Patent ID: 8153333

Claim:
An internal manifold type fuel cell formed by stacking an electrolyte electrode assembly and separators in a stacking direction, said electrolyte electrode assembly including a pair of electrodes and an electrolyte interposed between said electrodes, reactant gas flow fields for supplying reactant gases along surfaces of said electrodes being formed between said electrolyte electrode assembly and said separators, reactant gas passages being connected to said reactant gas flow fields and extending through said fuel cell in the stacking direction, wherein said separator is a metal plate formed to have a corrugated shape, said reactant gas flow fields comprise at least a first reactant gas flow field and said reactant gas passages comprise a first reactant gas passage, said electrolyte electrode assembly comprises at least a first gas diffusion layer having a main portion and an overlapping portion, said main portion covering said first reactant gas flow field, a connection channel connecting said first reactant gas passage and said first reactant gas flow field is provided between the corrugated metal plate and the overlapping portion, said overlapping portion of said first gas diffusion layer having a flat surface and a protruding end extending from said main portion wherein the overlapping portion extends from the main portion, wherein at said protruded end, an electrolyte membrane as said electrolyte is interposed between said protruded end and a seal member, said seal member facing a surface of said protruded end opposite to a surface overlapped on said connection channel, said overlapping portion covering said connection channel such that an entire width of the overlapping portion is substantially the same as a width of the first reactant gas passage, the width direction extending along a side of the separator plate that comprises a plurality of the reactant gas passages from one end of the side to the other end of the side in a width direction of the separator plate, and said first overlapping portion being tightly attached on said separator for sealing said connection channel.