Transport system, transport method, and apparatus for manufacturing bonded laminated material using the transport system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9511577-B2
Application number	US-201214360486-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 14, 2012
Priority date	Nov 28, 2011
Publication date	Dec 6, 2016
Grant date	Dec 6, 2016

Abstract

The present invention provides a transport system for a jig for fixing material to be laminated, which system can transport a jig for fixing material to be laminated using a simple exhaust device that is of a space-saving-type while it continuously exhausts air, a transport method for transporting a jig for fixing material to be laminated, and an apparatus for manufacturing bonded laminated material comprising the transport system.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An apparatus for manufacturing bonded laminated material where a material to be laminated made of laminated membranes is pressurized by means of a pressuring device, and the apparatus transports a jig for fixing material to be laminated while fixing the material to be laminated, comprising: a jig for fixing material to be laminated; a pressurizing device;
an exhaust device that can be connected to the jig for fixing material to be laminated;
a transporting device comprising:
a shuttle that carries the jig for fixing material to be laminated;
a slider that causes the shuttle to make a reciprocating movement in a transporting direction;
a driving device that drives the slider; and
an intermediate table that receives the jig for fixing material to be laminated from the shuttle and holds the jig on it;

wherein the jig for fixing material to be laminated comprises:
a housing space that can house the material to be laminated;
an exhaust passage that is formed to be connected to the housing space;
a first exhaust port and a second exhaust port that can alternately be switched to the exhaust passage that connects the housing space and the exhaust device;

wherein when the material to be laminated is disposed in the housing space and the space is exhausted by the exhaust device, the jig for fixing material to be laminated fixes the material to be laminated within the housing space;
wherein the shuttle comprises a first exhaust connector that exhausts the housing space by means of the exhaust device and by being connected to the first exhaust port when the jig for fixing material to be laminated is loaded on the shuttle;
wherein the intermediate table comprises a second exhaust connector that exhausts the housing space by means of the exhaust device and that is connected to the second exhaust port when the jig for fixing material to be laminated is loaded on the intermediate table; and
wherein the transporting device transports the jig for fixing material to be laminated toward the pressurizing device while the jig for fixing material to be laminated is placed on the shuttle and the housing space is being exhausted by means of the first exhaust connector, and then transfers the jig for fixing material to be laminated to the intermediate table of the transporting device, which intermediate table is disposed downstream in the direction of the transport, whereupon on the intermediate table, after the second exhaust connector is connected to the second exhaust port, the housing space is exhausted by the exhaust device by the exhaust passage being switched to the second exhaust port, such that the jig for fixing material to be laminated is transported while the housing space for the jig for fixing material to be laminated is kept to be in an exhausted condition.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the pressurizing device comprises a plurality of pressurizing parts; a shuttle and an intermediate table are provided corresponding to each of the plurality of pressurizing parts; a plurality of the shuttles of the transporting device are arranged to operate in a coordinated movement; a shuttle receives the jig for fixing material to be laminated that is disposed on a preceding intermediate table transports it while the housing space is maintained being exhausted by the first exhaust connector, and then transfers it to an adjacent intermediate table that is positioned on the downstream side.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the pressurizing device pressurizes an object to be pressurized while it transports the object in a straight line, wherein the transporting device transports the jig for fixing material to be laminated in a straight line and wherein pressurizing the jig for fixing material to be laminated is carried out while the jig for fixing material to be laminated is being transported by the transporting device.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein while the jig for fixing material to be laminated is pressurized by the pressurizing device, the transporting device transports the jig for fixing material to be laminated at a speed that corresponds to a feeding speed of the pressurizing device.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least either a crank-slider transporting device comprising the slider and shuttle or the intermediate table, of the transporting device, has a lifting device, where the jig for fixing material to be laminated is transferred by a movement of either the crank-slider transporting device or the intermediate table that goes up or down relatively to the other in relation to a base of a surface of the jig for fixing material to be laminated that is pressurized by the pressurizing device.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first exhaust port and the second exhaust port each comprise a check valve that prevents outside air from flowing back into the housing space.

7. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the slider comprises a crank-arm, one end of which is connected to the driving device that makes a rotating movement and which crank-arm can rotate, and a link, one end of which is connected to an other end of the crank-arm in a way that both ends can rotate, and a guide rail that guides, in the direction of the transport, the shuttle to move, one end of which is connected to an other end of the link that moves the shuttle back and forth.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein a transporting speed of the jig for fixing material to be laminated that is transported by the transporting device is controlled based on the angular velocity that is calculated, of an angle of the crank-arm that rotates.

9. A transport method for transporting a jig for fixing material to be laminated for an apparatus for manufacturing bonded laminated material that manufactures the bonded laminated material by pressurizing material to be laminated made of laminated membranes by means of a pressurizing device, which transporting method transports the jig for fixing material to be laminated while fixing the material to be laminated, wherein the method uses:
an exhaust device that can be connected to the jig for fixing material to be laminated;
a transporting device that transports the jig for fixing material to be laminated while fixing the material to be laminated comprising:
a shuttle that carries the jig for fixing material to be laminated;
a slider that causes the shuttle to make a reciprocating movement along a transporting direction;
a driving device that drives the slider;
an intermediate table that receives the jig for fixing material to be laminated from the shuttle and holds it;

wherein the jig for fixing material to be laminated comprises:
a housing space that can house material to be laminated;
an exhaust passage that is connected to the housing space;
a first exhaust port and a second exhaust port that can alternately be switched to the exhaust passage that connects the housing space and the exhaust device;

wherein, when the material to be laminated is disposed in the housing space and the space is exhausted by the exhaust device, the jig for fixing material to be laminated fixes the material to be laminated to the housing space;
wherein the method comprises the steps of:
transporting the jig for fixing material to be laminated from an upstream side of the pressurizing device toward the pressurizing device while the housing space is in the state of being exhausted by means of the first exhaust port; and
transferring the jig for fixing material to be laminated that was transported toward the pressurizing device to the intermediate table of the transporting device, which intermediate table is downstream in the direction of the transport, and exhausting the housing space by means of the s

Assignees

• Nagasaka Masahiko
• Nakajima Shogo
• Nozawa Takayuki
• Sugino Osamu
• Mishima Ikuto
• Sintokogio Ltd

Inventors

• Nagasaka Masahiko
• Nakajima Shogo
• Nozawa Takayuki
• Sugino Osamu
• Mishima Ikuto

Classifications

• Y02E60/521

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• B32B38/18 Primary

  Handling of layers or the laminate · CPC title

• B32B38/1858 Primary

  using vacuum · CPC title

• H01M8/1004

  characterised by membrane-electrode assemblies [MEA] (H01M8/12 takes precedence) · CPC title

• Y02P70/56

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic