Patent Publication Number: US-2010108634-A1

Title: Fuel bottle for a fuel cartridge using the same.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This invention relates to a fuel bottle for a fuel cell and a fuel cartridge using the same which can achieve a shape, capacity and strength adapted for containing methanol fuel for a methanol fuel cell and for housing the bottle in a hard case and being capable of flowing out methanol fuel by pushing a push button and adapted also for forming the bottle by blow molding. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     Various liquid type fuel cells capable of generating electric current directly from liquid fuel have recently been developed. A direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) using methanol as fuel has attracted attention as a power source of mobile type electronic devices, for it does not need a reformer and therefore can be made in a compact design. 
     In a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) called a passive system, in particular, methanol which is a liquid fuel is supplied directly by coupling a fuel cartridge containing methanol to a fuel tank provided on the main body of a fuel cell whereby a pump for supplying fuel can be obviated and the fuel cell can be made in a further compact design (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2005-71713). 
     For such direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC), there is used a fuel cartridge in which methanol which is fuel is contained in an inner container in the form of a contractible bottle which is covered and protected by an outer container made of a hard case. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In such fuel cartridge in which a bottle containing methanol fuel for a fuel cell is covered by a hard case, as a method for causing the bottle to contract to enable methanol to flow out, a push button is provided on the outer hard case for causing the bottle to contract. In this case, however, there arises the problems that the hard case must have a space for moving the push button and that the inside container must have sufficient shape, capacity and formability. 
     In view of such problems of the prior art, it is an object of the invention to provide a fuel bottle for a fuel cell which can be housed efficiently in a hard case and can also secure necessary capacity and formability as well as a fuel cartridge using this fuel bottle. 
     On the other hand, in such a fuel cartridge in which a bottle containing methanol fuel is covered by a hard case, since the blow molded bottle is contracted to cause methanol to flow out, the bottle per se is required to have contractibility and squeezability and hence a bottle having a relatively small wall thickness is used. 
     Since, however, methanol has a low boiling point, in a situation in which, for example, a fuel cartridge is placed in a car, inner pressure of the bottle increases due to temperature of the environment and, therefore, sufficient strength of the bottle must be secured even in a case where the inner pressure of the bottle increases. 
     In view of such problem of the prior art, it is another object of the invention to provide a fuel bottle for a fuel cell in which sufficient strength such as pressure-proof property can be secured in a case where inner pressure of the bottle increases due to temperature of the environment and a fuel cartridge using such fuel bottle. 
     For solving these problems of the prior art, in the first aspect of the invention, there is provided a fuel bottle for a fuel cell having a bottle main body for containing fuel for a fuel cell and comprising a nozzle portion at the tip portion of the bottle main body on which a coupler for connecting with a main body of a fuel cell can be attached and a trunk portion having a generally elliptic shape in cross section and having been formed by blow molding characterized in that length in one direction of minor axis from the center of the nozzle portion of the elliptic shape in cross section of the trunk portion of the bottle main body differs from length in the other direction of the minor axis from the center of the nozzle portion. 
     According to this fuel bottle for a fuel cell, the bottle has a bottle main body for containing fuel for a fuel cell and comprises a nozzle portion at the tip portion of the bottle main body on which a coupler for connecting with a main body of a fuel cell can be attached and a trunk portion having a generally elliptic shape in cross section and has been formed by blow molding. Since in this bottle length in one direction of minor axis from the center of the nozzle portion of the elliptic shape in cross section of the trunk portion of the bottle main body differs from length in the other direction of the minor axis from the center of the nozzle portion, by changing the length of minor axis from the center of the nozzle portion of the bottle of the ellipse shape and thereby shifting the center of the nozzle portion from the center of the trunk portion, space for moving a push button can be secured while the bottle can be housed in a hard case with a necessary capacity being sufficiently provided. 
     In the second aspect of the invention, there is provided a fuel bottle for a fuel cell as defined in the first aspect wherein parting lines at both ends on the side of line of apsides of the elliptic shape of the bottle main body and a pinch portion on the bottom of the bottle main body are disposed substantially at the center of the minor axis offset from the center of the nozzle portion. 
     According to this fuel bottle for a fuel cell, since parting lines at both ends on the side of line of apsides of the elliptic shape of the bottle main body and a pinch portion on the bottom of the bottle main body are disposed substantially at the center of the minor axis offset from the center of the nozzle portion, the blow ratio in the direction of the minor axis of the bottle main body other than the nozzle portion can be made substantially uniform whereby strength as a bottle can be secured relatively easily. 
     In the third aspect of the invention, there is provided a fuel bottle for a fuel cell as defined in the first or second aspect wherein an outwardly protruding projection is formed on the shorter length side from the center of the nozzle portion of the minor axis of the bottle main body. 
     According to this fuel bottle for a fuel cell, since an outwardly protruding projection is formed on the shorter length side from the center of the nozzle portion of the minor axis of the bottle main body, a further capacity can be easily secured. 
     In the fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a fuel cartridge for a fuel cell comprising a hard case provided with a push button which can house a fuel bottle as defined in the first aspect and can enable fuel for a fuel cell to flow out by pushing, with the push button, a surface of the fuel bottle on the shorter length side from the center of the nozzle portion. 
     According to this fuel cartridge for a fuel cell, since fuel cartridge comprises a hard case provided with a push button which can house a fuel bottle as defined in the first aspect and can enable fuel for a fuel cell to flow out by pushing, with the push button, a surface of the fuel bottle on the shorter length side from the center of the nozzle portion, by pushing the surface of the fuel bottle on the shorter length side from the center of the nozzle portion with the push button, the bottle can be housed efficiently in the hard case and necessary capacity and formability can be secured. 
     In the fifth aspect of the invention, there is provided a fuel bottle for a fuel cell as defined in the first aspect wherein a pinch portion is formed in a lowly stretched portion of the bottle main body in a manner to protrude outwardly. 
     According to this fuel bottle for a fuel cell, there is provided a fuel bottle for a fuel cell having a bottle main body for containing fuel for a fuel cell and comprising a nozzle portion at the tip portion of the bottle main body on which a coupler for connecting with a main body of a fuel cell can be attached and a trunk portion having been formed by blow molding wherein a pinch portion is formed in a manner to protrude outwardly and, since the pinch portion which has a notch in a lowly stretched portion of a parison such as the bottom and shoulder portions of the bottle main body is formed in a manner to protrude outwardly, a closely contacting portion is increased and contacting strength thereby is improved. 
     By this arrangement, since the bottle is used in the state in which it is housed in the hard case, the shape of the pinch portion does not adversely affect self-supporting property of the bottle and strength of the bottle can thereby be improved. 
     In the sixth aspect of the invention, there is provided a fuel bottle for a fuel cell as defined in the fifth aspect wherein the outwardly protruding pinch portion is bent toward the bottle main body. 
     According to this fuel bottle for a fuel cell, the outwardly protruding pinch portion is bent toward the bottle main body and, therefore, a closely contacting portion is further increased and strength thereby can be further improved. 
     In the seventh aspect of the invention, there is provided a fuel cartridge for a fuel comprising a hard case provided with a push button and a rib formed on an inside surface of the hard case which can house a fuel bottle as defined in the fifth aspect in such a manner that at least the pinch portion or a portion in the vicinity of the pinch portion of the fuel bottle is pressed by the rib of the hard case. 
     According to this fuel cartridge for a fuel cell, the fuel cartridge comprises a hard case provided with a push button and a rib formed on an inside surface of the hard case which can house a fuel bottle as defined in any of the first to the third aspects in such a manner that the pinch portion and a portion in the vicinity of the pinch portion, or either the pinch portion or the portion in the vicinity of the pinch portion of the fuel bottle is pressed by the rib of the hard case and, therefore, the bottle is housed in such a manner that the outwardly projecting pinch portion or the portion in the vicinity of such pinch portion, or the outwardly protruding pinch portion which is bent toward the bottle main body or the portion in the vicinity of such pinch portion is pressed by the rib of the hard case and, as a result, deformation of the bottle can be prevented and deformation and opening of the pinch portion thereby can be prevented even in a case where inner pressure of the bottle is increased. Further, by pressing by the rib, close contact can further be improved and strength thereby can be improved. 
     In the eighth aspect of the invention, there is provided a fuel cartridge for a fuel comprising a hard case provided with a push button and a rib formed on an inside surface of the hard case which can house a fuel bottle as defined in any of the first to third aspect in such a manner that at least the pinch portion or a portion in the vicinity of the pinch portion of the fuel bottle is clamped by the rib of the hard case. 
     According to this fuel cartridge for a fuel cell, the fuel cartridge comprises a hard case provided with a push button and a rib formed on an inside surface of the hard case which can house a fuel bottle as defined in the fifth aspect in such a manner that the pinch portion and the portion in the vicinity of such pinch portion, or the pinch portion or the portion in the vicinity of such pinch portion of the fuel body is pressed by the rib and the outwardly protruding pinch portion or the portion in the vicinity of such pinch portion, or the pinch portion which is bent toward the bottle main body or the portion in the vicinity of such pinch portion is clamped by the rib of the hard case and, therefore, the bottle is housed in such a manner that deformation of the bottle can be prevented and deformation and opening of the pinch portion can thereby be prevented even when inner pressure of the bottle is increased. Further, by clamping the pinch portion by the rib, close contact can further be increased and strength can thereby be improved. 
     In the ninth aspect of the invention, there is provided a fuel bottle as defined in the first or second aspect which is formed to have at least one layer of a cyclic olefin (COC) resin. 
     According to this fuel bottle, the fuel bottle is formed to have at least one layer of a cyclic olefin (COC) resin and, by this structure, a bottle having restricted permeability to methanol can be provided. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front view, a plan view and a side view of an embodiment of a fuel bottle for a fuel cell made according to the invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a front view and a sectional view of an embodiment of a fuel cartridge using a fuel bottle for a fuel cell of the invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a sectional view of a blow mold used for molding of the fuel bottle for a fuel cell of the invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a front view, a plan view and a side view of another embodiment of a fuel bottle for a fuel cell made according to the invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a front view, a plan view, a bottom view, a side view and partially enlarged views of the side view of another embodiment of a fuel bottle for a fuel cell made according to the invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a sectional view of a blow mold used for molding the fuel bottle for a fuel cell of this embodiment. 
         FIG. 7  is a front view and partially enlarged views of the front view of the inside of an embodiment of a fuel cartridge using the fuel bottle for a fuel cell of this embodiment. 
         FIG. 8  is a front view, a plan view, a side view and a bottom view of still another embodiment of a fuel bottle of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIG. 1  shows a front view, a plan view and a side view of an embodiment of a fuel bottle for a fuel cell of the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  shows a front view and a sectional view of an embodiment of a fuel cartridge of the invention using the fuel bottle for a fuel cell.  FIG. 3  shows a sectional view of a blow mold used for molding the fuel bottle for a fuel cell of the invention and  FIG. 4  shows a front view, a plan view and a side view of another embodiment of a fuel bottle for a fuel cell of the invention. 
     A fuel bottle  10  for a fuel cell is a fuel bottle for containing methanol for a passive type fuel cell according to which fuel is directly supplied to a fuel tank of a fuel cell main body of a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) using methanol as its fuel. 
     This fuel bottle  10  is formed, as shown in  FIG. 1 , is made of plastic having contractibility and is formed by blow molding and is used for containing methanol. The bottle  10  has a nozzle portion  11  at the tip portion and is formed in a generally flat bottle shape having a bottle main body  12  which has a generally elliptic shape in cross section. 
     In the cross sectional plane of the elliptic shape of the bottle main body constituting a trunk portion of this fuel bottle  10 , length L 1  in one direction from the center On of the nozzle portion  11  of minor axis passing through the center On of the nozzle portion  11  which constitutes the center of a parison in blow molding differs from length L 2  in the other direction of the minor axis from the center On of the nozzle portion  11 . Accordingly, the center On of the nozzle portion  11  is offset from center Ob of the bottle main body  12  and the length L 1  to a front surface  12   a  is short and the length L 2  to a rear surface  12   b  is long. 
     By this arrangement, when this fuel bottle  10  is housed in a hard case  21  of a fuel cartridge  22  shown in  FIG. 2  in which distances from the center of the nozzle portion  11  to a front surface and a rear surface are set at 2·L=2·L 2 , space S which is equivalent to L 2 -L 1  can be secured on the side of the front surface  12   a  of the bottle main body  12  and this space S can be used as space for moving a push button  22  therein. 
     For making this fuel bottle  10  by blow molding, blow molding is normally performed in such a manner that the center of the parison coincides with the center On of the nozzle and parting lines PL of the blow mold and pinch portion  13  at the bottom of the bottle main body  12  are aligned with the center of the parison. 
     If the fuel bottle  10  is formed by using such ordinary type of blow molding, the blow ratio of the front and rear surfaces  12   a  and  12   b  from the nozzle center On becomes different from each other due to difference in the lengths L 1  and L 2  and, as a result, uniform strength of the bottle main body  12  as a whole cannot be achieved. 
     For this reason, in this fuel bottle  10 , as shown in  FIG. 3 , the bottle  10  is formed in such a manner that the parting lines PL of a pair of blow mold  30  for the bottle main body  12  are disposed substantially at the center of the minor axis of the elliptic shape and at both ends on the line of apsides of the elliptic shape. Likewise, the pinch portion  13  at the bottom of the bottle main body  12  is disposed at the center of the bottom of the bottle center Ob. 
     By such parting lines PL and the pinch portion  13  at the bottom of the bottle main body  12 , notwithstanding that the bottle  10  has the nozzle center On offset from the bottle main body center Ob, the blow ratio of the front and rear surfaces  12   a  and  12   b  can be made substantially uniform and uniform stretching can thereby be achieved and strength can be made uniform. 
     The fuel bottle  10  must be able not only to contain methanol in the bottle but also to have contractibility and squeezability for pushing out methanol from the bottle and also to have restricted permeability to methanol. For this reason, the fuel bottle  10  should preferably have at least one layer of cyclic olefin resin as a synthetic resin material to be used. For example, the fuel bottle  10  may be made of a single layer of cyclic olefin resin or may be made of plural layers having an inner layer and an intermediate layer made respectively of cyclic olefin resin. As other resin layers of such fuel bottle made of plural layers, layers made of polyolefin (PO) resin, polyester resin, polylactic acid (PLA) resin and polybutylene succinate (PBS) resin can be advantageously used. As an adhesive resin layer for a multi-layer structure, linear chain low density polyethylene (LLDPE) or an acid modified polyolefin resin may be advantageously used. 
     An unillustrated coupler which can be detachably coupled to the main body side of a fuel cell is attached to the nozzle portion  11  projecting at the upper end portion of the fuel bottle  10 . 
     As this coupler, a coupler having a plug and a socket which constitute a pair of engaging projection and engaging recess and can be attached and detached by a single action may be used. For example, there may be used a coupler which comprises a plug constituting an engaging projection which is provided on the fuel bottle side and is attached to the nozzle portion  11 , a socket constituting an engaging recess which is provided on the side of the main body of the fuel cell, and a valve energized by a spring or the like provided respectively as a valve mechanism in the plug and the socket. When the socket and the plug are mounted and connected, they communicate with each other to enable fuel to flow and when they are separated and disengaged, they are closed. 
     Such fuel bottle  10  made of plastic is housed in a hard case which has sufficient rigidity to form an outer container accommodating the fuel bottle  10  inside and can be pressed from outside to press the fuel bottle to contract and thereby cause methanol fuel to flow out whereby a fuel cartridge  20  for a fuel cell is constructed. 
     A hard case  21  of this fuel cartridge  20  is divided into a front member and a rear member as shown in  FIG. 2  to receive the fuel bottle  10  therein. The front member  21   a  is provided with a push button  22 . The push button  22  can be pushed and pivoted inwardly with the lower portion of the push button  22  being used as a pivot. In this hard case  21 , a projecting outer nozzle portion  21   b  which can cover the nozzle portion  11  of the fuel bottle  10  is formed in such a manner that it is divided in the front member  21   a  and the rear member  21   c . An outer nozzle  21   d  is screwed onto a threaded portion in the outer periphery of the outer nozzle portion  21   b  to connect the divided front and rear portions of the outer nozzle portion  21   b  together and cover the nozzle portion  11  of the fuel bottle  10  to protect it and, further, to put a cap  23  for sealing the fuel bottle  10 . 
     Accordingly, in this fuel cartridge  20 , by placing the fuel bottle  10  in the hard case  21  in such a manner that the front surface  12   a  which is less bulged is disposed to the side of the push button  22  and joining and closing the divided front member  21   a  and rear member  21   c  together, and then screwing the outer nozzle  21   d  and screwing the cap  23 , substantially the entire portion of the fuel bottle  10  can be housed and sealed in the fuel cartridge  20  and the moving space S for the push button  22  can be secured. 
     By removing the cap  23  from the sealed state of the fuel cartridge  20 , the plug only of the coupler can be exposed and thereby can be connected to the main body side of the fuel cell. By connecting the plug to the socket of the main body of the fuel cell in this state and then pushing the push button  22  of the hard case  21 , the front surface  12   a  of the trunk portion of the bottle main body  12  of the fuel bottle  10  housed inside is pressed and, as a result, methanol fuel can flow out of the fuel bottle  10  to be supplied to the main body of the fuel cell. 
     In the hard case  21  of the fuel cartridge  20 , the push button  22  is disposed in the central portion of the front member  21   a  and there is space on both sides of the push button  22 . 
     Therefore, there may be provided a fuel bottle  40  which has an increased capacity by utilizing the space on both sides of the push button  22  of the hard case  21 . 
     This fuel bottle  40  having an increased capacity has, as shown in  FIG. 4  for example, outwardly protruding portions  41  on both sides of the front surface  12   a  of the bottle main body  12 . 
     By this fuel bottle  40 , moving space S for the push button  22  can be secured in the fuel cartridge  20  and, as compared with the fuel bottle  10 , capacity for containing methanol can be increased by the capacity of the protruding portions  41  on both sides. 
     The size of the protruding portions  41  may be set, for example, to a state in which lengths L 1  and L 2  from the nozzle center On become almost equal to each other (L 1 ≈L 2 ) at which the nozzle center On substantially coincides with the center Ob of the bottle main body  12 . In other words, the bottle  40  has a shape similar to an ordinary flat bottle which has a generally elliptic shape in cross section but only a portion in which the push button  22  is located is recessed. 
     According to this fuel bottle  40  for a fuel cell, when the fuel bottle  40  is housed in the hard case  21  of the fuel cartridge  20 , the moving space S for the push button  22  can be secured between the protruding portions  41 . As the fuel bottle  40 . the capacity of the fuel bottle  40  can be increased to the maximum by the protruding portions  41  on both sides by effectively utilizing the interior space of the hard case  21 . 
     With reference to  FIGS. 5 to 8 , another embodiment of the present invention will now be described. This embodiment relates to a fuel bottle which can achieve necessary pressure-proof strength in a case where inner pressure of the bottle has increased. 
       FIG. 5  shows a front view, a plan view, a bottom view, a side view and partially enlarged views of the other embodiment of the fuel bottle for a fuel cell of the present invention.  FIG. 6  is a sectional view of a blow mold used for molding the fuel bottle for a fuel cell of this embodiment.  FIG. 7  is a front view and partially enlarged views of the front view of an embodiment of the inside of a fuel cartridge using the fuel bottle for a fuel cell of this embodiment.  FIG. 8  is a front view, a plan view, a side view and a bottom view of still another embodiment of the invention. 
     In the embodiments to be described below, the same components as those of  FIGS. 1-4  will be designated by the same reference characters and description thereof will be omitted. 
     Since this fuel bottle  10  is housed in a hard case and is used as a fuel cartridge, a bottle main body  12  is not required to have self-supporting property. On the other hand, when the bottle  10  containing methanol is placed in a location such as a car where environmental temperature increases, inner pressure of the bottle main body  12  sometimes rises due to evaporation of methanol because the boiling point of methanol is relatively low. A portion of the bottle which poses the most serious problem for securing strength against such increase in the inner pressure is a lowly stretched portion of a parison in blow molding. As such lowly stretched portion can be cited a bottom portion and a shoulder portion of the bottle main body  12 . 
     In this fuel bottle  10 , therefore, as shown in the enlarged view of  FIG. 5 , a pinch portion  13  is formed in a manner to protrude outwardly from the bottle main body  12  and the length of the pinch portion  13  is made sufficiently large to increase area of contact of the pinch portion  13 . 
     Alternatively, after blow molding a pinch portion  13  at the bottom of the bottle main body  12 , as shown in the enlarged view of  FIG. 5 , the pinch portion may be bent toward the bottle main body  12  to form a pinch portion  13   a . By this structure, close contact of the pinch portion  13   a  can be further improved and pressure-proof property can be further improved. As regards a pinch portion  14  at the shoulder portion of the bottle main body  12 , the same structure may be applied to increase close contact of the pinch portion and improve pressure-proof property of the pinch portion. 
     In  FIG. 2 , the fuel bottle  10  housed in the hard case  21  is used as the fuel cartridge  20 . For increasing rigidity and strength of the hard case  21 , as shown in  FIG. 7 , a plurality of ribs  24  are provided by utilizing an inner space of the front member  21   a  of the hard case  21 . 
     By this arrangement, rigidity of the fuel cartridge  21  is improved and deformation of the bottle due to increase in the inner pressure of the bottle can be prevented. 
     In this fuel cartridge  20 , for increasing rigidity and strength of the hard case  21  and also increasing pressure-proof property of the pinch portions  13  and  13   a  of the fuel bottle  10  against the inner pressure, as shown in the enlarged view of  FIG. 7 , the pinch portion  13  is clamped on both sides with the inner ribs  24  of the front member  21   a  of the hard case  21 , or the pinch portion  13   a  bent toward the bottle main body  12  is pressed upwardly with the ribs  24  at the bottom of the hard case  21 . 
     By clamping the outwardly protruding pinch portion  13  of the fuel bottle  10  on both sides, or pressing upwardly the pinch portion  13   a  which protrudes outwardly and is bent toward the bottle main body  12  and thereby substantially holding the pinch portion  13   a  in a vertical direction with the entire fuel bottle  10  which is held in its upper portion in the nozzle portion  11 , these pinch portions  13  and  13   a  are mechanically pressed to further increase strength against the inner pressure. As to the pinch portion  14  formed in the shoulder portion of the bottle main body  12 , the pinch portion  14  can be clamped with ribs formed in a corresponding shoulder portion of the hard case  21  whereby strength against the inner pressure can further be improved. 
     A portion which is pressed with ribs of the hard case  21  of the fuel cartridge  20  is not limited to the pinch portions  13  and  13   a  but it may be portions in the vicinity of these pinch portions. Alternatively, both of the pinch portion and a portion in the vicinity of the pinch portion may be pressed to increase contact strength and prevent opening of the pinch portion. 
     On the other hand, in the hard case  21  of the fuel cartridge  20 , the push button  22  is disposed in the central portion of the front member  21   a  and there is space on both sides of the push button  22 . 
     Accordingly, there may be used a fuel bottle  40  in which capacity is increased by utilizing the space on both sides of the push button  22  of the hard case  21 . Description will now be made about this fuel bottle by designating the same components as those of the fuel bottle  10  by the same reference characters. 
     In this fuel bottle  40  with increased capacity, as shown in  FIG. 8  for example, protruding portions  41  which protrude outwardly from both sides of a front surface  12   a  of a bottle main body  12  of the fuel bottle are formed. 
     By this fuel bottle  40 , in a fuel cartridge  20 , moving space S for a push button  22  can be secured and capacity for containing methanol can be increased by the protruding portions  41  on both sides as compared with the fuel bottle  10 . 
     The size of the protruding portions  41  may be set, for example, to a state in which lengths L 1  and L 2  from the nozzle center On become almost equal to each other (L 1 ≈L 2 ) at which the nozzle center On substantially coincides with the center Ob of the bottle main body  12 . In other words, the bottle  40  has a shape similar to an ordinary flat bottle which has a generally elliptic shape in cross section but only a portion in which the push button  22  is located is recessed. 
     According to this fuel bottle  40  for a fuel cell, when the fuel bottle  40  is housed in the hard case  21  of the fuel cartridge  20 , the moving space S for the push button  22  can be secured between the protruding portions  41 . As the fuel bottle  40 . the capacity of the fuel bottle  40  can be increased to the maximum by the protruding portions  41  on both sides by effectively utilizing the interior space of the hard case  21 . 
     In this fuel bottle  40  also, in the same manner as in the fuel bottle  10  which has already been described, the pinch portions  13 ,  13   a  and  14  may be formed in a manner to protrude outwardly and pressure-proof property may be increased by enlarging the area of contact or making the pinch portions as a highly stretched portion. In constructing the fuel cartridge  20 , the pinch portions  13 ,  13   a  and  14  may be clamped or pressed upwardly with ribs  24  of the hard case  21  so that pressure-proof property can be further improved. 
     INDUSTRIAL UTILITY 
     This invention can be applied to a fuel bottle for a fuel cell such as a methanol fuel cell and a fuel cartridge using such fuel bottle.