JP2002050368A - Fuel cell separator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fuel cell separator 1 that does not require primer or adhesive in assembly and to reduce cost and prevent the elution of primer or adhesive in the fuel cell separator 1 in which a resin film 3 and a gasket 4 made of silicon rubber are integrated on the separator body 2. SOLUTION: The resin film 3 is provided with a penetrating section 5 of a hole shape or a cutout shape that penetrates in the thickness direction, and a gasket 4 made of a silicon rubber is integrated on both faces of the resin film 3 through the penetrating section 5 by the injection molding method. The gasket 4 and the separator body 2 are integrated by the concavo-convex insertion coupling structure 11 which is provided at the mutually opposing portion.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a fuel cell separator.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a fuel cell separator 51 shown in FIG. 5 is known. In this fuel cell separator 51, a gasket 53 made of silicone rubber is integrally formed on one surface of a resin film 52. (See Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-268075).

Therefore, it is necessary to provide a primer layer (not shown) in order to obtain the adhesion between the two 52, 53.
Therefore, there is a disadvantage that the manufacturing cost is increased. Further, the primer may be eluted into a fluid such as hydrogen, oxygen, water, or a refrigerant, and may deteriorate the performance of the fuel cell. Also,
Since the resin film 52 and the separator body 54 are also fixed by an adhesive (not shown), the cost is similarly high, and there is a risk of elution.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-920 discloses a method of dipping a resin film into an uncured silicone resin. In the dipping, a cross-sectional shape of a gasket suitable for sealing such as a circular or trapezoidal shape is obtained. Can not. Also, since this film is also bonded to the separator main body by the adhesive, the cost is high as described above, and there is a possibility of elution.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above, the present invention provides a fuel cell separator in which a gasket made of a resin film and a silicone rubber is integrated with a separator main body. It is an object of the present invention to provide a fuel cell separator which is not required, thereby reducing the production cost and preventing elution of a primer or an adhesive.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a fuel cell separator according to the present invention comprises a resin film provided with a hole-like or notch-like penetrating part penetrating in a thickness direction thereof and made of silicone rubber. A gasket is integrated by injection molding on both surfaces of the resin film through the through portion, and the gasket and the separator main body are integrated by a concave / convex fitting structure provided on opposing portions of each other. It is.

In the fuel cell separator of the present invention having the above-described structure, a gasket made of silicone rubber is integrally formed on both surfaces of the resin film by injection molding through holes or notches formed in the resin film. By setting the plane area of each gasket on both sides larger than the plane area of the opening of the penetrating part, the resin film and the gasket can be integrally assembled without using a primer or adhesive. It becomes possible. In addition, since the gasket and the separator main body are integrated by the concave and convex fitting structure provided in the opposing portions, the gasket and the separator main body can be integrally assembled without using a primer or an adhesive. It becomes possible.

The proposal includes the following technical idea.

That is, in one of the fuel cell separators proposed in the present application, one or more through holes or notches are provided in a heat-resistant resin film, and silicone rubber is integrally formed on both surfaces of the resin film by an injection molding method. A fuel cell separator made of metal, carbon, or a conductive resin material, at least one surface of which is provided with at least one recess or protrusion, and the silicone rubber molded product is provided with at least one protrusion or recess, And the projections or depressions provided in the silicone rubber molded article are fitted and fixed to each other. Silicone rubber is used for hydrogen, air,
It serves as a gasket for sealing a fluid such as water or a refrigerant.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a cross section of a main part of a fuel cell separator 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows a plane of the resin film 3 in a single product state, and FIG. 3 shows a plane of the resin film 3 in which a gasket 4 is integrated.

The fuel cell separator 1 according to this embodiment
Has a separator main body 2, a resin film 3, and a gasket 4 made of silicone rubber as constituent parts, respectively, and these constituent parts are configured as follows.

That is, first, the resin film 3 is formed by punching a heat-resistant resin such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyimide or polyamide imide into a plane shape slightly larger than the gasket 4, as shown in FIG. A required number (eight in the figure) of through-holes 5 are provided in the resin film 3. The gasket 4 seals the periphery of the separator 1 and is formed in an endless planar shape along the periphery of the separator 1 as shown in FIG. 3, and the resin film 3 has a function of holding the gasket 4. It has. Therefore, the resin film 3 is also formed in a planar shape along the peripheral portion of the separator 1, and a plurality of the through portions 5 are arranged along the peripheral portion of the separator 1. The thickness of the resin film 3 is 0.01 to 0.5 mm, preferably 0.05 to 0.2 mm. The penetrating portion 5 may be notched as shown in FIG. 4 instead of the through hole.

The resin film 3 is placed in a mold, and liquid silicone rubber is injected on both sides of the mold to form a gasket 4 by injection molding. The injection-molded gasket 4 has an endless seal portion 6 disposed on the upper surface of the resin film 3, a similarly endless seal portion 7 disposed on the lower surface of the resin film 3, and a gasket 4 disposed in each through portion 5. Both seal parts 6,
7 are integrally formed, and the plane area of both seals 6 and 7 is set larger than the plane area of the opening of the penetrating part 5. From the upper and lower sides. Therefore, the gasket 4 and the resin film 3 are integrally assembled without using an adhesive. Silicone rubber has a hardness after curing of 70 or less, preferably 10 to
40. The thickness of the silicone rubber layer is 0.1 ~
It is 2 mm and has a sealing function as a gasket.

A required number of protrusions 9 are provided on the joint surface of the gasket 4 with the separator body 2 toward the separator body 2. Corresponding to this, a required number of recesses 10 are provided in the separator body 2, and the gasket 4 is formed by a fitting structure 11 between the projections 9 and the recesses 10.
And the separator main body 2 is integrally assembled without using an adhesive. The separator body 2 is made of metal,
It is a thin plate formed of carbon or conductive resin or the like, and has a thickness of 0.3 to 3 mm. In many cases, the separator main body 2 has a flow channel 12 on the surface.

In the separator 1 having the above-described structure, the gaskets 4 made of silicone rubber are formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the resin film 3 through the through-holes 5 formed in the resin film 3 by the injection molding method. The resin film 3 and the gasket 4 can be integrally assembled without using an adhesive. Further, since the gasket 4 and the separator main body 2 are integrated by the concave / convex fitting structure 11 provided in the mutually opposing portions, the gasket 4 and the separator main body 2 can be integrally formed without using an adhesive. Can be assembled. Therefore, there is no need to use an adhesive at all for assembling the respective components, thereby reducing manufacturing costs and preventing elution of the adhesive.

In the above embodiment, the protrusions 9 are provided on the gasket 4 side and the recesses 10 are provided on the separator body 2 side with respect to the arrangement of the protrusions and recesses in the fitting structure 11.
Conversely, the concave portion 10 may be provided on the gasket 4 and the convex portion 9 may be provided on the separator body 2.

[0018]

The present invention has the following effects.

That is, in the fuel cell separator of the present invention having the above-mentioned structure, a gasket made of silicone rubber is formed on both surfaces of the resin film through the hole-shaped or notched through portion provided in the resin film by an injection molding method. , The resin film and the gasket can be integrally assembled without using an adhesive. In addition, since the gasket and the separator main body are integrated by the concave and convex fitting structure provided on the opposing portions, the gasket and the separator main body can be integrally assembled without using an adhesive. Therefore, since it is not necessary to use a primer, an adhesive, or the like at all for assembling the components, the manufacturing cost can be reduced, and elution of the primer, the adhesive, or the like can be prevented.

Further, since the gasket made of silicone rubber is fixed to the separator main body, the gasket is excellent in handleability and can exhibit sufficient airtightness as a gasket when assembled as a fuel cell.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part of a fuel cell separator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the resin film as a single item.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a state in which a gasket is integrated with a resin film.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of another example of a resin film in a single piece state showing a through portion.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a fuel cell separator according to a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Separator for fuel cells 2 Separator main body 3 Resin film 4 Gasket 5 Penetration part 6, 7 Seal part 8 Connecting part 9 Convex part 10 Concave part 11 Fitting structure 12 Flow channel

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A resin film (3) is provided with a hole or notch-shaped through portion (5) penetrating in a thickness direction thereof, and a gasket (4) made of silicone rubber is attached to said through portion (5).
The gasket (4) and the separator body (2) are integrated on both sides of the resin film (3) by injection molding via
A fuel cell separator, which is integrated according to 1).