Method and apparatus for manufacturing membrane electrode assembly

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11088378-B2
Application number	US-201916366519-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 27, 2019
Priority date	Mar 30, 2018
Publication date	Aug 10, 2021
Grant date	Aug 10, 2021

Abstract

A method and apparatus for manufacturing a membrane electrode assembly are provided, which can efficiently peel an electrode layer from a base material. A manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a membrane electrode assembly of a fuel cell including a pair of electrode layers and an electrolyte membrane, the apparatus including: a transport device which transports the base material on which one cathode electrode layer of the pair of electrode layers is formed and which is connected to a transport sheet via an adhesive layer together with the transport sheet; a transfer device which transfers the one cathode electrode layer to the electrolyte membrane; a peeling device which peels the cathode electrode layer from the base material; and a cooling device having a spraying device which is directed to a start point portion for the peeling and sprays a cooling gas.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for manufacturing a membrane electrode assembly of a fuel cell including a pair of electrode layers and an electrolyte membrane, the method comprising:
a transport step of transporting a base material connected to a transport sheet via an adhesive layer and having one electrode layer of the pair of electrode layers formed on a surface opposite to the adhesive layer together with the transport sheet;
a transfer step of transferring the one electrode layer to the electrolyte membrane; and
a peeling step of peeling the one electrode layer from the base material,
wherein a cooling step of performing cooling by spraying a cooling gas to a start point portion for the peeling is included between the transfer step and the peeling step, and
wherein movement of the base material to a downstream side in a transport direction is stopped from the transfer step to the cooling step.

2. The method for manufacturing a membrane electrode assembly according to claim 1 , wherein, in the transfer step, the one electrode layer is transferred to the electrolyte membrane by closing a transfer mold, and
in the cooling step, the spraying of the cooling gas is started when the transfer mold starts to be opened.

3. The method for manufacturing a membrane electrode assembly according to claim 2 , wherein, in the cooling step, the spraying of the cooling gas is stopped when the transfer mold is completely opened.

4. The method for manufacturing a membrane electrode assembly according to claim 1 , wherein, in the peeling step, the one electrode layer is peeled from the base material by rollers moving between the base material and the one electrode layer from a downstream side toward an upstream side in a transport direction.

Assignees

• Honda Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Yanagisawa Kunihiko
• Hirano Takahiro
• Kishimoto Masaaki
• Tokunaga Yoshinori
• Nakatsuka Hiroyuki
• Shimomura Yo

Classifications

• H01M4/8864

  Extrusion · CPC title

• Y02E60/50

  Fuel cells · CPC title

• B32B2457/18

  Fuel cells · CPC title

• H01M4/8878

  Treatment steps after deposition of the catalytic active composition or after shaping of the electrode being free-standing body · CPC title

• Y02E60/10

  Energy storage using batteries · CPC title