JP2002081550A - Sealing material mounting method and device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and an apparatus for mounting a semi-solid sealing material capable of mounting a sealing material to a member to be sealed even with a complicated sealing material shape. SOLUTION: (1) A semi-solid sealing material 7 is supplied between a pair of processing dies 5 and 6 to be compressed, and when the pair of processing dies is separated from each other, a portion serving as the sealing material 4 is processed by one of the processing. The mold 5 is held and the remaining part is left on the other working mold 6, and the working mold 5 holding the sealing material is sent to the member to be sealed 1 or 3 to transfer the sealing material 4 to the sealing surface of the member to be sealed 1 or 3. How to install the sealing material. (2) A pair of working dies 5 and 6 that can approach and separate from each other are provided. One of the working dies 5 has a rough surface of the pattern of the sealing surface of the member to be sealed, and the other working die 6 has a rough surface. A sealing material mounting device, wherein a rough surface having a pattern opposite to a pattern of a sealing surface of a sealing member is formed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for forming a sealing material and mounting it on a sealing surface of a member to be sealed. INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be applied to, for example, a method and an apparatus for mounting a sealant between separators or between a separator and an electrolyte membrane on a separator in a solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell. However, the present invention is not limited to a fuel cell sealing material and its application to a device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There are two methods of forming and mounting a sealing material: a method using a liquid material and a method using a semi-solid material. When a liquid material is used, a liquid silicone rubber, urethane, or the like is applied or filled and cured by heat, humidity, or the like to form a seal material. When using a semi-solid material, the semi-solid material has poor fluidity and moldability compared to a liquid sealing material,
Since it is impossible to form a sealing material by coating or injection molding, usually, a semi-solid silicone rubber is sandwiched between PET (polyethylene terephthalate) and PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) films, and a film thickness required by a roll press or the like. Then, the sheet is punched or cut into a required sealing material shape, and is manually attached to the member to be sealed. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-145181 discloses that, for automatic mounting, a subframe is simultaneously formed at the time of molding a sealing material and is used for transport and mounting.

[0003]

However, the conventional method of mounting the sealing material has the following problems. In the case of a liquid sealing material, the members to be sealed come into contact with each other due to the flow of the liquid sealing material in a direction perpendicular to the load due to an assembling load applied during the curing, which may lead to leakage due to the breakage of the seal. In order to prevent this, it is necessary to increase the processing accuracy of the member to be sealed, to assemble it to a fixed size, or to ensure the clearance by mixing glass beads etc. in the liquid sealing material, so that the cost is high. Become. Further, when the liquid sealing material protrudes, a deburring operation is required. In the case of a semi-solid material or a solid material, if the shape of the sealing material becomes complicated, for example, if it has a shape with small islands, the punching die will not be established, and the shape is greatly restricted. Further, since a film is used, it is difficult to reuse the cut pieces generated by punching or cutting. In addition, when a sub-frame is provided as in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-145181, waste is increased because a sub-frame unnecessary as a sealing material is provided. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus for mounting a semi-solid or solid sealing material that enables the sealing material to be mounted on a member to be sealed even with a complicated sealing material shape.

[0004]

The present invention to achieve the above object is as follows. (1) A semi-solid or solid sealing material is supplied between a pair of processing dies and compressed, and when the pair of processing dies is separated, a portion serving as a sealing material is held by one of the processing dies and the remaining portion is left. The sealing material is transferred to the member to be sealed and the sealing material is transferred to the sealing surface of the member to be sealed, while leaving the sealing material in the other processing die. (2) The sealing material has an adhesive property, and the one processing die has a rough surface of a pattern of a sealing surface of the member to be sealed, and the other processing die has a rough surface of the member to be sealed. A rough surface having a pattern opposite to the pattern of the sealing surface is formed, and a portion serving as a sealing material is separated from the remaining portion by the separating operation of the pair of processing dies, and is held by the one processing die (1). How to install the seal material. (3) A pair of working dies capable of approaching / separating are provided, one of the working dies has a rough surface pattern of the sealing surface of the member to be sealed, and the other has a sealing surface of the member to be sealed. The sealer mounting device, wherein a rough surface having a pattern opposite to that of the pattern is formed.

In the method (1) for mounting the sealing material, the portion serving as the sealing material is held by the processing die and sent to the member to be sealed, and the sealing material is transferred to the sealing surface of the member to be sealed. Even if the shape is complicated, regardless of the shape,
Further, it can be mounted on a member to be sealed without requiring a subframe or the like. In addition, for a semi-solid material or a solid material, when the sealing material is mounted on the member to be sealed and fastened with a load, the seal breaks like a liquid sealing material,
No protrusion or electrical shorting occurs, and no deburring is required. In the mounting method of the sealing material of the above (2),
In one of the processing dies, the rough surface of the pattern of the sealing surface of the member to be sealed is formed, and in the other processing die, the rough surface of the pattern opposite to the pattern of the sealing surface of the member to be sealed is formed, The part which becomes the seal material by the separating operation of the pair of processing dies is torn off from the remaining part (has a kind of trimming function) and is held by one processing die, so the material is sealed just by separating the pair of processing dies. It becomes a material shape, there is no need to press or cut the material into a seal material shape specially, and since the seal material is adhered to one mold and held and sent to the member to be sealed, a special holding jig is used for transportation. Is not required. As a result, for the holding jig in the press punching or cutting device and transport, which was conventionally required,
The apparatus can be simplified and the cost of the equipment can be reduced. In the sealing material mounting device of the above (3), the above (2)
The same operation as is obtained.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A method and an apparatus for mounting a sealing material according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 are applicable to any embodiment of the present invention,
FIGS. 3 to 6 show a case where a seal material of a solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell is taken as an example of a seal material, and FIGS. 7 and 8 take a seal seat of a head cover gasket of an engine as an example of a seal material. Shows the case. Portions common to all embodiments of the present invention are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout all embodiments of the present invention.

First, parts common to both embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the method of mounting a seal material according to the present invention, a semi-solid or solid seal material 7 is supplied between a pair of processing dies 5 and 6 (step A in FIG. 1) and compressed (step B in FIG. 1). When the processing dies 5 and 6 are separated from each other, the part to be the sealing material 4 is held by one processing die 5 and the remaining part 8 is left on the other processing die 6 (step C in FIG. 1), and the sealing material 4 is removed. The held processing die 5 is sealed with the member 1 to be sealed.
(Or 3) to transfer the sealing material 4 onto the sealing surface of the member to be sealed 1 (or 3) (step D in FIG. 1).

[0008] Seal material 7 in material supply step A
Is a massive semi-solid resin material or a solid resin material having adhesive properties, for example, a silicone rubber resin material.
In the compression step B, the sealing material 7 is compressed to a required film thickness and formed into a film or sheet. The film thickness c is about 100 μm in the case of sealing between the separators of the polymer electrolyte fuel cell or between the separator and the electrolyte membrane. Since the working die is operated by hydraulic pressure, a sufficient compressive force can be obtained. In the separation step C between the pair of processing dies 5, 6, the part to be the sealing material 4 is held by one processing die 5 and the remaining part 8 is held by the other processing die 6, so that the pair of processing dies 5 is left. , 6 are separated from each other automatically at the boundary between the portion serving as the sealing material 4 and the remaining portion 8. Since the adhesive force of the film to the mold is stronger than the peeling force of the film and the film is thin, the film is torn cleanly as if cut. For this reason,
In the compression step and the separation step, there is no need to press-punch or cut the film or sheet material into a seal material shape, and the conventional press-punching and cutting steps do not exist in the present invention. The processing die 5 holding the sealing material 4 is conveyed to the sealed member 1 (or 3) placed on the jig 9 as it is, and the processing die 5 directs the sealing material 4 toward the sealed member 9 (or 3). The sealing material 4 is transferred to the sealing surface of the sealed member 1 (or 3). Before the transfer, a curing liquid for curing the silicone rubber is applied to the sealing surface of the member to be sealed 1 (or 3) in advance.
When the sealing material 4 is pressed, the sealing material contact surface starts to harden. Therefore, when the working mold 5 is separated from the member to be sealed 1 (or 3) on the jig 9, the sealing material 4
It remains on the sealing surface of the member to be sealed 1 (or 3) and separates from the working mold. Then, the processing die 5 is returned to a position above the processing die 6 again, and is prepared for the next sealing material 7 supply step A. The rest will be repeated.

The sealing material 7 has adhesiveness. As shown in FIG. 2, one of the processing dies 5 (the processing die that holds the sealing material 4) has a rough surface of the pattern of the sealing surface of the member to be sealed 1 (or 3). At the same time, a rough surface having a pattern opposite to the pattern of the sealing surface of the member to be sealed is formed on the other processing die 6. The surfaces of the processing dies 5 and 6 other than the portions where the rough surfaces are formed are smooth surfaces. As a result, the part that becomes the seal material 4 by the separating operation of the pair of processing dies 5 and 6 is torn off from the remaining part 8 and is held by one processing die 5, and the remaining part 8 is held by the other processing die 6. It will remain. That is, in the processing die 5, the surface roughness a of the portion holding the sealing material 4 and the surface roughness b of the remaining portion are changed (roughness is different), and a is rougher than b. Processing mold 6
In the above, the surface roughness of the portion corresponding to the surface roughness a of the processing die 5 is set to b, and the surface roughness of the portion corresponding to the surface roughness b of the processing die 5 is set to a (rougher than b). The relationship is the opposite of the relationship in the processing die 5. The reason why the sealing material 4 is easily bonded to the rough surface is that the rough surface increases the contact area with the sealing material, and the sealing material bites into the minute concave portions of the rough surface, so that the adhesive force is increased. Conceivable. The method of forming the rough surface is based on etching, shot blasting, filing, and the like.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sealing material mounting apparatus includes a pair of working dies 5, 6 which can be approached and separated from each other.
One of the processing dies 5 has a rough surface pattern of the sealing surface of the member to be sealed 1 (or 3), and the other processing die 6 has a pattern of the sealing surface of the member to be sealed 1 (or 3). The rough surface of the reverse pattern is formed. Seal material 4
Is capable of being transported between the jig 9 on which the member to be sealed 1 (or 3) is mounted and the other processing die 6, and processes the sealing material 4 held in the separation step C. The seal member 4 can be transported to the jig 9 while being held by the mold 5.

Next, the method of mounting the sealing material and the operation of the device will be described. In the mounting method of the sealing material 4 described above, the portion to be the sealing material 4 is held by the processing die 5 and sent to the member 1 (or 3) to be sealed, and the sealing material 4 is sealed on the sealing surface of the member 1 (or 3). Therefore, even if the shape of the sealing material 4 is complicated (for example, even if there is a detached islet), regardless of the shape and without the need for a sub-frame or the like, It is possible to hold the workpiece in the processing die 5 and transport it as it is to the member to be sealed 1 (or 3) and mount it on the member to be sealed 1 (or 3). Further, since the sealing material 4 is a semi-solid material or a solid material, when the sealing material 4 is mounted on the member to be sealed 1 (or 3) and fastened with a load (for example, in a fuel cell, a load is applied to the stack). In such a case, no breakage of seal such as a liquid seal material, protrusion, or electrical short circuit (a short circuit between separators or between a separator and an electrolyte membrane) occurs, and deburring is not necessary.

In the above-described method for mounting the seal member 4 and the apparatus for mounting the seal member 4, the rough surface of the pattern of the seal surface of the member to be sealed 1 (or 3) is formed on one processing die 5. At the same time, a rough surface having a pattern opposite to the pattern of the sealing surface of the member to be sealed 1 (or 3) is formed on the other processing die 6, and the sealing material 4 is formed by the separating operation of the pair of processing dies 5, 6. Since the part is torn off from the remaining part 8 and held by one of the processing dies 5, the material becomes a seal material shape only by separating the pair of processing dies 5 from the other processing die 6, and the material is specially formed into the seal material shape. There is no need for press punching or cutting. Further, since the sealing material 4 is adhered to and held by the one processing die 5 and is sent to the member to be sealed 1 (or 3), no special holding jig (for example, a sub-frame) is required for conveyance. As a result, simplification of the press punching or cutting device and holding jig in the transport, which is conventionally required, and simplification of the device and reduction of the equipment cost can be achieved.

Next, parts unique to each embodiment of the present invention will be described. Embodiment 1 of the present invention is an example in which the method and apparatus of the present invention are applied to a fuel cell. The fuel cell to which the present invention is applied is a solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell 10. The fuel cell 10 is mounted on, for example, a fuel cell vehicle. However, it may be used other than a car.

The solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell 10 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, an electrolyte membrane 11 composed of an ion exchange membrane and a catalyst layer 12 disposed on one surface of the electrolyte membrane 11
And an electrode 14 (anode, fuel electrode) composed of a diffusion layer 13 and a catalyst layer 15 disposed on the other surface of the electrolyte membrane 11.
-Electrode assembly (MEA: Membra) composed of a diffusion layer 16 and an electrode 17 (cathode, air electrode)
ne-Electrode Assembly), a fluid passage 27 for supplying fuel gas (hydrogen) and an oxidizing gas (oxygen, usually air) to the electrodes 14 and 17 and a cooling water passage 26 through which cooling water for cooling the fuel cell flows. A cell is formed by overlapping the separator 18 to be formed, a plurality of the cells are stacked to form a module 19 (for example, one module is formed from two cells), and the modules 19 are stacked to form a module group.
Terminals 20, insulators 21, and end plates 22 are arranged at both ends of the module group in the cell stacking direction (fuel cell stacking direction) to form a stack 23.
3 comprises a fastening member 24 (for example, a tension plate, a through bolt or the like) extending in the stacking direction of the fuel cell stack outside the stack 23 and fixed by bolts 25 or nuts.

The catalyst layers 12, 15 are made of carbon (C) containing platinum (Pt). The diffusion layers 13 and 16 are made of C. The separator 18 partitions any one of the fuel gas and the oxidizing gas, the fuel gas and the cooling water, and the oxidizing gas and the cooling water, and forms an electric passage in which electrons flow from the anode to the cathode of an adjacent cell. The separator 18 is impermeable and is usually made of carbon (including the case of graphite).
Or, it is made of either metal or conductive resin. The case where the separator 18 is made of carbon (including the case of graphite) is described below, but is not limited thereto.

In the polymer electrolyte fuel cell 10, on the anode side, a reaction to convert hydrogen into hydrogen ions and electrons is performed, and the hydrogen ions move through the electrolyte membrane 11 to the cathode side, and oxygen and hydrogen on the cathode side. A reaction is performed to produce water from ions and electrons (electrons generated at the anode of the next MEA pass through the separator). Anode side: H ₂ → 2H ⁺ + 2e ⁻ Cathode side: 2H ⁺ + 2e ⁻ + (１ ／) O ₂ → H ₂ O For this reaction to be performed normally, the adjacent separator 1
8 and between the separator 18 and the electrolyte membrane 11 to prevent an electrical short circuit and a fluid (hydrogen, air, cooling water)
It is necessary to perform the sealing. For this reason, the sealing material 4 having electrical insulation seals between the separators 18 and between the separator 18 and the electrolyte membrane 11.

In the solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell 10, for example, the sealing material 4 has a frame shape having a plurality (three in the illustrated example) of isolated small islands shown in FIG. The central vent is a reactor where the above two reactions occur, and the vents on both sides are reaction gas and cooling water manifolds. FIG. 3 is simplified. Therefore,
There are usually a larger number of manifolds in one separator 18 than in the illustrated example, one part for hydrogen, another part for air,
Yet another portion is used for cooling water.

The member to be sealed 1, on which the sealing material 4 is mounted,
3 (sealed members 1 and 3 in step D in FIG. 1) are connected to the adjacent separator 1 in the polymer electrolyte fuel cell 10.
It becomes 8. Then, in steps A to D of FIG. 1, one of the two separators 18 adjacent to each other in the solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell 10 is transferred to the sealing material 4 on the jig 9,
Next, in steps A to D in FIG. 1, the other one of the two adjacent separators 18 of the polymer electrolyte fuel cell 10 is transferred to the jig 9 with the sealing material 4. Then, the adjacent separator 18 to which the sealing material 4 is attached
As shown in step E of FIG. 4, the sealing material 4 is arranged to face each other, and the end of the electrolyte membrane 11 is arranged between the facing sealing materials 4. Then, step F in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, before the silicone rubber sealing material 11 is cured, the cells are stacked as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 to form a stack, an assembly load is applied thereto, and the end of the electrolyte membrane 11 is sandwiched. The opposing sealing members 4 are brought into close contact with each other and compressed. As a result, the contact surfaces of the sealing members 4 are fused, and the sealing members 4 are integrated as shown in step G of FIG. 4, and the end of the electrolyte membrane 11 is embedded therein. In FIG. 5 (although shown separately for the sake of simplicity), actually, the tips of the convex and concave portions of the separator 18 are pressed against the diffusion layer.

The following effects are obtained in the solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell 10 equipped with the sealing material 4 as described above. Due to the elasticity of the semi-solid silicone rubber (sealant 4) or the solid material, a short circuit between the adjacent separators 18 (sealed members 1, 3) can be prevented. Due to the elasticity of the semi-solid silicone rubber (sealant 4) or solid material, the separator 18 (sealable member 1 or 3) and the electrolyte membrane 1
1 (sealed member 2) can be prevented. Due to the elasticity of the semi-solid silicone rubber (seal material 4) or the solid material, the separator 18 (seal member 1 or 3)
And the electrolyte membrane 11 (sealed member 2), and the separator 18 (sealed member 1) and the electrode 14 (sealed member 2).
Hydrogen flowing between them, and oxygen flowing between the separator 18 (the material to be sealed 3) and the electrode 14 (the member to be sealed 2) (actually, air can be flowed instead of pure oxygen) can be sealed. The shape of the sealing material 4 can correspond to a detached small island shape as shown in FIG.

The present invention provides a solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell 1
In addition to 0, Engine / cylinder head gasket b. Engine oil pan gasket c. Engine / chain case gasket d. It can also be applied to gaskets for automatic transmission valve bodies. 7 and 8 show a case where the present invention is applied to an engine / cylinder head gasket. There, a filling seal material 4 made of semi-solid silicone rubber or a solid seal material is disposed between an engine cylinder head 31 (member to be sealed 1) and a cylinder head cover 32 (member to be sealed 3). FIG. 8 shows the state after assembly. Also in this case, the same configuration and operation as described in the common part are realized.

[0021]

According to the sealing material mounting method of the present invention, the portion to be the sealing material is held by the processing die, sent to the member to be sealed, and the sealing material is transferred to the sealing surface of the member to be sealed. Even if the shape of the sealing material is complicated, it can be attached to the member to be sealed irrespective of the shape and without the need for a subframe or the like. Further, since the sealing material is a semi-solid material or a solid material, when a load is applied by attaching the sealing material to the member to be sealed, there is no breakage of the seal or protrusion, and deburring is not required. According to the sealing material mounting method of the second aspect, the rough surface of the pattern of the sealing surface of the member to be sealed is formed in one of the processing dies, and the pattern of the sealing surface of the member to be sealed is formed in the other processing die. Since the rough surface with the reverse pattern is formed, the material is cut and held in the shape of the seal material simply by separating the pair of working dies, and the holding jig in the press punching or cutting device or transport, which was conventionally required. This eliminates the need for tools, and can simplify the apparatus and reduce the cost of equipment. According to the sealing material mounting apparatus of the third aspect, the rough surface of the pattern of the sealing surface of the member to be sealed is formed in one of the processing dies, and the pattern of the sealing surface of the member to be sealed is formed in the other processing die. Since the rough surface with the reverse pattern is formed, the material is cut and held in the shape of the seal material simply by separating the pair of working dies, and the holding jig in the press punching or cutting device or transport, which was conventionally required. This eliminates the need for tools, and can simplify the apparatus and reduce the cost of equipment.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of each step of a method for mounting a seal material according to an embodiment of the present invention and an apparatus therefor.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a pair of processing dies of a method and an apparatus for mounting a sealing material according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the sealing material in the method and the device for mounting the sealing material according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a seal structure between separators and between a parator and an electrolyte membrane in each process of assembling when the present invention is applied to a seal of a solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a cell when the present invention is applied to a seal of a solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell.

FIG. 6 is an overall front view of a fuel cell when the present invention is applied to a seal of a solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view when the present invention is applied to a seal of an engine / cylinder head gasket.

FIG. 8 is a front view when the present invention is applied to a seal of an engine / cylinder head gasket.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 2, 3 Sealed member 4 Sealing material 5, 6 Processing mold 7 Sealing material (bulk) 8 End cut 9 Jig 10 (Solid polymer electrolyte type) fuel cell 11 Electrolyte membrane 12 Catalyst layer 13 Diffusion layer 14 Electrode ( Anode, fuel electrode 15 Catalyst layer 16 Diffusion layer 17 Electrode (cathode, air electrode) 18 Separator (sealed material 1 in case of fuel cell)
3) 19 module 20 terminal 21 insulator 22 end plate 23 stack 24 fastening member (tension plate) 25 bolt or nut 31 engine cylinder head (sealed member 1) 32 cylinder head cover (sealed member 3)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A semi-solid or solid sealing material is supplied between a pair of processing dies and compressed, and when the pair of processing dies is separated from each other, a portion serving as a sealing material is held by one of the processing dies and the remaining one is left. A method of mounting a sealing material, in which the part is left in the other processing die, and the processing die holding the sealing material is sent to the member to be sealed to transfer the sealing material to the sealing surface of the member to be sealed. 2. The sealing material has an adhesive property, a rough surface of a pattern of a sealing surface of a member to be sealed is formed on the one processing die, and a seal is formed on the other processing die. A rough surface having a pattern opposite to the pattern of the seal surface of the member is formed, and a part serving as a seal material is separated from the remaining part by the separating operation of the pair of processing dies and held by the one processing die. A method for mounting the sealing material according to 1. 3. It has a pair of working dies which can approach and separate from each other,
A rough surface of the pattern of the sealing surface of the member to be sealed is formed on one processing die, and a rough surface of a pattern opposite to the pattern of the sealing surface of the member to be sealed is formed on the other processing die. Sealing material mounting device.