JP5204572B2 - Separator manufacturing method and apparatus for polymer electrolyte fuel cell - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for producing a polymer electrolyte fuel cell separator.

  In general, a polymer electrolyte fuel cell uses pure hydrogen or hydrogen gas obtained by reforming alcohol as a fuel, and electrochemically controls the reaction between the hydrogen and oxygen in the air. To get electricity.

  Since the polymer electrolyte fuel cell uses a solid hydrogen ion permselective organic membrane as an electrolyte, the conventional alkaline fuel cell, phosphoric acid fuel cell, molten carbonate fuel cell, solid electrolyte fuel cell, etc. As described above, the fuel cell can be made more compact than a fuel cell using a fluid medium such as an aqueous electrolyte or a molten salt electrolyte as an electrolyte, and development for electric vehicles and other uses is being promoted.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the polymer electrolyte fuel cell includes a separator 1 having convex portions 1 a and concave portions 1 b, a hydrogen electrode 2, a polymer electrolyte membrane 3, and an air (oxygen) electrode 4. And the separator 1 in which the convex portion 1a and the concave portion 1b are formed to form a cell 5 having a sandwich structure, and a plurality of the cells 5 stacked to form a stack 6 are used. A hydrogen channel 7 is formed in a space on the side of the separator 1 in contact with the hydrogen electrode 2, and an air (oxygen) channel 8 is formed in a space on the side of the separator 1 in contact with the air electrode 4. A cooling water channel 9 is formed in the space on the side where the separators 1 are overlapped.

  In the past, the separator 1 was assumed to be formed by press forming, and a peripheral portion is flat and a bulging formed portion including a large number of convex portions 1a and concave portions 1b is formed in the central portion. Attempting to process the material to be molded causes ductile cracking in the bulging molded portion composed of the convex portion 1a and the concave portion 1b, so that it becomes difficult to press-mold into the shape as described above, while a large amount of separator 1 When trying to manufacture by press molding, there was a problem that production efficiency fell.

  For this reason, recently, a pair of rolls having a forming region with concave and convex portions formed on the surface are arranged opposite to each other, and a material to be formed of a thin metal plate is introduced between the rolls to reduce the roll. It has been proposed to continuously manufacture the separator 1 in which the flow paths (hydrogen flow path 7, air flow path 8, and cooling water flow path 9) corresponding to the concave and convex portions are formed.

For example, Patent Document 1 shows a general technical level of an apparatus for manufacturing a separator 1 of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell as shown in FIG.
JP 2002-190305 A

  However, the separator 1 is required to form a material to be formed of a thin metal plate such as stainless steel thinner and thinner (plate thickness is about 0.1 [mm]) with high accuracy, and is simply used for rolling. When the apparatus is used, there is a problem that the required accuracy cannot be obtained due to the backlash between the roll housing and the main bearing shaft box or the backlash between the roll and the main bearing.

  In view of such circumstances, the present invention provides a separator for a polymer electrolyte fuel cell that can accurately form a molding material made of a thin metal plate and can efficiently manufacture a high-precision separator without reducing production efficiency. It is an object to provide a method and apparatus.

The present invention relates to a metal thin plate between a pair of rolls alternately having a molding area in which concave and convex portions are formed on the surface and a non-molding area in which no concave and convex portions are formed in the circumferential direction. In the separator manufacturing method for a polymer electrolyte fuel cell, in which a separator formed with a flow path corresponding to the concave portion and the convex portion is continuously manufactured by introducing and reducing the molding material comprising:
Before starting molding, with the vertical and horizontal backlash between the roll housing and the main bearing axle box eliminated by the operation of the backlash removal cylinder, the gap between the rolls should be wider than the set value. The backlash between the roll and the main bearing is eliminated by the operation of the backlash removal cylinder when not forming,
In this state, the gap between the rolls is set to a set value by extending a push-up cylinder, and when the molding material is introduced between the rolls and a molding load is generated, it is determined that the molding area has been entered, When the set pressure of the non-molding backlash removal cylinder is 0, the molding material is molded,
When the forming load becomes zero, it is determined that the non-forming region has been entered, the push-up cylinder is contracted by a required amount to widen the gap between the rolls by a predetermined amount, and the roll The backlash between the main bearing is eliminated by the operation of the backlash removal cylinder when not forming,
The gap between the rolls is again set to a set value by extending the push-up cylinder, and when the forming load is generated, it is determined that the forming region has been entered, and the set pressure of the non-forming backlash removal cylinder is set to 0, Form the material to be molded,
Hereinafter, the backlash between the roll housing and the main bearing in the non-molding region is removed while the backlash between the roll housing and the main bearing axle box is constantly removed, and the molding material is molded in the molding region. The present invention relates to a method for producing a separator for a polymer electrolyte fuel cell, characterized in that the above is repeated.

On the other hand, the present invention is provided between a pair of rolls that are alternately arranged in the circumferential direction and have a non-molding area in which recesses and protrusions are not formed and non-molding areas in which recesses and protrusions are not formed. In the separator manufacturing apparatus for a polymer electrolyte fuel cell for continuously manufacturing a separator in which a flow path corresponding to the concave portion and the convex portion is formed by introducing and reducing a molding material made of a thin metal plate,
A push-up cylinder capable of adjusting the gap between the rolls;
A backlash removing cylinder arranged between the housing of the roll and the main bearing axle box so as to eliminate backlash in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction;
An auxiliary bearing fitted to the neck of the roll;
A non-molding backlash removal cylinder disposed between the auxiliary bearings so as to eliminate backlash between the roll and the main bearing;
A load detector for detecting the molding load;
Based on the forming load detected by the load detector, an operation signal is output to the push-up cylinder, the backlash removal cylinder and the non-forming backlash removal cylinder, respectively, between the housing of the roll and the main bearing axle box. And a controller that repeatedly performs backlash removal between the roll and the main bearing in the non-molding region and molding of the molding material in the molding region. The present invention relates to a separator for manufacturing a polymer electrolyte fuel cell.

  According to the above means, the following operation can be obtained.

  The backlash between the roll housing and the main bearing axle box is always removed by the operation of the backlash removal cylinder, and the backlash between the roll and the main bearing is removed by the backlash removal cylinder when not forming, Because the gap can be accurately maintained at the set value, the precision required for molding can be obtained even for a material made of a very thin metal sheet, and a highly accurate separator can be produced efficiently. Is possible.

  In the polymer electrolyte fuel cell separator manufacturing apparatus, separate servomotors are directly connected to the roll shaft portions of the respective rolls via reduction gears each having a wave gear mechanism, and the reduction gears respectively correspond to them. Direct connection to the main bearing shaft box is effective in transmitting the rotational power to the roll with a small amount of play in the rotational direction of the rotational power transmission system.

  According to the method and apparatus for producing a polymer electrolyte fuel cell separator of the present invention, it is possible to accurately form a molding material made of a thin metal plate without reducing the production efficiency, and it is possible to efficiently produce a highly accurate separator. An excellent effect can be achieved.

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

  1 to 6 show an embodiment of the present invention, in which 10 is a housing, 11 is a main bearing shaft box disposed in the housing 10, and 12 is a main bearing provided in the main bearing shaft box 11. , 13 are a pair of upper and lower rolls arranged so as to be rotatably supported by the main bearing 12 with respect to the housing 10, and the roll 13 has a concave portion 14a and a convex on the surface as shown in FIGS. It has alternately the shaping | molding area | region in which the part 14b was formed, and the non-molding area | region in which the recessed part 14a and the convex part 14b are not formed in the circumferential direction.

  In the case of the illustrated example, two arc-shaped molds 14 each having a molding region having a concave portion 14a and a convex portion 14b formed on the surface of the roll main body portion 13a of the roll 13 are connected to a key 15 and a fastening member such as a bolt. 16, the forming region and the non-forming region are alternately formed in the circumferential direction on the roll 13.

  In addition, a push-up cylinder 17 capable of adjusting the gap between the rolls 13 by pushing up and down the main bearing axle box 11 of the lower roll 13 is disposed at the lower part of the housing 10. And the main bearing shaft box 11 are provided with regular backlash removing cylinders 18 and 19 (see FIGS. 1 and 3) for eliminating backlash in the vertical and horizontal directions, and an auxiliary bearing is provided on the neck 13b of the roll 13. 20, and a non-molding backlash removal cylinder 21 (see FIGS. 1 and 4) that eliminates backlash between the roll 13 and the main bearing 12 is disposed between the auxiliary bearings 20. Is provided with a load detector 23 such as a load cell for detecting the molding load 23a, and based on the molding load 23a detected by the load detector 23, Serial push-up cylinder 17 always play removal cylinder 18, 19 and the unformed during play removal cylinder 21 and the respective actuation signal 17a, 18a, 19a, is provided with a controller 24 for outputting 21a.

  The non-molding backlash removal cylinder 21 is interposed between a half-split auxiliary bearing cover 22 attached to cover the outer periphery of the auxiliary bearing 20.

  On the other hand, a separate servo motor 26 is directly connected to the roll shaft portion 13c of each roll 13 via a speed reducer 25 having a wave gear mechanism called a so-called harmonic drive (registered trademark). Are directly connected to the corresponding main bearing axle boxes 11.

  Here, as shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C, the speed reducer 25 provided with the wave gear mechanism has a wave generator 27 having an elliptical outer periphery and a large number of external teeth on the outer periphery. In addition, when the wave generator 27 is externally fitted to the wave generator 27 via the bearing 28 and the wave generator 27 is rotated, the position of the bending in the circumferential direction is changed as shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C. The flexspline 29 is elastically deformable, and has an inner tooth that is located on the outer peripheral side of the flexspline 29 and engages with the outer teeth of the flexspline 29. And a circular spline 30 that does not rotate so that the meshing position of the inner teeth with the outer teeth changes, and the shaft hole 27a of the wave generator 27 includes Serial axis 26a of the servo motor 26 is fitted (see FIG. 1), the flexspline 29, so that the roll shaft 13c of the roll 13 is connected. Note that the number of external teeth of the flexspline 29 is several less than the number of internal teeth of the circular spline 30.

  Then, when the wave generator 27 is rotated in the clockwise direction in FIG. 5A, for example, by driving the servo motor 26, the flex spline 29 is elastically deformed and flexed at the elliptical long axis portion of the wave generator 27. The external teeth of the spline 29 mesh with the internal teeth of the circular spline 30, and the external teeth of the flex spline 29 completely disengage from the internal teeth of the circular spline 30 at the elliptical short axis portion of the wave generator 27, and as a result, When the meshing position of the outer teeth of the spline 29 and the inner teeth of the circular spline 30 is sequentially moved in the circumferential direction (clockwise) (see FIG. 5B), the flex spline is rotated when the wave generator 27 makes one rotation. The meshing position of the 29 external teeth and the internal teeth of the circular spline 30 is the position at the start of rotation. Moving (see FIG. 5 (c)). For this reason, the flex spline 29 is in front of the meshing position at the start of rotation by the number of external teeth smaller than the internal teeth of the circular spline 30 (see FIG. 5C). The tooth generator moves by a difference in the number of teeth in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the wave generator 27 (counterclockwise in FIG. 5C), and this is extracted as a rotation output to the roll shaft portion 13c of the roll 13.

  Incidentally, since the backlash of the speed reducer 25 itself directly affects the rotational fluctuation of the roll 13, the backlash must be very small. However, as described above, the speed reducer 25 equipped with the wave gear mechanism is extremely backlash. Since the present invention is a minute reduction gear, in the present invention, the backlash (variation in rotational phase difference) of the rotational power system is reduced to a level that can be ignored by the reduction gear 25.

Further, in the case of the illustrated example, as shown in FIG. 6, before the start of molding, the controller 24 outputs operation signals 18a and 19a for setting the set pressure of the backlash removal cylinders 18 and 19 to P _0, and the roll In the state where the vertical and horizontal play between the housing 10 and the main bearing axle box 11 is eliminated, an operation signal 17a for contracting the push-up cylinder 17 is output from the controller 24, and the roll 13 the gap between leave wider than the set value g _a, the set pressure of the non-molding during play removal cylinder 21 outputs an operation signal 21a to P ₀ from the controller 24, and the roll 13 and the main bearing 12 eliminating the backlash between, in this state, the extension amount of the push-up cylinders 17 outputs an operation signal 17a to S _t from the controller 24, while the roll 13 When the gap is a set value g _a, forming load 23a that the molded material 1A made of sheet metal (see FIG. 2) is introduced between the rolls 13 is detected by the load detector 23 has occurred, the forming region The controller 24 outputs an operation signal 21a for setting the set pressure of the non-molding backlash removal cylinder 21 from P0 to ₀ from the controller 24 to cause the molding material 1A to be molded. when the load 23a is zero, the actuation signal 17a to the judges that has entered the non-formation zone, the extension amount of the controller 24 from the push-up cylinder 17 by only requirements shrinkage from S _t to S ₁ And the gap between the rolls 13 is made wider than the set value g _a by a required amount to be g _1, and the controller 24 is operated to set the set pressure of the non-molding backlash removal cylinder 21 to P _0. Output signal 21a And, wherein eliminating the backlash between the roll 13 and the main bearings 12, outputs an operation signal 17a to the extension amount of the push-up cylinder 17 again from the controller 24 is extended by a required amount from S ₁ and S _t and, the gap between the rolls 13 and the set value g _a, when the forming load 23a is generated, it is determined that has entered into the formation zone, set pressure of the from the controller 24 unshaped during play removal cylinder 21 An operation signal 21a with P0 being ₀ is output to cause the molding material 1A to be molded. Thereafter, the backlash between the housing 10 of the roll 13 and the main bearing shaft box 11 is constantly removed. In addition, the backlash removal between the roll 13 and the main bearing 12 in the non-molding region and the molding of the molding material 1A in the molding region are repeatedly performed.

  Next, the operation of the illustrated example will be described.

First, as a preparation step, before the start molding operation signal 18a to the set pressure of the constantly play removal cylinder 18, 19 and P ₀ from the controller 24, 19a is output, the main housing 10 of the roll 13 The controller 24 outputs an operation signal 17a for contracting the push-up cylinder 17 with the vertical and horizontal play between the bearing shaft box 11 and the gap between the rolls 13 set to a set value. wider than g _a held, the controller 24 actuation signal 21a to the set pressure of the non-molding during play removing cylinder 21 and P ₀ is output from, backlash between the roll 13 and the main bearing 12 is removed in this state, actuation signal 17a to the extension amount of the push-up cylinder 17 and the S _t from the controller 24 is outputted, between the roll 13 Cap is a set value g _a.

Subsequently, when the molding material 1A made of a thin metal plate (see FIG. 2) is introduced between the rolls 13 and molding is started, the molding load 23a detected by the load detector 23 jumps up. is determined to have entered the forming zone, actuation signal 21a is output to the set pressure of the non-molding during play removing cylinder 21 from the controller 24 and the P ₀ 0, molding of the object to be profiled 1A is performed .

Thereafter, when the forming load 23a is zero, the it is determined to have entered the non-molding region, an extension amount of the push-up cylinders 17 from the controller 24 by the required amount by shrinkage from S _t S ₁ And the gap between the rolls 13 is expanded by _a required amount from the set value g _a to become g _1, and the set pressure of the non-molding backlash removal cylinder 21 is set from the controller 24. An operation signal 21a of P ₀ is output, the play between the roll 13 and the main bearing 12 is removed, and the extension amount of the push-up cylinder 17 is again extended from S ₁ by a required amount from the controller 24. actuation signal 17a to S _t Te is output, the gap between the roll 13 is the set value g _a.

Then, at the time when the forming load 23a is generated, it is determined to have entered the forming zone, actuation signal 21a to the set pressure of the non-molding during play removing cylinder 21 from the controller 24 and the P ₀ 0 output Then, the molding material 1A is molded. Thereafter, the backlash between the housing 10 of the roll 13 and the main bearing axle box 11 is always removed, and the roll 13 and the main in the non-molding region are removed. The removal of play between the bearing 12 and the molding of the molding material 1A in the molding region are repeatedly performed.

As described above, the backlash between the housing 10 of the roll 13 and the main bearing shaft box 11 is always removed by the operation of the backlash removal cylinders 18 and 19, and the backlash between the roll 13 and the main bearing 12 is not. is removed by the operation of the molding during play removing cylinder 21, it becomes possible to hold the gap between the roll 13 to accurately set value g _a, even the molded material 1A made of very thin sheet metal, its The separator 1 (shown in FIG. 1) that has the accuracy required for molding and has high accuracy and the passages (hydrogen passage 7, air passage 8, cooling water passage 9) corresponding to the concave portions 14a and the convex portions 14b are formed. 7) can be manufactured efficiently.

  In addition, the roll shaft portion 13c of each roll 13 is directly connected to a separate servo motor 26 via a speed reducer 25 having a wave gear mechanism, and the speed reducer 25 is directly connected to the corresponding main bearing shaft box 11 respectively. Therefore, when each servo motor 26 is driven, the rotational power of the servo motor 26 is transmitted to the speed reducer 25 provided with the wave gear mechanism via the shaft 26a, and is decelerated to roll of each roll 13. As a result, each roll 13 is rotated independently. At this time, since the speed fluctuation of the servo motor 26 is a low value of about ± 0.01%, the vibration by the servo motor 26 is small, and the shaft 26a of the servo motor 26 has a wave gear mechanism. Since there is no backlash due to gear backlash or joint clearance, a rotational force with little vibration is transmitted to the speed reducer 25 having a wave gear mechanism. Further, the speed reducer 25 provided with the wave gear mechanism is a speed reducer with extremely small backlash. Therefore, the rotational force of the servo motor 26 is transmitted to the roll 13 with vibrations suppressed as much as possible. Is rotated stably without vibration.

In addition, according to the difference of the elastic deformation in the shaping | molding area | region accompanying the difference in the attachment part of the said circular arc-shaped metal mold | die 14, the pushing amount in a shaping | molding area | region can be changed arbitrarily, The longitudinal direction shaping | molding amount of 1 A of to-be-molded materials It is also possible to perform pattern control so that is constant. For example, when the mounting portion of the mold 14 is in close contact with the outer peripheral portion of the roll 13 as shown in FIG. 2, the molding material 1A is placed directly under the central key 15 mounting portion. when molding is the key 15 near the attachment portion has a small spring constant, since dents deformation increases, the extension amount of the push-up cylinder 17 is increased by a required amount from S _t, the gap between the rolls 13 normal The reduction can be performed in a pushing-in pattern so as to reduce the set value g _a .

  Thus, the molding material 1A made of a thin metal plate can be accurately molded without reducing the production efficiency, and the highly accurate separator 1 can be efficiently manufactured.

  Note that the method and apparatus for producing a polymer electrolyte fuel cell separator of the present invention are not limited to the above illustrated examples, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is.

It is a whole sectional side view showing an example of an embodiment which carries out the present invention. It is sectional drawing of the roll in an example of embodiment which implements this invention, Comprising: It is the II-II cross-section equivalent figure of FIG. It is a figure which shows the backlash removal cylinder which removes the backlash between the roll and main bearing in an example of embodiment which implements this invention, Comprising: It is a III-III arrow equivalent view of FIG. It is a figure which shows the backlash removal cylinder and auxiliary | assistant bearing which remove the backlash between the roll and main bearing in an example of embodiment which implements this invention, Comprising: It is an IV-IV arrow equivalent view of FIG. It is a front view for demonstrating the principle of the wave gear mechanism of the reduction gear applied to the separator manufacturing apparatus for polymer electrolyte fuel cells of FIG. 1, Comprising: (a) is a state before a wave generator starts rotation. FIG. 4B is a diagram showing a state where the wave generator is rotated 90 degrees clockwise, and FIG. 4C is a diagram showing a state where the wave generator is rotated 360 degrees clockwise. The load detector output in the molding region and the non-molding region from the start of molding in an example of the embodiment of the present invention, the operation state of the backlash removal cylinder, the backlash removal cylinder during non-molding, and the push-up cylinder, and between the rolls It is a control chart which shows the relationship with a gap. It is an expanded sectional view showing an example of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Separator 1A Molding material 1a Convex part 1b Concave part 7 Hydrogen flow path (flow path)
8 Air flow path (flow path)
9 Cooling water channel (channel)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Housing 11 Main bearing shaft box 12 Main bearing 13 Roll 13a Roll main-body part 13b Neck part 13c Roll shaft part 14 Mold 14a Concave part 14b Convex part 17 Push-up cylinder 17a Actuation signal 18 Constant play removal cylinder 18a Actuation signal 19 Regular play removal Cylinder 19a Actuation signal 20 Auxiliary bearing 21 Non-molding backlash removal cylinder 21a Actuation signal 22 Auxiliary bearing cover 23 Load detector 23a Molding load 24 Controller 25 Reduction gear 26 Servo motor 27 Wave generator 29 Flex spline 30 Circular spline

Claims (3)

Molding formed of a thin metal plate between a pair of rolls alternately having a molding area in which concave and convex portions are formed on the surface and a non-molding area in which no concave and convex portions are formed in the circumferential direction. In the method for producing a polymer electrolyte fuel cell separator, by continuously producing a separator in which a flow path corresponding to the concave portion and the convex portion is formed by introducing and reducing the material,
Before starting molding, with the vertical and horizontal backlash between the roll housing and the main bearing axle box eliminated by the operation of the backlash removal cylinder, the gap between the rolls should be wider than the set value. The backlash between the roll and the main bearing is eliminated by the operation of the backlash removal cylinder when not forming,
In this state, the gap between the rolls is set to a set value by extending a push-up cylinder, and when the molding material is introduced between the rolls and a molding load is generated, it is determined that the molding area has been entered, When the set pressure of the non-molding backlash removal cylinder is 0, the molding material is molded,
When the forming load becomes zero, it is determined that the non-forming region has been entered, the push-up cylinder is contracted by a required amount to widen the gap between the rolls by a predetermined amount, and the roll The backlash between the main bearing is eliminated by the operation of the backlash removal cylinder when not forming,
The gap between the rolls is again set to a set value by extending the push-up cylinder, and when the forming load is generated, it is determined that the forming region has been entered, and the set pressure of the non-forming backlash removal cylinder is set to 0, Form the material to be molded,
Hereinafter, the backlash between the roll housing and the main bearing in the non-molding region is removed while the backlash between the roll housing and the main bearing axle box is constantly removed, and the molding material is molded in the molding region. And a separator manufacturing method for a polymer electrolyte fuel cell. Molding formed of a thin metal plate between a pair of rolls alternately having a molding area in which concave and convex portions are formed on the surface and a non-molding area in which no concave and convex portions are formed in the circumferential direction. In the separator manufacturing apparatus for a polymer electrolyte fuel cell that continuously manufactures a separator in which a flow path corresponding to the concave portion and the convex portion is formed by introducing and reducing the material,
A push-up cylinder capable of adjusting the gap between the rolls;
A backlash removing cylinder arranged between the housing of the roll and the main bearing axle box so as to eliminate backlash in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction;
An auxiliary bearing fitted to the neck of the roll;
A non-molding backlash removal cylinder disposed between the auxiliary bearings so as to eliminate backlash between the roll and the main bearing;
A load detector for detecting the molding load;
Based on the forming load detected by the load detector, an operation signal is output to the push-up cylinder, the backlash removal cylinder and the non-forming backlash removal cylinder, respectively, between the housing of the roll and the main bearing axle box. And a controller that repeatedly performs backlash removal between the roll and the main bearing in the non-molding region and molding of the molding material in the molding region. An apparatus for producing a separator for a solid polymer fuel cell.   3. The solid height according to claim 2, wherein a separate servo motor is directly connected to a roll shaft portion of each roll via a reduction gear provided with a wave gear mechanism, and the reduction gear is directly connected to a corresponding main bearing shaft box. Molecular fuel cell separator manufacturing equipment.

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