JPH11197864A - Welding equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide a welding device for performing positioning without using a clamp jig and performing welding between a roof side frame of a body and a roof panel. SOLUTION: A roof panel 22 is brought into contact with a part of a roof side frame 21 to thereby form the roof side frame 21.
Welding device 1 that positions the roof panel 22 and the roof panel 22 and welds the roof side frame 21 and the roof panel 22
And the roof panel 22 is attached to the roof side frame 2.
1 and a roller 6 for pressing the roof panel 22 in a direction in which the roof panel 22 abuts against a part of the roof side frame 21, and a laser welding machine 5 for welding the roof side frame 21 and the roof panel 22 in the pressed state.
And a welding apparatus comprising:

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a welding device,
For example, the present invention relates to a welding device used in a step of welding and assembling a roof portion and a body portion in assembling an automobile body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art One of the assembling processes of an automobile body includes a process of assembling a roof panel to a roof side frame of a body by welding. Hereinafter, this step is referred to as a roof welding step.

Conventionally, as a welding apparatus used in the roof welding process, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-90264 discloses
An apparatus configuration for performing laser welding by pressing a roof panel against a roof side frame is disclosed. In this apparatus, a roller is moved while pressing a roof panel against a roof side frame, and welding is performed by a laser welding machine.

[0004]

However, even when welding is performed while the roof panel is pressed against the roof side frame by the rollers, it is necessary to position the roof panel at a predetermined position on the roof side frame. . Specifically, it is necessary to clamp the roof panel with a part of the roof panel abutting against the abutting portion provided on the roof side frame.

[0005] For this reason, when the laser beam is moved along the roof side frame during laser welding, the clamp jig becomes an obstacle.
There is a problem that the clamp jig is once removed, the vicinity thereof is re-clamped, welding is restarted, and a time loss occurs.

Further, since the roof side frame and the roof panel are fixed by the clamp jig, it is difficult to determine whether the roof side frame and the roof panel of the body are securely welded until the clamp jig is removed. However, there is also a problem that it is necessary to confirm whether or not the welding is performed reliably after removing all the clamp jigs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a welding apparatus which can position a roof side frame of a body and a roof panel without using a clamp jig, thereby enabling reliable welding. Another object of the present invention is to provide a welding apparatus capable of confirming a welding state during execution of welding.

[0008]

The object of the present invention is achieved by the following means.

(1) A part of the second member is abutted against an abutting portion provided on the first member to position the first member and the second member. A welding device for performing welding of a second member, wherein the second member is pressed against the first member, and the second member is pressed against a contact portion of the first member. A welding apparatus comprising: pressing means for pressing; and welding means for welding the first member and the second member while being pressed by the pressing means.

[0010] (2) The pressing means is configured to rotate and travel along a welding portion of the welding machine and have a certain angle with respect to the rotational traveling direction, and to control the second member by the roller. Pressurizing means for pressing the roller to press the roller against the first member.

(3) At least two rollers are provided so as to sandwich a portion to be welded by the welding machine with respect to the rotational traveling direction. A welding apparatus having the angle so as to have a force in a direction in which the second member abuts against the abutting portion of the first member.

(4) Among the at least two rollers, the roller located after the welding portion with respect to the rotational traveling direction is a direction in which the second member abuts against the abutting portion of the first member. A welding device having the angle so as to have a force in a direction opposite to that of the welding device.

(5) The welding device, wherein the roller has an uneven surface.

[0014]

According to the present invention described above, the following effects can be obtained for each claim.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the second member is pressed against the first member by the pressing means, and the second member is abutted against the abutting portion provided on the first member. Since the first member and the second member are positioned in the same direction and are welded by a welding machine, there is no need for a clamp jig for holding the first member and the second member in a positioned state as in the related art. This eliminates the work of replacing the clamp jig with the work piece, thereby reducing the working time.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the roller is pressed by the pressing means to press the second member against the first member, and the roller has a certain angle. Therefore, the rotation of the roller makes it possible to apply a lateral force to the second member with respect to the rotational traveling direction. For example, the lateral force is applied to the second member.
The second member abuts against the abutting portion of the first member by making the roller have an angle so as to be in the direction in which the member abuts against the abutting portion of the first member. Positioning can be automatically performed by rotation of the roller, and conversely, by giving an angle to the roller so that the lateral force is in a direction to separate the second member from the first member, It is possible to determine whether or not the second member and the first member are securely welded after welding.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, at least two rollers are provided so as to sandwich the welding portion, and among the rollers, the roller located in front of the welding portion in the rotational traveling direction connects the second member to the first member. The second member is brought into contact with the first member immediately before the portion to be welded, so that the second member has an angle so as to have a force in the direction in which the member abuts against the abutting portion. Positioning can be reliably performed by rotation of the roller.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, of the two rollers, the roller located after the welding portion in the rotational traveling direction abuts the second member against the abutting portion of the first member. Since the roller has an angle having a force in a direction opposite to the direction, the rotation of the roller applies a force in a direction separating the second member from the first member. It can be determined whether or not and the first member are securely welded.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the unevenness is provided on the surface of the roller to prevent the roller from slipping, and further, the indentation is formed on the welded portion by the unevenness, thereby forming the welding step. In the process of sealing the part,
When the seal member is placed on the welding site, it is possible to prevent the seal member from shifting.

[0020]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.
An embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 1 is a view showing an external configuration of a welding apparatus to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a main part of the welding apparatus, and FIG. 3 is a roller provided in the apparatus. It is a figure for explaining arrangement of.

As shown in the drawing, a welding apparatus 1 to which the present invention is applied is attached to a distal end of a robot arm 50 and supports a welding apparatus 1 as a whole. Air cylinder 3 as pressure means
A movable member 4 vertically moved by the air cylinder 3,
The laser welding machine 5 fixed to the movable member 4 and the pressure of the air cylinder 3 press the roof panel 22 as the second member against the roof side frame 21 of the body as the first member. Rollers 6 and 7 which together form a pressing means, and a roller shaft 8 which connects the rollers 6 and 7 to the movable member 4 and rotatably supports it.

The support member 2 is connected to the end of the robot arm 50 by a joint, and the air cylinder 3
And has sufficient strength to withstand when the roof panel 22 is pressed by the rollers 6 and 7 supported by the movable member 4 by an appropriate pressure of the air cylinder 3.

The air cylinder 3 is controlled by a controller (not shown) so that the air pressure is controlled so as to be a constant pressure. 21 (therefore, the delivery length of the air cylinder piston portion changes along the shape of the roof side frame or the like). As a result, the roof panel 22 is always pressed against the roof side frame 21 by the rollers 6 and 7 with a constant pressure. In addition,
An oil cylinder may be used instead of the air cylinder.

The movable member 4 includes rollers 6, 7, a roller shaft 8.
The laser welding machine 5 is fixed and the laser beam is always focused on a fixed position with the movement of the movable member 4.

The laser welding machine 5 has a laser transmitter, a condenser lens, and the like (both not shown), as in a normal laser welding machine, and collects a laser beam 10 to form a welding portion (this embodiment). Then, the roof side frame 21 and the roof panel 2
Weld by melting 2).

The rollers 6 and 7 are, as shown in FIG.
The front roller 6 is sandwiched between the laser spot 11 (welding portion) of the welding machine in the traveling direction of the welding device 1 (arrow a in the figure).
And a rear roller 7, each of which is supported by a roller shaft 8. The rollers 6 and 7 rotate and travel in accordance with the movement of the robot arm 50 in the groove 23 at the joint between the roof side frame 21 and the roof panel 22. The laser beam 10 from the laser welding machine 5 is condensed between the front roller 6 and the rear roller 7 to form a laser spot 11 in the groove 23. The joint with the roof panel 22 is continuously welded.

The rollers 6 and 7 are supported by a roller shaft 8 so as to have a constant angle α with respect to the traveling direction a.

In the front roller 6, this angle α generates a force P1 for moving the roof panel 22 inward as the front roller 6 rotates. Thereby, as shown in FIG.
A part 25 of the roof panel 22 comes into contact with an abutting portion 24 of the roof side frame 21 provided for positioning inside the groove 23, so that the roof panel 22 is automatically positioned.

On the other hand, the rear roller 7 generates a force P2 for moving the roof panel 22 outward with the rotation of the roller 7 due to the angle α. Immediately after welding, the force P2 is a force for separating the roof panel 22 from the roof side frame 21, and if there is a defect in the welding state, the roof panel 22 is displaced by the outward force. Welding defects can be detected during. In other words, the welding state can be checked during the execution of the welding by the rollers 7 thereafter. Although the inclination of the front roller 6 and the rear roller 7 is the same angle α in the present embodiment, the angle may be different for the rollers 6 and 7.

The surfaces of the rollers 6 and 7 are provided with fine file-like irregularities. The unevenness prevents the rollers 6 and 7 from slipping, so that the above-described inward or outward force is sufficiently applied to the roof panel 22.
After the welding, fine indentations are formed on the surface of the roof panel 22 at the welding site, leaving indentations at the welding site after the rollers 6 and 7 have passed. This prevents the sealing material from shifting during the step of sealing the welding site after the roof welding step. In addition, the sealing step of the welded portion is performed as shown in FIG.
As shown in (2), this is a step of placing the sealing material 30 of the heated melt type on the welding portion 31 and melting the sealing material 30 at the time of baking in the painting process to seal the welding portion.

As described above, the welding apparatus to which the present invention is applied eliminates the need for a clamp jig for maintaining the positions of the roof panel and the roof side frame as in the conventional case. Replacement of jigs and the work of positioning the roof panel, which is the previous stage, can be omitted, and work for checking the condition after welding is not required, greatly reducing the work time of the roof welding process. can do.

Although the present invention is suitably used for welding a vehicle body roof as described above, the present invention is not limited to this.
Even when a portion clamped by a conventional clamp jig is welded, it can be used in the same manner as the above-described body roof welding without using this clamp jig.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a drawing showing an external configuration of a welding device to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a main part of the welding device.

FIG. 3 is a drawing for explaining an arrangement of rollers provided in the welding device.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a structure of a joint portion between a roof panel and a roof side frame and a roller in this portion.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining a sealing step.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... welding apparatus, 2 ... support member, 3 ... air cylinder, 4 ... movable member, 5 ... laser welding machine, 6 ... front roller, 7 ... rear roller.

Claims (5)

[Claims] An abutting portion provided on the first member for abutting a part of the second member to position the first member and the second member; A welding device for welding the second member, wherein the second member is pressed against the first member and the second member is pressed in a direction in which the second member is pressed against a contact portion of the first member. A welding apparatus comprising: pressing means; and welding means for welding the first member and the second member while being pressed by the pressing means. 2. The roller, wherein the pressing means rotates along a welding portion of the welding machine and has a fixed angle with respect to the rotation direction, and the second member is rotated by the roller. The welding apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a pressing unit that presses the roller to press the roller against the member. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the roller includes at least two rollers sandwiching a welding portion of the welding machine with respect to the rotational traveling direction. 3. The welding apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the angle is such that the second member has a force in a direction in which the second member abuts against the abutting portion of the first member. 4. A roller which is located after a welding portion with respect to a rotational traveling direction among the at least two rollers provided in a direction in which the second member abuts against an abutting portion of the first member. 4. The welding apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said angle has the angle so as to have a force in the opposite direction. 5. The welding apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the roller has irregularities on its surface.