JP2000343233A - Advance/retraction type feed pipe device of projection nut - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a feed pipe to follow the advancing/retracting action of the feed pipe, and to provide the sufficient connection rigidity of its portion by fixing the metal feed pipe to a base member mounted on an advancing/ retracting driving means, and press-fitting a flexible synthetic resin feed hose to a frame member fixed to the base member to keep the hose in a communicated condition with the feed pipe. SOLUTION: A projection nut 12 fed from a parts feeder 13 slides in a feed pipe 16 from a feed hose 15, and temporarily stops. When an air cylinder 22 is operated, the feed pipe 16 is advanced, and a screw hole of the nut is aligned with the axes of electrodes 3, 11, the advancement of the feed pipe 16 is stopped, a guide pin 5 is elevated, and the nut 12 is held in a skewered manner. When the feed pipe 16 is retracted, the nut 12 is hooked to an inclined part 8 of the guide pin, and left behind. A movable electrode 11 presses the nut 12 against a steel plate 9, and the welding current runs therein. The feed pipe 16 is firmly fixed to the base member 17, and a closed section part 20 is firmly formed of a frame member 19 and a base plate 17.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for welding a projection nut by moving the supply pipe itself forward and backward so as to match the projection nut with a guide pin of a fixed electrode, and particularly to an installation structure of the supply pipe. It is about.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As prior art related to the present invention, Japanese Patent No. 2832528 issued on Dec. 9, 1998 is disclosed.
There is an official gazette. According to the technology disclosed herein, the reciprocating direction of the supply rod is set to a direction substantially orthogonal to the axis of the electrode, and a concave portion for holding a projection nut opened toward the distal end is formed at the distal end of the supply rod. A projection nut holding means is provided in the recess, and a guide pin which enters a screw hole of the projection nut stopped at a position substantially coaxial with the electrode is provided so as to be able to advance and retreat to the electrode. In addition, the operation of the supply rod is performed after the projection nut is transferred to the supply rod from the component supply shooter or the component supply device.

Further, as another prior art, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
No. 2,777,751. In the technology disclosed herein, a supply pipe is fixed to a substrate, and the supply pipe is fitted into the supply pipe. The substrate is connected to an air cylinder for driving forward and backward through a coupling mechanism.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention
In the prior art such as No. 2528, a projection nut is transferred to a supply rod from a component supply shooter or a component supply device, and then the supply rod is actuated. Special installation is required, which is not advantageous in terms of simplification of the device and installation space. Further, there is a problem that a smooth operation cannot be obtained if any error occurs in the mechanism at the transfer location.

Further, another Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-277
In the case of the prior art as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 751, the supply pipe cannot follow the forward / backward movement of the supply pipe, and this point must be solved by some method. Since the supply pipe is fitted into the supply pipe, the connection rigidity at this portion may be insufficient for the reciprocating operation.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems and Their Functions The present invention has been provided to solve the above-mentioned problems.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a metal supply pipe is fixed to a base member attached to advance / retreat drive means, wherein the supply pipe itself forming a supply passage of the projection nut performs forward / backward movement. A flexible synthetic resin supply hose is press-fitted into a frame member fixed to the member, and the hose and the supply pipe are in communication with each other. Therefore, the supply pipe is firmly fixed to the base member, and the supply hose is pressed into the frame member fixed to the base member, so that the supply pipe and the supply hose are firmly fixed to the base member, In addition, the continuity between the supply pipe and the supply hose is made smooth by press-fitting the supply hose into the frame member, so that the projection nut slides well.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, an opening is formed at the distal end of the supply pipe in a direction opposite to the retreating direction of the supply pipe, and a holding means for the projection nut is provided at the distal end of the supply pipe. The guide pin is provided so as to enter the screw hole of the projection nut stopped at a position substantially coaxial with the electrode, and is provided so as to be able to advance and retreat to the electrode. Therefore, when the projection nut is stopped at a position coaxial with the electrode, the guide pin then enters the screw hole of the nut to hold the nut on the guide pin, and then the supply pipe retreats and only the nut guides the nut. It remains on the pin and moves on to the next welding stroke.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail according to the illustrated embodiment. First, referring to FIGS. 1 to 5, a cylindrical base 2 is fixed on a stationary member 1, and a fixed electrode 3 is firmly connected thereon. A guide hole 4 is opened in the center of the fixed electrode 3 in a state where it penetrates, and a guide pin 5 is slidably inserted therein. The guide pin 5 has a large diameter portion 6 and a small diameter portion 7.
, And an inclined portion 8 is provided at the boundary between the two diameter portions 6 and 7. A steel plate part 9 is placed on the fixed electrode 3, and the steel plate part 9 is fixed by positioning means (not shown) so that the positioning hole 10 formed in the steel plate part 9 and the guide hole 4 match as shown in the figure. Have been.

The movable electrode 11 is installed in a state in which the movable electrode 11 can advance and retreat in pairs with the fixed electrode 3. Since the advance and retreat of the movable electrode 11 is performed by a normal air cylinder, the description is omitted here. The projection nut 12 has a rectangular shape as shown in the figure, and has projections for welding formed at the four corners. The projection nut 12 is sent from the parts feeder 13 via the supply passage 14.
The supply passage 14 is a flexible supply hose 15 having a rectangular cross section.
And a supply tube 16 having a cross section similar to that of FIG. The supply hose 15 is made of a synthetic resin such as urethane or vinyl chloride, while the supply pipe 16 is made of stainless steel.

A supply pipe 16 is fixed to a substrate 17 corresponding to a base member by welding, and reference numeral 18 denotes a welded portion.
The steel plate frame member 19 is a member having a U-shaped cross section, and is welded to the substrate 17 to form a square closed cross section 20 (see FIG. 5). The supply hose 15 is press-fitted into the closed section 20, and the supply pipe 16 and the supply hose 15 are connected in a continuous state. The cross-sectional shapes and dimensions of the supply pipe 16 and the supply hose 15 are selected so as to obtain the above-described continuity, and the frame member 19 is also shaped and dimensioned to obtain this continuity.

A connecting piece 21 is formed on the substrate 17 and a piston rod 23 of an air cylinder 22 is connected to the connecting piece 21. The moving direction of the supply pipe 16 is set by the stroke direction of the air cylinder 22. Thus, the supply pipe 16
The supply hose 15 is formed with a curved portion 24 so that the supply hose 15 can follow the supply tube 16 when the supply hose 15 advances and retreats. Of course, the curved portion 24 may have a loop shape. Further, an auxiliary band 25 is employed to more securely connect the supply hose 15 press-fitted to the closed section 20. This is a hat-shaped configuration, in which bolts 26 are screwed into the flanges of the
7 is fixed.

The supply pipe 16 is moved in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis of the electrodes 3 and 11 so as to advance and retreat.
The supply pipe 16 is provided at its tip with an opening 27 opposite to the retreating direction of the supply pipe 16. The opening 27 is provided with a holding means 2 for the projection nut 12.
8 are installed. Although various types of holding means 28 are conceivable, here, an example using steel balls 29 is illustrated. That is, the cylindrical socket 30 is welded to the end of the supply pipe 16, the steel ball 29 is fitted in the supply passage 14 in a slightly protruding state, received by the magnet 31, and the compression coil spring 32 is inserted behind it. Then, it is fastened with a bolt 33. The magnet 31 is inserted so as to slide in the socket 30. Therefore, when the projection nut 12 is transferred, the projection 34 hits the steel ball 29 and the nut is temporarily stopped there. A notch groove 35 for passing a guide pin is opened at the tip of the supply pipe 16 in the same direction as the opening 27.

The projection nut 12 has a square shape, and its dimensions are 10 mm in length and width and 5 mm in thickness. Since the parts have such a shape, the supply pipe 16 and the supply hose 1
5 also has a rectangular cross-sectional shape corresponding to it.

The guide pin 5 advances and retreats in the guide hole 4, and for that purpose, an air cylinder 36 is arranged in the base 2, and its piston rod 37 is connected to the guide pin 5. The movable electrode 11 has a receiving hole 38 for receiving the small-diameter portion 7. The small-diameter portion 7 passes through the screw hole of the projection nut 12 as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. , The small-diameter portion 7 does not interfere with the movable electrode 11.

The operation of the above-described embodiment will be described. The projection nut 12 sent from the parts feeder 13 slides in the supply pipe 16 from the supply hose 15 and is temporarily stopped by the steel ball 29 as shown in FIG. In this state, when the air cylinder 22 operates and the supply pipe 16 advances, and the screw hole of the nut becomes coaxial with the axis of the electrodes 3 and 11, the advancement of the supply pipe 16 stops. Then, the guide pin 5 is raised to hold the projection nut 12 like a skewer, and then the notch groove 35 is opened when the supply pipe 16 is retracted, so that only the nut 12 is inclined by the inclined portion of the guide pin. 8 and remains. Then, the movable electrode 11 descends and presses the nut 12 against the steel plate component 9, a welding current is applied, and the projection welding is completed.

As described above, the supply pipe 16 and the supply hose 15
When they move in and out, they must be in secure communication in terms of passage formation, and must be firmly connected to the base member. In this embodiment, since the supply pipe 16 is firmly fixed to the substrate 17 and the closed section 20 is firmly formed by the frame member 19 and the substrate 17, the supply hose 1 press-fitted here is provided.
5 is connected to the supply pipe 15 with sufficient coupling rigidity. Further, since the supply hose 15 is provided with the curved portion 24 and the loop portion, the reciprocating movement of the supply hose 16 is smoothly permitted.

In the above embodiment, the supply pipe 16 advances and retreats in the longitudinal direction. However, in the embodiments of FIGS. 6 and 7, the advance and retreat direction is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the supply pipe 15. is there. Here, the same reference numerals as those of the previous embodiment are described, and the detailed description is omitted. A stopper piece 39 is welded to the tip of the supply pipe 15, and a magnet 40 as a holding means is embedded therein. This does not employ an auxiliary band. Since the operation of this embodiment can be easily understood from the above, the description thereof is omitted here.

FIG. 8 shows a joint pipe 41 fixed to the substrate 17 by a method like the auxiliary band 25, and the supply pipe 16 and the supply hose 15 are press-fitted and connected thereto.

[0019]

According to the present invention, in a type in which a supply pipe itself forming a supply passage of a projection nut performs forward and backward movement, a metal supply pipe is fixed to a base member attached to a forward and backward drive means. Since a flexible synthetic resin supply hose is press-fitted into the frame member fixed to the base member and the hose and the supply pipe are in communication with each other, the supply pipe is connected to the base member. The supply hose press-fitted here is connected to the supply pipe with sufficient coupling rigidity because it is firmly fixed and the closed cross-section is firmly formed by the frame member and the substrate. The supply hose is installed in a flexible form, and if a curved portion or a loop portion is installed, the supply hose can smoothly move forward and backward. In this way, when the supply pipe itself moves forward and backward, stable transfer of the projection nut and smooth forward and backward movement can be obtained. At the same time, it is structurally simplified and advantageous in terms of space.

An opening is formed at the distal end of the supply pipe in a direction opposite to the retreating direction of the supply pipe, and a holding means for a projection nut is provided at the distal end of the supply pipe. Since the guide pin which enters the screw hole of the stopped projection nut is installed so as to be able to advance and retreat to the electrode, the projection nut coaxial with the electrode is held by the guide pin. To the next welding step, and stable nut transfer and welding quality can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional side view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of that of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional plan view showing a distal end portion of a supply pipe.

FIG. 4 is a three-dimensional view of the part in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line (5)-(5) of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional plan view showing another embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line (7)-(7) of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional side view showing another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 Projection nut 14 Supply passage 16 Supply pipe 22 Advance / retreat driving means 17 Base member 19 Frame member 15 Supply hose 27 Opening part 28 Holding means 3, 11 Electrode 5 Guide pin

Claims (2)

[Claims] In a type in which a supply pipe itself forming a supply passage of a projection nut performs a reciprocating motion, a metal supply pipe is fixed to a base member attached to a reciprocating drive means, and the base member is fixed to the base member. A projecting nut reciprocating supply pipe device, wherein a flexible synthetic resin supply hose is press-fitted into a fixed frame member so that the hose and the supply pipe communicate with each other. 2. The supply pipe according to claim 1, wherein the supply pipe has an opening formed at an end thereof in a direction opposite to a retreating direction of the supply pipe, and a projection nut holding means is provided at the end of the supply pipe. A projecting nut reciprocating supply pipe device, wherein a guide pin which enters a screw hole of a projection nut stopped at a position substantially coaxial with the electrode is installed in a state capable of reciprocating on the electrode.