JP2010143182A - Continuous joint method of film-protecting layer material and apparatus for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable continuous adhesion of a protecting layer material to the outer peripheral edge part of the film without causing wrinkles, so that a film whose outer peripheral edge part is protected by a protecting layer material in a frame state can be manufacture at high productivity. <P>SOLUTION: In a continuous adhesion method of a film-protecting layer material and an apparatus therefor comprising continuous joint by a joint means 60 by transporting a belt type film 16 and a protecting layer material 15 having a ladder shape which is punched at a pre-determined interval in the same direction under folding them in a longitudinal direction, just before joint of the belt type film 16 to the protecting layer material 15 having a ladder shape, a means for tensioning the protecting layer material 63 is set forth in order to charge tension to a bridge part 15a forming a boundary of an adjacent punched part 15b of the protecting layer material having a ladder shape 15 from both edge sides to outer sides, and looseness of the bridging part 15a is removed by a roller 64 of the tensile means 63, and then the protecting layer material having a ladder shape 15 and the belt type film 16 are introduced into the joint means 60 so as to joint them without forming wrinkle. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for continuously joining a ladder-like protective layer material to a belt-like membrane, and in particular, an electrolyte membrane for continuously joining a protective film to the outer peripheral edge of an electrolyte membrane of a fuel cell. -It is related with the film-protective layer material continuous joining method and apparatus suitable for protective film continuous joining.

A polymer electrolyte fuel cell using a polymer membrane as an electrolyte has characteristics such as a high output density and a long battery life.
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a cell of such a polymer electrolyte fuel cell.
As shown in the figure, in the cell 40, a catalyst layer 42 serving as an electrode is bonded to both surfaces of an electrolyte membrane 41 made of a polymer membrane, and a film or the like is formed around each catalyst layer 42, that is, on the outer peripheral edge of the electrolyte membrane 41. A protective layer material (also referred to as a reinforcing layer) 43 is provided with a membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) 44 formed by joining in a frame shape.
A diffusion layer 45 for collecting current and diffusing gas is joined on the catalyst layer 42 and the protective layer material 43, and separators 46 having gas flow grooves 46a are disposed on the outside thereof, respectively. And the cell 40 is comprised so that the diffusion layer 45 part may be pinched from both surfaces side.
A plurality of such cells 40 are stacked to constitute a fuel cell stack, and power generation as a fuel cell becomes possible.

In the cell structure of the fuel cell as described above, the frame-shaped protective layer material 43 is not essential in principle for the configuration of the membrane-electrode assembly 44, but the electrolyte membrane 41 has the necessary strength. Since it is formed as thin as possible, it is effective for preventing damage caused by piercing the electrolyte membrane such as fluff on the surface of the diffusion layer. However, it was difficult to join the protective layer material 43 to the electrolyte membrane 41 without causing wrinkles.
Therefore, conventionally, a technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 has been proposed as a joining technique that does not cause wrinkles. This is because in the manufacture of membrane-electrode assemblies, the reinforcing membrane (protective layer material) is simultaneously brought into contact with the electrode over the entire overlapping portion of the reinforcing membrane and the electrode to prevent wrinkling of the reinforcing membrane. (See Patent Document 1).

JP 2008-140745 A

However, the above prior art is a technology related to the joining of a reinforcing membrane (protective layer material) to an electrolyte membrane in a single membrane-electrode assembly, and the protective layer material is continuously applied to the electrolyte membrane without causing wrinkles. This method was not applicable to the method and apparatus for joining to the steel, and the productivity was low.
In recent years, the progress of mass production technology of membrane-electrode assemblies has been remarkable, and a method and an apparatus for continuously producing membrane-electrode assemblies from an electrolyte membrane material by a roll-to-roll method have been developed. Therefore, conventionally, an electrolyte membrane-protective layer material that can be applied to continuous production of such a membrane-electrode assembly, that is, has high productivity and can continuously join the protective layer material to the electrolyte membrane without causing wrinkles. Development of a continuous joining method and apparatus has been desired.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described demands, and the protective layer material can be joined continuously without being formed on the outer peripheral edge of the membrane, that is, with high productivity. It is an object of the present invention to provide a membrane-protective layer material continuous joining method and apparatus that can be effectively applied to an electrolyte membrane-protective film continuous joining method and apparatus for continuously joining the outer peripheral edge of the film.

The said subject is solved by making the film-protective-layer material continuous joining method and apparatus the structure of each following aspect.
As with the claims, each aspect is divided into sections, each section is numbered, and is described in a form that cites the numbers of other sections as necessary. This is merely for the purpose of facilitating the understanding of the present invention, and the technical features described in this specification and combinations thereof should not be construed as being limited to those described in the following sections. . In addition, when a plurality of items are described in one section, it is not always necessary to employ the plurality of items together, and it is also possible to take out only a part of the items and employ them.

  Of the following items, (1) corresponds to claim 1, (2) corresponds to claim 2, (3) corresponds to claim 3, and (4) corresponds to claim 4. . Item (5) is not the claimed invention.

(1) A belt-shaped film and a protective layer material formed into a ladder shape that is continuously hollowed out at regular intervals are transported in the same direction while overlapping in the length direction, and the film is passed through a joining step. A film-protective layer material continuous joining method for continuously joining a protective layer material to a bridging portion that forms a boundary between adjacent hollow portions of the protective layer material immediately before the joining step. A membrane-protective layer material continuous joining method comprising: a protective layer material tensioning step for applying a tension from the both end sides to the outside.
As the protective layer material, any of a film, a film, a sheet, or a plate may be used, but a polyester film or film such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) is preferable.
The hollowing is performed using a rotary cutter or the like.
The joining is performed by, for example, a pressure press or a hot press such as a flat plate hot press or a hot press roll.
The term “immediately before” generally refers to a position before the bonding step where the film / protective layer material can be sent to the bonding step after the wrinkles of the bridging portion of the protective layer material are extended. However, this position is the size of the protective layer material, thickness, hollowed out part, etc., the material of the film to be joined to it, the film / protective layer material transport speed, the tension means used in the protective layer material tensioning process, etc. In actuality, it is determined by conducting an experiment based on the above conditions.
In the protective layer material pulling process, the bridging part of the protective layer material that tends to remain loose even if tension is applied in the transport direction is pulled outward (both sides) to remove the slack. The slack is effectively removed by performing immediately before joining with the material. Thereby, generation | occurrence | production of the wrinkle in the protective layer material after joining, especially the bridging part can be prevented.
(2) A belt-like film and a protective layer material that is continuously formed in a ladder shape that is hollowed out at regular intervals are conveyed in the same direction while overlapping in the length direction, and the film and the protective layer material are joined by a joining means. A continuous joining device of the protective layer material immediately before joining the membrane and the protective layer material by the joining means. A membrane-protective layer material continuous joining apparatus, comprising: a protective layer material pulling means that applies tension from the both end sides to the outside of a bridging portion that forms a boundary.
This section is an invention that embodies the invention of section (1) as a device.
(3) The protective layer material pulling means is in contact with at least the protective layer material and a pair of rolls having a rotation axis oriented in a substantially C shape in plan view with the downstream side in the transport direction facing upward. Inside is a roll rotating means for rotating the pair of rolls in a direction in which tension is applied to the outer side of the protective layer material, and the pair of rolls, when the bridging portion outer side portion of the protective layer material is approached below or Roll moving means for moving forward to the protective layer material contact position when approaching, and for returning to the protective layer material non-contact position when the outer portion of the bridging portion passes or passes. The membrane-protective layer material continuous joining apparatus according to item (2).
As a roll moving means, a roll up-and-down moving means for moving the pair of rolls up and down at a position opposite to the moving path of the outer portion of the bridging portion of the protective layer material can be given as a simple example.
(4) The protective layer material pulling means includes a pair of clampers capable of gripping an outer peripheral edge of the protective layer material, and the pair of clampers at an opposed position of the outer portion of the bridging portion of the protective layer material. When hanging or approaching, it is moved forward to the protective layer material gripping position to grip the outer part of the bridging portion, and while moving from the gripping position to the outer side of the protective layer material, a certain distance in synchronization with the conveyance The membrane-protective layer material continuous bonding according to (2), further comprising: a clamper movement control unit that releases the grip after being moved and moves the gripper back to the non-holding position of the protective layer material. apparatus.
The invention of this section is an example of a membrane-protective layer material continuous joining device applied when the protective layer material is wider than the membrane and the outer peripheral edge of the protective layer material extends to the side in the transport direction. is there.
(5) Item (2), (3) or (5), wherein the membrane is an electrolyte membrane of a fuel cell, and the protective layer material is a protective film for protecting the outer peripheral edge of the electrolyte membrane. 4) The membrane-protective layer material continuous joining apparatus according to item 4).
This item is a protective film for an electrolyte membrane in a continuous production process of a membrane-electrode assembly of a fuel cell, wherein the membrane-protective layer material continuous joining device according to (2), (3) or (4) is used. This invention is applicable to the continuous joining process.
An ion exchange resin or the like is used as the electrolyte membrane, and a polyester film or membrane such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) is used as the protective film.
According to the invention of this item, the invention of the item (2), (3) or (4) can be applied to the continuous joining of the protective film to the electrolyte membrane, and the frame-shaped protective film is not wrinkled on the outer peripheral edge. The joined electrolyte membrane can be obtained with high productivity.

According to the invention described in the item (1), it is possible to provide a film-protective layer material continuous joining method capable of joining the protective layer material continuously on the outer peripheral edge portion of the film, that is, with high productivity. In particular, there is an effect that can be effectively applied to the electrolyte membrane-protective film continuous joining method for continuously joining the protective film to the outer peripheral edge portion of the electrolyte membrane of the fuel cell without being narrowed.
According to the invention as described in the item (2), it is possible to provide a membrane-protective layer material continuous joining apparatus capable of joining the protective layer material continuously to the outer peripheral edge portion of the membrane, that is, with high productivity. In particular, there is an effect that it can be effectively applied to an electrolyte membrane-protective film continuous joining apparatus for continuously joining the protective film to the outer peripheral edge portion of the electrolyte membrane of the fuel cell without being narrowed.
According to the invention described in the item (3), the protective layer material pulling means in the invention of the item (2) can be realized with a simple configuration.
According to the invention described in the item (4), the invention of the item (2) can be realized by a configuration different from the invention of the item (3).
Since the invention described in item (5) is not the present invention (the invention described in the claims), the effect is described in the column of means for solving the above problems.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol shows the same or an equivalent part between each figure.
FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of one embodiment of a membrane-protective layer material continuous joining apparatus to which the method of the present invention is applied. In the production of a membrane-electrode assembly of a fuel cell, a protective film as a protective layer material is used as a polymer electrolyte. The example which applied this invention to the process of joining continuously to a film | membrane (henceforth abbreviated as electrolyte membrane hereafter) is shown roughly from a side.
As shown in the figure, in this embodiment, the electrolyte membrane material 51 and the protective film material 52 are each rolled out from a wound state, and the protective film material 52 is passed through the rotary cutter 13 serving as a cutting means at unnecessary intervals 54 at regular intervals. It includes a step of cutting (cutting out) and obtaining a protective film 15 (see a partially enlarged plan view 1A in FIG. 1) in which frame-shaped protective films are continuous at regular intervals, that is, in a ladder shape.

Then, an electrolyte membrane material (hereinafter referred to as a belt-like electrolyte membrane) 16 drawn out in a belt-like shape and a protective film 15 (hereinafter referred to as a ladder-like protective film) 15 that is continuous in a ladder shape have a length as shown in the figure. The belt-shaped electrolyte membrane 16 and the ladder-like protective film 15 are continuously joined, in this case, a joining means 60 for hot-pressure joining, while being transported in the same direction (rightward in the figure) while being superimposed in the direction.
In this embodiment, the joining means 60 is rotated while being transported with the ladder-shaped protective film 15 and the strip-shaped electrolyte film 16 being sandwiched between them, and a pair of upper and lower thermal pressures for hot-pressure joining the strip-shaped electrolyte film 16 and the ladder-shaped protective film 15. It consists of rolls 61 and 62.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, immediately before joining the strip | belt-shaped electrolyte membrane 16 and the ladder-like protective film 15 by the joining means 60, the adjacent hollowed part (henceforth a hollow part) of the ladder-like protective film 15 is described. ) A protective film pulling means (protective layer material pulling means) 63 is provided for the bridging portion 15a that forms the boundary of 15b.

2 is a plan view schematically showing a configuration example of the protective film pulling means 63, and FIG. 3 is a partially omitted rear view of the protective film pulling means 63 in FIG. 2 (the strip electrolyte membrane 16 and the ladder-like protective film 15). FIG. 6 is a view of the protective film pulling means 63 as viewed from the downstream side in the conveying direction A).
As shown in these drawings, the protective film pulling means 63 includes a pair of rolls 64, a roll rotating means 65 and a roll moving means 66.

Here, the pair of rolls 64 are rolls in which the rotation shaft 64a is oriented in a substantially C shape in a plan view with the downstream side in the transport direction A facing upward.
The roll rotating means 65 is a means for rotating the pair of rolls 64 in a direction in which tension is applied to the outside of the ladder-like protective film 15 at least during contact with the ladder-like protective film 15. In the present embodiment, the pair of rolls 64 are always rotated.

The roll moving means 66 advances the pair of rolls 64 to the protective film contact position when the outer portion 15c of the bridge portion 15a of the ladder-like protective film 15 is approaching or is approached below the pair of rolls 64. When the portion 15c passes or passes, it is a means for retracting to the protective film non-contact position.
The roll moving means 66 according to the present embodiment lowers the pair of rolls 64 to a tension applying position that contacts the protective film 15 when the bridging portion outer portion 15c reaches the lower portion, and the bridging portion outer portion 15c passes. It is a roll up-and-down moving means which raises to the stand-by position which does not contact the protective film 15 when it hits. The roll moving means 66 includes a cylinder 66a and a cylinder control device 66b in the illustrated example.
In FIG. 2, 67 is an image sensor such as a CCD camera, which detects the bridge portion outer portion 15c of the ladder-like protective film 15 and gives a signal (bridge portion outer portion detection signal) S1 to the roll moving means 66.
The roll moving means 66 receives the bridging portion outside portion detection signal S1 from the image sensor 67, and adjusts the material of the ladder-like protective film 15, the design values of the dimensions of each part, the transport speed of the belt-like electrolyte membrane 16 and the ladder-like protective film 15, and the like. Based on the above, the control operation of the above-described roll up / down movement is performed.

The protective film pulling means 63 configured as described above operates as follows to remove the slack of the ladder-shaped protective film 15, particularly the bridging portion outer portion 15c.
That is, when the image sensor 67 that images the outer peripheral end portion of the ladder-like protective film 15 being conveyed in the direction of arrow A detects the bridging portion outer portion 15c of the protective film 15, the detection signal S1 is sent to the roll of the protective film pulling means 63. It is sent to the moving means 66, specifically the cylinder control device 66b.
Thereby, the cylinder control device 66b operates the cylinder 66a, and the roll rotating means 65 lowers the pair of rolls 64 that are already rotating from the standby position to the tension applying position, and with respect to the bridge portion 15a of the ladder-like protective film 15, A tension is applied from the both end sides to the outside.
Therefore, the ladder-like protective film 15 is sent to the joining means 60 together with the belt-shaped electrolyte membrane 16 in a state in which the slack in the bridging portion 15a is removed, and is joined by hot-pressure bonding by the hot-pressure rolls 61 and 62. In the bridge portion 15a of the ladder-like protective film 15, the generation of wrinkles is eliminated.
It should be noted that the pair of rolls 64 is moved after a predetermined time set in the cylinder control device 66b based on the interval between the hollow portions 15b of the ladder-like protective film 15, in other words, when the bridging portion outer portion 15c passes below. Furthermore, the cylinder 66a is raised to a standby position where it does not contact the protective film 15.

  The band-shaped electrolyte membrane 17 that has been bonded to the protective film is sent to the separation step, and is cut and separated at regular intervals, whereby the electrolyte membrane is bonded to each protective film. In the example shown in FIG. 1, this cutting and separation is performed after a catalyst layer made of platinum or the like is formed on the band-shaped electrolyte membrane 17 that has been bonded to the protective film.

The embodiment described above has the following effects.
The ladder-like protective film 15 and the strip-like electrolyte membrane 16 must be joined without wrinkling, and both are subjected to appropriate tension during the superposition and conveyance. However, since the ladder-like protective film 15 is hollowed out at regular intervals, even if the ladder-like protective film 15 is transported at a low tension, the bridging portion 15a is likely to be loosened, and wrinkles are likely to occur after joining.
In the present embodiment, the ladder-like protective film 15 is immediately before the band-shaped electrolyte membrane 16 and the ladder-like protective film 15 are joined by the protective film pulling means 63 (the pair of rolls 64, the roll rotating means 65, and the roll moving means 66). The ladder-like protective film 15 is joined to the belt-like electrolyte membrane 16 while applying tension to the outside of the bridging portion 15a, that is, without loosening.
As a result, when the ladder-like protective film 15 is passed through the joining means 60, the joining means 60 is not affected even if the slack 21 occurs in the width direction (the bridging portion 15 a) as illustrated in FIG. After being passed through and joined to the strip electrolyte membrane 16, it is flat without slack as illustrated in FIG. 4B.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the ladder-like protective film 15 can be joined continuously, i.e. with high productivity, without being formed on the outer peripheral edge of the strip-shaped electrolyte membrane 16. Then, the protective film-bonded band-shaped electrolyte membrane 17 obtained in this way is sent to the separation step, or after passing through the catalyst layer forming step and then sent to the separation step, and cut and separated at regular intervals, An electrolyte membrane having an outer peripheral edge portion protected in a frame shape, and thus an MEA can be manufactured with high productivity.
In particular, when the joining means 60 is constituted by a pair of rolls 64, a roll rotating means 65, and a roll moving means 66, the present embodiment can be applied to a roll-to-roll system, and the electrolyte membrane- The protective film can be continuously joined, and the configuration can be simplified.

In the above-described embodiment, the protective film pulling unit 63 is configured by the pair of rolls 64, the roll rotating unit 65, and the roll moving unit 66, but is not limited thereto.
For example, as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, the protective film pulling means 63 may be configured by a pair of clampers 71 and clamper movement control means 72. In this example, the ladder-shaped protective film 15 is wider than the strip-shaped electrolyte membrane 16, and the outer peripheral end of the ladder-shaped protective film 15 extends to the side in the transport direction from the outer peripheral end of the strip-shaped electrolyte membrane 16. Applies to
Here, the pair of clampers 71 are configured to be able to grip the outer peripheral edge of the ladder-like protective film 15.
Further, the clamper movement control means 72 is configured to move the pair of clampers 71 from the standby position P1 to the ladder-shaped protective film gripping position P2 when the bridging portion outer side portion 15c of the ladder-shaped protective film 15 is approached to the opposing position. (See arrow A), the outer peripheral edge of the bridging portion outer portion 15c is gripped. Then, after moving from the gripping position P2 to the outside of the ladder-like protective film and moving the protective film 15 for a certain distance in synchronization with the conveyance in the direction of arrow A (see arrow C), the bridge portion outer portion 15c. Is a means for releasing the outer peripheral edge of the ladder-shaped protective film 15 and returning it to the non-gripping position (standby position P1) of the ladder-like protective film 15 (see arrow D).
Also by such a protective film pulling means 63, the same effect as the above-described embodiment can be obtained.
5 indicate the moving direction and position of the upper clamper 71 in the drawing, and the arrows A, C, D, and positions P1, P2 shown in FIG. The direction and position of line symmetry with respect to the conveying direction A are the moving direction and position of the lower clamper 71. The arrows a, c, d, and positions P1 and P2 do not directly indicate the movement direction and position of the clamper 71 itself, but the movement direction of the coupling mechanism portion with the clamper 71 in the clamper movement control means 72. , Showing the position.

In the above-described embodiments, the description has been given by taking the electrolyte membrane as the membrane and the protective film as the protective layer material. However, the membrane and the protective layer material are of course not limited to these examples.
Furthermore, the embodiment described above can be applied not only to an example in which the protective film is bonded only to the upper surface of the electrolyte membrane but also to an example in which the protective film is bonded to both the upper and lower surfaces of the electrolyte membrane.

It is explanatory drawing of one Embodiment of the membrane-protective layer material continuous joining apparatus with which the method of this invention was applied. It is a top view which shows roughly the structural example of the protective film tension | pulling means in FIG. FIG. 3 is a partially omitted rear view of the protective film pulling means in FIG. 2. It is a figure for demonstrating a mode that slack of a ladder-like protective film is eliminated by the protective film tension means same as the above. It is a top view which shows roughly the other example of the protective film tension | pulling means in FIG. FIG. 6 is a partially omitted rear view of the protective film pulling means in FIG. 5. It is sectional drawing which shows the outline of the cell of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell.

Explanation of symbols

  15: Ladder-shaped protective film, 15a: Bridging portion, 15b: Ladder-shaped protective film hollow portion, 16: Band-shaped electrolyte membrane, 17: Band-shaped electrolyte membrane bonded with protective film, 21: Slack, 60: Joining means, 61, 62: a pair of hot-pressing rolls, 63: protective film tension means (protective layer material tension means).

Claims (4)

The film and the protective layer material are transported in the same direction while overlapping the strip-shaped film and the continuous protective layer material which is hollowed out at a constant interval in the length direction and through the joining process. A film-protective layer material continuous bonding method for continuously bonding
Immediately before the joining step, the protective layer material is provided with a protective layer material pulling step for applying a tension from the both end sides to the outside with respect to a bridging portion that forms a boundary between adjacent hollow portions of the protective layer material. A film-protective layer material continuous joining method characterized by the above. A belt-like film and a protective layer material that is continuously formed as a ladder that is hollowed out at regular intervals are conveyed in the same direction while overlapping in the length direction, and the film and the protective layer material are continuously provided by a joining means. A membrane-protective layer material continuous joining device for jointly joining,
Immediately before joining the film and the protective layer material by the joining means, tension is applied to the bridging portion that forms the boundary between the adjacent hollowed portions of the protective layer material from both ends thereof. A membrane-protective layer material continuous joining apparatus comprising a protective layer material tensioning means to be applied. The protective layer material tension means is
A pair of rolls having a rotation axis oriented in a substantially C shape in plan view with the downstream side in the conveying direction facing upward;
Roll contact means for rotating the pair of rolls in a direction in which tension is applied to the outside of the protective layer material at least during contact with the protective layer material;
When the bridging portion outside portion of the protective layer material is approached or approached below the pair of rolls, the pair of rolls are moved forward to the protective layer material contact position, and when the bridging portion outside portion passes or passes. Roll moving means for returning to the protective layer material non-contact position;
The membrane-protective layer material continuous joining apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the apparatus is provided. The protective layer material tension means is
A pair of clampers capable of gripping the outer peripheral edge of the protective layer material;
When the outer portion of the bridging portion of the protective layer material approaches or approaches the pair of clampers, the outer portion of the bridging portion is gripped by moving forward to the gripping position of the protective layer material. A clamper movement control means for releasing the grip after moving a fixed distance in synchronization with the transport while moving the grip layer from the gripping position to the outside, and returning to the protective layer material non-grip position.
The membrane-protective layer material continuous joining apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the apparatus is provided.

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