JP3778007B2 - Blank material gap straightening device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an improvement in a gap correction device for a blank material that corrects a gap generated between the butt end surfaces when the butt end surface of one blank material is butted against the butt end surface of another blank material.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Some panel parts used in vehicles such as automobiles apply a tailored blank technique in which a plurality of blank materials are joined by welding and then press-molded. In this type of panel component, the butted end surface of one blank material is butted against the butted end surface of another blank material, and the butted portions are joined by laser welding.
[0003]
When a plurality of blank materials are abutted with each other, a gap may occur between the abutting end surfaces due to variations in the cutting accuracy of the blank materials. In particular, in a tailored blank in which a plurality of weld lines exist in each blank material and form a loop shape as a whole, a gap is likely to occur between the butted end surfaces. In order to suppress the occurrence of welding defects and improve the welding quality, and thus to improve the quality of the panel parts after press forming, it is necessary to correct the gap as small as possible before the welding operation.
[0004]
For this reason, when a plurality of blank materials are brought into contact with each other, a gap correction device is used to correct a gap generated between the butt end faces.
[0005]
A conventional gap correction device for a blank material imparts a deformation margin to the blank material by bending a part of the blank material, and corrects the gap using the bending reaction force (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 10- No. 15688, JP-A-10-128582 and JP-A-10-137980).
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, since the conventional gap straightening device uses only the bending reaction force of the blank material as the force for straightening the gap, there is a limit to the amount of gap that can be straightened.
[0007]
Moreover, there are various shapes of the blank material. For example, there is a blank material in which a butt end surface is not orthogonal to an end surface continuous with the butt end surface, that is, provided with an inclination. In the blank material having such a shape, there is a problem that the correctable gap amount becomes smaller and smaller depending on the gap gap.
[0008]
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems associated with the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a blank material gap straightening device capable of increasing the correctable gap amount.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The object of the present invention is achieved by the following means.
[0010]
(1) In a blank material gap straightening device that corrects a gap generated between the butted end surfaces when the butted end surface of one blank material is butted against the butted end surface of another blank material,
An applying means for releasably applying a bending deformation to the one blank material;
Holding means for holding the other blank material;
A pressing means for applying an additional force that presses a portion of the bending deformation applied to the one blank material and promotes restoration from the bending deformation of the one blank material;
And a control means for controlling the operation of the pressing means when the applying means releases the bending deformation.
[0011]
(2) A plurality of pressing means are provided,
The blank correction apparatus for a blank material according to (1), wherein the control unit individually controls the operations of the plurality of pressing units.
[0012]
(3) In the above (2), the pressing means located at both ends of the plurality of pressing means are disposed in the vicinity of an end face continuous with the abutting end face in the one blank material. The gap correction apparatus for the blank material described.
[0013]
(4) The pressing means has a pressing surface that comes into contact with a bending vertex of the bending deformation applied to the one blank material.
The gap correction of the blank material according to (1), wherein the pressing surface is set to a length that maintains a contact state with a bending vertex that moves in a direction toward the abutting end surface at the time of abutting. apparatus.
[0014]
(5) The blank material gap straightening device according to (1), wherein the one blank material is provided with an abutting end surface inclined with respect to an end surface continuous with the abutting end surface. .
[0015]
【The invention's effect】
The present invention configured as described above has the following effects.
[0016]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, when correcting the gap, in addition to the bending reaction force that can be freely applied to the one blank material, the one blank material to which the one blank material is given is deformed. Since an additional force is added to promote recovery from bending deformation, a larger gap correction force can be obtained compared to the case where only the bending reaction force is used as the correction force, resulting in an increase in the amount of gap that can be corrected. It becomes possible to do.
[0017]
According to the invention described in claim 2 or claim 3, since it is possible to add an additional force having a desired strength to a desired portion of the flexural deformation, the gap according to the gap gap generated between the butt end faces is determined. By applying the additional force, the gap can be corrected appropriately.
[0018]
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the contact state between the pressing surface of the pressing means and the bending apex that moves in the direction toward the butt end surface at the time of butting is maintained, the additional force is applied throughout the gap correction process. Can be added effectively.
[0019]
According to invention of Claim 5, even if it is the blank material in which the butt | matching end surface is provided with inclination with respect to the end surface which continues to the said butt | matching end surface, a gap can be corrected appropriately.
[0020]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0021]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a tailored blank 10 in which a plurality of blank materials are joined by welding, and FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a laser welding device 20 in which a gap correction device for a blank material according to the present invention is incorporated. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG. In FIG. 2, the welding head and various actuators are not shown for easy understanding.
[0022]
A tailored blank 10 shown in FIG. 1 is configured by joining a plurality of blank materials 11 and 12 by welding, and is used for manufacturing a panel component used in a vehicle. The tailored blank 10 is press-molded by a pressing device (not shown), and is formed into a panel component having a predetermined shape. The tailored blank 10 includes a first blank material 11 (corresponding to one blank material) shown on the left side in the drawing and a second blank material 12 (corresponding to another blank material) shown on the right side. Have. Each blank material 11 and 12 has a plurality of welded portions, and the tailored blank 10 in which both the members 11 and 12 are joined has a loop shape as a whole. The first blank material 11 and the second blank material 12 are carried into the laser welding apparatus 20 shown in FIG. 2, and the butt end surfaces 11 a and 11 b of the first blank material 11 are turned into the butt end surfaces 12 a and 12 b of the second blank material 12. The butt portions 13 and 14 are joined by laser welding. When the butt welding is performed, the gap generated between the butt end surfaces 11a and 12a and 11b and 12b is corrected by the gap correcting device for blank material according to the present invention. The illustrated first blank 11 is composed of two blanks 15, 16, but when it is carried into the laser welding apparatus 20, welding has already been completed, and substantially one piece of material. It has become.
[0023]
The first blank material 11 is provided such that the butted end surfaces 11a and 11b are not orthogonal to the end surfaces 11c, 11d, 11e, and 11f continuous to the butted end surfaces 11a and 11b, that is, are inclined. Similarly, the second blank member 12 has its butted end surfaces 12a and 12b inclined with respect to the end surfaces 12c, 12d, 12e, and 12f continuous to the butted end surfaces 12a and 12b.
[0024]
With reference to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the laser welding apparatus 20 incorporating the gap correction apparatus will be described. The laser welding apparatus 20 corrects the gap generated between the butted end surfaces 11a and 12a, 11b and 12b of the first and second blank materials 11 and 12 by a gap straightening device, and then both the blank materials 11 and 12 are used. The butted portions 13 and 14 are joined by laser welding with a welding head 23 to form the tailored blank 10 shown in FIG.
[0025]
The first blank material 11 and the second blank material 12 are carried onto the support block 21 by a carry-in device (not shown). On the upper surface of the support block 21, a groove portion 22 extending in a direction inclined with respect to the X-axis direction is formed. The welding head 23 is driven along the welding line WL located on the groove 22. A reference pin (not shown) is provided in the groove portion 22 so as to protrude upward from the upper surface of the support block 21. The abutting end surfaces 12a and 12b of the second blank member 12 are brought into contact with the reference pin, whereby the abutting end surfaces 12a and 12b are positioned on the weld line WL.
[0026]
In order to fix the vicinity of the butted end surfaces 11 a and 11 b of the first blank material 11, the first clampers 31 a and 31 b are provided so as to be movable toward and away from the upper surface of the first blank material 11. The first clampers 31a and 31b have a long shape having a length straddling the vicinity of the butted end surfaces 11a and 11b, and are arranged so as to be parallel to the weld line WL. The first clampers 31a and 31b are driven forward and backward with respect to the upper surface of the first blank material 11 by a first actuator 41 configured by a hydraulic cylinder or the like. By controlling the operation of the first actuator 41, the vicinity of the butted end surfaces 11a and 11b of the first blank member 11 is fixed and released.
[0027]
In order to fix the vicinity of the butted end surfaces 12a and 12b of the second blank material 12 at a position facing the first clamper 31 across the weld line WL, the second clampers 32a and 32b are placed on the upper surface of the second blank material 12. On the other hand, it is provided so as to be movable toward and away from it. The second clampers 32a and 32b have a long shape having a length straddling the vicinity of the butted end surfaces 12a and 12b, and are arranged so as to be parallel to the weld line WL. The second clampers 32a and 32b are driven forward and backward with respect to the upper surface of the second blank member 12 by a second actuator 42 constituted by a hydraulic cylinder or the like. By controlling the operation of the second actuator 42, the vicinity of the butted end surfaces 12 a and 12 b of the second blank material 12 is fixed and released.
[0028]
The support block 21 is provided with recesses 24a and 24b at positions separated from the butted end surfaces 11a and 11b of the first blank material 11 by a predetermined distance along the X-axis direction. In the recesses 24a and 24b, push-up rollers 33a and 33b that can come into contact with the lower surface of the first blank member 11 are provided so as to be movable along the Z-axis direction (vertical direction). The push-up rollers 33a and 33b have an axial length longer than the length along the Y-axis direction of the first blank member 11 located in the recesses 24a and 24b, and are arranged so that the axis line is along the Y-axis direction. ing. The push-up rollers 33a and 33b are moved up to a position higher than the upper surface of the support block 21 and moved down to a position lower than the upper surface of the support block 21 by the third actuator 43 including a hydraulic cylinder. Is driven up and down. When the push-up rollers 33a and 33b are driven to the raised position in the state where the vicinity of the butted end surfaces 11a and 11b of the first blank material 11 is fixed by the first clampers 31a and 31b, the first blank material 11 is displaced to the right hand side in the drawing. The bending deformation 50 is applied to the first blank material 11. When the push-up rollers 33a and 33b are driven to the lowered position from this state, the first blank material 11 is displaced to the left hand side in the figure, and the application of the bending deformation 50 to the first blank material 11 is released.
[0029]
The holding clampers 34a and 34b approach the upper surface of the first blank member 11 at positions separated from the recesses 24a and 24b by a predetermined distance in order to hold the state in which the bending deformation 50 is applied to the first blank member 11. It is provided so that it can move away. The holding clampers 34a and 34b have a long shape having a length straddling the first blank material 11 at this portion, and are arranged along the Y-axis direction. The holding clampers 34a and 34b are driven forward and backward with respect to the upper surface of the first blank member 11 by a fourth actuator 44 constituted by a hydraulic cylinder or the like. By controlling the operation of the fourth actuator 44, the bending deformation 50 is held or released.
[0030]
In order to restrict the lifting of the first blank 11, pressing rollers 35 a, 35 b, 36 a, 36 b are provided on both sides of the recesses 24 a, 24 b along the X-axis direction so as to be movable toward and away from the upper surface of the support block 21. ing. The pressing rollers 35a, 35b, 36a, 36b have an axial length longer than the length along the Y-axis direction of the first blank material 11 at this portion, and the axis is arranged along the Y-axis direction. . The pressing rollers 35a, 35b, 36a, and 36b are driven forward and backward with respect to the upper surface of the first blank member 11 by an actuator (not shown). The pressing force by the pressing rollers 35a, 35b, 36a, 36b regulates the lifting of the first blank material 11 while allowing the first blank material 11 to be displaced in the horizontal direction when the bending deformation 50 is applied or released. It is set to the power to get.
[0031]
At the upper positions of the push-up rollers 33a and 33b, a plurality of (two in the illustrated example) pressing clampers 37a, 37b, 38a, and 38b that can come into contact with the upper surface of the first blank member 11 are provided in the Z-axis direction ( It is provided so as to be movable along the vertical direction. The pressing clampers 37a, 37b, 38a, 38b have a pressing surface 39 that comes into contact with the bending vertex 51 of the bending deformation 50, and are arranged so as to be positioned on the axes of the push-up rollers 33a, 33b.
[0032]
Each of the pressing clampers 37a, 37b, 38a, and 38b is disposed close to end surfaces 11c to 11f that are continuous with the butted end surfaces 11a and 11b of the first blank material 11. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the pressing clamper 37a is disposed in the vicinity of the end surface 11c continuous to the butted end surface 11a. Similarly, the pressing clamper 37b is on the end surface 11d, the pressing clamper 38a is on the end surface 11e, and the pressing clamper. 38b is arranged close to the end face 11f. Each of the pressing clampers 37a, 37b, 38a, and 38b is driven forward and backward with respect to the upper surface of the first blank material 11 by a correction actuator 45 constituted by a hydraulic cylinder or the like. The operation of each correction actuator 45 is independently controlled, and each pressing clamper 37a, 37b, 38a, 38b presses the portion of the bending deformation 50, thereby promoting the recovery from the bending deformation 50 at that portion. Additional force is added. The force of the third actuator 43 is set to be larger than the force of the correcting actuator 45, and even if the pressing clampers 37a, 37b, 38a, 38b press the portion of the bending deformation 50, the push-up rollers 33a, 33b The position of is maintained.
[0033]
As shown in FIG. 4, when the first blank member 11 is abutted against the second blank member 12, the bending vertex 51 of the bending deformation 50 moves in the direction toward the abutting end surfaces 11 a and 11 b (right side in the drawing). The length along the X-axis direction of the pressing surface 39 of the pressing clampers 37a, 37b, 38a, and 38b is set to a length that maintains the contact state with the bending vertex 51 that moves as described above at the time of butting. With such a configuration, it is possible to continue to effectively apply an additional force throughout the gap correction process.
[0034]
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the width in the Y-axis direction of the pressing clampers 37a, 37b, 38a, 38b is sufficiently larger than the width in the Y-axis direction of the first blank member 11 located in the recesses 24a, 24b. Short length. With such a configuration, it is possible to apply an additional force having a desired size to each part close to the end faces 11c to 11f.
[0035]
The operation of each of the actuators 41 to 45 is controlled by a controller 55 as control means.
[0036]
The push-up rollers 33a and 33b, the first clampers 31a and 31b, the holding clampers 34a and 34b, and the first, third, and fourth actuators 41, 43, and 44 constitute an applying unit, and the support block 21 and the second clamper 32a. 32b and the second actuator 42 constitute holding means, and the pressing clampers 37a, 37b, 38a and 38b and the correcting actuator 45 constitute pressing means.
[0037]
Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. In addition, since the gap correction and laser welding in the two joint parts 13 and 14 are performed in the same procedure, it demonstrates taking the one joint part 13 as an example.
[0038]
First, each actuator 41 to 45 is driven to the origin position, and a reference pin (not shown) is projected from the upper surface of the support block 21. The second blank 12 is carried onto the support block 21 by a carry-in / out device (not shown), and the butted end face 12a is brought into contact with the reference pin. The second actuator 42 is actuated to move the second clamper 32 forward relative to the upper surface of the second blank member 12, and the vicinity of the butt end surface 12a is fixed. Thereafter, the reference pin is retracted from the upper surface of the support block 21. Thereby, the 2nd blank material 12 is fixed on the support block 21 in the state in which the butted end surface 12a was positioned on the welding line WL.
[0039]
Next, the first blank member 11 is temporarily butted. That is, the first blank material 11 is carried onto the support block 21, and the butted end surface 11a is brought into contact with the butted end surface 12a of the second blank material 12 that is positioned and fixed. The first actuator 41 is actuated to move the first clamper 31 forward relative to the upper surface of the first blank member 11, and the vicinity of the butted end surface 11a is fixed. Thereby, the 1st blank material 11 is fixed on the support block 21 in the state by which the butt | matching end surface 11a was temporarily butt | matched with respect to the 2nd blank material 12. FIG.
[0040]
Next, the pressing rollers 35a and 36a are moved forward with respect to the upper surface of the first blank material 11, and the first blank material 11 is pressed at both side positions along the X-axis direction of the recess 24a.
[0041]
Next, the third actuator 43 is operated to drive the push-up roller 33a to the raised position. Then, the first blank material 11 is displaced, and the bending deformation 50 is applied to the first blank material 11.
[0042]
Next, the fourth actuator 44 is operated to move the holding clamper 34a forward relative to the upper surface of the first blank material 11, and the first blank material 11 is fixed at a position away from the recess 24a by a predetermined distance. Thereby, the bending deformation 50 is maintained.
[0043]
Next, the correction actuator 45 is operated to move the pressing clampers 37a and 37b forward with respect to the upper surface of the first blank member 11, and press the portion of the bending deformation 50. The 1st blank material 11 will be in the state clamped between the press clampers 37a and 37b and the pushing-up roller 33a. The pressing clampers 37a and 37b still pressurize the portion of the bending deformation 50, but since the force for maintaining the position of the push-up roller 33a is set larger, the first blank material 11 is not displaced. The bending deformation 50 is maintained in a held state.
[0044]
Thereafter, an operation for correcting the gap is performed.
[0045]
First, the first actuator 41 is operated to move the first clamper 31 backward with respect to the upper surface of the first blank material 11 to release the fixation in the vicinity of the butt end surface 11a.
[0046]
Next, the third actuator 43 is operated to drive the push-up roller 33a from the raised position to the lowered position. Since the pressing clampers 37a and 37b keep pressing the portion of the bending deformation 50, the pressing clampers 37a and 37b move downward following the downward movement of the push-up roller 33a.
[0047]
As the push-up roller 33a is lowered, the bending of the first blank material 11 is released by the bending reaction force of the first blank material 11 itself. Furthermore, an additional force that promotes restoration from the bending deformation 50 is added to the portion of the bending deformation 50 by the force by which the correction actuator 45 pushes down the pressing clampers 37a and 37b. The correction force composed of the bending reaction force and the additional force acts on the first blank material 11, the first blank material 11 is displaced toward the second blank material 12, and the gap between the butted end surfaces 11a and 12a is filled. When the gap disappears, the deflection reaction force + addition force of the first blank material 11 and the reaction force of the second blank material 12 are balanced, and the gap correction process ends.
[0048]
The push-up roller 33a continues to fall after the gap correction and reaches the lowered position. Further, the first actuator 41 is actuated to move the first clamper 31 forward relative to the upper surface of the first blank material 11, and the vicinity of the butt end surface 11a is fixed again.
[0049]
Next, the butted portions 13 of both blank materials 11 and 12 are joined by laser welding while moving the welding head 23 along the weld line WL. When the welding operation is completed, each actuator 41 to 45 is driven to the origin position. And if the 1st and 2nd blank materials 11 and 12 joined integrally are carried out from the support block 21 with the carrying-in / out apparatus which is not shown in figure, formation of the tailored blank 10 shown by FIG. 1 will be completed.
[0050]
Next, with reference to FIG. 5, the correction principle of the gap G generated between the butted end surfaces 11a and 12a will be described.
[0051]
As described above, when the pressing clampers 37 a and 37 b press the portion of the bending deformation 50, an additional force that promotes the restoration of the bending deformation 50 is added to the portion of the bending deformation 50. Before and after the portion of the bending deformation 50 along the X-axis direction, the lifting of the first blank material 11 is restricted by the pressing rollers 35a and 36a. For this reason, the additional force changes to an axial force along the X-axis direction that corrects the gap G. Further, the bending reaction force of the first blank material 11 itself also changes to an axial force along the X-axis direction that corrects the gap G. For this reason, the axial force based on an additional force is added to the axial force based on a bending reaction force. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a gap correction force larger than that of the conventional technique that uses only the bending reaction force of the blank material as the correction force, and as a result, it is possible to increase the correctable gap amount.
[0052]
In the case of the illustrated example, in order to correct the gap G between the butted end surfaces 11a and 12a, the portion b shown on the near side in the drawing in the region of the bending deformation 50 is on the near side in the drawing between the butting end surfaces 11a and 12a. It is necessary to displace downward by an amount corresponding to the gap G in the B portion shown.
[0053]
Here, a case where an additional force is applied to one part of the part of the bending deformation 50 is considered. In this case, the portion A shown on the back side in the drawing between the butted end surfaces 11a and 12a comes first, and the displacement amount of the portion a shown on the back side in the drawing in the region of the bending deformation 50 is regulated. For this reason, the amount of displacement of part b is determined by the balance of stress inside the blank, and there is a risk that the correctable gap amount may be limited.
[0054]
On the other hand, in this embodiment, two pressing clampers 37a and 37b are provided, and the operations of these pressing clampers 37a and 37b are individually controlled. Furthermore, the pressing clampers 37a and 37b are arranged close to the end surfaces 11c and 11d continuous with the butted end surface 11a.
[0055]
As conceptually shown in FIG. 5, the additional force acting on the a part and the b part can be adjusted independently by providing the pressurizing source for applying the additional force at two parts of the a part and the b part. Can do. For this reason, an independent displacement can be given to each of the part a and the part b. Therefore, compared to the case where an additional force is applied to one part of the bending deformation 50, the displacement amount of the b portion can be made larger than the displacement amount of the a portion, and as a result, the correctable gap amount can be increased. Can do.
[0056]
Next, a description will be given of the correctable gap amount in the case where the butt end surface is provided to be inclined with respect to the end surface continuous therewith.
[0057]
FIG. 6 is a diagram conceptually showing a combination of various shapes of the butted portions of the two blank materials 60 and 61 and the state of occurrence of the gap G. In each combination {circle around (1)} to {circle around (6)}, the left blank 60 is a blank on the side to which bending deformation is imparted during gap correction, and corresponds to the first blank 11 of the embodiment. The blank material 61 on the right side shows a blank material on the side fixed at the time of gap correction, and corresponds to the second blank material 12 of the embodiment.
[0058]
Combinations {circle around (1)} and {circle around (2)} are combinations {circle around (3)} when the angle (hereinafter referred to as the “butting angle”) α formed by the butted end surface 60a and the end surface 60b continuous to the butting end surface 60a is a right angle, ie, 90 degrees. ▼ and {circle around (4)} indicate a case where the abutting angle α is 100 degrees, and combinations {circle around (5)} and {circle around (6)} indicate a case where the abutting angle α is 110 degrees. Further, in the combination (1), the abutting angle of the fixed-side blank material 61 is not formed at 90 degrees due to variations in cutting accuracy and the like, and the A side shown on the upper side in the drawing between the abutting end surfaces 60a and 61a. The case where the gap G has arisen is shown. Similarly, combinations (3) and (5) show the case where a gap G is generated on the A side. On the other hand, combinations {circle around (2)}, {circle around (4)} and {circle around (6)} indicate a case where a gap G is generated on the B side shown at the lower side in the figure.
[0059]
FIG. 7 is a diagram exaggeratingly illustrating the shape of the abutting portion before and after gap correction. In this figure, the state before the gap correction of the blank material 60 on the side to which the bending deformation is applied is indicated by a broken line, and the state after the gap correction is indicated by a solid line. Reference numerals G1, G2, and G3 in the figure indicate an initial gap amount before correction, a final gap amount after correction, and a correctable amount, respectively.
[0060]
FIG. 8 is a graph showing the relationship between the butting angle α and the correctable initial gap amount. Reference numerals (1) to (6) in the figure correspond to the combinations (1) to (6) shown in FIG. White circles indicate the case of the present embodiment, and black circles indicate a comparative case in which only the bending reaction force of the blank material is used as the correction force.
[0061]
As shown in the figure, the initial gap amount that can be corrected when the butt angle α is not 90 degrees is the slip resistance of the blank material that becomes the resistance for gap correction, and whether the gap is vacant on the A side or the B side. , Depending on.
[0062]
The reason for the difference in the correctable amount can be explained using the models shown in FIGS. That is, the axial force F along the X-axis direction is such that the gap correction force Fa caused by the rotational moment about the contact point p between the blank materials 60 and 61 and the blank material 60 on the side to which the bending deformation is applied are in the Y-axis direction. It is considered that a gap correction force Fb is generated by sliding on the surface. When the butt angle α is not 90 degrees and the gap G is vacant on the B side, the slip of the blank 60 contributes to the correction of the gap G as shown in FIG. When the gap is vacant on the A side, as shown in FIG. 5B, the gap correction effect due to the slip of the blank material 60 does not work, so it is considered that there is a difference in the correctable amount. The
[0063]
In order to suppress the occurrence of welding defects due to laser welding, the gap amount during welding must be corrected to about 0.1 mm or less. Considering the forming error of the blank material, in order to correct the gap amount to about 0.1 mm or less, it is necessary to ensure 1 mm or more as a correctable amount of the gap G in practice.
[0064]
As is clear from FIG. 8, in the case of the comparison, when the butt angle α is not 90 degrees and the gap G is vacant on the A side, the correctable initial gap amount is smaller than 1 mm. For this reason, the gap amount after correction cannot be corrected to 0.1 mm or less, and as a result, a welding defect may occur.
[0065]
On the other hand, in the case of the present embodiment, as apparent from FIG. 8, the initial gap amount that can be corrected is larger than that of the comparative case due to the effect of adding an additional force that promotes the restoration of the bending deformation 50. About twice. Even when the butt angle α is not 90 degrees and the gap G is vacant on the A side, the correctable initial gap amount is larger than 1 mm. For this reason, the gap amount after correction can be reliably corrected to 0.1 mm or less, and the occurrence of welding defects can be prevented.
[0066]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the correctable amount of the gap G can be increased, and the gap correctable amount of 1 mm or more necessary for practical use can be achieved even with a component shape that has not been able to be handled so far. it can. In other words, according to this embodiment, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom when designing the shapes of the blank materials 11 and 12.
[0067]
The additional force that promotes the restoration of the bending deformation 50 is desirably in the range of 50N to 150N. The larger the additional force, the larger the gap correction force and the larger the gap correction possible amount. However, with the jig structure adopted in this experiment, for the first blank material 11 having a plate thickness of 1.2 mm, When the applied force was larger than 150 N, slip occurred in the device for fixing the second blank 12. On the other hand, when the applied force is smaller than 50 N, the gap correction force is insufficient and the gap amount cannot be suppressed to the target of 0.1 mm or less.
[0068]
From the above, it was found that the applied force is desirably in the range of 50N to 150N for the first blank member 11 having a plate thickness of 1.2 mm in the jig structure employed in this experiment. Due to the range of the applied force, the gap G that can be generated at the time of matching could be corrected to a gap amount of 0.1 mm or less.
[0069]
Note that the upper limit threshold value of the additional force varies depending on the thickness of the material to be abutted, that the material does not cause plastic deformation, and the fixing force of the jig that fixes the material on the fixed side. it is conceivable that. On the other hand, the lower limit threshold value of the applied force is considered to change depending on the thickness of the material to be matched, the target gap amount, and the like.
[0070]
As mentioned above, although embodiment which incorporated the gap correction apparatus of the blank material in the laser welding apparatus 20 was described, this invention is not limited to this case. The present invention can be applied to various devices as long as the device needs to position the blank material by matching the blank material.
[0071]
Further, the specific configuration of the applying means is not limited to the configuration of the embodiment. For example, instead of the push-up rollers 33a and 33b, the first blank material in which the vicinity of the butted end surfaces 11a and 11b is fixed is the rear end side (FIG. 2). The bending deformation 50 may be applied by pressing from the left hand side.
[0072]
Furthermore, the pressing clampers 37a, 37b, 38a, and 38b may be moved in the X-axis direction following the movement of the bending vertex 51 during gap correction.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a view showing an example of a tailored blank in which a plurality of blank materials are joined by welding.
FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a laser welding apparatus in which a gap correction device for a blank material according to the present invention is incorporated.
3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the movement of the bending vertex and the length along the X-axis direction of the pressing surface of the pressing clamper.
FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a correction principle of a gap generated between butt end faces.
FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing a combination of various shapes of butted portions of two blank members and a gap generation state.
FIG. 7 is a diagram exaggeratingly showing the shape of a joint before and after gap correction.
FIG. 8 is a graph showing the relationship between the abutting angle α and the correctable initial gap amount. The white circle indicates the case of this embodiment, and the black circle uses only the bending reaction force of the blank material as the correction force. The case of contrast is shown.
FIGS. 9A and 9B are diagrams for explaining the reason why the correctable amount is different when the butting angle α is not 90 degrees.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 ... Tailored blank
11 ... 1st blank material (one blank material)
11a, 11b ... end face
11c-11f ... End face which continues to butting end face
12 ... Second blank (other blanks)
12a, 12b ... end face
12c-12f ... End face which continues to butt end face
20 ... Laser welding apparatus incorporating a gap straightening device
21 ... Support block (holding means)
31a, 31b ... first clamper (applying means)
32a, 32b ... second clamper (holding means)
33a, 33b ... Push-up rollers (applying means)
34a, 34b ... Holding clamper (applying means)
37a, 37b, 38a, 38b ... Pressing clamper (pressing means)
39 ... Pressing surface
41, 43, 44 ... 1st, 3rd, 4th actuator (applying means)
42 ... Second actuator (holding means)
45 ... Actuating actuator (pressing means)
50 ... Deflection
51 ... Vertex
55 ... Controller (control means)
G ... Gap

Claims (5)

In a gap correction device for a blank material, which corrects a gap generated between the butt end surfaces when the butt end surface of one blank material is butted against the butt end surface of another blank material,
An applying means for releasably applying a bending deformation to the one blank material;
Holding means for holding the other blank material;
A pressing means for applying an additional force that presses a portion of the bending deformation applied to the one blank material and promotes restoration from the bending deformation of the one blank material;
And a control means for controlling the operation of the pressing means when the applying means releases the bending deformation. A plurality of the pressing means are provided,
2. The gap correction device for a blank material according to claim 1, wherein the control unit individually controls the operations of the plurality of pressing units. The blank material according to claim 2, wherein the pressing means positioned at both ends of the plurality of pressing means are disposed in proximity to an end surface continuous to the abutting end surface of the one blank material. Gap straightening device. The pressing means has a pressing surface that comes into contact with a bending apex of the bending deformation given to the one blank material,
2. The gap correction device for a blank material according to claim 1, wherein the pressing surface is set to a length that maintains a contact state with a bending vertex that moves in a direction toward the abutting end surface when abutting. . 2. The gap correction device for a blank material according to claim 1, wherein the one blank material is provided with an abutting end surface inclined with respect to an end surface continuous with the abutting end surface.

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