JP2017065811A - Connection method, coating method, connection device and coating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique capable of connecting end portions of a first base material and a second base material and suppressing the occurrence of a tilt or gap between both base materials.SOLUTION: Firstly, an end part of a first base material 901 and an end part of a second base material 902 are held in the state of being overlapped in the longitudinal direction of the base material. Next, the overlapping portion between the end part of the first base material 901 and the end part of the second base material 902 is simultaneously cut along a cutting reference line extending in the width direction of the base material. Thereafter, a tape is stuck along cutting reference line so as to cross over the first base material 901 and the second base material 902. A cutting part of the first base material 901 and a cutting part of the second base material 902 are overlapped with high accuracy by simultaneously cutting the first base material 901 and the second base material 902. Thus, the occurrence of a tilt or gap between both base materials 901 and 902 can be suppressed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 13

Description

  The present invention connects a first substrate and a second substrate, which are continuously conveyed, in an apparatus for applying catalyst ink to a long belt-like substrate in which two layers of a support film and an electrolyte membrane are laminated. Related to technology.

In recent years, fuel cells have attracted attention as drive power sources for automobiles and mobile phones. A fuel cell is a power generation system that generates electric power by an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen (H ₂ ) contained in fuel and oxygen in air (O ₂ ). The fuel cell has a feature that the power generation efficiency is high and the load on the environment is small compared to other cells.

  There are several types of fuel cells depending on the electrolyte used. One of them is a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) using an ion exchange membrane (electrolyte membrane) as an electrolyte. Since the polymer electrolyte fuel cell can operate at room temperature and can be reduced in size and weight, it is expected to be applied to automobiles and portable devices.

  A polymer electrolyte fuel cell generally has a structure in which a plurality of cells are stacked. One cell is configured by sandwiching both sides of a membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) with a pair of separators. The membrane / electrode assembly is a membrane-catalyst-coated membrane (CCM) with a catalyst layer formed on both sides of an electrolyte thin film (polymer electrolyte membrane), and a gas diffusion layer placed on both sides. It is. A pair of electrode layers is composed of a catalyst layer and a gas diffusion layer disposed on both sides of the polymer electrolyte membrane. One of the pair of electrode layers is an anode electrode, and the other is a cathode electrode. When a fuel gas containing hydrogen contacts the anode electrode and air contacts the cathode electrode, electric power is generated by an electrochemical reaction.

  The membrane / catalyst layer assembly is typically coated with a catalyst ink (electrode paste) in which catalyst particles containing platinum (Pt) are dispersed in a solvent such as alcohol on the surface of the electrolyte membrane. It is created by drying the catalyst ink. However, the electrolyte membrane used for the polymer electrolyte fuel cell has a property of being easily deformed according to the humidity in the atmosphere. For this reason, when the membrane / catalyst layer assembly is manufactured, the electrolyte membrane is supplied in a state of being bonded to the sheet-like support film.

  Conventional techniques for manufacturing a membrane / catalyst layer assembly are described in, for example, Patent Document 1 (see paragraph 0071) and Patent Document 2.

JP-A-2015-58372 JP 2014-229370 A

  In this type of coating apparatus, a long strip-shaped base material wound in a roll shape is fed out from an unwinding roller. And if the base material (1st base material) conveyed previously is lost, a new roll-shaped base material (2nd base material) will be set to an unwinding roller. And the rear-end part of the conveyance direction of a 1st base material and the front-end part of the conveyance direction of a 2nd base material are connected, and conveyance of a base material is restarted. Thus, the catalyst ink is continuously applied to the first base material and the second base material.

  However, if the first base material and the second base material are connected obliquely at the time of connecting the base materials, the tension applied to the base material when passing through the roller is locally increased. As a result, the penetration of the solvent in the catalyst ink into the electrolyte membrane becomes non-uniform, and the electrolyte membrane may peel off from the support film.

  Moreover, the rear-end part of a 1st base material, a 2nd base material, and a front-end part are connected by sticking a tape on both surfaces, for example. At this time, if there is a gap between the first base material and the second base material, the tapes affixed to both surfaces are firmly adhered to each other. When such adhesion between the tapes occurs, it becomes difficult to peel the support film from the electrolyte membrane.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a situation, connecting the edge parts of a 1st base material and a 2nd base material, and that inclination and a clearance gap generate | occur | produce between both base materials. It aims at providing the technology which can be controlled.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the first invention of the present application is a connection method for connecting ends of a first base material and a second base material, which are long belt-like base materials in which two layers are laminated, a) a step of holding the end portion of the first base material and the end portion of the second base material in a state of being overlapped in the longitudinal direction of the base material; and b) after the step a), A step of simultaneously cutting an overlapping portion between an end portion of one base material and an end portion of the second base material along a cutting reference line extending in the width direction of the base material; and c) after the step b) And a step of applying a tape so as to straddle the first base material and the second base material along the cutting reference line, and c-1) the first step A step of attaching the tape so as to straddle one surface of the base material and one surface of the second base material; c-2) the other surface of the first base material and the second base material. other So as to straddle the surface, and a step of pasting the tape.

  The second invention of the present application is the connection method of the first invention, wherein, in the step a), the end of the first base material and the second base material are formed on the upper surface of the holding plate having a plurality of suction holes. Adsorb the end.

  3rd invention of this application is the connection method of 2nd invention, Comprising: The upper surface of the said holding plate is the said 1st groove | channel extended in the said width direction, and the said width direction in the position where the said 1st groove differs in the said longitudinal direction The step a) includes: a-1) holding the first base material on the upper surface of the holding plate; and a-2) A step of cutting the first base material along the first groove, and a-3) the second base material on the upper surface of the holding plate so as to overlap the end portion of the first base material after cutting. Holding the end of the substrate, and in the step b), the overlapping portion is cut along the second groove.

  4th invention of this application is a connection method of 3rd invention, Comprising: In the said process a-1), the upper surface of the said holding plate is made to approach the lower surface of the said 1st base material arrange | positioned horizontally.

  5th invention of this application is a connection method of 3rd invention or 4th invention, Comprising: In the said process a-1), the said 1st base material is fixed in the downstream of a conveyance direction rather than the said holding plate, In the step a-3), the second base material is fixed upstream of the holding plate in the transport direction.

  6th invention of this application is the connection method of any one invention from 2nd invention to 5th invention, Comprising: In the said process a-3), it arrange | positions on the both sides of the width direction of the edge part of a said 1st base material. The end portion of the second base material is disposed between the pair of positioning members.

  7th invention of this application is a coating method which coats catalyst ink on the surface of the 1st substrate and the 2nd substrate which are long belt-like substrates by which two layers, a support film and an electrolyte membrane, were laminated. And x) a step of connecting the end portions of the first base material and the second base material by the connection method of any one of the first invention to the sixth invention, and y) a base after connection. And applying a catalyst ink to the surface of the base material while transporting the material.

  The eighth invention of the present application is a connecting device for connecting the end portions of the first base material and the second base material, which are long belt-like base materials in which two layers are laminated, wherein the bases are arranged horizontally. A holding plate having an upper surface in contact with the lower surface of the material, wherein the upper surface of the holding plate overlaps an end portion of the first base material and an end portion of the second base material in a longitudinal direction of the base material. And a cutting reference line extending in the width direction of the substrate.

  A ninth invention of the present application is the connection device according to the eighth invention, wherein an upper surface of the holding plate has a plurality of suction holes.

  A tenth invention of the present application is the connecting device according to the eighth or ninth invention, wherein the upper surface of the holding plate has a first groove extending in the width direction, and the first groove has a position different from the longitudinal direction. And a second groove as the cutting reference line extending in the width direction.

  An eleventh invention of the present application is the connection device according to any one of the eighth to tenth inventions, further comprising a lifting mechanism that moves the holding plate up and down.

  A twelfth invention of the present application is the connection device according to any one of the eighth to eleventh inventions, and a downstream clamp that fixes the first base material downstream of the holding plate in the transport direction. And a mechanism and an upstream clamp mechanism for fixing the second base material upstream of the holding plate in the transport direction.

  A thirteenth invention of the present application is the connection device according to any one of the eighth to twelfth inventions, further comprising a cutter that can advance and retreat along the cutting reference line.

  A fourteenth aspect of the present invention is a coating apparatus for coating a catalyst ink on the surfaces of a first base material and a second base material, which are long belt-like base materials in which two layers of a support film and an electrolyte membrane are laminated. The connection device according to any one of claims 8 to 13, wherein the transport device is configured to transport the base material along a transport path, and the transport device is disposed on the transport path. And a coating unit that is disposed on the downstream side of the above connection device and that coats the surface of the base material with catalyst ink.

  According to the first to seventh inventions, the end portions of the first base material and the second base material are connected to each other, and the occurrence of an inclination or a gap between the two base materials can be suppressed.

  In particular, according to the second invention, the end portion of the first base material and the end portion of the second base material can be held in a stable state.

  In particular, according to the third invention, different portions of the first substrate are cut in steps a-1) and b). Thereby, it can suppress more that a clearance gap remains between a 1st base material and a 2nd base material after process b).

  In particular, according to the fourth invention, the first base material can be held on the upper surface of the holding plate without changing the height of the transport path of the base material.

  In particular, according to the fifth aspect, it is possible to further suppress displacement of the first base material and the second base material on the holding plate.

  In particular, according to the sixth aspect, the end portion of the first base material and the end portion of the second base material can be easily positioned in the width direction.

  Moreover, according to the 8th invention-14th invention, it hold | maintains on the upper surface of a holding plate so that the edge part of a 1st base material and the edge part of a 2nd base material may overlap, and the duplication location is cut | disconnected. Both base materials can be connected. Thereby, it can suppress that an inclination and a clearance gap arise between both base materials.

  In particular, according to the ninth aspect, the end portion of the first base material and the end portion of the second base material can be held in a stable state.

  In particular, according to the tenth aspect, the substrate can be cut in two stages along the first groove and the second groove. Thereby, it can suppress more that a clearance gap remains between a 1st base material and a 2nd base material.

  In particular, according to the eleventh aspect, the base material can be held on the upper surface of the holding plate without changing the height of the transport path of the base material.

  In particular, according to the twelfth aspect, the displacement of the first base material and the second base material on the holding plate can be further suppressed.

It is the figure which showed the structure of the 1st surface coating apparatus. It is a control block diagram in a 1st surface coating apparatus. It is the figure which showed the structure of the 2nd surface coating apparatus. It is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the peeling roller 211. It is an enlarged view of the vicinity of a laminating roller. It is a control block diagram in a 2nd surface coating apparatus. It is a top view of a connection device. It is a side view of a connection device. It is the figure which showed the mode of the connection process of the base material in a connection apparatus. It is the figure which showed the mode of the connection process of the base material in a connection apparatus. It is the figure which showed the mode of the connection process of the base material in a connection apparatus. It is the figure which showed the mode of the connection process of the base material in a connection apparatus. It is the figure which showed the mode of the connection process of the base material in a connection apparatus. It is the figure which showed the mode of the connection process of the base material in a connection apparatus. It is the figure which showed the mode of the connection process of the base material in a connection apparatus. It is the figure which showed the mode of the connection process of the base material in a connection apparatus. It is the figure which showed the mode of the connection process of the base material in a connection apparatus. It is the figure which showed the mode of the connection process of the base material in a connection apparatus.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<1. Configuration of first surface coating apparatus>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a first surface coating apparatus 1 which is an example of a coating apparatus according to the present invention. This first surface coating apparatus 1 is a process for producing a membrane / catalyst layer assembly for a polymer electrolyte fuel cell, while transporting a long belt-like base material 90 in the longitudinal direction. It is an apparatus for forming a catalyst layer to be an electrode on the surface. As shown in an enlarged manner in FIG. 1, the base material 90 has a structure in which two layers of a support film 91 and an electrolyte membrane 92 are laminated. The first surface coating apparatus 1 applies catalyst ink to a surface of the electrolyte membrane 92 that is not covered with the support film 91 (hereinafter referred to as “first surface”), and then dries the catalyst ink. Then, the catalyst material layer 9a is formed.

  As the electrolyte membrane 92, for example, a fluorine-based or hydrocarbon-based polymer electrolyte membrane is used. Specific examples of the electrolyte membrane 92 include a polymer electrolyte membrane containing perfluorocarbon sulfonic acid (for example, Nafion (registered trademark) manufactured by DuPont of the United States, Flemion (registered trademark) manufactured by Asahi Glass Co., Ltd., and Asahi Kasei Corporation) Aciplex (registered trademark), and Goreselect (registered trademark) manufactured by Gore Co., Ltd.). The film thickness of the electrolyte membrane 92 is, for example, 5 μm to 30 μm. The electrolyte membrane 92 is swollen by moisture in the atmosphere, and contracts when the humidity is low. That is, the electrolyte membrane 92 has a property of being easily deformed according to the humidity in the atmosphere.

  The support film 91 is a film for suppressing deformation of the electrolyte membrane 92. As the material of the support film 91, a resin having higher mechanical strength than the electrolyte membrane 92 and having an excellent shape holding function is used. Specific examples of the support film 91 include PEN (polyethylene naphthalate) and PET (polyethylene terephthalate) films. The film thickness of the support film 91 is, for example, 25 μm to 100 μm.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the first surface coating apparatus 1 includes a transport mechanism 11, a coating unit 12, a drying unit 13, and a control unit 14.

  The transport mechanism 11 is a mechanism for transporting the base material 90 in the transport direction along the longitudinal direction. The transport mechanism 11 of this embodiment includes a base material unwinding roller 111, a plurality of transport rollers 112, and a base material take-up roller 113. The substrate 90 is unwound from the substrate unwinding roller 111 and is transported along a transport path defined by the plurality of transport rollers 112. Each transport roller 112 guides the substrate 90 to the downstream side of the transport path by rotating about the horizontal axis. The conveyed base material 90 is collected by the base material take-up roller 113. Note that the position and number of the transport rollers 112 are not necessarily as shown in FIG.

  The coating unit 12 is a mechanism for applying the catalyst ink to the surface of the substrate 90 transported by the transport mechanism 11.

  As the catalyst ink, an electrode paste in which particles containing a catalyst material (for example, platinum (Pt)) are dispersed in a solvent such as alcohol is used. As the catalyst material, a material that causes a fuel cell reaction at the anode or cathode of the polymer fuel cell is used. Specifically, platinum (Pt), a platinum alloy, a platinum compound, or the like can be used as the catalyst material. Examples of platinum alloys include, for example, at least one selected from the group consisting of ruthenium (Ru), palladium (Pd), nickel (Ni), molybdenum (Mo), iridium (Ir), iron (Fe), and the like. An alloy of metal and platinum can be mentioned. In general, platinum is used as the catalyst material for the cathode, and platinum alloy is used as the catalyst material for the anode.

  The base material 90 is supported by a backup roller 114 that also serves as a transport roller on the downstream side of the transport path with respect to the connection device 70 described later and on the upstream side of the transport path with respect to the drying unit 13. The backup roller 114 is a columnar or cylindrical roller, and rotates around a horizontal axis while being in contact with the support film 91 of the substrate 90. The coating unit 12 includes a coating nozzle 121 that faces the surface of the substrate 90 supported by the backup roller 114. As the coating nozzle 121, for example, a so-called slit nozzle having a slit-like discharge port extending along the width direction (horizontal direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the base material) is used.

  The coating nozzle 121 is connected to the catalyst ink supply source 123 through a liquid supply pipe 122. Further, an opening / closing valve 124 is inserted in the liquid supply pipe 122. Therefore, when the on-off valve 124 is opened, the catalyst ink is supplied from the catalyst ink supply source 123 to the coating nozzle 121 through the liquid supply pipe 122. Then, the catalyst ink is discharged from the discharge port of the coating nozzle 121 toward the electrolyte membrane 92 of the base material 90 supported by the backup roller 114. As a result, the catalyst ink is applied to the first surface of the electrolyte membrane 92.

  In this embodiment, the catalyst ink is intermittently discharged from the discharge port of the coating nozzle 121 by opening and closing the on-off valve 124 at a constant cycle. As a result, the catalyst ink is intermittently applied to the first surface of the electrolyte membrane 92 at regular intervals in the transport direction. However, the on-off valve 124 may be continuously opened to apply the catalyst ink to the first surface of the electrolyte membrane 92 without any break in the transport direction.

  Note that the coating nozzle 121 does not necessarily have to discharge the coating liquid onto the surface of the base material 90 supported by the backup roller 114. For example, the coating liquid may be discharged onto the surface of the substrate 90 that is stretched between adjacent rollers.

  The drying unit 13 is disposed downstream of the coating nozzle 121 in the transport path. The drying unit 13 includes a drying furnace 131 for drying the catalyst ink. In the drying furnace 131, heated gas (hot air) is blown onto the electrolyte membrane 92 of the substrate 90 that is transported by the transport mechanism 11. As a result, the catalyst ink applied to the first surface of the electrolyte membrane 92 is heated, and the solvent in the catalyst ink is vaporized. Thereby, the catalyst ink is dried, and the catalyst material layer 9 a is formed on the first surface of the electrolyte membrane 92. However, the method for drying the catalyst ink does not necessarily have to be supplied with hot air. The drying unit 13 may dry the catalyst ink by other methods such as light irradiation or reduced pressure.

  As described above, in the first surface coating apparatus 1, each of the feeding of the base material 90 from the base material unwinding roller 111, the application of the catalyst ink to the first surface of the electrolyte membrane 92, and the drying by the drying furnace 131. The steps are performed sequentially. As a result, one catalyst material layer 9 a of the membrane / catalyst layer assembly used in the polymer electrolyte fuel cell is formed on the first surface of the electrolyte membrane 92. In the first surface coating apparatus 1, the electrolyte membrane 92 is always held on the support film 91. Thereby, deformations such as swelling and shrinkage of the electrolyte membrane 92 are suppressed.

  The control unit 14 is means for controlling the operation of each unit in the first surface coating apparatus 1. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the connection between the control unit 14 and each unit in the first surface coating apparatus 1. As conceptually shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 14 is configured by a computer having an arithmetic processing unit 141 such as a CPU, a memory 142 such as a RAM, and a storage unit 143 such as a hard disk drive. In the storage unit 143, a computer program P1 for executing the coating / drying process is installed. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 14 is connected to the transport mechanism 11, the on-off valve 124, and the drying furnace 131 so as to be able to communicate with each other. When the connection device 70 described later is mounted, the control unit 14 is also connected to the negative pressure generating device 715 and the plurality of air cylinders 712, 722, and 732 in the connection device 70 so as to communicate with each other.

  The control unit 14 temporarily reads the computer program P1 and data stored in the storage unit 143 into the memory 142, and the arithmetic processing unit 141 performs arithmetic processing based on the computer program P1 and the data, thereby The operation of each part in the single-side coating apparatus 1 is controlled. Thereby, the coating / drying process in the first surface coating apparatus 1 proceeds.

<2. Configuration of second surface coating apparatus>
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a second surface coating apparatus 2 which is another example of the coating apparatus according to the present invention. The second surface coating apparatus 2 is an apparatus used together with the first surface coating apparatus 1 in the manufacturing process of the membrane / catalyst layer assembly for a polymer electrolyte fuel cell. The second surface coating apparatus 2 is formed on the surface opposite to the electrolyte membrane 92 (hereinafter referred to as “second surface”) on which the catalyst material layer 9a is formed on the first surface in the first surface coating apparatus 1. A catalyst material layer 9b having a polarity opposite to that of the one-side catalyst material layer 9a is formed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the second surface coating apparatus 2 includes an introduction peeling unit 21, a suction roller 22, a coating unit 23, a drying furnace 24, a pasting unit 25, a surface cooling unit 26, and a control unit 27. .

  The introduction peeling part 21 is a part that peels the support film 91 from the electrolyte membrane 92 while introducing the base material 90 having two layers of the support film 91 and the electrolyte membrane 92 to the outer peripheral surface of the suction roller 22. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the introduction peeling unit 21 includes a peeling roller 211, an introduction unit 212, and a discharge unit 213.

  The peeling roller 211 is a roller that rotates around a horizontally extending axis. The peeling roller 211 has a cylindrical outer peripheral surface formed of an elastic body. The outer peripheral surface of the peeling roller 211 and the outer peripheral surface of the suction roller 22 described later face each other with a gap through which the substrate 90 passes. Further, the peeling roller 211 is pressurized toward the suction roller 22 by an air cylinder (not shown).

  The introduction unit 212 includes a base material unwinding roller 31 and a first detection roller 32. The substrate unwinding roller 31 and the first detection roller 32 are both arranged in parallel with the peeling roller 211. An operator sets the roll-shaped base material 90 taken out from the base material winding roller 113 of the first surface coating apparatus 1 on the base material unwinding roller 31 of the second surface coating apparatus 2. The substrate unwinding roller 31 is rotated by the power of a motor (not shown). When the substrate unwinding roller 31 rotates, the substrate 90 set on the substrate unwinding roller 31 is unwound to the transport path.

  The base material 90 fed out from the base material unwinding roller 31 changes its direction by contacting the outer peripheral surface of the first detection roller 32 and is conveyed to the peeling roller 211 side. The first detection roller 32 detects the tension applied to the base material 90 at the introduction portion 212 by measuring the load received from the base material 90 with a load cell. The control unit 27 described later controls the rotation speed of the base material unwinding roller 31 so that the tension of the base material 90 detected by the first detection roller 32 becomes a preset value.

  FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the peeling roller 211. As shown in FIG. 4, the base material 90 that has passed through the first detection roller 32 is introduced into the gap between the peeling roller 211 and the suction roller 22. At this time, the support film 91 contacts the outer peripheral surface of the peeling roller 211, and the electrolyte membrane 92 contacts the outer peripheral surface of the adsorption roller 22. In addition, the base material 90 is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the suction roller 22 with pressure received from the peeling roller 211. Then, the first surface of the electrolyte membrane 92 is adsorbed to the outer peripheral surface of the adsorption roller 22 by the negative pressure described later of the adsorption roller 22. At this time, the catalyst material layer 9 a formed in the first surface coating apparatus 1 is also adsorbed on the outer peripheral surface of the adsorption roller 22.

  The discharge unit 213 includes a film winding roller 41 and a second detection roller 42. Both the film take-up roller 41 and the second detection roller 42 are arranged in parallel with the peeling roller 211. The support film 91 that has passed through the gap between the peeling roller 211 and the suction roller 22 is separated from the suction roller 22 and conveyed toward the second detection roller 42. Thereby, the support film 91 is peeled from the electrolyte membrane 92. The peeled support film 91 changes its direction by contacting the outer peripheral surface of the second detection roller 42 and is conveyed to the film take-up roller 41 side.

  The film take-up roller 41 is rotated by the power of a motor (not shown). As a result, the support film 91 is wound on the film winding roller 41. The second detection roller 42 detects the tension applied to the support film 91 in the discharge unit 213 by measuring the load received from the support film 91 with a load cell. The control unit 27 described later controls the rotation speed of the film take-up roller 41 so that the tension of the support film 91 detected by the second detection roller 42 has a preset value.

  The adsorption roller 22 is a roller that rotates while adsorbing and holding the electrolyte membrane 92 on the outer peripheral surface. The suction roller 22 has a cylindrical outer peripheral surface having a diameter larger than that of the peeling roller 211. The diameter of the suction roller 22 is, for example, 400 mm to 1600 mm. The suction roller 22 rotates around an axis extending horizontally (that is, parallel to the peeling roller 211) by the power of a motor (not shown). The first direction that is the rotation direction of the suction roller 22 and the second direction that is the rotation direction of the peeling roller 211 are opposite to each other.

  As the material of the suction roller 22, for example, a porous material such as porous carbon or porous ceramics is used. Specific examples of the porous ceramic include a sintered body of alumina (Al 2 O 3) or silicon carbide (SiC). The pore diameter in the porous adsorption roller 22 is, for example, 5 μm or less, and the porosity is, for example, 15% to 50%. Further, the outer peripheral surface of the suction roller 22 is formed to have a surface roughness with a value of Rz (maximum height) of 5 μm or less, for example. Further, the total runout of the suction roller 22 during rotation (variation in the distance from the rotation shaft to the outer peripheral surface) is set to 10 μm or less.

  A suction port 221 is provided on the end surface of the suction roller 22. The suction port 221 is connected to a suction mechanism (for example, an exhaust pump) not shown. When the suction mechanism is operated, a negative pressure is generated at the suction port 221 of the suction roller 22. A negative pressure is also generated on the outer peripheral surface of the suction roller 22 through the pores in the suction roller 22. For example, a negative pressure of 10 kPa or more is generated on the outer peripheral surface of the suction roller 22 by generating a negative pressure of 90 kPa or more at the suction port 221. The electrolyte membrane 92 is conveyed in an arc shape by the rotation of the adsorption roller 22 while being adsorbed and held on the outer peripheral surface of the adsorption roller 22 by the negative pressure.

  Further, as indicated by broken lines in FIG. 3, a plurality of water-cooled tubes 222 are provided inside the suction roller 22. The water cooling pipe 222 is supplied with cooling water adjusted to a predetermined temperature from a water supply mechanism (not shown). During the operation of the second surface coating apparatus 2, the heat of the suction roller 22 is absorbed by the cooling water that is a heat medium. Thereby, the suction roller 22 is cooled. The cooling water that has absorbed the heat is discharged to a drainage mechanism (not shown).

  The coating unit 23 is a mechanism for coating catalyst ink on the surface of the electrolyte membrane 92 conveyed by the adsorption roller 22. As shown in FIG. 3, the coating unit 23 includes a coating nozzle 231. The coating nozzle 231 is provided on the downstream side of the peeling roller 211 in the conveying direction of the electrolyte membrane 92 by the suction roller 22. The coating nozzle 231 has a discharge port facing the outer peripheral surface of the suction roller 22. The discharge port is a slit-like opening that extends horizontally along the outer peripheral surface of the suction roller 22.

  The coating nozzle 231 is connected to the catalyst ink supply source 233 through a supply pipe 232. Further, an on-off valve 234 is interposed on the path of the supply pipe 232. Therefore, when the on-off valve 234 is opened, the catalyst ink is supplied from the catalyst ink supply source 233 to the coating nozzle 231 through the supply pipe 232. Then, the catalyst ink is discharged from the discharge port of the coating nozzle 231 toward the second surface of the electrolyte membrane 92. As a result, the catalyst ink is applied to the second surface of the electrolyte membrane 92 held by the suction roller 22.

  In this embodiment, the catalyst ink is intermittently discharged from the discharge port of the coating nozzle 231 by opening and closing the on-off valve 234 at a constant cycle. Thereby, the catalyst ink is intermittently applied to the second surface of the electrolyte membrane 92 at regular intervals in the transport direction. However, the on-off valve 234 may be continuously opened to apply the catalyst ink to the second surface of the electrolyte membrane 92 without any break in the transport direction.

  The drying furnace 24 is a part that dries the catalyst ink applied to the surface of the electrolyte membrane 92. The drying furnace 24 of the present embodiment is disposed on the downstream side of the coating unit 23 in the conveying direction of the electrolyte membrane 92 by the adsorption roller 22. The drying furnace 24 is provided in an arc shape along the outer peripheral surface of the suction roller 22. The drying furnace 24 blows heated gas (hot air) toward the second surface of the electrolyte membrane 92 held by the adsorption roller 22. As a result, the catalyst ink applied to the second surface of the electrolyte membrane 92 is heated, and the solvent in the catalyst ink is vaporized. As a result, the catalyst ink is dried, and a catalyst material layer 9 b is formed on the second surface of the electrolyte membrane 92. However, the method for drying the catalyst ink does not necessarily have to be supplied with hot air. The drying unit 13 may dry the catalyst ink by other methods such as light irradiation or reduced pressure.

  The affixing part 25 is a part for affixing a strip-shaped cover film 93 to the second surface of the electrolyte membrane 92 on which the catalyst material layer 9b is formed. The affixing unit 25 is disposed on the downstream side of the drying furnace 24 in the conveying direction of the electrolyte membrane 92 by the adsorption roller 22. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the pasting unit 25 includes a laminating roller 251, a film supply unit 252, and a joined body collection unit 253.

  FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the laminating roller 251. The laminating roller 251 is a roller that rotates around a horizontally extending axis. The laminating roller 251 has a cylindrical outer peripheral surface whose diameter is smaller than that of the suction roller 22. The outer peripheral surface of the laminating roller 251 and the outer peripheral surface of the adsorption roller 22 face each other with a gap through which the electrolyte membrane 92 and the cover film 93 pass. The laminating roller 251 is pressurized toward the suction roller 22 by an air cylinder (not shown).

  For example, a metal having high thermal conductivity is used as the material of the laminating roller 251. In addition, a heater 251 a that generates heat when energized is provided inside the laminating roller 251. For example, a sheathed heater can be used as the heater 251a. When the heater 251a is energized, the outer peripheral surface of the laminating roller 251 is adjusted to a predetermined temperature higher than the environmental temperature by heat generated from the heater 251a. Note that the temperature of the outer peripheral surface of the laminating roller 251 is measured using a temperature sensor such as a radiation thermometer, and the output of the heater 251a is adjusted so that the outer peripheral surface of the laminating roller 251 has a constant temperature based on the measurement result. May be controlled.

  Returning to FIG. The film supply unit 252 includes a film unwinding roller 51 and a third detection roller 52. The film unwinding roller 51 and the third detection roller 52 are both arranged in parallel with the laminating roller 251. The cover film 93 before supply is wound around the film unwinding roller 51. The film unwinding roller 51 is rotated by the power of a motor (not shown). When the film unwinding roller 51 rotates, the cover film 93 is unwound from the film unwinding roller 51.

  As the material of the cover film 93, a resin having higher mechanical strength than the electrolyte membrane 92 and having an excellent shape holding function is used. Specific examples of the cover film 93 include PEN (polyethylene naphthalate) and PET (polyethylene terephthalate) films. The cover film 93 may be the same as the support film 91. Further, the support film 91 taken up by the film take-up roller 41 may be fed out from the film take-out roller 51 as the cover film 93.

  The fed cover film 93 changes its direction by contacting the outer peripheral surface of the third detection roller 52 and is conveyed to the laminating roller 251 side. The third detection roller 52 detects the tension applied to the cover film 93 in the film supply unit 252 by measuring the load received from the cover film 93 with a load cell. The control unit 27 described later controls the rotation speed of the film unwinding roller 51 so that the tension of the cover film 93 detected by the third detection roller 52 becomes a preset value.

  The cover film 93 that has passed through the third detection roller 52 is introduced between the electrolyte film 92 adsorbed and held on the outer peripheral surface of the adsorption roller 22 and the laminating roller 251. At this time, the cover film 93 is pressed against the electrolyte membrane 92 by the pressure from the laminating roller 251 and is heated by the heat of the laminating roller 251. As a result, the cover film 93 is attached to the outer surface of the electrolyte membrane 92. The catalyst material layer 9 b formed on the surface of the electrolyte membrane 92 is sandwiched between the electrolyte membrane 92 and the cover film 93. As a result, a membrane / catalyst layer assembly 94 composed of the electrolyte membrane 92, the catalyst material layers 9a and 9b, and the cover film 93 is formed.

  The joined body collection unit 253 includes a joined body winding roller 61 and a fourth detection roller 62. The joined body winding roller 61 and the fourth detection roller 62 are both arranged in parallel with the laminating roller 251. The membrane / catalyst layer assembly 94 that has passed between the adsorption roller 22 and the laminating roller 251 is separated from the adsorption roller 22 and conveyed toward the fourth detection roller 62. The membrane / catalyst layer assembly 94 changes its direction by coming into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the fourth detection roller 62 and is conveyed to the assembly winding roller 61 side.

  The joined body winding roller 61 is rotated by the power of a motor (not shown). As a result, the membrane / catalyst layer assembly 94 is wound around the bonded body winding roller 61. The fourth detection roller 62 detects the tension applied to the membrane / catalyst layer assembly 94 in the assembly recovery unit 253 by measuring the load received from the membrane / catalyst layer assembly 94 with a load cell. The control unit 27 described later controls the rotational speed of the joined body winding roller 61 so that the tension of the membrane / catalyst layer assembly 94 detected by the fourth detection roller 62 becomes a preset value.

  The surface cooling unit 26 is a mechanism for cooling the outer peripheral surface of the suction roller 22. The surface cooling unit 26 is disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the suction roller 22 at a position facing the region that does not hold the electrolyte membrane 92 between the pasting unit 25 and the introduction peeling unit 21. For example, the surface cooling unit 26 sprays clean dry air having a temperature lower than the environmental temperature (for example, about 5 ° C.) on the outer peripheral surface of the suction roller 22. The suction roller 22 heated by the drying furnace 24 and the laminating roller 251 is cooled by receiving the clean dry air.

  Thus, in the second surface coating apparatus 2 of the present embodiment, the substrate 90 is unwound from the substrate unwinding roller 31, the support film 91 is peeled off from the electrolyte membrane 92, and the electrolyte membrane 92 is moved to the second surface. The steps of applying the catalyst ink, drying by the drying furnace 24, and attaching the cover film 93 to the electrolyte membrane 92 are sequentially performed. As a result, the membrane / catalyst layer assembly 94 used for the electrode of the polymer electrolyte fuel cell is manufactured. The electrolyte membrane 92 is always held on the support film 91, the suction roller 22, or the cover film 93. Thereby, deformations such as swelling and shrinkage of the electrolyte membrane 92 in the second surface coating apparatus 2 are suppressed.

  In the present embodiment, the substrate unwinding roller 31, the first detection roller 32, the peeling roller 211, the second detection roller 42, the film winding roller 41, the suction roller 22, the laminating roller 251, the fourth detection roller 62, and the A transport mechanism that transports the base material along the transport path is configured by each roller of the joined body winding roller 61. However, the positions and the number of rollers constituting the transport mechanism are not necessarily as shown in FIG.

  The control unit 27 is means for controlling the operation of each unit in the second surface coating apparatus 2. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the connection between the control unit 27 and each unit in the second surface coating apparatus 2. As conceptually shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 27 includes a computer having an arithmetic processing unit 271 such as a CPU, a memory 272 such as a RAM, and a storage unit 273 such as a hard disk drive. In the storage unit 273, a computer program P2 for executing a coating / drying process is installed.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 27 includes the motor for the substrate unwinding roller 31, the load cell for the first detection roller 32, the motor for the film winding roller 41, the load cell for the second detection roller 42, and suction. Motor of roller 22, suction mechanism of suction roller 22, water supply mechanism of suction roller 22, on-off valve 234, drying furnace 24, heater 251a, motor of film unwinding roller 51, load cell of third detection roller 52, wound assembly The motor of the roller 61, the load cell of the fourth detection roller 62, and the surface cooling unit 26 are communicably connected. When the connection device 70 described later is mounted, the control unit 27 is also connected to the negative pressure generating device 715 and the plurality of air cylinders 712, 722, and 732 in the connection device 70 so as to communicate with each other.

  The control unit 27 temporarily reads the computer program P1 and data stored in the storage unit 273 into the memory 272, and the arithmetic processing unit 271 performs arithmetic processing based on the computer program P1 and the data, so that the second The operation of each part in the surface coating apparatus 2 is controlled. Thereby, the coating / drying process in the second surface coating apparatus 2 proceeds.

<3. About connected devices>
The first surface coating apparatus 1 and the second surface coating apparatus 2 can be equipped with a connection device 70 for connecting the base material 90. When the connection device 70 is mounted on the first surface coating apparatus 1, the connection device 70 is, for example, downstream of the conveyance path from the substrate unwinding roller 111 and upstream of the conveyance path from the backup roller 114. It is arranged at the position on the side (the position of the broken line in FIG. 1). When the connection device 70 is mounted on the second surface coating device 2, the connection device 70 is, for example, downstream of the conveyance path from the base material unrolling roller 31 and the conveyance path from the first detection roller 32. (The position of the broken line in FIG. 3) is arranged on the upstream side.

  In both the first surface coating apparatus 1 and the second surface coating apparatus 2, the base material 90 wound in a roll shape is fed out from the base material unwinding rollers 111 and 31. Then, when all of the substrate 90 to be transported first is unwound from the substrate unwinding rollers 111 and 31, a new roll-shaped substrate 90 is set on the substrate unwinding rollers 111 and 31. The connection device 70 is a device for connecting the end portions of the base material 90 when the base material 90 is exchanged.

  In addition, in the 1st surface coating apparatus 1 and the 2nd surface coating apparatus 2, in order to reduce the coating defect in the vicinity of the front-end part and rear-end part of the base material 90, before and after the base material 90, base material There are cases where dummy substrates having the same number of layers as 90 are connected and conveyed. The connection device 70 may be used to connect the end of the dummy base material and the end of the base material 90.

  Hereinafter, the base material 90 transported first is referred to as a “first base material 901”, and the base material 90 transported later is referred to as a “second base material 902”. Any one of the first base material 901 and the second base material 902 may be a dummy base material.

  FIG. 7 is a top view of the connection device 70. FIG. 8 is a side view of the connection device 70. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the connection device 70 of this embodiment includes a holding plate 71, a downstream clamp mechanism 72, and an upstream clamp mechanism 73.

  The holding plate 71 is a plate-like member that holds the first base material 901 and the second base material 902 from the lower surface side. The first base material 901 and the second base material 902 are horizontally transported along the transport path T indicated by the one-dot chain line in FIGS. The holding plate 71 is arranged in a horizontal posture below the transport path T. The upper surface of the holding plate 71 is a flat holding surface and faces the lower surface of the substrate 90. Further, the upper surface of the holding plate 71 is arranged in a state where the rear end portion in the transport direction of the first base material 901 and the front end portion in the transport direction of the second base material 902 are overlapped in the longitudinal direction of the base material 90. To have a sufficiently wide arrangement area.

  As shown in an enlarged manner in FIG. 7, a plurality of suction holes 711 are provided on the upper surface of the holding plate 71. The plurality of suction holes 711 are connected to the negative pressure generating device 715 through a flow path formed in the holding plate 71. For the negative pressure generator 715, for example, an exhaust pump is used. When the negative pressure generator 715 is operated, negative pressure is generated in the plurality of suction holes 711. The lower surfaces of the first substrate 901 and the second substrate 902 are adsorbed on the upper surface of the holding plate 71 by the negative pressure of the plurality of adsorption holes 711. As a result, the first base material 901 and the second base material 902 are held on the upper surface of the holding plate 71 in a stable state.

  A first groove 713 and a second groove 714 are provided on the upper surface of the holding plate 71. Both the first groove 713 and the second groove 714 extend linearly along the width direction of the substrate 90. Further, the second groove 714 is located downstream of the first groove 713 in the transport direction. The 1st groove | channel 713 becomes a cutting | disconnection reference line at the time of cut | disconnecting the 1st base material 901 independently in the connection process mentioned later. The second groove 714 serves as a cutting reference line for simultaneously cutting the first base material 901 and the second base material 902 in the connection process described later.

  An air cylinder 712 as an elevating mechanism is connected to the holding plate 71. As shown in FIG. 8, in this embodiment, the tip of the piston rod of the air cylinder 712 is fixed to the lower surface of the holding plate 71. When the air cylinder 712 is operated, the holding plate 71 moves up and down between an ascending position (a position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 8) and a descending position (a position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 8). When the holding plate 71 is disposed at the raised position, the upper surface of the holding plate 71 comes into contact with the lower surface of the substrate 90. On the other hand, when the holding plate 71 is disposed at the lowered position, the upper surface of the holding plate 71 is separated from the lower surface of the substrate 90.

  Thus, the connection device 70 according to the present embodiment can move the holding plate 71 up and down. For this reason, the upper surface of the holding plate 71 can be brought into contact with the first base material 901 and the second base material 902 without changing the heights of the first base material 901 and the second base material 902. Note that a mechanism other than an air cylinder may be used as an elevating mechanism for moving the holding plate 71 up and down. For example, the holding plate 71 may be moved up and down by a mechanism using a motor and a ball screw.

  The downstream clamp mechanism 72 is a mechanism that fixes the first base material 901 on the downstream side of the holding plate 71 in the transport direction. The downstream clamp mechanism 72 has a pair of clamp members 721. An air cylinder 722 is connected to each of the pair of clamp members 721. When the air cylinder 722 is driven, the pair of clamp members 721 move up and down between a contact position (a position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 8) and a retracted position (a position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 8). When the first substrate 901 is fixed, the pair of clamp members 721 of the downstream clamp mechanism 72 is disposed at the contact position. On the other hand, when releasing the fixation of the first base material 901, the pair of clamp members 721 of the downstream side clamp mechanism 72 is disposed at the retracted position.

  The upstream clamp mechanism 73 is a mechanism that fixes the second base material 902 on the upstream side in the transport direction from the holding plate 71. The upstream clamp mechanism 73 has a pair of clamp members 731. An air cylinder 732 is connected to each of the pair of clamp members 731. When the air cylinder 732 is driven, the pair of clamp members 731 move up and down between a contact position (a position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 8) and a retracted position (a position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 8). When fixing the 2nd base material 902, a pair of clamp members 731 of the upstream clamp mechanism 73 are arranged in a contact position. On the other hand, when releasing the fixation of the second base material 902, the pair of clamp members 731 of the upstream side clamp mechanism 73 is disposed at the retracted position.

<4. Connection procedure>
Subsequently, in the connection device 70 described above, a procedure for connecting the rear end portion in the transport direction of the first base material 901 and the front end portion in the transport direction of the second base material 902 will be described. 9 to 18 are diagrams showing the state of each step of the connection process. In each of FIGS. 9 to 18, both a top view and a side view of the connecting device 70 are shown.

  Prior to the start of the connection process, the first base material 901 is disposed horizontally above the holding plate 71 as shown in FIG. At this time, the upper surface of the holding plate 71 is separated from the first base material 901. Further, the pair of clamp members 721 of the downstream clamp mechanism 72 and the pair of clamp members 731 of the upstream clamp mechanism 73 are both separated from the first base material 901.

  When starting the connection process, first, the negative pressure generator 715 is operated to generate negative pressure in the plurality of suction holes 711 of the holding plate 71. Then, the air cylinder 712 is operated to raise the holding plate 71. As a result, the upper surface of the holding plate 71 is brought closer to the lower surface of the first base material 901. Then, as shown in FIG. 10, the first base material 901 is held on the upper surface of the holding plate 71 by the suction force of the plurality of suction holes 711.

  After the first base material 901 is adsorbed on the upper surface of the holding plate 71, the downstream clamp mechanism 72 operates the air cylinder 722 to bring the pair of clamp members 721 closer to each other. Then, the first base material 901 is fixed by sandwiching the first base material 901 between the pair of clamp members 721. Thereby, position shift of the 1st substrate 901 in the upper surface of holding plate 71 is controlled more.

  Next, the first base material 901 is cut on the upper surface of the holding plate 71. Here, the first base material 901 is cut in the width direction along the first groove 713 provided on the upper surface of the holding plate 71 as indicated by a chain line arrow in FIG. This cutting operation is performed by an operator using a cutter, for example. When the cutting is completed, the first base material 901 located on the upstream side in the transport direction with respect to the first groove 713 is removed from the base material unwinding rollers 111 and 31. As a result, as shown in FIG. 11, the first base 901 is held only on the upper surface of the holding plate 71 only on the downstream side of the first groove 713 in the transport direction.

  Subsequently, the operator sets the roll-shaped second base material 902 on the base material unwinding rollers 111 and 31. And the front-end part of the conveyance direction of the 2nd base material 902 is drawn | fed out from the base material unwinding rollers 111 and 31, and the front-end part of the 2nd base material 902 is mounted in the upper surface of the holding plate 71 like FIG. To do. At this time, in this embodiment, the jig | tool 80 is used and the 2nd base material 902 is positioned in the width direction. As shown in FIG. 12, the jig 80 has a pair of positioning members 81 extending in the transport direction. The interval in the width direction of the pair of positioning members 81 is substantially the same as the dimension in the width direction of the first base material 901 and the second base material 902. The jig 80 is placed on the upper surface of the holding plate 71 such that a pair of positioning members 81 are arranged on both sides of the first base material 901 in the width direction. A second base material 902 is disposed between the pair of positioning members 81.

  Accordingly, the front end portion in the transport direction of the second base material 902 is placed on the upper surface of the holding plate 71 in a state in which the inclination with respect to the first base material 901 and the positional deviation in the width direction are suppressed. The front end portion in the transport direction of the second base material 902 is placed on the upper surface side of the rear end portion of the first base material 901 so as to overlap in the longitudinal direction. Further, the front end portion in the transport direction of the second base material 902 is held on the upper surface of the holding plate 71 by the suction force of the plurality of suction holes 711 together with the rear end portion in the transport direction of the first base material 901. In addition, illustration of the jig | tool 80 is abbreviate | omitted in the side view of FIG.

  After the front end portion of the second base material 902 is disposed on the upper surface of the holding plate 71, the upstream side clamp mechanism 73 operates the air cylinder 732 to bring the pair of clamp members 731 closer to each other. Then, as shown in FIG. 13, the second substrate 902 is fixed by sandwiching the second substrate 902 between the pair of clamp members 731. Thereby, position shift of the 2nd substrate 902 in the upper surface of holding plate 71 is controlled more.

  Next, the first base material 901 and the second base material 902 are cut on the upper surface of the holding plate 71. Here, as indicated by a chain line arrow in FIG. 13, an overlapping portion of the first base material 901 and the second base material 902 is arranged in the width direction along the second groove 714 provided on the upper surface of the holding plate 71. Disconnect. That is, in the present embodiment, the second groove 714 serves as a cutting reference line for cutting the first base material 901 and the second base material 902 simultaneously. Thereafter, the second base material 902 located on the downstream side in the transport direction with respect to the second groove 714 is removed from the upper surface of the first base material 901. As a result, as shown in FIG. 14, the second base material 902 is held only on the upper surface of the holding plate 71 on the upstream side of the second groove 714 in the transport direction.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, after the rear end portion in the transport direction of the first base material 901 and the front end portion in the transport direction of the second base material 902 are overlapped in the longitudinal direction, The 1st base material 901 and the 2nd base material 902 are cut | disconnected simultaneously. For this reason, the cutting location of the 1st base material 901 and the cutting location of the 2nd base material 902 overlap with high precision. Thereby, it can suppress that a clearance gap arises between the 1st base material 901 and the 2nd base material 902.

  In particular, in this embodiment, first, the first base material 901 is cut along the first groove 713, and then the first base material 901 and the second base material 902 are different from the first groove 713. Cut along 714. As described above, by cutting the first base material 901 in two stages, it is possible to further suppress a gap from remaining between the rear end portion of the first base material 901 and the front end portion of the second base material 902.

  Subsequently, the tape 82 is attached so as to straddle the upper surface of the first base material 901 and the upper surface of the second base material 902. As shown in FIG. 15, the tape 82 is affixed along the second groove 714 that is a cutting reference line. The tape 82 has an adhesive layer on its lower surface. For this reason, the layer on the upper surface side of the rear end portion of the first base material 901 and the layer on the upper surface side of the front end portion of the second base material 902 are connected via the tape 82. The tape 82 is attached by, for example, an operator manually.

  Thereafter, the negative pressure generator 715 is stopped to release the suction of the suction hole 711 and the air cylinder 712 is operated to lower the holding plate 71. Thereby, the upper surface of the holding plate 71 is pulled away from the first base material 901 and the second base material 902. Then, a piece of the first base material 901 remaining between the first groove 713 and the second groove 714 on the upper surface of the holding plate 71 is removed.

  Subsequently, the rubber mat 83 is inserted between the upper surface of the holding plate 71 and the first base material 901 and the second base material 902. Then, the air cylinder 712 is operated to raise the holding plate 71 again. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 16, the upper surface of the rubber mat 83 is brought into contact with the lower surfaces of the first base material 901 and the second base material 902. Thereafter, the operator cuts the tape 82 with a cutter along both side portions of the first base material 901 and the second base material 902 as indicated by chain line arrows in FIG. Thereby, both ends of the tape 82 protruding from both sides of the first base 901 and the second base 902 are removed.

  Thereafter, the air cylinder 712 is operated to lower the holding plate 71 again. Thereby, the upper surface of the rubber mat 83 is pulled away from the first base material 901 and the second base material 902. Then, an unused tape 84 is disposed on the upper surface of the rubber mat 83. At this time, the tape 84 is placed on the upper surface of the rubber mat 83 with the adhesive layer facing the upper surface side.

  Thereafter, the air cylinder 712 is operated to raise the holding plate 71 again. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 17, the upper surfaces of the tape 84 and the rubber mat 83 are brought into contact with the lower surfaces of the first base material 901 and the second base material 902. Then, the tape 84 is attached to the lower surfaces of the first base material 901 and the second base material 902. The tape 84 is attached so as to straddle the lower surface of the first base material 901 and the lower surface of the second base material 902 and along the second groove 714 that is a cutting reference line. As a result, the layer on the lower surface side of the rear end portion of the first base material 901 and the layer on the lower surface side of the front end portion of the second base material 902 are connected via the tape 84.

  When the application of the tape 84 is completed, the operator cuts the tape 84 with a cutter along both side portions of the first base material 901 and the second base material 902 as indicated by chain line arrows in FIG. Thereby, both end portions of the tape 84 protruding from both side portions of the first base material 901 and the second base material 902 are removed.

  Thereafter, the air cylinder 712 is operated to lower the holding plate 71. Then, the rubber mat 83 placed on the upper surface of the holding plate 71 is pulled out sideways. Further, the downstream clamp mechanism 72 operates the air cylinder 722 to release the first base member 901 from being fixed by the pair of clamp members 721. The upstream clamp mechanism 73 operates the air cylinder 732 to release the fixation of the second base material 902 by the pair of clamp members 731. Through the above processing, a series of base materials in which the first base material 901 and the second base material 902 are connected by the tapes 82 and 84 are formed as shown in FIG.

<5. Modification>
Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

  In the above embodiment, the cutter is not mounted on the connection device 70. For this reason, the operator cut | disconnected the 1st base material 901 and the 2nd base material 902 hold | maintained on the upper surface of the holding plate 71 with the cutter. However, a cutter may be mounted on the connection device 70 itself. For example, a cutter capable of moving forward and backward along the first groove 713 and the second groove 714 is provided, and the first base 901 and the second base 902 are cut by moving the cutter forward and backward in the width direction by the power of the motor. You may make it do.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the operator also performs the work of attaching the tapes 82 and 84. However, the connection device 70 may include a mechanism for automatically attaching the tapes 82 and 84 to both surfaces of the first base material 901 and the second base material 902.

  In the above embodiment, the step of forming the catalyst material layer 9a on the first surface of the electrolyte membrane 92 and the step of forming the catalyst material layer 9b on the second surface of the electrolyte membrane 92 are performed in separate apparatuses. It had been. However, these two steps may be carried out continuously in one coating apparatus.

  Moreover, about the structure of the detail of a connection apparatus or a coating apparatus, you may differ from each figure of this application. Moreover, you may combine suitably each element which appeared in said embodiment and modification in the range which does not produce inconsistency.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 1st surface coating apparatus 2 2nd surface coating apparatus 9a, 9b Catalyst material layer 11 Conveyance mechanism 12 Coating part 13 Drying part 14 Control part 21 Introduction peeling part 22 Adsorption roller 23 Coating part 24 Drying furnace 25 Pasting part 26 Surface Cooling Unit 27 Control Unit 31 Substrate Unwinding Roller 70 Connection Device 71 Holding Plate 72 Downstream Clamp Mechanism 73 Upstream Clamp Mechanism 80 Jig 81 Positioning Member 82 Tape 83 Rubber Mat 84 Tape 90 Base Material 91 Support Film 92 Electrolyte Membrane 93 Cover film 94 Membrane / catalyst layer assembly 111 Substrate unrolling roller 711 Adsorption hole 712 Air cylinder 713 First groove 714 Second groove 715 Negative pressure generator 721, 731 Clamp member 722 732 Air cylinder 901 First base Material 902 Second Base Material

Claims (14)

A connection method for connecting ends of a first base material and a second base material, which are long belt-like base materials laminated with two layers,
a) holding the end portion of the first base material and the end portion of the second base material in a state of being overlapped in the longitudinal direction of the base material;
b) After the step a), the overlapping portion of the end portion of the first base material and the end portion of the second base material is simultaneously cut along a cutting reference line extending in the width direction of the base material. Process,
c) After the step b), a step of applying a tape so as to straddle the first base material and the second base material along the cutting reference line;
Have
Said step c)
c-1) A step of applying the tape so as to straddle one surface of the first substrate and one surface of the second substrate;
c-2) a step of applying the tape so as to straddle the other surface of the first base material and the other surface of the second base material;
A connection method. The connection method according to claim 1,
In the step a), the connection method of adsorbing the end portion of the first base material and the end portion of the second base material on the upper surface of a holding plate having a plurality of suction holes. The connection method according to claim 2,
The upper surface of the holding plate is
A first groove extending in the width direction;
The first groove extends in the width direction at a different position in the longitudinal direction, the second groove as the cutting reference line,
Have
Said step a)
a-1) holding the first base material on the upper surface of the holding plate;
a-2) cutting the first base material along the first groove;
a-3) a step of holding the end of the second base material on the upper surface of the holding plate so as to overlap with the end of the first base material after cutting;
Have
In the step b), a connection method of cutting the overlapping portion along the second groove. The connection method according to claim 3,
In the step a-1), a connection method in which the upper surface of the holding plate is brought close to the lower surface of the first base member arranged horizontally. The connection method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein:
In the step a-1), the first base material is fixed on the downstream side in the transport direction from the holding plate,
In the step a-3), the second base material is fixed on the upstream side in the transport direction from the holding plate. A connection method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, comprising:
In the step a-3), a connection method in which the end portion of the second base material is disposed between a pair of positioning members disposed on both sides in the width direction of the end portion of the first base material. A coating method for applying a catalyst ink to the surfaces of a first substrate and a second substrate, which are long belt-shaped substrates in which two layers of a support film and an electrolyte membrane are laminated,
x) a step of connecting ends of the first base material and the second base material by the connection method according to any one of claims 1 to 6; and
y) coating the catalyst ink on the surface of the substrate while conveying the substrate after connection;
A coating method comprising: A connection device for connecting ends of a first base material and a second base material, which are long belt-like base materials laminated with two layers,
Comprising a holding plate having an upper surface in contact with the lower surface of the substrate disposed horizontally;
The upper surface of the holding plate has an arrangement region in which an end portion of the first base material and an end portion of the second base material are arranged in a state of being overlapped in the longitudinal direction of the base material, and A connection device having a cutting reference line extending in a width direction of the base material. The connection device according to claim 8, comprising:
The upper surface of the holding plate is a connection device having a plurality of suction holes. The connection device according to claim 8 or 9, wherein
The upper surface of the holding plate is
A first groove extending in the width direction;
The first groove extends in the width direction at a different position in the longitudinal direction, the second groove as the cutting reference line,
A connecting device having: The connection device according to any one of claims 8 to 10,
A connection device further comprising an elevating mechanism for moving the holding plate up and down. The connection device according to any one of claims 8 to 11,
A downstream clamp mechanism for fixing the first base material on the downstream side in the transport direction from the holding plate;
An upstream clamp mechanism for fixing the second base material on the upstream side in the transport direction from the holding plate;
A connection device further comprising The connection device according to any one of claims 8 to 12,
A connection device further comprising a cutter capable of moving back and forth along the cutting reference line. A coating apparatus for applying a catalyst ink to the surfaces of a first substrate and a second substrate, which are long belt-like substrates in which two layers of a support film and an electrolyte membrane are laminated,
A transport mechanism for transporting the base material along a transport path;
The connection device according to any one of claims 8 to 13, which is disposed on the conveyance path,
Disposed on the downstream side of the connection device on the transport path, and a coating portion that coats the surface of the substrate with a catalyst ink;
A coating apparatus comprising:

Images