JP2008030085A - Upset welding apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an upset welding apparatus which can relatively easily correct distortion of the height between left and right electrodes caused by the repetition of welding work and can prevent the occurrence of a difference in level between weld ends mutually opposed. <P>SOLUTION: This upset welding apparatus comprises a height-regulating mechanism 30 for lifting/lowering an electrode 23a by moving a lifting/lowering guide member 31, with an inclined plane 33 formed on an upper or lower face, on an electrode support member 20 for supporting the lower electrode 23a backward and forward, and an inclination-regulating mechanism 40 for tilting the electrode 23a backward and forward by rotating a movable base 42 mounted through sliding arc faces 43, 44 on a fixed base (41) backward and forward. When a difference in level between weld ends Y, Y has occurred, the level difference can easily be corrected by rendering the height and slope of the electrode 23a identical to the height and slope of the other electrode 13a by using the height-regulating mechanism 30 and the inclination-regulating mechanism 40. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a butt welding apparatus for a metal plate, and more particularly to an upset welding apparatus for bending a rim forming plate material of an automobile wheel into a cylindrical shape and butt welding the weld ends facing each other.

  Some automobile wheels are manufactured by molding the disc and the rim by separate molding processes and then joining the two. Here, the rim is formed by bending a predetermined rectangular plate material (hereinafter referred to as a rim forming plate material) into a cylindrical shape and processing it into a predetermined shape by roll processing. In the step of forming the rim forming plate material into a cylindrical shape, the rim forming plate material is curved into a cylindrical shape, and then end portions facing each other (hereinafter referred to as welded end portions) are brought into contact with each other and welded. Upset welding is used for this butt welding.

Upset welding described above is a method in which both welding ends are sandwiched between electrodes, and the welding ends are brought into contact with each other and are welded by passing a low voltage and a large current through each electrode. . An apparatus for performing such upset welding is, for example, a left and right electrode configured by upper and lower electrode support members arranged so that the electrodes face each other, and an elevating drive means for moving the upper electrode support member in the vertical direction. While providing a pair of welding clamping member, one side of this welding clamping member is fixed and arrange | positioned, and the other is moved to the left-right direction by a butting drive means. The operation of this upset welding apparatus is that the left and right welding pinching members hold the welding end portions facing each other by the respective electrode support members, and then energize with the welding end portions butted against each other. The parts are welded together (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-276058

  In the upset welding apparatus described above, every time welding is performed, an operation of sandwiching the welding end portion from above and below by the electrode is executed. Therefore, by repeatedly performing this operation, the electrode and the electrode support that supports the electrode are supported. The member is distorted. Due to this distortion, the heights of the left and right electrodes may change, or the relatively long electrodes may be inclined in the length direction and the front and rear heights may be changed. In this state, when the weld end portions held by the left and right welded holding members are brought into contact with each other, the height positions of the two do not match and a step is formed. Such a step due to distortion tends to increase as the number of repeated operations increases with wear of the electrode clamp surface, and becomes apparent due to repeated operations over a relatively long period of time. When upset welding is performed with a relatively large step, defects such as cracking occur in the welded portion, and the defect occurrence rate increases.

  On the other hand, the weight of automobile wheels has been reduced in recent years for the purpose of improving the fuel efficiency of automobiles. For this reason, even rims for automobile wheels are required to be reduced in weight by being thinned, and thin rim-forming plate materials have been used. Specifically, as the rim forming plate material, a plate thickness of 2.5 mm to 4.5 mm has been used so far, but a plate thickness of 2 mm or less has been used.

  In the case where the thin rim forming plate material is used in this way, when the above-described electrode or electrode support member is distorted as compared with the conventional plate thickness, it is generated between the weld ends. Due to the step, defects such as cracks are likely to occur. This is because the ratio of the step with respect to the plate thickness of the rim forming plate increases as the thickness decreases. That is, even with the same level difference, a thick (previously) rim forming plate has a small step with respect to the plate thickness, and a thin rim forming plate has a large step with respect to the plate thickness. Specifically, in the rim-forming plate material having a plate thickness of 2.5 mm to 4.5 mm, when the step is about 0.1 mm or less, defects such as cracks hardly occur. However, in the case of a plate thickness of 2 mm or less, when the step is 0.1 mm, problems such as cracking occur. As described above, even if the level difference is a level that does not cause a problem in the related art, a problem occurs when a thin rim forming plate material for weight reduction is used.

  For this reason, in comparison with the case of forming a rim forming plate material having a conventional plate thickness, when the thin-walled one is formed, the above-described problems occur with a small number of forming times (number of welding times). In order to maintain 1 mm or less, maintenance of the electrode or the electrode support member is important, and this maintenance must be performed in a short cycle. Here, maintenance for correcting distortion is generally performed by exchanging electrodes or interposing a spacer having a predetermined plate thickness under the electrodes, and the adjustment work requires a relatively large amount of time and labor. If such a maintenance operation is not performed at a relatively short cycle, the production efficiency will be significantly reduced, so that it has been required to easily correct the above-described distortion.

  The present invention provides an upset welding apparatus that can suppress the occurrence of defects due to welding by correcting the distortion and suppressing the step between the weld ends when the electrode and the electrode support member are distorted. It is what we propose.

  The present invention is directed to butt-welding mutually facing weld ends of a rim-forming plate material for an automobile wheel, and upper and lower electrode support members disposed with electrodes facing each other, and either or A lifting drive means for moving both electrode support members in the vertical direction, each of which is composed of a pair of left and right welding holding members that hold one welding end portion between the upper and lower electrodes, and one or both of the welding holding members. In the upset welding apparatus provided with a butting drive means that moves in the left-right direction, the lower electrode support member constituting at least one welding pinching member has a sliding slope in the front-rear direction formed on either the upper or lower surface An electrode holding member that holds an electrode and is mounted on the lift guide member with restrained forward / backward movement is adjusted in the forward / backward direction of the lift guide member. A movable base that rotates in the front-rear direction via a sliding arc surface in the front-rear direction is mounted on the fixed base and the height adjustment mechanism that moves up and down, and the movable base is placed on the sliding arc surface. An upset welding apparatus comprising an inclination adjusting mechanism that tilts the electrode carrying member in the front-rear direction by following and rotating in the front-rear direction. Here, the front-rear direction is the longitudinal direction of the welded end of the rim-forming plate material, and the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction is the left-right direction.

  In this configuration, the lower electrode can be moved up and down by moving and adjusting the elevation guide member of the height adjustment mechanism in the front-rear direction, and the movable base of the tilt adjustment mechanism is rotated in the front-rear direction. By performing dynamic adjustment, the lower electrode can be tilted in the front-rear direction. By adjusting the height and inclination of the lower electrode in this way, the lower left and right electrodes can be aligned, so that the lower surface of the weld end can be supported on the same plane, and the weld ends can be It can be matched almost exactly. In other words, even if distortion occurs by repeatedly performing the operation of sandwiching and welding the weld end, the distortion can be corrected by the height adjustment mechanism and the tilt adjustment mechanism, and the weld end is in a state of being abutted. The level | step difference which arises can be suppressed.

  The height adjustment mechanism can change the height of the electrode relatively easily by moving the elevation guide member in the front-rear direction. On the other hand, the tilt adjustment mechanism can change the tilt of the electrode relatively easily by rotating the movable base in the front-rear direction. That is, distortion caused by repeated welding can be easily corrected by adjusting the movement of the lifting guide member and rotating the movable base.

  Thus, in this configuration, when distortion occurs between the left and right electrodes, this distortion can be corrected relatively easily by the height adjustment mechanism and the inclination adjustment mechanism, It can suppress that troubles, such as a crack, arise. Therefore, even when a thin rim molding plate is used for the purpose of weight reduction, appropriate upset welding is repeated by appropriately correcting the distortion generated between the left and right electrodes by the height adjustment mechanism and the inclination adjustment mechanism. Can be implemented.

  The electrode carrying member may be directly mounted on the lifting guide member or indirectly mounted via another member.

  In the upset welding apparatus described above, the lower electrode support member having the height adjustment mechanism and the inclination adjustment mechanism is provided with the elevation guide member of the height adjustment mechanism on the movable base of the inclination adjustment mechanism. The height adjustment mechanism is supported by the movable base and screwed into the elevation guide member, and the elevation guide member is moved and adjusted in the forward and backward direction by the forward / reverse rotation operation. A configuration is proposed in which the moving adjustment screw is provided.

  In this configuration, the lifting guide member moves in the front-rear direction with respect to the movable base in accordance with the rotation operation of the movement adjusting screw, so that the electrode carrying member moves up and down in accordance with this movement. Here, since the amount of movement of the elevating guide member in the front-rear direction is defined by the rotation angle of the movement adjusting screw, the moving amount of the elevating guide member can be finely adjusted by rotating the movement adjusting screw. it can. Therefore, the minute up-and-down movement of the electrode can be adjusted easily and accurately, and the distortion in the height direction generated between the left and right electrodes can be corrected appropriately and stably.

  Here, the movable base may have a configuration in which the upper and lower guide members are mounted on the upper surface as a sliding slope, or the upper and lower guide members may be mounted on the upper surface as a horizontal plane. In the latter configuration in which the elevation guide member is mounted with the upper surface as a horizontal surface, the upper surface of the elevation guide member is a sliding slope, so the electrode carrying member or the predetermined member carrying the electrode carrying member is It becomes the structure mounted on the raising / lowering guide member via this sliding slope.

  In the upset welding apparatus described above, the tilt adjustment mechanism is supported by the fixed base via the tiltable washer member that can tilt in the vertical direction, and is substantially tangential to the sliding arc surface of the movable base. A configuration is proposed that includes a rotation adjusting screw that is screwed along and that rotates the movable base in the front-rear direction by the forward / reverse rotation operation.

  In such a configuration, the movable base is rotated in the front-rear direction with respect to the fixed base in accordance with the rotation operation of the rotation adjusting screw, so that the electrode carrying member is tilted in the front-rear direction according to the rotation. It is. Here, since the rotation angle of the movable base is defined by the rotation angle of the rotation adjustment screw, the rotation angle of the movable base can be finely adjusted by rotating the rotation adjustment screw. it can. Therefore, the minute tilt angle of the electrode can be adjusted easily and accurately, and the distortion (tilt) between the left and right electrodes caused by the tilt of the electrode in the longitudinal direction can be corrected appropriately and stably.

  Here, since the rotation adjusting screw is screwed to the movable base, the tilt angle of the rotation adjusting screw with respect to the fixed base changes when the movable base rotates. Therefore, by supporting the rotation adjusting screw on the fixed base via the tiltable washer member, the tilting washer member allows the tilting of the rotation adjusting screw with respect to the fixed base. In addition, as this tilting washer member, the structure which consists of two spherical washers which contact | abut slidably through a spherical surface, the structure used as a washer-like member formed from the material which can be elastically deformed, etc. are used. be able to.

  In the upset welding apparatus described above, the lower electrode support member provided with the height adjusting mechanism and the tilt adjusting mechanism includes a standing side portion on which the movable base stands upward, and the standing side portion or electrode A configuration is proposed in which a key groove extending in the vertical direction is formed in one of the support members and a connection key that is slidably fitted in the key groove is provided on the other.

  In such a configuration, since the movable base and the electrode carrying member are directly connected via the connecting key and the key groove, the electrode carrying member tilted in the front-rear direction by the rotation of the movable base. Can be moved up and down more accurately and stably with respect to the movable base while maintaining the inclined state. In particular, there is a configuration in which a separate member is interposed between the movable base and the electrode carrying member, such as a configuration in which an elevating guide member is mounted on the movable base, and due to the above-described effects, the left and right electrodes are Can be corrected more appropriately.

  In the present invention, as described above, at least one lower electrode support member moves and adjusts the lifting guide member in which a sliding slope is formed on either of the upper and lower surfaces in the front-rear direction. A tilting mechanism that tilts the electrode-carrying member in the front-rear direction by adjusting the height adjustment mechanism that moves up and down and the movable base that is mounted on the fixed base via the sliding arc surface in the front-rear direction. An upset welding apparatus including an adjustment mechanism. In this configuration, when distortion occurs between the left and right electrodes, the height of the left and right electrodes can be easily adjusted by adjusting the movement of the lifting guide member, and the longitudinal direction of the left and right electrodes can be adjusted by rotating the movable base. Can be easily adjusted. Therefore, the distortion generated between the left and right electrodes can be corrected relatively easily by the height adjustment mechanism and the inclination adjustment mechanism, and it is possible to suppress the occurrence of defects such as cracks in the welded portion. And even when welding the rim forming plate material thinned for weight reduction, the above-mentioned distortion can be corrected easily and stably, so that appropriate upset welding can be carried out over a long period of time.

  Here, an elevation guide member of the height adjustment mechanism is mounted on the movable base of the tilt adjustment mechanism so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction, and the height adjustment mechanism is supported by the movable base. In a configuration provided with a movement adjustment screw that is screwed to the elevation guide member and moves the elevation guide member in the front-rear direction by forward / reverse rotation operation thereof, the electrode is moved up and down by rotating the movement adjustment screw. The movement can be adjusted easily and accurately. When a thin rim-forming plate is welded, the height difference (distortion) generated between the left and right electrodes can be corrected more appropriately and stably.

  The tilt adjusting mechanism is supported by the fixed base via the tiltable washer member that can tilt in the vertical direction, and is screwed to the movable base along the tangential direction of the sliding arc surface. In a configuration with a rotation adjustment screw that rotates the movable base in the front-rear direction by forward / reverse rotation operation, the tilt of the electrode can be adjusted easily and accurately by rotating the rotation adjustment screw. it can. When a thin rim-forming plate material is welded, the difference (distortion) in the longitudinal direction between the left and right electrodes can be corrected more appropriately and stably.

  In addition, the movable base has an upright side portion that rises upward, and forms a keyway along the vertical direction on either the upright side portion or the electrode carrying member, and on the other side, In the configuration in which the slidable fitting key is provided, the electrode carrier member tilted in the front-rear direction by the rotation of the movable base is kept with respect to the movable base while maintaining the tilted state. Can move up and down more accurately and stably. Therefore, the vertical movement by the height adjusting mechanism and the tilting by the inclination adjusting mechanism are each accurately executed, and the distortion generated between the left and right electrodes can be corrected with higher accuracy.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIGS. 1 and 2 show an upset welding apparatus 1 used for welding the welding end portions Y and Y of the rim forming plate material X curved in a cylindrical shape in the rim forming process of an automobile wheel. Here, FIG. 1 is a front view showing a state in which both welded ends Y and Y of the rim forming plate material X are sandwiched between the upper and lower electrodes 13a and 13b and the electrodes 23a and 23b. Similarly, FIG. 2 shows a state where the weld end Y is sandwiched. In this embodiment, the front-rear direction indicates the front-rear direction when the upset welding apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 is viewed from the front, and the left-right direction is the left-right direction when the front-view is similarly viewed from the front. Indicates. Moreover, in each figure after FIG. 2, the left side of the drawing is the front and the right side of the drawing is the rear.

  The upset welding apparatus 1 includes a pair of left and right welding pinching members 2 and 3. The lower electrode support member 20 constituting one welding pinching member 2 is fixedly disposed, and the other welding pinching member is arranged. 3 is arranged to be movable in the left-right direction.

  Here, one welding clamping member 2 includes a lower electrode support member 20 and an upper electrode support member 21 provided above the electrode support member 20. The upper and lower electrode support members 20 and 21 are provided with electrodes 23a and 23b so as to face each other. Further, the welding clamping member 2 is provided with a hydraulic cylinder 7 that moves the upper electrode support member 21 up and down with respect to the lower electrode support member 20. That is, by lowering the upper electrode support member 21, the electrode 23b approaches the lower electrode 23a and ascends to separate the electrode 23b from the lower electrode 23a.

  The other welding holding member 3 includes upper and lower electrode support members 10 and 11 disposed so that the electrodes 13a and 13b face each other, and an upper electrode support member 11 and a lower electrode support member 10. And a hydraulic cylinder (not shown) that moves up and down. In the same manner as described above, the upper electrode support member 11 is moved up and down, so that the upper electrode 13b approaches or separates from the lower electrode 13a.

  Further, the upset welding apparatus 1 includes a hydraulic cylinder 9 that moves the other welding pinching member 3 in the left-right direction. The hydraulic cylinder 9 integrally moves the upper and lower electrode support members 10 and 11 in the left-right direction. As described above, one welding pinching member 2 does not move in the left-right direction. Therefore, by moving the welding pinching member 3 in the left-right direction by driving the hydraulic cylinder 9, the right (other) electrodes 13a, 13b are It can be close to or separated from the left (one) electrode 23a, 23b.

  The electrodes 13a, 13b, 23a, and 23b respectively disposed on the electrode support members 10, 11, 20, and 21 have a long shape that is equal to or longer than the length of the weld ends Y and Y, respectively. Thus, the welded ends Y and Y of the rim-forming plate material X curved in a cylindrical shape can be sandwiched between the upper and lower electrodes 13a and 13b and the electrodes 23a and 23b in the length direction.

  The left and right lower electrode support members 10 and 20 are provided with electrodes 13a and 23a, respectively, such that their upper surfaces are along the same plane. The left and right upper electrode support members 11 and 21 have their respective electrodes 13b and 23b swinging slightly in the vertical direction while their lower surfaces are substantially parallel to the upper surfaces of the lower electrodes 13a and 23a. It is arranged with play so as to make it possible. That is, by placing the welding end portions Y and Y on the lower electrodes 13a and 23a and lowering the upper electrode support members 11 and 21, the upper electrodes 13b and 23b are moved to the welding end portions Y and Y. The upper and lower electrodes 13a and 13b and 23a and 23b hold the welded end portions Y and Y, respectively, in uniform contact with the upper surface of Y.

  In the lower electrode support member 20 constituting the above-described weld clamping member 2, the electrode 23 a is held by the electrode holding base 26, and the electrode holding base 26 is supported by the fixed electrode base 25. Further, the electrode support member 20 includes a height adjustment mechanism 30 and an inclination adjustment mechanism 40. Since these mechanisms are related to the main part of the present invention, they will be described in detail later.

  Further, in the lower electrode support member 10 constituting the other welding holding member 3, the electrode 13 a is held by the electrode holding base 15, and the electrode holding base 15 is moved in the left-right direction by the hydraulic cylinder 9. The electrode base 16 is supported and fixed. The upset welding apparatus 1 includes a guide rail (not shown) for guiding the movable electrode base 16 in the left-right direction. Then, by driving the hydraulic cylinder 9, the movable electrode base 16 is moved according to the guide rail, and the welding clamping member 3 is moved in the left-right direction.

  The upset welding apparatus 1 is provided with a pressure control device (not shown) for controlling the hydraulic cylinders 7 and 9 described above. In addition, a power source (not shown) for supplying a direct current is provided, and the electrodes 13a, 13b, 23a, and 23b of the electrode support members 10 and 11 and the electrode support members 20 and 21 are connected to the power source. Yes. A current control device (not shown) for controlling the supply of direct current from the power source is provided.

Next, the operation of the upset welding apparatus 1 will be described.
In the welding sandwiching members 2 and 3, the upper electrode support members 11 and 21 are spaced apart from each lower electrode support member 10 and 20 upward at a predetermined interval, respectively, and the right weld sandwiching member 3 is , A pre-operation state in which the welding sandwiching member 2 on the left side is spaced apart at a predetermined interval to the right. In this pre-operation state, the welded end portions Y of the rim forming plate material X which are cylindrically curved with a predetermined curvature on the electrodes 13a and 23a of the left and right electrode support members 10 and 20 are opposed to each other. , Y. Here, the welding end portions Y and Y are mounted such that the end sides thereof are parallel to each other along the longitudinal direction (front-rear direction) of the electrodes 13a and 23a.

  Under control of a pressure control device (not shown), the hydraulic cylinder 7 of the welding clamping member 2 and the hydraulic cylinder (not shown) of the welding clamping member 3 are driven to lower the upper electrode support members 11 and 21. By this descending, the electrodes 13b and 23b of the electrode support members 11 and 21 are pressed against the upper surfaces of the weld ends Y and Y, respectively, and the weld ends Y and Y are respectively connected to the upper and lower electrodes 13a and 13b and the electrode 23a. , 23b.

  Thereafter, under the control of a pressure control device (not shown), the hydraulic cylinder 9 is driven to move the right welding sandwiching member 3 integrally to the left. By this movement, the left and right welded end portions Y and Y are abutted almost uniformly over the longitudinal direction and are brought into pressure contact with a predetermined pressure. And while welding end part Y and Y are press-contacted, a current control device (not shown) is controlled, and predetermined end voltage and large current are sent from each electrode 13a, 13b, 23a, 23b, and welding end part Weld Y and Y.

Next, the main part of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The left welding holding member 2 that does not move in the left-right direction has a lower electrode support member 20 provided with a height adjusting mechanism 30 and an inclination adjusting mechanism 40. The tilt adjustment mechanism 40 includes a tilting fixed base 41 fixed on the fixed electrode base 25 and a movable base 42 mounted on the tilting fixed base 41. On the other hand, the height adjusting mechanism 30 includes a lifting guide member 31 mounted on the movable base 42 and a lifting member 32 mounted on the lifting guide member 31. The electrode holding table 26 is fixed on the elevating member 32. That is, the electrode support member 20 has a configuration in which the fixed electrode base 25, the tilting fixed base 41, the movable base 42, the elevating guide member 31, the elevating member 32, and the electrode holding base 26 are sequentially stacked from the bottom. Become.

  The fixed electrode base 25 described above includes a pedestal portion 25a on which the tilting fixed base 41 is mounted, and an outer support wall portion 25b that rises upward from the left outer portion of the pedestal portion 25a. Here, the upper end of the outer support wall portion 25b reaches a height position that is the side of the elevating member 32 described above.

  The tilting fixed base 41 constituting the tilt adjusting mechanism 40 is fixed on the base portion 25 a of the fixed electrode base 25. The tilting fixed base 41 is formed on its upper surface with a sliding arc surface 43 having an arc shape that is concave downward in the front-rear direction. In addition, the movable base 42 mounted on the tilting fixed base 41 has a slide that forms a convex arc shape substantially concentric with the sliding arc surface 43 of the tilting fixed base 41 on the lower surface thereof. A moving arc surface 44 is formed in the front-rear direction. That is, the sliding arc surface 44 of the movable base 42 is mounted so as to come into surface contact with the sliding arc surface 43 of the tilting fixed base 41, and the movable base 42 is placed on the tilting fixed base 41. 41 can be rotated in the front-rear direction along the sliding arc surfaces 43 and 44.

  Further, a guide arc groove 45 is formed on the outer edge of the sliding arc surface 43 of the tilting fixed base 41 described above along the front-rear direction. The sliding arc surface 44 of the movable base 42 is formed with an arc convex portion 46 projecting downward along the front-rear direction on the outer edge thereof. The arc-shaped convex portion 46 is fitted into the guide arc groove 45 of the tilting fixed base 41 in a state where the movable base 42 is mounted on the tilting fixed base 41. As the arc convex portion 46 is fitted in the guide arc groove 45 as described above, the movable base 42 can be rotated in the front-rear direction with respect to the tilting fixed base 41 and moved to the right. Movement is constrained.

  Further, the outer surface of the tilting fixed base 41 and the outer surface of the movable base 42 are slidably in contact with the inner side surface of the outer support wall portion 25b of the fixed electrode base 25 described above. The base 41 and the movable base 42 are supported by the fixed electrode base 25 on the outer side (left side). That is, the tilting fixed base 41 and the movable base 42 cannot move to the left with respect to the fixed electrode base 25.

  The movable base 42 described above is composed of a sliding main body portion 42a having a sliding arc surface 44 and an upright side portion 42b that rises upward from the outer edge of the sliding main body portion 42a. The outer side surface of the standing side portion 42b is in contact with the outer support wall portion 25b of the fixed electrode base 25 described above, and is formed up to almost the same height as the outer support wall portion 25b. The upper surface of the sliding main body 42a is a flat surface, and a guide groove 47 is formed on the upper surface along the upright side 42b in the front-rear direction.

  In addition, the tilting fixed base 41 has an adjustment support portion 50 protruding forward, and a rectangular plate-like screw support plate 51 is fixed to the adjustment support portion 50 (FIG. 6B). reference). The screw support plate 51 protrudes upward from the adjustment support portion 50 and is tilted rearward. A support port 51a is formed in the upper part of the screw support plate 51 so as to open upward in a U shape (see FIG. 6).

  Further, an adjustment screw hole 57 is formed in the movable base 42 from the front surface along a direction substantially orthogonal to the above-described screw support plate 51 (see FIGS. 2 and 3). The adjustment screw hole 57 is formed so as to be substantially parallel to the tangential direction of the arc portion of the sliding arc surface 44 below.

  As shown in FIG. 6, a pair of spherical washers 53a and 53b are respectively arranged on the U-shaped support port 51a of the screw support plate 51 as shown in FIG. A rotation adjusting screw 55 supported so as to be capable of rotating with respect to the screw support plate 51 through the pair of spherical washers 53 a and 53 b and not being movable in the front-rear direction is screwed into the adjusting screw hole 57 of the movable base 42. By rotating the rotation adjusting screw 55 in the direction of tightening (see FIG. 5A), the movable base 42 is pulled forward with respect to the tilting fixed base 41, and the sliding arc surface 43 is pulled. , 44 is rotated forward. Further, by rotating the rotation adjusting screw 55 in the loosening direction (reverse direction) (see FIG. 5B), the movable base 42 is pressed rearward against the tilting fixed base 41 to slide. It is rotated backward along the moving arc surfaces 43 and 44.

  Here, the above-described rotation adjusting screw 55 tilts in the vertical direction by rotating the movable base 42 according to the forward / reverse rotation operation. When the rotation adjusting screw 55 is tilted with respect to the screw support plate 51 by this tilting, the rotation of the spherical washers 53a and 53b in the vertical direction causes the rotation adjustment screw 55 to change the support state with the screw support plate 51. It can be maintained (see FIG. 5). As the spherical washers 53a and 53b slide, the rotation adjusting screw 55 is maintained in a state of being properly screwed into the adjusting screw hole 57 of the movable base 42. Thereby, the rotation operation of the rotation adjusting screw 55 can be always stably performed.

  Thus, by rotating the rotation adjusting screw 55 supported by the tilting fixed base 41 in the forward and reverse directions, the movable base 42 is rotated in the front-rear direction, and the upper surface of the movable base 42 is moved accordingly. Tilt forward and backward. As the upper surface of the movable base 42 is inclined, the electrode 23a disposed on the electrode support member 20 tilts in the front-rear direction (see FIG. 5).

  In this embodiment, the amount of movement of the front end or the rear end of the electrode 23a ascending on the front surface of the screw support plate 51 is indicated in the forward and reverse directions as a scale (see FIG. 1). This scale is set corresponding to the rotation angle of the rotation adjusting screw 55, and by rotating the rotation adjusting screw 55 according to the scale, the front end or the rear end of the electrode 23a by the amount of the rotated scale. Is promoted. Here, as the scale, the front end or the rear end of the electrode 23a is shown for each unit that moves up by 0.01 mm. For example, when the rotation adjusting screw 55 is rotated by one scale in the direction of tightening, the front end of the electrode 23a is raised by 0.01 mm. Further, when the scale is rotated in the reverse direction, the rear end of the electrode 23a is raised by 0.01 mm.

  In this way, the rotation adjusting screw 55 rotates the movable base 42 in the front-rear direction by the rotation operation. Therefore, the rotation adjusting screw 55, the adjustment support portion 50, the screw support plate 51, and the spherical washer. 53a and 53b and the adjustment screw hole 57 are components constituting the tilt adjustment mechanism 40.

  On the other hand, the elevating guide member 31 constituting the height adjusting mechanism 30 is mounted on the movable base 42. The lower surface of the elevating guide member 31 is a flat surface, and a guide convex portion 49 that protrudes downward along the front-rear direction is formed on the outer edge thereof. The guide convex portion 49 is fitted in a guide groove 47 formed on the upper surface of the movable base 42, and allows the elevation guide member 31 to slide in the front-rear direction with respect to the movable base 42. The movement in the direction is constrained. The elevating and lowering guide member 31 is in a state of being supported by the movable base 42 with its outer side surface being in contact with the inner side surface of the rising side portion 42 b of the movable base 42. Thereby, the raising / lowering guide member 31 cannot move to the left with respect to the movable base 42.

  On the upper surface of the elevating guide member 31, a sliding inclined surface 33 that is inclined downward is formed. The elevating member 32 mounted on the elevating guide member 31 is formed with a sliding slope 34 inclined downward on the lower surface thereof. The sliding slope 33 of the lifting guide member 31 and the sliding slope 34 of the lifting member 32 are in slidable surface contact. Further, a guide slant groove 35 is formed on the outer edge of the sliding slope 33 of the lifting guide member 31 along the front-rear direction. The sliding slope 34 of the lifting member 32 has a front-back direction on the outer edge thereof. An inclined convex portion 36 is formed along The inclined convex portion 36 is fitted in the guide oblique groove 35 in a state where the sliding inclined surfaces 33 and 34 are in surface contact with each other, and the lifting guide member 31 can be moved in the front-rear direction with respect to the lifting member 32. In addition, the movement in the right direction is restricted.

  Similar to the lifting guide member 31, the lifting member 32 has an outer surface that is in contact with the inner surface of the rising side portion 42 b of the movable base 42 and is supported by the movable base 42. That is, the elevating member 32 and the elevating guide member 31 are supported on the outer side (left side) by the fixed electrode base 25 via the standing side part 42 b of the movable base 42.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, an adjustment support portion 60 that protrudes forward is formed on the standing side portion 42 b of the movable base 42 as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. A rectangular plate-shaped adjustment screw support plate 61 disposed in front of the elevation guide member 31 is fixed to the adjustment support portion 60. A support hole (not shown) is formed in the adjustment screw support plate 61. An adjustment screw hole 67 is formed on the front surface of the lifting guide member 31 at a position behind the support hole. The adjustment screw hole 67 of the elevating guide member 31 is screwed with a movement adjustment screw 65 supported so as to be able to rotate and not to move in the front-rear direction with respect to the adjustment screw support plate 61 described above.

  By rotating the movement adjusting screw 65 in the direction of tightening and tightening (see FIG. 4A), the lifting guide member 31 is pulled forward relative to the movable base 42 and moved forward. Further, by rotating the movement adjusting screw 65 in the direction of loosening (reverse direction) (see FIG. 4B), the elevating guide member 31 is pushed backward against the movable base 42 and moved backward.

  Thus, by operating forward / reverse rotation of the movement adjusting screw 65, the elevating guide member 31 is moved in the front-rear direction, and accordingly, the elevating member 32 mounted on the elevating guide member 31 is moved up and down. And by the raising / lowering movement of this raising / lowering member 32, the electrode 23a arrange | positioned at this electrode support member 20 raises / lowers substantially parallel along the length direction. Here, as described above, the elevating member 32 is connected to the fixed electrode base 25 while being restrained from moving in the front-rear direction. , 34 is simply moved up and down.

  In addition, on the front surface of the adjustment screw support plate 61 described above, the amount of up and down movement of the electrode 23 a according to the rotation angle of the movement adjustment screw 65 is also marked as a scale. As a result, when the movement adjusting screw 65 is rotated, the electrode 23a moves up and down by the amount of the rotated scale. Here, in this embodiment, this scale is shown for each unit in which the electrode 23a is moved up or down by 0.01 mm. For example, when the movement adjusting screw 65 is rotated by one graduation in the tightening direction, the electrode 23a descends by 0.01 mm. Also, when the scale is rotated in the reverse direction, the electrode 23a moves up by 0.01 mm.

  As described above, the movement adjusting screw 65 moves the elevating member 32 up and down by its rotating operation. Therefore, the movement adjusting screw 65 is located in the movement adjusting screw 65, the adjustment support portion 60, the adjustment screw support plate 61 and the adjustment screw hole 67. Is also a component constituting the height adjusting mechanism 30.

  Further, on the elevating member 32, an electrode holding base 26 having an electrode 23a disposed on the upper left edge along the front-rear direction is fixed. That is, the electrode 23 a is held by the elevating member 32 via the electrode holding base 26, and moves up and down integrally with the elevating member 32 and tilts in the front-rear direction.

  A key groove 80 is formed on the outer surface of the elevating member 32 along the vertical direction with respect to the electrode 23a of the electrode holding base 26 (see FIGS. 1 and 3). A vertically long connecting key 81 is embedded in the upright side portion 42b of the movable base 42 so as to be vertically oriented with respect to the upper surface of the movable base 42. The connecting key 81 is embedded in the key groove 80. It is slidably inserted in. When the elevating member 32 is moved up and down by the longitudinal movement of the elevating guide member 31 by the guiding action of the connecting key 81 and the key groove 80, the electrode 23a is moved substantially in parallel along the longitudinal direction thereof. It moves up and down in a direction perpendicular to the upper surface of 42. That is, by operating the movement adjusting screw 65 while the upper surface of the movable base 42 is inclined in the front-rear direction at a predetermined angle with respect to the tilting fixed base 41 (fixed electrode base 25). The electrode 23a inclined at the angle can be accurately moved up and down while maintaining the angle.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the elevating member 32 is moved back and forth with respect to the fixed electrode base 25 by the connecting rods 75 and 75 and the hydraulic cylinders 79 and 79 to which the lower ends of the connecting rods 75 and 75 are connected. The movement in the direction and the left-right direction is constrained and connected. Here, the elevating member 32 is formed with step-like connecting holes 70, 70 communicating in the vertical direction. The elevation guide member 31, the movable base 42, the tilting fixed base 41, and the fixed electrode base 25 are formed with two insertion holes 71, 72, 73, and 74 that communicate with each other in the vertical direction. . And the connection hole 70 and each communication hole 71,72,73,74 are all connected to the up-down direction, and the above-mentioned connection rod 75 is penetrated. A support head 76 is fixed to the upper end portion of the connecting rod 75 and is supported on a spherical washer 78 seated on the step surface of the connecting hole 70. Note that the lower surface of the support head 76 is also spherical. The hydraulic cylinders 79 and 79 connected to the lower ends of the connecting rods 75 and 75 are disposed below the insertion holes 74 and 74 of the fixed electrode base 25. The hydraulic cylinders 79 and 79 urge the connecting rods 75 and 75 downward with a predetermined pressure, and the elevating member 32, the ascending guide member 31, and the movable base 42 are connected via the tilting fixed base 41. And pressed against the fixed electrode base 25. Thus, the elevating member 32 is restrained from moving in the front-rear direction with respect to the fixed electrode base 25 by the connecting rods 75, 75. Here, when the rotation adjusting screw 55 or the movement adjusting screw 65 is rotated to rotate the electrode 23a in the front-rear direction or move up and down, the downward urging force by the hydraulic cylinders 79 and 79 is released. Like to do.

  When the elevating member 32 is tilted, the connecting rods 75 and 75 are tilted with respect to the spherical washers 78 and 78, so that the connecting rods 75 and 75 are maintained vertically. Thus, the elevating member 32 is always held in a state of being biased downward at a predetermined pressure via the connecting rods 75 and 75.

  In the present embodiment, the fixed electrode base 25 and the tilting fixed base 41 constitute a fixed base according to the present invention. In addition, the lifting member 32 and the electrode holding base 26 constitute an electrode carrying member according to the present invention. Further, the tilted washer member according to the present invention is constituted by the spherical washers 53 a and 53 b supported by the screw support plate 51. The hydraulic cylinder 7 that moves up and down the electrode support member 21 and the hydraulic cylinder (not shown) that moves up and down the electrode support member 11 constitute the lifting drive means according to the present invention. The butting drive means is configured.

Next, the operation of the height adjustment mechanism 30 and the inclination adjustment mechanism 40 described above will be described.
For example, by repeatedly performing upset welding for a relatively long period of time, the lower electrodes 13a and 23a and the lower electrode support members 10 and 20 are aged and distorted, so that the lower left electrode 23a is deformed. On the other hand, it is assumed that the lower right electrode 13a is lowered by about 0.05 mm. Here, it is assumed that the upper surfaces of the electrodes 13a and 23a are substantially parallel to each other. When such a level difference occurs, the movement adjusting screw 65 is rotated in a direction in which the lifting guide member 31 is tightened as shown in FIG. Here, the scale that rotates is equivalent to five scales. With this operation, the lifting guide member 31 moves rearward, the lifting member 32 descends 0.05 mm, and the electrode 23a descends 0.05 mm in parallel. Thus, the lower left electrode 23a (upper surface) and the lower right electrode 13a (upper surface) have the same height. After the welded end portions Y and Y of the cylindrical rim forming plate material X are mounted on both the electrodes 13a and 23a and the upper electrode support members 11 and 21 are lowered and clamped. The right side welding sandwiching member 3 is abutted by moving it to the left. At this time, the welded end portions Y and Y are pressure-contacted without any step, so that when energized and welded, defects such as cracks do not occur and an appropriate cylindrical shape can be formed.

  Further, for example, it is assumed that distortion occurs and the rear end of the lower left electrode 23a is lowered by about 0.04 mm with respect to the lower right electrode 13a. When such a level difference occurs, as shown in FIG. 5B, the movable base 42 is rotated backward by rotating it by two graduations in the direction of loosening the rotation adjusting screw 55. This raises the rear end of the electrode 23a so that the upper surface of the electrode 23a is parallel to the upper surface of the lower right electrode 13a. Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, the electrode 23a is moved up by rotating the lifting guide member 31 backward by rotating the moving adjustment screw 65 by two scales in the loosening direction. As a result, the upper surface of the electrode 23a is flush with the upper surface of the electrode 13a on the lower right side. Therefore, no trouble occurs.

  As described above, the upper electrodes 13b and 23b each have a play that can swing in the vertical direction and are held by the electrode support members 11 and 21, so that the hydraulic cylinders 7 (electrode support members 21). Is not shown in the drawing) and is pressed in contact with the upper surfaces of the weld ends Y and Y. Therefore, by aligning the lower electrodes 13a and 23a by the height adjusting mechanism 30 and the inclination adjusting mechanism 40, the welded end portions Y and Y can inevitably be abutted accurately.

  As described above, the upset welding apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment can correct the distortion generated in the electrodes 13a and 23a and the electrode support members 10 and 20 by repeated welding using the height adjusting mechanism 30 and the inclination adjusting mechanism 40. It is what I did. That is, when the welding end portions Y and Y are sandwiched and abutted with each other while having the distortion, a step is generated between the welding end portions Y and Y, so that the movement adjusting screw 65 and the rotation adjusting screw 55 are rotated. By operating, the height and inclination of the electrode 23a are matched with the other electrode 13a to suppress the step. And the level | step difference which arises between the welding end parts Y and Y can be corrected comparatively easily and correctly only by operating the movement adjustment screw 65 and the rotation adjustment screw 55 in this way. Therefore, even when a thin rim forming plate material X is used, the distortion caused by repeating the welding operation can be adjusted as appropriate, and the welding end portions Y and Y can be adjusted appropriately. It is possible to suppress the occurrence of problems due to steps.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately used within the scope of the present invention in a mechanism for clamping electrodes of various butt welding apparatuses. For example, the lower surface of the lifting guide member may be a sliding slope, and the upper surface of the movable base may be a sliding slope, and the lifting guide member itself may be moved up and down relative to the movable base. In this case, it is preferable that the upper and lower guide members have a flat upper surface, and an electrode carrying member that restrains forward and backward movement is directly mounted on the upper surface.

It is a front view of the upset welding apparatus 1. It is a PP side view of FIG. 1 of the welding clamping member 2 of an upset welding apparatus 1. FIG. FIG. 4 is a side view of a lower electrode support member 20 of a welding pinching member 2. It is the side view of the electrode supporting member 20 showing the state which rotated the movement adjustment screw 65, (A) The state which lowered | hung the electrode 23a, and (B) The state which raised the electrode 23a. It is the side view of the electrode support member 20 showing the state which rotated the rotation adjustment screw | thread 55, (A) the front end of the electrode 23a was raised, and (B) the state which raised the rear end of the electrode 23a. . 2A is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a rotation adjusting screw 55 is supported by a screw support plate 51 fixed to a tilting fixed base 41, and FIG. 2B is a front view of the screw support plate 51. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Upset welding equipment 2, 3 Welding clamping member
7 Hydraulic cylinder (lifting drive means)
9 Hydraulic cylinder (butting drive means)
10,11 Electrode support member
13a, 13b Electrodes 20, 21 Electrode support members 23a, 23b Electrodes 25 Fixed electrode base (fixed base)
26 Electrode holder (electrode support member)
30 Height adjustment mechanism 31 Elevating guide member 32 Elevating member (electrode support member)
33 Sliding slope 40 Tilt adjustment mechanism 41 Fixed base for tilting (fixed base)
42 Movable base 43, 44 Sliding arc surface 42b Standing side portion 53a, 53b Spherical washer (inclinable washer member)
55 Rotation Adjustment Screw 65 Movement Adjustment Screw 80 Keyway 81 Connection Key X Rim Forming Plate Material Y Weld End

Claims (4)

The rim-forming plate material for an automobile wheel is for butt welding the weld ends facing each other,
The upper and lower electrode support members are arranged so that the electrodes face each other, and the raising / lowering drive means for moving one or both of the electrode support members in the vertical direction. A pair of left and right welding sandwiching members sandwiched by,
In the upset welding apparatus comprising a butting drive means for moving either one or both of the welding clamping members in the left-right direction,
The lower electrode support member constituting at least one welding pinching member,
An elevating guide member formed with a sliding slope in the front-rear direction on either one of the upper and lower surfaces is provided, and an electrode carrying member holding the electrode, which is placed on the elevating guide member with restrained forward and backward movement, is moved up and down. A height adjustment mechanism that moves up and down by adjusting the movement of the guide member in the front-rear direction;
A movable base that rotates in the front-rear direction via a sliding arc surface in the front-rear direction is mounted on the fixed base, and the movable base is rotated and adjusted in the front-rear direction following the sliding arc surface. An upset welding apparatus comprising: a tilt adjustment mechanism that tilts the electrode carrying member in the front-rear direction. The lower electrode support member provided with the height adjustment mechanism and the inclination adjustment mechanism is
On the movable base of the tilt adjustment mechanism, the elevation guide member of the height adjustment mechanism is mounted so as to be able to slide in the front-rear direction,
The height adjustment mechanism is supported by a movable base and is screwed into a lifting guide member, and is provided with a movement adjusting screw that moves and adjusts the lifting guide member in the front-rear direction by forward / reverse rotation operation. Item 2. The upset welding apparatus according to item 1.   The tilt adjustment mechanism is supported by the fixed base via a tiltable washer member that can tilt in the vertical direction, and is screwed to the movable base along substantially the tangential direction of the sliding arc surface. The upset welding apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a rotation adjusting screw that adjusts the movable base in the front-rear direction by a rotation operation.   The lower electrode support member provided with the height adjustment mechanism and the inclination adjustment mechanism has a movable base having an upright side portion that rises upward, and the upper and lower sides of either the upright side portion or the electrode carrying member are vertically The upset welding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a key groove is formed along the direction, and a connection key that is slidably fitted into the key groove is provided on the other side. .

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