JP2000007455A - Ceramic structure joining apparatus and method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a ceramic structure joining apparatus excellent in workability and productivity and capable of securing high joining strength on a joining part. SOLUTION: This joining apparatus for joining the ceramic structures 1 with a ceramic-made adhesive layer is provided with a supporting fixture 13 and a vibration imparting means 15. The supporting fixture 13 supports plural ceramic structures 1 with a ceramic-made adhesive interposed between the adhesive surfaces S1 to be stuck. The vibration imparting means 15 containing a vibrator gives vibration to the ceramic structures 1 supported by the supporting fixture 13 while applying pressing force.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for joining ceramic structures.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A honeycomb filter made of a ceramic sintered body is provided on an exhaust path of a diesel engine mounted on an automobile as a means for purifying exhaust gas. Conventionally, this type of honeycomb filter has often been manufactured using a ceramic material such as cordierite. However, in recent years, a honeycomb filter using silicon carbide or the like which is extremely excellent in heat resistance as a forming material has been proposed.

[0003] While silicon carbide sintered bodies are extremely excellent in heat resistance, they have the disadvantage of being weak in thermal shock.
Therefore, in the case of a large product, cracks are likely to occur due to stress caused by a temperature gradient due to heating.

As a countermeasure for overcoming this drawback, a large number of prismatic silicon carbide honeycomb filter pieces are prepared in advance, and their outer peripheral surfaces are bonded to each other using an adhesive. It is thought that you should get. In this case, it is considered that a ceramic adhesive containing silicon carbide may be used as in the case of the honeycomb filter pieces.

[0005]

However, a dedicated device for performing the above-mentioned joining operation using a ceramic adhesive has not yet been embodied yet. For this reason, it is necessary at present to manually adhere the bonded surfaces of the honeycomb filter pieces to which the adhesive has been applied, by pressing the pieces together in this state, and pressing the pieces in this state. Therefore, a problem that complicated work is inevitable and productivity is naturally lowered has been expected.

It is also conceivable that a high thixotropy adhesive is used as the ceramic adhesive. In this case, when the pressing force is applied to bond the honeycomb filter pieces to each other, the adhesive does not sufficiently spread to the surface to be bonded of the pieces and the unevenness tends to occur. Therefore, it is expected that a high strength cannot be obtained at the joint between the two.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a joining apparatus for a ceramic structure which is excellent in workability and productivity and can ensure high joining strength at a joining portion. And a joining method.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for joining a ceramic structure with a ceramic adhesive.
A support jig for supporting a plurality of ceramic structures with the ceramic adhesive interposed between the surfaces to be bonded,
The gist of the present invention is a bonding apparatus for a ceramic structure, comprising: a vibration applying means for applying vibration while applying a pressing force to the ceramic structure supported by the support jig.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the vibration applying means can simultaneously bond two or more sets of surfaces to be bonded by applying a pressing force in one direction.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the vibration applying means applies the vibration in a direction in which the surfaces to be bonded are shifted from each other. The invention according to claim 4 is a method for joining a ceramic structure with a ceramic adhesive, wherein the ceramic structure is supported after the ceramic adhesive is interposed between surfaces to be bonded of a plurality of ceramic structures. A method of joining ceramic structures, characterized in that vibration is applied to the ceramic structure while applying a pressing force to the ceramic structure.

Hereinafter, the "action" of the present invention will be described. According to the first aspect of the present invention, by applying vibration to the supported ceramic structure while applying a pressing force, the adhesive interposed between the surfaces to be bonded is crushed, and the adhesive is bonded. Spread all over the surface. Therefore, for example, even when an adhesive having a high thixotropy is used, high strength can be ensured at the joint. Further, according to such a dedicated apparatus, complicated work by manual work is not required, so that workability is improved and productivity is also improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, as a result of employing a vibration imparting means capable of simultaneously joining two or more sets of adherend surfaces by applying a pressing force in one direction, the time required for joining is reduced, Productivity can be further improved.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when vibration is applied in the direction in which the surfaces to be bonded are shifted from each other by the vibration applying means, that is, in the direction of the surface of the surface to be bonded, the adhesive quickly moves along the surface direction. Can be moved to. Therefore,
Compared to a case where vibration is applied in a direction perpendicular to the surface direction of the surface to be bonded, the adhesive can be sufficiently and sufficiently spread over the entire surface to be bonded in a short time.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, by applying vibration while applying a pressing force to the ceramic structure,
The adhesive interposed between the surfaces to be bonded is crushed, and the adhesive spreads sufficiently over the entire surface to be bonded. Therefore, for example, even when an adhesive having a high thixotropy is used, high strength can be ensured at the joint.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which a bonding apparatus and a bonding method for a ceramic structure according to the present invention are embodied in a method for manufacturing a large honeycomb filter will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1A shows a large-sized honeycomb filter F1 manufactured by the manufacturing method of the present embodiment. The large honeycomb filter F1 serves to remove diesel particulates on the exhaust path of the diesel engine.

This large honeycomb filter F1 is composed of a plurality of honeycomb filter small pieces 1. In this embodiment,
One large honeycomb filter F1 is constituted by combining four rectangular column-shaped 16 honeycomb filter pieces 1 in four rows and four rows and bonding them together.

The external dimensions of each honeycomb filter piece 1 are 33 mm × 33 mm × 150 mm, and are made of a ceramic sintered body (in this embodiment, a porous silicon carbide sintered body). Each honeycomb filter piece 1 has a plurality of through-holes 2 having a substantially square cross section and is formed regularly along its axial direction. Each through hole 2 is separated from each other by an inner wall 3. The opening of each through hole 2 has one end face 1a, 1b.
The side is sealed by a sealing body 4 (porous silicon carbide sintered body in the present embodiment), and the entire end faces 1a and 1b have a checkered pattern. As a result, the honeycomb filter small piece 1 is formed with cells 5 and 6 having a square cross section which are open at one of the gas inflow side end face 1a and the gas outflow side end face 1b. In the present embodiment, the average pore diameter is set to 10 μm, the porosity is set to 45%, the thickness of the inner wall 3 is set to 0.3 mm, and the cell pitch is set to 1.8 mm.

When the honeycomb filter pieces 1 are arranged in the exhaust path, the flow of exhaust gas is as follows. FIG.
As shown by the arrow A1 in (b), the exhaust gas flows into the cell 5 opened at the gas inflow side end face 1a. Next, the exhaust gas passes through the inner wall 3 and flows out of the adjacent cell 6, that is, the cell 6 opened at the gas outflow end face 1b. At this time, the movement of the particulates contained in the exhaust gas is prevented by the inner wall 3, so that the particulates are trapped therein. As a result, the purified exhaust gas is discharged from the gas outflow end 1b.

In manufacturing the honeycomb filter piece 1, it is necessary to first form a honeycomb formed body having a plurality of through holes 2 by a conventionally known extrusion molding method using a slurry containing silicon carbide as a starting material. Specifically, in the present embodiment, extrusion molding is performed using a material obtained by adding a predetermined amount of an organic binder and water to a silicon carbide powder and kneading the mixture, as a material. The sealing material (sealing paste) that becomes the sealing body 4 by firing is produced by, for example, kneading a mixture of silicon carbide powder, an organic binder, a lubricant, a plasticizer, and water. .

Next, the obtained honeycomb formed body is set in a dedicated sealing material filling apparatus, and in this state, an end face sealing step is performed using the sealing paste. Further, by performing main firing after performing drying and degreasing, the honeycomb formed body and the sealing material are completely sintered.

A base layer 7 is applied to a predetermined region on the outer peripheral surface of the honeycomb filter piece 1 obtained through the firing step before the bonding step. As a material for forming such an underlayer 7, a ceramic paste containing silicon carbide or the like is used. In the present embodiment, specifically, 30% by weight to 50% by weight of silicon carbide powder, resin binder PV-
5 (trade name: manufactured by Malvan Co., Ltd.) 40% by weight to 60
What consists of 5% by weight and 10% by weight of glycerin as an auxiliary agent is used. As a resin binder other than PV-5, for example, CMC (trade name: manufactured by Shinano Electric Co., Ltd.) or FC-51 (trade name: manufactured by Niken Kagaku Co., Ltd.) can be selected. In addition, the viscosity of the paste immediately before the application is 3000 cps to 6000 cps.
Set to about. The application of the paste is desirably performed using a dedicated device from the viewpoint of workability and productivity.

An adhesive 8 made of ceramics is then applied to the outer peripheral surface of the honeycomb filter piece 1 that has undergone the underlayer forming step (that is, the surface S1 to be bonded). The adhesive 8 used here is supplied in a paste state. The adhesive 8 contains silicon carbide powder as in the case of the honeycomb filter piece 1. Specifically, silicon carbide powder 30% by weight, silica sol 23% by weight, bulk ceramic fiber 23
What consists of a weight%, a resin binder 1 weight%, and water 23 weight% is used. In the state immediately before application, the viscosity of the paste-like adhesive 8 is from 20,000 cps to
It is set to about 50,000 cps.

Next, an outline of the joining apparatus 11 used in manufacturing the large honeycomb filter F1 of the present embodiment is shown in FIGS.
A description will be given based on FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the bonding device 11 is for bonding the honeycomb filter pieces 1 to each other with a ceramic adhesive 8.
The apparatus includes a base 12, a support jig 13, a vibration applying means 15, a vibration applying means driving means, a work positioning means, a support jig conveying means, a support jig elevating means, a work conveying means, and the like. Most of these means are arranged on the upper surface side of the housing 14 of the base 12. On the other hand, the accommodation unit 14
A control means (not shown) and the like are accommodated therein.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 and the like, the support jig 13 of this embodiment has a pair of plate members 21 having the same shape opposed to each other, and is connected by a plurality of bar members 22. Become.
The pair of plate members 21 are in a parallel relationship. The distance between the two plate members 21 is formed to be slightly shorter than the length of the honeycomb filter small piece 1. Therefore, when the honeycomb filter piece 1 is placed on the support jig 13, both ends of the honeycomb filter piece 1 protrude from both sides of the support jig 13.

A substantially V-shaped notch 23 is formed in the upper part of the support jig 13. Here, the angle of the notch 23 is 90 °. A plurality of (several tens in this case) honeycomb filter pieces 1 can be placed in the notch portion 23 in a horizontal direction. In addition, the support jig 1
The plate member 21 and the bar member 22, which are the components of No. 3, are made of metal such as aluminum or iron, and have suitable strength to withstand vibration and pressing force.

The support jig 13 is disposed at the center of the upper surface side of the housing portion 14. The support jig 13 serves to support the plurality of honeycomb filter pieces 1 with the ceramic adhesive 8 interposed between the surfaces S1 to be bonded.

As shown in FIG. 2, the joining device 11
The support jig transporting means is constituted by a not-shown conveyor drive motor, a pair of pulleys 24 and an endless conveyor belt 25. The support jig transport unit of the present embodiment plays a role of transporting the support jig 13 in the horizontal direction.

The conveyor belt 25 is wound around a pair of pulleys 24, and is horizontally disposed at a position slightly separated from the upper surface of the housing 14. The support jig 13 is placed on the conveyor belt 25. Pulley 2
One of the four is connected to the output shaft of the conveyor drive motor. Therefore, when this motor is driven, the pulley 24
As a result, the conveyor belt 25 starts a revolving motion. As a result, the empty support jig 13 is prepared for the joining operation.
Is transported to a predetermined position below the work position. The supporting jig 13 on which the large honeycomb filter F1 completed after the work is placed is sent out in a direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 2 by another conveying means (not shown) and carried out.

As shown in FIG. 2, the joining device 11
The lifting and lowering means of the supporting jig comprises a lifting motor 26, a pair of pulleys 27, a belt 28, a third feed screw mechanism 29, and a jig mounting table 30. The lifting motor 26, the pair of pulleys 27, the belt 28, and a part of the third feed screw mechanism 29 are housed in the housing 14.

A pulley 27 is provided on the output shaft of the motor 26 for raising and lowering.
Has been fixed. The pulley 27 is also fixed to the screw member 31 forming a part of the third feed screw mechanism 29. A belt 28 is wound around these pulleys 27. Accordingly, when the elevating motor 26 is driven, the rotational driving force is transmitted via the pulley 27 and the belt 28, and the screw member 31 extending along the vertical direction rotates.

The screw member 31 forming a part of the third feed screw mechanism 29 is screwed into the feed nut 32. The feed nut 32 is connected to the jig mounting table 3 via a plurality of columns 33.
Connected to 0. On the upper surface of the jig mounting table 30,
An empty support jig 13 transported to a predetermined position below the work position is placed. Therefore, the lifting motor 26
When the screw member 31 is rotated by the drive, the feed nut 32 and the jig mounting table 30 move up and down integrally. That is, the support jig elevating means serves to lift the support jig 13 placed on the jig placing table 30 to the working position. In the present embodiment, the members constituting the support jig elevating means have a suitable strength that can withstand vibration and pressing force.

As shown in FIG. 2, the joining device 11
, A first horizontal drive motor (not shown), a first feed screw mechanism 36, a first linear guide 37,
It is constituted by a bracket 38 for a gripping device and a chuck device 39. The work transfer means of the present embodiment plays a role of transferring the honeycomb filter small piece 1 to the support jig 13 lifted to the work position.

The first feed screw mechanism 36 comprises a screw member disposed along the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 2 and a feed nut into which the screw member is screwed. The screw member is pivotally supported on the side surface of the back bracket 40 erected on the upper surface of the housing 14. A part of the first linear guide 37 is also fixed to the side surface of the back bracket 40 in parallel with the screw member.

The first horizontal drive motor is connected to one end of the screw member, and the holding device bracket 38 is connected to the feed nut. Accordingly, when the first feed screw mechanism 36 is driven, the screw member is rotated, and as a result, the feed nut and the bracket 38 for the gripping device reciprocate along the horizontal direction while being guided by the first linear guide 37.

A part of the holding device bracket 38 is shown in FIG.
Is formed so as to protrude horizontally toward the left side. On the upper surface of the horizontally extending portion, a pair of rodless air cylinders constituting the chuck device 39 are provided apart from each other. The moving directions of the slide tables of both air cylinders are opposite to each other. When the air is supplied to both air cylinders, the two slide tables move closer to each other, and when the air supply is stopped, the two slide tables move away from each other.

On the upper surface of each slide table, a gripper 41 for pressing the end face of the honeycomb filter piece 1 is fixed so as to be integrally movable. A separation width equivalent to the entire length of the honeycomb filter piece 1 is provided between the pair of holding bodies 41. Chuck device 39 including a pair of grippers 41
Opens and closes by supplying and discharging air to and from an air cylinder. Therefore, if the honeycomb filter piece 1 is arranged between both the grippers 41, the honeycomb filter piece 1 can be gripped and released.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the joining apparatus 11 includes a vibration applying means 15 for applying vibration to the honeycomb filter small piece 1 supported by the support jig 13 while applying a pressing force to the small piece. .

The vibration applying means 15 of this embodiment includes a pressing jig 42, a vibration-proof rubber 43 as a vibration-proof structure, a vibrator 44 as a vibrator, a fixed rod 45, and an upper mounting plate 4.
6.

The anti-vibration rubber 43 used here has a structure in which a pair of plate-like portions are connected by a spherical portion. One of the plate portions is fixed to a component (specifically, a bracket 55) on the side of the vibration applying unit driving unit, and the other plate portion is fixed to the upper surface of the upper mounting plate 46. Therefore,
The vibration applying means 15 is supported by the vibration applying means 15 while being suspended by the vibration applying means driving means.

The pressing jig 42 is horizontally fixed to the lower surface of the upper mounting plate 46 by a plurality of fixing rods 45. The pressing jig 42 is provided with contact pieces 47 at two places separated on the lower surface. The lower portions of the contact pieces 47 are cut into a substantially V shape at an angle of 90 °.

On the upper surface of the pressing jig 42, the pressing jig 4
Vibrator 44 as a vibrator for vibrating 2
Are fixed by bolts. The vibrator 44 used here is a vibrator 4 using air pressure.
4. Pressurized air is supplied from an air supply source (not shown) through an air supply port into the vibrator body in which the sphere is housed. Then, the sphere moves around inside the vibrator main body due to the pressure of the air, and as a result, a suitable vibration is generated. In the present embodiment, a relatively small vibrator 44 using air pressure, for example, UH-13 (model number) manufactured by EXEN Corporation is used. In this case, the air pressure is set to 2.0kgf / cm ² ~4.0kgf / cm ² about (preferably 2.5 kgf / cm ² before and after). In this embodiment, the vibrator 44 is attached to the surface S1 to be bonded.
Are arranged so as to apply vibration in a direction in which they are shifted from each other along the surface direction (see an arrow A2 in FIG. 2). In other words, vibration is applied along the longitudinal direction of the honeycomb filter piece 1.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the vibration applying means driving means of the joining device 11 includes a second horizontal drive motor (not shown), a second feed screw mechanism 58, a second linear guide 59, and a vertical actuator. And a rodless air cylinder 49 as a pressing actuator. The vibration applying means driving means plays a role of moving the vibration applying means 15 to a predetermined position on the support jig 13.

The second feed screw mechanism 58 comprises a screw member disposed along the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 2 and a feed nut into which the screw member is screwed. The screw member is pivotally supported on the side surface of the back bracket 40 erected on the upper surface of the housing 14. A part of the second linear guide 59 is also fixed to the side surface of the back bracket 40 in parallel with the screw member.

The second horizontal drive motor is connected to one end of the screw member. The cylinder tube 50, which is the fixed side of the rodless air cylinder 48, is connected to the feed nut. Accordingly, when the second feed screw mechanism 58 is driven, the screw member rotates, and as a result, the feed nut and the cylinder tube 50 reciprocate along the horizontal direction while being guided by the second linear guide 59.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cylinder tube 50 is provided so as to extend in the vertical direction. Therefore, by supplying / discharging air to / from the rodless air cylinder 48, the slide table 51 on the moving side reciprocates vertically within a predetermined range. A cylinder tube 52 which is a fixed side of the air cylinder 49 with a rod is fixed to a side surface of the slide table 51. A piston rod 53 projects from the cylinder tube 52 so as to be able to protrude and retract. Piston rod 5
A bracket 55 for vibration imparting means is attached to the connecting plate 54 provided at the tip of the third unit 3 so as to be integrally movable. The vibration applying means 15 is supported on the lower surface of the horizontal extension of the bracket 55.

In the case of this embodiment, a rodless air cylinder 48 as a lifting actuator and an air cylinder 49 with a rod as a pressing actuator are separately provided. And, based on the difference of the function,
The former air cylinder 48 is better than the latter air cylinder 4
It has a longer stroke than 9. The former air cylinder 48 mainly plays a role of raising and lowering the entire vibration applying means 15. On the other hand, the latter air cylinder 49 plays a role of applying a force for pressing the pressing jig 42 of the vibration applying means 15 in the lowered state against the honeycomb filter piece 1. Pressurized air is supplied to these two types of air cylinders 48 and 49 from a not-shown air supply source via a not-shown pipe.

As shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 3 (a), a mounting portion is extended to the side of the bracket 55, and an arm 57 is provided thereon via an air cylinder 56 so as to be vertically movable. Is also good. By providing such an arm 57, the pressing jig 42 can be easily detached from the honeycomb filter small piece 1 after the vibration is applied.

As shown in FIG. 2, the joining device 11
The work positioning means in (1) includes an air cylinder 61 with a rod as a pressing body driving means, a pressing plate 62 as a work end surface pressing body, and a plurality of guide cylinders 6.
3, a connection plate 64 and a bracket 65 for supporting means. In this embodiment, a pair of such work positioning means is provided on the left and right sides of the support jig 13.

The pair of brackets 65 are erected on the upper surface of the housing portion 14 so as to be separated from each other. A connection plate 64 is attached to the distal ends of these brackets 65. At the center of these connecting plates 64,
The air cylinders 61 are fixed so as to face each other. In each connection plate 64, the air cylinder 6
The guide cylinder 63 is provided on both sides of the air cylinder 6
1 and in parallel. A pressing plate 62 is fixed to the tip of the piston rod projecting from the air cylinder 61 and the tip of the rod projecting from the guide cylinder 63. The pair of pressing plates 62 are arranged with their pressing surfaces facing each other.

It is preferable that a relatively soft material such as rubber is used for the pressing surface of the pressing plate 62 which comes into contact with the end face of the honeycomb filter piece 1. Here, the pressing plate 62 is rectangular and flat, and its area is slightly larger than the cross-sectional area of the large honeycomb filter F1 to be obtained.

When pressurized air is supplied to both air cylinders 61 from an air supply source (not shown), both cylinders 61 are extended, so that the pressing plates 62 fixed to the distal ends of the piston rods come close to each other. Accordingly, the plurality of honeycomb filter pieces 1 existing therebetween are pressed from both end face directions, and the positioning thereof is achieved during the joining operation by applying vibration. When the supply of the pressurized air from the air supply source is stopped, both the cylinders 61 contract, and as a result, the pressing plates 62 move away from each other. As a result, the plurality of honeycomb filter pieces 1 held between the pressing plates 62 are released.

Next, the joining apparatus 1 configured as described above
1 will be described. When the conveyor belt 25 constituting the supporting jig conveying means is driven, an empty supporting jig 13 on which the honeycomb filter pieces 1 have not yet been placed is conveyed from the right side in FIG. When the support jig 13 reaches a predetermined position below the working position, the conveyor belt 25 stops once. Then
The jig placing table 30 is moved upward by the driving of the motor 26 constituting the support jig elevating means, and the support jig 13 is raised to the height of the working position. As a result, the support jig 13 is located between the pair of pressing plates 62. At this time,
Both air cylinders 61 are in a contracted state, and both pressing plates 62 are in the retracted position. Of course, vibration applying means 1
5 is still escaping upward.

Next, the chuck device 39 is moved in the depth direction of FIG. 2 by the driving of the first horizontal drive motor constituting the work transfer means, and the honeycomb filter small piece 1 on which the base layer 7 is formed is removed by one. Hold only one. In addition,
The honeycomb filter pieces 1 are placed on a filter transport conveyor (not shown). Thereafter, the chuck device 39 is moved toward the front side of FIG. 2 by the driving of the first horizontal drive motor, and the honeycomb filter small piece 1 is moved.
At the bottom of the notch 23 of the support jig 13. Further, the chuck device 39 moves again in the direction of the depth of the paper of FIG. 2, and this time grips only one honeycomb filter piece 1 on which the adhesive 8 is applied on the base layer 7. Thereafter, the chuck device 39 moves toward the front side of the paper of FIG.
3 is released at the notch 23 (see FIG. 4 (a)). At this time, the adhered surface S1 (that is, the adhesive-coated surface) of the honeycomb filter small piece 1 that has been transported later is the same as the adhered surface S1 (one of the two surfaces) of the already mounted honeycomb filter small piece 1. ). Both honeycomb filter pieces 1 are supported in a state where they are rotated 45 ° in the axial direction with respect to the horizontal direction. That is, both surfaces S1 to be bonded are also inclined by 45 ° with respect to the horizontal direction.

Next, by driving both air cylinders 61, the pair of pressing plates 62 are moved from the retracted position to the use position, and the two honeycomb filter pieces 1 are positioned in advance.

Subsequently, the second horizontal drive motor constituting the vibration applying means driving means is driven, and the vibration applying means 15 moves along the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 2 (the horizontal direction in FIG. 4). As a result, the vibration applying means 15 reaches a position just above the honeycomb filter piece 1 to be joined. The driving of the second horizontal drive motor may be performed before the driving of the pressing plate 62.

Further, by driving the air cylinder 48 serving as a lifting / lowering actuator, the entire vibration imparting means 15 is moved downward to bring the pressing jig 42 into contact with the honeycomb filter small piece 1. At the same time, the air cylinder 49, which is a pressing actuator, is driven so that a certain pressing force (2 kgf / cm
^{2 to 5} kgf / cm ² ). In the present embodiment, the pressing force at this time is set to 3.4 kgf / cm ² . The direction of the pressing force is a vertical direction as shown by an arrow A3 in FIGS. Time to apply pressing force is 4 seconds ~
It is set to about 6 seconds.

Next, pressurized air is supplied to the vibrator 44 to apply vibration in a direction A2 for shifting the surfaces S1 to be bonded to each other for a predetermined time. Then, the adhesive 8 interposed between the surfaces S1 to be bonded is crushed by the pressing force, and the adhesive 8 is squeezed by the applied vibration.
1 Fully spread throughout. As a result, the two honeycomb filter pieces 1 are joined with high strength.

Thereafter, the vibrator 44 is stopped to end the application of the vibration, and the pair of pressing plates 62 are moved from the use position to the retracted position to release the honeycomb filter piece 1 once. Further, the air cylinder 48
, The entire vibration imparting means 15 is moved upward to separate the pressing jig 42 from the honeycomb filter small piece 1. The entire vibration applying means 15 may be moved up before the pressing plate 62 is retracted.

After the first joining operation is completed, the chuck device 39 is driven by the first horizontal drive motor.
Is moved, and one honeycomb filter piece 1 having the adhesive 8 applied on the base layer 7 is gripped. Thereafter, the chuck device 39 moves in the opposite direction, and releases the honeycomb filter piece 1 at the notch 23 of the support jig 13 (FIG. 4).
(b)). The bonded surface S1 of the transported honeycomb filter piece 1 is disposed so as to be in close contact with the bonded surface S1 (the other of the two surfaces) of the honeycomb filter piece 1 placed first. .

Next, by driving both air cylinders 61, the pair of pressing plates 62 are moved from the retracted position to the used position, and the three honeycomb filter pieces 1 are positioned in advance. Then, the vibration applying means 15 is slightly moved rightward in FIG. 4 by driving the second horizontal drive motor, so that the vibration applying means 15 reaches a position just above the honeycomb filter piece 1 to be joined.

Then, the above-described series of operations (downward movement of the entire vibration applying means 15, application of vibration in a pressed state, release of small pieces by retraction of the pressing plate 62, and upward movement of the entire vibration applying means 15) are performed. The second joining operation is completed.

According to the above procedure, the fourth joining operation (see FIG. 4C), the fifth joining operation (see FIG. 4D)... The sixteenth joining operation (see FIG. 4D). By sequentially performing the operations shown in FIG. 4 (e), the large honeycomb filter F is finally obtained.
Complete 1

Thereafter, the jig mounting table 30 is moved downward by the driving of the motor 26 constituting the supporting jig elevating means, and the supporting jig 13 at the working position is returned to the original height. Next, the supporting jig 13 on which the completed large honeycomb filter F1 is mounted is carried out by another carrying means (not shown).
Then, the stopped conveyor belt 25 is driven again, and the empty support jig 13 is conveyed.

The 16 honeycomb filter pieces 1 were divided into 4 rows ×
The large-sized honeycomb filter F1 of FIG. 1A assembled in four rows is manufactured continuously as described above. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) In the present embodiment, as described above, the honeycomb filter pieces 1 are joined using the dedicated joining device 11 provided with the support jig 13 and the vibration applying means 15. Further, according to the joining device 11, it is possible to apply a suitable vibration to the honeycomb filter small piece 1 supported by the support jig 13 while applying a suitable pressing force. Therefore, the ceramic adhesive 8 interposed between the bonded surfaces S1 is crushed, and the adhesive 8 is applied to the bonded surface S1.
The whole can be spread evenly. Therefore, high strength can be ensured at the joint portion despite the ceramic adhesive 8 having high thixotropy.

(2) Further, such a dedicated bonding apparatus 1
According to 1, the work efficiency is improved because the complicated manual work is not required, and the productivity is also improved. (3) In the bonding apparatus 11 of the present embodiment, the vibration applying means 15 capable of simultaneously bonding the two sets of surfaces S1 to be bonded by applying a pressing force in the direction of arrow A3, that is, in one direction, is employed (FIG. 4 (c) and (e)). And this leads to shortening of the time required for joining, which leads to further improvement in productivity. By the way, Fig. 1
The time required to obtain the large honeycomb filter F1 of (a) was approximately several tens of minutes. On the other hand, according to the joining apparatus 11 of the present embodiment, the time required for the joining operation was as short as about 1 minute.

(4) In the bonding apparatus 11 of the present embodiment, the vibration applying means 15 for applying vibration in a direction in which the surfaces S1 to be bonded are shifted from each other along the surface direction is used. For this reason, the ceramic adhesive 8 can quickly move along the surface direction of the surface S1 to be bonded, even though the pressing force is applied in the predetermined direction. This is presumably because the direction of the pressing force and the direction of the vibration are orthogonal.

Therefore, compared to a case where vibration is applied in a direction perpendicular to the surface direction of the surface S1 to be bonded, the adhesive 8 can be sufficiently and completely spread over the entire surface S1 in a short time. Can be. Therefore, this also contributes to the improvement of productivity.

(5) Vibration imparting means 1 of this joining device 11
5, a vibrator 44 using air pressure is used as a vibrator. Therefore, the vibration required during the joining operation
It can be easily obtained by supplying pressurized air.

(6) Vibration imparting means 1 of this joining device 11
Numeral 5 is indirectly supported by a bracket 55 on the vibration applying means driving means side via an anti-vibration rubber 43 which is a vibration isolating structure. Therefore, compared with the case where the vibration applying means 15 is directly supported, the influence of the vibration generated by the vibrator 44 is less likely to reach the vibration applying means driving means side. Therefore, the air cylinders 48 and 49 constituting the vibration applying means driving means are less likely to rattle, and the joining device 11
Reliability and durability can be improved.

(7) The vibration applying means driving means in the joining device 11 has two types of air cylinders 48 and 49 separately as actuators for raising and lowering and pressing. Therefore, unlike the case where the two air cylinders 48 and 49 are shared, the pressing force close to the set value can be reliably applied to the honeycomb filter small piece 1.

(8) Supporting jig 1 used in this embodiment
A substantially V-shaped cut portion 23 for supporting the plurality of honeycomb filter pieces 1 is formed on the upper portion of the honeycomb filter 3. Therefore, the honeycomb filter piece 1 can be supported in a state where it is rotated by 45 ° in the axial direction and in a state where it is relatively unlikely to be displaced in the horizontal direction. In this state, the vibration applying means 1
When the drive 5 is driven, the pressing force can be simultaneously applied to the two sets of the bonded surfaces S1 by applying the pressing force only in one direction (see FIGS. 4 (c) and 4 (e)). This is because the vector of the pressing force along the vertical direction is dispersed in two directions forming an angle of 45 ° with the vector. Therefore, the actuator for obtaining the pressing force can be made relatively simple, and the structure of the joining device 11 can be simplified.

(9) In the joining apparatus 11 of the present embodiment, the structure for vibrating the support jig 13 is not adopted, so that the structure of the support jig elevating means and the like can be relatively simple. . Therefore, it is possible to avoid an increase in size and complexity as a whole.

(10) In the present embodiment, after the base layer 7 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the honeycomb filter piece 1 in advance,
An adhesive 8 is applied to the formation region of the base layer 7, and the joining operation is performed in this state. By forming such a base layer 7, the applied adhesive 8 can be sufficiently and evenly spread in a relatively short time. It is presumed that this is because penetration of the adhesive 8 into the outer peripheral surface of the honeycomb filter small piece 1 having fine holes is prevented by the interposition of the base layer 7. Therefore, high strength is ensured at the joining portion, and a high-quality large-sized honeycomb filter F1 can be reliably manufactured.

The embodiment of the present invention may be modified as follows. A rib R1 as a spacer structure may be provided on the pressing surface as in another example of a pressing plate 62A shown in FIGS. 5 (a) to 5 (c). The ribs R1 are formed in a square shape, and each square portion corresponds to the cross-sectional shape of the honeycomb filter piece 1. The thickness of the rib R1 is 1.0
mm, and a soft material such as rubber is preferably selected as a material for forming the same. When such a structure exists, there is an advantage that the honeycomb filter pieces 1 are joined in a correct relative positional relationship, and the protrusion of the adhesive 8 from the interface is reduced. Therefore, a higher quality and better looking product can be obtained.

In the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1A, 16 rectangular prism-shaped honeycomb filters are combined,
A method for manufacturing a large honeycomb filter F1 having 4 rows × 4 rows has been described as an example. Of course, the present invention is not limited to such a combination, and other combinations shown in the table of FIG. 6 may be employed. The circles drawn in the right column of the table mean lines to be cut after the joining operation. In each of those arranged in the left column of the same table, the honeycomb filter small pieces 1 arranged at the corners have a triangular prism shape. That is, a plurality of types of honeycomb filter pieces 1 having different cross-sectional shapes like these.
It is also permissible to manufacture one large honeycomb filter F1 by using. Then, the notch 23 and the pressing jig 4
If the shape of No. 2 is slightly changed, any of them can be a target of the joining method by the joining device 11 of the present invention.

The vibrator is not limited to the air pressure driven vibrator 44 as in the embodiment, but may be an electromagnet type or an eccentric motor type vibrator or the like. The ceramic structure is not limited to the fired body such as the honeycomb filter piece 1 used in the embodiment, and may be, for example, a fired body (a calcined body, a degreased body, or the like).
Further, the ceramic structure is not limited to a filter, and may be other than that. Further, the ceramic structure is not limited to a porous body, and may be a dense body.

The air cylinders 48 and 49 may be replaced by separate air cylinders, and air cylinders having these functions may be used. Of course, the functions of both air cylinders 48 and 49 may be shared by using an actuator other than the air cylinder.

As the support jig conveying means and the support jig elevating means, different means from those of the above embodiment may be used, and these means may be omitted if unnecessary. For example, a configuration in which the support jig 13 is provided on the upper surface of the housing section 14 or the like may be employed.

The bonding method of the above embodiment in which the paste-like adhesive 8 (that is, the flowable adhesive) is applied is not limited to, for example, a sheet-like one (that is, a non-flowable adhesive). It may be embodied as a joining method using

Materials other than rubber may be used for the vibration isolating structure. If the necessity is small, the vibration applying means 15
May be supported without interposing the vibration isolating structure. The present invention is not limited to the method of the embodiment in which the joining is performed while increasing the honeycomb filter pieces 1 one by one.
For example, it is also possible to perform joining while increasing a plurality of pieces at a time, or to combine all the honeycomb filter pieces 1 beforehand and collectively. However, although the latter two are superior in terms of workability, the embodiment is more advantageous in terms of joining position accuracy.

For example, it is preferable to perform the joining operation by applying a strong vibration in the initial stage of bonding by the vibration applying means 15 and applying a weaker vibration in the late stage of bonding. In this case, the displacement can be avoided more reliably than in the case where the strong vibration is always applied. Therefore, the honeycomb filter pieces 1 can be joined accurately in a short time.

Next, in addition to the technical ideas described in the claims, the technical ideas grasped by the above-described embodiments are listed below together with their effects. (1) An apparatus for joining ceramic structures with a ceramic adhesive, a support jig for supporting a plurality of ceramic structures with the ceramic adhesive interposed between surfaces to be bonded, and a support jig Vibration applying means for applying vibration in a direction in which the surfaces to be bonded are shifted from each other while applying a pressing force to the ceramic structure supported by the jig, and moving the vibration applying means to a predetermined position in the support jig Vibration imparting means driving means, work positioning means for positioning the plurality of ceramic structures supported by the supporting means by pressing the ceramic structures from an end face direction, and horizontally transporting the support jig to a predetermined position. A supporting jig conveying means, a supporting jig elevating means for lifting the supporting jig conveyed to the predetermined position to a working position, A ceramic structure joining apparatus, comprising: a work transfer means for transferring the ceramic structure to the raised support jig.

(2) In the technical concept 1, the work positioning means includes a work end pressing body and a pressing body driving means for driving the work end pressing body. Therefore, according to the invention described in the technical idea 2, the ceramic structure as the work is pressed from the end face direction by the work end face pressing body driven by the work end face pressing body. For this reason, the plurality of ceramic structures supported by the support means are positioned during the joining operation.

(3) In the technical concept 2, the work positioning means is provided as a pair with the support jig interposed therebetween.
The work end face pressing body is arranged with the pressing surfaces facing each other. Therefore, according to the invention described in the technical idea 3, the plurality of ceramic structures are reliably positioned between the opposing pressing surfaces.

(4) In the technical ideas 2 and 3, an uneven structure for a spacer is formed on the pressing surface of the work end surface pressing body. Therefore, according to the invention described in the technical idea 4, the presence of the spacer concave-convex structure allows the ceramic structures to be joined in a correct positional relationship, and the protrusion of the adhesive from the interface is reduced.

(5) In any one of claims 1 to 3 and technical ideas 1 to 4, the vibration applying means may include: a pressing jig that contacts the ceramic structure; Having a vibrator to vibrate.

(6) In the technical idea 5, the vibration applying means further has a vibration isolating structure for supporting the vibrator, and is supported by the vibration applying means driving means through the vibration isolating structure. That you are. Therefore, according to the invention described in the technical idea 6, the influence of the vibration generated by the vibrator does not easily reach the vibration applying means driving means side.

(7) Any one of the technical ideas 1 to 6
In one embodiment, the vibration applying means driving means has separate lifting and pressing actuators. Therefore,
According to the invention described in the technical concept 7, a pressing force close to the set value can be reliably applied as compared with the case where the actuator is also used.

(8) Any one of the technical ideas 5 to 7
In one embodiment, the vibrator is a vibrator using air pressure. Therefore, according to the invention described in the technical concept 8, vibration required at the time of joining can be obtained by supplying pressurized air.

(9) In any one of claims 1 to 3, and the technical ideas 1 to 8, a substantially V-shaped cutout on the upper part of the support jig for supporting the plurality of ceramic structures. Is formed. Therefore, according to the invention described in the technical concept 9, it is sufficient to apply the pressing force of the vibration applying means from only one direction at the time of joining, which leads to simplification of the structure of the device.

(10) Claims 1 to 4, Technical idea 1
(9) In any one of (9) to (9), a strong vibration is applied in an early stage of bonding (by the vibration applying means), and a weaker vibration is applied in a late stage of bonding. Therefore, according to the invention described in the technical idea 10, the ceramic structure can be joined in a short time while reliably avoiding the displacement.

(11) Claims 1 to 4, Technical Thought 1
In any one of the above items 1 to 10, the ceramic adhesive has high thixotropy. (12) In any one of claims 1 to 4 and technical ideas 1 to 11, the ceramic adhesive is applied in advance to the surface to be bonded in a paste state.

(13) Claims 1 to 3, Technical idea 1
In any one of the above items 1 to 12, the ceramic structure is a honeycomb filter piece made of porous ceramics (for example, made of porous silicon carbide).

(14) After forming a base layer on the outer peripheral surface of the honeycomb filter piece in advance, an adhesive is applied to the formation area of the base layer, and in this state, the technical ideas 1 to 13 are described. Utilizing the joining device described in
A large-sized honeycomb filter (and a method for manufacturing the same), wherein a plurality of honeycomb filter small pieces are joined and assembled. Therefore, according to the invention described in the technical idea 14, by forming the base layer, the adhesive can be spread sufficiently and evenly in a relatively short time, and when the honeycomb filter pieces are joined together, High strength can be obtained at the joint. Therefore, a large-sized and high-quality honeycomb filter can be reliably manufactured.

[0097]

As described in detail above, according to the first to third aspects of the present invention, a ceramic structure which is excellent in workability and productivity and can ensure high bonding strength at a bonding portion. A joining device can be provided.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the productivity is further improved. According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the adhesive can be sufficiently and completely spread over the entire surface to be bonded in a short time, productivity is further improved.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a method for joining a ceramic structure, which is excellent in workability and productivity and can ensure high joining strength at a joining portion.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a perspective view showing a large-sized honeycomb filter according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
(C) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of a honeycomb filter piece constituting the large honeycomb filter of FIG.
Sectional drawing in a line.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway schematic side view of the joining device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3A is a front view of a vibration applying unit which is a main part of the joining device, and FIG. 3B is a side view thereof.

FIGS. 4A to 4E are schematic views for explaining a joining procedure of honeycomb filter pieces.

5A is a perspective view showing a pressing surface of a pressing plate in another example, FIG. 5B is a front view of a work positioning unit,
(C) is the principal part expanded sectional view.

FIG. 6 is a table showing variations of how to combine honeycomb filter pieces.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Honeycomb filter small piece as a ceramic structure, 8 ... Ceramic adhesive, 11 ... Bonding device (for a ceramic structure), 13 ... Supporting jig, 15 ... Vibration applying means, S1 ... Adhered surface, A2 ... The direction in which the bonding surfaces are shifted from each other.

Claims (4)

[Claims] An apparatus for joining ceramic structures with a ceramic adhesive, comprising: a support jig for supporting a plurality of ceramic structures with the ceramic adhesive interposed between surfaces to be bonded; A vibration applying means for applying vibration while applying a pressing force to the ceramic structure supported by the support jig. 2. The ceramic structure according to claim 1, wherein said vibration imparting means is capable of simultaneously joining two or more sets of surfaces to be bonded by applying a pressing force in one direction. Joining equipment. 3. The ceramic structure joining apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vibration applying means applies vibration in a direction in which the surfaces to be bonded are shifted from each other. 4. A method of joining ceramic structures with a ceramic adhesive, wherein said ceramic structure is supported after said ceramic adhesive is interposed between surfaces to be bonded of a plurality of ceramic structures. A method for joining ceramic structures, wherein vibration is applied while applying a pressing force to a body.