Patent ID: 8507139

Claim:
A fuel cell module comprising: a fuel cell stack that is formed by stacking a plurality of unit cells that generate electricity using an oxidant gas and a fuel gas; an oxidant gas distributing member that is disposed on a side of a side surface which extends along a stack direction of the unit cells in the fuel cell stack, and that distributes the oxidant gas for use for electricity generation of the unit cells from one end side toward the other end side of each of the unit cells and then supplies the oxidant gas to the other end side of each of the unit cells; a reformer that is disposed on the one end side of each of the unit cells; and a combustion portion that is disposed between the one end side of each of the unit cells and the reformer, and that burns a fuel off-gas that is left unused in the electricity generation of the unit cells, using an oxidant off-gas that is left unused in the electricity generation of the unit cells, the fuel cell stack, the oxidant gas distributing member, the reformer, and the combustion portion being arranged in a casing, wherein the oxidant gas distributing member has at least one of a structure in which the oxidant gas distributing member has a fin on an external surface or an internal surface of a side wall at a portion corresponding to the one end side of each of the unit cells and does not have the fin on either the external surface or the internal surface of the side wall at a portion corresponding to the other end side of each of the unit cells, a structure in which the oxidant gas distributing member has a partition member that partitions a channel into a plurality of paths at the portion corresponding to the one end side of each of the unit cells and does not have the partition member in the path at the portion corresponding to the other end side of each of the unit cells, and a structure in which the oxidant gas distributing member has a dimple on the external surface or the internal surface of the side wall at the portion corresponding to the one end side of each of the unit cells and does not have the dimple on either the external surface or the internal surface of the side wall at the portion corresponding to the other end side of each of the unit cells, thereby having a higher thermal conductivity at the portion corresponding to the one end side of each of the unit cells than at the portion corresponding to the other end side of each of the unit cells.