JP2007280306A - Spot welding system, program for use in the system, portable terminal program, and spot welding apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable interactive and systematic operations from welding condition decision to spot welding in a vehicle repair shop or the like. <P>SOLUTION: A spot welding system 1 includes: a spot welding apparatus 10 that can establish external communication and operate on information given through the communication; a portable terminal 20 that can be set in a predetermined setting structure provided on the spot welding apparatus, can communicate with the spot welding apparatus and can communicate with a computer (PC); and a program that is read and executed by the computer to cause the computer to implement a function of acquiring information necessary to plan the execution of welding using the spot welding apparatus 10, and a function of automatically generating data on the execution plan from the information acquired by the former function. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a spot welding system that generates a welding condition by a computer in an automobile repair shop or the like.

  The body structure of automobiles is made of various metals, but the majority is iron. The iron parts also have various plate thicknesses and types (soft steel / high-tensile steel, etc.), and a vehicle body is formed as an aggregate of these parts, which bears the safety strength of the vehicle and the protection of passengers. Considering that the typical method of joining parts is spot welding, it can be said that the strength of the vehicle body depends on the strength of spot welding. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that spot welding performed for repairing an accident vehicle at an automobile repair shop or the like is responsible for the safety of the vehicle body and the passenger. The present invention relates to a spot welding system used for spot welding of vehicles in a repair shop or the like.

  In general, when spot welding is performed, based on the type of steel material (soft steel / high-tensile steel, etc.), the number of sheets, the plate thickness, and the strength required according to the welding application, Three conditions are set, that is, pressure, current value, and energization time. For this reason, it is often the case that a welding table is determined with reference to a data table prepared according to the well-known spot welding condition setting data established by the US RWMA (Resistance Welder Manufacturer Committee). In this case, generally, regarding the plate thickness, the welding condition is determined by using the thinner plate thickness when the number of components is two and using the intermediate plate thickness when the number of components is three. The plate pressure used for determining the welding conditions in this way is temporarily called the main plate thickness or the reference plate thickness. Thus, since the welding conditions are determined by the type of steel material and the main plate thickness constituting the welded portion, the type of steel material and the main plate thickness constituting the welded portion are collectively referred to as a welding condition determining factor.

According to Patent Document 1, in recent years, the number of spot welding hits in an automobile body assembly line has increased. For example, it is said that the number of hits per car reaches 6000. Regarding spot welding in an automobile body assembly line, a management numbering system for welding points that enables accurate and efficient spot welding by managing a large amount of information on welding points has been proposed by the same patent document. . This system is used in an automobile body assembly line, and is composed of an integrated CAD terminal device, an information system device, a system main body, a database, and a display device.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-115449 (Abstract, FIGS. 1 and 5)

However, considering spot welding of the vehicle body, the welding condition determining factor of the portion that needs to be welded differs depending on the vehicle type, the year, and the region due to the characteristics of the vehicle body structure. For example, in the center pillar portion or the like, the configuration (that is, the welding condition determining factor) changes so that the welding conditions must be changed about once or twice by welding of only about 1 m. It takes time and effort to determine the welding conditions by confirming the type, number of sheets, and plate thickness of each steel part having a different configuration. Therefore, if the welding conditions must be changed, a situation where welding is performed under the same welding conditions tends to occur.
Furthermore, in order to reproduce the strength at the time of manufacture, it is necessary to know the welding point at the time of manufacture, but it is difficult to obtain this information for a wide range of vehicle types.
Moreover, in the case of a production line of a vehicle manufacturer, it is only necessary to handle the vehicle of the own vehicle. However, in the case of a repair shop, it is necessary to cope with various types of vehicles of various vehicle manufacturers.
Furthermore, in an environment where parts that are free from mud and dirt are used, such as a vehicle assembly line of a vehicle manufacturer, a system such as Patent Document 1 can be used, but mud and various kinds of dirt are attached as in a repair shop. It is impractical to use a system in which a computer is connected to the spot welding apparatus in a site where a damaged vehicle is handled.
In addition, there is a problem that in many cases, the basic matter of leaving a record of welding is not done in automobile sheet metal, which is strongly required to ensure safety, even though quality control is a question.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems. That is, the present invention relates to a spot welding system capable of interactively and systematically performing from welding condition determination to spot welding work in a vehicle repair shop or the like, a program used in the system, a portable terminal program, and a spot It is an object to provide a welding apparatus.

In one aspect, the present invention provides a spot welding apparatus capable of communicating with the outside and operating based on information given through the communication, and the spot welding apparatus according to claim 1. A portable terminal which can be installed in a predetermined installation structure provided in the communication terminal and can communicate with the spot welding apparatus and which can communicate with a computer; and reading and execution by the computer; A function for acquiring information necessary for formulating a construction plan when welding a target part of an object to be welded by a welding apparatus, and a function for automatically generating data of the construction plan from the information obtained by the function A spot welding system comprising a program to be realized by the computer.
According to this spot welding system, it is possible to determine welding conditions relatively easily by a computer, and by installing a portable terminal incorporating the data of the determined welding conditions in the installation structure of the spot welding apparatus, Spot welding based on it becomes possible.

The spot welding system according to claim 2, wherein the program causes the user to input the material, the number of sheets, and the plate thickness for each portion where the material, number of sheets, and plate thickness of the metal constituting the target portion are different. The means for generating the welding conditions for the part based on the main plate thickness among the metal material and the plate thickness of the metal constituting the part for the part, the spot welding apparatus, One of the portable terminal and the computer is further provided.
By this spot welding system, the user inputs the material, the number of sheets, and the plate thickness for each part of which the material, number of sheets, and plate thickness of the metal constituting the target portion are different. It becomes possible to generate welding conditions based on the main plate thickness among the metal material and plate thickness.

The spot welding system according to claim 3, wherein the program allows the user to input information specifying the model, year, and target part of the target, and the model, year, and target of the target. A function of obtaining the material and the main plate thickness from a predetermined database via the Internet for each portion having different material, number of sheets, and plate thickness of the metal constituting the target portion based on information specifying the portion; Means for generating a welding condition for the part based on the material of the metal constituting the part and the main plate thickness for each part, the spot welding device, the portable terminal, and the One of the computers is further provided.
According to this spot welding system, when the user inputs information specifying the model, model year, and target part of the target part, the metal material constituting the target part, the number of parts, and the plate thickness are different. Each time, the material and the main plate thickness can be obtained from a predetermined database via the Internet.

The spot welding system according to claim 4, wherein the computer causes the computer to realize a function of causing the user to input in advance either the current capacity of the spot welding apparatus or the current capacity of the power source of the spot welding apparatus, And means for storing the input current capacity of the spot welding device and the current capacity of the power source, and the current value included in the welding condition exceeds the current capacity of the spot welding device or the current capacity of the power source. The spot welding apparatus, the portable terminal, and the computer, the means for changing the welding condition to a welding condition of a class one step below and appropriately increasing the number of welding points to compensate for the accompanying strength reduction It is provided with either of these.
According to this spot welding system, either the current capacity of the spot welding apparatus or the current capacity of the power source of the spot welding apparatus is stored in advance, so that the current value included in the welding condition is the current capacity or spot of the spot welding apparatus. When the current capacity of the power source of the welding apparatus is exceeded, the welding condition is changed to a one-stage lower class welding condition, and the number of welding points is increased as appropriate to compensate for the strength reduction associated therewith. Therefore, it is possible to maintain a constant welding quality even when the current capacity is insufficient.

According to another aspect of the present invention, as described in claim 5, by providing information necessary for spot welding a target portion of an object to be spot welded by a computer, the construction plan data of the spot welding can be obtained. Spot that enables spot welding according to the construction plan via the mobile terminal by automatically generating, importing the generated construction plan data into the mobile terminal, and installing the mobile terminal in a predetermined installation structure of the spot welding apparatus In the welding system, the program can be read and executed by the computer. The program of the present invention has a function of acquiring information necessary for formulating a construction plan when welding by the spot welding apparatus, and a function of automatically generating data of the construction plan from the information acquired by the function. The computer is realized.
According to this program, it is possible to acquire information necessary for formulating a construction plan when performing welding with a spot welding apparatus, and automatically generate the construction plan data from the acquired information.

The program according to claim 6, the object necessary for creating a report that records data representing quality for each target part based on data for each welding point of spot welding actually performed and the target It is characterized in that the computer realizes a function of allowing a user to input information relating to a construction requester and a function of generating and printing the report based on data obtained from the portable terminal.
According to this program, it is possible to easily create a report in which data representing quality is recorded for each target part.

The program according to claim 7, wherein the function for generating and printing the report is a function for obtaining an average value of a pressing force, an energizing current, and an energizing time for each target part, and the average value for each target part. Based on a predetermined criterion for determining whether or not the welding quality is acceptable for the target part and printing.
According to this program, it is possible to easily create a report describing the pass / fail of welding quality for each target part.

The program according to claim 8 causes the computer to realize a function of taking in accessories that can be used in the spot welding apparatus and initial setting data necessary for using the accessory and sending them to the portable terminal. And
According to this program, since the accessory which can be used for the spot welding apparatus and the initial setting data necessary for using the accessory are captured and sent to the portable terminal, the initial setting corresponding to the accessory to be used is performed. It can be easily performed.

According to another aspect of the present invention, as described in claim 9, by providing information necessary for spot welding a target portion of an object to be spot welded by a computer, the spot welding construction plan data is provided. It is possible to interactively perform spot welding via the mobile terminal by capturing the generated construction plan data into the mobile terminal and installing the mobile terminal in a predetermined installation structure of the spot welding apparatus. It is a portable terminal program which is loaded and executed on the portable terminal in the spot welding system. The portable terminal program of the present invention is configured such that a user receives the construction plan data from the computer and stores the construction plan data, and communicates with the spot welding apparatus, so that a user can perform the spot welding via the portable terminal. The portable terminal is made to realize a welding control function that enables spot welding based on the construction plan data to be interactively performed by an apparatus.
According to this portable terminal program, the construction plan data is received from the computer, stored, and communicated with the spot welding apparatus, so that the user can use the spot welding apparatus via the portable terminal based on the construction plan data. Spot welding can be performed interactively.

The portable terminal program according to claim 10, wherein the construction plan data includes data corresponding to a plurality of portions having different welding conditions in the target part, and the welding control function is in accordance with a predetermined operation of the portable terminal. A function of sending data corresponding to a part to be welded next among the plurality of parts to the spot welding apparatus, and a function of recording welding result data sent from the spot welding apparatus every time a user welds And a display function for displaying the progress status of spot welding based on the construction plan data.
According to this portable terminal program, in accordance with a predetermined operation of the portable terminal, data corresponding to a portion to be welded next is sent to the spot welding apparatus, and welding is sent from the spot welding apparatus every time the user welds. Result data can be recorded and the progress status of spot welding based on the construction plan data can be displayed.

The portable terminal program according to claim 11 causes the portable terminal to realize a function of transmitting welding result data received and recorded from the spot welding apparatus to the computer.
According to this portable terminal program, since welding result data received and recorded from the spot welding apparatus is transmitted to the computer, it is possible to create a report describing the welding result on the computer side.

The portable terminal program according to claim 12, wherein the display function is information for identifying a currently welded part, a number of points to be welded to the currently welded part, and the currently welded part. And a function of displaying at least the number of points welded so far.
According to this portable terminal program, the information for identifying the currently welded part, the number of points to be welded to the currently welded part, and the points to which the current welded part has been welded so far Since at least the number of items is displayed, the user can know the progress of the work.

The portable terminal program according to claim 13 has a function of providing an output for notifying that when the number of points to be welded reaches the number of points to be welded to the portion currently being welded. It is further characterized by being realized in a portable terminal.
According to this portable terminal program, when the number of points that have been welded so far reaches the number of points that should be welded to the part that is currently being welded, an output that informs the user is made. Convenient for.

The portable terminal program according to claim 14 is characterized in that the information for specifying the part currently being welded is identification information attached to the part for specifying the part currently being welded.
According to this portable terminal program, the part currently being welded can be identified by the identification information attached to the part.

The portable terminal program according to claim 15, wherein the display function includes a function for graphically displaying a part or all of the target portion including at least a portion currently being welded, and the information for identifying a portion currently being welded. And a display for visually distinguishing a currently welded part from other parts.
According to the portable terminal program, a part or all of the target part including at least a part currently welded is graphically displayed, and the information for identifying the part currently welded is used to identify a part currently welded to another part. Since it is visually distinguished from the part, it is possible to visually grasp the part currently being welded.

The portable terminal program according to claim 16 displays a list of selectable accessories that can be used in the spot welding apparatus according to a predetermined operation of the portable terminal, and displays one accessory from the list display. When a predetermined other operation is performed in a state where one accessory is selected from the list display function and the function that enables selection, the one selected according to this is performed. The portable terminal is further realized with a function of transmitting initial setting data related to an accessory to the spot welding apparatus.
According to this portable terminal program, according to a predetermined operation of the portable terminal, a list of selectable accessories that can be used in the spot welding apparatus is displayed, and one accessory is selected from the list display, When a predetermined different operation is performed, in response to this, initial setting data related to the selected accessory is transmitted to the spot welding apparatus. Therefore, it is possible to automatically perform the initial setting for the selected accessory.

In still another aspect, the present invention provides spot welding construction plan data by providing information necessary for spot welding a target portion of an object to be spot welded by a computer as described in claim 17. It is possible to interactively perform spot welding via the mobile terminal by capturing the generated construction plan data into the mobile terminal and installing the mobile terminal in a predetermined installation structure of the spot welding apparatus. It is a spot welding apparatus used for a spot welding system. When the spot welding apparatus of the present invention receives a structure for installing the portable terminal, means for enabling communication with the portable terminal, and welding conditions from the portable terminal, subsequent welding is performed accordingly. Means for performing the operation according to the welding conditions received, means for executing the welding operation according to the welding conditions in response to a user instruction, and each time the welding operation is performed And means for transmitting welding result data such as applied pressure, current value, and energization time used in the operation to the portable terminal.
According to this spot welding apparatus, when the portable terminal is installed at an appropriate position of the spot welding apparatus and the welding condition is received from the portable terminal, the received welding condition is set, and the welding condition is set according to the instruction from the user. Each time the welding operation is performed, welding result data such as the applied pressure, current value, and energization time used in the welding operation is transmitted to the portable terminal. Therefore, the user can interactively proceed with spot welding based on the welding conditions set for each target site of spot welding, and further report the welding results in the computer by sending welding result data to the computer. It becomes possible to output a book easily.

The spot welding apparatus according to claim 18, further comprising means for performing initial setting using the received initial setting data when initial setting data is received from the portable terminal.
According to this spot welding apparatus, when the initial setting data is received from the portable terminal, the initial setting is performed using the received initial setting data, so that the initial setting can be automated.

The spot welding apparatus according to claim 19 is characterized in that the means for enabling communication with the portable terminal is an infrared interface.
According to this spot welding apparatus, communication with a portable terminal can be performed via an infrared interface.

  It is possible to interactively and systematically perform the process from determination of welding conditions to spot welding work in a vehicle repair shop or the like. A spot welding system that enables this, a program used in this system, a portable terminal program, and a spot welding apparatus can be obtained.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to embodiments of the present invention and the accompanying drawings.
In addition, when showing the same element in several drawing, the same referential mark is attached | subjected.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a state in which spot welding is performed using a spot welding system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention in an automobile repair shop. In FIG. 1, the repair shop includes the spot welding system 1 according to the present embodiment and a computer PC such as a personal computer that manages the spot welding system 1 offline. With reference to FIGS. 1-5, the structure of the spot welding system 1 of this invention is demonstrated.

  The spot welding system 1 uses a spot welding apparatus 10 manufactured by a spot welding apparatus manufacturer and a computer PC to generate welding condition data to be used in the spot welding apparatus 10, and from the welding result data, a welding quality assurance document ( The data is transferred between the optical disc 30 such as a CD-ROM on which a program for creating and printing a report (corresponding to a report in the claims) is recorded, and the computer PC and the spot welding apparatus 10 and spot welding is performed. A PDA (Personal Data Assistants = portable terminal or portable information terminal) 20 that enables interactive spot welding work by being installed in an installation structure 14 provided at a position where the apparatus 10 is easy to operate is provided.

  In this embodiment, each vehicle maker creates a database (temporarily called “welding management database”) that summarizes data related to welding of each vehicle sold by the vehicle, as will be described in detail later. (N) Servers Sa, Sb,. . . Although it is convenient and preferable for the user of the spot welding system 1, it is not an essential condition. FIG. 2 is a diagram conceptually showing a configuration of a welding management database disclosed by each vehicle manufacturer, and details will be described later.

  In addition, the manufacturer of the spot welding system 1 quickly collects information on the models for which welding-related data (welding management data) is disclosed in the welding management database, and the welding management via the Internet among the vehicles sold in the market. It is preferable to publish a list of URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) for accessing the manufacturer, model / year of the vehicle for which data is available, and data. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of this welding management data list. In addition, it is preferable to prepare a server Sm that can be accessed via the Internet N in order to provide aftercare for product users by updating programs or updating various data used in products.

  In this embodiment, the computer PC has an interface accessible to the Internet N, an optical disk device (not shown) that can read the optical disk 30, and a USB (Universal Serial Bus) for communicating with the PDA 20, for example. As long as the computer is equipped with an appropriate interface (not shown) and can read and execute the program recorded on the optical disc 30, it may be a computer of any specification.

  The optical disc 30 is a program that is created and recorded by a manufacturer of the spot welding system 1 and is sold as a part of the spot welding system 1 together with the spot welding apparatus 10. Hereinafter, the program recorded on the optical disc 30 is referred to as a “computer PC program”.

  The PDA 20 includes an interface (for example, a USB port) (not shown) for performing communication with the computer PC and an infrared interface 22 for performing bidirectional communication with the spot welding apparatus 10, and is created by the user. Any form information terminal having a function of reading and executing a program may be used. Therefore, it may be one selected by the manufacturer of the spot welding apparatus 10 from among commercially available products, or may be one manufactured independently by the manufacturer of the spot welding apparatus 10. In any case, the PDA 20 writes the portable terminal program created by the manufacturer of the spot welding apparatus 10 in a nonvolatile memory such as a ROM (not shown) or an EEPROM (ROM that can be electrically erased and written) as shown below. Thus, it is sold together with the spot welding apparatus 10 as a part of the spot welding system 1. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the appearance of the PDA 20 used in the spot welding system 1. In FIG. 4, since the PDA 20 includes a large display unit 24 with a touch panel, most of the operations can be performed by soft switches that vary depending on the operation mode.

  The spot welding apparatus 10 includes a display operation unit 12 including various switches and indicators necessary for operation of the apparatus, a PDA installation unit 14 which is an installation structure for setting an attached PDA 20, and the PDA installation unit 14. When the PDA 20 is installed, the infrared interface 16 is provided at a position that enables bidirectional communication with the infrared interface 22 of the PDA 20. Further, the spot welding device 10 is connected with a gun 18 that can be exchanged according to the shape of the object to be spot welded. Furthermore, although not shown in FIG. 1, the spot welding apparatus 10 incorporates a control unit 100 as shown in FIG. In the control unit 100, various programs 102 and data used for controlling the spot welding apparatus 10 are stored in a nonvolatile memory (not shown). The data includes welding condition tables α, β, γ (104) corresponding to several kinds of strengths in order to correspond to various materials ranging from mild steel and high-tensile steel of 480 N class to what is called ultra-high strength steel exceeding 1000 N, and Each gun 18 as an accessory includes a set 106 of an accessory ID and initial setting data required when the gun 18 is used.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a data structure of each welding condition table 104 in FIG. The data structure in FIG. 6 is the same as the spot welding condition setting data established by the US RWMA, and is well known to those skilled in the art, so a detailed description of the data structure is omitted. In the present invention, in order to realize optimum spot welding, several types of welding condition tables in which data is adapted according to the strength of steel to be welded are used. Each table 104 has three classes of data, A, B, and C. A class data is used as much as possible, and the current capacity of the spot welding apparatus 10 to be used or the current capacity of the power source for the spot welding apparatus 10 is used. Only when the current value does not reach the current value of the A class, the data of the realizable class is used.
When the welding condition is determined with reference to the welding condition table 104, the record to be used is determined based on the plate thickness that is the first field of the welding condition table 104. In this case, the plate pressure is the number of components of the welded portion. In the case of 2 sheets, the thinner plate thickness is adopted, and in the case of 3 sheets or more, the plate thickness of an intermediate thickness steel plate is adopted. In the present specification, among the plurality of steel plates constituting the welded portion, the plate thickness of the steel plate used for reference to the welding condition table 104 is referred to as a main plate thickness (main plate thickness in the claims).

  Here, before describing the operation of the spot welding system 1 of the present invention, information necessary for welding will be briefly described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a welding point (hereinafter, referred to as a “prescribed welding point”) set on a side sill outer panel which is one of the welding parts of the passenger car. In the present invention, a name or ID (identifier) is attached to each part or part (hereinafter referred to as “welded part”) that can be a target of welding work for each typical vehicle type. For example, the welding site shown in FIG. 7 is referred to as a “side sill outer panel” and is labeled “SS”. Then, it is preferable to divide the welded parts into different parts (hereinafter referred to as “welded parts”) in one welding site so that the divided welded parts can be distinguished by reference numerals. For example, in the example of FIG. 7, the weld site SS is divided into seven weld portions SS01 to SS07. In FIG. 7, a symbol marked with “X” in a circle and a cross mark indicated by a capital letter with parentheses represent a welding point at the time of vehicle manufacture. For example, the welding portion SS01 has 14 prescribed welding points, and the welding portion SS02 has 29 prescribed welding points. Therefore, in order to weld the welded portion SS01, the A class of the record corresponding to the value of the main plate thickness of the steel plate constituting the welded portion SS01 in the welding condition table 104 corresponding to the strength of the steel plate constituting the welded portion SS01. Using the welding condition data, designated 14-point spot welding is performed.

  Therefore, in order to provide such information, each vehicle manufacturer, for each vehicle that it manufactures, has a vehicle type / year type, a welded part, and a welded part image file as shown in FIG. Prepare welding management data that is a collection of records consisting of ID, each part code of the welded part that constitutes the welded part, material corresponding to each part, main plate thickness, number of specified welding points (number of welding points), etc. It is preferable to make it public. As is apparent from FIG. 2, it can be seen that the welding management data includes the material and main plate thickness (ie, welding condition determining factor data) of each welded portion.

Next, the operation of the spot welding system 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described.
<Operation of computer PC>
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing that is executed by a CPU (not shown) in the computer PC and mainly inputs construction plan data. When a repair request is received at a repair shop, in order to input necessary information from the viewpoint of paperwork and work management, for example, a computer program distributed on the optical disk 30 or the like and activated on a computer PC appears. When construction plan data input is selected from the menu, the program of FIG. 8 is called and executed. First, a construction plan data input screen as shown in FIG. 9 is displayed (step S320), and data input by the user is accepted (step S322). Accepting data input means that a user can input data by moving the cursor to a desired input field using a pointing device (not shown) such as a mouse. At this time, before inputting the vehicle type or the like, it is determined whether or not a welding part has been selected so that the welding part is not selected (step S324). If the welding part is not selected, the process returns to step S322. Continue to accept data input. Usually, at this stage, the company name or name of the company or individual who is the client, information about the customer such as the name of the person in charge and telephone number, and management information such as the order date, delivery date, and the person in charge of construction are entered. In addition, the vehicle number 302 (so-called number plate code) is input as identification information so that the currently input construction plan data can be distinguished from other construction plan data.

  In step S324, when the welding part is selected (in the case of Yes), it is determined whether or not the “vehicle type / year” column 304 has been input (step S326). Otherwise (in the case of No), it is determined whether or not the “other vehicle type / year” column 306 has been input (step S350). Otherwise, if neither the “Model / Year” or “Other Model / Year” field is entered, enter the “Model / Year” or “Other Model / Year” field first. (Step S351) and the process returns to Step S322.

  In the determination step S326, when the “vehicle type / year” column 304 has already been input (in the case of Yes), this is an input column for selecting and inputting from predetermined options. It means that there was a corresponding car model and year. According to this embodiment, the vehicle type / year for which the vehicle manufacturer prepares the vehicle management data is included in the welding management data list (FIG. 3) prepared by the spot welding system manufacturer. By downloading and storing it in a predetermined storage location of the computer PC, it is possible to input the “car type / year” column 304 with reference to the stored welding management data list. Therefore, being able to input in the “vehicle type / year” column 304 means that the welding management data for the vehicle type / year is available via the Internet. Therefore, in the case of Yes in the determination step S326, the selection of the welding site is accepted, the mark 308 is attached to the selected welding site (step S328), and data input is accepted again so that a plurality of welding sites can be selected ( S330), it is determined whether or not the welding part is selected (step S332). As described above, when the welding management data for the vehicle to be welded is prepared, the construction plan data can be input only by selecting the vehicle type / year type and the welding part. If you can be satisfied with the input contents so far, you can press the OK button at the bottom right of the construction plan data input screen.

  However, if the desired vehicle type / year is not found in the input in the “vehicle type / year” column 304 and data is directly input in the “other vehicle type / year” column, that is, if YES in the determination step S350, welding is performed. After accepting the selection of the part and attaching the mark 308 to the selected welding part (step S352), a new input box (manual input screen) 310 is displayed, and the material class, main plate thickness, and number of welding points are displayed for each part. Is input (step S354). In the example of FIG. 9, since the vehicle type / year model “XXXXXX” of the vehicle manufacturer “XXXXXX” is not in the welding management data list, the welding site “SIDE SIL OUTER PANEL” is selected. A new input box 310 is displayed. Subsequent to step S354, data input is accepted again (step S356), and it is determined whether or not a welded part has been selected (step S358). If a welded part is further selected (in the case of Yes), the process proceeds to step S352. Return.

  If No in determination step S332 or determination step S358, the process proceeds to further determination step S334 to determine whether the OK button has been pressed. If the OK button has not been pressed, data input is accepted (step S336), and the process returns to step S334. If the OK button has been pressed in the determination step S334, a screen for confirming the input content is displayed together with an edit button, a save button, a transfer button to PDA, an end button, and the like (step S338). If any button other than the end button is pressed, the designated process is performed (step S342), and the process returns to step S338. In step S340, in the case of Yes, the process of FIG. 8 is complete | finished.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of obtaining the welding management data via the Internet based on the vehicle manufacturer, the vehicle type and the year type input in the computer PC. In FIG. 10, first, the URL of the database is obtained from the welding management data list (see FIG. 3) (step S360), the welding management database specified by the URL is accessed, and the vehicle type / year type and the welding part are related. The obtained image file, the partial code, the material, and the main plate thickness data for each part constituting the welded part are obtained (step S362). The obtained data is transmitted to the PDA 20 together with the vehicle number 302 and other construction plan data when transfer to the PDA 20 is selected in step S342 in FIG. As described above, since data necessary for welding is sent to the PDA 20, welding is possible.
The program of the computer PC generates the above construction plan data and transmits it to the PDA 20, and also sends a welding result data request to create a welding quality assurance certificate described later.
<Operation of PDA 20>

  FIG. 11A is a flowchart showing a flow of processing of a program executed by a CPU (not shown) of the PDA 20 when the PDA 20 is installed in the PDA installation unit 14 of the spot welding apparatus 10 and can communicate with the spot welding apparatus 10. In the process of FIG. 11A, when the PDA 20 is installed in the spot welding apparatus 10, the PDA 20 displays a screen for spot welding based on the execution plan data received from the computer PC until then, and a user is required. Be able to perform various operations.

  First, in step S200, data such as the vehicle number, the welding site, the number of welding points assigned to the current welding part (Np), the number of welding points already applied (Nw) are displayed on the display unit 24 of the PDA 20, and for example, As shown in FIG. 4, a forward (NEXT) button, a backward (PREVIOUS) button, a set (SET) button, a stop (EXIT) button, and an end (END) button are displayed. Then, it is determined whether or not the forward button or the backward button has been pressed (step S210). When the advance button is pressed, the next welding site is displayed (step S212), and the process returns to step S210. If it is determined in the determination step S210 that the retreat button has been pressed, the previous welded part is displayed (step S214), and the process returns to step S210. If neither the forward button nor the backward button is pressed in the determination step S210 (in the case of No), it is determined in a further determination step S216 whether or not the setting (SET) button has been pressed. If the setting button has been pressed, the welding condition determining factor data of the current welded part is transmitted to the spot welding apparatus 10 (step S218). Thereby, the welding conditions of the spot welding apparatus 10 are changed to the welding conditions determined by the welding condition determining factor data of the current welded part thereafter. Then, the setting flag Fs is set to 0 to indicate that the setting has been completed (step S219), the welding condition data is received from the spot welding apparatus 10, and is displayed in relation to the welding portion (S220). The process of FIG. 11A is terminated. Thus, the PDA 20 can know the welding conditions for the current welded portion.

In determination step S216, if the setting button has not been pressed (No), the process proceeds to determination step SS222 to determine whether or not the cancel button has been pressed. If the cancel button has been pressed, in step S224, a stop flag for the current vehicle number is set, and the process ends. In determination step S222, if the cancel button has not been pressed, the cancel flag for the current vehicle number is reset, and the process ends. Thereby, it can be known whether the welding operation of the vehicle number stored in the PDA 20 is halfway or completed.
In step S218, when the welding condition determining factor data is sent to the spot welding apparatus 10, the spot welding apparatus 10 determines the welding conditions accordingly. FIG. 11B is a diagram illustrating the operation of the CPU (not shown) of the spot welding apparatus 10 at this time. In FIG. 11B, Imax represents the smaller one of the maximum current value that can be flowed by the spot welding apparatus 10 and the current capacity of the power source of the spot welding apparatus 10. Here, it is assumed that the maximum current value of the spot welding apparatus 10 and the current capacity of the power source of the spot welding apparatus 10 are previously input by the user from the computer PC or directly with the spot welding apparatus 10. When input from the computer PC, the data is transferred to the spot welding apparatus 10 via the PDA 20 and stored in the nonvolatile memory of the spot welding apparatus 10. Ia and Ib represent current values of welding conditions of class A and class B, which are obtained from the welding condition determining factor data received by the spot welding apparatus 10. The CPU of the spot welding apparatus 10 first determines whether or not the maximum current value Imax exceeds Ia (step S140). If it exceeds (Yes), the welding condition is set to A class, The process ends. In determination step S140, when the maximum current value Imax does not exceed Ia (in the case of No), it is determined whether or not the maximum current value Imax exceeds Ib (step S144). The class B is set (step S146), the number of welding points Wp defined for the welded portion is set to be large with the first capacity, and the process is terminated. In determination step S144, if the maximum current value Imax does not exceed Ib, the welding condition is set to class C (step S150), and the number of welding points Wp defined for the welded portion is set to be larger by the second capacity. (Step S152), and the process ends.
As a method for increasing the prescribed number of welding points in steps S148 and S152, for example, referring to the shear strength specified in the welding condition table, the overall strength of the welded portion is made constant regardless of the class. There is a method for determining the number of welding points. The simplest method is to make the product of the shear strength per nugget and the number of weld points constant. Note that the procedure in step 148 and the procedure in step 152 may be different or the same. Various other methods for increasing the prescribed number of welding points in steps S148 and S152 are conceivable, but are not described here because they deviate from the main subject.
Thus, according to this embodiment, when the current capacity of the spot welding apparatus 10 itself or the current capacity of the power source of the spot welding apparatus 10 does not satisfy the A class welding conditions, the rank is lowered, and instead the number of welding points is set. By increasing the welding strength, the welding strength is kept as constant as possible, so that high welding quality can be maintained.

  Further, the spot welding apparatus 10 performs the operation shown in FIG. 12 every time the user performs welding while displaying the data of the welded part and the welded part on the PDA 20 by the operation of FIG. 11A. That is, in FIG. 12, the control unit 100 of the spot welding apparatus 10 collects welding result data such as actual pressure, current value, energization time, etc., every time a welding operation is performed (step S130). Send (step S132). FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a process flow of a program executed by the CPU of the PDA 20 when the PDA 20 receives the welding result data from the spot welding apparatus 10. In FIG. 13, the PDA 20 receives this welding result data, stores it in a predetermined storage area (step S230), and increments a variable Nw representing the number of weld points that have been welded to proceed to the next welding portion (step S232). . Whether or not the setting flag Fs (indicating that it has not been reached when the logic is 0) indicating whether or not the number of welding points Nw has reached the prescribed number of welding points Np at the time of previous welding is 0 (that is, the number of welding points). It is determined whether Nw has not yet reached the prescribed number of welding points Np (step S234). When the value of the setting flag Fs is 0 (Nw has not reached Np at the previous welding) (in the case of Yes), it is determined whether or not the current welding point number Nw is equal to the prescribed welding point number Np (step) S236). If they are equal (in the case of Yes), the user is notified by voice that the number of welding points Nw has reached the prescribed number of welding points Np (step S238), and to proceed to the next welding portion, a display prompting the user to press the setting button, If the welding of the part is to be continued, a message indicating that it is acceptable is displayed (step S240), and the process proceeds to step S246. On the other hand, if the determination in step S236 is No, there is no need for warning and the process returns to the main routine. Thereby, the user can know this when the number of welding points reaches the prescribed number of welding points in each welding portion.

  In determination step S234, when the setting flag Fs is not 0 and Nw has reached Np at the time of the previous welding (in the case of No), the data of the previous welding portion is displayed (step S242), and the setting flag Fs is set to 0 (step S244), and the process proceeds to step S246.

  In step S246, it is determined whether or not the current welded part is the final part of the welded part. If it is not the final part (in the case of No), the next welded part is displayed (step S248), and the process proceeds to step S250. If it is determined in determination step S246 that the current welded portion is the final portion of the welded portion, it is determined in further determination step S252 whether there is an unprocessed welded portion. If there is (in the case of Yes), the first part of the next welding site is displayed (step S254), and the process proceeds to step S250.

In step S250, the setting flag Fs is set to 1 (indicating that the number of welding points Nw has reached the prescribed number of welding points Np), and the process ends.
In determination step S252, when there is no unprocessed welded part (in the case of No), the fact that the process ends at the current part is notified by voice (step S256), and the process ends.
As described above, by using the setting flag Fs, even if the number of welding points reaches the specified number of welding points, the welding of the current welded portion can be continued unless the user presses the setting button. Although the setting of conditions is automated, the work can be carried out flexibly.
Thus, according to the present embodiment, the user can proceed with the welding operation interactively via the PDA 20 installed in the spot welding apparatus 10.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing of a program executed by the CPU of the PDA 20 when accessory selection is designated in the menu of the PDA 20. When the PDA 20 designates the selection of an accessory on a menu screen (not shown) to be displayed, first, a list of accessories that can be used in the spot welding apparatus 10 is displayed to allow the user to select (step S260). Then, it is determined whether or not the determination button has been pressed (step S262), and steps S260 and S262 are repeated until the determination button is pressed. When the determination button is pressed (Yes in step S262), the ID of the selected accessory is sent to the spot welding apparatus 10 (step S264), and the process is terminated. Thereby, since the spot welding apparatus 10 can know the selected accessory, it is possible to perform the initial setting with the initial setting data corresponding to the accessory.

<Operation of Spot Welding Apparatus 10>
FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing of a program executed by the control unit 100 of the spot welding apparatus 10 when the spot welding apparatus 10 receives data from the PDA 20. That is, when data is received from the PDA 20, the CPU (not shown) of the control unit 100 of the spot welding apparatus 10 first determines whether or not the received data is welding condition determining factor data (step S110). If so, the welding condition data is obtained from the welding condition tables α, β, γ (104) using the welding condition determining factor data (S112), the welding condition data is set, and the welding condition data is transmitted to the PDA 20. (Step S116), the process returns to the main routine.

  If the received data is not welding condition determining factor data (No in step S110), it is determined that the received is the accessory ID, and the initial setting data 104 (FIG. 5) associated with the accessory ID is used. Obtain (step S120), perform initialization using the obtained initial setting data (122), and return to the main routine. In this manner, when an accessory such as a gun is selected, initial setting is automatically performed with initial setting data corresponding to the selected accessory.

Next, FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing for creating a welding quality assurance document which is a report of welding work in the computer PC. First, a CPU (not shown) of the computer PC transmits a welding result data request to the PDA 20 (step S370), receives welding result data together with the vehicle number 302 from the PDA 20 (step S372), and uses the vehicle number 302 to apply. Read out the execution plan data file to be written, write the necessary data on the welding quality certificate form (step S374), determine the pass / fail by determining the average of the applied pressure, current value, and energizing time for each welded part, welding quality certification The data is written on the book (S376), and the process is terminated.
Thus, according to this embodiment, a welding quality certificate can be easily created. FIG. 17 shows an example of a welding quality certificate.

The spot welding system 1 according to the present embodiment has been described above. Next, two examples of screens displayed on the computer PC are shown.
18 is a diagram showing another embodiment of an execution plan (or welding plan) manual input screen 310 (see FIG. 9) displayed in the process of the flowchart shown in FIG. In the welding plan input form of FIG. 9, an input field for a welding class and a welding gun to be used is prepared in addition to the material, the reference plate thickness (= main plate thickness), the number of welding points (= reference hitting points). After entering the necessary information in the “Entry” field, press the “Enter” button to refer to the welding condition table based on the information entered in the input item, and to determine the current value, pressure, energization time and The correction dot number is automatically displayed. The applied pressure is displayed in units of both kN and MPa. The correction number of hit points is the reference number of hit points as a result of adjusting the number of hit points (the number of welding points) when the welding condition class is changed as described above. In the example of FIG. 18, since the class is not changed, the value of the corrected score is the same as the reference score in the entry field. When it is necessary to change the displayed current value, applied pressure, energization time, and number of correction points, it is preferable that the input values in the necessary columns can be changed. If the input value is satisfactory, the display contents are registered by pressing the “Register” button.

  In the welding plan input form of FIG. 18, “part name 1” and “part name 2” correspond to the welded part and the welded part, respectively. That is, a welding plan can be created with an arbitrary configuration by inputting each welding portion in the form of FIG. In this way, after inputting to a plurality of welded parts and welded parts, by pressing the “go to confirmation screen” button in the right column, the welded part (part name 1) and the welded part (part name 2) The welding conditions can be displayed in a list. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of this welding plan confirmation screen.

The above is merely an example of an embodiment for explaining the present invention. Accordingly, it is easy for those skilled in the art to make various changes, modifications, or additions to the above-described embodiments in accordance with the technical idea or principle of the present invention.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the welding condition table is stored in the spot welding apparatus 10, but it may be stored in the computer PC instead. In this case, not the welding condition determining factor data but the welding condition data itself is sent from the computer PC to the spot welding apparatus 10.

Moreover, the form which has a welding condition table in both computer PC and the spot welding apparatus 10 is also possible. In this case, each welding condition table is identified by a table ID such as α, β, γ, etc., and in each welding condition data, the welding condition data can be specified by the plate thickness and class, so the table ID, plate thickness, and class are combined. The welding condition data can be specified with the code. For example, “β1.2A” can specify the welding condition data of class A in the record corresponding to the plate thickness 1.2 of the welding condition table β. Therefore, on the computer PC side, by generating a code specifying welding condition data from the welding condition determining factor data as described above, and sending this code to the spot welding apparatus 10 via the PDA 20, the spot welding apparatus 10 Corresponding welding condition data can be extracted from the welding condition table using the received code. In this way, the transmission amount can be reduced as compared with transmitting the welding condition data itself.
Further, the PDA 20 can have a welding condition table.

  As described above, the welding condition table may be provided in any of the computer PC, the PDA 20, and the spot welding apparatus 10. The function of increasing the number of welding points instead of lowering the class of welding conditions when the capacity of the spot welding apparatus 10 or the power source is insufficient is explained in connection with FIG. 11B when determining the welding conditions with reference to the welding table. It is efficient to work. Therefore, in this embodiment, the spot welding apparatus 10 has the function of adjusting the welding class and the number of points. However, among the computer PC, the PDA 20, and the spot welding apparatus 10, an element having a welding condition table may be provided. preferable.

  In the above embodiment, the program of the computer PC is recorded on the optical disc 30 and distributed. However, it may be stored in the server Sm of the spot welding system manufacturer so that it can be downloaded as necessary.

In addition, the program of the computer PC has a function of downloading and updating various update programs or data provided by the spot welding apparatus manufacturer on the server Sm in order to keep the software of the spot welding system 1 in the latest state. Is preferred. When the computer PC receives an update program for the program of the computer PC, the computer PC immediately updates the program of the computer PC with the received update program. In addition, when the computer PC receives update data such as the update program for the portable terminal program, the control program 102 for the spot welding apparatus 10, the welding condition data table 104, the initial setting data 106, etc., these are updated programs or updates. It is sent to the PDA 20 together with information indicating that it is data or an update command.
Since it is considered that the computer PC and the spot welding apparatus 10 are usually separated from each other, the PDA 20 is used by being connected to the computer PC through a USB interface or the like, or the PDA installation unit 14 of the spot welding apparatus 10 is used. Either installed or used. When the PDA 20 receives an update program for the portable terminal program from the computer PC, the PDA 20 immediately replaces the current portable terminal program with the received update program and performs version upgrade.
First, when the PDA 20 is installed in the spot welding apparatus 10, it determines whether or not there is a terminal program update command, and if there is, replaces the portable terminal program of the PDA 20 with a program received from the computer PC. Thereby, the version of the portable terminal program of the PDA 20 can be upgraded. Further, it is determined whether or not there is a data update command for the spot welding apparatus 10. If there is, the received data update command and data are transferred to the spot welding apparatus 10. Thereby, the program and data of the spot welding apparatus 10 can also be updated.

It is a figure which shows a mode that spot welding is performed using the spot welding system by preferable embodiment of this invention in the repair shop of a motor vehicle. It is a figure which shows notionally the structure of the welding management database which each vehicle maker discloses. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the welding management data list stored in the server which the manufacturer of a spot welding system operates. It is a figure which shows an example of the external appearance of PDA20 used with a spot welding system. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a software structure that is stored in a nonvolatile memory (not shown) of the control unit of the spot welding apparatus 10 and includes various programs and data used for controlling the spot welding apparatus 10. FIG. It is a figure which shows the data structure of the welding condition table 104 shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the welding point (regular welding point) set to the side sill outer panel which is one of the welding parts of a passenger car. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process which is performed in computer PC and mainly inputs construction plan data. It is a figure which shows an example of the construction plan data input screen displayed in the process shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of welding condition setting by acquiring welding management data via the internet based on the vehicle manufacturer, vehicle type, and year type input in the computer PC. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing of a program executed by a CPU (not shown) of the PDA 20 when the PDA 20 is installed in the PDA installation unit 14 of the spot welding apparatus 10 and can communicate with the spot welding apparatus 10. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process which determines welding conditions, when the spot welding apparatus 10 receives welding condition determination factor data. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process which the control part 100 of the spot welding apparatus 10 performs whenever a user gives a welding instruction | indication. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing of a program executed by the CPU of the PDA 20 when the PDA 20 receives welding result data from the spot welding apparatus 10. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process of the program which CPU of PDA20 performs, when accessory selection is designated in the menu of PDA20. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing of a program executed by the control unit 100 of the spot welding apparatus 10 when the spot welding apparatus 10 receives data from the PDA 20. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process which produces the welding quality guarantee which is a report of welding work in computer PC. It is a figure which shows an example of the welding quality certificate produced | generated by the process of FIG. It is a figure which shows another embodiment of the execution plan (or welding plan) manual input screen 310 (refer FIG. 9) displayed in the process of the flowchart shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the welding plan confirmation screen displayed when the "go to confirmation screen" button is pushed in the welding plan input form of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Spot welding system 10 Spot welding apparatus 14 PDA installation part 20 Form information terminal (PDA)
30 Optical disk recording computer program 22,16 Infrared interface

Claims (19)

A spot welding apparatus that communicates with the outside and can operate based on information given through the communication;
A portable terminal that can be installed in a predetermined installation structure provided in the spot welding apparatus, can communicate with the spot welding apparatus, and can communicate with a computer;
A function that can be read and executed by the computer, obtains information necessary for formulating a construction plan when welding a target part of an object to be welded by the spot welding device, and the information obtained by the function A spot welding system comprising: a program for causing the computer to realize a function of automatically generating construction plan data. The program causes the computer to realize a function of allowing the user to input the material, the number of sheets, and the plate thickness for each part having different material, number of sheets, and plate thickness of the metal constituting the target part,
For each part, a means for generating a welding condition for the part based on the main plate thickness among the metal material and the plate thickness constituting the part is any of the spot welding device, the portable terminal, and the computer. The spot welding system according to claim 1, further comprising: The program is
A function that allows a user to input information specifying the model, year, and target part of the object;
Based on the information specifying the model, year, and target part of the target object, the material and the main plate thickness are determined via the Internet for each part having a different material, number of sheets, and plate thickness of the metal constituting the target part. And the means for generating the welding condition for the part based on the material and the main plate thickness of the part for each part, The spot welding system according to claim 1, further comprising any one of an apparatus, the portable terminal, and the computer. The program causes the computer to realize a function of causing the user to input in advance either the current capacity of the spot welding apparatus and the current capacity of the power source of the spot welding apparatus,
Means for storing the input current capacity of the spot welding device and the current capacity of the power source;
When the current value included in the welding condition exceeds the current capacity of the spot welding apparatus or the current capacity of the power source, the welding condition is changed to a one-stage lower class welding condition, and the accompanying strength reduction is reduced. The spot welding system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein means for appropriately increasing the number of welding points to be supplemented is provided in any of the spot welding device, the portable terminal, and the computer. By giving information necessary for spot welding the target part of the object to be spot welded in a computer, the spot welding construction plan data is automatically generated, the created construction plan data is taken into a portable terminal, and the portable In a spot welding system that enables spot welding according to a construction plan via the portable terminal by installing a terminal in a predetermined installation structure of a spot welding apparatus, the program can be read and executed by the computer,
A function of acquiring information necessary for formulating a construction plan when welding by the spot welding device;
A program for causing the computer to realize a function of automatically generating data of the construction plan from information acquired by the function. Information on the object and the construction requester of the object necessary for the creation of a report in which data representing quality is recorded for each target part based on the data for each welding point of spot welding actually performed The function to input to
6. The program according to claim 5, wherein the computer realizes a function of generating and printing the report based on data obtained from the portable terminal. The function to generate and print the report is as follows:
A function for obtaining an average value of applied pressure, energizing current, energizing time for each target part;
The program according to claim 6, further comprising: a function for determining whether or not the welding quality is acceptable for the target part based on a predetermined criterion using the average value for each target part and printing.   6. The accessory that can be used in the spot welding apparatus and initial setting data required when using the accessory are fetched and sent to the portable terminal. 8. The program according to any one of 7. By giving information necessary for spot welding the target part of the object to be spot welded in a computer, the spot welding construction plan data is automatically generated, the created construction plan data is taken into a portable terminal, and the portable A portable terminal program that is loaded and executed on the portable terminal in a spot welding system that allows spot welding to be performed interactively via the portable terminal by installing the terminal in a predetermined installation structure of the spot welding apparatus. And
A function of receiving and storing the construction plan data from the computer;
A welding control function that enables a user to interactively perform spot welding based on the construction plan data by the spot welding device via the portable terminal by communicating with the spot welding device; Is implemented on the portable terminal. The construction plan data consists of data corresponding to a plurality of parts having different welding conditions in the target part,
The welding control function is:
A function of sending data corresponding to a portion to be welded next among the plurality of portions to the spot welding device according to a predetermined operation of the portable terminal;
A function of recording welding result data sent from the spot welding device every time a user welds;
The portable terminal program according to claim 9, further comprising a display function for displaying a progress status of spot welding based on the construction plan data.   11. The portable terminal program according to claim 10, wherein the portable terminal implements a function of transmitting welding result data received and recorded from the spot welding apparatus to the computer. The display function is
A function for displaying at least the information for identifying the currently welded part, the number of points to be welded to the currently welded part, and the number of points welded to the presently welded part The mobile terminal program according to claim 10, comprising:   When the number of points that have been welded so far reaches the number of points to be welded to the portion that is currently being welded, the portable terminal is further realized with a function of giving an output to that effect. The mobile terminal program according to claim 12.   13. The portable terminal program according to claim 12, wherein the information for specifying a part currently being welded is identification information attached to the part in order to specify a part currently being welded. The display function is a function for graphically displaying a part or all of the target portion including at least a portion currently being welded;
13. The portable terminal program according to claim 12, wherein the information for specifying the currently welded part includes a display for visually distinguishing the currently welded part from other parts. In accordance with a predetermined operation of the mobile terminal, a list of selectable accessories that can be used in the spot welding apparatus, and a function that allows one accessory to be selected from the list display;
In the state where one accessory is selected from the list display, when another predetermined operation is performed, the initial setting data related to the one accessory selected in response thereto The mobile terminal program according to claim 9, further causing the mobile terminal to realize a function of transmitting a message to the spot welding apparatus. By giving information necessary for spot welding the target part of the object to be spot welded in a computer, the spot welding construction plan data is automatically generated, the created construction plan data is taken into a portable terminal, and the portable It is a spot welding device used in a spot welding system that enables spot welding interactively via the portable terminal by installing a terminal in a predetermined installation structure of the spot welding device,
The spot welding apparatus is:
A structure for installing the mobile terminal;
Means for enabling communication with the portable terminal;
When receiving welding conditions from the portable terminal, means for performing settings according to the welding conditions received in accordance with the welding conditions received thereafter;
Means for performing a welding operation in accordance with the welding conditions in response to a command by a user;
A spot welding apparatus comprising: means for transmitting welding result data such as a pressure, a current value, and an energization time used in the welding operation to the portable terminal each time the welding operation is performed.   When initial setting data required when using an accessory usable for the spot welding apparatus is received from the portable terminal, the apparatus further comprises means for performing initial setting using the initial setting data. The spot welding apparatus according to claim 17.   The spot welding apparatus according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the means for enabling communication with the portable terminal is an infrared interface.

Images