Positioning device

Abstract

To provide a positioning apparatus which allows improvement in energy efficiency by improving workability in positioning and holding fuel battery cells when stacking the fuel battery cells.SOLUTION: A positioning apparatus in a stacking apparatus 1 for fuel battery cells FC has: a bar holding part 60 for stacking the fuel battery cells FC constituting a fuel battery; and a positioning bar 71, attachably / detachably held by the bar holding part 60, which holds the fuel battery cells FC to be stacked. The bar holding part 60 is designed to be dividable.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a positioning device. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, stacking devices have been known that have a positioning device that positions and stacks a plurality of fuel cell units that constitute a fuel cell stack (see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-157521 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the stacking device described above, the entire cell position changing section at the top of the stacking device needs to be removed after stacking the fuel cells, and improvements in manufacturing workability are required. The present invention aims to provide a positioning device that can improve energy efficiency by improving the workability of positioning and holding the fuel cells when stacking the fuel cells. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to achieve the above object, a fuel cell positioning device is provided that positions a plurality of fuel cell cells (e.g., the "fuel cell FC" described below) when stacking the fuel cell cells, the positioning device having a bar holding portion (e.g., the "bar holding portion 60" described below) for stacking the fuel cell cells, and a positioning bar (e.g., the "positioning bar 71" described below) that is detachably held by the bar holding portion and holds the stacked fuel cell cells, and the bar holding portion is configured to be separable.

[0006] In the above invention, it is preferable that the bar holding portion is configured to be separable so as to be separated in a direction perpendicular to the stacking direction of the fuel cell. Also, it is preferable that the positioning bar has an engaging portion (for example, a "recess 711" described later) that can engage with an engaged portion (for example, a "protrusion FCΦ2" described later) formed on the peripheral edge of the fuel cell.

[0007] Furthermore, the positioning bar is connected and fixed to an internal case bar (e.g., the "internal case bar 12" described below) provided inside a stack case (e.g., the "stack case 10" described below) that houses the stacked fuel cell cells, and it is preferable that the internal case bar has an internal case bar engagement portion (e.g., the "recess 121" described below) that is continuous with the engagement portion of the positioning bar (e.g., the "recess 711" described below). [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a positioning device that can improve energy efficiency by improving the workability of positioning and holding fuel cells when stacking fuel cells. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating a stacking device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating the state of fuel cells at the beginning and middle of stacking when stacked by the stacking device of the present embodiment. [Figure 3] 4 is a flowchart showing control by a control device of the stacking device in the present embodiment. [Figure 4] 10 is a perspective view showing a state in which a bar holder and a positioning bar are attached to the upper end opening of a stack case in the stacking device of this embodiment. FIG. [Figure 5] 10 is a plan view showing a state in which a bar holder and a positioning bar are attached to the upper end opening of a stack case in a stacking device according to this embodiment. FIG. [Figure 6]10 is a top side view showing a state in which a bar holding portion and a positioning bar are attached to the upper end opening of a stack case in the stacking device of this embodiment. FIG. [Figure 7] 3 is a plan view showing a first bar holding divided portion of a bar holding portion in the stacking device according to the embodiment. FIG. [Figure 8] 10 is a plan view showing a second bar holding divided portion of the bar holding portion in the stacking device according to the embodiment. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a front view showing a positioning bar in the stacking device according to the embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 3 is a side view showing a positioning bar in the stacking device according to the embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a positioning bar in the stacking device according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below. As shown in Figures 1, 2, etc., a stacking device 1 for fuel cells FC is a stacking device that stacks a plurality of fuel cells FC, and includes a stack case 10, an adjustment device 20, a stacking hand 30 (see Figure 2, etc.), a measurement device 40, and a control device 90.

[0011] The stack case 10 is configured in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped box having an upper opening 11 where the entire top surface is open. Plate-shaped pin lifters 22 that constitute the adjustment device 20 are arranged horizontally inside the stack case 10. Fuel cells FC can be placed on the upper surfaces of the pin lifters 22. A plurality of horizontally supported plate-shaped rectangular fuel cells FC are inserted through the upper opening 11 of the stack case 10, and the plurality of fuel cells FC are stacked inside the stack case 10.

[0012] The pin lifter 22 is connected to a servo motor that constitutes an adjustment device 20 (see FIG. 2, etc.) provided below the stack case 10. When driven by the servo motor, the pin lifter 22 is configured to be able to move up and down inside the stack case 10. The adjustment device 20 adjusts the height of the stacking surface P, which is the uppermost surface of the stacked fuel cell cells FC, based on the elevation amount calculated by a calculation section of the control device 90.

[0013] An internal case bar 12 is provided inside the stack case 10. The internal case bar 12 is disposed in the horizontal center of the four side walls of the rectangular parallelepiped stack case 10, with its longitudinal direction oriented in the vertical direction. For ease of explanation, the front side wall of the four side walls of the rectangular parallelepiped stack case 10 is not shown in FIG. 1.

[0014] The case internal bar 12, when engaged with the protrusions FCΦ2 formed on each of the four sides of the rectangular fuel cell FC inserted inside the stack case 10 as engaging portions, guides the movement of the fuel cell FC in the vertical direction inside the stack case 10 and positions the fuel cell FC inside the stack case 10.

[0015] A rectangular plate-shaped bar holding portion 60 (see FIG. 4, etc.) that covers the top of the opening for stacking fuel cells FC is fixed to the upper opening 11 of the stack case 10, and a positioning bar 71 is detachably fixed and held by the bar holding portion 60. The in-case bar 12 is fixed to the stack case 10 by engaging a pair of protrusions 122 (see FIG. 5) with guide rails 101 provided on the stack case 10.

[0016] The positioning bar 71 is positioned so that the lower end surface of the positioning bar 71 faces the upper end surface of the case internal bar 12, so as to extend the case internal bar 12 upward. A convex portion 714 (see FIG. 9 , etc.), which will be described later, of the positioning bar 71 fits into a concave portion (not shown) formed in the upper end surface of the case internal bar 12, and the positioning bar 71 is fixed and connected to the case internal bar 12, and is also fixed to the bar holding portion 60. Details of the bar holding portion 60 and the positioning bar 71 will be described later. The fuel cells FC are guided and positioned by the positioning bar 71 and guided to the case internal bar 12, and are then guided by the case internal bar 12 to be stacked on the pin lifters 22 inside the stack case 10.

[0017] The stacking hand 30 transports the fuel cells FC while supporting them horizontally. The stacking hand 30 is configured to insert the transported fuel cells FC from the top opening 11 of the stack case 10 while maintaining the horizontal state, and stack the fuel cells FC one by one on the pin lifters 22 inside the stack case 10.

[0018] The measuring device 40 has a distance sensor with a laser irradiation unit. The distance sensor is capable of measuring the height of the stacking surface P in a non-contact manner without coming into contact with the stacking surface P, which is the top surface of the stacked fuel cell FC. Specifically, the distance sensor is configured to irradiate the stacking surface P with a laser and receive the reflected laser light, thereby detecting the distance between the laser irradiation unit and the stacking surface P and outputting the height of the stacking surface P. The laser light to be irradiated is not particularly limited, but in this embodiment, for example, infrared laser light is used.

[0019] Four measuring devices 40 are provided. For ease of explanation, only two are shown in Fig. 1. The four measuring devices 40 are arranged directly above the stacking surface P, which is the uppermost surface of the stacked fuel cell cells FC, as shown in Fig. 1. The measuring devices 40 are configured to measure and output the height of a portion R of the stacking surface P near the portion of the stacking surface P of the fuel cell FC that is positioned by contacting the four positioning bars 71.

[0020] The control device 90 constitutes a calculation unit and is composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), storage media such as volatile memory, non-volatile memory, etc. The control device 90 is electrically connected to the servo motor of the adjustment device 20, the distance sensor of the measurement device 40, etc., and inputs a signal output from the distance sensor of the measurement device 40 and outputs a signal to the servo motor of the adjustment device 20 to drive the servo motor.

[0021] The control device 90 receives signals including the height values ​​of the stacking surface P output from the distance sensors of the measuring devices 40 and calculates the elevation amount required to maintain the height of the stacking surface P at a predetermined height. Specifically, the control device 90 receives signals including the height values ​​of the stacking surface P from the four measuring devices 40 and calculates the average value. The control device 90 then calculates the difference between the predetermined height and the average value and sets the calculated value as the elevation amount. In other words, the elevation amount refers to the amount by which the pin lifters 22 are moved up and down to adjust the height of the stacking surface P to the predetermined height when the height of the stacking surface P is at a position different from the predetermined position.

[0022] Next, a detailed description will be given of the configuration in which the positioning bar 71 is supported by the bar holding section 60. The bar holding section 60 and the positioning bar 71 constitute a fuel cell FC positioning device that constitutes the stacking device 1 for fuel cells FC.

[0023] 7 and 8, the bar holding portion 60 is configured as a rectangular plate by connecting a pair of L-shaped plate-like first bar holding division portions 61 and second bar holding division portions 62, and is configured so as to be separable into two portions that are spaced apart from each other in the horizontal direction, which is the direction perpendicular to the stacking direction of the fuel cells FC. The bar holding portion 60 is fixed to the upper opening 11 of the stack case 10, as shown in FIGS.

[0024] Specifically, the first bar holding divided part 61 has a connecting protrusion 612 that is half the thickness of the main body part 611, and a connecting end part 613. The second bar holding divided part 62 has a connecting protrusion 622 that is half the thickness of the main body part 621, and a connecting end part 623. The connecting protrusion 612 and the connecting end part 623 are overlapped, and the connecting protrusion 622 and the connecting end part 613 are overlapped, and are fixed to each other with screws 601 (see FIG. 6), thereby connecting the pair of first bar holding divided part 61 and second bar holding divided part 62 to form a rectangular frame-shaped plate.

[0025] Bar fixing portions 63 are fixed to the bar holding portion 60 with screws 634. Four bar fixing portions 63 are fixed, one on each side of the center of the first bar holding divided portion 61 and the second bar holding divided portion 62, each of which has an L-shape. The bar fixing portions 63 have a base portion 631 and an upper extension portion 632.

[0026] The base 631 engages with recesses 615 and 625 formed on the upper surfaces of the first bar holding segment 61 and the second bar holding segment 62, respectively, and is fixed to the first bar holding segment 61 and the second bar holding segment 62. As shown in Fig. 5, the upper extension 632 has a rectangular parallelepiped outer portion 6321 extending upward from an end portion near the center of the rectangular plate-shaped bar holding segment 60, and a triangular portion 6322 molded integrally with the outer portion and protruding toward the center of the rectangular plate-shaped bar holding segment 60 in a triangular shape in a plan view.

[0027] The positioning bar 71 is fixed to the bar fixing portion 63. Specifically, as shown in Figures 9 to 11, the positioning bar 71 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape that is long in the vertical direction. A recess 711 is formed as a quadrangular prism-shaped engagement portion that extends from one end to the other end of the positioning bar 71 in the longitudinal direction at the center position of the side surface of the positioning bar 71, on the center side of the rectangular plate-like bar holding portion 60.

[0028] The portions on both sides of the recess 711 at the upper end of the positioning bar 71 where the recess 711 is not formed have tapered surfaces 712 that taper toward the upper side, as shown in Figures 9 and 10. The tapered surfaces 712 guide protrusions FCΦ2 (see Figure 5) as engaged portions between a pair of recesses FCΦ1 formed at the centers of the four sides that are the peripheral edges of the rectangular fuel cell FC, and are configured to be easily inserted into and engage with the recesses 711 as engaging portions.

[0029] A triangular recess 713 (see FIG. 11) having the same shape as the triangular portion 6322 in a plan view and capable of engaging with the triangular portion 6322 of the bar fixing portion 63 is formed at the center of the side of the positioning bar 71 on the side opposite to the center of the rectangular frame-shaped, plate-like bar holding portion 60. A pair of protrusions 714 is provided at the lower end of the positioning bar 71, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10.

[0030] The pair of protrusions 714 fit into recesses (not shown) formed on the upper end surface of the case internal bar 12, the triangular portion 6322 engages with the triangular recess 713, and the portion of the positioning bar 71 forming the bottom of the recess 711 is fixed to the bar fixing portion 63 by a screw 634 (see FIG. 6) that penetrates horizontally through the bar fixing portion 63, thereby fixing the positioning bar 71 to the first bar holding segment 61, the second bar holding segment 62, and the case internal bar 12. By this fixation, as shown in FIG. 4, the case internal bar engaging portion formed on the case internal bar 12 and having a recess 121 of the same shape as the recess 711 is configured to be continuous with the engaging portion of the positioning bar 71 having the recess 711.

[0031] The stacking hand 30 transports one fuel cell FC to the stacking device 1 having the positioning device configured as described above, and inserts it through the upper opening 11 of the stack case 10 while maintaining a horizontal position.The four convex portions FCΦ2 (see Figure 5) of the fuel cell FC are inserted into and engaged with the concave portions 711 of the four positioning bars 71 one by one, and the fuel cell FC is then guided downward and lowered onto the fuel cell FC while maintaining a horizontal position.

[0032] Then, as the fuel cell FC continues to descend, the protrusions FCΦ2 that were inserted into and engaged with the recesses 711 to position them engage with the recesses 121 of the case inner bars 12, and are positioned, and the fuel cell FC is guided downward and descends while maintaining a horizontal position toward the fuel cell FC. Then, the descending fuel cell FC is placed on the pin lifter 22, or, if a fuel cell FC has already been placed on the pin lifter 22, on the fuel cell FC placed on the pin lifter 22, and the fuel cells FC are stacked.

[0033] Then, after stacking of a predetermined number of fuel cells FC has been completed, the screws 601 and 634 are loosened and removed to release the connection between the pair of first bar holding division part 61 and second bar holding division part 62, and the bar fixing part 63 is removed from the positioning bar 71. Specifically, the bar holding part 60 is separated into the first bar holding division part 61 and the second bar holding division part 62 in a state where they are spaced apart in the horizontal direction, which is perpendicular to the stacking direction of the fuel cells FC, and then removed from the stack case 10 that houses the stacked fuel cells FC.

[0034] Next, the control of the control device 90 to raise and lower the pin lifters 22 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in Fig. 3. First, in step S11, the control device 90 controls the distance sensors of the four measuring devices 40 to measure the height of the stacking surface P. Then, the control by the control device 90 proceeds to step S12.

[0035] Next, in step S12, the control device 90 inputs four values ​​representing height values ​​at four portions R of the stacking surface P from the four measuring devices 40, and calculates the average value of these four values. The control device 90 then calculates the difference between a predetermined value and the average value, and sets this difference value as the elevation amount. Then, control by the control device 90 proceeds to step S13.

[0036] Next, in step S13, the control device 90 controls the servo motor of the adjustment device 20 to adjust the position of the pin lifter 22 so that the height value of the stacking surface P coincides with a predetermined value based on the elevation amount.

[0037] Specifically, when the average height of the stacking surface P is higher than a predetermined value (see "mid-stacking" in FIG. 2), the control device 90 drives the servo motor of the adjustment device 20 to control the servo motor to lower the pin lifters 22 by the amount of elevation. When the average height of the stacking surface P is lower than a predetermined value (see "initial stage of stacking" in FIG. 2), the control device 90 drives the servo motor of the adjustment device 20 to control the servo motor to raise the pin lifters 22 by the amount of elevation. This causes the average height of the stacking surface P to match the predetermined value. Then, the control by the control device 90 proceeds to step S14.

[0038] Next, in step S14, the control device 90 determines whether stacking of the fuel cells FC is complete, that is, whether a predetermined number of fuel cells FC have been stacked. If stacking of the fuel cells FC is complete (S14: YES), the processing by the control device 90 ends.

[0039] If stacking of the fuel cells FC is not complete (S14: NO), the control device 90 controls the stacking hand 30 to transport another fuel cell FC and insert it through the top opening 11 of the stack case 10 while maintaining it in a horizontal position. Then, the control device 90 controls the stacking hand 30 to place it on top of the uppermost fuel cell FC among the fuel cells FC stacked on the pin lifters 22 inside the stack case 10. Then, the control by the control device 90 returns to step S11, and the above process is performed for each of the fuel cells FC to be stacked.

[0040] The effects of the above embodiment are as follows. In this embodiment, the fuel cell FC positioning device that constitutes the fuel cell FC stacking device 1 has a bar holding section 60 for stacking the fuel cell FC, and a positioning bar 71 that is detachably held by the bar holding section 60 and holds the fuel cell FC to be stacked, and the bar holding section 60 is configured to be separable.

[0041] This allows the fuel cells FC to be positioned and held by the positioning bar 71 when stacking. Therefore, the fuel cells FC can be stacked while they are positioned and held, which makes it possible to speed up the stacking of the fuel cells FC. Furthermore, because the positioning bar 71 is detachably held by the separable bar holding portion 60, it is possible to easily separate the bar holding portion 60 after stacking and remove it from the positioning bar 71 and the stacked fuel cells FC. Therefore, it is possible to attach a lid member to the stacked fuel cells FC from above, leaving the positioning bar 71 on the stacked fuel cells FC.

[0042] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the bar holding portion 60 is configured to be separable so as to be separated in a direction perpendicular to the stacking direction of the fuel cells FC. This allows the bar holding portion 60 to be easily removed when it is separated and removed from the stacked fuel cells FC, without the positioning bars 71 remaining on the stacked fuel cells FC interfering with the removal.

[0043] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the positioning bar 71 has recesses 711 as engaging portions that can engage with protrusions FCΦ2 that serve as engaged portions formed on the periphery of the fuel cell FC. This allows the fuel cell FC to be easily positioned by engaging the recesses 711 with the protrusions FCΦ2. Then, while the fuel cell FC remains positioned, it becomes possible to guide the fuel cell FC downward, which is the stacking direction.

[0044] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the positioning bar 71 is connected to and fixed to an internal case bar 12 provided inside the stack case 10 that houses the stacked fuel cells FC, and the internal case bar 12 has a recess 121 as an internal case bar engagement portion that is continuous with the recess 711 that serves as an engagement portion of the positioning bar 71. This makes it possible to maintain a continuous positioned and held state as the fuel cell FC moves down from a state in which the recess 711 engages with the protrusion FCΦ2 to a state in which the recess 121 engages with the protrusion FCΦ2.

[0045] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and includes modifications and improvements within the scope of achieving the object of the present invention. For example, the number and positions of the measuring devices 40 are not limited to those in the present embodiment. Also, although the adjusting device 20 has a servo motor, it is not limited to this and other motors may be used.

[0046] In addition, in this embodiment, the bar holding portion 60 is configured as a rectangular plate by connecting a pair of L-shaped plate-like first bar holding division portions 61 and second bar holding division portions 62, and is configured to be separable into two, but this is not limited to this. For example, the bar holding portion may be separable into three or more portions. In addition, the number and configuration of the positioning bars are not limited to the number and configuration of the positioning bars 71 in this embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0047] 1. Stacking device (positioning device) 10 Stack Case 12 Case inner bar 60 Bar holder 71 Positioning bar 121 Recess 121 (bar engagement portion inside the case) 711 Recess (engagement part) FCΦ2 Convex part (engaged part)

Claims

1. A fuel cell positioning device for positioning a plurality of fuel cell units when stacking the fuel cell units, comprising: a bar holder for stacking the fuel cell units; a positioning bar that is detachably held by the bar holding portion and that holds the stacked fuel cell units, The bar holding portion is configured to be separable, the positioning bar has an engaging portion that can engage with an engaged portion formed on the periphery of the fuel cell, and is connected to and fixed to an inner case bar that is provided inside a stack case that houses the stacked fuel cell cells, The positioning device has a case internal bar engagement portion that is continuous with the engagement portion of the positioning bar.

2. 2. The positioning device according to claim 1, wherein the bar holder is configured to be separable so as to be separated in a direction perpendicular to the stacking direction of the fuel cell units.

Images