Abstract:
A membrane electrode assembly manufacturing device includes a loading apparatus for supplying an MEA roll on which a membrane electrode assembly is arranged by a predetermined pitch, a hot press apparatus for pressing a surface corresponding to the membrane electrode assembly of the MEA roll at a set temperature, a buffer apparatus to which the MEA roll is supplied to one side and exhausted at the other side, and for performing a buffer function of absorbing a difference between supply and exhaustion, and a cutting apparatus for cutting a portion of the membrane electrode assembly arranged at the MEA roll.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2015-0127935, filed with the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Sep. 9, 2015, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
       TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    An exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a membrane electrode assembly manufacturing device sequentially manufacturing a membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) including an electrolyte film, an electrode, and a sub-gasket, and a manufacturing method of the membrane electrode assembly. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    As conventional energy resources such as petroleum and coal may soon run out, interest regarding energy sources which may substitute for them has increased. For an example, a fuel cell is particularly being researched because of merits of high efficiency and an absence of exhaust pollution materials such as NOx and SOx, and a usable fuel therein is abundant. 
         [0004]    The fuel cell is an electric generator system that converts chemical reactive energy of a fuel and an oxidizing agent to electrical energy. Typically, hydrogen or methanol is used as the fuel, and oxygen is used as the oxidizing agent. 
         [0005]    In the fuel cell, the most basic unit generating electricity is a membrane-electrode assembly (MEA), and this consists of electrolyte film, and an anode and a cathode formed at respective surfaces of the electrolyte film. Referring to  FIG. 1  and Reaction Formula 1 (a reaction formula of a fuel cell when hydrogen is used as a fuel) indicating an electrical generation principle, an oxidation reaction of the fuel and oxygen (oxidizing agent) occurs at the anode electrode to generate a hydrogen ion and an electron, the hydrogen ion moves to the cathode electrode through the electrolyte film, the hydrogen ion is transferred through the electrolyte membrane, and the electron reacts at the cathode electrode to generate water. By this reaction, the electron moves to an external circuit. 
         [0000]      anode electrode: H 2 →2H + +2e
 
         [0000]      cathode electrode: 1/2O 2 +2H + 2e-→H 2 O
 
         [0000]      whole reaction formula: H 2 +1/2O 2 →H 2 O   Reaction Formula 1
 
         [0006]    In a manufacturing process of the membrane-electrode assembly, the membrane-electrode assembly has been produced by attaching a protection membrane to both surfaces of the electrolyte membrane, and hot compressing the anode electrode (fuel pole) to which a catalytic layer is applied and the cathode electrode (air pole). This process has a discontinuity property because respective components are manufactured by respective steps and by manual labor. Also, it is difficult to standardize performance because of operation errors occurring due to the manual labor inputs. Thereby, the discontinuous manufacturing process has a low production speed, and it is too difficult to control factors determining performance. 
         [0007]    The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the disclosure and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0008]    The present disclosure has been made in an effort to provide a membrane electrode assembly manufacturing device having advantages of improving productivity by automating a membrane electrode assembly manufacturing process to be successive and minimizing performance deviation by standardizing performance of the manufactured membrane electrode assembly. 
         [0009]    A membrane electrode assembly manufacturing device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may include a loading apparatus supplying an MEA roll on which a membrane electrode assembly is arranged by a predetermined pitch, a hot press apparatus pressing a surface corresponding to the membrane electrode assembly of the MEA roll at a set temperature, a buffer apparatus with which the MEA roll is supplied to one side and exhausted to the other side, and performing a buffer function of absorbing a difference between supply and exhaustion, and a cutting apparatus cutting a portion of the membrane electrode assembly arranged at the MEA roll. 
         [0010]    The loading apparatus may include an unwinder roller to which the MEA roll is wound, and disposed to loosen and supply the MEA roll, and a rewinder roller passing through the hot press apparatus, the buffer apparatus, and the cutting apparatus, and disposed to wind the roll from which the membrane electrode assembly is cut. 
         [0011]    The hot press apparatus may include a hot plate pressing the membrane electrode assembly at a set temperature, a position detecting sensor detecting a pitch of the membrane electrode assembly disposed at the MEA roll, and a variable pitch portion varying a position of the hot plate according to the pitch of the membrane electrode assembly detected by the position detecting sensor. 
         [0012]    The buffer apparatus may include a reference roller disposed in a moving direction by a pitch, a buffer roller disposed so that a distance from the reference roller is adjusted, and a buffer driver disposed so that a distance between the reference roller and the buffer roller is adjusted. 
         [0013]    The cutting apparatus may include a cutter disposed to cut the membrane electrode assembly of the MEA roll, and a cutter mount bracket at which the cutter is fixed. 
         [0014]    The cutting apparatus may include an up-down member disposed by a predetermined pitch with the cutter and on which the membrane electrode assembly is interposed, an up-down driver to operate the up-down member to upper and lower sides, and a protection file disposed between the membrane electrode assembly and the up-down member to protect the membrane electrode assembly or the up-down member from the cutter. 
         [0015]    The device may include a position detecting sensor detecting a position of the membrane electrode assembly at the MEA roll entering the cutting apparatus, and the up-down driver operates according to a position of the membrane electrode assembly detected by the position detecting sensor. 
         [0016]    The device may include an unloading apparatus unloading and loading the cut membrane electrode assembly. 
         [0017]    The unloading apparatus may include a gripper attaching and unloading the cut membrane electrode assembly, and a stack apparatus on which the membrane electrode assembly is sequentially stacked at the gripper. 
         [0018]    The unloading apparatus may further include a measurement detecting sensor detecting measurement of the membrane electrode assembly cut by the cutting apparatus, and the membrane electrode assembly may be classified according to a characteristic of the membrane electrode assembly detected by the measurement detecting sensor. 
         [0019]    The gripper may be a vacuum adsorption type that takes in air and adsorbs one surface of the membrane electrode assembly. 
         [0020]    The device may further include a rail guiding movement of the buffer roller in a predetermined direction. 
         [0021]    The hot plate may include a variable hot plate disposed in a moving direction of the MEA roll by a predetermined pitch and a reference hot plate, the variable pitch portion may adjust a position of the variable hot plate with reference to the reference hot plate, and the reference hot plate and the variable hot plate may press the membrane electrode assembly at the same time. 
         [0022]    A membrane electrode assembly manufacturing method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may include loading an MEA roll on which a membrane electrode assembly is arranged, hot pressing an area corresponding to the membrane electrode assembly at the loaded MEA roll, cutting the hot pressed membrane electrode assembly at the MEA roll, and unloading the cut membrane electrode assembly to stack it on a stack apparatus. 
         [0023]    The method may further include detecting a pitch of the membrane electrode assembly disposed on the MEA roll, and adjusting a pitch of a hot plate of the hot press apparatus according to the detected pitch of the membrane electrode assembly. 
         [0024]    The method may further include detecting a pitch of the membrane electrode assembly disposed on the MEA roll, and cutting the membrane electrode assembly according to the detected pitch of the membrane electrode assembly. 
         [0025]    The method may further include detecting a measurement of the cut membrane electrode assembly, and classifying and loading the membrane electrode assembly according to the detected measurement of the membrane electrode assembly. 
         [0026]    The method may further include temporarily storing the MEA roll on which the hot pressed membrane electrode assembly is arranged. 
         [0027]    In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, productivity may be improved by an entire process such as hot pressing the membrane electrode assembly of the fuel cell and successively cutting and loading a roll, and performance deviation may be minimized by standardizing performance of the manufactured membrane electrode assembly. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0028]    While the drawings are described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited to the disclosed drawings. 
           [0029]      FIG. 1  is a schematic side view of a membrane electrode assembly manufacturing device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0030]      FIG. 2  is a schematic perspective view of a hot press apparatus of the membrane electrode assembly manufacturing device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0031]      FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4  are schematic perspective views of a buffer apparatus of the membrane electrode assembly manufacturing device. 
           [0032]      FIG. 5  is a schematic perspective view of a cutting apparatus of the membrane electrode assembly manufacturing device. 
           [0033]      FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram of the membrane electrode assembly manufacturing device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0034]      FIG. 7  is a flowchart showing a manufacturing method of the membrane electrode assembly manufacturing device. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0035]    In the following detailed description, only certain exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described, simply by way of illustration. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. 
         [0036]    A part that is irrelevant to the description will be omitted to clearly describe the present disclosure, and the same or similar elements will be designated by the same or similar reference numerals throughout the specification. 
         [0037]    The size and thickness of each configuration shown in the drawings may be shown for better understanding and ease of description, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the thicknesses of portions and regions may be exaggerated for clarity. 
         [0038]    Further, in the following detailed description, names of constituent elements, which are in the same relationship, are divided into “first”, “second”, and the like, but the present disclosure is not limited to the order in the following description. 
         [0039]    Throughout the specification and the claims, unless explicitly described to the contrary, the word “comprise” and variations such as “comprises” or “comprising” will be understood to imply the inclusion of stated elements but not the exclusion of any other elements. 
         [0040]      FIG. 1  is a schematic side view of a membrane electrode assembly manufacturing device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         [0041]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , the membrane electrode assembly manufacturing device  600  may include an unwinder roller  100 , a roll film  105 , a membrane electrode assembly  110 , a first position detecting sensor  115   a,  a variable pitch portion  120 , a hot press apparatus  610 , a press cylinder  125 , a rod  130 , a hot plate  135 , a buffer apparatus  615 , a reference roller  145 , a buffer roller  150 , a buffer roller moving portion  155 , a second position detecting sensor  115   b,  a cutting apparatus  620 , an unloading gripper  190 , a measurement detecting sensor  185 , a lifting portion  180 , a stack apparatus  630 , a rewinder roller  175 , a cutting protection film  170 , a cutting film roller  165 , a meandering controller  160 , a protection film  164 , a protection film roller  162  and an MEA roll  199 . 
         [0042]    The MEA roll  199  may be wound at the unwinder roller  100 , and the membrane electrode assembly  110  may be arranged on the MEA roll  199  by a predetermined pitch. The membrane electrode assembly  110  may have an electrolyte film on which electrodes and gaskets are formed. A detailed structure of the membrane electrode assembly  110  is well-known and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted. 
         [0043]    The rewinder roller  175  may be disposed by a predetermined distance with the unwinder roller  100 . The hot press apparatus  610 , the buffer apparatus  615 , the cutting apparatus  620 , and the unloading apparatus may be sequentially disposed between the unwinder roller  100  and the rewinder roller  175 , and the order can be varied. 
         [0044]    The roll film  105  may be attached on one side surface of the MEA roll  199 . The roll film  105  may be detached before entering the hot press apparatus  610 , and the MEA roll  199  from which the roll film  105  is detached may enter the hot press apparatus  610 . 
         [0045]    Protection film rollers  162  may be respectively disposed at an inlet side and an outlet side of the hot press apparatus  610 , and the protection film  164  may be attached on both side surfaces of the MEA roll  199  and detached from both side surfaces of the MEA roll  199  at the outlet side. 
         [0046]    The meandering controller  160  may control a moving direction of the roll so that the MEA roll  199  normally enters, and the first position detecting sensor  115   a  may detect a pitch of the membrane electrode assembly  110  disposed on the MEA roll  199 . 
         [0047]    In the hot press apparatus  610 , three hot plates  135  may be disposed upwardly and downwardly by a predetermined pitch, and the press cylinder  125  may be disposed to press the hot plates  135  through the rod  130 . Further, the variable pitch portion  120  adjusting pitches of forward and rearward hot plates of the three hot plates  135  is disposed in the hot press apparatus  610 . 
         [0048]    The variable pitch portion  120  may control a position of at least one hot plate  135  of the hot plates  135  according to the pitch of the membrane electrode assembly  110 , therefore the hot plates  135  can press the membrane electrode assembly  110  more precisely. 
         [0049]    The buffer apparatus  615  may be disposed rearward of the hot press apparatus  610 . The buffer apparatus  615  may temporarily store the MEA roll  199  drawn out from the hot press apparatus  610  and may uniformly supply the MEA roll  199  to the cutting apparatus  620 . 
         [0050]    The buffer apparatus  615  may include the reference roller  145  disposed at an upper portion, the buffer roller  150  disposed at a lower portion, and the buffer roller moving portion  155  disposed to move the buffer roller  150  upward and downward. 
         [0051]    The meandering controller  160  and the second position detecting sensor  115   b  may be disposed rearward of the buffer apparatus  615 , and the cutting apparatus  620  may be disposed to cut the membrane electrode assembly  110  disposed on the MEA roll  199 . 
         [0052]    The second position detecting sensor  115   b  may be disposed forward of the cutting apparatus  620 . The second position detecting sensor  115   b  may detect a pitch of the membrane electrode assembly  110  formed on the MEA roll  199 , and the cutting apparatus  620  may operate according to the detected pitch. 
         [0053]    The cutting apparatus  620  may include the cutting film roller  165  supplying the cutting protection film  170  to the surface of the lower portion of the MEA roll  199  and the cutter (‘ 500 ’ in  FIG. 5 ), the detailed structure of which is described with reference to  FIG. 5 . 
         [0054]    The unloading gripper  190  may grip and move the membrane electrode assembly  110  cut by the cutting apparatus  620 , and the measurement detecting sensor  185  may detect measurements and a shape of the membrane electrode assembly  110  that is moved by the unloading gripper  190 . 
         [0055]    Further, the membrane electrode assembly  110  may be classified as a membrane electrode assembly within a predetermined condition and a membrane electrode assembly above the predetermined condition to be stacked on the stack apparatus  630 . The stack apparatus  630  may include the lifting portion  180  lifting the stacked membrane electrode assembly  110 . 
         [0056]    In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller  10  controls the variable pitch portion  120  (and  140 ) according to the pitch of the membrane electrode assembly  110  detected by the first position detecting sensor  115   a,  and performs a hot pressing process. 
         [0057]    Further, the controller  10  may control the buffer roller moving portion  155  to control the position of the buffer roller  150  upwardly and downwardly, make the MEA  199  having a suitable tension, and store and temporarily store the MEA roll  199  at the buffer unit. 
         [0058]    The controller  10  also may control the cutting apparatus  620  according to the pitch of the membrane electrode assembly  110  detected by the second position detecting sensor  115   b  to precisely cut the membrane electrode assembly  110  at the MEA roll  199 . 
         [0059]    The controller  10  may control the unloading gripper  190  according to a measurement characteristic detected by the measurement detecting sensor  185  to separate the cut the membrane electrode assembly  110  and stack it on the stack apparatus  630 . 
         [0060]    The controller  10  may be realized as at least one microprocessor operated by a predetermined program, and the predetermined program can be programmed to include a set of instructions to perform steps in a method according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, which will be described later in more detail. 
         [0061]      FIG. 2  is a schematic perspective view of a hot press apparatus of a membrane electrode assembly manufacturing device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         [0062]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , the hot press apparatus  610  may include a reference hot press apparatus  135   b  and variable hot plates  135   a  disposed upwardly and downwardly, and the variable hot plates  135   a  may be disposed upwardly and downwardly with respect to the reference hot plate  135   b  by a predetermined pitch both forward and rearward. 
         [0063]    The variable pitch portion  120  may be disposed to adjust a distance between the variable hot plate  135   a  and the reference hot plate  135   b  by pulling or pushing the variable hot plate  135   a  using a rotational force of a motor. 
         [0064]      FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4  are schematic perspective views of a buffer apparatus of the membrane electrode assembly manufacturing device. 
         [0065]    Referring to  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 , the buffer apparatus  615  may include the reference roller  145 , the buffer roller  150 , and a rail  300 . The reference roller  145  may be disposed on the upper end portion of the rail  300 , the buffer roller  150  may be disposed on the lower end portion of the reference roller  145 , and the buffer roller  150  may be disposed to move upwardly and downwardly along the rail  300 . 
         [0066]    The buffer roller moving portion  155  may be disposed at the lower end portion of the rail, and vary the upward and downward position of the buffer roller  150 . Accordingly, the length of the MEA roll  199  disposed between the reference roller  145  and the buffer roller  150  may be variable. 
         [0067]      FIG. 5  is a schematic perspective view of a cutting apparatus of the membrane electrode assembly manufacturing device. 
         [0068]    Referring to  FIG. 5 , the cutting apparatus may include an up-down driver  520 , an up-down member  515 , the cutter  500  and a mount bracket  510 . 
         [0069]    The cutter  500  may be disposed on the lower surface of the mount bracket  510 , and the up-down member  515  may be disposed on the lower portion of the mount bracket  510  by a predetermined distance. The up-down member  515  may be disposed to move upwardly and downwardly by the up-down driver  520 . 
         [0070]    The MEA roll  199  may be disposed between the up-down member  515  and the cutter  500 , and a cutting protection film  525  may be disposed between the MEA roll  199  and the up-down member  515 . 
         [0071]    When the up-down driver  520  lifts the up-down member  515 , the up-down member  515  may elevate the MEA roll  199  with the cutting protection film  525 , and the membrane electrode assembly  110  of the MEA roll  199  may be cut by the cutter  500 . 
         [0072]      FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram of the membrane electrode assembly manufacturing device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         [0073]    Referring to  FIG. 6 , the membrane electrode assembly manufacturing device may include a loading/unloading apparatus  605 , the hot press apparatus  610 , the buffer apparatus  615 , the cutting apparatus  620 , an inspection apparatus  625  and the stack apparatus  630 . 
         [0074]    The loading/unloading apparatus may include at least one of the unwinder roller  100 , the rewinder roller  175 , and the unloading gripper  190  illustrated in  FIG. 1 , and the hot press apparatus  610  may include at least one of the rod  130 , the hot plate  135 , the variable hot plate  135   a,  the reference hot plate  135   b,  and the variable pitch portion  120  illustrated in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 . 
         [0075]    The buffer apparatus may include at least one of the reference roller  145 , the buffer roller  150 , the rail  300 , and the buffer roller driver  155  illustrated in  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 , and the cutting apparatus may include at least one of the mount bracket  510 , the cutter  50 , the cutting protection film  170 , the up-down member  511 , and the up-down driver  520  illustrated in  FIG. 5 . 
         [0076]    The inspection apparatus  625  may include at least one of the first and second position detecting sensors  115   a  and  115   b  and the measurement detecting sensor  185 , and the stack apparatus  630  may include at least one of the lifting portion  180  with which the membrane electrode assembly  110  is classified and stacked. 
         [0077]      FIG. 7  is a flowchart showing a manufacturing method of a membrane electrode assembly manufacturing device. 
         [0078]    Referring to  FIG. 7 , the unwinder roller  100  may be unwound, and the MEA roll  199  may be loaded to an entrance side of the hot press apparatus  610  at step S 700 . The MEA roll  199  then may enter the hot press apparatus  610 . 
         [0079]    A pitch of the membrane electrode assembly  110  may be detected by the first position detecting sensor  115   a  at step S 710 . 
         [0080]    A position of the hot plate  135  may be adjusted according to the detected pitch of the membrane electrode assembly  110  at step S 720 . Here, the variable pitch portion  120  may control at least one position of the hot plates  135  according to the pitch of the membrane electrode assembly  110 . 
         [0081]    The membrane electrode assembly  110  may be hot pressed by using the hot plate at step S 730 . Here, hot plates  135  having varied pitches may press the membrane electrode assembly  110 . 
         [0082]    The MEA roll  199  may be drawn out from the hot press apparatus  610  and be temporarily stored at step S 740 . The buffer roller moving portion  155  may move the buffer roller  150  downwardly to temporarily store the MEA roll  199  drawn out from the hot press apparatus  610  and maintain tension of the MEA roll  199 . 
         [0083]    The second position detecting sensor  115   b  may detect the pitch of the membrane electrode assembly  110  formed on the MEA roll  199  drawn out from the buffer apparatus  615  at step S 750 , and the cutting apparatus  620  may cut the membrane electrode assembly  110  at step S 760 . 
         [0084]    The measurement detecting sensor  185  may detect measurements or the shape of the cut membrane electrode assembly  110  at step S 770 . The unloading gripper  190  then may classify the membrane electrode assembly  110  according to the detected measurements or shape and stacks it on the stack apparatus at step S 780 . 
         [0085]    While this disclosure has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.