Fuel cell bipolar plate sealing element attaching process

Abstract

The invention discloses a fuel cell bipolar plate sealing element laminating process which comprises the following steps: S1, providing a laminating tool which comprises a first tool plate and a second tool plate; s2, the prefabricated sealing part is installed on the first tool plate; s3, mounting the bipolar plate coated with the adhesive on a second tool plate; s4, the first tool plate and the second tool plate are positioned and assembled, so that the bipolar plate and the prefabricated sealing element are pre-attached; and S5, pressing the prefabricated sealing element by using a first tool plate, so that the prefabricated sealing element is completely attached to the sealing groove in the bipolar plate. According to the fuel cell bipolar plate sealing element attaching process, the tool assistive device is used for positioning, the position of the prefabricated sealing element is positioned, the positioning accuracy of the position of the sealing element can be improved, and then the consistent performance of a product can be guaranteed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of fuel cells, and in particular, relates to a fuel cell bipolar plate sealing component bonding process. Background Art

[0002] A fuel cell is a power generation device that converts chemical energy directly into electrical energy. It is environmentally friendly, has high energy conversion efficiency, and has a long lifespan. A fuel cell is mainly composed of a proton exchange membrane, a catalyst, an air diffusion layer, and a bipolar plate.

[0003] As the core component of the fuel cell, the bipolar plate has sealing grooves on the edges of the cathode and anode side plates to arrange the sealing rings to prevent the reaction gas and the coolant from intermingling and leaking out. The stack seal has a decisive influence on the reliability of the fuel cell system. In the prior art, a prefabricated seal is used to achieve the stack seal. The cross-sectional shape of the prefabricated seal is an arc. The stack is composed of multiple single cells. During the stack stacking process, under the production process of manually placing the seal, it is impossible to ensure that the relative position of each seal in the sealing groove is consistent, which will cause the stack to be distorted during the press-fitting process, and there will be a "misalignment" problem of sealing between two adjacent single cells. The stack as a whole presents an irregular S shape from the side. The position of the seal cannot be effectively and accurately positioned, which will eventually affect the consistency and sealing reliability of the product. Moreover, since the material of the seal is soft and thin, after the seal is manually placed, when correcting the position of the seal, other points of the seal are prone to deviation or wrinkles, requiring operators to make repeated adjustments, which is time-consuming. It takes at least 6 minutes to complete the installation of a single piece, so the assembly efficiency is relatively low.

[0004] It is hoped to provide a fuel cell bipolar plate seal lamination process, especially how to accurately position the seal so that the consistency of the product can be guaranteed. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present invention aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art. To this end, the present invention provides a fuel cell bipolar plate seal lamination process, the purpose of which is to improve the seal position positioning accuracy.

[0006] In order to solve the above technical problems, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is: a fuel cell bipolar plate seal bonding process, comprising:

[0007] S1. Provide a laminating tool, wherein the laminating tool comprises a first tool plate and a second tool plate;

[0008] S2, installing the prefabricated sealing member on the first tooling plate;

[0009] S3, installing the bipolar plate coated with the adhesive on the second tooling plate;

[0010] S4, positioning and assembling the first tooling plate and the second tooling plate so that the bipolar plate is pre-laminated with the prefabricated sealing member;

[0011] S5. Use the first tooling plate to press the prefabricated seal so that the prefabricated seal is completely fitted with the sealing groove on the bipolar plate.

[0012] The first tooling plate is provided with a first contoured groove, and in the step S2, the prefabricated sealing component is embedded in the first contoured groove.

[0013] The first tooling plate is provided with a first air hole connected to an air source, the first air hole is communicated with the first profiling groove, and the prefabricated sealing member is adsorbed in the first profiling groove by the negative pressure formed.

[0014] A plurality of the first air holes are provided.

[0015] The second tooling plate is provided with a second contoured groove, and in the step S3, the bipolar plate is embedded in the second contoured groove.

[0016] The second tooling plate is provided with a second air hole connected to an air source, the second air hole is communicated with the second contoured groove, and the bipolar plate is adsorbed in the second contoured groove by the negative pressure formed.

[0017] A plurality of the second air holes are provided.

[0018] The second tooling plate is provided with a plate limiting column for positioning the bipolar plate.

[0019] The second tooling plate is provided with a combined limiting column for positioning the first tooling plate.

[0020] The fuel cell bipolar plate seal bonding process also includes:

[0021] S6. Repeat steps S2 to S5 to bond the other side of the bipolar plate to another prefabricated sealing member.

[0022] The fuel cell bipolar plate seal laminating process of the present invention uses a tooling auxiliary tool for positioning, so that the position of the prefabricated seal can be positioned, which can improve the positioning accuracy of the seal, and further ensure the consistent performance of the product. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Figure 1 It is a flow chart of the fuel cell bipolar plate sealing process of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The specific implementation methods of the present invention are further explained in detail below by describing the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, with the aim of helping those skilled in the art to have a more complete, accurate and in-depth understanding of the concept and technical solution of the present invention and facilitating its implementation.

[0025] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly connected by technicians in the technical field to which the present invention belongs. The terminology used in the specification of the present invention is for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and is not intended to limit the present invention. The term "and / or" used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more related listed items.

[0026] like Figure 1 As shown, an embodiment of the present invention provides a fuel cell bipolar plate seal bonding process, comprising the following steps:

[0027] S1. Provide a laminating tool, wherein the laminating tool comprises a first tool plate and a second tool plate;

[0028] S2, installing the prefabricated sealing member on the first tooling plate;

[0029] S3, installing the bipolar plate coated with the adhesive on the second tooling plate;

[0030] S4, positioning and assembling the first tooling plate and the second tooling plate so that the bipolar plate is pre-laminated with the prefabricated sealing member;

[0031] S5. Use the first tooling plate to press the prefabricated seal so that the prefabricated seal is completely fitted with the sealing groove on the bipolar plate.

[0032] Specifically, the purpose of the embodiments of the present invention is to improve the sealing reliability of the bipolar plates of the fuel cell stack, ensure the consistency of the bipolar plate production process, and improve the production efficiency.

[0033] In the embodiment of the present invention, the fitting tooling used is composed of a first tooling plate and a second tooling plate. In order to ensure the rapid placement of the prefabricated seal, a first profiling groove is provided on the first tooling plate. In the above step S2, the prefabricated seal is embedded in the first profiling groove. The shape of the first profiling groove matches the shape of the prefabricated seal to achieve accurate positioning of the prefabricated seal. The first profiling groove is provided on a side surface of the first tooling plate.

[0034] In the embodiment of the present invention, a first air hole connected to a first air source is provided on the first tooling plate, the first air hole is communicated with the first contoured groove, and the prefabricated sealing member is adsorbed in the first contoured groove by the negative pressure formed.

[0035] In the embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of first air holes are provided on the first tooling plate, and the first air holes are distributed at a plurality of positions. The first air source is a vacuum generator, and the vacuum generator is used to generate negative pressure. The first air source is connected to the first air hole through a first air path, and a control valve is provided in the first air path, and the on-off and air flow rate of the first air path are controlled by the control valve.

[0036] In the above step S2, after the prefabricated seal is placed on the first tooling board, in order to fix the prefabricated seal and prevent the prefabricated seal from falling off when the first tooling board is turned over, dense first air holes are set in the first contoured groove of the first tooling board, and the first air holes are connected to the vacuum generator, and the establishment of vacuum degree and the strength of vacuum degree are controlled by controlling the on-off of the valve. The prefabricated seal is adsorbed on the first tooling board using the vacuum principle, and the prefabricated seal is firmly fixed and easy to separate. This method not only ensures the stability of the prefabricated seal during the turning or moving process, but also improves the simplicity and efficiency of operation.

[0037] In the above step S3, firstly, an adhesive is sprayed in the sealing groove of the bipolar plate, the adhesive being used to bond the bipolar plate and the prefabricated sealing member, and then the bipolar plate coated with the adhesive is mounted on the second tooling plate.

[0038] In the above step S3, when the bipolar plate is placed on the second tooling plate, in order to ensure that the bipolar plate can be flush with the second tooling plate, a second profiling groove is set on the second tooling plate, and the bipolar plate is embedded in the second profiling groove. The shape of the second profiling groove matches the shape of the bipolar plate to achieve accurate positioning of the bipolar plate. The second profiling groove is set on one side surface of the second tooling plate. The position of the first profiling groove corresponds to the second profiling groove of the second tooling plate to ensure that when the second tooling plate is assembled, the position of the prefabricated seal and the sealing groove on the bipolar plate are accurate and consistent.

[0039] In the embodiment of the present invention, a second air hole connected to a second air source is provided on the second tooling plate, the second air hole is communicated with the second contoured groove, and the bipolar plate is adsorbed in the second contoured groove by the negative pressure formed.

[0040] In the embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of second air holes are provided on the second tooling plate, and the second air holes are distributed at a plurality of positions. The second air source is a vacuum generator, and the vacuum generator is used to generate negative pressure. The second air source is connected to the second air hole through a second air path, and a control valve is provided in the second air path, and the on-off and air flow rate of the second air path are controlled by the control valve.

[0041] In the above step S3, after the bipolar plate is placed on the second tooling plate, in order to fix the bipolar plate and prevent the bipolar plate from falling off when the second tooling plate is turned over, dense second air holes are set in the second contoured groove of the second tooling plate. The second air holes are connected to the vacuum generator, and the establishment of vacuum and the strength of vacuum are controlled by controlling the on-off of the valve. The vacuum principle is adopted to adsorb the bipolar plate on the second tooling plate, and the bipolar plate is firmly fixed and easy to separate. This method not only ensures the stability of the bipolar plate during the turning or moving process, but also improves the simplicity and efficiency of operation.

[0042] In the above step S4, after the first tooling plate and the second tooling plate are assembled, the switch of the first gas source is controlled to turn off the first gas source, so that the negative pressure that absorbs the prefabricated seal cannot be formed in the first profiling groove, and the prefabricated seal is allowed to freely fall from the first profiling groove and contact with the adhesive on the bipolar plate to complete the bonding with the bipolar plate. Due to the disappearance of the vacuum state, the prefabricated seal is no longer subjected to the adsorption force, so it falls freely from the first profiling groove. And through the action of the adhesive, the prefabricated seal and the bipolar plate are initially bonded together.

[0043] In the embodiment of the present invention, the first air hole is also connected to a third air source, and the third air source is connected to the first air hole through a third air path. A third control valve is provided in the third air path, and the on-off and air volume of the third air path are controlled by the third control valve. The third air source is used to provide an airflow to the first air hole to push the prefabricated sealing member to move downward. When it is necessary to push the prefabricated sealing member to move downward, the third air source is activated and provides airflow to the first air hole through the third air path. This airflow generates a downward thrust in the first air hole, and this thrust is actually converted into a downward moving force of the prefabricated sealing member.

[0044] In the above step S4, after the first air source is closed, the prefabricated sealing member is no longer subjected to adsorption force, and after the third air source is opened, air is blown out of the first air hole to push the prefabricated sealing member downward, so that the prefabricated sealing member is separated from the first tooling plate.

[0045] The entire pre-bonding process is a highly automated process. By precisely controlling the on / off of the gas source, the generation and disappearance of vacuum, and the generation of gas pressure, the prefabricated seal and the bipolar plate are precisely bonded. This automated process helps improve production efficiency and product quality.

[0046] In the above step S5, the plane of the first tooling plate is used to apply pressure to the prefabricated seal, and the prefabricated seal and the bipolar plate are pressed together to completely fit the prefabricated seal with the sealing groove on the bipolar plate.

[0047] In the above step S5, after the prefabricated seal is completely attached to the bipolar plate, the switch of the second gas source is controlled to turn off the second gas source, so that the negative pressure that adsorbs the bipolar plate cannot be formed in the second profiling groove, so that the bipolar plate can be removed from the second profiling groove. Due to the disappearance of the vacuum state, the bipolar plate is no longer subjected to adsorption force, so it can be easily taken out of the second profiling groove. After taking out the bipolar plate with the prefabricated seal bonded on one side, the bipolar plate is placed with the prefabricated seal facing up, and the adhesive is cured. After the glue is cured, the bipolar plate and the prefabricated seal are firmly bonded, and the bonding is reliable and the position is consistent.

[0048] In the embodiment of the present invention, a plate limiting column for positioning the bipolar plate is disposed on the second tooling plate, and a plurality of the plate limiting columns are provided.

[0049] In the embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of combined limiting columns are provided on the second tooling plate for positioning the first tooling plate, and limiting holes for embedding the combined limiting columns are provided on the first tooling plate.

[0050] In the above step S4, when the first tooling plate and the second tooling plate are positioned and assembled, the first tooling plate and the second tooling plate are accurately positioned by the cooperation of the assembly limit column and the limit hole, and the bipolar plate and the prefabricated seal are accurately positioned, so that the bipolar plate and the prefabricated seal can be accurately assembled.

[0051] In the embodiment of the present invention, the laminating tool is designed with positioning and limiting devices to ensure the consistency of the assembly of each bipolar plate and the prefabricated sealing member.

[0052] The fuel cell bipolar plate seal laminating process according to the embodiment of the present invention further comprises the following steps:

[0053] S6. Repeat steps S2 to S5 to bond the other side of the bipolar plate to another prefabricated sealing member.

[0054] The fuel cell bipolar plate seal bonding process according to the embodiment of the present invention has the following advantages:

[0055] 1. After adopting this technical solution, the production efficiency has been greatly improved. Compared with the method of manually placing the sealing ring in the prior art, since the material of the sealing ring is soft and thin, when correcting the position of the seal during manual placement, other points of the seal are prone to deviation or wrinkles, requiring operators to make repeated adjustments, which is time-consuming and takes at least 6 minutes to complete a single piece.

[0056] After adopting the process method of this scheme for production, there are multiple adsorption holes in the profiling groove. When the seal is placed in the profiling groove, the seal will not be offset or wrinkled due to the process of correcting the position, thereby reducing the installation time of the prefabricated seal, and the working hours can be reduced from 6 minutes to 90 seconds.

[0057] 2. By using the bonding tooling, not only the production rhythm is improved, but also the reliability of product quality is improved.

[0058] In the prior art, the manual placement of the sealing ring method takes 6 minutes to install the prefabricated seal, which means that the actual time for the glue line to bond with the glue is 360 seconds. During this process, part of the glue has begun to dry on the surface, so after installation, there may be a phenomenon of loose adhesion. By using the bonding tool, the bonding time of the prefabricated seal and the glue is controlled within 10 seconds, effectively solving the impact of the glue drying on the surface.

[0059] 3. After the implementation of this plan, the quality consistency of battery stack products has been improved. Since vacuum adsorption, multiple positioning and limiting are used on the tooling, each product produced is completely consistent and the position accuracy is well guaranteed. Since a glue coating machine is used to assist in gluing, the amount of glue is accurately controlled and the glue is evenly coated.

[0060] Therefore, after the prefabricated seal is bonded, the Z-direction dimension is guaranteed, the Z-direction dimension uniformity is greatly improved, and the mean square error is controlled. When assembling the battery stack, the assembly force at each point is evenly released, reducing the influence of ohmic polarization, which is beneficial to improving the performance of the battery stack.

[0061] 4. After the implementation of this solution, the sealing misalignment between two adjacent cells in the battery stack can be solved, which is beneficial to the sealing of the battery stack and to the reliability and durability of the battery stack.

[0062] The present invention is described above by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is obvious that the specific implementation of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned method. As long as various non-substantial improvements are made using the method concept and technical solution of the present invention, or the concept and technical solution of the present invention are directly applied to other occasions without improvement, they are all within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A fuel cell bipolar plate seal bonding process, characterized in that: include: S1. Provide a laminating tool, wherein the laminating tool comprises a first tool plate and a second tool plate; S2, installing the prefabricated sealing member on the first tooling plate; S3, installing the bipolar plate coated with the adhesive on the second tooling plate; S4, positioning and assembling the first tooling plate and the second tooling plate, so that the bipolar plate is pre-laminated with the prefabricated sealing member; S5. Use the first tooling plate to press the prefabricated seal so that the prefabricated seal is completely fitted with the sealing groove on the bipolar plate.

2. The fuel cell bipolar plate seal bonding process according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first tooling plate is provided with a first contoured groove, and in the step S2, the prefabricated sealing component is embedded in the first contoured groove.

3. The fuel cell bipolar plate seal bonding process according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first tooling plate is provided with a first air hole connected to an air source, the first air hole is communicated with the first profiling groove, and the prefabricated sealing member is adsorbed in the first profiling groove by the negative pressure formed.

4. The fuel cell bipolar plate seal bonding process according to claim 3, characterized in that: A plurality of the first air holes are provided.

5. The fuel cell bipolar plate seal bonding process according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The second tooling plate is provided with a second contoured groove, and in the step S3, the bipolar plate is embedded in the second contoured groove.

6. The fuel cell bipolar plate seal bonding process according to claim 5, characterized in that: The second tooling plate is provided with a second air hole connected to an air source, the second air hole is communicated with the second contoured groove, and the bipolar plate is adsorbed in the second contoured groove by the negative pressure formed.

7. The fuel cell bipolar plate seal bonding process according to claim 6, characterized in that: A plurality of the second air holes are provided.

8. The fuel cell bipolar plate seal bonding process according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The second tooling plate is provided with a plate limiting column for positioning the bipolar plate.

9. The fuel cell bipolar plate seal laminating process according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The second tooling plate is provided with a combined limiting column for positioning the first tooling plate.

10. The fuel cell bipolar plate seal laminating process according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: Also includes: S6. Repeat steps S2 to S5 to bond the other side of the bipolar plate to another prefabricated sealing member.

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