral force (e.g., 27 kN) along a path parallel to the x-axis 12 (i.e., orthogonal to the longitudinal axis), the reference rail 300 may exhibit a deflection of up to 5-6.2 mm. Compared to previous reference rails, the reference rail 300 may exhibit approximately 50-60% less deflection when subjected to a lateral force along a path parallel to the x-axis 12.

Claims

[1] Reference rail (300) for a fuel cell stack system, comprising: a body (302) extending along a longitudinal axis (304) comprising: a first end (306), a second end (308) facing away from the first end (306), a channel (310) extending between the first end (306) and the second end (308), and one or more through-holes (312) extending through the body (302) with respect to the longitudinal axis (304); and at least one rod (314) disposed in each of the one or more through-holes (312) and extending between the first end (306) and the second end (308), wherein the at least one rod (314) is bonded to the body (302) by an adhesive and reinforces the body (302) against forces acting orthogonal to the longitudinal axis (304). [2] The reference rail (300) of claim 1, wherein the body (302) includes a first flange (316) and a second flange (318) each extending between the first end (306) and the second end (308) with respect to the longitudinal axis (304). [3] The reference rail (300) of claim 2, wherein one of the one or more through holes (312) extends through the first flange (316) with respect to the longitudinal axis (304) and another of the one or more through holes (312) extends through the second flange (318) with respect to the longitudinal axis (304). [4] The reference rail (300) of claim 3, wherein the channel (310) is disposed laterally between the first flange (316) and the second flange (318). [5] The reference rail (300) of claim 1, wherein the channel (310) is configured to correspond to an alignment device (210) disposed within a fuel cell housing (208) of each of the one or more fuel cells (202). [6] The reference rail (300) of claim 1, wherein the body (302) is made of an insulating material and the at least one rod (314) is made of a different material than the body (302). [7] Reference rail (300) according to claim 6, wherein the insulating material is plastic. [8] The reference rail (300) of claim 7, wherein the at least one rod (314) is made of metal. [9] The reference rail (300) of claim 8, wherein the at least one rod (314) is made of steel.

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