JP2020082164A - Ultrasonic machining device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an ultrasonic machining device, which detects an inclination of a surface of a work-piece at real time and subjects the work-piece to ultrasonic machining while adjusting a lower surface of a horn of ultrasonic vibration means at real time so that the surface matches the detected inclination of the surface of the work-piece.SOLUTION: A lower surface of a horn 73 is initially set to be parallel to a horizontal reference surface; positions corresponding to both ends respectively in a width direction of a work-piece which is arranged between a stage 8 and the horn 73 and is moved (conveyed) relatively in a machining direction are detected by first and second detection means 9a and 9b, in a state where the horn 73 is initially set; an inclination in the width direction of an upper surface of the work-piece relative to the lower surface of the horn 73 adjusted horizontally by control means 10 is detected; and rotation driving means 6 is controlled by the control means 10 and second moving means 5 is rotated, so that the work-piece P is subjected to ultrasonic welding, while adjusting the inclination of the horn 73 so that the inclination matches the detected inclination in the width direction of the upper surface of the work-piece.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an ultrasonic processing apparatus that performs processing such as welding and cutting of a workpiece by ultrasonic waves.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, ultrasonic vibration has been used to weld or cut a work piece, and a horn that vibrates ultrasonically or a cutting blade attached to the lower end of the horn and a work piece are supported. The workpiece is placed between the support and the ultrasonic vibration of the horn is applied to the workpiece to weld or cut the workpiece. At this time, if the lower surface of the horn or the blade surface of the cutting blade attached to the horn and the upper surface of the work piece are not held parallel to each other, the work piece cannot be evenly welded over the entire surface and uneven welding occurs. May occur, and problems such as uncut parts may occur during cutting.

Therefore, a copying mechanism as described in Patent Document 1 is provided in a mounting portion on which a workpiece is mounted, and the copying mechanism adjusts the mounting surface of the mounting portion to a horizontal copying reference surface, and after the copying adjustment is performed horizontally. The work piece is mounted on the mounting portion, and the horn or the lower surface of the horn that is already held horizontally, or the blade surface of the cutting blade that is already held horizontally and the work piece are held in parallel with each other. Ultrasonic waves are used to weld or cut the work piece with a cutting blade.

JP 2009-212214 A (see paragraphs 0050 to 0059 and FIGS. 1 to 4)

However, although the mounting part on which the work piece is mounted is adjusted horizontally, it is not always the case that the work piece has a constant thickness and its upper surface is horizontal. To cut or cut, make a copy adjustment so that the upper surface of the work piece is always held horizontally, or make the lower surface of the horn or the blade surface of the cutting blade parallel to the upper surface of the work piece. It will be necessary to adjust in accordance with.

In particular, when a workpiece to be moved in a predetermined processing direction is continuously welded over the entire surface, for example, in the copying mechanism as described in Patent Document 1 above, the upper surface of the workpiece to be moved is moved in real time. Since it is not possible to adjust the profile horizontally and always hold it parallel to the lower surface of the horn, there arises a disadvantage that the workpiece to be moved cannot be continuously welded over the entire surface. Also, when cutting the workpiece at regular intervals while moving, similarly, since the entire upper surface of the workpiece cannot be held in parallel with the blade surface of the cutting blade attached to the horn in real time, It is difficult to cut the workpiece to be moved without cutting.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and detects the inclination of the surface of the workpiece in real time so that the lower surface of the horn of the ultrasonic vibrating means matches the detected inclination of the surface of the workpiece. The objective is to ultrasonically process the workpiece while adjusting in real time.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the ultrasonic processing apparatus according to the present invention is an ultrasonic processing apparatus that processes ultrasonically while moving a workpiece relatively in the processing direction, and is movable in the vertical direction. And a rotatably provided moving means, an ultrasonic vibrating means attached to the moving means and having a vibrator and a horn that resonates with ultrasonic vibration generated by the vibrator, and an ultrasonic vibrating means disposed below the horn. A stage that is provided and holds the workpiece between the horn and a stage that is attached to the moving means and disposed near the lower surface of the horn, and moves up and down together with the horn by the vertical movement and rotation of the moving means. And the first and second detection means that rotate and move to detect the positions of the workpiece with respect to both ends in the width direction, and the detection data from the first and second detection means are fetched to move the movement means up and down. And control means for controlling rotation, the control means controls the rotation drive means on the basis of detection data of relative positions of the first and second detection means with respect to a horizontal reference plane to control the rotation of the horn. Initial setting is performed to adjust the lower surface to be horizontal, and the first and second detection means are used to move the workpiece that is disposed between the stage and the horn and is moved in the processing direction. By detecting the positions of the upper surface of the workpiece with respect to each of both ends, by deriving the inclination of the upper surface of the workpiece with respect to the lower surface of the horn horizontally adjusted by initial setting, by rotating the moving means, It is characterized in that the ultrasonic vibration means is controlled to ultrasonically machine the workpiece while adjusting the inclination of the lower surface of the horn to match the derived inclination of the upper surface of the workpiece.

With such a configuration, the positions of the workpiece, which are arranged between the stage and the horn and are relatively moved in the machining direction, with respect to both ends in the width direction, are detected by the first and second detecting means, respectively. Based on the detection data by the first and second detection means, the inclination in the width direction of the upper surface of the workpiece with respect to the lower surface of the horn which is initialized and horizontally adjusted by the control means is derived, and the moving means is controlled by the control means. The horn is rotated so that the inclination of the lower surface of the horn is adjusted to match the derived inclination of the upper surface of the workpiece in the width direction. Therefore, while detecting the inclination of the upper surface of the workpiece in the width direction in real time, ultrasonic processing of a long workpiece that is moved in the processing direction while adjusting the lower surface of the horn to the inclination of the upper surface of the workpiece is performed. can do.

Further, the first and second detection means may be arranged upstream of the horn in the processing direction of the workpiece to be moved in the processing direction with respect to the horn. In this way, the inclination of the upper surface of the workpiece is detected in real time on the upstream side of the processing direction of the workpiece, and the detected inclination is fed back to adjust the inclination of the lower surface of the horn before machining. Can be ultrasonically processed, and the lower surface of the horn can be matched with the inclination of the upper surface of the workpiece in real time.

Further, a third detecting means for detecting a position of the surface of the workpiece with respect to substantially the center is further provided, and the first and second detecting means and the third detecting means are located on the upstream side and the downstream side so as to sandwich the horn. It is good to be divided into two parts. In this case, by providing the third detecting means in addition to the first and second detecting means, the three-dimensional inclination of the surface of the work piece can be detected at three points, and the surface of the work piece is processed. The inclination of the horn in the machining direction can be adjusted by following the inclination in the direction, and the three-dimensional horn can be adjusted in real time so that the upper and lower central axes of the horn are always in contact with the surface of the workpiece. It becomes possible to perform ultrasonic machining of the workpiece while adjusting the mechanical inclination.

Further, the moving unit may include an adjusting unit that detects a change in the vertical position of the surface of the workpiece disposed between the stage and the horn and adjusts the vertical position of the ultrasonic vibration unit. ..

By doing so, even if the vertical position of the surface including the thickness of the work piece is not constant but varies, the ultrasonic vibration means can follow the fluctuation of the vertical position of the surface including the thickness of the work piece in real time by the adjusting means. Since the vertical position of the is adjusted, it is possible to uniformly ultrasonically process a workpiece having variations in the vertical position of the surface including the thickness.

Further, the lower ends of the first and second detection means are arranged in the same horizontal plane as the lower surface of the horn, and the control means moves the moving means toward the reference surface to cause the ultrasonic vibration. Means for moving up and down together with the first and second detecting means, and from the state where the lower end of either the first detecting means or the second detecting means contacts the reference surface, the first and second detecting means When the moving means is rotated so that both lower ends of the means come into contact with the reference surface, the ultrasonic vibrating means and the first and second detecting means are rotated to perform the initial setting. Good. This makes it possible to accurately perform the initial setting for adjusting the lower surface of the horn to be horizontal.

Further, it is preferable that at least two objects to be welded are superposed on each other, and the two objects to be welded are continuously welded by continuous application of ultrasonic waves by the ultrasonic vibrating means. With such a configuration, it is possible to continuously and uniformly ultrasonically weld two objects to be welded, which form a long object to be processed, over the entire surface.

Further, a cutting blade that is attached to the lower end of the horn and has a blade surface set parallel to the lower surface of the horn is provided, and the workpiece is conveyed at a predetermined time by the conveying means, and the workpiece is stopped during the stop. It may be cut by applying ultrasonic waves by ultrasonic vibrating means. According to such a configuration, it is possible to ultrasonically cut a long work piece without leaving an uncut portion, for example, at regular intervals while adjusting the blade surface of the cutting blade to the inclination of the upper surface of the long work piece. ..

Further, the moving means may be movable in other directions including a vertical direction and may be moved three-dimensionally. By doing so, the inclination of the lower surface of the horn of the ultrasonic vibrating means can be adjusted three-dimensionally, and the vertical central axis of the horn can always be held perpendicular to the surface of the workpiece for processing. it can.

According to the present invention, since the inclination of the lower surface of the horn is adjusted to match the inclination of the upper surface of the workpiece in the width direction, the lower surface of the horn is adjusted in real time to the inclination of the upper surface of the workpiece in the width direction. It is possible to uniformly ultrasonically machine a workpiece to be moved in a predetermined machining direction while adjusting the above.

It is a left side view of the ultrasonic welding device concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a front view of FIG. 2 is a front view of a portion. It is operation|movement explanatory drawing of 1st Embodiment. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the first embodiment 2. It is a front view of a part of ultrasonic cutting device concerning a 2nd embodiment of the present invention. It is operation|movement explanatory drawing of 2nd Embodiment. It is a left side view of 3rd Embodiment. It is a one part top view of 3rd Embodiment.

<First Embodiment>
A first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an ultrasonic welding device will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

(Device configuration)
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the ultrasonic welding device 1 includes a fixed mounting member 2 having a U-shape when viewed from the right side, and a first mounting member 2 which is vertically movable with respect to the mounting member 2. Moving means 3, a vertical moving means 4 for vertically moving the first moving means 3 in both directions of the Z-axis, a second moving means 5 rotatably provided with respect to the first moving means 3, An ultrasonic vibrating means 7 attached to the second moving means 5 has a rotation driving means 6 for rotationally driving the second moving means 5 around a predetermined rotation axis, a vibrator 71, a booster 72 and a horn 73. And a stage 8 disposed below the horn 73 for sandwiching a work piece P composed of two overlapped welded objects with the horn 73, and the work piece P in a horizontal processing direction. Conveying means (not shown) for conveying in the Y-axis direction, first and second detecting means 9a, 9b for detecting the positions of the workpiece P with respect to both ends in the width direction, and first and second detecting means 9a, 9a, 9b. It is provided with a control means 10 of a microcomputer configuration for taking in the detection data by 9b and controlling the ultrasonic vibration means 7, the vertical drive means 4, the rotation drive means 6 and the conveying means. Here, the first moving means 3 and the second moving means 5 correspond to the moving means in the present invention.

The vertical drive means 4 includes a motor 41 arranged at an upper end portion 2a extending forward of the mounting member 2, an upper end portion 2a of the mounting member 2, and a lower end portion 2b extending forward of the upper end portion 2a. And a ball screw 42, which is a male screw whose upper and lower ends are rotatably held by the motor 41 and is rotated by the rotation of the motor 41, and left and right in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction) provided at the left and right ends of the front surface of the mounting member 2, respectively. It is provided with guide rails 43a and 43b.

The first moving means 3 is disposed at the front of the base member 31 and has a base member 31 integrally formed with an upper extending portion 31a that extends forward at the front upper portion, and extends rearward at the lower rear portion to extend downward. A support member 32 integrally formed with the projecting portion 32a, a fluid cylinder 33 having a cylinder tube 33a attached to the lower surface of the upper extending portion 31a, and a load detection load cell 34 provided on the upper surface of the lower extending portion 32a. It has and.

Then, the lower end portion of the rod 33b of the piston that moves up and down in the cylinder tube 33a of the fluid cylinder 33 projects downward from the cylinder tube 33a, and the lower extension portion 32a is connected to the lower end of this rod 33b, and the support member 32 is formed. Is connected to the base member 31 so as to be pulled upward by the fluid cylinder 33. At this time, although not shown, the support member 32 is attached to the base member 31 via a guide. Further, the load data of the fluid cylinder 33 detected by the load cell 34 is fetched by the control means 10, and the control means 10 controls the fluid cylinder 33 so that the load detected by the load cell 34 always becomes a predetermined value. The position of the support member 32 in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction) with respect to the base member 31 is adjusted, so that the vertical position of the second moving means 5 and further the lower surface of the horn 73 causes the thickness of the work piece P to be described later. It is designed to be adjusted according to the change in the vertical position of the surface including. Here, the fluid cylinder 33 and the load cell 34 correspond to the adjusting means in the present invention.

By the way, a vertical through hole (not shown) is provided at the rear end of the base member 31 of the first moving means 3, and a female screw is formed on the inner surface of the through hole. The ball screw 42 of the drive means 4 is threaded, and the left and right guide rails 43a of the vertical drive means 4 are inserted in vertical guide grooves (not shown) formed in the left and right end portions of the rear surface of the base member 31. , 43b are fitted in the vertical driving means 4, and the motor 41 rotates to rotate the ball screw 42, so that the base member 31 is attached to both guide rails 43a and 43b. Along the Z axis, either upward or downward. In this way, the first moving means 3 is vertically movably attached to the attachment member 2 and is moved up and down by the vertical drive means 4.

The second moving means 5 has a cylindrical base portion 51, holds the ultrasonic vibrating means 7 inside the base portion 51, and has a rotating shaft 52 integrally bulged backward at the center of the rear surface of the base portion 51. The second moving means 5 is supported on the front side of the support member 32 of the first moving means 3 so as to be rotatable around the center. At this time, as shown in FIG. 1, a ball bearing 35 is embedded in a recess formed in the center of the front surface of the support member 32 of the first moving means 3, and the rotary shaft 52 is fitted in the ball bearing 35. Thus, the base portion 51 of the second moving means 5 is adapted to rotate around the rotation shaft 52.

The rotation driving means 6 includes a housing portion 61 attached to the right side surface of the base portion 51 of the second moving means 5, an actuator portion (not shown) housed in the housing portion 61, and a vertical direction of the actuator portion. The rotary shaft 62 that rotates in conjunction with the movement (in both directions of the Z-axis), the left end is fixed to the right side surface of the base 51 of the second moving means 5, and the rotary shaft 62 is in the front-back direction at the right end. And a connecting portion 63 that penetrates in the (Y-axis direction) and that rotates in conjunction with the rotation shaft 62.

The actuator section described above is housed in the housing section 61 so as to be movable in both directions of the X axis. At this time, when the rotating shaft 62 rotates due to the vertical movement of the actuator portion and the connecting portion 63 rotates in conjunction with the rotating shaft 62, the base portion 51 of the second moving means 5 interlocks with the rotation of the connecting portion 63. However, since the base portion 51 is rotatably supported by the support member 32 of the first moving means 3 about the rotation shaft 52, the base portion 51 should rotate about the rotation shaft 52. become. When the base portion 51 freely rotates around the rotation shaft 52, the rotation shaft 62 on the rotation driving means 6 side moves in an arc centered on the rotation shaft 52. In order to enable circular arc movement around 52, it is necessary to support the rotary shaft 62 so as to be freely movable in both directions of the X axis, which is the horizontal direction.

Therefore, as described above, the actuator part of the rotation driving means 6 is housed in the housing part 61 so as to be freely movable in both directions of the X axis. The actuator section has a well-known configuration including a combination of a motor, a ball screw, a bearing, a slide guide, and the like, and the movement of the actuator section in the vertical direction (bidirectional to the Z axis) is converted into rotation of the rotary shaft 62. It is supposed to be done.

By the way, the rotation driving means 6 is provided with a limiter 64 for restricting the rotation of the rotary shaft 62 within a predetermined range. The limiter 64 includes a mounting portion 64a provided on the right side surface of the connecting portion 63, upper and lower portions of the mounting portion 64a, lower limit sensors 64b and 64c, and a right side surface of the accommodating portion 61. It is provided with upper and lower restricting portions 64d and 64e which are provided above the limit sensor 64b and below the lower limit sensor 64c, respectively.

Then, in a state where the central axis of the connecting portion 63 in the X-axis direction is horizontal, that is, in a state parallel to the X-axis, the distances from the upper and lower limit sensors 64b and 64c to the upper and lower regulating portions 64d and 64e are the same. As described above, the installation positions of the upper and lower limit sensors 64b and 64c and the upper and lower restricting portions 64d and 64e are set as the initial state. Therefore, when the base 51 of the second moving means 5 rotates about the rotation shaft 52 due to the rotation of the rotation shaft 62 from the state where the central axis of the connecting portion 63 in the X-axis direction is horizontal, the upper limit sensor 64b or The rotation of the base portion 51 is allowed within the regulation range until the lower limit sensor 64c contacts the upper regulation portion 64d or the lower regulation portion 64e.

The ultrasonic vibrating means 7 has the vibrator 71, the booster 72, and the horn 73 as described above, and uses a headless screw so that the lower end of the booster 72 and the upper end of the horn 73 are coaxial with each other. The booster 72 is formed to have a length of one wavelength of the resonance frequency so that the booster 72 is connected and the substantially central position and both end positions of the booster 72 become the maximum amplitude point of the ultrasonic vibration. At this time, the positions ¼ wavelength apart from the maximum amplitude point correspond to the first and second minimum amplitude points, respectively. The booster 72 has a columnar cross section viewed from the upper end side, for example, and the vibrator 71 is connected to the upper end of the booster 72 by a headless screw so as to be coaxial with the center axis of the booster 72. ..

Then, at the first minimum amplitude point and the second minimum amplitude point of the booster 72, the booster 72 is supported by the base portion 51 of the second moving means 5 and is held inside the base portion 51 so that the ultrasonic vibrating means 7 can be held. Are attached to the second moving means 5. Further, the horn 73 is formed to have a half-wave length of the resonance frequency in ultrasonic vibration so that the both end positions become the maximum amplitude point, and it is rectangular in a front view and slightly toward the tip in a side view. It is formed in a tapered shape.

The first and second detecting means 9a and 9b are configured by, for example, distance sensors that measure the distance between the upper surface of the workpiece P and the relative distances from both ends of the surface of the workpiece P in the width direction. The position is detected upstream of the horn 73 in the carrying direction (Y-axis direction) of the workpiece P by the carrying means indicated by the arrow in FIG. Here, the distance sensor forming the first and second detecting means 9a and 9b may be of a contact type or a non-contact type, but it is preferable to use a distance sensor that can measure in units of 1 μm.

Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the left and right mounting portions 15a and 15b are provided so as to hang down, for example, on the left and right front ends of the bottom surface of the base portion 51 of the second moving means 5, and the both mounting portions 15a. , 15b are attached to the lower ends of the first and second detecting means 9a and 9b, and the surface including the lower ends of the first and second detecting means 9a and 9b is near the lower surface of the horn 73 and is flush with the lower surface. The horn 73 is arranged inside and is vertically moved and rotated together with the horn 73 by the operations of the vertical drive means 4 and the rotary drive means 6. At this time, the first and second detecting means 9a and 9b are attached such that the distance between the first and second detecting means 9a and 9b is substantially the same as or slightly narrower than the width of the workpiece P.

Then, based on the detection data of the first and second detecting means 9a and 9b, the control means 10 initializes the line connecting the lower surface of the horn 73 and the lower ends of the first and second detecting means 9a and 9b to be horizontal. It is detected how much the upper surface of the workpiece P (here, the two objects to be welded) is inclined with respect to the horn 73 that is set and horizontally adjusted by the initial setting, and the inclination of the upper surface of the workpiece P is detected. The horn 73 is rotated by the rotation driving means 6 so that the lower surface of the horn 73 has the same inclination, and the upper surface of the workpiece P and the lower surface of the horn 73 are adjusted to have the same inclination. Ultrasonic vibration is applied to the workpiece P sandwiched between the workpieces, and the workpiece P is welded. At this time, as shown in FIG. 4, the inclination of the upper surface of the work piece P in the width direction is detected in real time and the lower surface of the horn 73 is adjusted to the inclination of the upper surface of the work piece P, while the conveyance means of FIG. The long workpiece P conveyed in the direction of the arrow inside is continuously welded by heat generated by ultrasonic vibration.

(Initial setting operation)
Next, the procedure of the initial setting for horizontally adjusting the line connecting the lower surface of the horn 73 and the lower ends of the first and second detecting means 9a and 9b will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5, an initial setting operation for horizontally adjusting a line connecting the lower surface of the horn 73 and the lower ends of the first and second detecting means 9a and 9b set to be substantially horizontal is started, and a horizontal reference plane is preliminarily set. 2 is prepared and placed below the horn 73, the control means 10 controls the vertical drive means 4 to move the first moving means 3 downward, and the horn 73 moves toward the lower reference plane. It is moved downward in the Z-axis direction (step S1). At this time, it is moved downward at a speed of 1 to 5 mm/s, for example.

Next, based on the detection data of the first and second detecting means 9a and 9b, the line connecting the lower ends of the first and second detecting means 9a and 9b is arranged in the same plane as the lower surface of the horn 73. It is determined whether the lower end of either the first detecting means 9a or the second detecting means 9b has come into contact with the reference surface (step S2). If the determination result is NO, the process returns to step S1 and the determination result If YES, the downward movement of the first moving means 3 by the vertical driving means 4 is stopped (step S3).

Thereafter, the control means 10 controls the vertical drive means 4 to move the first moving means 3 upward (in the Z-axis direction) so that the lower surface of the horn 73 and the lower ends of the first and second detecting means 9a and 9b are moved upward. 2 is increased by 0.1 mm (step S4), the rotation driving means 6 is controlled by the control means 10, and if only the first detection means 9a is determined to be in contact in step S2, the rotation shaft 62 in FIG. If it is determined that only the second detecting means 9b is in contact with the direction of the arrow A (clockwise), the rotation shaft 62 moves in the direction of the arrow B (counterclockwise) in FIG. 2 by a predetermined angle (for example, 0.5°). ) It is rotated to adjust the inclination of the line connecting the lower surface of the horn 73 and the lower ends of the first and second detecting means 9a and 9b (step S5).

Then, the control means 10 controls the vertical drive means 4 again to move the first moving means 3 downward, so that the horn 73 moves from the beginning at a speed of 1 to 2 mm/s in the Z-axis direction in FIGS. It is slowly moved down (step S6), and it is determined whether or not the lower ends of both the first detection means 9a and the second detection means 9b have come into contact with the reference surface (step S7), and if this determination result is NO. For example, since the lower surface of the horn 73 is not yet adjusted horizontally, the process returns to step S3 described above, and the lower surface of the horn 73 and the lower ends of the first and second detecting means 9a and 9b are rotated by the rotation of the rotating shaft 62. The inclination adjustment of the line connecting the lines is repeated.

On the other hand, if the decision result in the step S7 is YES, that is, if the lower ends of both the first and second detecting means 9a and 9b are in contact with the reference surface, the lower surface of the horn 73 and the first and second detecting means 9a and 9b. Assuming that the line connecting the lower ends of the first and second moving means 3 is coincident with the horizontal reference plane (step S8), the downward movement of the first moving means 3 is stopped, and the lower surface of the horn 73 and the first and second detecting means are detected. The line connecting the lower ends of 9a and 9b is adjusted horizontally, and the rotation angle of the rotation shaft 62 by the rotation drive means 6 is set to an initial value together with the detection data (detection distance) of the first and second detection means 9a and 9b at that time. Is stored in the built-in memory of the control means 10, the initial setting is completed (step S9), and then the operation ends.

(Welding operation)
After the line connecting the lower surface of the horn 73 and the lower ends of the first and second detecting means 9a and 9b is initially set in a horizontal state, it is placed between the stage 8 and the horn 73 as shown in FIG. Both ends of the upper surface of the workpiece P by the first and second detecting means 9a and 9b with respect to the workpiece P transported in the arrow direction (Y-axis direction) in FIGS. The position for each is detected in real time. Then, the detection data of the first and second detecting means 9a, 9b are fetched by the control means 10, and the control means 10 detects the upper surface of the workpiece P with respect to the lower surface of the horn 73 which is horizontally set by the initial setting. If the tilt is derived and the upper surface of the workpiece P is tilted from the horizontal, the control means 10 controls the rotation driving means 6 to tilt the lower surface of the horn 73 according to the tilt, and the second moving means 5 is controlled. Is rotated by a necessary angle from the initial rotation angle stored in the memory.

In this way, the inclination of the lower surface of the horn 73 is adjusted in real time so as to match the derived inclination of the upper surface of the workpiece P, and a predetermined pressing force is applied to the horn 73 by the fluid cylinder 33 to cause the stage 8 to move. While the upper workpiece P is being pressed, the ultrasonic vibration means 7 is controlled by the control means 10 to apply ultrasonic vibration to the workpiece P to be welded, and the lower surface of the horn 73 in real time as described above. The inclination adjustment and ultrasonic welding are repeated in rear time, and the workpiece P is continuously welded. The pressure applied to the horn 73 during welding is adjusted based on the detected load of the load cell 34.

By the way, the thickness of the work piece P formed by stacking two long work pieces on top of each other is not constant but varies, so that the action of the fluid cylinder 33 and the load cell 34 causes the surface of the work piece P including the thickness of the work piece P to be changed. The height position of the horn 73 in the Z-axis direction is adjusted in real time according to the change in the vertical position.

That is, as shown in FIG. 1, for example, when the thickness of the workpiece P being conveyed becomes thick during the welding process, the load of the fluid cylinder 33 detected by the load cell 34 increases from the state of a predetermined value defined in advance. However, when the thickness of the workpiece P being conveyed becomes thin during the welding process, the load of the fluid cylinder 33 detected by the load cell 34 decreases from the state of the predetermined value. Therefore, the detection data of the load cell 34 is taken into the control means 10 at the time of welding, and the control means 10 controls the fluid cylinder 33 so that the detection load of the load cell 34 always becomes the above-mentioned predetermined value and the support member 32 for the base member 31. The position in the up-down direction (Z-axis direction) is adjusted, and the height position of the horn 73 in the Z-axis direction is adjusted in real time according to fluctuations in the vertical position of the surface including the thickness of the workpiece P. The adjustment of the height position of the lower surface of the horn 73 can be performed in parallel with the inclination adjustment of the lower surface of the horn 73.

The two objects to be welded that constitute the object P to be welded are preferably made of a combination of resin and resin, resin and metal, or metal and metal, and may be other materials.

Therefore, according to the first embodiment, the positions with respect to both ends in the width direction of the workpiece P that is arranged and conveyed between the stage 8 and the horn 73 are detected by the first and second detecting means 9a and 9b. Then, based on the detection data by the first and second detecting means 9a and 9b, the inclination in the width direction of the upper surface of the workpiece P with respect to the lower surface of the horn 73 which is initially set and horizontally adjusted by the control means 10 is detected. The rotation driving means 6 is controlled by the control means 10 to rotate the second moving means 5, so that the inclination of the lower surface of the horn 73 matches the detected inclination of the upper surface of the workpiece P in the width direction. Therefore, the long workpiece P to be conveyed is adjusted while the lower surface of the horn 73 is adjusted to the upper surface of the workpiece P while the inclination of the upper surface of the workpiece P in the width direction is detected in real time. Can be ultrasonically welded uniformly over the entire surface.

Even if the vertical position of the surface including the thickness of the work piece P is not constant and varies, the thickness of the work piece P conveyed by the conveying means is changed by the operation of the adjusting means including the fluid cylinder 33 and the load cell 34. Since the height position of the lower surface of the horn 73 is adjusted in real time according to the fluctuation of the vertical position of the surface including the surface of the horn 73, even the workpiece P having the vertical position of the surface is uniformly ultrasonically processed. You can

<Second Embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an ultrasonic cutting device will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

The configuration of the ultrasonic cutting device 1a in this embodiment is almost the same as that of the ultrasonic welding device 1 described above, and the cutting blade 75 is attached to the lower end of the horn 73 of the ultrasonic vibrating means 7 to form a fine adjustment means. Unlike the first embodiment described above, the fluid cylinder 33 and the load cell 34 are not required, and another load cell (not shown) for detecting the load of the cutting blade 75 at the time of cutting is provided.

At this time, the line connecting the lower ends of the first and second detecting means 9a and 9b is set so as to be located in the same plane as the blade surface of the lower end of the cutting blade 75 or above the blade surface by a predetermined amount. You should keep it.

Then, by the same initial setting process as in the first embodiment, the blade surface of the cutting blade 75 and the detection surfaces at the lower ends of the first and second detection means 9a and 9b are horizontally adjusted, and then are cut in real time. The inclination of the blade surface of the cutting blade 75 is adjusted according to the inclination of the surface of the workpiece P, the conveyance by the conveying means is stopped at predetermined positions, and the ultrasonic waves by the ultrasonic vibrating means 7 generate horns 73 during the stop. The workpiece P is given to the cutting blade 75 via the, and the conveyance of the workpiece P by the conveying means is restarted. Then, the conveyance is stopped and cut, and the conveyance is restarted, so that the long workpiece is cut. P is cut.

Here, the ultrasonic cutting device 1a described above can cut a workpiece P such as silicone, soft resin, other flexible resin, elastomer, or soft rubber. The cutting blade 75 is made of various materials such as high carbon steel, carbon tool steel, alloy tool steel, high speed steel, sintered high speed steel, cemented carbide, ceramics, cermet, industrial diamond, and electroformed diamond. Can be formed and is attached to the horn 73 by being adhered with a resin adhesive having thermosetting or thermoplastic properties, a metal brazing material such as Ni, Cu, Ag, or an adhesive material such as solder, or by a screw. It is recommended to attach it directly to the horn 73. Furthermore, the cutting edge of the cutting blade 75 is titanium nitride, titanium carbonitride, titanium aluminide, aluminum chrome nitride, diamond-like carbon (DLC: Diamond) by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or physical vapor deposition (PVD). Coating with a hard material such as (like carbon).

Therefore, according to the second embodiment, the blade surface of the cutting blade 75 can be adjusted in real time to the inclination of the upper surface of the long work piece P conveyed by the conveying means. Can be ultrasonically cut without leaving uncut as in the conventional case.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications other than those described above can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the workpiece P does not necessarily have to be long and may be relatively moved in a predetermined processing direction.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the first moving means 3 is connected to the articulated robot without the vertical movement driving means 4 and the rotation driving means 6, and the first moving means 3 is moved in the vertical and horizontal directions. The ultrasonic vibrating means 7 is movably supported in a three-dimensional manner including rotation, movably and vertically and horizontally and rotatably supported, and the entire apparatus 1, 1a is moved in the processing direction regardless of the conveying means. Alternatively, the workpiece P may be moved so as to be relatively moved in the processing direction.

Further, instead of the welding of the above-described first embodiment, a plurality of bonded articles smaller than the base material at regular intervals, for example, are provided on the surface of a long base material that is moved (conveyed) in the transfer direction (processing direction). The present invention can also be applied to the case of continuously joining by ultrasonic waves. Also in this case, the lower surface of the horn 73 can be joined while adjusting in real time so as to match the inclination of the surface of the long base material or the inclination of the surface of each joined object. Also in this case, of course, an articulated robot may be used.

Further, the above-mentioned first and second detecting means 9a, 9b may be arranged on the downstream side of the horn 73 in the carrying direction (processing direction) of the workpiece P indicated by the arrow in FIG. This makes it possible to detect the finish of the processing of the workpiece P by the horn 73. For example, in the case of welding, the finish of the welding of the workpiece P on the first detection means 9a side and the second detection means 9b side can be detected. The difference can be grasped, and it is possible to eliminate such a difference by adjusting the inclination of the horn 73 so as to eliminate the difference in finish.

In addition, as a third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, the first moving means 3 may be attached to the articulated robot 100 so as to be movable three-dimensionally. The driving unit 4, the second moving unit 5, the rotation driving unit 6, and the ultrasonic vibrating unit 7 can be moved three-dimensionally including the movement and rotation in the up, down, left, right, front, and rear directions. The inclination can also be adjusted three-dimensionally.

Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, first and second detecting means 9a and 9b are arranged on the upstream side so as to sandwich the horn 73, and similarly, third detecting means for detecting the position of the workpiece P with respect to the surface. By arranging 9c on the downstream side, it is possible to detect the positions of three points with respect to the surface of the work piece P by the first and second detection means 9a and 9b and the third detection means 9c, and it is possible to detect three positions on the surface of the work piece P. The inclination of the lower surface of the horn 73 can be adjusted three-dimensionally by following the dimensional inclination, and the upper and lower central axes of the horn 73 are adjusted so as to be always perpendicular to the surface of the workpiece P. Processing such as welding can be performed.

The first and second detecting means 9a and 9b shown in FIG. 9 may be arranged on the downstream side, and the third detecting means 9c may be arranged on the upstream side.

The present invention can be applied to all apparatuses that process a long work piece by ultrasonic vibration.

1... Ultrasonic welding device (ultrasonic processing device)
1a... Ultrasonic cutting device (ultrasonic processing device)
3... First moving means 4... Vertical driving means 5... Second moving means 6... Rotation driving means 7... Ultrasonic vibrating means 8... Stages 9a, 9b... First and second detecting means P... Workpiece 73 … Horn 75… Cutting blade

Claims (8)

In an ultrasonic processing device that processes an object by ultrasonic waves while relatively moving the workpiece in the processing direction,
A moving means that is movable in the vertical direction and is rotatably provided;
Ultrasonic vibrating means attached to the moving means, having an oscillator and a horn that resonates with ultrasonic vibration generated by the oscillator;
A stage disposed below the horn to hold the workpiece between the horn and the stage,
It is attached to the moving means and is disposed near the lower surface of the horn, and vertically moves and rotates together with the horn by the vertical movement and rotation of the moving means, and at least positions with respect to both ends in the width direction of the workpiece. First and second detecting means for detecting
Control means for fetching detection data from the first and second detection means and controlling vertical movement and rotation of the moving means,
The control means is
Based on the detection data of the relative position of each of the first and second detection means with respect to a horizontal reference plane, the rotation drive means is controlled to perform an initial setting for adjusting the lower surface of the horn to be horizontal,
With respect to the workpiece that is arranged between the stage and the horn and is moved in the processing direction, the positions of the upper surface of the workpiece with respect to both ends of the workpiece are detected by the first and second detecting means. Then, the inclination of the upper surface of the workpiece with respect to the lower surface of the horn, which is horizontally adjusted by initialization, is derived, and the inclination of the lower surface of the horn is derived by rotating the moving means. The ultrasonic machining apparatus, wherein the ultrasonic vibrating means is controlled to adjust the inclination of the upper surface of the workpiece so that the workpiece is ultrasonically machined. The said 1st, 2nd detection means is arrange|positioned with respect to the said horn on the upstream side of the said processing direction of the said workpiece|work which is moved to the said processing direction, The super according to claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned. Sonic processing device. Further comprising third detecting means for detecting the position of the surface of the workpiece with respect to substantially the center,
The ultrasonic processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first and second detection means and the third detection means are separately arranged on the upstream side and the downstream side so as to sandwich the horn. The moving means includes an adjusting means for detecting a change in the vertical position of the surface of the workpiece arranged between the stage and the horn and adjusting the vertical position of the ultrasonic vibrating means. The ultrasonic processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The lower ends of the first and second detecting means are arranged in the same horizontal plane as the lower surface of the horn,
The control means is
By moving the moving means toward the reference plane, the ultrasonic vibrating means is moved up and down together with the first and second detecting means, and either the first detecting means or the second detecting means is moved. By rotating the moving means so that the lower ends of the first and second detecting means both come into contact with the reference surface from the state where the lower ends contact the reference surface, the ultrasonic vibrating means and the first and second detecting means are rotated. The ultrasonic processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first and second detecting means are rotated to perform the initial setting. The work piece is formed by stacking at least two pieces to be welded,
The ultrasonic processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the two objects to be welded are continuously welded by continuous application of ultrasonic waves by the ultrasonic vibration means. A cutting blade having a blade surface set parallel to the lower surface of the horn, which is attached to the lower end of the horn,
4. The object to be processed is one in which the conveyance by the conveying means is stopped at every predetermined position, and the workpiece is cut and processed by the application of ultrasonic waves by the ultrasonic vibrating means. The ultrasonic processing device according to any one of 1. 8. The ultrasonic processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the moving means is movable in other directions including a vertical direction and moves three-dimensionally.

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