Nissan Motor Company Limited

Takayuki Terasaki

Norifumi Horibe

Kenichi Toyoshima

Masaya Yamamoto

Kei Ono

Masahiro Usuda

Masaaki Nakata

A film member stacking device includes a block having a bottom surface portion provided with an outer end configured to contact with an inner end of an opening of a first film member. The outer end of the bottom surface portion of the block is larger than the inner end of the opening of the first film member. The film member stacking device further includes a member configured to uniformly force the first film member in a direction of the bottom surface portion of the block. The inner end of the opening of the first film member is positioned by the block, and the first film member is stacked on a second film member. The block is configured to resist deformation upon contact between the outer end of the bottom surface portion of the block and the inner end of the opening of the first film member.

Film member stacking device and method of the same

A holding apparatus for a fuel cell electrolyte membrane includes a support having a flat surface part which supports an electrolyte membrane on which catalyst layers are disposed, and which constitutes a membrane electrode assembly. The flat surface part has a frame-shaped recess positioned outside an outer circumference of the catalyst layers, and the recess is connected to an air-sucking section, and attracts the electrolyte membrane by sucking air in the recess.

Holding apparatus for fuel cell electrolyte membrane

A transferring method for transferring a catalyst layer to a desired position on an electrolyte film includes the following processes. A multi-layer body is formed by stacking base materials and an electrolyte film on one another such that catalyst layers formed on the base materials are brought into contact with the electrolyte film. The multi-layer body is pressed from a stacking direction. The multi-layer body is heated to a first temperature. The heating is stopped after a predetermined time passes from when pressing is started. The pressing is stopped when the temperature of the catalyst layers becomes a second temperature or lower, which is a temperature lower than the first temperature, after the heating is stopped.

Method of transferring catalyst layer and jig used therefor

[Object] To provide a coating apparatus that can prevent distortion of the shape of a coating area on a sheet member. [Solution Means] A coating apparatusincludes a suction roller peripheral wall(base plate) on which a flexible electrolyte membraneshaped like a thin film (sheet member) is placed, drawing unitthat draws the electrolyte membrane on the suction roller peripheral wall, and a coating mechanismthat applies catalyst ink(material) onto the electrolyte membrane drawn on the suction roller peripheral wall by the drawing unit. The electrolyte membrane has, in a range from a center portion to a portion on an inner side of an outer peripheral edge, a coating areawhere the catalyst ink is applied. The drawing unit draws the electrolyte membrane on the suction roller peripheral wall in the coating area where the catalyst ink is applied, and also draws the electrolyte membrane on the suction roller peripheral wallin a rangeextending outward beyond the coating area.

Coating apparatus for applying coating material onto sheet member

A holding apparatus for a fuel cell gasket has a support having a flat surface part which attracts the gasket and serves to stack a frame-shaped gasket on an outer circumference of an electrolyte membrane or a gas diffusion layer constituting a membrane electrode assembly on which a catalyst layer is disposed. The flat surface part has a frame-shaped recess corresponding to a shape of the gasket, and the recess is connected to an air-sucking section, with the gasket attracted by sucking air in the recess.

Holding apparatus for fuel cell gasket

A bonded sheet to be applied to a membrane electrode assembly includes gaskets serving as a first sheet member and an electrolyte membrane serving as a second sheet member stacked on the gaskets. The gaskets each include a first bonded portion where grooves provided in a sheet surface direction at least partly face sheet end portions, and a second bonded portion having no groove. The electrolyte membrane is stacked on the gaskets in the first bonded portion and the second bonded portion.

Bonded sheet and sheet-member bonding method

A catalytic ink preparation method comprises mixing a first ion conducting body and a catalyst, preparing a first ink, and concentrating the first ink. The method is characterized by further comprising a step of adding a second ion conducting body to the concentrated first ink. With such a catalytic ink preparation method, the quantity of solvent in the first ion conducting body is reduced by concentration. In other words, the first ion conducting body adheres to the catalyst, and re-dissolution is not prone to occurring with the first ion conducting body when the second ion conducting body is added. Thus, it is possible to efficiently manufacture an electrode catalyst in which a significant part of the surface of the catalyst is covered with two ionomer layers, and there is almost no portion which is covered with only one ionomer layer.

Catalytic ink preparation method

A membrane electrode assembly includes an electrolyte membran and frame-shaped first and second gaskets disposed on both surfaces of the electrolyte membrane. The first and second gaskets have overlapping portions which are positioned at a peripheral edge of the electrolyte membrane and face to the electrolyte membrane, and bonding portions which are positioned outside of the peripheral edge and bonded to each other. The overlapping portions and the bonding portions have through holes which extend in a thickness direction of the electrolyte membrane. An aperture ratio of the through holes of the overlapping portions is greater than an aperture ratio of the through holes of the bonding.

Membrane electrode assembly

A device includes a housing having a hollow center and a case having a hollow fiber membrane. The case is at least partially located inside the hollow center of the housing. A first gas flow flows to the hollow center through an introducing pipe and exits the housing via a discharging pipe. A second gas flow flows through the hollow fiber membrane in the case. The first gas flow enters the case through an inflow opening in the case from a gap between a wall of the housing and the case and exits the case through a discharging opening in the case to the gap between the wall of the housing and the case. The introducing pipe is located adjacent to a dividing wall. The device provides a humidifying property by transferring moisture from the first gas flow to the second gas flow or vice versa.

Growing community of inventors

Yokohama, Japan

Takayuki Terasaki