JP5286857B2 - Coating head, coating apparatus, and metal separator substrate manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a coating head and a coating apparatus including the coating head.

  As for coating various industrial products, for example, in Patent Document 1, an annular electrodeposition chamber is formed by arranging a coating object between an upper mold and a lower mold, and a circulation pump is operated. The electrodeposition coating liquid is fed into the electrodeposition chamber and a voltage is applied between the positive electrode arranged in the electrodeposition chamber and the negative electrode in contact with the object to be coated. The coating process is performed by stopping the circulation of the electrodeposition coating liquid and collecting the electrodeposition coating liquid in the electrodeposition coating liquid tank, and then operating the blower and heater to send heated air into the electrodeposition chamber. A coating method including a step of drying an object is disclosed.

  Further, Patent Document 2 describes a holding method in which a coating object is held in a slit coat type coating apparatus that applies a coating liquid over the entire surface of a coating object by causing the coating liquid to flow out from the tip of a nozzle by capillary action. A table, a coating head provided on the coating target side of the holding table, a heating unit and a cooling unit provided in parallel with the coating head on the coating target side of the holding table, and provided between the coating head and the heating unit. And providing a shield plate. According to this example, the time lag from when the coating liquid is applied to drying can be shortened to prevent the occurrence of coating unevenness, drying unevenness, sink marks, etc. of the coating liquid, and due to the residual heat of the coating target by the cooling means. It is stated that warpage can be prevented.

JP 2006-80026 JP JP 2005-218969 A

  However, in the method of Patent Document 1, since the coating liquid application process and the drying process are independent, there is a limit to shortening the coating time. In order to shorten the drying process time, it is conceivable to raise the temperature of the heated air sent into the electrodeposition chamber, but in that case, the coating object is distorted by heat, so-called thermal distortion becomes a problem. On the other hand, in the slit coat type coating apparatus of Patent Document 2, the cost is increased because the apparatus is large, and the coating liquid is applied over the entire surface of the coating target by the slit coating nozzle, so that the coating target is coated. It is difficult to selectively apply a specific part. As described above, according to the prior art, in the method of selectively applying a specific part to be coated, there is a limit to shortening the process time without causing thermal distortion of the coated object.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a coating head and a coating apparatus capable of shortening the process time without causing thermal distortion of a coating target in a method of selectively coating a specific portion of the coating target. Is to provide.

The coating head according to the present invention has a coating opening for discharging the coating liquid, and is applied to the coating target in the coating head that discharges the coating liquid while moving relative to the coating target. A heating opening for blowing out a heating medium for drying the coating liquid, and a cooling opening for blowing out a cooling medium for cooling the object to be coated. The cooling openings are arranged along a moving direction relative to the object, and the cooling openings are arranged adjacent to the heating openings.

  In the coating head, the cooling openings are preferably arranged on both sides of the heating openings along a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the application openings and the heating openings are arranged.

  In the coating head, the heating opening and the cooling opening preferably have a rectangular shape having long sides along the direction in which the coating opening and the heating opening are arranged.

A coating apparatus according to the present invention includes the above-described coating head, a holding table that holds a coating target, a drive unit that moves the coating head relative to the holding table, and a control unit. Apply the coating head to the drive unit so that the coating opening is at the head of the heating opening along the direction in which the coating opening and heating opening of the coating head are arranged. Means for moving relative to the target; means for discharging the coating liquid from the coating opening of the coating head while moving the coating head relative to the coating target; In conjunction with this, there are provided means for blowing the heating medium from the heating opening of the coating head, and means for blowing the cooling medium from the cooling opening of the coating head together with blowing of the heating medium.
A method of manufacturing a metal separator substrate according to the present invention is a manufacturing method of applying a primer to a metal separator substrate for a fuel cell, which is an object to be coated, using the coating apparatus, A process of forming a coating line by discharging a primer solution from the coating opening of the coating head while moving it relative to the metal separator substrate, and blowing a heating medium from the heating opening of the coating head. And a step of cooling the metal separator substrate by blowing the cooling medium from the cooling opening of the coating head together with blowing the heating medium.

The coating head according to the present invention cools the coating object , the coating opening for discharging the coating liquid, the heating opening for blowing a heating medium for drying the coating liquid applied to the coating object, and the coating object. A cooling opening for blowing out the cooling medium, and the coating opening and the heating opening are disposed along a relative movement direction with respect to the coating object, and the cooling opening is adjacent to the heating opening. Therefore, it is possible to perform the heat treatment for discharging the coating liquid and drying the coating liquid by using one coating head. In addition, the occurrence of thermal distortion of the object to be coated can also be suppressed. Therefore, it is possible to selectively apply a specific portion to be coated using one coating head, and it is possible to shorten the process time without causing thermal distortion of the coating target.

  Further, in the coating head, the cooling openings are arranged on both sides of the heating opening along the direction orthogonal to the direction in which the coating opening and the heating opening are arranged. Propagation over a wide area of the object can be prevented, and the occurrence of thermal distortion of the object to be coated can be more effectively suppressed.

  Further, in the coating head, the heating opening and the cooling opening have a rectangular shape having a long side along the direction in which the coating opening and the heating opening are arranged. Thus, the heating temperature can be lowered to prevent a rapid temperature increase of the coating object. Accordingly, it is possible to more effectively suppress the occurrence of thermal distortion of the coating target.

The coating apparatus according to the present invention is such that the coating opening is at the head of the heating opening along the direction in which the coating opening and the heating opening of the coating head are arranged with respect to the drive unit. The coating liquid is discharged from the coating head coating opening while moving the coating head relative to the coating target, and the heating medium is blown out from the coating head heating opening in conjunction with the coating liquid discharge. Since the cooling medium is blown from the cooling opening of the coating head together with the blowing of the heating medium, the discharge of the coating liquid and the heat treatment can be performed in conjunction with each other to shorten the process time. Moreover, the time lag between both processes can be eliminated by performing a cooling process together with the heat treatment. Therefore, in the method of selectively applying a specific portion to be coated, it is possible to shorten the process time without causing thermal distortion of the coating object.
Moreover, according to the method of manufacturing a metal separator substrate using the coating apparatus according to the present invention, as described above, the discharge of the coating liquid and the heat treatment can be performed in conjunction with each other, thereby shortening the process time. The time lag between the two processes can be eliminated by performing the cooling process together with the heating process. That is, the process time can be shortened without causing thermal distortion of the metal separator substrate.

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the coating target is described as a metal separator substrate that is a constituent material of the fuel cell, but the coating target may be a substrate other than this, such as an electrode material or a printed wiring board. The coating solution is described as a primer solution, but may be various solutions such as various paints, adhesives, sealing agents, and coating agents. The primer solution is an organic solvent solution of an adhesive primer used for improving adhesiveness.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the coating apparatus 10. The coating apparatus 10 includes a coating head 12, a coating liquid supply unit 14, a heating medium supply unit 16, a cooling medium supply unit 18, a drive unit 20, a control unit 22, and a holding table 24. Is done. Although not a component of the coating apparatus 10, FIG. 1 illustrates a metal separator substrate 26 as a coating target and a coating line 29 formed on the metal separator substrate 26. The coating line 29 is a linear primer line having a width, and is a line that is dried by heating and does not contain an organic solvent. The coating line 28 is a line made of a primer solution containing an organic solvent.

  The metal separator substrate 26 is a thin plate made of a metal material, and has a fuel gas, an oxidizing gas, a refrigerant flow path, and the like formed in the center, and is used by being laminated with a membrane electrode assembly (MEA). Is. The metal separator substrate 26 and the MEA are joined by applying an adhesive to the peripheral edge portion of the metal separator substrate, but a primer is generally applied to improve the adhesion.

  The coating head 12 is a member having a function of discharging a primer solution, blowing a heating medium, and blowing a cooling process to a specific part on the metal separator substrate 26. Here, the specific part means a part where the primer is to be applied and a part where the adhesive is applied and the metal separator substrate 26 and the MEA are joined. In FIG. 1, this specific portion is shown as a joint portion that is written in an annular shape with a certain width at the peripheral end portion of the metal separator substrate 26.

  The coating head 12 is provided with a coating opening 30, a heating opening 32, and a cooling opening 34. The coating opening 30 is a portion having a function of discharging a primer solution to a specific portion on the metal separator substrate 26 to form a coating line 28 (see FIG. 5). The heating opening 32 is a part having a function of blowing the heating medium to the coating line 28 formed on the metal separator substrate 26 and drying the coating line 28. The cooling opening 34 is a part having a function of removing a residual heat due to the heat treatment by blowing a cooling medium to a place adjacent to the place to be heat-treated on the metal separator substrate 26. The arrangement of the coating opening 30, the heating opening 32, and the cooling opening 34 will be described later.

  The coating opening 30 is connected to the coating liquid supply unit 14 described later, the heating opening 32 is connected to the heating medium supply unit 16 described later, and the cooling opening 34 is connected to the cooling medium supply unit 18 described later. The piping for connection is not particularly limited, but the connection piping between the coating opening 30 and the coating liquid supply unit 14 requires solvent resistance and high pressure resistance, so that the solvent resistance of the reinforcement network is covered. It is preferable to use a high resin tube or SUS piping. Since the connection piping between the heating opening 32 and the heating medium supply unit 16 requires heat resistance, it is preferable to use a resin tube with high heat resistance, SUS piping, or the like.

  The coating liquid supply unit 14 is a device having a function of starting or stopping the supply of the primer solution that is the coating liquid to the coating opening 30 of the coating head 12 under the control of the control unit 22. . Specifically, the coating liquid supply unit 14 includes a coating liquid tank, a high-pressure coating liquid pump, a compressor, an air regulating valve, a paint regulating valve, a connection pipe thereof, and the like, and is connected to the control unit 22 by a control cable. . Some of these components, for example, a coating liquid tank or the like may be placed externally or supplied from the outside. Examples of the high-pressure coating liquid pump include a plunger pump and a diaphragm pump. The configuration of the coating liquid supply unit 14 described above is an airless discharge method, but the discharge method is not particularly limited as long as it is performed using the coating head 12, and an air spray method, low-pressure atomization is performed. Spray coating, electrostatic coating, or the like may be used.

  The heating medium supply unit 16 is a device having a function of starting or stopping the supply of the heating medium to the heating opening 30 of the coating head 12 under the control of the control unit 22. Specifically, the heating medium supply unit 16 includes a heater such as a heating wire, a blower, a power supply unit, a connection pipe thereof, and the like, and is connected to the control unit 22 by a control cable. As the heating medium, a heated gas (air, nitrogen, etc.) is used exclusively.

  The cooling medium supply unit 18 is a device having a function of starting or stopping the supply of the cooling medium to the cooling openings 32 of the coating head 12 under the control of the control unit 22. Specifically, the cooling medium supply unit 18 includes a cooler having fins and the like, a blower, a refrigerant supply unit, a connection pipe thereof, and the like, and is connected to the control unit 22 by a control cable. As the cooling medium, a cooled gas (air, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, etc.), a sublimable solid (dry ice, etc.) and a cooled liquid (liquid nitrogen, etc.) can be used.

  The holding table 24 is a member having a function for holding the metal separator substrate 26 to be coated. The holding table 24 is not particularly limited as long as the object to be coated can be held, and may be a movable XY table, a belt conveyor, or the like.

  The drive unit 20 is a device having a function of moving the coating head 12 relative to the metal separator substrate 26 held by the holding table 24 under the control of the control unit 22. Specifically, the drive unit 20 includes a drive motor, a movable arm, a cylinder, an encoder, a connection cable thereof, and the like, and is connected to the control unit 22 by a control cable.

  As described above, since the coating head 12 is moved relative to the metal separator substrate 26 held by the holding table 24 by the driving unit 20, the coating head 12 is supported by the movable arm and Provided on top.

  The control unit 22 is a device having a function of uniformly controlling the operation of each element of the coating apparatus 10. Specifically, an instruction is given to the drive unit 20, the coating liquid supply unit 14, the heating medium supply unit 16, and the cooling medium supply unit 18, and the primer solution is moved while moving the coating head 12 in a predetermined movement pattern. , Discharge of the heating medium, and blowing of the cooling medium. The control unit 22 is a device that includes a CPU, an input device used for inputting coating processing parameters, a recording device that stores the input coating parameters and a coating processing program, and an input / output port. Can be configured with a computer. The control unit 22 includes a coating head moving module 60, a coating liquid discharge module 62, a heat processing module 64, a cooling processing module 66, and an end determination module 68. Each of these functions can be realized by executing software, and specifically, can be realized by executing a coating program stored in a storage device. Further, part or all of the functions may be realized by hardware.

  Here, the arrangement of the coating opening 30, the heating opening 32, and the cooling opening 34 of the coating head 12 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 shows a four-sided view of the coating head 12. As shown in FIG. 2, the coating opening 30 and the heating opening 32 are arranged along the direction in which the coating head 12 moves indicated by an arrow. Thus, since the coating opening 30 and the heating opening 32 are arranged along the moving direction, it is possible to form the coating line 28 and heat and dry the coating line 28 using one coating head 12. It becomes possible. The cooling openings 26 are arranged on both sides of the heating openings along a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the coating openings 30 and the heating openings 32 are arranged. Since the cooling openings 34 are arranged on both sides of the heating opening 32 in this way, it is possible to form the coating line 29 and remove the residual heat by the heat treatment using one coating head 12. Become. The arrangement relationship between the coating opening 30 and the heating opening 32 is close from the viewpoint of shortening the process time by interlocking the formation of the coating line 28 and the heating and drying of the coating line 28. It is preferable. For example, before the primer solution discharged from the coating opening 30 is applied onto the metal separator substrate 26, the organic solvent contained in the primer solution is disposed at a distance that does not volatilize.

  FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the coating head 12. The moving direction of the coating head 12 is indicated by an arrow. The shape of the heating opening and the cooling opening shows a coating head 12 having a rectangular shape having a long side along the direction in which the coating opening and the heating opening are arranged. With such an opening shape, the heat treatment time and the cooling treatment time can be extended, and the heating temperature can be lowered to prevent a rapid increase in temperature of the coating object. Accordingly, it is possible to more effectively suppress the occurrence of thermal distortion of the coating target.

  The operation of the coating apparatus 10 having the above configuration, particularly the function of the control unit 22, will be described in detail below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a coating procedure of the coating apparatus 10, and each procedure corresponds to each processing procedure of the coating program.

  First, the coating head 12 is set at the primer solution discharge start position on the metal separator substrate 26 held on the holding table in accordance with the recording information of the coating processing parameter (S10).

  The coating head 12 moves on the specific part of the metal separator substrate 26 to which the primer is applied in accordance with the recording information of the coating processing parameter (S12). This procedure is executed by the function of the coating head moving module 60 of the control unit 22.

  The coating head 12 discharges the primer solution to a specific part of the metal separator substrate 26 while moving (S14). This procedure is executed by the function of the coating liquid discharge module 62 of the control unit 22. The primer solution is discharged from the coating opening 30 of the coating head 12, and the primer solution is supplied to the coating opening 30 from the coating liquid supply unit 14 based on the recording information of the coating processing parameters. . In S <b> 14, a coating line 28 is formed at a specific portion on the metal separator substrate 26.

  Since the formed application line 28 still contains an organic solvent, it must be evaporated and dried. While moving, the coating head 12 blows the heating medium to the coating line 28 in conjunction with the discharge of the primer solution (S16). This procedure is executed by the function of the heat treatment module 64 of the control unit 22. The heating medium is blown out from the heating opening 32, and an amount of the heating medium based on the recording information of the coating process parameter is supplied from the heating medium supply unit 16 to the heating opening 32. In S14, the coating line 28 is heated and dried to form a primer coating line 29.

  In S16, since the metal separator substrate 26 is heated, it is necessary to eliminate the residual heat and prevent the metal separator substrate 26 from generating thermal distortion. While moving, the coating head 12 blows the heating medium in conjunction with the discharge of the primer solution and blows the cooling medium to both sides of the heated portion on the metal separator substrate 26 (S18). . This procedure is executed by the function of the cooling processing module 66 of the control unit 22. The cooling medium is blown out from the cooling opening 34, and an amount of the cooling medium based on the recording information of the coating process parameter is supplied from the cooling medium supply unit 18 to the cooling opening 34. As described above, since the peripheral portion of the heated portion is cooled, the remaining heat can be eliminated and the occurrence of thermal distortion of the metal separator substrate 26 can be prevented.

  If a predetermined coating line 29 is formed for all specific parts on the metal separator substrate 26 by the above procedure, the coating is terminated. On the other hand, when the specific part which should form the coating line 29 remains, it returns to S12 and repeats the procedure from S12 to S18 (S20). This procedure is executed by the function of the end determination module 68 of the control unit 22.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which a primer is applied to the metal separator substrate 26, and in particular, a relationship between each opening of the coating head 12 and the coating line 28 and the like. In addition, the location 36 which the cooling medium on the metal separator board | substrate 26 which cannot be confirmed with the naked eye is sprayed and cooled is shown. As described above, the coating line 28 is formed on the metal separator substrate 26 in S14, and the coating line 29 is formed in S16. On both sides of the coating line 29, there are locations 36 where the cooling medium is sprayed and cooled in S18. The coating line 29 and the part 36 to be cooled are formed simultaneously. That is, it means that S16 and S18 are performed simultaneously.

  In the above description, the heating opening 32 has been described as blowing out the heating medium supplied from the heating medium supply unit 16, but the heating opening 32 may have a function of heating as such, for example, A heater such as a heating wire or a semiconductor heating element may be installed in the heating opening 32. In that case, the heating medium supply unit 16 includes a power supply unit that supplies electric power to a heater provided in the heating opening 32. Similarly, the cooling opening 34 has been described as spraying the cooling medium supplied from the cooling medium supply unit 16, but the cooling opening 34 may have a function of cooling itself, for example, A cooling device such as a semiconductor cooling element may be installed in the cooling opening 34. In this case, the cooling medium supply unit 18 includes a power supply unit that supplies electric power to a cooler provided in the heating opening 34.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the coating apparatus in embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is the front view of the coating head in embodiment which concerns on this invention, a top view, a bottom view, and a right view. It is a bottom view of the coating head in the embodiment according to the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the coating procedure in embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows a mode that a primer is applied with respect to the metal separator board | substrate in embodiment which concerns on this invention, especially the relationship between each opening of a coating head, a coating line, etc. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Coating apparatus, 12 Coating head, 14 Coating liquid supply part, 16 Heating medium supply part, 18 Cooling medium supply part, 20 Drive part, 22 Control part, 24 Holding table, 26 Metal separator board, 28 Coating line, 29 Coating line, 30 coating opening, 32 heating opening, 34 cooling opening, 36 location to be cooled, 60 coating head moving module, 62 coating liquid discharge module, 64 heating processing module, 66 cooling processing module, 68 end Judgment module.

Claims (5)

In the coating head that has a coating opening for discharging the coating liquid and discharges the coating liquid while moving relative to the coating target,
A heating opening for blowing out a heating medium for drying the coating liquid applied to the coating object ;
A cooling opening for blowing out a cooling medium for cooling the coating object ;
Have
The opening for application and the opening for heating are arranged along the moving direction relative to the object to be coated,
The coating head, wherein the cooling opening is disposed adjacent to the heating opening. The coating head according to claim 1,
The coating head, wherein the cooling openings are arranged on both sides of the heating opening along a direction orthogonal to a direction in which the coating opening and the heating opening are arranged. The coating head according to claim 1 or 2,
The heating opening and the cooling opening have a rectangular shape having a long side along a direction in which the coating opening and the heating opening are arranged. The coating head according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
A holding table for holding the coating object;
A drive unit for moving the coating head relative to the holding table;
A control unit;
With
The control unit
Apply the coating head to the coating target so that the coating opening is at the top of the heating opening along the direction in which the coating opening and heating opening of the coating head are arranged. Means for relatively moving,
Means for discharging the coating liquid from the coating opening of the coating head while moving the coating head relative to the coating target;
In conjunction with the discharge of the coating liquid, means for blowing the heating medium from the heating opening of the coating head,
Means for blowing out the cooling medium from the cooling opening of the coating head together with blowing out the heating medium;
The coating apparatus characterized by having. A method for producing a metal separator substrate, wherein a primer is applied to a metal separator substrate for a fuel cell that is a coating object using the coating apparatus according to claim 4,
Forming a coating line by discharging a primer solution from the coating opening of the coating head while moving the coating head relative to the metal separator substrate;
A step of blowing the heating medium from the heating opening of the coating head and drying the coating line;
A step of cooling the metal separator substrate by blowing the cooling medium from the cooling opening of the coating head together with blowing the heating medium,
The manufacturing method characterized by including.

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