JP2009248536A - Vibration welding apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To uniform a penetration amount when carrying out vibration welding of a resin member to a resin base material, both resins having different melting temperatures. <P>SOLUTION: An instrument panel 20, an accommodating box 22 and a duct member 24 are placed in a laminar state between a base plate 12 and a vibration plate 14 both vibrating relatively. The accommodating box 22 is composed of a TPO material, and the duct member 24 is composed of a PP material having a melting point higher than that of the TPO material. The weld part 26b of the accommodating box 22 is supported by a placement part 32f. Meanwhile the weld part 28b of the duct member 24 is supported by placement parts 32a to 32e, 32g and 32h. A shim 40 is mounted between the base plate 12 and the placement parts 32a to 32h. The upper end surfaces of the placement parts 32a to 32e are established at proper positions by adjusting the thickness of the shim 40 variously. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vibration welding apparatus in which a resin base material and a resin workpiece are sandwiched between layers of a pair of vibration members that vibrate relatively, and both are pressurized and vibrated in this state to weld each other.

  Since vibration welding that joins resin parts together by applying pressure and vibration is well known, it has advantages such as no need for adhesives, no subsequent steps such as heat drying, etc. Widely implemented. For example, Patent Document 1 describes that an air conditioning duct member is joined to an instrument panel, which is an interior material of an automobile, by vibration welding.

  In the case of the prior art described in Patent Document 1, the duct member is supported by a lower jig having a shape corresponding to the shape of the duct member, and the instrument panel is supported by an upper jig having a shape corresponding to the shape of the instrument panel. The That is, both the lower jig and the upper jig support the instrument panel and the duct member over the entire surface.

  A protective material made of urethane material is provided on the instrument panel support surface of the upper jig. Eventually, the instrument panel is sandwiched between the lower jig and the upper jig together with the duct member while being supported by the upper jig via the protective material.

  In this state, the upper jig is displaced so as to approach the lower jig, and the upper jig is controlled to vibrate relative to the lower jig by reciprocating in the horizontal direction. . That is, the instrument panel and the duct member are pressurized and vibrated.

  Along with this, frictional heat is generated between the sliding contact portions of the instrument panel and the duct member, and the sliding contact portions are melted. Finally, the melted portion is solidified, so that the instrument panel and the duct member are joined to each other.

JP 2001-232686 A

  In addition to the duct member, another member may be welded to the instrument panel. When the duct member and the separate member are made of materials having different melting points, if the same pressing force is applied and vibration welding is performed in the same process, the amount of the low melting point member increases. That is, welding becomes uneven.

  In order to balance the amount of penetration, it can be considered that it is effective to insert a spacer in a portion that supports a member having a high melting point in either the lower jig or the upper jig. However, as described above, the lower jig and the upper jig support the duct member or the instrument panel over the entire surface. In such a case, in order to insert the spacer, the dimensions of the instrument panel and the duct member Therefore, it is necessary to set the thickness dimension of the spacer in consideration of the manufacturing error, and therefore, excessive trial and error is required when designing the spacer.

  Further, when a spacer having an excessively large thickness is partially inserted, the pressing force is excessively increased at the portion. In this case, although the welding strength between the instrument panel and the high melting point member is increased, a so-called deform is formed on the design surface (surface visible to the user) of the instrument panel, which impairs the aesthetic appearance. It will be a thing.

  Furthermore, when members made of materials having different melting points are vibration welded in a separate process, the number of processes increases and it takes a long time to complete the product.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and it is possible to substantially equalize the amount of penetration when resin parts having different melting points are subjected to vibration welding in the same process. An object of the present invention is to provide a vibration welding apparatus capable of easily obtaining an excellent final product.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a resin base material and a resin workpiece are sandwiched between a first vibrating member and a second vibrating member, and the first vibrating member and the second vibrating member are sandwiched in this state. A vibration welding apparatus that pressurizes and vibrates the resin base material and the resin workpiece by relatively vibrating members to weld each other,
A plurality of placement portions for supporting only a predetermined portion of the resin base material project toward the second vibration member on an end surface of the first vibration member facing the second vibration member. Provided in
A protrusion for applying a pressing force to the resin base material and the resin workpiece is provided on an end surface of the second vibration member facing the first vibration member so as to protrude toward the first vibration member. And
At least a spacer can be inserted between the first vibrating member and the mounting portion.
The position of the upper end surface of the mounting part is set by adjusting the thickness of the spacer.

  In the present invention, as the position of the upper end surface of the mounting portion is set, the pressing force acting on the resin base material and the resin workpiece is controlled. This is because a large pressing force acts on a portion where the spacer thickness is large and the position of the upper end surface is high, and a small pressing force acts on a portion where the spacer thickness is small and the position of the upper end surface is low.

  Therefore, the thickness of the spacer is increased at the portion where the high melting point resin workpiece is joined, while the thickness of the spacer is reduced at the portion where the low melting point resin workpiece is joined, thereby making the amount of penetration of both resin workpieces substantially equal. be able to. Depending on the case, it is not necessary to interpose a spacer in the part which joins the low melting point resin workpiece.

  When a plurality of resin workpieces having the same melting point are simultaneously welded to each of the flat surface and the inclined surface of the resin base material, the pressing force by the vibration member is higher than that of the inclined surface of the resin base material. Therefore, the amount of penetration becomes larger on the flat surface. On the other hand, if the mounting portion that supports the inclined surface is lifted with the spacer as described above and the upper end surface thereof is raised to increase the pressing force acting on the part, the amount of penetration is made substantially uniform. Is possible. That is, the present invention can also be applied to a case where a plurality of resin workpieces having the same melting point are simultaneously welded to each of the flat surface and the inclined surface of the resin base material.

  Thus, according to the present invention, even when the pressing force required differs depending on the parts to be joined, the parts can be joined in the same process. For this reason, the number of processes does not increase, and the time to obtain a product is not prolonged.

  In any case, since a plurality of mounting portions that support only a predetermined portion of the resin base material are provided, the mounting portions can be removed and attached as compared with the case where an integrated mounting portion is provided. Therefore, the work of interposing the spacer is remarkably easy. In addition, in this case, since it is not necessary to set the thickness dimension of the spacer in consideration of manufacturing errors in the dimensions of the resin base material and the resin workpiece, it is not necessary to perform complicated trial and error.

  In addition, it is preferable to provide a protective material on the upper end surface of the mounting portion. During the vibration welding, the protective material protects the resin base material. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the resin base material from being scratched.

  As a material of this kind of protective material, a urethane material is suitable. The urethane material has lubricity, moderate strength and flexibility, and therefore effectively prevents the resin base material from being scratched. Moreover, since it is excellent in durability, the replacement frequency or the maintenance frequency is reduced, which is advantageous in terms of cost.

  According to the present invention, the spacer is interposed between the first vibrating member and the mounting portion, and the pressing force is controlled by adjusting the thickness of each spacer. For this reason, it is possible to achieve a balance between the amount of penetration at a site that requires a large pressing force and the amount of penetration at a site that requires a small pressing force, and the degree of welding and the welding strength can be made substantially uniform. Therefore, the final product obtained is excellent in aesthetics.

  In addition, since it is possible to join a portion that requires a large pressing force and a portion that requires a small pressing force in the same process, the number of processes increases and the time to obtain a product is prolonged. This can also be avoided.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the vibration welding apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a main part of a vibration welding apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment. The vibration welding apparatus 10 includes a base plate 12 as a first vibration member and a vibration plate 14 as a second vibration member, and the base plate 12 and the vibration plate 14 are electrically connected to a control unit 16. Has been. Between the base plate 12 and the diaphragm 14, an automotive instrument panel (resin base material) 20, a passenger side SRS airbag storage box (resin work) 22, and an air conditioner duct are provided. The member (resin work) 24 is sandwiched. As will be described later, in the present embodiment, the storage box 22 and the duct member 24 are joined to the instrument panel 20 by vibration welding.

  First, the instrument panel 20, the storage box 22, and the duct member 24 will be described.

  As can be understood from FIG. 1, the instrument panel 20 is a member having a complicated curved surface and a considerably large area. Hereinafter, the horizontal direction of the instrument panel 20 is defined as the X direction. The X direction is an excitation direction by the vibration welding apparatus 10. Reference numerals 26 a and 28 a in FIG. 1 are a welding rib portion for welding the storage box 22 and a welding portion for welding the duct member 24, respectively.

  The storage box 22 has a box structure with an open back surface and can store an SRS airbag. The bottom portion 22a of the storage box 22 has a rough mesh shape, and the lower end surface of the bottom portion 22a is joined to the welding rib portion 26a of the instrument panel 20 as a welding portion 26b.

  The bottom 22a of the storage box 22 has a hinge structure that can be opened when the airbag is operated. On the other hand, the welding rib part 26a in the instrument panel 20 includes a fragile part that is cleaved when the airbag is inflated.

  The duct member 24 includes a central air blower 24a, an end air blower 24b, a defroster air blower 24c, and the like, and an air passage (not shown) is formed in the central air blower 24a, the end air blower 24b, and the defroster air blower 24c. ing. That is, the duct member 24 is a hollow body.

  And the welding part 28b joined to the welding part 28a of the instrument panel 20 is protrudingly formed in each lower end surface of the center ventilation part 24a, the edge part ventilation part 24b, and the defroster ventilation part 24c.

  The instrument panel 20 and the duct member 24 configured as described above are made of polypropylene (PP) material and have a melting point of about 166 ° C. On the other hand, the material of the storage box 22 is a thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) material, and its melting point is about 150 ° C.

  Next, the vibration welding apparatus 10 will be described.

  The base plate 12 is a member serving as a base of the vibration welding apparatus 10, and as shown in FIG. 2, as the plurality of lifters 30 operate under the control action of the control unit 16, It can be moved up and down to approach or separate.

  The base plate 12 is dotted with a plurality of placement portions 32a to 32h (see FIG. 1). These mounting portions 32a to 32h are for supporting only predetermined portions of the instrument panel 20, and of course, extend toward the diaphragm 14 side. The placement portions 32a to 32h are made of, for example, an aluminum material.

  As shown in FIG. 3 representatively showing only the mounting portion 32d, the lower ends of the mounting portions 32a to 32h are formed as a wide portion 34 that slightly protrudes. A screw hole 36 is formed in the wide portion 34, and the placement portions 32 a to 32 h are positioned and fixed to the base plate 12 via screws 38 passed through the screw hole 36.

  Here, a shim 40 that functions as a spacer is interposed between the wide portion 34 and the base plate 12. The shim 40 has substantially the same dimensions as the wide portion 34, and a screw hole 41 is formed at a position corresponding to the position of the screw hole 36 formed in the wide portion 34. That is, the shim 40 is also positioned and fixed to the base plate 12 via the screw 38.

  In addition, the shim 40 can be comprised from structural steel (for example, SC50 material) prescribed | regulated to JIS, or tool steel (for example, SK5 material).

  The thickness of each shim 40 varies depending on the support part of the resin workpiece. In this case, in the mounting portion 32f supporting the storage box 22 made of TPO having a relatively low melting point, the shim 40 has a small thickness, and the remaining mounting portions 32a to support the duct member 24 made of PP having a relatively high melting point. In 32e, 32g, and 32h, the thickness of the shim 40 is set large. Thus, the position of the upper end surface of mounting part 32a-32h is adjusted by making the thickness of the shim 40 differ.

  Of course, it is not particularly necessary to use one shim 40, and a plurality of shims 40 may be interposed at a place where a large pressing force is required. In addition, the shim 40 may not be interposed in the mounting portion that supports the portion where the pressing force is particularly small. In the present invention, the case where the shim 40 is not interposed is also included in “adjusting the thickness of the shim”.

  As can be seen from FIG. 1, the mounting portions 32 a and 32 b support two welded portions 28 b that are slightly separated from each other in the front-rear direction in the central blower portion 24 a. The parts supported by the placement part 32a and the placement part 32b are located below the front when the instrument panel 20 is used as a final product, have a considerable inclination, and have a large angle θ2.

  On the other hand, the placement portions 32c to 32e support the six welding portions 28b of the defroster air blowing portion 24c via the instrument panel 20 in pairs. The six welded portions 28b of the defroster blowing portion 24c are different in the angle θ1 of the portions to be supported for each pair in the corresponding instrument panel 20. That is, in FIG. 1, the angle θ1 of the instrument panel 20 is a positive value at a position where the right two welding portions 28b in the defroster blower 24c are supported, and a negative value at a position where the left two welding portions 28b are supported. It is 0 in the place which supports two welding parts 28b of the center. Three placement portions 32c to 32e are provided according to such a difference in angle θ1.

  The mounting portion 32f supports the storage box 22 via the instrument panel 20 as described above.

  The placement portions 32g and 32h support the welded portions 28b of the left and right end blower portions 24b via the instrument panel 20. The front part of the instrument panel 20 to which the left and right end blowing parts 24b are welded is covered with a predetermined blowing grill and is not visually recognized when used as a final product.

  A protective material 42 is attached in contact with the upper end surfaces of the mounting portions 32a to 32h. In the present embodiment, the protective material 42 is made of a urethane material.

  The protective material 42 (urethane material) has lubricity, moderate strength, and flexibility, and appropriately supports the instrument panel 20 by this characteristic. The instrument panel 20 is placed on the placement portions 32a to 32h so that the design surface 20a abuts against the protection material 42. The protection material 42 indicates that the design surface 20a is rubbed by vibration. Play a role to prevent.

  The diaphragm 14 is provided above the base plate 12, and the diaphragm 14 and the base plate 12 are connected to the instrument panel 20 when the base plate 12 is raised under the action of the lifter 30 (see FIG. 2). The welding rib portion 26a and the welding portion 26b of the storage box 22 are sandwiched in layers. At the same time, the welded portion 28a of the instrument panel 20 and the welded portion 28b of the duct member 24 are sandwiched in layers, and a predetermined pressing force is applied. This pressing force can be controlled by the control unit 16.

  The diaphragm 14 reciprocates in the lateral direction (for example, the laterally long X direction of the instrument panel 20) relative to the base plate 12 under the action of the control unit 16 and the vibration means 43. In other words, a vibrating motion is performed, thereby applying an excitation force to the instrument panel 20, the storage box 22 and the duct member 24. That is, the diaphragm 14 and the base plate 12 are a pair of vibrating members that vibrate relatively. The amplitude, frequency, excitation time, and the like of vibration of the diaphragm 14 can be controlled by the control unit 16.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of pressing protrusions 44 are provided on the end face of the diaphragm 14 facing the base plate 12 so as to protrude toward the base plate 12. The end face of the pressing protrusion 44 facing the diaphragm 14 is also formed as a wide portion 46, and a screw hole 48 is formed in the wide portion 46. The pressing protrusion 44 is positioned and fixed to the diaphragm 14 via a screw 50 passed through the screw hole 48. Because of such a configuration, a shim 40 (spacer) is interposed between the wide portion 46 and the diaphragm 14 as necessary, as in the relationship between the base plate 12 and the placement portions 32a to 32h. It is also possible. However, in the present embodiment, a case where no shim 40 is interposed between the pressing protrusion 44 and the diaphragm 14 will be described as an example.

  In addition, the press protrusion 44 is comprised from the aluminum material similarly to mounting part 32a-32h, for example.

  The vibration welding apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment is basically configured as described above. Next, the function and effect will be described.

  First, the predetermined site | part of the instrument panel 20 is mounted in each of mounting part 32a-32h. Since the protective material 42 is provided on each upper end surface of the placement portions 32 a to 32 h, the instrument panel 20 is placed on the placement portions 32 a to 32 h via the respective protection materials 42.

  Next, the storage box 22 and the duct member 24 are placed at predetermined positions on the instrument panel 20. Of course, the storage box 22 and the duct member 24 may be positioned and temporarily fixed to the instrument panel 20 in advance, and then placed on the placement portions 32 a to 32 h simultaneously with the instrument panel 20.

  After the preparation is completed in this way, vibration welding is performed. That is, first, the lifter 30 is urged under the control action of the control unit 16, thereby raising the base plate 12 toward the diaphragm 14 side.

  Finally, the pressing protrusion 44 of the diaphragm 14 and the base plate 12 sandwich the welding rib portion 26a of the instrument panel 20 and the welding portion 26b of the storage box 22 in layers. At the same time, the welded portion 28a of the instrument panel 20 and the welded portion 28b of the duct member 24 are sandwiched in layers, thereby applying a predetermined pressing force. Depending on the thickness of the shim 40, different pressing forces are applied to the contact surface between the weld rib portion 26a and the weld portion 26b and the contact surface between the weld portion 28a and the weld portion 28b.

  Next, the vibration means 43 is urged under the control action of the control unit 16 to vibrate the diaphragm 14 in the X direction with a predetermined amplitude and a predetermined frequency. Thereby, frictional heat is generated on the contact surface between the weld rib portion 26a and the weld portion 26b and the contact surface between the weld portion 28a and the weld portion 28b, and vibration welding is performed.

  As described above, the thickness of the shim 40 is small in the mounting portion 32f that supports the storage box 22 made of TPO having a relatively low melting point, and the mounting portion 32a that supports the duct member 24 made of PP having a relatively high melting point. It is set large in ˜32e, 32g, and 32h. For this reason, the pressing force applied to the mounting portion 32f (welding portion 26b) is small, while the pressing force applied to the mounting portions 32a to 32e, 32g, and 32h (welding portion 28b) is large.

  Since vibration welding is performed in this state, the amount of penetration in the low melting point welding portion 26b and the amount of penetration in the high melting point welding portion 28b become substantially equal. That is, the storage box 22 and the duct member 24 can be welded to the instrument panel 20 substantially uniformly.

  Moreover, according to the present embodiment, the duct member 24 that requires a large pressing force and the storage box 22 that requires a small pressing force can be joined to the instrument panel 20 in the same process. In other words, it is not necessary to join the duct member 24 and the storage box 22 in a separate process. Therefore, the number of processes does not increase, and the time until a product is obtained does not increase.

  During the vibration welding operation, the instrument panel 20 is in sliding contact with each protective material 42. However, since the protective material 42 is made of a smooth and moderately flexible urethane material and exhibits lubricity, the design surface 20a of the instrument panel 20 is appropriately protected, and the design surface 20a is scratched. Occurrence is prevented.

  After a predetermined time has elapsed or a predetermined amount of welding has been reached, the vibration of the diaphragm 14 is stopped and the lifter 30 is energized to lower the base plate 12 so that the instrument panel 20 and the storage box are welded. 22 and the duct member 24 are taken out. In the taken-out product, the welded portion 26b of the storage box 22 and the welded portion 28b of the duct member 24 with respect to the instrument panel 20 are sufficiently melted, and sufficient weld strength is obtained. In addition, the penetration is not too deep, and the deformation of the design surface 20a of the instrument panel 20 can be suppressed.

  After the above operation is repeated, when the protective material 42 of any of the placement portions 32a to 32h is worn down to a predetermined thickness or less, only the protective material 42 may be replaced. In this case, since the protective material 42 to be replaced has a very small area, the replacement is easy and also free in terms of cost.

  Moreover, when it is an instrument panel of a shape different from the instrument panel 20, that is, when the curvature radius of the curved surface is different, or there is a portion that requires a small pressing force because the resin workpiece has a low melting point. In the case where there is a part that requires a larger pressing force because the resin workpiece has a high melting point, etc., it can be dealt with by changing the thickness or number of shims 40 in the mounting portion that supports the part. Is possible.

  In addition, since the placement portions 32a to 32h are scattered, the operation is significantly easier than when the shim 40 is interposed between the integral placement portion and the base plate 12. In addition, it is not necessary to set the thickness dimension of the shim 40 in anticipation of manufacturing errors in the dimensions of the instrument panel and the duct member.

  In the above-described embodiment, the shim 40 is not interposed between the diaphragm 14 and the pressing protrusion 44, but the protruding length of the pressing protrusion 44 is adjusted by interposing the shim 40. Of course, it is also good. Thereby, it is also possible to adjust the frictional force with respect to each part.

  Needless to say, the resin base material is not particularly limited to the instrument panel 20, and the resin work is not particularly limited to the storage box 22 and the duct member 24.

  Further, a protective material 42 may be provided on each front end surface of the pressing protrusion 44. In this case, you may make it abbreviate | omit the protective material 42 by the mounting parts 32a-32h side.

  Furthermore, it is not necessary to interpose the shim 40 between the placement portions 32 a to 32 h and the base plate 12. In other words, the shim 40 does not have to be provided on the mounting portion that supports the portion where the pressing force is particularly reduced.

  The present invention is not limited to the case where resin workpieces having different melting points are simultaneously welded to the resin base material, and a plurality of resin work pieces having the same melting point are simultaneously inclined with the flat surface of the resin base material. The present invention is also applicable when vibration welding is performed on each of the surfaces. In the case where the shim 40 does not exist, the pressing force by the pressing protrusion or diaphragm is larger on the flat surface than on the inclined surface, but the pressing force of the shim 40 sandwiched between the mounting member or the pressing protrusion located on the inclined surface. By increasing the thickness, the pressing force can be balanced.

It is a principal part schematic perspective view of the vibration welding apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a cross-sectional front view of the state which clamped the instrument panel, the storage box, and the duct member with the vibration welding apparatus. It is the principal part expansion perspective view which expanded the vicinity of one mounting part. It is the principal part expansion perspective view which expanded the vicinity of one press protrusion.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Vibration welding apparatus 12 ... Base board 14 ... Vibration board 20 ... Instrument panel 22 ... Storage box 24 ... Duct member 26a ... Welding rib part 26b, 28a, 28b ... Welding rib part 32a-32h ... Mounting part 34,46 ... Wide part 40 ... Shim 42 ... Protective material 43 ... Excitation means 44 ... Pressing protrusion

Claims (3)

The resin base material and the resin work are sandwiched between the first vibration member and the second vibration member in layers, and the first vibration member and the second vibration member are relatively vibrated in this state, thereby the resin base material. And a vibration welding apparatus that pressurizes and vibrates the resin workpiece to weld each other,
A plurality of placement portions for supporting only a predetermined portion of the resin base material project toward the second vibration member on an end surface of the first vibration member facing the second vibration member. Provided in
A protrusion for applying a pressing force to the resin base material and the resin workpiece is provided on an end surface of the second vibration member facing the first vibration member so as to protrude toward the first vibration member. And
At least a spacer can be inserted between the first vibrating member and the mounting portion.
The vibration welding apparatus, wherein the position of the upper end surface of the mounting portion is set by adjusting the thickness of the spacer.   The vibration welding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a protective material is provided on an upper end surface of the mounting portion.   The vibration welding apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the protective material is made of a urethane material.

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