Fuel cell, power supply method using fuel cell, function card, fuel supply mechanism for fuel cell, and generator and production thereof
View Patent ↗A fuel cell having a structure capable of certainly supplying a gas by making effective use of a limited space while ensuring the portability of the fuel cell is provided. The fuel cell includes two generators, a fuel supply portion, and two planar current collectors. Each of the generators has a proton conductor film, and a planar hydrogen side electrode and a planar oxygen side electrode disposed with the proton conductor film held therebetween. The fuel supply portion is adapted to supply a fuel to the hydrogen side electrodes of the generators. The planar current collectors, which are disposed in close-contact with the oxygen side electrodes of the generators, have gas transmission portions such as opening portions allowing the oxygen side electrodes to be opened to atmosphere. Since the oxygen side electrodes are opened to atmosphere, oxygen can be supplied to the generators without lowering a partial pressure of oxygen in air.
1. An apparatus comprising:
a device having a main body and a card slot;
a function card inserted in the card slot and mounted to the main body of the device; and
a fuel storage portion removably mounted to the function card;
wherein the function card includes
a generator including a proton conductor film, and an oxygen side electrode and a hydrogen side electrode opposed to each other with said proton conductor film put therebetween, said generator being disposed in a housing of said function card, wherein power is generated by taking oxygen from a gas inlet portion formed in said housing to said oxygen side electrode in an atmosphere open state and supplying fuel selected from the group consisting of a fuel gas and a fuel liquid to said generator, and
a first connector portion to be locked with a respective second connector portion formed on a bottom portion of said card slot of said main body when said function card is inserted in said main body;
wherein power is capable of being outputted through said first connector portion of said function card, and wherein information is transferred between a first I/O portion associated with said function card and a second I/O portion associated with the fuel storage portion, and
wherein the fuel storage portion is removably mounted to a region, opposite to said main body, of said housing of said function card.
2. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein information on power generation is inputted or outputted in or from said connector portion of said function card via the first I/O portion.
3. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein when said function card is mounted to said main body, a power generated by said function card is taken out from part, facing to said main body, of said housing of said function card.
4. An apparatus function card according to claim 1 , wherein said function card is formed into a size standardized under a JEIDA/PCMCIA standard.
5. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said function card has the same size as that of Type I standardized under a JEIDA/PCMCIA standard, and a combined body of said function card and a fuel gas storage portion mounted to said function card has the same size as that of Type II standardized under the JEIDA/PCMCIA standard.
6. A function card inserted in a card slot provided in a peripheral device selectively mountable to an apparatus main body and mounted to said peripheral device, comprising:
a generator including a proton conductor film, and an oxygen side electrode and a hydrogen side electrode opposed to each other with said proton conductor film put therebetween, said generator being disposed in a housing of said function card;
wherein power is generated by taking oxygen from a gas inlet portion formed in said housing to said oxygen side electrode under atmospheric conditions and supplying any one of a fuel gas and a fuel liquid to said generator; and
a connector portion to be locked with a connector portion formed on a bottom portion of said card slot of said main body when said function card is inserted in said main body;
wherein power is capable of being outputted through said connector portion of said function card, and wherein information is transferred between a first I/O portion associated with said functional card and a second I/O portion associated with a fuel storage portion removably mounted to a region, opposite to said main body, of said housing of said function card.
7. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said information includes at least one of a datum for an amount of supplying fuel from said fuel storage, a datum for pressure fuel in at least one of said function card and said fuel storage, a datum for temperature in at least one of said function card and said fuel storage, and a datum for monitoring a connection state between at least one of said function card and said fuel storage.