Patent ID: 8802313

Claim:
A fuel cell formed by stacking electrolyte electrode assemblies between separators, said electrolyte electrode assemblies each including an anode, a cathode, and an electrolyte interposed between said anode and said cathode, said separators each comprising: sandwiching sections for sandwiching said electrolyte electrode assemblies, at least a fuel gas inlet for supplying a fuel gas along an electrode surface of said anode or an oxygen-containing gas inlet for supplying an oxygen-containing gas along an electrode surface of said cathode being formed in each of said sandwiching sections; bridges connected to said sandwiching sections, and each having a reactant gas supply channel for supplying the fuel gas to said fuel gas inlet or supplying the oxygen-containing gas to said oxygen-containing gas inlet; and a reactant gas supply unit connected to said bridges, a reactant gas supply passage extending through said reactant gas supply unit in a stacking direction for supplying the fuel gas or the oxygen-containing gas to said reactant gas supply channel, wherein a case unit containing said electrolyte electrode assemblies is provided integrally said separator, wherein said separator further comprises other bridges connected to said sandwiching sections and said case unit, the other bridges having other reactant gas supply channels for supplying the oxygen-containing gas to said oxygen-containing gas inlet or supplying the fuel gas to said fuel gas inlet, wherein said separator further comprises first and second plates, each of the first and second plates being integrally provided with the case unit, and wherein said case unit further comprises other reactant gas supply units, and other reactant gas supply passages for supplying the oxygen-containing gas or the fuel gas to the other reactant gas supply channels extend through the other reactant gas supply units in the stacking direction, and wherein the other reactant gas supply passages are an enclosed flow passage that extends parallel to the stacking direction.