JP2771760B2 - Welding torch cleaning device for consumable electrode type welding device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a welding torch cleaning device for a consumable electrode type welding device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei.
There is one disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 23078.

In consumable electrode welding, spatter adheres to the inner surface of the nozzle of the welding torch that blows out the shielding gas and the outer surface of the tip that holds the consumable electrode, disturbing the flow of the shielding gas and reducing welding efficiency. Therefore, periodically clean the inner surface of the nozzle and the outer surface of the chip.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-23078 discloses an apparatus for automatically performing the cleaning in an automatic welding apparatus such as a welding robot or an automatic welding machine for performing consumable electrode type welding.

[0005] In this conventional example, for cleaning the chips, a cylindrical brush is used as a cleaning tool, the chips are relatively inserted into the cylindrical brush, and the cylindrical brush is rotated while rotating the cylindrical brush. By circumscribing,
The attached spatter is scraped off.

[0006]

In this conventional device,
Since the cylindrical brush is supported vertically and the cylindrical brush is coaxially positioned with respect to the chip, when the brush bristle end of the cylindrical brush is worn, the cylindrical brush does not slide on the chip outer peripheral surface. In the case of the automatic welding equipment, there are many chances to perform cleaning by overlooking this, and the cleaning step is executed, but spatters are still attached to the chip after cleaning, which causes a decrease in the welding efficiency. Things often happen.

[0007] Of course, the presence or absence of wear of the cylindrical brush is monitored, and frequent replacement is good. However, in the case of the above automatic welding equipment, it is not preferable.

Further, since the tip portion does not have a uniform diameter, a special brush must be used as a brush. If the tip portion is bent or deformed,
There is a problem that reliable cleaning is difficult.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve this problem, and it is intended to prevent poor cleaning caused by abrasion of a brush.
An object of the present invention is to provide a welding torch cleaning device of a consumable electrode type welding device that can improve reliability.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a rotating body supported on a driving shaft concentrically with the driving shaft, a driving mechanism for driving the rotating body,
A plurality of brush holders arranged around the axis and held by the rotating body so as to be tiltable with a support shaft, a brush whose brush shaft is held by each of the brush holders and whose brush body projects out of the brush holder; An energizing mechanism for elastically energizing the brush body side of the brush holder in the axial direction of the rotating body, a brush rotating mechanism for rotating the brush shaft, wherein the brush main body is cylindrical, and The tip of the welding torch is configured to be inserted and removed between the brush bodies from the axial direction so as to be slidable.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the brush rotating mechanism includes a cylindrical fixed case disposed concentrically with the rotating body, outside the rotating body, and having a tooth surface extending in a circumferential direction on an inner peripheral surface thereof. And a gear fitted to each brush shaft and meshing with the tooth surface.

[0012]

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a balance weight for adjusting the center of gravity is provided on a portion of the brush shaft opposite to the brush body.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a rotating body supported on the driving shaft concentrically with the driving shaft, a driving mechanism for driving the rotating shaft, and a brush shaft disposed around the axis of the rotating body, wherein the brush shaft is provided. A plurality of brushes held in a tiltable manner by a spindle,
A brush mechanism provided at one end of the brush shaft of the brush for elastically biasing the brush body in the axial direction of the rotating body; the brush is a toothbrush; The tip of the welding torch is slidably inserted into and removed from the axial direction.

[0015] According to claim 5, the brush body side and the opposition side of the brush shaft according to claim 4, has a configuration that also serves as a balancer for the center of gravity adjustment.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a rotating member supported on the driving shaft concentrically with the driving shaft, a driving mechanism for driving the rotating shaft, and a horizontal swinging member disposed around an axis of the rotating member and having one end side. A brush holder that is movably supported and has the other end facing each other, and a biasing mechanism that is stretched over mutually facing surfaces of the brush holder and biases the brush holder in a direction in which the facing surfaces are close to each other. The brush body of the toothbrush-like brush is provided on each of the facing surfaces.

[0017]

According to the present invention, a plurality of brushes are held so as to be tiltable and the brush body is urged toward a predetermined axis line surrounding the brush body. Since the brush main body is displaced toward the predetermined axis, the brush main body surely comes into sliding contact with the tip portion until the wear is extremely advanced, and the cleaning operation is performed.

Since the brush body is elastically urged as described above, the tip portion having an irregular diameter can be reliably cleaned even if the tip portion is deformed.

[0019]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 10 denotes a base provided at a standby position of the welding robot. Reference numeral 21 denotes a fixed case of the cleaning device. The fixed case 21 is a cylindrical body having an opening at the upper end and having a projection 22 projecting downward from the center of the lower bottom.
0A, and is fixed to the base 10. A tooth belt 23 is adhered to the inner peripheral surface of the fixed case 21.

In the fixed case 21, a part of the cylindrical wall is cut out over its entire length, and the two cylindrical walls 31 are opposed to each other.
A, 31B, the cylindrical rotating body 30 is fixed to the fixed case 21.
A shaft 32 extending downward from the rotating body 30 is provided concentrically with the projection 2 of the fixed case 21 via a bearing 33.
2 through. A spur gear 34 is fixed to the lower end of the shaft 32.

In the rotating body 30, two brush holders 40A and 40B are provided at predetermined intervals in the diameter direction of the shaft 32.

The brush holder 40A is provided between the cylindrical walls 31A and 31B of the rotating body 30, and the tilt shaft 4 placed on one axis.
The shafts 41A and 41A are fixed at 1A and 41A '.
It can be tilted in a direction orthogonal to A '. Brush holder 4
0A vertically supports a brush shaft 43A via bearings 42a and 42b, and a spur gear (pulley) 45A is fixed to the brush shaft 43A. Brush shaft 43A
Extends upward from the fixed case 21, and a disk-shaped brush body 44A is fixed to the upper end thereof. A balance weight 46A for adjusting the center of gravity is provided at the lower end of the brush shaft 43A so that the center of the brush is aligned with the position of the shaft 41A.

The brush holder 40B is also fixed between the cylindrical walls 31A and 31B of the rotating body 30 by tilting shafts 41B and 41B 'for being placed on one axis.
It can be tilted in a direction orthogonal to 1B '. The brush holder 40B is provided with a brush shaft 43B via bearings 42a and 42b.
Are vertically supported, and a spur gear 45B is fixed to the brush shaft 43B. The brush shaft 43B extends above the fixed case 21, and a circular brush body 44B is fixed to the upper end thereof. A balance weight 46B for adjusting the center of gravity is provided at the lower end of the brush shaft 43B so that the center of the brush is aligned with the position of the shaft 41B.

The spur gears 44A and 44B mesh with the tooth belt 23 of the fixed case 21.

Reference numeral 47 denotes a coil spring constituting an urging mechanism, which is stretched across the brush holders 40A and 40B, and urges the brush holders 40A and 40B in directions approaching each other.

Numeral 48 denotes a spacer (in this example, a bolt) extending from the brush holder 40A toward the mating brush holder 40B.
4B are prevented from contacting each other.

Reference numeral 49 denotes a dustproof cylindrical cover, which is provided on the base 10 outside the fixed case 21 and concentrically with the fixed case 21.

The base 10 has a welding torch 20 shown in FIG.
A nozzle attaching / detaching device for automatically attaching / detaching the nozzle portion 202 from 0 is provided. Reference numeral 100 denotes a nozzle attaching / detaching tool of the nozzle attaching / detaching device, which comprises a coil spring 101;
The motor is driven forward and reverse through a spur gear 102 by a drive mechanism (not shown), for example, a motor with a speed reducer. Spur gear 3
4 meshes with the intermediate gear 103 meshing with the spur gear 102. 201 is a torch body part, 203 is a tip part, 2
04 is an orifice part.

The tooth surface of the spur gear 45A is
A has a spherical shape centered on the rotation of the axis of the spur gear 45A. Even if the brush shaft 43A is tilted, if the brush shaft 43A is tilted within a predetermined range, the engagement with the tooth belt 22 is not disengaged. It has become.

Next, the operation of the cleaning device will be described.

A data memory incorporated in a control device (not shown) of the welding robot stores data of a tip cleaning operation step in addition to data of a welding operation step.

Now, it is assumed that the welding torch has returned to the standby position after the N-th welding operation, and the program stored in the program memory of the control device stores the tip at the end of the N-th welding operation. Suppose that the cleaning operation was programmed to start.

(1) The welding torch 200 moves to a position immediately above the nozzle extracting chuck coil 101 (the first predetermined position), and the motor for driving the chuck 100 rotates according to a command from the welding robot, and The gear 102 rotates. As a result, the chuck coil 101 rotates in the chuck spring winding direction.

(2) The welding torch 200 is lowered, and the nozzle portion 202 is moved to the nozzle extracting chuck spring 101.
Is inserted into. Nozzle extraction chuck coil 10
Since the inner diameter of the coil 1 has a size that makes loose contact with the outer surface of the nozzle of the welding torch, when the nozzle portion 202 is inserted into the nozzle extracting chuck coil 101, it does not wind around the nozzle portion 202, and 202 is easily inserted. After the nozzle portion 202 is inserted, the chuck coil 101 is reversely rotated by a command from the welding robot, whereby the screwing between the nozzle portion 202 and the torch main body portion 201 is released.

(3) When the screw between the nozzle part 202 and the torch main part 201 is released, the torch main part 201 of the welding torch 200 rises, and the nozzle part 202 remains in the chuck coil 101. Thereafter, the nozzle portion is separately cleaned.

(4) After returning the torch body portion 201 of the welding torch 200 to the first predetermined position, the torch body portion 201 is positioned directly above the rotating body 30 (at the position on the axis of the rotating body 30 and is moved to the second position).
To a predetermined position).

(5) The torch main body 201 of the welding torch 200 descends from the second predetermined position at a preset cleaning speed.

As a result, after the tip portion 203 has descended by a certain distance, the tip portion 203 starts to enter between the brush bodies 44A and 44B from the tip side.

(6) Since the rotation of the spur gear 102 is transmitted to the spur gear 34 via the intermediate gear 103,
The rotating body 30 rotates. When the rotating body 30 rotates, the brush holders 40A and 40B rotate around the axis O of the rotating body 30 (this rotation is hereinafter referred to as revolution). The spur gear 45A in the brush holder 40A meshes with the tooth belt 23 in the fixed case 21.
The brush shaft 43A rotates (hereinafter, referred to as "rotation"). Since the spur gear 45B in the brush holder 40B also meshes with the tooth belt 23 in the fixed case 21, the spur gear 45B rotates with the above-mentioned revolution, and the brush shaft 43B rotates (rotates).

(7) The brush bodies 44A and 44B are in sliding contact with the outer peripheral surface of the tip portion 203 while rotating, and in this state, revolve in the circumferential direction of the tip portion.

(8) The tip portion 203 of the welding torch body 201 extends to the orifice portion 204 of the brush body 4
When a predetermined time elapses after entering between 4A and 44B, the welding torch main body 201 moves at the cleaning speed toward the second predetermined position. The welding torch body 2
01 immediately after entering the orifice section 204
May be moved to a predetermined position.

(9) The welding torch main body 201 is
After returning to the predetermined position, the welding torch 200
To a predetermined position.

(10) After the welding torch 200 is moved to the first predetermined position, the nozzle portion 202 which has been cleaned is
Is rotated in the direction in which the screw is tightened in accordance with a command from the welding robot, and descends into the chuck coil 101.

(11) The welding torch main body 201 enters the nozzle portion 202 remaining in the chuck coil 101 and engages with the nozzle portion 202.

Then, the welding torch main body 201 is returned to the first predetermined position while rotating the chuck coil 101.

(12) Next, the position immediately above the nozzle tightening chuck coil 105 (third predetermined position)
After the welding torch body 201 moves, the welding torch body 205 is inserted into the chuck coil 105 for nozzle tightening.
Press.

(13) Like the chuck coil 101, the inner diameter of the chuck coil 105 for tightening the nozzle has such a size that it comes into loose contact with the nozzle portion 202 and is left-handed.
When inserted into the nozzle portion 05, the nozzle portion 202 is wound around the nozzle portion 202 and is rotated. By this rotation, the nozzle portion 202 and the welding torch main body 20 of the welding torch 200 are formed.
1 is screwed tightly.

(14) Nozzle part 202 and welding torch 2
When the welding torch main body 201 is tightly screwed, the nozzle tightening chuck coil 105 rotates in the opposite direction to the above in accordance with a command from the welding robot, and the nozzle coil 202 is wound around the nozzle tightening chuck coil 105 nozzle portion 202. Unraveled.

(15) After returning the welding torch main body 201 to the third predetermined position, the rotation of the chuck coil 105 for nozzle tightening is stopped.

With the above operation, the cleaning of the tip portion and the nozzle portion of the welding torch 20 is completed, and the process proceeds to the next welding operation.

In this embodiment, the brush holders 40A and 40B revolve with respect to the axis O, so that the rotating brush bodies 44A and 44B are brought into sliding contact with the outer peripheral surface of the tip portion 203, and the tip portion 203 is brought into contact with the brush body 44A. And 44B, the chip portion 2 is moved up and down.
03, the spatters adhering to the outer surface are scraped off, and the chip portion 203 is cleaned.

In this embodiment, the brush bodies 44A and 44B
Are elastically urged in the directions close to each other, so that the tip portion 203 of the welding torch main body is inserted between the brush main bodies 44A and 44B and further into the orifice portion 204 having a large diameter on the base side. And both brush bodies 4
4A and 44B act so as to be pushed apart against the elasticity of the tension coil spring 47, and as a result, the orifice portion 204 having a large diameter can be cleaned. Also,
Even if the tip portion 203 is deformed, it can be reliably cleaned.

In this embodiment, both brush bodies 44A and 44A
Even if the brush bodies 44A and 44B are worn, the brush bodies 44A and 44B are in sliding contact with the tip portion and the large-diameter orifice portion 204 in a press-contact manner even when the brush bodies 44A and 44B are worn, so that the cleaning is surely performed. be able to.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the present invention. The rotating body 30 is supported in a dustproof case 49 by a shaft 32 for supporting the rotating body 30 of the embodiment of FIG. Brush 5
Reference numerals 0A and 50B denote toothbrush-like brushes each having a brush body 52 provided on one surface of the upper end of the brush shafts 51A and 51B. The brush bodies 52 are arranged so that the brush bodies 52 face each other. Shaft (tilt axis) 53A, 5
3B, it is tiltably supported by the rotating body 30.

Reference numeral 54 denotes a coil spring constituting a biasing mechanism, which is extended between the lower ends of the brush shafts 51A and 51B. The brush shafts 51A and 51B are urged. Reference numeral 55 denotes an adjusting screw for adjusting the interval between the brush shafts 51A and 51B.

FIG. 4 shows a third embodiment of the present invention, in which base blocks 61A and 61B are provided on a rotary plate 60 which is driven to rotate in the same manner as the rotary body 30, with a predetermined interval in the diameter direction. The base blocks 61A, 61
The bases of the rotating arms (brush holders) 63A and 63B are pivotally supported on the shaft B by the rotating shafts 62A and 62B so that the rotating arms 63A and 63B can be horizontally rotated. The other ends of the rotating arms 63A, 63B face each other, and the brush bodies 66A,
66B is attached. Also, the facing surface 64
A coil spring 65A, 65B constituting an urging mechanism is stretched between A and 64B.

It should be noted that two or more brush holders supported on the rotating plate 60 so as to be tiltable around the axis O (for example, three brush holders).
The same effect can be obtained by disposing a coil spring between adjacent brush holders and disposing a coil spring between the adjacent brush holders so that the brush holder has a toothbrush-like brush. be able to.

[0059]

As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of brushes are held so as to be tiltable, and the brush main bodies are urged toward a predetermined axis which surrounds each of them. Since the brush body is displaced toward the predetermined axis in accordance with the amount of wear, the brush body surely comes into sliding contact with the chip portion until the wear is extremely advanced, and the cleaning operation is performed.

Further, since the brush body is urged as described above, the cleaning operation is performed even if the tip portion is deformed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a welding torch.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 base 21 fixed case 23 tooth belt 30 rotating body 31A, 31B cylindrical wall 32 axis 34 spur gear 40A, 40B brush holder 41A, 41B tilting axis 43A, 43B brush axis 44A, 44B brush body 45A, 45B spur gear 46A, 46B Balance weight 47 Coil spring 48 Spacer 49 Dustproof case 50A, 50B Brush 51A, 51B Brush shaft 53A, 53B Tilt shaft 54 Coil spring 60 Rotating plate 61A, 61B Base block 62A, 62B Rotating shaft 63A, 63B Rotating arm (brush holder) ) 65A, 65B coil spring

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Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A rotating body supported on a driving shaft concentrically with the driving shaft, a driving mechanism for driving the rotating body, and a rotating body disposed around the axis so as to revolve in a circumferential direction of a tip of the welding torch. A plurality of brush holders that are held by the rotating body so as to be tiltable with a support shaft, brushes that hold the brush shaft by the respective brush holders and that the brush main body projects out of the brush holder, and the brush main bodies of the respective brush holders. An urging mechanism for elastically urging in mutually adjacent directions, a brush rotating mechanism for rotating the brush shaft so as to rotate the brush main body, the brush main body has a disk shape , and the brush main body of each brush is A welding torch cleaning device for a consumable electrode type welding device, characterized in that a tip of a welding torch is inserted into and removed from the axial direction so as to be slidable in contact with all brush bodies in a gap to be formed. 2. A brush rotating mechanism, comprising: a cylindrical fixed case disposed concentrically with the rotating body outside the rotating body and having a tooth surface extending in a circumferential direction on an inner peripheral surface thereof; 2. The welding torch cleaning device for a consumable electrode type welding device according to claim 1, further comprising a gear fitted to said gear and meshing with said tooth surface. 3. The welding of the consumable electrode type welding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a balance weight for adjusting the center of gravity is provided at a portion of the brush shaft opposite to the brush body. Torch cleaning device. 4. A rotating body supported on the driving shaft concentrically with the driving shaft, a driving mechanism for driving the rotating shaft, and a brush shaft arranged around an axis of the rotating body and a brush shaft supported by the rotating body. A plurality of brushes held in a tiltable manner, a biasing mechanism for elastically biasing a brush body side provided at one end of the brush shaft of the brush in the axial direction of the rotating body, wherein the brush is A welding torch for a consumable electrode type welding apparatus, wherein a tip of a welding torch is inserted and removed from the axial direction so as to be slidable in contact with all the brush bodies in a toothbrush-shaped space defined by the brush bodies of the brushes. Cleaning device. 5. The side opposite to the brush body of the brush shaft,
5. The welding torch cleaning device for a consumable electrode type welding device according to claim 4, wherein the device also serves as a balancer for adjusting the center of gravity. 6. A rotating body supported on the driving shaft concentrically with the driving shaft, a driving mechanism for driving the rotating shaft, and disposed around an axis of the rotating body so as to be able to swing at one end side in a horizontal direction. A brush holder that is pivotally supported and has the other end facing each other, a biasing mechanism that is stretched over the mutually facing surfaces of the brush holder and biases the brush holder in a direction in which the facing surfaces are close to each other; A welding torch cleaning device for a consumable electrode type welding device, characterized in that a brush body of a toothbrush-like brush is provided on the opposing surface.