Patent ID: 7195830

Claim:
A warming-up apparatus for a fuel cell, which generates power due to an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen gas, which is fuel, and oxygen gas, which is an oxidant, which comprises: (a) a high-pressure tank for storing hydrogen gas; (b) a hydrogen-occlusion alloy tank having a hydrogen-occlusion alloy accommodated therein; (c) a branched pipe connecting the high-pressure tank to the hydrogen-occlusion alloy tank and the fuel cell, the branched pipe including a first branch for transferring hydrogen discharged from said high-pressure tank to the hydrogen-occlusion alloy in said hydrogen-occlusion alloy tank and a second branch for transferring hydrogen discharged from said high-pressure tank to the fuel cell; and (d) heat-transmitting means which transmits heat from the hydrogen-occlusion alloy tank to the fuel cell, wherein the heat is generated in the hydrogen-occlusion alloy during the course of storing the hydrogen gas transferred by said first branch of the branched pipe into said hydrogen-occlusion alloy tank.