Patent ID: 7393607

Claim:
A fuel cell comprising an electrolyte electrode assembly, and a pair of separators for sandwiching said electrolyte electrode assembly, said electrolyte electrode assembly including an anode, a cathode, and an electrolyte interposed between said anode and said cathode, wherein at least one serpentine reactant gas flow passage is formed on at least one surface of said separators facing said electrolyte electrode assembly for supplying a reactant gas in a serpentine pattern to said electrolyte electrode assembly, said reactant gas including at least one of an oxygen-containing gas and a fuel gas; a plurality of partition areas are provided along said reactant gas flow passage, each partition area dividing said reactant gas flow passage into an upstream side and a downstream side, said reactant gas flowing along one side of the partition area in one direction in said upstream side of said reactant gas flow passage and along the other side of the partition area in an opposite direction in said downstream side of said reactant gas flow passage; a plurality of members are provided in said partition areas, each member preventing leakage of said reactant gas between said upstream side and downstream side of said at least one serpentine reactant gas flow passage across said partition area; and areas in direct contact with the partition area are free of gas diffusion layer of at least one of said cathode and said anode.