Patent ID: 7441560

Claim:
A solenoid valve for discharging a reactant gas from a fuel cell, said solenoid valve being incorporated in a fuel cell system having a fuel cell stack having an anode and a cathode, said solenoid valve comprising: a valve housing having a first port for introducing the reactant gas and a second port for discharging the reactant gas introduced from said first port; a solenoid unit disposed in a casing joined to said valve housing, said solenoid unit being energizable by a current; a shaft axially displaceable when said solenoid unit is energized; a valve head disposed in said valve housing and engaging an end of said shaft; a valve seat, said valve head being seatable on and unseatable from said valve seat when said shaft is displaced; a filter mounted in said first port for removing dust particles contained in said reactant gas, said filter comprising a bottomed cylindrical mesh member; an elastic member mounted on an end of said valve head that faces said valve seat, said elastic member being made of an elastic material; and a restriction mounted upstream of said filter in said first port, said restriction having an orifice for restricting a flow rate of the reaction gas supplied into said valve housing, wherein a surface of said elastic member has a fluorine coating or said elastic member is made of a fluorine-based rubber material, wherein said solenoid valve is disposed in a hydrogen discharger which is connected to a circulation passage interconnecting an ejector and the anode, said ejector attracting the reactant gas discharged from the anode; and wherein said hydrogen discharger discharges an excessive reactant gas in said fuel cell stack out of the fuel cell system through said circulation passage.