JP2010207829A - Apparatus and method for holding plate material, and system and method of laser beam welding - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus for holding a plate material, by which a space between plate materials is easily grasped. <P>SOLUTION: The apparatus 10 for holding the plate material includes a pressurizing member 111, a driving means 120, a movement detecting means 123, a reaction force detecting means 122, and a determination means 30. The pressurizing member pressurizes a plate material that is arranged in the outermost part among a plurality of plate materials 41, 42, 43 stacked with a space apart. The driving means moves the pressurizing member in the pressurizing direction to correct a space between the plate materials. The movement detecting means detects movement in the pressurizing direction of the pressurizing member moved by the driving means. The reaction force detecting means detects a reaction force which the pressurizing member receives from the plate material deformed by being pressurized by the pressurizing member. The determination means determines the contact state of the plate materials on the basis of the movement of the pressurizing member detected by the movement detecting means and the reaction force from the plate material detected by the reaction force detecting means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a plate material holding device, a plate material holding method, a laser welding system, and a laser welding method.

  In the lap welding of plate materials, it is important to manage the gaps between the plate materials. In particular, when laser welding two steel sheets on which galvanized layers are formed, welding defects may occur if the gap between the steel sheets is too large. Conversely, if the gap is too small, the vaporized gas in the galvanized layer will be sufficiently discharged. The porosity may be generated in the weld bead.

  As a technique related to this, an inter-plate gap amount measuring apparatus as shown in Patent Document 1 below is known. The gap amount measuring device disclosed in the cited document 1 detects vibration of a plate material with a pickup sensor while applying vibration of two plate materials, and the detected frequency differs according to the gap amount between the plate materials. Utilizing this, the amount of gap between the plate materials is obtained. According to such a configuration, two plate members can be welded without any welding defects by changing the pressing force or welding conditions for pressing the plate member based on the obtained gap amount.

JP 2004-122205 A

  However, the above gap amount measuring apparatus has a problem that it is necessary to previously measure data indicating the relationship between the gap and the frequency for each set of plate materials to be welded, and it is difficult to deal with various plate materials. If the thickness and material of the plate material change, the relationship between the gap and the frequency also changes. Therefore, if new plate materials are to be welded, it is necessary to acquire data again.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems. Therefore, the objective of this invention is providing the board | plate material holding | maintenance apparatus and board | plate material holding | maintenance method which can grasp | ascertain the clearance gap between board | plate materials easily.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a laser welding system and a laser welding method capable of ensuring the welding quality by adjusting the gap between the plate materials.

  The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following means.

  The plate material holding device of the present invention includes a pressing member, a drive unit, a movement amount detection unit, a reaction force detection unit, and a determination unit. The said pressing member presses the board | plate material arrange | positioned in the outermost part among the several board | plate materials currently piled up with a clearance gap. The drive means moves the pressing member in the pressing direction to correct a gap between the plate members. The movement amount detection means detects a movement amount in the pressing direction of the pressing member moved by the driving means. The reaction force detection means detects a reaction force received by the pressing member from the plate member that has been pressed and deformed by the pressing member. The determination means determines the contact state of the plate material based on the movement amount of the pressing member detected by the movement amount detection device and the reaction force from the plate material detected by the reaction force detection device. judge.

  The board | plate material holding | maintenance method of this invention has a 1st and 2nd step. In the first stage, the amount of movement in the pressing direction of the pressing member that presses the outermost plate member among the plurality of plate members stacked with a gap therebetween is detected, and the first member is pressed by the pressing member. A reaction force received by the pressing member from the deformed plate material is detected. In the second step, the contact state of the plate material is determined based on the amount of movement of the pressing member and the reaction force from the plate material.

  The laser welding system of the present invention includes a pressing member, a drive unit, a movement amount detection unit, a reaction force detection unit, a determination unit, a control unit, and a laser beam irradiation unit. The said pressing member presses the board | plate material arrange | positioned in the outermost part among the several board | plate materials currently piled up with a clearance gap. The drive means moves the pressing member in the pressing direction to correct a gap between the plate members. The movement amount detection means detects a movement amount in the pressing direction of the pressing member moved by the driving means. The reaction force detection means detects a reaction force received by the pressing member from the plate member that has been pressed and deformed by the pressing member. The determination means determines the contact state of the plate material based on the movement amount of the pressing member detected by the movement amount detection device and the reaction force from the plate material detected by the reaction force detection device. judge. The said control means adjusts the said clearance gap by controlling the said drive means based on the contact state of the said board | plate material determined by the said determination means. The laser beam irradiating unit irradiates the plate member whose gap is adjusted by the control unit with a laser beam, and laser-welds the plate member.

  The laser welding method of the present invention has first to fourth stages. In the first stage, the amount of movement in the pressing direction of the pressing member that presses the outermost plate member among the plurality of plate members stacked with a gap therebetween is detected, and the first member is pressed by the pressing member. A reaction force received by the pressing member from the deformed plate material is detected. In the second step, the contact state of the plate material is determined based on the amount of movement of the pressing member and the reaction force from the plate material. In the third step, the gap is adjusted by moving the pressing member based on the contact state of the plate material. In the fourth stage, the plate material with the gap adjusted is irradiated with laser light, and the plate material is laser-welded.

  According to the board | plate material holding | maintenance apparatus and board | plate material holding | maintenance method of the board | plate material of this invention, since the contact state of several board | plate materials is determined, the clearance gap between board | plate materials can be grasped | ascertained easily from the contact state of board | plate materials.

  Further, according to the laser welding system and the laser welding method of the present invention, since the state of the gap between the plate materials can be easily grasped, it is possible to appropriately adjust the state of the gap between the plate materials to ensure the welding quality. it can.

It is a figure for demonstrating the laser welding system in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating schematic structure of the board | plate material holding | maintenance apparatus shown by FIG. It is a figure which shows the change of the contact state of the board | plate material accompanying the movement of the press member of the board | plate material holding | maintenance apparatus shown by FIG. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the moving amount of the press member of the board | plate material holding | maintenance apparatus shown by FIG. 2, and the reaction force from a board | plate material. It is a figure which shows the modification of the board | plate material holding | maintenance apparatus shown by FIG. It is a figure which shows the board | plate material holding | maintenance apparatus in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the modification of the board | plate material holding | maintenance apparatus shown by FIG. It is a figure which shows the board | plate material holding | maintenance apparatus in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the intensity | strength adjustment process which is the 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the position of embossing, and the intensity | strength of a board | plate material. It is a figure for demonstrating the effect of an intensity | strength adjustment process. It is a figure for demonstrating the effect of an intensity | strength adjustment process. It is a figure for demonstrating the effect of an intensity | strength adjustment process.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol was used for the same member in the figure.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a laser welding system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the laser welding system in the present embodiment includes a plate material holding device 10, a laser welding device 20, and a control device 30.

  The plate material holding device 10 holds a plurality of plate materials 40 stacked with a gap therebetween. The plate material holding device 10 has a clamp mechanism and a drive mechanism, and holds the plurality of plate materials 40 by clamping the plurality of plate materials 40. The plate material 40 held by the plate material holding device 10 is, for example, a steel plate on which a galvanized layer is formed, and the plate material 40 is provided with a gap so as to ensure a discharge path for the vaporized gas of zinc during welding. It is piled up. A detailed description of the plate material holding device 10 will be described later.

  The laser welding apparatus 20 performs laser welding of a plurality of plate members 40 stacked with a gap therebetween. The laser welding apparatus 20 includes a processing head 21 that irradiates laser light and a mobile robot 22 that moves the processing head 21 to a predetermined position. The mobile robot 22 moves the processing head 21 to perform predetermined welding. Irradiate laser light to the location. In addition, an optical system such as an optical mirror is provided inside the processing head 21, and laser light can be scanned on the plate material 40. Since the laser welding apparatus 20 itself is a general laser welding apparatus, detailed description is omitted.

  The control device 30 controls the plate material holding device 10 and the laser welding device 20. The control device 30 is electrically connected to the plate material holding device 10 and acquires drive information of the drive mechanism of the plate material holding device 10. The control device 30 controls the plate material holding device 10 to correct the gap between the plate materials 40 and controls the laser welding device 20 to irradiate the plate material 40 with the corrected gap to the laser beam.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 2, the board | plate material holding | maintenance apparatus 10 in this Embodiment is demonstrated in detail.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of the plate material holding device shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the plate material holding apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment includes a clamp mechanism 110 and a drive mechanism 120. The plate material holding device 10 holds three plate materials 41, 42, and 43.

  The clamp mechanism 110 includes a pressing member 111 that is pivotable about a support shaft, and a receiving member 112 that clamps the plate members 41, 42, and 43 together with the pressing member 111. The pressing member 111 is connected to the driving mechanism 120, and moves in the pressing direction when the connecting portion 121a of the driving mechanism 120 moves up and down. By moving the pressing member 111, the plate members 41, 42, and 43 can be clamped by the pressing member 111 and the receiving member 112. The plate members 41, 42, and 43 are formed in a cantilever support structure so as to be arranged with a predetermined gap. By controlling the position of the pressing member 111 in the pressing direction, the plate members 41, 42, and 43 are deformed, and the gap between the plate members 41, 42, and 43 is corrected.

  The drive mechanism 120 includes an elevating mechanism 121 and a servo motor 122. The elevating mechanism 121 is a linear stage and is connected to the pressing member 111 via a connecting portion 121a. The servo motor 122 raises and lowers the connecting portion 121 a of the lifting mechanism 121 and is controlled by the control device 30. The servo motor 122 is electrically connected to the control device 30 and a drive current indicating the drive torque of the servo motor 122 is detected. In addition, an encoder 123 is attached to the servo motor 122, and the amount of rotation of the servo motor 122 is detected. The control device 30 calculates the reaction force from the plate members 41, 42, and 43 acting on the pressing member 111 and the amount of movement of the pressing member 111 from the drive current and the rotation amount of the servo motor 122.

  In the plate material holding device 10 of the present embodiment configured as described above, the amount of movement of the pressing member 111 that presses a plurality of plate materials held with a gap and the plate materials 41, 42 that the pressing member 111 presses, Based on the reaction force from 43, the contact state of the plurality of plate members 40 is determined. And the clearance gap between the board | plate materials 41, 42, and 43 is adjusted by controlling the position in the press direction of the press member 111 based on the determination result of a contact state. Hereinafter, a plate material holding method using the plate material holding apparatus 10 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. In the following, the contact state of the three plate members (the upper plate 41, the middle plate 42, and the lower plate 43) stacked with a gap is determined, and the gap between the plate members is adjusted based on the contact state. A case will be described as an example.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a change in the contact state of the plate member accompanying the movement of the pressing member, and FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between the amount of movement of the pressing member and the reaction force from the plate member. The vertical axis in FIG. 4 is the amount of movement of the pressing member 111, and the horizontal axis is the reaction force received by the pressing member 111 from the deformed plate material.

  When the pressing member 111 of the plate material holding device 10 presses the three plate members 41, 42, 43 from above, the three plate members 41, 42, 43 are moved according to the amount of movement along the pressing direction of the pressing member 111. The contact state changes. The plate material holding device 10 of the present embodiment determines the contact state of the plate materials 41, 42, and 43 by detecting the reaction force from the plate material that changes according to the contact state of the three plate materials 41, 42, and 43. To do. In the present embodiment, a thick plate (not shown) is disposed between the lower plate 43 and the receiving member 112 so that the lower plate 43 is not deformed even when it is clamped by the clamp mechanism 110.

  FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating a first state in which the pressing member 111 presses the upper plate 41 of the cantilever structure.

  When the pressing member 111 moves toward the plate members 41, 42, and 43 placed on the receiving member 112, first, the pressing member 111 presses only the upper plate 41. In the first state where the pressing member 111 presses only the upper plate 41, only the reaction force from the deformed upper plate 41 acts on the pressing member 111.

  Specifically, as shown in the first area (a) of FIG. 4, in the first state where the pressing member 111 presses only the upper plate 41, the upper plate 41 increases as the movement amount of the pressing member 111 increases. As the amount of deformation increases, the reaction force acting on the pressing member 111 from the upper plate 41 increases. Therefore, in the first region (a), a reaction force that increases in proportion to the amount of movement of the pressing member 111 is detected. As the amount of movement of the pressing member 111 further increases, the tip of the upper plate 41 comes into contact with the tip of the middle plate 42.

  FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating a second state in which the pressing member 111 presses the plate member in which the tip portion of the upper plate 41 and the tip portion of the middle plate 42 are in contact with each other.

  In the second state in which the front end portion of the upper plate 41 and the front end portion of the middle plate 42 are in contact, the reaction force from the deformed upper plate 41 and middle plate 42 acts on the pressing member 111. Therefore, the reaction force received by the pressing member 111 is increased as compared with the first state.

  Specifically, as shown in the second region (b) of FIG. 4, the slope of the reaction force-displacement curve increases from the time when the tip of the upper plate 41 comes into contact with the middle plate 42. More specifically, when the upper plate 41 and the middle plate 42 are plates of the same thickness and material, the straight line in the second region (b) is compared to the straight line slope A in the first region (a). The slope B indicates a double size (B = 2A). As the moving amount of the pressing member 111 further increases, the front end portion of the middle plate 42 contacts the front end portion of the lower plate 43.

  FIG. 3C is a diagram showing a third state in which the pressing member 111 presses the plate material in which the tip portions of the upper plate 41, the middle plate 42, and the lower plate 43 are in contact.

  In the third state in which the upper plate 41, the middle plate 42, and the lower plate 43 are in contact with each other, the pressing member 111 is supported by the lower plate 43 from the upper plate 41 and the middle plate 42. The reaction force of acts. Accordingly, the reaction force received by the pressing member 111 from the deformed upper plate 41 and the middle plate 42 is increased as compared with the second state in which the upper plate 41 and the middle plate 42 are cantilevered.

  Specifically, as shown in the third region (c) of FIG. 4, the slope of the reaction force-displacement curve increases from the time when the tip of the middle plate 42 contacts the lower plate 43. As the moving amount of the pressing member 111 further increases, the contact area between the upper plate 41 and the middle plate 42 increases, and the gap between the upper plate 41 and the middle plate 42 disappears.

  FIG. 3D is a diagram illustrating a fourth state in which the gap between the upper plate 41 and the middle plate 42 is eliminated.

  In the fourth state in which the gap between the upper plate 41 and the middle plate 42 is eliminated, a larger reaction force acts on the pressing member 111. Specifically, as shown in the fourth region (d) of FIG. 4, the slope of the reaction force-displacement amount curve increases from the time when the gap between the upper plate 41 and the middle plate 42 disappears. As the moving amount of the pressing member 111 further increases, the contact area between the intermediate plate 42 and the lower plate 43 increases, and the gap between the intermediate plate 42 and the lower plate 43 disappears.

  FIG. 3E is a diagram showing a fifth state in which the gap between the middle plate 42 and the lower plate 43 has disappeared.

  In the fifth state in which the gap between the middle plate 42 and the lower plate 43 is eliminated, a larger reaction force acts on the pressing member 111. Specifically, as shown in the fifth region (e) of FIG. 4, the inclination of the reaction force-displacement curve is further increased from the time when the gap between the middle plate 42 and the lower plate 43 disappears.

  As described above, according to the plate material holding device 10 of the present embodiment, the reaction force from the three plate materials 41, 42, and 43 that change according to the amount of movement along the pressing direction of the pressing member 111 is detected. Thus, the contact state of the plate materials 41, 42, 43 is determined. By determining the contact state of the plate members 41, 42, and 43, it is possible to adjust the gap between the plate members.

  Specifically, for example, a pressing member that indicates a feature point with reference to a feature point at which the inclination of two straight lines located at the boundary between the third region (c) and the fourth region (d) in FIG. 4 changes. The pressing member 111 is moved from the position 111 by a predetermined amount. Thereby, the contact state and clearance gap of a board | plate material can be adjusted to a desired state and magnitude | size.

  Then, the pressing member 111 is moved by a predetermined amount on the basis of the feature points to adjust the gaps between the plate members 41, 42, and 43, and then the plate members 41, 42, and 43 are irradiated with laser light to laser the plate member. Weld. At this time, the galvanized vaporized gas is discharged from the gaps between the plate members 41, 42 and 43. As a result, the plate members 41, 42, and 43 can be laser-welded without generating a porosity in the weld bead because the gap is too small, or without causing a welding failure due to the gap being too large. That is, the welding quality of the plate material by laser welding can be ensured.

(Modification)
In the plate material holding device 10 of the present embodiment, the movement amount of the pressing member 111 is calculated only from the rotation amount of the servo motor. However, from the viewpoint of accurately detecting the amount of movement of the pressing member 111, a deformation amount detecting means such as a strain gauge 113 may be attached to the pressing member 111 (see FIG. 5). According to such a configuration, the control device 30 corrects the movement amount of the pressing member 111 based on the deformation amount of the pressing member 111 acquired based on the signal from the strain gauge 113, whereby the pressing member 111. Can be detected with high accuracy.

  As described above, the described embodiment has the following effects.

  (A) The plate material holding device 10 according to the present embodiment is based on the amount of movement of the pressing member 111 in the pressing direction and the reaction force received by the pressing member 111 from the plate materials 41, 42, 43. The contact state is determined. Therefore, since the contact state of a plurality of plate members is determined, the gap between the plate members can be easily grasped from the contact state of the plate members. Further, in the plate material holding device 10 of the present embodiment, the clamp mechanism 110 that adjusts the gap and the determination mechanism for determining the contact state of the plate material are integrated, so that the device configuration is simplified. Furthermore, it is possible to determine the contact state of three or more plates, and for example, it is possible to grasp two gaps between the three plates. Note that the method of obtaining the gap amount by using the fact that the frequency varies depending on the gap amount between the plate members cannot grasp the contact state of the three plate members. Further, in the method of adjusting the distance between the pressing member and the receiving member of the clamp mechanism using the stopper, the two gaps between the three plate members cannot be adjusted.

  (B) The reaction force characteristic curve indicating the relationship between the reaction force from the plate material and the amount of movement of the pressing member has a plurality of characteristic points in which the slope of the curve changes according to the contact state of the plate material, The contact state of the plate material is determined from at least one of the feature point and the slope of the curve. Therefore, the contact state of the plate material can be determined by counting the number of passages of the characteristic points in the reaction force characteristic curve or by obtaining the slope of the curve from the rigidity and thickness of the plate material.

  (C) In the present embodiment, the movement amount and the reaction force are detected from the drive information of the drive mechanism 120, respectively. Therefore, it is not necessary to separately prepare a sensor for detecting the movement amount and the reaction force, and the configuration of the plate material holding device 10 can be simplified.

  (D) The drive mechanism 120 has a servo motor 122, the amount of movement is detected from the amount of rotation of the servo motor 122, and the reaction force is detected from the drive torque of the servo motor 122. Therefore, since the movement amount and the reaction force are acquired from the servo motor 122, it is not necessary to adjust the time axis of the movement amount and the reaction force, and the adjustability and controllability are improved.

  (E) The plate material holding device 10 further includes a strain gauge 113 that detects a deformation amount of the pressing member 111 that presses the plate material, and the control device 30 detects the deformation amount of the pressing member 111 detected by the strain gauge 113. Therefore, the movement amount of the pressing member 111 is corrected. Therefore, the movement amount of the pressing member 111 can be detected more accurately.

  (F) In the laser welding system of the present embodiment, the laser beam is applied to the control device 30 that controls the drive mechanism 20 to adjust the gap between the plate members, and the three plate members 40 that are adjusted by the control device 30. And a laser welding device 20 for laser welding the plate material by irradiation. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately adjust the state of the gap between the plate materials to ensure the welding quality.

  (G) The plate material holding method of the present embodiment detects the amount of movement of the pressing member that presses the uppermost plate material among the plate materials stacked with a gap therebetween, and detects the reaction force received by the pressing member; And determining the contact state of the plate material based on the movement amount and the reaction force. Therefore, since the contact state of a plurality of plate members is determined, the gap between the plate members can be easily grasped from the contact state of the plate members. Moreover, it is possible to determine the contact state of three or more plate materials, and for example, it is possible to grasp two gaps between three plate materials.

  (H) In the laser welding method of the present embodiment, the stage of adjusting the gap between the plate members by controlling the drive mechanism 20 and irradiating the plate member whose gap has been adjusted by the control device 30 with the laser beam, Laser welding. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately adjust the state of the gap between the plate materials to ensure the welding quality.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a plate material holding device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, an air cylinder is used as a drive mechanism for moving the pressing member in the pressing direction.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the plate material holding device 10 according to the present embodiment includes a clamp mechanism 110 and an air cylinder 124 with a brake. A load cell 114 for detecting a reaction force is attached to the tip of the pressing member 111 of the clamp mechanism 110, and a magnetostrictive displacement sensor 126 is attached to the rod of the air cylinder 124. The air cylinder 124 is connected to an electropneumatic proportional valve 125, and the electropneumatic proportional valve 125 is controlled by the control device 30.

  According to such a configuration, the control unit 30 controls the air pressure of the air cylinder 124 so that the connecting portion 121a moves up and down and the pressing member 111 is moved. The plate material holding device 10 can be configured at a lower cost.

  Unlike this embodiment, a laser displacement meter 127 may be used instead of the magnetostrictive displacement sensor 126 (see FIG. 7). Further, instead of the load cell 114, a pressure gauge that detects the air pressure of the air cylinder 124 may be used.

  As described above, the present embodiment described has the following effects in addition to the effects of the first embodiment.

  (I) The drive mechanism 120 of the present embodiment includes an air cylinder 124 and an electropneumatic proportional valve 125 connected to the air cylinder 124. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the plate material holding device 10 can be suppressed as compared with the case where a servo motor is used.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a plate material holding device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the pressing member 111 of the clamp mechanism 110 is directly driven by the servo motor 122.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the plate material holding apparatus 10 of the present embodiment includes a servo motor 122 that is directly connected to the support shaft of the pressing member 111. An encoder 123 is attached to the servo motor 122.

  According to such a configuration, since the servo motor 122 is directly coupled to the pressing member 111, the reaction force that the pressing member 111 receives from the plate member 40 is detected with higher accuracy by detecting the driving torque of the servo motor 122. Can be detected.

  As described above, the described embodiment has the following effects in addition to the effects of the first and second embodiments.

  (J) The drive mechanism 120 of the present embodiment includes a servo motor 122 that is directly connected to the pressing member 111. Therefore, the structure of the board | plate material holding | maintenance apparatus 10 can be simplified more. Further, the reaction force that the pressing member 111 receives from the plate member 40 can be detected with higher accuracy.

(Fourth embodiment)
When clamping three plates stacked with a gap between them, the amount of deformation of the gap between the upper plate and the middle plate and the amount of deformation of the gap between the middle plate and the lower plate are: It depends on the strength (rigidity) of the plate material. In the present embodiment, the deformation amount of the gap between the plate materials is adjusted by changing the strength of the plate materials.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the intensity adjustment process according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9, in the plate material holding apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, embosses 41 a and 41 b as reinforcing members are formed on the upper plate 41. The embosses 41a and 41b of the present embodiment also serve as spacers for ensuring a gap between the upper plate 41 and the middle plate 42.

  The interval between the two embosses 41a and 41b is appropriately adjusted according to the thickness and holding structure of the three plate members 41, 42 and 43. For example, as shown in FIG. 10 (A), when the middle plate 42 and the lower plate 43 are fixed only at one end, the middle plate 42 and the lower plate 43 are shown in FIG. 10 (B). Compared to the case where both are fixed at both ends, the distance L between the two embosses 41a and 41b is formed longer.

  And according to such a structure, the intensity | strength of the upper board 41 with respect to the press member 111 can be raised. As a result, the gap between the upper plate 41 and the middle plate 42 corrected by being pressed by the pressing member 111 and the gap between the middle plate 42 and the lower plate 43 can be made the same.

  Note that the method of changing the strength of the plate material in order to adjust the deformation amount of the gap between the plate materials is not limited to the method of forming the emboss. For example, the shape of the upper plate 41 is changed to contact the middle plate 42. It is also realized by forming a state to be performed or changing the thickness of the plate material.

  As can be seen from the cantilever beam and bend beam deflection equations shown in the following equations (1) and (2), the strength of the plate increases in proportion to the cube of the plate thickness. Further, the strength of the plate material increases in proportion to the cube of the distance between the embosses. Further, the strength of the plate material can be improved by forming embosses on the plate material in a cantilever-supported state so that the plate material is in a double-supported state.

Here, P: pressurizing force, E: Young's modulus of the plate material, I: sectional moment of inertia (rib plate thickness h ³ ), a: pressure position, L: length of the plate material.

  Next, the effect of the intensity adjustment process of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following, the strength of the upper plate 41 is adjusted by forming the upper plate 41 thick instead of forming the emboss.

  FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 are diagrams showing the behavior of the plate material when the upper plate 41 and the lower plate 43 have the same thickness (that is, the same strength) as a comparative example.

  As shown in FIG. 11, when the upper plate 41 and the lower plate 43 have the same thickness and the initial values of the gaps g1 and g2 between the plate materials are different, the lower plate 43 is smaller in the upper plate 41 having a smaller initial value. The middle plate 42 is contacted prior to that.

  However, as shown in FIG. 13, by forming the upper plate 41 thicker than the lower plate 43, even if the initial value of the gap is different, the gap g1 between the upper plate 41 and the middle plate 42, The gap g2 between the middle plate 42 and the lower plate 43 can be finally adjusted to the same size.

  As described above, the described embodiment has the following effects in addition to the effects of the first to third embodiments.

  (K) By adjusting the strength of the upper plate, the gap g1 between the upper plate 41 and the middle plate 42 and the gap g2 between the middle plate 42 and the lower plate 43 are adjusted. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately secure a gap between the three plate members 41, 42, 43.

  (L) Embosses 41 a and 41 b for changing the strength of the upper plate 41 are provided between the upper plate 41 and the middle plate 42 in the present embodiment. Therefore, the strength of the upper plate 41 can be easily adjusted by providing the plate material 41 with the embosses 41a and 41b.

  (M) The embosses 41a and 41b of the present embodiment also serve as spacers for securing a gap between the plate members 41 and 42. Therefore, by providing the embosses 41a and 41b on the upper plate 41, not only the strength of the upper plate 41 can be adjusted, but also a gap between the plate materials can be secured.

  As described above, in the first to fourth embodiments described, the plate material holding device, the plate material holding method, the laser welding system, and the laser welding method of the present invention have been described. However, it goes without saying that the present invention can be appropriately added, modified, and omitted by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technical idea.

10 plate material holding device,
20 laser welding equipment,
30 control device (determination means, control means, correction means),
40 board,
41 Upper plate (third plate material),
41a, 41b Emboss (reinforcing means),
42 Middle plate (second plate),
43 Lower plate (first plate),
110 Clamp mechanism,
111 pressing members,
112 receiving member,
113 strain gauge (deformation amount detection means),
114 load cell (reaction force detection means),
120 drive mechanism (drive means),
121 Lifting mechanism (driving means),
122 servo motors (drive means, reaction force detection means),
123 Encoder (movement amount detection means),
124 air cylinder,
125 Pneumatic proportional valve (control valve),
126 magnetostrictive displacement sensor (movement amount detection means),
127 Laser displacement meter (movement amount detection means).

Claims (13)

A pressing member that presses a plate disposed on the outermost side among the plurality of plates stacked with a gap between them;
Driving means for correcting the gap between the plate members by moving the pressing member in the pressing direction;
A moving amount detecting means for detecting a moving amount in the pressing direction of the pressing member moved by the driving means;
A reaction force detecting means for detecting a reaction force received by the pressing member from the plate member that has been pressed and deformed by the pressing member;
Determination means for determining a contact state of the plate material based on the movement amount of the pressing member detected by the movement amount detection device and the reaction force from the plate material detected by the reaction force detection device; The board | plate material holding | maintenance apparatus characterized by having. The reaction force characteristic curve indicating the relationship between the reaction force from the plate material and the amount of movement of the pressing member has a characteristic point where the slope of the curve changes according to the contact state of the plate material,
The plate material holding device according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines a contact state of the plate material from at least one of the feature point and the slope of the curve.   The plate material holding device according to claim 1, wherein the movement amount detection unit and the reaction force detection unit detect the movement amount and the reaction force, respectively, from drive information of the drive unit. The drive means has a servo motor,
The movement amount detection means detects the movement amount from the rotation amount of the servo motor,
The plate material holding device according to claim 3, wherein the reaction force detection unit detects the reaction force from a driving torque of the servo motor. The pressing member is rotatably supported by a rotating shaft,
The plate material holding device according to claim 4, wherein a rotation shaft of the servo motor is directly connected to a rotation shaft of the pressing member.   The plate material holding device according to claim 1, wherein the driving unit includes an air cylinder and a control valve that adjusts an air pressure of the air cylinder. Deformation amount detection means for detecting the deformation amount of the pressing member attached to the pressing member and pressing the plate member;
The correction means which correct | amends the said moving amount of the said pressing member from the deformation amount of the said pressing member detected by the said deformation amount detection means further has any one of Claims 1-6 characterized by the above-mentioned. The board | plate material holding | maintenance apparatus of description. The plurality of plate members include a first plate member, a second plate member stacked on the first plate member, and a third plate member stacked on the second plate member and pressed by the pressing member. Have
The magnitude | size of the clearance gap between the said board | plate materials corrected by the said press member moved to the said pressing direction is adjusted by adjusting the intensity | strength of a said 3rd board | plate material, The 1st-7 characterized by the above-mentioned. The board | plate material holding | maintenance apparatus of any one of these.   The plate material holding device according to claim 8, wherein a reinforcing member for adjusting the strength is provided between the second plate material and the third plate material.   The plate member holding device according to claim 9, wherein the reinforcing member also serves as a spacer for securing a gap between the plate members provided with the reinforcing member. A pressing member that presses a plate disposed on the outermost side among the plurality of plates stacked with a gap between them;
Driving means for correcting the gap between the plate members by moving the pressing member in the pressing direction;
A moving amount detecting means for detecting a moving amount in the pressing direction of the pressing member moved by the driving means;
A reaction force detecting means for detecting a reaction force received by the pressing member from the plate member that has been pressed and deformed by the pressing member;
Determination means for determining a contact state of the plate material based on the movement amount of the pressing member detected by the movement amount detection device and the reaction force from the plate material detected by the reaction force detection device; ,
Control means for adjusting the gap by controlling the drive means based on the contact state of the plate material determined by the determination means;
A laser welding system comprising: a laser beam irradiating unit configured to irradiate the plate member, the gap of which is adjusted by the control unit, with a laser beam and laser-welding the plate member. While detecting the amount of movement in the pressing direction of the pressing member that presses the plate disposed on the outermost side among the plurality of plates stacked with a gap, the plate member is deformed by being pressed and deformed by the pressing member. Detecting a reaction force received by the pressing member;
Determining the contact state of the plate material based on the amount of movement of the pressing member and the reaction force from the plate material. While detecting the amount of movement in the pressing direction of the pressing member that presses the plate disposed on the outermost side among the plurality of plates stacked with a gap, the plate member is deformed by being pressed and deformed by the pressing member. Detecting a reaction force received by the pressing member;
Determining the contact state of the plate material based on the amount of movement of the pressing member and the reaction force from the plate material;
Adjusting the gap by moving the pressing member based on the contact state of the plate material;
Irradiating the plate with the gap adjusted to a laser beam and laser welding the plate.

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