Patent ID: 7892692

Claim:
A fuel cell, comprising: a first plate having a port and a manifold aperture formed therein, the port disposed inboard from the manifold aperture; a second plate having a manifold aperture formed therein and disposed adjacent the first plate, the first plate and the second plate having flow fields formed thereon, each of the flow fields including a plurality of flow channels defined by a plurality of lands; a barrier film disposed between the first plate and the second plate, a volume between the first plate and the second plate adjacent a supply manifold formed by an alignment of the manifold apertures in the first plate and the second plate defining a feed region of the fuel cell, the barrier film disposed in the feed region, wherein the barrier film is a polymeric membrane having at least one deflectable portion adjacent the port and a seal formed thereon between the deflectable portion and the supply manifold outboard from the port, the seal abutting each of the first plate and the second plate, the deflectable portion further having a plurality of support features, the support features disposed between at least one of the lands of the second plate and the flow channels of the first plate and the flow channels of the second plate and the flow channels of the first plate, and a height of the support features being greater than a thickness of the deflectable portion of the barrier film, each of the support features abutting the first plate at a position adjacent and inboard from the port to militate against an intrusion of the barrier film into the port due to a pressure differential across the barrier film; an anode; an electrolyte membrane; and a cathode, wherein the anode, the electrolyte membrane, and the cathode are disposed between the first plate and the second plate in an active region, the electrolyte membrane coupled to the barrier film, and wherein the cathode, the anode, and the electrolyte membrane do not extend substantially into the feed region.