Patent ID: 7157164

Claim:
A fuel cell system in which fuel gas and oxidizing gas are supplied to a fuel cell stack that is formed by stacking a plurality of unit cells, and power generation is performed by electrochemical reaction between the fuel gas and the oxidizing gas, comprising: a fuel gas supply manifold which is extended in a unit cell stacking direction and which distributes the fuel gas to a fuel gas passage of each of the unit cells; a switching device which is provided inside the fuel gas supply manifold, and which switches between permission and prohibition of distribution of the fuel gas to the fuel gas passage of each of the unit cells; a load disconnect device which disconnects an output terminal of the stack from a load; a short-circuit device which short-circuits a positive electrode and a negative electrode of the output terminal of the stack; a control device which short-circuits the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the output terminal by the short-circuit device after distribution of the fuel gas to the fuel gas passage of each of the unit cells is prohibited by the switching device when the output terminal is disconnected from the load by the load disconnect device; a cylindrical valve which is extended in a unit cell stacking direction, and which has an opening port at a position at which the opening port can communicate with the fuel gas passage of each of the unit cells; and a driving device which permits distribution of the fuel gas to the fuel gas passage of each of the unit cells by positioning the cylindrical valve such that the opening port communicates with the fuel gas passage of each of the unit cells, and which prohibits distribution of the fuel gas to the fuel gas passage of each of the unit cells by positioning the cylindrical valve such that the opening port does not communicate with the fuel gas passage of each of the unit cells, wherein the cylindrical valve functions as the fuel gas supply manifold, and the cylindrical valve and the driving device function as the switching device.