JP2005132000A - Ultrasonic welding device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ultrasonic welding device which can produce a high quality product by preventing breaking during welding and improve productivity. <P>SOLUTION: The ultrasonic welding device 10 has a holder 15 which is arranged on a pallet 14 and loaded with a terminal 13, a holder press plate 16 which presses/moves the holder 15 vertically, a lateral guide which presses/holds the terminal 13 on the holder 15 and positions the terminal 13 vertically and horizontally, a standard approach member 18 having a terminal press part 18A positioning the terminal 13 in the electric wire axis direction, and an electric wire holding member 19 mounting a conductor part 12 on the terminal 13 and does ultrasonic welding by an anvil 20 and a horn. The terminal press part 18A of the standard approach member 18 is molded from a polymeric material which can absorb ultrasonic vibration. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic welding apparatus used for welding a conductor portion of an electric wire to a terminal by ultrasonic vibration.

  As an example of a conventional ultrasonic welding apparatus, an ultrasonic welding apparatus that welds workpieces while a pallet containing workpieces to be welded is sequentially conveyed is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

In such an ultrasonic welding apparatus, not only the welding receiving part is separated from the pallet, but also by touching the workpiece stored in the pallet directly and vertically, the pallet is shared from the lower surface side. Stable welding is performed regardless of variations in the processing accuracy of each pallet between the welding receiving portion received and the horn at the tip of the welding head.
JP 2002-160299 A (FIG. 1, pages 3 to 4)

  However, in the ultrasonic welding apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, when the workpiece is a terminal, for example, and the workpiece is welded to the conductor portion of the electric wire, the ultrasonic vibration energy is applied to the weak portion of the terminal. May propagate, and the weak part (folded part) may be broken due to stress concentration, and many defective products may be produced.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and provides an ultrasonic welding apparatus that can prevent breakage during welding to produce a high-quality product and improve productivity. For the purpose.

1) The ultrasonic welding apparatus according to the present invention is provided with an anvil that is in contact with a lower side of a terminal on which a conductor portion is placed, and an upper side of the conductor portion that is placed on the terminal. A horn that performs ultrasonic welding by sandwiching the conductor portion and the terminal with an anvil, and an electric wire sandwiching member that grips an electric wire and places the conductor portion on the terminal, and the conductor portion is internally provided. An ultrasonic welding apparatus for fixing the conductor portion of the electric wire to the terminal, the terminal having a terminal pressing portion that is arranged so as to be movable forward and backward in the electric wire axial direction of the terminal and abuts on the terminal, and the electric wire of the terminal A reference member for positioning in the axial direction, and the terminal pressing portion of the reference member is formed of a polymer material capable of absorbing ultrasonic vibration.
2) The ultrasonic welding apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that, in the ultrasonic welding apparatus described in 1), a holder for placing the terminal is disposed on a pallet that is transported and moved in the process. Yes.
3) The ultrasonic welding apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that, in the ultrasonic welding apparatus described in 2), the holder is pressed and moved in a vertical direction by a holder pressing plate.
4) The ultrasonic welding apparatus according to the present invention is the ultrasonic welding apparatus according to 3), wherein the ultrasonic welding apparatus is movably arranged toward a side portion of the terminal placed on the holder, and the holder pressing plate A lateral guide is provided that presses and holds the terminal on the holder that has been moved in order to position the terminal in the vertical and horizontal directions.
5) The ultrasonic welding apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that, in the ultrasonic welding apparatus described in 4), the terminal pressing portion contacts the terminal after releasing the pressing state by the lateral guide. Yes.

  Here, examples of the polymer material capable of absorbing ultrasonic vibration for forming the terminal pressing portion include materials such as urethane resin and silicon resin that can be easily formed. Thereby, the terminal pressing part of the reference member can be formed without using a complicated forming apparatus. In addition, as ultrasonic welding, in a state where the conductor portion and the terminal are sandwiched between the horn and the anvil, the vibration energy of the ultrasonic vibration is generated from the horn through the transducer, and at the same time, the pressure is applied. An example is a method in which strong frictional heat is generated between the conductor portion and the terminal, and the joining portions are joined by intermolecular bonding. Moreover, as an electric wire, the power wire and ground wire for motor vehicles which equipped the conductor part made from aluminum alloy of several cores can be illustrated.

According to the ultrasonic welding apparatus having the above configuration, the terminal is placed on the holder, the holder is pressed and moved in the vertical direction by the holder pressing plate, and moved to the side of the terminal on the holder moved by the holder pressing plate. The terminal is pressed and held by the lateral guide so that the terminal is positioned in the vertical and horizontal directions, and the terminal pressing portion of the reference member that can absorb ultrasonic vibration is released from the horizontal guide. The terminal is positioned in the direction of the electric wire axis by abutting in the direction. Then, the electric wire holding member that holds the electric wire places the conductor portion on the terminal where the positioning in the electric wire axial direction by the reference member has been completed, and the anvil is brought into contact with the lower side of the terminal on which the conductive portion is placed. The ultrasonic welding is performed by sandwiching the conductor portion and the terminal with the anvil by the horn disposed on the upper side of the conductor portion placed on the terminal.
Therefore, even if ultrasonic vibration energy is repeatedly generated while ultrasonic welding is performed while the terminal is supported in the direction of the electric wire axis by the reference member, the ultrasonic vibration energy is generated at the terminal pressing portion of the reference member. Since it is absorbed, even if the terminal has a bent portion that is bent, the bent portion is not broken. Thereby, breakage at the time of welding can be prevented to manufacture a high-quality product, and productivity can be improved.

6) The ultrasonic welding apparatus according to the present invention is the ultrasonic welding apparatus described in 1) above.
The polymer material is a urethane resin or a silicon resin.

  According to the ultrasonic welding apparatus having the above-described configuration, since the urethane resin or the silicon resin is an easily moldable material, a new equipment investment is made for the terminal pressing portion of the reference member without using a complicated molding apparatus. Can be molded without any problems.

  7) The ultrasonic welding apparatus according to the present invention is the ultrasonic welding apparatus according to any one of 1), 5), and 6), wherein the terminal pressing portion has a shape corresponding to various types of terminals. It is characterized by having.

  According to the ultrasonic welding apparatus having the above-described configuration, positioning in the direction of the electric wire axis is performed by the reference member having the terminal pressing portions corresponding to the terminals having various shapes. Therefore, when positioning in the direction of the electric wire axis is performed in a state in which the pressing by the lateral guide is released, a single shape reference member can be used corresponding to various types of terminals. Therefore, it is not necessary to create a plurality of types of reference members, and an increase in man-hours and waste of materials can be avoided.

  According to the ultrasonic welding apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the bent portion of the terminal from being broken, to manufacture a high-quality product, and to improve productivity.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the ultrasonic welding apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 is an overall side view of an ultrasonic welding apparatus showing an embodiment of an ultrasonic welding apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the ultrasonic welding apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is shown in FIG. 4 is an enlarged front view of the main part of the ultrasonic welding apparatus, FIG. 4 is a side view of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is an external perspective view around the holder used in the ultrasonic welding apparatus shown in FIG. 6A, 6B, and 6C are enlarged side views of a reference member used in the ultrasonic welding apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 7 is performed using the ultrasonic welding apparatus shown in FIG. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of the ultrasonic welding method.

  8 is a front view of the first step of the ultrasonic welding method performed using the ultrasonic welding apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 9 is the second step of the ultrasonic welding method performed using the ultrasonic welding device shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is a front view of the third step of the ultrasonic welding method performed using the ultrasonic welding apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 11 is an ultrasonic welding method performed using the ultrasonic welding apparatus shown in FIG. It is a front view of the 4th process. 12 is a side view of FIG. 11, FIG. 13 is a front view of the fifth step of the ultrasonic welding method performed using the ultrasonic welding apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 14 is the ultrasonic welding apparatus shown in FIG. It is a front view of the 6th process of the ultrasonic welding method performed using.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an ultrasonic welding apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention is an ultrasonic welding apparatus that fixes a conductor portion 12 of an electric wire 11 having a conductor portion 12 therein to a terminal 13. The holder 15 is placed on the pallet 14 that conveys and moves, and the holder pressing plates 16 and 16 that press and move the holder 15 in the vertical direction are provided. The terminal 13 placed on the holder 15 is movably disposed to the side of the terminal 13, and the terminal 13 is pressed and held on the holder 15 moved by the holder pressing plates 16, 16 to move the terminal 13 up and down and Horizontal guides 17 and 17 are provided for positioning in the left-right direction.

  Further, the terminal 13 has a terminal pressing portion 18A that is arranged so as to be able to advance and retract in the direction of the electric wire axis and is released from the pressing by the lateral guides 17 and 71, and positions the terminal 13 in the direction of the electric wire axis. A reference member 18 is provided. In addition, an electric wire holding member 19 is provided which holds the electric wire 11 and places the conductor portion 12 on the terminal 13 which has been positioned in the electric wire axial direction by the reference member 18. Further, the anvil 20 that is in contact with the lower side of the terminal 13 on which the conductor portion 12 is placed, and the conductor portion 12 that is disposed on the upper side of the conductor portion 12 that is placed on the terminal 13, A horn (shown in FIG. 3) 21 that performs ultrasonic welding with the terminal 13 interposed therebetween is provided. Further, the terminal pressing portion 18A of the reference member 18 is formed of a polymer material that can absorb ultrasonic vibration.

  The electric wire 11 is, for example, a power supply line or a grounding wire for automobiles, which includes a multi-core conductor portion 12 made of an alloy using aluminum, iron, copper, or the like, and is a coating that covers the conductor portion 12. When 22 is peeled off by a predetermined amount (predetermined dimension, predetermined weight), it is conveyed to the ultrasonic welding apparatus 10 with the conductor portion 12 exposed. At this time, the wire pinching members 19 and 19 are used for transporting the wire 11. The electric wire holding members 19 and 19 are held by the upper cylinder 23 and the lower cylinder 24 so as to face each other from above and below to hold the electric wire 11 and are welded to the terminal 13. The electric wire sandwiching members 19 and 19 supply two end portions of one electric wire 11 to two continuous pallets 14 and 14, and respectively connect the terminals 13 to the conductor portions 12 and 12 at the two end portions. Used to fix.

  The terminal 13 is formed using a conductive material such as iron or copper as a raw material. The terminal 13 has a welded portion 13A having a U-shaped cross-sectional view at the center, and is bent into a substantially cylindrical shape at the tip. It has a molded contact portion (shown in FIG. 5) 13B and a distal end bent portion (shown in FIG. 5) 13C that is bent at the end of the contact portion 13B. A foot portion (shown in FIG. 5) 13D to be crimped to the coating 22 is provided.

  In the pallet 14, two shafts 26 are erected on the bottom plates 25, 25 divided into two in a quadrangular shape, and a return spring 27 in the form of a torsion coil spring is disposed outside the shaft 26. Eight pallets 14 are arranged side by side in the process of the ultrasonic welding apparatus 10 and are sequentially transported and moved by a pallet moving mechanism (shown in FIG. 2) 28 to be used for continuous welding. A holder 15 is assembled on the pallet 14.

  The holder 15 is a plate formed in an H-shape, and a through hole 29 for allowing the anvil 20 to be inserted is formed at the center, and this through hole 29 portion is a terminal mounting portion (shown in FIG. 2). ) It is 30. The holder 15 is locked to the upper end portions of the four shafts 26 of the pallet 14 so as to be movable in the axial direction, and is urged upward by a return spring 27. Therefore, when it is pressed downward by the holder pressing plates 16, 16, it is moved downward while maintaining the horizontal state by the return spring 27, and when it is no longer pressed by the holder pressing plate 16, the elastic repulsive force of the return spring 27 It moves back upward while maintaining the horizontal state.

  Further, since the holder 15 is stably held by the return springs 27 and 27 when the holder 15 is pushed and moved by the holder pressing plates 16 and 16, the terminal 13 is positioned at the stable position of the holder 15. be able to. Further, since the anvil 20 is brought into contact with the welded portion 13A of the terminal 13 through the through-hole 29 of the holder 15, the anvil 20 is reliably brought into contact with the welded portion 13A of the terminal 13 through the through-hole 29 so that the ultrasonic wave Welding can be performed. The holder 15 is provided with lateral guides 17 and 17 (shown in FIG. 2) corresponding to both sides of the through hole 29.

  The lateral guides 17, 17 are arranged in a protruding manner on both sides of the through hole 29 of the holder 15 and are biased upward by return springs 31, 31 toward the through hole 29. And pieces 32 and 32 that can be moved back and forth in an oblique direction. The pieces 32 and 32 advance toward the through-hole 29 by pressing with knock pins (shown in FIG. 3) 33 and 33, thereby pressing and holding the side of the welded portion 13A of the terminal 13 placed on the terminal mounting portion 30. To do. Therefore, when the terminal 13 is pressed and held on the holder 15 moved by the holder pressing plates 16 and 16 and the terminal 13 is positioned in the vertical and horizontal directions, the dowel pins 33 and 33 are used for the pieces 32 and 32 of the lateral guides 17 and 17. Since the terminal 32 holds the terminal 13, the terminal 13 can be reliably positioned without being displaced. For positioning at this time, the position of the terminal 13 is sensed by a laser sensor (not shown), and is stopped when the positional deviation exceeds, for example, 0.3 mm.

  The holder pressing plates 16, 16 are arranged one above the other above the holder 15, and the cylinders 34 press the holder 15, on which the terminal 13 is placed on the terminal mounting portion 30, downward. Since the holder pressing plates 16 and 16 press the outer end portion of the holder 15, the holder 15 can be stably moved and can be stably disposed at that position.

  The reference member 18 is disposed on the side of the holder 15, and moves forward and backward in the direction of the electric wire axis by the drive mechanism 35. The reference member 18 has a terminal pressing portion 18 </ b> A that contacts the terminal 13. The terminal pressing portion 18A presses and moves the holder 15 to a predetermined position by the holder pressing plates 16 and 16 and then releases the pressing by the pieces 32 and 32 of the lateral guides 17 and 17 in the direction of the electric wire axis of the terminal 13. Used for positioning. The terminal pressing portion 18A is formed of urethane resin or silicon resin, which is a polymer material that can absorb ultrasonic vibration. Since the reference pressing member 18 has a terminal pressing portion 18A that is in contact with the terminal 13 formed of a material that can be easily molded of urethane resin or silicon resin, a new capital investment is made without using a complicated molding apparatus. Can be molded without any problems.

  Further, the terminal pressing portion 18 </ b> A has a shape corresponding to various types of terminals 13. That is, since the terminal pressing portion 18A is formed in accordance with the terminals 13 of various shapes, the positioning of the terminal 13 in the wire axis direction is performed in a state where the pressing by the pieces 32, 32 of the lateral guides 17, 17 is released. In addition, positioning of the various terminals 13, 36 (shown in FIG. 6B) and 37 (shown in FIG. 6C) can be performed by a single shape. Therefore, it is not necessary to create a plurality of types of reference members, and an increase in man-hours and waste of materials can be avoided. For positioning at this time, the position of the terminal 13 is sensed by a photo sensor (not shown), and is stopped when the positional deviation exceeds, for example, 0.3 mm.

  The anvil 20 is disposed below the through hole 29 of the holder 15. The horn 21 is disposed at the center of the holder pressing plates 16 and 16, and when positioning in the vertical and horizontal directions and positioning in the electric wire axial direction at the terminal 13 on the holder 15 are completed, a cylinder (not shown) is used. Be lowered. And the conductor part 12 of the electric wire 11 and the welding part 13A of the terminal 13 are inserted | pinched between the anvil 20, the vibration energy of an ultrasonic vibration is generated via a transducer (not shown), and an applied pressure is applied with the anvil 20 Thus, strong frictional heat is generated between the conductor portion 12 and the terminal 13, and the welded portion 13A of the conductor portion 12 and the terminal 13 is intermolecularly bonded.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the pallet moving mechanism 28 includes a lead shaft 39 rotated by a motor 38 and a nut member 40 meshed with the lead shaft 39, and the nut member 40 is connected to the pallet 14. Has been. The wire holding members 19 and 19 are moved to a position parallel to the lead shaft 39 by the cylinder 41 in the same manner as the pallet moving mechanism 28.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the knock pins 33, 33 are arranged on the sides of the holder pressing plates 16, 16, and the cylinders 42, 42 pass the pieces 32, 32 of the lateral guides 17, 17 through the through holes 29. Make progress toward.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a bolt 43 is inserted through the shaft 26 of the pallet 14, and the bolt 43 is screwed into the bottom plates 25 and 25. Since the holder 15 is constantly urged upward by the return spring 27, the holder 15 is stably lowered while being supported by the bolt 43 by being pressed downward by the holder pressing plates 16, 16. Moved. Further, the tops of the pieces 32 and 32 of the lateral guides 17 and 17 are supported by the piece holders 44 and 44. The terminal 13 has a welded portion 13A having a U-shape in cross section at the center, a contact portion 13B at the distal end is bent into a substantially cylindrical shape, and the distal bent portion 13C is in contact with the terminal 13. It is bent at the end of the portion 13 </ b> B, and the foot 13 </ b> D at the base end is crimped to the coating 22 of the electric wire 11.

  As shown in FIGS. 6A, 6 </ b> B, and 6 </ b> C, the terminal pressing portion 18 </ b> A of the reference member 18 has a groove portion 18 </ b> C between two rectangular plate portions 18 </ b> B and 18 </ b> B. As shown in FIG. 6A, when the terminal 13 has a tip bent portion 13C that is bent at the end of the contact portion 13B, the terminal pressing portion 18A has one tip bent portion 13C. When the plate portion 18B is brought into contact, the terminal 13 is pressed in the electric wire axial direction to perform positioning in the electric wire axial direction. In contrast, as shown in FIG. 6B, in the case of the terminal 36 formed in a flat plate shape, the terminal 36 is pressed in the direction of the electric wire axis by inserting the tip portion into the groove 18C, and the electric wire Position in the axial direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 6 (c), in the case of the terminal 37 having a connection end portion 37A that is bent at the tip end and formed with a screw hole 37B, both plate portions 18B, The terminal 13 is pressed in the electric wire axial direction by the contact of 18B, and positioning in the electric wire axial direction is performed. At this time, when welding the terminal 13 having the tip bent portion 13C, ultrasonic vibration energy is applied when performing ultrasonic welding while supporting the terminal 13 in the electric wire axial direction by the terminal pressing portion 18A of the reference abutting member 18. Is repeatedly absorbed, the terminal pressing portion 18A absorbs the ultrasonic vibration energy, so that the ultrasonic vibration energy is not given to the bent tip bending portion 13C at the terminal 13, and the tip bending is performed. The portion 13C is not broken.

  Next, the operation of the ultrasonic welding method performed using the ultrasonic welding apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, as shown in FIG. 7, in the first step, the terminal 13 is placed on the holder 15 (step S1). That is, as shown in FIG. 8, in the first step, the terminal 13 is placed on the terminal placement portion 30 of the holder 15. At this time, the holder 15 is at the return position A1, and the holder pressing plates 16 and 16 and the electric wire holding members 19 and 19 holding the electric wire 11 are arranged apart from the holder 15 and are in a standby state. Further, the anvil 20 is disposed below the through hole 29 of the holder 15. The pieces 32 and 32 of the lateral guides 17 and 17 are also arranged at the return position B 1 away from the through hole 29. That is, the terminal 13 is only placed on the terminal placement unit 30 by an operator or an automatic machine, and is not positioned.

  Next, in the second step, the holder pressing plates 16 and 16 are lowered, and the holder 15 is pressed down (steps S1 to S2 shown in FIG. 7). That is, as shown in FIG. 9, when the holder pressing plates 16 and 16 are lowered, the holder 15 is pressed down from the return position A1 to the positioning position A2. Thereby, the terminal 13 is also lowered together with the holder 15, and the anvil 20 comes into contact with the lower surface of the welded portion 13 </ b> A of the terminal 13 through the through hole 29 of the holder 15. At this time, the electric wire holding members 19 and 19 are placed apart from above the holder 15 and are in a standby state, and the pieces 32 and 32 of the lateral guides 17 and 17 are also in the return position B 1 away from the through hole 29.

  Next, in the third step, the lateral guides 17 and 17 are pressed by the knock pins 33 and 33 to hold the terminal 13, and the terminal 13 is positioned in the vertical and horizontal directions (steps S1 to S3 shown in FIG. 7). That is, as shown in FIG. 10, since the pieces 32 and 32 of the lateral guides 17 and 17 are pressed by the knock pins 33 and 33 in the state where the holder 15 is at the positioning position A2, the pieces 32 and 32 are moved to the return position B1. To the first positioning position B2 to press and hold the side of the welded portion 13A of the terminal 13, and the vertical and horizontal directions of the terminal 13 are positioned at the position C1. At this time, the electric wire clamping members 19 and 19 are arranged apart from the holder 15 and remain in the standby state.

  Next, in the fourth step, the pressing force of the knock pins 33, 33 is lowered, and the reference member 18 is brought into contact with the terminal 13 to position the terminal 13 in the electric wire axis direction (steps S1 to S4 shown in FIG. 7). . That is, as shown in FIG. 11, by reducing the pressing force applied to the pieces 32, 32 by the knock pins 33, 33, the pieces 32, 32 are moved upward from the first positioning position B2 to the second positioning position B3 to be connected to the terminals. 3 is released. Then, as shown in FIG. 12, in this state, the one plate portion 18B of the reference member 18 is brought into contact with the distal end bent portion 13C, whereby the terminal 13 is pressed and moved in the electric wire axial direction. Positioning in the direction of the electric wire axis is performed. At this time, the electric wire clamping members 19 and 19 are arranged apart from the holder 15 and remain in the standby state.

  Next, in the fifth step, the conductor portion 12 of the electric wire 11 held by the electric wire holding members 19 and 19 is placed on the terminal 13 (steps S1 to S5 shown in FIG. 7). That is, as shown in FIG. 13, on the holder 15, the wire clamping members 19, 19 are moved downward relative to the terminals 13 positioned in the vertical direction, the horizontal direction, and the wire axial direction, and then released. The conductor part 12 is mounted on the welding part 13A.

  And in a 6th process, the conductor part 12 and the terminal 3 are ultrasonically welded by the anvil 20 and the horn 21 (step S1-S6 shown in FIG. 7). That is, as shown in FIG. 14, the horn 21 has been moved downward, and on the holder 15, the welded portion 13 </ b> A of the terminal 13 in which the vertical and horizontal directions and the wire axial direction are positioned, and the welded portion 13 </ b> A. The conductor portion 12 disposed above is sandwiched between the horn 21 and the anvil 20. Therefore, by generating vibration energy of ultrasonic vibration in the horn 20 and applying pressure with the anvil 20, strong frictional heat is generated between the conductor portion 12 and the terminal 13, and the welded portion between the conductor portion 12 and the terminal 13. 13A is bonded by intermolecular bonding.

  After the sixth step, a step (not shown) of caulking the foot portion 13D of the terminal 13 to the coating 22 of the electric wire 11 is executed, and a payout step (not shown) for discharging the completed electric wire with terminal is executed.

  According to the ultrasonic welding apparatus 10 of this embodiment described above, the terminal 13 is placed on the holder 15, the holder 15 is pressed and moved in the vertical direction by the holder pressing plates 16, 16, and the holder pressing plates 16, 16 are used. On the moved holder 15, the terminal 13 is pressed and held by the lateral guides 17 and 17 moved to the side of the terminal 13, and the terminal 13 is positioned in the vertical and horizontal directions. Then, the terminal pressing portion 18A of the reference member 18 capable of absorbing ultrasonic vibration is brought into contact with the terminal 13 in the electric wire axis direction in a state in which the pressing by the lateral guides 17 and 17 is released. Positioned in the direction.

  Then, the conductor portion 12 is placed on the terminal 13 where the positioning in the wire axial direction by the reference member 18 has been completed by the wire sandwiching member 19 holding the wire 11, and below the terminal 13 on which the conductor portion 12 is placed. The anvil 20 is brought into contact with the side, and the horn 21 disposed on the upper side of the conductor portion 12 placed on the terminal 13 sandwiches the conductor portion 12 and the terminal 13 between the anvil 20 and ultrasonic welding is performed. . Therefore, even if ultrasonic vibration energy is repeatedly generated while ultrasonic welding is performed while supporting the terminal 13 in the electric wire axial direction by the reference member 18, the ultrasonic vibration energy is the terminal of the reference member 18. Since it is absorbed by the pressing portion 18A, ultrasonic welding is performed without breaking the bent end portion 13C of the terminal 13, so that defective products can be manufactured by preventing breakage during welding. Therefore, it is possible to improve the productivity by producing a high-quality product.

  Moreover, according to the ultrasonic welding apparatus 10 of this embodiment, since urethane resin or silicon resin is an easily moldable material, the terminal pressing portion 18A of the reference member 18 can be used without using a complicated molding apparatus. It can be molded without any new capital investment.

  Further, according to the ultrasonic welding apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, positioning in the wire axis direction is performed by the reference member 18 having the terminal pressing portions 18A corresponding to the various shapes of the terminals 13, 36, and 37. Therefore, when positioning in the direction of the wire axis is performed in a state in which the pressing by the pieces 32, 32 of the lateral guides 17, 17 is released, a single-shaped reference member corresponding to the various shaped terminals 13, 36, 37 Since 18 can be used, it is not necessary to create a plurality of types of reference members, and an increase in man-hours and waste of materials can be avoided.

  In addition, the ultrasonic welding apparatus of this invention is not limited to each embodiment mentioned above, A suitable deformation | transformation, improvement, etc. are possible. For example, the shape of the plate portion of the terminal pressing portion in the reference member is not limited to a square shape, and various shapes such as a circular plate and an oval plate are applied. Further, the size and thickness of the plate portion are set according to the value of ultrasonic vibration used.

  The number of pallet shafts is not limited to four, and a plurality of four or more shafts may be used. For assembly with the holder, a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder or a damper may be used instead of the return spring.

  Further, the transverse guide piece is not limited to the rectangular shape shown in the figure, and may be, for example, a round bar shape or a square bar shape, and the knock pin may be extended to hold the terminal.

1 is an overall side view of an ultrasonic welding apparatus showing an embodiment of an ultrasonic welding apparatus according to the present invention. It is a top view of the ultrasonic welding apparatus shown in FIG. It is a principal part enlarged front view of the ultrasonic welding apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a side view of FIG. 3. It is an external appearance perspective view around the holder used for the ultrasonic welding apparatus shown in FIG. (A) is an enlarged side view for explaining a contact relationship with a terminal of a reference member used in the ultrasonic welding apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and (b) is a terminal and a reference member having a shape different from (a). FIG. 6C is an enlarged side view for explaining the contact relationship between the terminal and the reference member, which is further different from FIG. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of the ultrasonic welding method performed using the ultrasonic welding apparatus shown in FIG. It is a front view of the 1st process of the ultrasonic welding method performed using the ultrasonic welding apparatus shown in FIG. It is a front view of the 2nd process of the ultrasonic welding method performed using the ultrasonic welding apparatus shown in FIG. It is a front view of the 3rd process of the ultrasonic welding method performed using the ultrasonic welding apparatus shown in FIG. It is a front view of the 4th process of the ultrasonic welding method performed using the ultrasonic welding apparatus shown in FIG. It is a side view of FIG. It is a front view of the 5th process of the ultrasonic welding method performed using the ultrasonic welding apparatus shown in FIG. It is a front view of the 6th process of the ultrasonic welding method performed using the ultrasonic welding apparatus shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Ultrasonic welding apparatus 11 Electric wire 12 Conductor part 13 Terminal 13A Welding part 14 Pallet 15 Holder 16 Holder pushing plate 17 Lateral guide 18 Reference member 18A Terminal pressing part 19 Electric wire clamping member 20 Anvil 21 Horn 36 Terminal 37 terminal

Claims (7)

An anvil that is in contact with the lower side of the terminal on which the conductor is placed;
A horn that is disposed above the conductor portion placed on the terminal and performs ultrasonic welding by sandwiching the conductor portion and the terminal with the anvil;
An electric wire holding member that holds the electric wire and places the conductor portion on the terminal; and
An ultrasonic welding apparatus for fixing the conductor portion of the electric wire to the terminal,
A reference biasing member that is arranged so as to be able to advance and retract in the direction of the electric wire axis of the terminal, has a terminal pressing portion that contacts the terminal, and performs positioning of the terminal in the direction of the electric wire axis;
The ultrasonic welding apparatus, wherein the terminal pressing portion of the reference member is formed of a polymer material capable of absorbing ultrasonic vibration.   The ultrasonic welding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the holder for placing the terminal is disposed on a pallet that is transported and moved in the process.   The ultrasonic welding apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the holder is pressed and moved in a vertical direction by a holder pressing plate.   Positioned in the vertical and horizontal directions of the terminal by pressing and holding the terminal on the holder moved by the holder pressing plate, which is movably arranged toward the side of the terminal placed on the holder. The ultrasonic welding apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a lateral guide is provided. The ultrasonic welding apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the terminal pressing portion abuts on the terminal after releasing the pressing state by the lateral guide.   The ultrasonic welding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the polymer material is urethane resin or silicon resin.   The ultrasonic welding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the terminal pressing portion has a shape corresponding to various types of terminals.

Images