Patent ID: 7005207

Claim:
A fuel cell comprising a container having at least one feed port and at least one exhaust port, and a stack of fuel cell elements contained in the container in such a manner that the circumferential faces of the stack of fuel cell elements and the inner surfaces of the container are contacted, the element comprising a cathode layer, an anode layer, and an electrolyte layer, with the electrolyte layer being interposed between the cathode and anode layers, and a mixed gas containing a fuel gas and oxygen being fed to the fuel cell from the feed port, and an exhaust gas is discharged from the exhaust port, wherein there are spaces between the feed port and the stack of fuel cell elements and between the stack of fuel cell elements and the exhaust port, wherein packing materials are filled in each of the spaces between the feed port and the stack of fuel cell elements and between the stack of fuel cell elements and the exhaust port, and wherein there is a gap between adjacent packing materials, at which gap the mixed fuel gas cannot be ignited at the operating condition of the fuel cell even if the mixed fuel gas has an oxygen concentration within ignition limits for the mixed fuel gas.