Patent ID: 8647792

Claim:
A fuel-cell stack, comprising: a unit cell comprising an electrolyte/electrode structure having electrodes arranged on both sides of an electrolyte, the electrolyte/electrode structure being held by metal separators; a box-like casing that accommodates a laminate having the unit cells laminated, the casing comprising: a pair of end plates arranged at both ends of the laminate in a laminating direction, pairs of side plates arranged at sides of the laminate, the pairs of side plates being formed of a metal plate having a first thickness, a plurality of hinge plates welded to both ends of the pairs of side plates by spot welding, the plurality of hinge plates being formed of a metal plate having a second thickness greater than the first thickness, and a plurality of linking pins that link the pair of end plates and the plurality of hinge plates; wherein one surface of each hinge plate that is in contact with a respective side plate is concave, and a surface of the respective side plate in contact with the hinge plate is convex; and the concave surface of each hinge plate is in contact with the convex surface of the respective side plate.