KR-102962256-B1 - DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING MEMBRANE-ELECTRODE ASSEMBLY OF FUEL CELL

Abstract

An apparatus for manufacturing a membrane-electrode assembly for a fuel cell is disclosed. An apparatus for manufacturing a membrane-electrode assembly for a fuel cell according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosed invention comprises: i) an electrode film material unwinder that supplies upper and lower electrode film materials, each having an anode and a cathode electrode layer continuously coated on each of the upper and lower electrode films at a predetermined interval, to a set transfer path; ii) an electrolyte membrane material unwinder that supplies an electrolyte membrane material between the upper and lower electrode film materials along the transfer path; iii) a driving bonding roll installed to be rotatably driven in one direction on the upper side of the transfer path and having a recessed portion and a relief portion continuously formed on its outer surface; iv) a driven bonding roll installed to be movable in the up-and-down direction on the lower side of the driving bonding roll, which is in close contact with the driving bonding roll with the electrolyte membrane material and the upper and lower electrode film materials in between and is driven to rotate in the other direction; and v) installed on the upper and lower sides of the transfer path on the rear side of the driving bonding roll and the driven bonding roll, and vi) may include a film rewinder that winds and retrieves the upper and lower electrode films respectively, and a position alignment unit that is provided on the electrode film unwinder and film rewinder sides respectively, and aligns the positions of the anode electrode layer and the cathode electrode layer while switching the driving direction of the upper and lower electrode film raw material and the upper and lower electrode films.

Inventors

• 이진원

Assignees

• 현대자동차 주식회사
• 기아 주식회사

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20200417

Claims (20)

1. delete
2. delete
3. An electrode film unwinder that supplies upper and lower electrode film materials, each having an anode and a cathode electrode layer continuously coated at a predetermined interval on each of the upper and lower electrode films, to a set transport path; Electrolyte membrane fabric unwinder that supplies the electrolyte membrane fabric between the upper and lower electrode film fabrics along the above transfer path; A driving joining roll installed to be rotatable in one direction by a first driving source on the upper side of the above transfer path, and having a recessed portion and a raised portion continuously formed on its outer surface; A driven bonding roll installed to be movable in the up and down direction by a second driving source at the lower side of the driven bonding roll, and which is in close contact with the driven bonding roll with the electrolyte membrane fabric and the upper and lower electrode film fabrics between them and is driven to rotate in the other direction; A film rewinder installed on the upper and lower sides of the transfer path at the rear side of the driving bonding roll and the driven bonding roll, and winding and recovering the upper and lower electrode films respectively; A first direction-changing roll set installed in the electrode film material supply path on the side of the electrode film material unwinder, which selectively switches the driving direction of the upper and lower electrode film materials along the electrode film material supply path by means of the third and fourth driving sources; A second direction-changing roll set installed in the electrode film recovery path on the film rewinder side, which selectively switches the driving direction of the upper and lower electrode films along the electrode film recovery path by means of the fifth and sixth driving sources; A first position sensor installed on the front side of the driving bonding roll and the passive bonding roll, which detects the edge position of the anode and cathode electrode layers; A second position sensor installed on the side of the drive joining roll and detecting the edge position of the raised portion; A controller that analyzes detection signals received from the first and second position sensors and controls the driving of the first to sixth driving sources according to the edge position of the raised portion and the edge position of the anode and cathode electrode layers; A shaped blade installed on the upper and lower sides of the transfer path at the film rewinder side, respectively, for separating the upper electrode film and the anode electrode layer, and the lower electrode film and the cathode electrode layer, respectively; An electrode membrane rewinder that winds a membrane-electrode assembly fabric, having an anode electrode layer and a cathode electrode layer respectively transferred to the upper and lower surfaces of the electrolyte membrane fabric by the above-described driving bonding roll and passive bonding roll, at the end side of the transfer path; and A buffer portion provided between the above-mentioned shaped blade and the above-mentioned electrode membrane rewinder, which compensates for the reverse travel length of the above-mentioned membrane-electrode assembly fabric; A manufacturing apparatus for a membrane-electrode assembly for a fuel cell comprising
4. delete
5. In Paragraph 3, The first and second position sensors include a vision sensor that simultaneously captures the edges of the anode and cathode electrode layers and the edges of the raised portion, respectively, and outputs the vision data to the controller. A manufacturing apparatus for a membrane-electrode assembly for a fuel cell, wherein the first driving source comprises a servo motor and the second driving source comprises a driving cylinder.
6. An electrode film unwinder that supplies upper and lower electrode film materials, each having an anode and a cathode electrode layer continuously coated at a predetermined interval on each of the upper and lower electrode films, to a set transport path; Electrolyte membrane fabric unwinder that supplies the electrolyte membrane fabric between the upper and lower electrode film fabrics along the above transfer path; A driving joining roll installed to be rotatable in one direction by a first driving source on the upper side of the above transfer path, and having a recessed portion and a raised portion continuously formed on its outer surface; A driven bonding roll installed to be movable in the up and down direction by a second driving source at the lower side of the driven bonding roll, and which is in close contact with the driven bonding roll with the electrolyte membrane fabric and the upper and lower electrode film fabrics between them and is driven to rotate in the other direction; A film rewinder installed on the upper and lower sides of the transfer path at the rear side of the driving bonding roll and the driven bonding roll, and winding and recovering the upper and lower electrode films respectively; A first direction-changing roll set installed in the electrode film material supply path on the side of the electrode film material unwinder, which selectively switches the driving direction of the upper and lower electrode film materials along the electrode film material supply path by means of the third and fourth driving sources; A second direction-changing roll set installed in the electrode film recovery path on the film rewinder side, which selectively switches the driving direction of the upper and lower electrode films along the electrode film recovery path by means of the fifth and sixth driving sources; A first position sensor installed on the front side of the driving bonding roll and the passive bonding roll, which detects the edge position of the anode and cathode electrode layers; A second position sensor installed on the side of the drive joining roll and detecting the edge position of the raised portion; and A controller that analyzes detection signals received from the first and second position sensors and controls the driving of the first to sixth driving sources according to the edge position of the raised portion and the edge position of the anode and cathode electrode layers; The above-described first direction-changing roller set comprises a first driven roller that is freely rotatable while in contact with the upper and lower electrode film material traveling along the supply path, and a first driving roller that is installed to be reciprocally movable in a direction away from or closer to the first driven roller by the third driving source, and is installed to be driven rotatable in a direction opposite to the rotational direction of the first driven roller by the fourth driving source.
7. In Article 6, A manufacturing apparatus for a membrane-electrode assembly for a fuel cell, wherein the third driving source comprises a driving cylinder and the fourth driving source comprises a servo motor.
8. An electrode film unwinder that supplies upper and lower electrode film materials, each having an anode and a cathode electrode layer continuously coated at a predetermined interval on each of the upper and lower electrode films, to a set transport path; Electrolyte membrane fabric unwinder that supplies the electrolyte membrane fabric between the upper and lower electrode film fabrics along the above transfer path; A driving joining roll installed to be rotatable in one direction by a first driving source on the upper side of the above transfer path, and having a recessed portion and a raised portion continuously formed on its outer surface; A driven bonding roll installed to be movable in the up and down direction by a second driving source at the lower side of the driven bonding roll, and which is in close contact with the driven bonding roll with the electrolyte membrane fabric and the upper and lower electrode film fabrics between them and is driven to rotate in the other direction; A film rewinder installed on the upper and lower sides of the transfer path at the rear side of the driving bonding roll and the driven bonding roll, and winding and recovering the upper and lower electrode films respectively; A first direction-changing roll set installed in the electrode film material supply path on the side of the electrode film material unwinder, which selectively switches the driving direction of the upper and lower electrode film materials along the electrode film material supply path by means of the third and fourth driving sources; A second direction-changing roll set installed in the electrode film recovery path on the film rewinder side, which selectively switches the driving direction of the upper and lower electrode films along the electrode film recovery path by means of the fifth and sixth driving sources; A first position sensor installed on the front side of the driving bonding roll and the passive bonding roll, which detects the edge position of the anode and cathode electrode layers; A second position sensor installed on the side of the drive joining roll and detecting the edge position of the raised portion; and A controller that analyzes detection signals received from the first and second position sensors and controls the driving of the first to sixth driving sources according to the edge position of the raised portion and the edge position of the anode and cathode electrode layers; The above second direction-changing roller set comprises a second driven roller that is freely rotatable while in contact with the upper and lower electrode films traveling along the recovery path, and a second driving roller that is installed to reciprocate in a direction away from or closer to the second driven roller by the fifth driving source, and is installed to be rotatable in a direction opposite to the rotational direction of the second driven roller by the sixth driving source, forming a manufacturing apparatus for a membrane-electrode assembly for a fuel cell.
9. In Article 8, A manufacturing apparatus for a membrane-electrode assembly for a fuel cell, wherein the fifth driving source comprises a driving cylinder and the sixth driving source comprises a servo motor.
10. In Paragraph 3, The above controller is, A signal processing unit that analyzes the detection signal of the first position sensor to detect the edge position value of the anode and cathode electrode layer to be matched with the raised portion, and analyzes the detection signal of the second position sensor to detect the edge position value of the raised portion to be matched with the edge of the anode and cathode electrode layer, A calculation unit that calculates the position difference value between the edge position value of the anode and cathode electrode layers and the edge position value of the raised portion, and A signal application unit that applies a control signal to the first to sixth driving sources according to the above position difference value. A manufacturing apparatus for a membrane-electrode assembly for a fuel cell comprising
11. In Paragraph 3, The above buffer unit is, A pair of guide rollers that guide the transport of the membrane-electrode assembly material in both directions along the above transport path, and A buffer roller installed to be movable in the vertical direction by a seventh driving source between the guide rollers above, and which adjusts the travel length of the membrane-electrode assembly fabric. A manufacturing apparatus for a membrane-electrode assembly for a fuel cell comprising
12. A method for manufacturing a membrane-electrode assembly for a fuel cell using the apparatus for manufacturing a membrane-electrode assembly for a fuel cell according to claim 3, wherein (a) A process of supplying an electrolyte membrane fabric to a set transfer path through an electrolyte membrane fabric unwinder; (b) a process of supplying upper and lower electrode film materials, each having an anode and a cathode electrode layer applied at a predetermined interval on each of the upper and lower electrode films, to the upper and lower sides of the electrolyte membrane material along the transfer path through an electrode film material unwinder; (c) A process of passing the above electrolyte membrane fabric and the upper and lower electrode film fabrics between a driving bonding roll and a driven bonding roll, and bonding the anode and cathode electrode layers of the upper and lower electrode film fabrics to the upper and lower surfaces of the above electrolyte membrane fabric, respectively; (d) A process of recovering the upper and lower electrode films of the upper and lower electrode film substrates through a film rewinder, respectively, from the rear side of the driving bonding roll and the driven bonding roll; (e) a process of detecting the edge position of the anode and cathode electrode layers at the front side of the driving bonding roll and the driven bonding roll through a first position sensor, and detecting the edge position of the raised portion of the driving bonding roll through a second position sensor; and (f) A process of aligning the transfer positions of the anode and cathode electrode layers by switching the upper and lower electrode film material travel directions on the electrode film material unwinder side and the upper and lower electrode film travel directions on the film rewinder side, respectively, through the first and second direction switching roll sets according to the detection signals of the first and second position sensors; A method for manufacturing a membrane-electrode assembly for a fuel cell comprising
13. In Article 12, In the above (a) to (d) processes, Raising the above-mentioned passive joining roll, driving and rotating the above-mentioned driving joining roll, and separating the first driving roller of the first direction-changing roll set from the first passive roller, A method for manufacturing a membrane-electrode assembly for a fuel cell, wherein the second driving roller of the second direction-changing roller set is brought into close contact with the second driven roller, and the second driving roller is driven and rotated in the recovery direction of the upper and lower electrode films.
14. In Article 13, In the above (a) to (d) processes, At the film rewinder side, the upper and lower electrode films of the upper and lower electrode film substrates and the anode and cathode electrode layers are separated respectively through a release blade, and A method for manufacturing a membrane-electrode assembly for a fuel cell, wherein, with the buffer roller of the buffer section lowered, a membrane-electrode assembly fabric having anode and cathode electrode layers transferred to the upper and lower surfaces of the electrolyte membrane fabric, respectively, is transported in the forward direction and wound through an electrode membrane rewinder.
15. In Article 12, In the above (f) process, The detection signal of the first position sensor is analyzed through a controller to detect the edge position values of the anode and cathode electrode layers to be matched with the edge of the raised portion, and The detection signal of the second position sensor is analyzed through a controller to detect the edge position value of the raised portion to be matched with the edge of the anode and cathode electrode layers, and A method for manufacturing a membrane-electrode assembly for a fuel cell, which calculates the position difference value between the edge position value of the anode and cathode electrode layers and the edge position value of the raised portion.
16. In Article 15, A method for manufacturing a membrane-electrode assembly for a fuel cell, wherein if the position difference value is determined by the above controller to satisfy a preset reference value, the above steps (a) to (d) are performed.
17. In Article 15, If the above controller determines that the position difference value does not satisfy a preset reference value, the above (a) to (d) processes are performed as an electrode position alignment mode. The anode and cathode electrode layers preceding the anode and cathode electrode layers of the detection target are bonded to the upper and lower surfaces of the electrolyte membrane fabric through the driving bonding roll and the passive bonding roll, and A method for manufacturing a membrane-electrode assembly for a fuel cell, wherein the fabric transfer is stopped at the moment when the unused portion between the anode and cathode electrode layers of the detection target is located at the raised edge of the driving bonding roll.
18. In Article 17, In the above electrode position alignment mode, after the fabric transport stops, Lowering the above-mentioned passive joining roll and separating the first driving roller of the first direction-changing roll set from the first passive roller, The second driving roller of the second direction-changing roll set is brought into close contact with the second driven roller, and the second driving roller is driven and rotated in the recovery direction of the upper and lower electrode films. The upper and lower electrode film materials are transported in the forward direction along the transport path through the electrode film material unwinder and film rewinder, and the anode and cathode electrode layers of the detection target are transported toward the release blade side. A method for manufacturing a membrane-electrode assembly for a fuel cell, wherein upper and lower electrode films are separated from anode and cathode electrode layers bonded to the above electrolyte membrane substrate through the above-mentioned release blade.
19. In Article 18, In the above electrode position alignment mode, after separating the upper and lower electrode films, The first driving roller of the first direction-changing roller set is brought into contact with the first driven roller, the first driving roller is rotated in the opposite direction of supply to the upper and lower electrode film material, and the upper and lower electrode film material is driven in reverse in the opposite direction of supply. The second driving roller of the second direction-changing roll set is separated from the second driven roller, and the upper and lower electrode films are driven in the opposite direction of retrieval. A method for manufacturing a membrane-electrode assembly for a fuel cell, wherein a buffer roller of the buffer section is moved upward, and an electrolyte membrane material having anode and cathode electrode layers transferred on its upper and lower surfaces is transferred in the reverse direction.
20. In Article 19, In the above electrode position alignment mode, The anode and cathode electrode layers of the above-mentioned detection target are positioned on the front side of the driving bonding roll and the passive bonding roll, and The anode and cathode electrode layers bonded to the above electrolyte membrane fabric are positioned between the driving bonding roll and the passive bonding roll, and Align the anode and cathode electrode layers of the detection target to a set alignment position, drive the bonding roll in the reverse direction by the length of the unbuilt portion, and align the raised portion to a set alignment position. A method for manufacturing a membrane-electrode assembly for a fuel cell, wherein the anode and cathode electrode layers of the detection target and the position of the raised portion are re-detected through the first and second position sensors, and the detection signal is output to a controller.

Description

Device and Method for Manufacturing Membrane-Electrode Assembly for Fuel Cell An embodiment of the present invention relates to a fuel cell stack component manufacturing system, and more specifically, to an apparatus and method for manufacturing a membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) for a fuel cell. As is well known, fuel cells generate electricity through the electrochemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen. These fuel cells are characterized by their ability to generate continuous power by receiving chemical reactants from an external source, without the need for a separate charging process. A fuel cell can be constructed by placing separators (separator plates or bipolar plates) on both sides of a membrane-electrode assembly (MEA). Multiple such fuel cells can be arranged in series to form a fuel cell stack. Here, the membrane-electrode assembly, which is a core component of the fuel cell, has, for example, a 3-layer structure, with an electrolyte membrane through which hydrogen ions move, an anode electrode layer formed on one side of the electrolyte membrane and a cathode electrode layer formed on the other side. Examples of methods for manufacturing such a 3-layer membrane-electrode assembly include direct coating and decal methods. Among these, in the case of the decal method, electrode films coated with respective electrode layers on both sides of an electrolyte membrane are laminated, the electrode layers are transferred and bonded to both sides of the electrolyte membrane using a roll laminating method, and the electrode films are removed to manufacture a membrane-electrode assembly with a 3-layer structure. That is, the manufacturing process of a membrane-electrode assembly using the decal method can manufacture a 3-layer membrane-electrode assembly by laminating (thermally pressing) a roll-type electrode film coated with each electrode layer and a roll-type electrolyte membrane by passing them through a high-temperature, high-pressure bonding roll and removing the electrode film. The process of manufacturing a 3-layer membrane-electrode assembly using a decal method with a roll lamination process like this has the advantage of being favorable for mass production because it can improve manufacturing speed. However, in the decal method utilizing this continuous roll lamination process, electrode films coated with respective electrode layers are positioned on both sides of an electrolyte membrane placed in the middle; since these are passed between high-temperature, high-pressure bonding rolls to laminate the electrode layers and the electrolyte membrane in a direction where they meet, it is difficult to align the lamination positions of the anode and cathode electrode layers. In other words, since the electrode film and the electrolyte membrane continuously pass between high-temperature, high-pressure bonding rolls that are constantly under pressure and the electrode layer is laminated on both sides of the electrolyte membrane, it is difficult to accurately align the lamination position of the electrode layer due to factors such as differences in the feeding speed of the electrode film in such a continuous roll laminating process. In addition, another reason why it is difficult to align the lamination positions of the anode and cathode electrode layers is that the pitch between the electrode layers is not uniform in the process of manufacturing a continuous pattern of electrode layers by applying a catalyst slurry to the electrode film. The matters described in this background technology section are written to enhance understanding of the background of the invention and may include matters that are not prior art already known to those skilled in the art to which this technology belongs. These drawings are for reference to explain exemplary embodiments of the present invention, and therefore, the technical concept of the present invention should not be interpreted as being limited to the attached drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a manufacturing apparatus for a membrane-electrode assembly for a fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a drawing illustrating a first direction-changing roll set applied to a manufacturing apparatus for a membrane-electrode assembly for a fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating a second direction-changing roll set applied to a manufacturing apparatus for a membrane-electrode assembly for a fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining a method for manufacturing a membrane-electrode assembly for a fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 5 to 10 are drawings for explaining the operation of a membrane-electrode assembly manufacturing apparatus for a fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention and a method for manufacturing a membrane-electrode assembly for a fuel cell us