Patent ID: 6841282

Claim:
A fuel cell comprising fuel cell units, the fuel cell units being stacked and having at least one cooling medium flow passage therebetween, and the cooling medium flow passage sealed by a cooling surface sealing member, each fuel cell unit comprising: an electrode assembly formed by disposing electrodes on both sides of an electrolyte; a pair of separators that sandwich the electrode assembly in the thickness direction thereof; and gas sealing members that are disposed at an outer peripheral portion of the electrode assembly, and that seal respective reaction gas flow passages that are formed between each separator and the electrode assembly and are bounded by the separators and electrode assembly, wherein in each of the separators there are provided reaction gas communication ports and cooling medium communication ports that are provided outward from the gas sealing members, and reaction gas communication paths that detour around the gas sealing members in the thickness direction of the separators and connect the reaction gas communication ports with the reaction gas flow passages, wherein the reaction gas communication paths formed in one of the fuel cell units and the corresponding reaction gas communication paths formed in the adjacent fuel cell unit in the stacking direction are disposed so as to be offset with respect to each other as viewed in the stacking direction, and wherein in at least one of the separators, there are provided convex portions that protrude from rear sides of the reaction gas communication paths over at least an area that corresponds to the reaction gas communication paths.