Patent ID: 7465515

Claim:
A solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell assembly, comprising a plurality of unit cells stacked to each other, the unit cells each having a unified body including an anode, a cathode, and a solid polymer electrolyte membrane disposed between said anode and said cathode, said fuel cell assembly further comprising: fuel gas inlet holes and fuel gas outlet holes penetrating through said unit cells in the stacking direction; and fuel gas passages connected to said fuel gas inlet holes and said fuel gas outlet holes and formed along a reaction surface of said solid polymer electrolyte membrane, wherein a cross-sectional area in the stacking direction of said fuel gas passages of one unit cell is substantially different than a cross-sectional area in the stacking direction of said fuel gas passages of an adjacent unit cell, and wherein the size of said inlet holes of the one unit cell is substantially the same as the size of said inlet holes of the adjacent unit cell, and the size of said outlet holes of the one unit cell is substantially the same as the size of said outlet holes of the adjacent unit cell.