Abstract:
A current collection board for a fuel cell is described. The current collection board includes a plate body having a substrate made of a printed circuit board, and at least one current collection circuitry disposed on the surface of the plate body. Furthermore, the current collection board is fabricated according to the shapes and areas of the membrane electrode assemblies. The fabricating method is thus simple and costs less.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to a current collection board for a fuel cell, and more particularly, to a current collection board using a printed circuit board as its substrate, which is easily fabricated and is inexpensive.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     A conventional fuel cell includes the components like an anode current collection board, a cathode current collection board and at least one membrane electrode assembly (MEA), wherein these components are assembled compactly to form the cell. Consequently, the anode current collection board and the cathode current collection board applied to a certain type of fuel cell are not suitable for other types of cells. It is also difficult for traditional structures of the anode current collection board and the cathode current collection board to fit them for manifold MEAs, especially for newly-developed MEAs. As a result, such newly-developed MEAs&#39; quality is not tested and verified except if another special anode current collection boards and cathode current collection boards are manufactured.  
         [0003]     Therefore, an improved current collection board that is easily fabricated and inexpensive is needed to overcome the aforesaid disadvantages.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0004]     It is a primary object of the invention to provide a current collection board for a fuel cell, which is easily fabricated and inexpensive.  
         [0005]     It is another object of the invention to provide a simple fabricated and inexpensive current collection board for a fuel cell, which is formed corresponding to the shapes and areas of the membrane electrode assemblies.  
         [0006]     In accordance with the objects of the invention, a current collection board for a fuel cell is disclosed. The current collection board comprises a plate body having a substrate made of a printed circuit board, and at least a current collection circuitry disposed on the surface of the plate body. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]     The foregoing aspects, as well as many of the attendant advantages and features of this invention will become more apparent by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0008]      FIG. 1  illustrates a current collection board for a fuel cell according to one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0009]      FIG. 2  is a side view of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0010]      FIG. 3  shows a plate body having electrical device thereon according to one embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0011]      FIG. 4  shows a plate body having electrical interfaces according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0012]      FIG. 1  illustrates a current collection board for a fuel cell according to one embodiment of the invention, and  FIG. 2  shows its side view. The current collection board  1  includes a plate body  11  and one or more current collection circuitries  13 . The current collection board  1  may be fabricated using a printed circuit board (PCB), such as a copper foil printed circuit board. For example, the current collection circuitries  13  are formed by means of the copper foil printed circuit board and PCB processes. Additionally, the shapes and the areas of the current collection circuitries  13  are designed based on those of membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) (not shown). For instance, the current collection circuitries  13  are rectangular structures while the MEAs are rectangles. It is noted that the rectangular current collection circuitries  13  are merely an exemplar, which are not limited to the invention.  
         [0013]     The current collection circuitry  13  is made of a conductive material, such as copper foil covering the surface of a PCB, a metal lamina, metal foil, a graphite board, and so on. Moreover, there are two ways to manufacture the current collection circuitries  13 . One is to utilize metal foil originally covering the surface of the plate body  11  to form the current collection circuits  13 . The other way is to form the current collection circuitries  13  and the plate body  11 , respectively, and then to compress the current collection circuitries  13  onto the surface of the sealed plate body  11 .  
         [0014]     In additional to the aforesaid rectangular structure, the current collection circuitry  13  may be a frame structure with a hollow portion in the middle region thereof, a network structure, or a flat structure composed of lines.  
         [0015]     Since the current collection board  1  may be an anode current collection board or a cathode current collection board, the surfaces of the current collection circuitries  13  are further treated by, for example, performing a protective process or an acid-proof process, or coating a material with good conductivity, for accommodating themselves to different applications of fuels. Therefore, the current collection circuitries  13  are protected from erosion of fuels, and the ability of collecting current thereof is enhanced.  
         [0016]     Referring to  FIG. 3 , the current collection board  1  also comprises one or more electrical devices  15  on the plate body  11 . The electrical device  15  is, for example, active electrical component, a passive electrical component, a sensor, an integrated circuit device, a microprocessor, a constant voltage regulator, or a constant current regulator. The current collection board  1  further comprises an electrical interface  17 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . The electrical interface  17  is, for instance, a golden finger, a connector, a cable, or a cable having a connector. Through the electrical interface  17 , the current collection board  1  can transmit signals, so as to communicate with external surroundings.  
         [0017]     The current collection circuitries  13  can be formed separately on the top and bottom surfaces of the plate body  11 . For example, a two-sided copper foil printed circuit board is used to fabricate a current collection board  1  with current collection circuitries  13  at its two sides. The current collection circuitries  13  can be formed, of course, on a single side of the plate body  11 . For example, a single-sided copper foil printed circuit board is used to fabricate a current collection board  1  with current collection circuitries  13  at its single side. Furthermore, pluralities of through holes (not shown) are disposed within a region defined by the current collection circuitry  13 , in order to make fuels flow into corresponding MEA.  
         [0018]     The electrical circuit interface board  1  can be applied to any kinds of fuel cells, such as fuel cells with methanol fuels, or fuel cells with liquid fuels, gaseous fuels or solid fuels.  
         [0019]     The current collection board of the invention possesses some advantages and dominant improvements, which are summarized as follows:  
         [0000]     1. The current collection board has utility since it can be manufactured by means of PCB accompanying a simple and inexpensive process; and  
         [0000]     2. The current collection board is a multi-function current collection board because it also integrates circuit devices and electrical interfaces.  
         [0020]     While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, these are, of course, merely examples to help clarify the invention and are not intended to limit the invention. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, and alterations in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as set forth in the following claims.