JP2002028796A - Laser beam spot welding equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve a productivity by improving a workability after a welding process by suppressing the adhering of fine powder generated from a member to be welded when it is welded upon the area in the vicinity of the weld zone for laser beam spot welding equipment. SOLUTION: The laser beam spot welding equipment is provided with a lower unit movable in two dimensional directions, on which unit the plates to be welded are mounted at predetermined positions, an upper unit 21 vertically movable at a corresponding position above the lower unit, and a laser beam gun located above the upper unit, and so composed that at least weld zone of each plate to be welded is made in tight contact with each other by the descending motion of the upper unit. The upper unit 21 is so composed that the unit has a mortar-shaped laser beam inlet port 13e which does not disturb a laser beam irradiated from the laser beam gun, and the upper unit 21 is provided with a gas supply means (212a, 211c) which supplies an inert gas to a point in the vicinity of the opening below the laser beam inlet port.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a laser spot welding apparatus for laser-welding a stacked thin material by tightly fixing the thin material, and more particularly to a welding material surface and a thin material of fine powder such as fine powder generated from the thin material during welding. The present invention relates to a laser spot welding apparatus that suppresses adhesion to a surface of a material fixture and improves productivity by improving workability after a welding process.

Generally, in order to spot-weld plate materials, it is necessary to ensure that the respective plate materials are in close contact with each other.
When extremely thin thin materials are spot-welded with a laser, such as in the order of m, each thin material is easily warped. Therefore, each thin material is sandwiched by a fixture having a laser incident hole so that the thin materials are brought into close contact with each other. The laser spot welding equipment that is used is used, but dust such as fine powder generated from the thin material at the time of welding adheres to the surface of the welding material or the surface of the fixing tool, and hinders subsequent processes. Therefore, the correspondence is strongly desired.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 19 is a view for explaining a thin material as an object, FIG. 20 is a schematic view for explaining a conventional laser spot welding apparatus, and FIG. 21 is a view for explaining a lower unit in FIG. 22 is a view for explaining the upper unit of FIG. 20, FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a state at the time of welding and problems.

The target thin material is HDD (Hard Disk Dr.
iver) In FIG. 19 showing an example of a suspension arm member S in the device, (a) shows a completed state after welding, and (b) shows individual members before welding.

[0005] member S suspension arm in figure plurality any thickness "t" of about 30 [mu] m SUS (stainless stainless steel) base plate S ₁ consists of a plate and the arm plate S ₂ (5 in the figure) It is formed by laser spot welding at a location.

[0006] The member S for suspension arms in this case, after placing as as indicated by (b), for example, the arm plate S ₂ at a predetermined position on the base plate S ₁ arrow a, both With each welding point p ₁ 〜
It is to be constructed by sequentially spot welded p _5.

FIG. 20 illustrates a laser spot welding apparatus for forming the suspension arm member S.
(A) shows a state before welding, and (b) shows a state at the time of welding.

The conventional laser spot welding apparatus 1 includes an XY stage 11 fixed to a base (not shown),
A lower unit 12 fixed on the Y stage, an upper unit 13 that moves up and down with respect to the lower unit using a plurality of (four in the figure) guide poles 122 erected on the lower unit; And a laser gun 14 disposed at a predetermined position above the upper unit.

The lower unit 12 and the upper unit 13 will be described first with reference to FIGS. 21 and 22 for easy understanding.

FIGS. 21A and 21B illustrate the lower unit, wherein FIG. 21A is an overall perspective view, FIG. 21B is a plan view, and FIG.
FIG.

In the drawing, the lower unit 12 comprises a base plate 121 for positioning a member to be welded, and the above-mentioned guide poles 122 erected at four corners of the base plate.

The base plate 121 in this case is
On one side (in the figure the upper surface), a first concave stepped surface 12 that can position the base plate S ₁ described in FIG. 19 in surrounding
1a and the second concave step that can be positioned around the region pop the arm plate S ₂ which is placed on the base plate S ₁ positioned in the concave stepped surfaces of the first from該台plate S ₁ The surface 121b is formed to have a step forming surface 121c.

The depth “b ₁ ” of the first concave step surface 121 a from the upper surface 121 d is twice the thickness “t” of the base plate S ₁ , that is, is slightly shallower than “2t”. The depth “b ₂ ” of the second concave step surface 121 a from the upper surface 121 d is formed so as to substantially correspond to the thickness “t” of the arm plate S ₂ .

[0014] Therefore, as shown in (a) of FIG. 20, the base plate S ₁ the arrow the arm plate plate S ₂ after mounting the first concave stepped surface 121a as a ₁ arrow a ₂ Second like
When placed on the concave stepped surface 121b, the arm plate plate S ₂
Can slightly protrude from the upper surface 121d.

[0015] Incidentally, the the respective positions of the corresponding to each weld point p ₁ ~p ₅ of the first concave step surface 121a but micropores 121e are provided, each of said micropores 121
e is for suppressing bonding to said first concave stepped surface該台plate S ₁ when the welding and the base plate S ₁ and the arm plate S _2.

On the other hand, in FIG. 22 illustrating the upper unit,
(A) is an overall perspective view, (b) is a plan view, (c) is a side view, and (d) is a front sectional view taken along arrows c to c in (b).

The lower unit 1 having the above-described size in plan view in FIG.
Boxed upper unit 13 having substantially the same size as 2
The sliding hole 13a corresponding to the guide pole is provided at each position of the peripheral wall corresponding to the guide pole 122.
Is formed so as to penetrate, and an air supply port 1 connected to a flow hole 13b penetrating the peripheral wall is provided at one portion of the peripheral wall.
3c is provided.

Furthermore the area of the bottom plate 13d is corresponding to the respective welding points P ₁ to P ₅ when positioned below unit 12 by engagement of the upper unit 13 and its sliding hole 13a and the guide pole 122 At each of the positions, a laser incident hole 13e formed in a mortar shape is provided.

Therefore, the upper unit 13 positioned in the lower unit 12 is lowered by fitting the sliding hole 13a and the guide pole 122 to lower the upper unit 13 as shown in FIG.
It can be the state shown in, the surface of as the arm plate S ₂ described above are slightly protruded from the upper surface 121d of the arm plate 121 of the lower unit 12, the lower surface 13f is the arm plate S of the upper unit 13 becomes possible to press the _second surface, can be achieved resulting in close contact against the base plate S ₁ of said arm plate S _2.

At this point, the above-mentioned laser gun 14 is located at a predetermined position above the upper unit 13.

Therefore, the air supply port 13c
Nitrogen gas (N_TwoLike an inert gas like
The upper unit is supplied at a flow rate of about 4 liters / minute.
13 while filling the inside of the peripheral wall with the inert gas.
Of the XY stage 11 leading to an uncontrolled controller
The lower unit 12 and the upper unit 13 in two-dimensional
In the direction of the laser gun 14, for example.
Welding point P₁The required laser with the position of
Light L is emitted from the laser gun 14 and the welding point
P₁The spot is welded, but the arm is
Plate S_TwoAnd base plate S ₁Are in close contact with each other,
Welding can be realized.

Next, by repeating the same process for each of the welding points P _{2 to} P ₅ , a required suspension arm member S can be obtained as shown in FIG.

FIG. 2 illustrates the state during welding together with problems.
3 shows a sectional view of the welding device in FIG. 20 by arrows d to d, (a) shows a state at the time of welding, and (b)
And (c) show the problems, respectively.

In FIG. 2A, the base plate S ₁ and the arm plate S ₂ are connected to the first step surface 12 of the base plate 121 in the lower unit.
1a and the lower surface 13f of the upper unit 13 are in close contact with each other.

[0025] The laser gun 14 is positioned to the welding point P ₁ above the predetermined position between the base plate S ₁ and the arm plate S ₂
Laser light L from is adapted focused on the welding point P ₁ passes through the laser entrance aperture 13e.

[0026] Since the fine pores 121e described in FIG. 21 in this state is positioned in correspondence with the lower the laser incident hole 13e thus welding point P _1, the laser beam L from the laser gun 14 a base plate S ₁ and the arm plate S ₂ can be reliably spot welded.

[0027]

However, in the ordinary spot welding described above, although the inside of the peripheral wall of the upper unit is covered with the inert gas as described above, the carbon contained in the SUS as the material to be welded ( C), low melting points such as iron (Fe ₄ ), nickel, and chromium are generated as fine powder P due to heat generated during welding, as shown in FIG. However, the fine powder and dust degrade the quality of the subsequent welding.

Further, when the upper unit 13 is separated from the lower unit 12 to take out the suspension arm member S after welding, as shown in FIG. 3C, the powder P falls from the laser incident hole 13e. However, the powder P adhered to the suspension arm member S becomes dust inside the HDD.

Therefore, in the conventional laser spot welding apparatus, it is necessary to remove and clean the upper unit every time the welding process is completed, and it is also necessary to clean the welded member, that is, the suspension arm member S, which has been welded. Therefore, there is a problem that it is not possible to expect improvement in productivity as a welding process.

[0030]

The object of the present invention is to provide a two-dimensionally movable lower unit capable of positioning and mounting welding plates, an upper unit capable of moving up and down at a corresponding position above the lower unit, and an upper unit capable of moving vertically. A laser gun located above the unit, wherein the lower unit is configured so that at least the welding area of each of the welding plates is brought into close contact with the lower unit, wherein the upper unit is The upper unit is configured to have a mortar-shaped laser incident hole that does not hinder the laser light emitted from the laser gun, and the upper unit includes a gas supply unit that supplies an inert gas to the vicinity of the lower opening of the laser incident hole. Solved by the equipped laser spot welding equipment.

Also, a lower unit capable of two-dimensionally moving the welding plates for positioning and mounting the welding plates, an upper unit capable of moving up and down at a corresponding position above the lower unit, and a laser gun positioned above the upper unit. A laser spot welding apparatus configured so that at least the welding area of each of the welding plates is brought into close contact with the upper unit when the upper unit is lowered, wherein the upper unit is provided on one surface of a plate-like body with the laser beam. A laser incident block provided with a tapered projection forming a mortar-shaped laser incident hole which does not impede the laser light emitted from the gun; a bottomed box shape having the plate-like body as a cover plate;
And a unit housing having a mortar-shaped laser entrance hole for fitting the leading end region of the tapered projection into the bottom plate with a gap provided between the unit and the bottom plate. The problem is solved by a laser spot welding apparatus configured to allow an active gas to flow into the gap in the tapered tip region.

In general, fine powder and dust can be scattered by forcibly spraying a gaseous substance on a place where the fine powder or dust is generated.

Therefore, in the present invention, the laser spot welding apparatus is configured so that the inert gas is blown to the generation location and the adhesion area of the powder P.

This means that the upper unit and the member to be welded need not be cleaned because the powder P is removed at least from the vicinity of the welding area.

Therefore, it is possible to realize a laser spot welding apparatus which can be expected to improve productivity in the welding process.

[0036]

FIG. 1 is a view for explaining the structure of a laser spot welding apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view for explaining an upper unit of FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the air supply block of FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the operation and effect of the laser spot welding device of FIG. 1, and FIG. 6 is an application of the laser spot welding device of FIG. FIG. 7 is a view for explaining an example, FIG. 7 is a view for explaining the unit housing of FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 is a view for explaining the operation and effect of the laser spot welding apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a view for explaining the configuration of a second laser spot welding apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the unit housing of FIG. 10, FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating the laser incident block of FIG. 10, and FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the laser spot welding apparatus of FIG. FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the effect, FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining an application example of the laser incidence block in FIG. 11, and FIG.
FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation and effect of the laser incidence block of FIG.

FIG. 16 is a view for explaining an application example of the upper unit described with reference to FIG. 2, FIG. 17 is a view for explaining the unit housing of FIG. 16, and FIG. It is a figure explaining an effect.

In the drawings, the present invention is applied to the laser spot welding apparatus described with reference to FIG. 20 as an example. Therefore, the same symbols are given to the same target members and parts as in FIGS. 19 to 22. , And overlapping descriptions are omitted.

1A and 1B for explaining a laser spot welding apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 1A shows a state before welding, and FIG. 1B shows a state at the time of welding.

In the figure, the laser spot welding apparatus 2 includes the XY stage 11 fixed to a base (not shown), the lower unit 12 fixed on the XY stage,
The upper unit 21 according to the present invention, which moves up and down with respect to the lower unit using four guide poles 122 erected on the lower unit as guides, and the laser unit disposed at a predetermined position above the upper unit. A gun 14 is included.

FIG. 2 in which the upper unit is extracted in this case, (a) is an overall perspective view, (b) is a plan view,
(C) is a front view in partial cross section.

In FIG. 2, the upper unit 21 according to the present invention comprises:
Unit housing 211 having a size in plan view substantially corresponding to the size of the upper unit 13 described in FIG.
And an air supply block 212 formed in a "b" shape in plan view so as to cover the peripheral surface of the unit housing, but as in the case of FIG. The air supply block 212 will be described first with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 3 showing only the above unit casing, (a) is an overall perspective view, (b) is a plan view, (c) is a side view of (b) in partial cross section, (d) is a front view in which (b) is cut by arrows e to e, and (e) is a front view.

That is, FIG. 3 shows the unit housing 2 in this case.
Reference numeral 11 denotes a bottomed box shape having a size in plan view substantially the same as the size of the lower unit 12,
A sliding hole 13a corresponding to the guide pole is provided in the peripheral wall at the same position as the guide pole 122, and a mortar-shaped laser incident hole 13e is provided in the area of the bottom plate 13d at the same position as the upper unit 13. This is the same as in the case of the lower unit 12.

The difference of the unit housing 211 from the lower unit 12 is that the air supply port 13b provided in the lower unit 12 is deleted, and the flanges projecting outward on the outer bottom plate side of each peripheral wall. 211a and at least the laser incident hole 13 on the outer surface of the peripheral wall.
e, a concave groove 211b for forming an airway is provided in a range surrounded by the formation region, and the concave groove 211b and the laser emission hole of each of the laser incident holes 13e, that is, the vicinity of the lower surface 13f are extracted. As shown in the enlarged view of the inside of the circle, for example, a straight fine hole 2 having a diameter of about 0.2 mm 2
By connecting by 11c, the gas located in the concave groove 211b can be ejected to the vicinity of each laser emission hole of each laser incidence hole 13e.

The center axis of the fine hole 211c is, for example, the spot position “P” of the laser beam L described with reference to FIG.
_Although it is directed to the vicinity including ₁ ", its formation is easy, for example, by a drilling technique using a normal fine drill or a drilling technique for gradually reducing the hole diameter.

On the other hand, FIG. 4 illustrating the air supply block 212, (a) is an overall perspective view, (b) is a plan view, (c) is a side view in which (b) is partially sectioned, and (d). FIG. 4 is a front view of (b) cut along arrows f to f.

That is, the air supply block 212 in FIG.
11 is formed so as to correspond to the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall, and its height “h ₁ ” is formed so as to correspond to the peripheral wall height “h ₂ ” excluding the flange 211 a of the unit housing 211. One air supply port 212a protruding outward is formed on the peripheral wall with a flow hole 212b penetrating the peripheral wall.
It is provided with.

The air supply port 212a is located in the area where the concave groove 211b is formed in the unit housing 211 described with reference to FIG.

Therefore, the upper unit 21 can be configured as shown in FIG. 2 by mounting the air supply block 212 so as to be fitted into the unit housing 211. The concave groove 211b
Are covered by the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the air supply block 212.

Therefore, the lower unit 1 in FIG.
2 on which the base plate S ₁ and the arm plate S ₂ are mounted as described above, and the upper unit is fitted by fitting the guide pole 122 of the lower unit 12 with the sliding hole 13 a of the unit housing 211. By lowering 21, the state shown in FIG. 1B can be obtained, but the close contact between the arm plate S _{2 and} the base plate S ₁ is realized in the case of the laser spot welding apparatus 1. Is the same as

Therefore, while the lower unit 12 and the upper unit 21 are two-dimensionally moved by the operation of the XY stage 11 connected to a control unit (not shown) as described above, as shown in FIG. The required suspension arm member S can be obtained by emitting the laser beam L from the gun 14.

5A and 5B for explaining the operation and effect of the laser spot welding apparatus 2 having such a configuration, FIG. 5A shows a state before welding, and FIG. 5B shows a state at the time of welding.

In FIG. 9A, before the laser beam L is emitted, the air supply port 21 of the air supply block 212 is provided.
For example, when the above-mentioned inert gas G is supplied at a required flow rate, for example, from 2a, the inert gas G is formed by the concave groove 211b provided in the unit housing 211 and the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the air supply block 212. After the space area 211b 'is filled, the laser incident holes 13e corresponding to the fine holes pass through a plurality of (five in the figure) fine holes 211c provided in the unit casing 211, and arrows g. ₁
Spouts like

In this case, since the center axis of the fine hole 211c is directed to the vicinity including the spot position as described above, the inert gas G ejected from the fine hole 211c is formed.
Is bounced off at the spot position and then diffuses along the wall surface of the laser entrance hole.

Thus, the base plate S ₁ and the arm plate S ₂ can be spot-welded by emitting a predetermined laser beam L from the laser gun 14 as shown in FIG. since the powder P generated from the arm plate S ₂ are dissipates ride directly to the flow of the inert gas G as described above, reliable spot welding achieved without depositing the powder P like the welding position and the vicinity thereof The laser spot welding device 2 that can be configured can be configured.

In the laser spot welding apparatus having such a configuration, all the laser entrance holes of the unit housing 211 and all the corresponding laser entrance holes are provided simply by supplying the inert gas G from the air supply port 212a at a required pressure. Since the inert gas G is blown to the welding position, there is a merit that, as a result, only the supply of the inert gas G can remove all foreign matter and the like adhering to all the laser entrance holes and the welding position.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate an application example of the laser spot welding apparatus 2 by extracting a region of the upper unit. FIG. 6A is an overall perspective view of the upper unit, FIG. 6B is a plan view, and FIG. () Is a front view in partial cross section.

In the figure, the upper unit 25 includes a unit housing 251 having the same external shape as the unit housing 211,
And the air supply block 212.

In this case, the difference between the upper unit 25 and the upper unit 21 is that, in addition to the conventional fine hole 211c provided in each of the laser incident holes 13e of the upper unit 21 and thus the unit housing 211, The point is that a fine hole 251a inclined with respect to the fine hole 211c is added as shown by an arrow in FIG.

The details of the upper unit will be described first with reference to FIG. 7 in the same manner as described above. FIG. 7A is an overall perspective view, and FIG.
3 is a plan view, (c) is a side view, and (d) is a front view in which (c) is cut and viewed at ee similar to FIG. 3.

In the figure, the unit housing 251 in this case is the same as the unit housing 211 described in FIG.
In the vicinity of each of the micro holes 211c, the same diameter as that of the micro holes 211c is reached so as to reach the vicinity of the opening of the micro holes 211c in the same laser incident hole from a distant position in the concave groove 211b. As shown in the inner circle (e) of the circle, which is seen through and viewed in an enlarged manner, straight micro holes 25 crossing each other
1a is additionally formed.
The center axis of a is formed so as to deviate from the vicinity including the spot position of the laser beam L and face the wall surface of the laser entrance hole 13e, for example, as shown in FIG. Have been.

The fine holes 251a are also provided in the fine holes 211.
Similar to c, it can be easily formed by reducing the diameter of a normal fine drill or the hole diameter stepwise.

Therefore, the air supply block 212 is connected to the unit housing 25 similarly to the unit housing 211.
The required upper unit 2 can be installed by fitting it into 1.
6 can be configured as shown in FIG. 6. In the upper unit 25, both the opening of the fine hole 211c and the opening of the fine hole 251a appear in each of the laser incident holes 13e.

Therefore, by replacing the upper unit 21 in FIG. 1 with the upper unit 25, a laser spot welding apparatus as an applied example can be constructed.

FIG. 8 for explaining the operation and effect of the laser spot welding apparatus having the upper unit 25 having such a configuration.
In, (a) is the FIGS. 5 (a) cross-sectional view similar, (b _1, b
₂ ) shows the state when the inert gas is supplied, and (c) shows the state when the laser is emitted.

In FIG. 8A, the front of the unit housing 251 is shown.
The concave groove 211b covers the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the air supply block 212.
The lower unit 12 has a base plate S₁And arm
Plate S _TwoAnd the guide port of the lower unit 12
Of the tool and the sliding hole 13a of the unit housing 251
The arm plate S
_TwoBase plate S₁The fact that close contact with
This is the same as the case of the laser spot welding apparatus 1.

Therefore, when the inert gas G is supplied at a required pressure from the air supply port 212a of the air supply block 212 before the laser L is emitted, the inert gas G
As described above, the laser incident hole 13 passes through the minute hole 211c and the minute hole 251a through the space region 211b '.
e.

[0070] As in this case, the inert gas G ejected from micropores 211c to be repelled as a spot position shown in which it becomes g ₁ to dissipate along the wall surface of the laser incident holes aforementioned FIG (b ₁₎ It is.

[0071] On the other hand, g ₂ which rotates the wall surface in a spiral shape while why from bumping into the wall of the laser entrance aperture as the inert gas G ejected from micropores 251a are shown in FIG. (B ₂₎
The circle (b ₂ ′) is a perspective view showing the flow g ₂ of the inert gas G.

Then, as shown in FIG. 7C, a predetermined laser beam L is emitted from the laser gun 14 to
₁ and the arm plate S ₂ can be spot-welded, but the powder P generated from the arm plate S ₂ during this welding is directly put on the above-mentioned flows g ₁ and g ₂ of the inert gas G and dissipated. Therefore, a laser spot welding apparatus capable of realizing reliable spot welding without adhering the powder P or the like to a welding position or its vicinity can be configured.

[0073] Note that the laser spot welding apparatus equipped with such on unit, since the inert gas G supplied from the air supply port 212a undergoes a path of the g ₁ and g _2, the laser spot described in FIG. 1 There is a merit that the removal of the powder P can be realized more effectively than in the case of the welding device 2.

Since the flow of the inert gas G is continuously generated while the gas is being supplied, the powder P
Can be surely removed.

9A and 9B for explaining a second laser spot welding apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 9A shows a state before welding, and FIG.
Indicates a state at the time of welding.

In the drawing, the laser spot welding apparatus 3 comprises the XY stage 11 fixed to a base (not shown), the lower unit 12 fixed on the XY stage,
The upper unit 31 according to the present invention, which moves up and down with respect to the lower unit using the four guide poles 122 erected on the lower unit as a guide, and the laser unit disposed at a predetermined position above the upper unit. A gun 14 is included.

FIG. 10 in which the above upper unit is extracted in this case, FIG.
(B) is a plan view, (c) is a front view in partial cross section,
(C ') is a partially enlarged view of (c).

FIG. 10 shows the upper unit 3 according to the present invention.
1 includes a unit housing 311 having a size in plan view substantially corresponding to the size of the unit housing 211, and a laser incidence block 312 which is easily positioned and fixed to the unit housing 311. Here, the unit housing 231 and the laser incidence block 312 will be described first with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12 in the same manner as described above.

FIG. 11 showing only the unit housing extracted, wherein (a) is an overall perspective view, (b) is a plan view, and (c)
FIG. 3B is a side view in which (b) is partially viewed, and FIG. 4D is a front view in which (b) is cut along arrows j to j.

That is, in FIG. 11, the unit housing 311 in this case is formed in the shape of a box with a bottom having the same size as the unit housing 211 in plan view as described above. A sliding hole 13a for the guide pole is provided on the peripheral wall at a position corresponding to the guide pole, and the unit housing 211 is provided in a region of the bottom plate 13d.
As in the case of the unit housing 211, the same laser incident hole 13e as in the case of is provided.

The difference between the unit housing 311 and the unit housing 211 is that a concave groove 211b provided in the unit housing 211 and a fine hole 21 connected thereto are formed.
1c, and an air supply port 311c having a flow hole 311b penetrating through the peripheral wall 311a as well as an air supply port 212a provided in the air supply block 212 is provided at one position of the peripheral wall 311a.

A concave step surface 311d for positioning a laser incident block 312 to be described later is provided around the opening inside the peripheral wall 311a.

On the other hand, FIGS. 12A and 12B illustrate the laser incidence block 312, wherein FIG. 12A is an overall perspective view, FIG.
(C) is a side view of (b) cut off by arrows kk.
(D) is a front view of (b) cut along arrows k 'to k'.

In the figure, a laser incidence block 312 is mounted on a plate-like body 312a which is removably positioned and mounted on the unit housing 311 by means such as screwing by fitting to the concave step surface 311d. The tapered projection 312c for forming the incident hole 312b is formed with the laser incident hole 13e.
Are provided at respective positions corresponding to.

In this case, the tapered projection 312c
Moves the laser incident block 312 to its plate-like body 312a.
In a state where the tapered projection is positioned and mounted on the unit housing 311 in the region of the above, only the tip region of the tapered projection enters the laser incident hole 13e with a small gap of, for example, about 0.2 mm. And the length “i ₁ ” from the plate-like body 312 a ′ to the tip is from the concave step surface 311 d of the unit housing 311 to the lower surface 13.
The distance to f is set to be slightly smaller than “i ₂ ”.

The laser incident hole 312b is formed as thin as possible within a range where the laser beam LA from the laser gun 14 is not obstructed.

Then, by positioning and mounting the laser incidence block 312 on the unit housing 311 as described above, the required upper unit 31 can be configured as shown in FIG.

In the upper unit 31, the air supply port 3
When the above-mentioned inert gas G is supplied from 11c, the vicinity of the tip of the tapered projection 312c is extracted and the inert gas G passing through the flow hole 311b is extracted as shown in an enlarged view (d) of the circle in FIG. dot region D ₁ of the peripheral tapered projections through between the laser entrance hole 13e and the tapered shape projecting outer surface can be guided to the distal region D ₂ of the laser incident hole 312b.

FIGS. 13 (a) and 13 (b) for explaining the operation and effect of the laser spot welding apparatus having the upper unit 31 constructed as described above, FIG. 13 (a) shows a state when the inert gas G is supplied, and FIG. Is a diagram showing a flow, and (b) shows a state at the time of laser emission, respectively.

That is, in FIG. 13A, the inside of the peripheral wall 311a of the unit housing 311 is covered with the laser incident block 312, and the lower unit 12
Since the base plate S ₁ and the arm plate S ₂ placed on the base plate are pressed by the lowering of the unit housing 311, the close contact of the arm plate S _{2 with} the base plate S ₁ is realized. This is the same as the case of the laser spot welding apparatus 1.

Therefore, the air supply port 3 of the unit housing 311
Supplying the inert gas G from 11c, the inert gas G reaching the dot regions D ₂ the tip of the tapered protrusion 312c via the dot regions D ₁ described in FIG. 10 barrier to the arm plate S ₂ is because there is no place to go, although dissipated upward as shown by the arrow g ₃ intrudes into the laser incident hole 312b in the tapered protrusion, the laser entrance aperture 3 this
This indicates that the opening 12b serves as a suction port for the inert gas G.

[0092] Thus, foreign matter positioned on the surface or its vicinity of the arm plate S ₂ may also be removed together.

Therefore, as shown in FIG.
4 after injection a predetermined laser L to spot welding the arm plate S ₂ and the base plate S _1, but readily removed from said powder P generated during the welding is also riding on the flow of the inert gas G be able to.

Since the flow of the inert gas G is continuously generated while the gas is being supplied, the removal of the foreign matter and the powder P can be reliably performed by the laser spot welding apparatus 2. Is the same as

Further, in the laser spot welding apparatus 3, since the laser incident block 312 can be easily removed, there is a merit that foreign substances and powder P adhered to the laser incident block can be easily removed by washing.

14A and 14B show an application example of the above-mentioned laser incidence block, FIG. 14A is an overall perspective view, FIG.
(C) is an enlarged view of the tip of the tapered projection, and (d) is a view of (c) viewed from below.

In the figure, the laser incidence block 315 in this case is shown.
Is the laser incidence block 3 whose appearance, size and shape are
12, but a plurality (four in the figure) of fine holes 315a are additionally provided in the region of the tapered projection 312c.

In this case, each of the micro holes 315a is
A position on the outer surface of the tapered projection 312c away from the tip is an entrance (starting point) of the gas G into the fine hole 315a.
Let r ₁ be a position from the starting point r _{1 at} a position penetrating the wall surface of the tapered projection in a tangential direction on the tip end side of the laser incident hole 312 b from the fine hole 315 a (the end point).
Up to ₂ were perforated in a straight line.

In the figure, since the number of the fine holes 315a is four, when the trajectory of the fine holes is seen through from the tip side of the tapered projection, that is, from the lower side, it becomes substantially square as shown in FIG.

In this case, the perforation of the fine hole 315a can be easily realized by the above-mentioned fine drill, a stepwise diameter reduction technique, or the like.

FIG. 15 is an enlarged view showing the operation and effect when a laser spot welding apparatus is constructed in place of the laser incident block 315 in place of the laser incident block 315. FIG. (B) shows the state of the gas flow at the time of (a) when viewed from the laser emission side, that is, from above, and (c) shows the state of the powder P at the time of laser emission.
Are shown respectively.

[0102] In view of (a), when supplying the inert gas G from the supply port 311 c, after the gas G is filled with the dot regions D ₁ as described above, the dot area from the dot regions D ₁ and said flow g ₁ which is dissipated sucked into the opening of the laser incident hole 312b flows to D _2, the laser entrance aperture 312b in the entering and after the laser incident from the dot regions D ₁ via the micropores 315a becomes the flow g ₄ similar to the flow g ₃ is dissipated by rotating helically along the wall of the hole.

And especially the latter flow g _{4 in} this case is:
As shown in FIG. 7B, when the laser incident hole 312b is viewed from the laser emission side, that is, from the upper side, all of the four fine holes 315a are formed to be inclined in the same direction with respect to the wall surface of the laser incident hole. The gas G ejected from each of the end points r ₂ flows in a circular manner, and as a result, the gas G is stronger than in the case of the unit housing 251 described with reference to FIG.

Then, a laser is emitted from the laser gun 14 to weld the base plate S ₁ and the arm plate S _2, and the powder P generated at this time is, as shown in FIG. after entering the laser incident hole 312b as the suction opening of the aperture of the laser entrance aperture 312b by the flow g ₁ of G,
Since it is allowed to dissipate been allowed to strongly rotated by the flow g ₄ of the gas G, it is possible to realize a reliable removal of the powder P.

[0105] In the laser spot welding device with such a laser incident block 315, since the flow g ₁ and g ₄ of the gas G is continued as long as supplying the gas G, Ya surface of the member to be welded There is an advantage that foreign matter and dust adhering to the wall surface of the laser incident hole and its vicinity can be efficiently and strongly removed.

Further, since the laser incident block can be attached and detached, easiness of cleaning can be realized as in the case of the laser incident block 312.

FIG. 16 illustrates a case where the third embodiment according to the present invention is applied to the upper unit 21 in FIG. 1 as an example. FIG. 16 (a) is a diagram showing the upper unit in partial cross section. , (B) is a plan view, and (c) is a front view in partial cross section.

In this case, the upper unit 41 in this case is constituted by the unit housing 411 according to the present invention and the air supply block 212 described with reference to FIG.

The unit housing 411 in this case is
As shown in FIG. 17 shown in the overall perspective view (a), the plan view (b), and the front view (c), the entire surface including the laser entrance hole inside the peripheral wall in the unit housing 211 described in FIG. For example, a fine powder adhesion film 411a made of a Teflon resin coating film having a thickness of about 0.2 μm is additionally formed.

Therefore, by mounting the air supply block 212 to the unit housing 411 as described above, the required upper unit 41 can be configured as shown in FIG.

The Teflon resin coating film has a property of easily adhering the powder P, foreign matter, dust and the like generated at the time of the spot welding, and the Teflon resin coating film 411a is easily cleaned by ordinary plasma cleaning. Can be removed.

The laser spot welding apparatus 2 described with reference to FIG.
18A and 18B for explaining the operation and effect of a laser spot welding apparatus configured by replacing the upper unit 21 in FIG. 18 with the upper unit 41, FIG. 18A shows a state in which the inert gas G is required, and FIG. It shows the state at the time of welding, respectively.

In FIG. 13A, when the gas G is supplied from the air supply port 212a of the air supply block 212, the gas G filled in the space area 211b 'passes through the fine hole 211c as described above, and the laser beam passes through the laser. Foreign matter and dust scattered by the gas G are squirted into the entrance hole 13e.
11a.

[0114] Therefore, as shown in FIG. (B), but welding the base plate S ₁ and the arm plate S ₂ by emitting a laser beam L from the laser gun 14, the powder P to be generated during the welding
Are scattered by the gas G passing through the fine holes 211c, and adhere to the Teflon resin coating film 411a in the same manner as the foreign matter and dust.

Therefore, the unit housing 4 after the welding process is completed.
It is possible to realize the easiness of cleaning as 11.

It is to be noted that there is an advantage that a further effect can be obtained by forming the Teflon resin coating film 411a on the unit housing 251 or the laser incident blocks 312, 315 and the like.

(Supplementary Note 1) A lower unit that can move in two dimensions in which welding plates can be positioned and placed, an upper unit that can move up and down at a corresponding position above the lower unit, and a laser that is located above the upper unit A laser spot welding apparatus comprising a gun and at least a welding area of each of the welding plates being brought into close contact with each other by descending the upper unit, wherein the upper unit emits from the laser gun; The upper unit is configured to have a mortar-shaped laser incident hole that does not hinder laser light, and the upper unit includes a gas supply unit that supplies an inert gas to the vicinity of an opening below the laser incident hole. Laser spot welding equipment. (Supplementary Note 2) The gas supply means according to Supplementary Note 1, wherein the upper unit is provided in a direction in which a welding point is located on a straight line extending along a supply port provided in the upper unit and a flow hole of the supply port. And a micro hole formed through the laser spot welding apparatus. (Supplementary Note 3) The gas supply means according to Supplementary Note 1 includes an air supply port provided in the upper unit and a straight fine hole connected to a flow hole of the air supply port. A laser spot welding apparatus formed so as to penetrate the upper unit in a direction such that a spot welding point is located on a line. (Supplementary Note 4) The gas supply means according to Supplementary Note 1 penetrates the upper unit in a direction in which a linear extension line connected to the fine hole described in Supplementary Note 2 and the flow hole of the air supply port is directed to the vicinity of the spot welding point. A laser spot welding apparatus comprising:

(Supplementary Note 5) The upper unit described in Supplementary Note 1
A laser spot welding apparatus characterized in that a fine powder adhesion film is provided on at least a laser incident hole forming surface including an inner surface of the laser incident hole.

(Supplementary Note 6) A lower unit that can move in two dimensions in which the welding plates can be positioned and placed, an upper unit that can move up and down at a corresponding position above the lower unit, and a laser that is located above the upper unit A laser spot welding apparatus comprising a gun and at least a welding area of each of the welding plates being brought into close contact with each other by descending the upper unit, wherein the upper unit is provided on one surface of a plate-like body. A laser incident block provided with a tapered projection that forms a mortar-shaped laser incident hole that does not hinder the laser light emitted from the laser gun; A unit housing having an air supply port at a location and a mortar-shaped laser entrance hole for fitting the tip region of the tapered projection into the bottom plate with a gap therebetween. A laser spot welding apparatus, wherein the supplied inert gas is configured to flow into the gap in the tip region of the tapered projection. (Supplementary Note 7) The laser spot, wherein the tapered projection according to Supplementary Note 6 includes a single linear microhole extending from the outside of the tapered projection to the vicinity of the opening below the laser incident hole. Welding equipment.

(Supplementary Note 8) The tapered projection described in Supplementary Note 6 is
A laser spot welding apparatus comprising: a plurality of fine holes extending from the outside of the tapered projection to the opening tangent direction near the opening below the laser incident hole.

[0121]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to improve the workability after the welding process by suppressing the adhesion of dust such as fine powder generated from the thin material during welding to the surface of the welding material or the surface of the thin material fixing tool. A laser spot welding apparatus with improved productivity can be provided.

In the description of the present invention, the case where the above-mentioned fine powder adhesion film is a Teflon resin coating film is taken as an example, but it is easy to form and remove the upper unit, and the powder P, foreign matter, dust and the like adhere to it. It is clear that the same effect can be obtained with any fine powder adhering film as long as it can be applied.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a laser spot welding apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an upper unit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the unit housing of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view for explaining an air supply block in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining the operation and effect of the laser spot welding apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining an application example of the laser spot welding apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the unit housing of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a view for explaining the operation and effect of the laser spot welding apparatus shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a second laser spot welding apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an upper unit of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the unit housing of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a view for explaining the laser incidence block in FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 shows the operation of the laser spot welding apparatus shown in FIG.
The figure explaining an effect.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an application example of the laser incidence block in FIG. 11;

FIG. 15 is a view for explaining the operation and effect of the laser incidence block in FIG. 11;

FIG. 16 is a view for explaining an application example of the upper unit described in FIG. 2;

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating the unit housing of FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a view for explaining the operation and effect of the upper unit in FIG. 16;

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a thin material as an object.

FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram illustrating a conventional laser spot welding apparatus.

FIG. 21 is a view for explaining a lower unit in FIG. 20;

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating the upper unit of FIG. 20.

FIG. 23 is a view for explaining a state at the time of welding and problems.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2, 3, 4 Laser spot welding apparatus 11 XY stage 12 Lower unit 13a Sliding hole 13d Bottom plate 13e Laser incident hole 13f Lower surface 14 Laser gun 21, 25, 31, 41 Upper unit 121 Base plate 122 Guide pole 211 unit Housing 211a Flange 211b Concave groove 211b 'Space area 211c Micro hole 212 Air supply block 212a Air supply port 212b Flow hole 251 Unit housing 251a Micro hole 311 Unit housing 311a Peripheral wall 311b Flow air hole 311c Air supply port 311d 312 laser incident block 312a plate-like body 312b laser incident hole 312c tapered protrusion 312c 'outer surface 315 laser incident block 315a fine hole 411 unit housing 411a fine powder adhesion film

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Naohisa Matsushita 4-1-1, Kamiodanaka, Nakahara-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa F-term in Fujitsu Limited (reference) 4E068 BF01 DA14 DB01 5D059 AA01 BA01 DA31

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A two-dimensionally movable lower unit capable of positioning and mounting welding plates, an upper unit capable of moving up and down at a corresponding position above the lower unit, and a laser gun located above the upper unit. A laser spot welding apparatus configured so that at least a welding area of each of the welding plates is brought into close contact with the lower unit by lowering the upper unit, wherein the upper unit emits laser light from the laser gun. The upper unit is provided with a gas supply means for supplying an inert gas to the vicinity of the lower opening of the laser incident hole. Laser spot welding equipment. 2. The gas supply device according to claim 1, wherein the gas supply means is provided in a direction in which a welding point is located on a straight line extending from a supply port provided in the upper unit and a flow hole of the supply port. A laser spot welding apparatus comprising: a fine hole formed through the upper unit. 3. The gas supply means according to claim 1, comprising an air supply port provided in said upper unit, and a straight fine hole connected to a flow hole of said air supply port. And a laser spot welding apparatus formed so as to penetrate the upper unit in a direction such that a spot welding point is located on an extension line. 4. A two-dimensionally movable lower unit capable of positioning and mounting welding plates, an upper unit capable of vertically moving at a corresponding position above the lower unit, and a laser gun located above the upper unit. A laser spot welding apparatus configured so that at least the welding area of each of the welding plates is brought into close contact with the lower unit when the upper unit is lowered, wherein the upper unit is provided on one surface of a plate-like body with the laser beam. A laser incident block provided with a tapered projection that forms a mortar-shaped laser incident hole that does not impede the laser light emitted from the gun; A unit housing having an air supply port and having a mortar-shaped laser incidence hole formed in the bottom plate to fit the leading end region of the tapered projection with a gap therebetween, and supplied from the air supply port A laser spot welding apparatus, wherein an inert gas is configured to flow through the gap in the tip region of the tapered projection.