JP7194058B2 - Adhesive application device and adhesive application method - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD Embodiments of the present invention relate to an adhesive application device and an adhesive application method.

For example, a rotor of a permanent magnet type rotary electric machine is configured such that permanent magnets are embedded in a plurality of magnet insertion holes that are provided so as to axially penetrate through a rotor core. In this case, an adhesive is applied to the inner surface of the magnet insertion hole, and the permanent magnet is inserted into the magnet insertion hole and fixed by adhesion. Patent Literature 1 discloses an adhesive application device that automatically applies an adhesive to magnet insertion holes of a rotor core. This adhesive application device is equipped with a robot arm, and applies adhesive by inserting a nozzle at the tip of the robot arm into a magnet insertion hole for a rotor core set on a jig with the axial direction facing upward. It is configured.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2013-31805

By the way, in recent years, as this type of rotor, a double-layer type rotor has been developed in which thin permanent magnets are arranged in two layers on the outer peripheral portion of the rotor core. In this case, the magnet insertion hole for inserting the permanent magnet becomes thin and flat, and it becomes necessary to apply an adhesive to the inner surface of such a flat magnet insertion hole. In the adhesive application device of Patent Document 1, since the nozzle is inserted into the magnet insertion hole and the adhesive is applied by being discharged from the nozzle hole on the outer periphery thereof, the adhesive is discharged from the small nozzle hole of the thin nozzle. Become. Therefore, it is not possible to stably apply the adhesive to a wide area of the inner surface of the magnet insertion hole, and furthermore, there is a problem that the nozzle hole is easily clogged and the amount of adhesive applied is not constant.

Instead of inserting the above nozzle into the magnet insertion hole, a thin and elongated spatula is used to supply the adhesive on the upper surface of the spatula, and the spatula is placed horizontally, for example. It is also known to apply an adhesive by inserting the magnet into a magnet insertion hole. However, in this magnet, when the adhesive is supplied to the upper surface of the spatula, it is placed in a bulging form due to the viscosity of the adhesive, and when the spatula is inserted into the magnet insertion hole, the end face of the rotor core may be damaged. There was a problem that it was difficult to insert it without applying adhesive to it.

In this case, after supplying the adhesive to the upper surface of the spatula, it is conceivable to perform squeegeeing such that the raised adhesive is spread over a wide area, and then perform the application work. , resulting in a long cycle time.
Therefore, an adhesive application device and an adhesive application method are provided, which are used to apply adhesive to the inner surface of a hole having a flat shape, and which can stably perform an adhesive application operation over a wide area.

An adhesive application apparatus according to an embodiment is an apparatus for applying an adhesive to an inner surface of a flat-shaped hole in a workpiece, the apparatus comprising: a workpiece holding section for holding the workpiece; a moving mechanism that freely moves the spatula; a dispenser that supplies adhesive to the surface of the spatula at the supply position; The dispenser includes a multi-hole nozzle having a large number of ejection holes in a plane, and a predetermined amount of adhesive is ejected in one shot from the multi-hole nozzle to adhere to the surface of the spatula. The agent is supplied planarly over a predetermined area.

An adhesive application method according to an embodiment is a method for applying an adhesive to the inner surface of a flat-shaped hole in a workpiece, in which a thin plate-shaped application spatula is moved. an adhesive supply step of moving the mechanism to a supply position and supplying the adhesive onto the surface of the spatula using a dispenser; In addition, in the adhesive application step, a predetermined amount of adhesive is applied in one shot from a multi-hole nozzle provided in the dispenser and having a plurality of discharge holes in a planar shape. to supply the adhesive in a predetermined area to the surface of the spatula.

1 is a perspective view showing the first embodiment, showing a workpiece holding part together with a coating tool; FIG. Perspective view showing the external configuration of the robot The perspective view which shows the structure of a dispenser part The perspective view which shows the appearance of the spatula part by which the adhesive agent was supplied. Perspective view showing appearance of multi-hole nozzle Block diagram showing schematic electrical configuration A perspective view showing an external configuration of a rotor core FIG. 11 shows a second embodiment, a side view of a spatula with adhesive applied;

A first embodiment applied to a permanent magnet bonding operation to a magnet insertion hole of a rotor core will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. FIG. First, FIG. 7 shows the external configuration of a so-called double-layer type rotor core 1 as a work to be coated with an adhesive in this embodiment. The rotor core 1 is constructed by punching, for example, an electromagnetic steel sheet into a predetermined shape, ie, a substantially disk shape, and laminating a plurality of the punched electromagnetic steel sheets. A shaft hole 1a into which a rotating shaft (not shown) is inserted is formed at the center of the rotor core 1 .

Magnet insertion holes 2 and 3 as holes into which permanent magnets (not shown) are inserted and fixed by adhesion are formed through the rotor core 1 in the axial direction. Specifically, the magnet insertion holes 2 have a flat shape, that is, an elongated shape, and two pairs form an inverted "V" shape, and are evenly arranged in the circumferential direction, for example, eight pairs. (8 pairs) are formed. The magnet insertion hole 3 also has a flat shape, that is, an elongated shape. 8 pairs) are formed.

At this time, the magnet insertion hole 3 on the outer peripheral side is configured to be smaller than the magnet insertion hole 2 on the inner peripheral side. Incidentally, the magnet insertion hole 2 has a width dimension of 14 mm and a height (thickness) dimension of 3 mm, for example. On the other hand, the magnet insertion hole 3 has a width of 9 mm and a height (thickness) of 2 mm, for example. It goes without saying that the permanent magnets to be inserted and adhered have sizes corresponding to the dimensions of the magnet insertion holes 2 and 3 .

Next, the configuration of the adhesive application device 11 according to the present embodiment for applying an adhesive for fixing the permanent magnets to the inner surfaces of the magnet insertion holes 2 and 3 formed in the rotor core 1. , will be described with reference to FIGS. Although the illustration as a whole is omitted, the adhesive application device 11 has a rotary chuck mechanism 13 (see FIG. 1) as a holding portion on a base 12 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) having a horizontal pedestal. , a robot 14 (see FIG. 2) serving as a moving mechanism, a dispenser 15 (see FIG. 3), and a controller 16 (shown only in FIG. 6) for controlling them.

As shown in FIG. 1, the rotary chuck mechanism 13 holds the rotor core 1 so that its central axis O is horizontal, and freely rotates the rotor core 1 around the central axis O. is configured as As will be described later in detail, the robot 14 has a coating tool 17 attached to the tip of an arm, and the coating tool 17 is inserted into the magnet insertion holes 2 and 3 of the rotor core 1 from the axial direction and adhered. An application operation for applying the agent is executed. The dispenser 15 has a function of supplying a fixed amount of adhesive to the application tool 17 moved to a predetermined supply position on the base 12 . In the description of the embodiment, the longitudinal direction is defined as the direction in which the central axis (rotational axis) O of the rotor core 1 held by the rotary chuck mechanism 13 extends, and the front side of the rotor core 1 is defined as the front. .

Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the rotary chuck mechanism 13 is provided forwardly at a slightly rear portion of the center of the base 12, and includes a chuck portion 18 for holding the rotor core 1, and a chuck portion 18 for holding the rotor core 1. and a rotation mechanism portion 19 that freely rotates the chuck portion 18 . The chuck portion 18 is inserted into the center hole 1a from the rear surface side of the rotor core 1, and is driven by, for example, an air cylinder or the like. It is rotatably held in the oriented state. The rotating mechanism section 19 uses, for example, a servomotor as a drive source, freely rotates the chuck section 18 and thus the rotor core 1, and stops at a predetermined rotation angle. In this case, the rotor core 1 is rotated by the rotary chuck mechanism 13 so that the surfaces to be coated with the adhesive among the plurality of magnet insertion holes 2 and 3 come to the top and are in a horizontal state.

As shown in FIG. 2, in this embodiment, the robot 14 is composed of, for example, a horizontal articulated (SCARA) robot with three or more axes, in this case four axes. The robot 14 is connected to a base 20 fixedly mounted on the base 12 so that the base end of a horizontally extending first arm 21 can rotate (horizontally turn) around a vertical axis J1. there is The proximal end of the second arm 22 is connected to the upper surface of the distal end of the first arm 21 so as to be rotatable (horizontally rotatable) around the vertical axis J1. A shaft-shaped vertical arm 23 is connected to the distal end of the second arm 22 so as to be vertically movable and coaxially rotatable. The application tool 17 is attached to the mounting flange portion 23a at the tip portion of the upper and lower arm 23, that is, the lower end portion.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the application tool 17 comprises a holder 17a made of metal and a spatula 24 made of an elastic material, such as a leaf spring, and having a rectangular plate shape. At this time, as shown in FIG. 4, etc., the tip of the holder portion 17a protrudes outward from the lower end of the vertical arm 23, and the base end of the spatula 24 is bent at a right angle from the holder portion 17a. mounted in a horizontal position. As a result, the spatula 24 is provided in a shape bent in the horizontal direction into an L shape together with the holder portion 17a. The robot 14 freely moves the spatula 24 of the application tool 17 between the rotor core 1 held by the rotary chuck mechanism 13 and a supply position described later, thereby performing the application operation of the application tool 17. can be executed.

As shown in FIG. 3, the dispenser 15 includes a syringe 25 for storing adhesive B (see FIG. 4), a multi-hole nozzle 26 provided at the lower end of the syringe, and an extrusion mechanism (not shown). 26, a constant amount of adhesive B is discharged downward. As a result, the position just below the multi-hole nozzle 26 is set as a predetermined supply position, and each robot 14 moves the spatula 24 of the coating tool 17 to that supply position, and receives the supply of the adhesive B on its upper surface. It's like Details of the multi-hole nozzle 26 will be described later. Although not shown, in this embodiment, the dispenser 15 is provided with a rotating mechanism for rotating the porous nozzle 26 at the tip around the vertical axis.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4 and the like, an image sensor 27 is provided obliquely above the supply position of the dispenser 15 . This image sensor 27 is composed of, for example, a CCD camera or the like, and is configured to photograph the upper surface portion of the spatula 24 . As will be described later, based on the captured image of the image sensor 27, it is possible to check whether the adhesive B has been appropriately supplied to the spatula 24 by the dispenser 15, and to check whether the adhesive B has been applied after the application work is completed. is properly performed, that is, whether there is any adhesive residue on the spatula 24 after application. The surface of the spatula 24 is made of metal and has a glossy silvery surface, whereas the adhesive B is, for example, white, so that the image of the adhesive B can be easily recognized.

Now, in this embodiment, the multi-hole nozzle 26 provided at the tip of the dispenser 15 has the configuration shown in FIG. That is, the multi-hole nozzle 26 has a bottomed cylindrical main body having a hollow portion through which the adhesive B passes, and has discharge holes 26a formed of a large number of small holes in the bottom portion thereof. At this time, the discharge holes 26a are formed in a planar matrix, for example, vertically and horizontally. Thus, in the dispenser 15, a predetermined amount (required amount) of the adhesive B is discharged in one shot from the discharge hole 26a of the multi-hole nozzle 26 in dots. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, the adhesive B is supplied on the upper surface of the spatula 24 in a planar shape as a whole, that is, in a relatively thin overall rectangular area.

FIG. 6 schematically shows an electrical configuration centering on the control device 16. As shown in FIG. Here, the control device 16 includes a computer, controls the rotary chuck mechanism 13 , and controls the dispenser 15 . The controller 16 also controls the robot 14 via the robot controller 28 . A detection signal from the image sensor 27 is input to the control device 16 . The control device 16 controls the rotary chuck mechanism 13, the robot 14, the dispenser 15, etc. based on preset control programs, operation data, sensor signals input in real time, etc. The adhesive application work, that is, each step of the adhesive application method according to the present embodiment is executed.

In the adhesive application device 11 of this embodiment, the control device 16 executes the following one cycle operation. That is, first, the robot 14 is operated to move the spatula 24 of the application tool 17 to the adhesive B supply position, and the dispenser 15 discharges a predetermined amount of the adhesive B onto the upper surface of the spatula 24 to supply it (adhesion). agent supply step). In this case, as shown in FIG. 4, dot-like adhesive B is thinly supplied to the upper surface of the spatula 24 over a wide area of the square as a whole.

At this time, the robot 14 is positioned directly below the spatula 24, and after the adhesive B is discharged, the spatula 24 is lowered (the multi-hole nozzle 26 is relatively raised). Depending on the viscosity of B, the adhesive B becomes stringy between the discharge port 26a of the multi-hole nozzle 26 and the spatula 24 at that time. Therefore, in this embodiment, for example, by rotating (twisting) the multi-hole nozzle 26 when the spatula 24 is lowered, a shearing force is applied to the adhesive B in a stringy state, and the adhesive B that is likely to be in a stringy state is applied. is performed.

Further, in this embodiment, when the adhesive supply process is completed, the adhesive B supplied to the surface of the spatula 24 is photographed by the image sensor 27, and it is confirmed from the photographed image whether the adhesive B has been properly supplied. A first confirmation step is performed. If it is determined that the adhesive B has failed to be supplied to the spatula 24, an error is reported or the adhesive supply process is re-executed. When it is determined from the photographed image that the adhesive B has been appropriately supplied and the first confirmation process is completed, the robot 14 is operated while the spatula 24 is kept facing upward, and the application tool 17 is moved to the rotating chuck. The rotor core 1 held by the mechanism 13 is moved to the front side.

On the other hand, during execution of the adhesive supply step, the rotary chuck mechanism 13 removes the adhesive B from the inner surfaces of the magnet insertion holes 2 and 3 to which the adhesive is to be applied on the rotor core 1 held horizontally. The rotor core 1 is rotated around the central axis O so that the surface to be coated is horizontally downward, that is, upward. By the operation of the robot 14 , the spatula 24 of the coating tool 17 is moved forward in the horizontal direction of the magnet insertion holes 2 and 3 to be coated in the rotor core 1 with the tip facing backward.

Subsequently, the robot 14 performs an adhesive application step in which the spatula 24 of the application tool 17 is horizontally inserted into the magnet insertion holes 2 and 3 from the axial direction to apply the adhesive B. As shown in FIG. In this adhesive application process, after inserting the spatula 24 into the magnet insertion holes 2 and 3, the spatula 24 is pulled out from the magnet insertion holes 2 and 3 while being slightly raised. The held adhesive B is transferred and applied to the upper surfaces of the magnet insertion holes 2 and 3 . After the adhesive application process, the robot 14 moves the spatula 24 of the application tool 17 to the supply position again in order to obtain the adhesive B for the next application.

At this time, before executing the next adhesive supply step, the image sensor 27 photographs the surface of the spatula 24, and from the photographed image, it is confirmed whether or not the adhesive B has been properly applied. is performed. In this case, if the adhesive B does not remain on the surface of the spatula 24, it can be determined that the adhesive B was properly applied to the inner surfaces of the magnet insertion holes 2 and 3, and no adhesive B remains. If this is the case, it is considered that the adhesive B was not applied properly in the adhesive application step, that is, the transfer of the adhesive B was not performed well. Therefore, when the remaining adhesive B is found, error notification or re-execution of the adhesive application process is carried out.

In the second confirmation step, when it is confirmed that the adhesive B has been properly applied, the adhesive supply step described above is repeated, and the adhesive B is applied to the next magnet insertion holes 2 and 3. Coating is performed. In this manner, the robot 14, the dispenser 15, and the rotary chuck mechanism 13 repeatedly perform the above-described steps in order, thereby performing the operation of applying the adhesive to the plurality of magnet insertion holes 2 and 3 of the rotor core 1. . Although not specifically described here, it is also possible to use a plurality of robots 14 to perform the above work. In this case, while one robot 14 is performing the adhesive supplying process, another robot 14 is performing the adhesive applying process, etc., and efficient work becomes possible.

According to the adhesive application device 11 and the adhesive application method of this embodiment, the following functions and effects can be obtained. That is, in the adhesive supply step, the robot 14 moves the thin plate-like spatula 24 to the supply position, and the dispenser 15 supplies the adhesive B onto the surface of the spatula 24 . In the adhesive application step, the spatula 24 is moved with respect to the rotor core 1 held by the rotary chuck mechanism 13, and is inserted into the magnet insertion holes 2 and 3 having a flat shape to adhere to the inner surfaces thereof. Application of agent B is performed.

At this time, a thin spatula 24 is used, and the height of the adhesive B supplied to the upper surface of the spatula 24 can be small, so that the magnet insertion holes 2 and 3 to which the adhesive is applied become thin. Also, the spatula 24 can be inserted into the hole without applying the adhesive B to the end face of the rotor core 1 . Since the adhesive B is supplied to the spatula 24 in a planar manner, the adhesive B can be easily applied to a wide range of the inner surfaces of the magnet insertion holes 2 and 3 .

Therefore, according to this embodiment, the adhesive B for adhering the permanent magnets is applied to the inner surfaces of the flat magnet insertion holes 2 and 3 of the rotor core 1. It is possible to obtain an excellent effect that the operation of applying the adhesive B can be stably performed. Moreover, in the adhesive supply step, the adhesive B can be supplied in a single shot from the multi-hole nozzle 26 having a large number of discharge holes 26a provided in the dispenser 15 in a planar manner. The operation of supplying the adhesive B can be completed in a short time as compared with the case of performing squeegeeing or the like.

In particular, in this embodiment, the image sensor 27 photographs the adhesive B supplied to the surface of the spatula 24 by the dispenser 15 in the adhesive supply step, and it is confirmed from the photographed image whether the adhesive B has been appropriately supplied. The first confirmation step is executed. This makes it possible to confirm whether the adhesive B has been properly supplied to the surface of the spatula 24 . When the adhesive B is not supplied to the spatula 24, it is possible to prevent the process from proceeding to the adhesive application step, and to perform the appropriate application work without fail.

Further, in this embodiment, the image sensor 27 photographs the surface of the spatula 24 after the adhesive application step, and from the photographed image, a second confirmation step is performed to confirm whether the adhesive B has been properly applied. set it to run. As a result, it is possible to confirm whether or not the adhesive B remains on the surface of the spatula 24 based on the image captured by the image sensor 27, and to determine whether or not the adhesive B has been properly applied. . Based on the confirmation of the remaining adhesive B, it is possible to determine the occurrence of poor coating of the adhesive B, and to prevent the process from proceeding to the next step while the coating is defective.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, in the adhesive supply step, after the adhesive B is supplied to the surface of the spatula 24, the adhesive B that is stringy between the multi-hole nozzle 26 (discharge hole 26a) and the spatula 24 is applied. The configuration is such that a cutting operation for cutting is executed. As a result, stringiness of the adhesive B is prevented from increasing due to the cutting operation. As a result, the adhesive B does not rise to the surface of the spatula 24 and does not interfere with passage through the flat magnet insertion holes 2 and 3 .

FIG. 8 shows a second embodiment. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that, in the adhesive supply step, the dispenser 15 supplies the adhesive B to the surface of the spatula 24 on both sides of the spatula 24. It is in the point to do. In the adhesive application step, the adhesive B is applied by the spatula 24 so that the upper and lower surfaces of the spatula 24 are applied to the inner surfaces (both surfaces) of the rotor core 1 positioned above and below the magnet insertion holes 2 and 3. It is executed continuously by pressing each.

According to this, since the adhesive B can be thinly supplied to the surface of the spatula 24, even when the adhesive B is supplied to both surfaces of the spatula 24, the thickness dimension as a whole can be kept small. Therefore, the adhesive B can be applied continuously to the upper and lower surfaces of the magnet insertion holes 2 and 3, that is, without removing the spatula 24 from the magnet insertion holes 2 and 3 once. and workability can be greatly improved.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the rotor core 1 is taken as an example of the object to which the adhesive is applied, but the work is not limited to this, and various modifications are possible. Further, the robot (moving mechanism) in the adhesive application device is not limited to a four-axis horizontal articulated robot, but may be a three-axis horizontal articulated robot, a vertical articulated robot, or the like. Also good. Various shapes and materials of the spatula can be employed. Various modifications are also possible for the configuration of the dispenser and the like.

In addition, a confirmation process using an image sensor may be provided as required. Also, the cutting operation may be an operation of rapidly separating the nozzle and the spatula, and the cutting operation may be omitted if the adhesive is not in a long stringy state. The embodiments described above are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention described in the claims and equivalents thereof.

In the drawings, 1 is a rotor core (work), 2 and 3 are magnet insertion holes (holes), 11 is an adhesive coating device, 12 is a base, 13 is a rotary chuck mechanism (work holding part), 14 is a robot (moving mechanism), 15 is a dispenser, 16 is a controller, 1 is a coating tool, 24 is a spatula, 26 is a multi-hole nozzle, 26a is a discharge hole, 27 is an image sensor, and B is an adhesive.

Claims (10)

A device for applying an adhesive to the inner surface of a flat-shaped hole in a workpiece,
a work holding part for holding the work;
a spatula for application in the form of a thin plate;
a moving mechanism for freely moving the spatula;
a dispenser for dispensing adhesive onto the surface of the spatula at a dispensing position;
A control device that controls each mechanism to automatically perform the coating work,
The dispenser is provided with a multi-hole nozzle having a large number of discharge holes in a plane, and by discharging a predetermined amount of adhesive in one shot from the multi-hole nozzle, the adhesive is spread over a predetermined area on the surface of the spatula. Adhesive application device that supplies adhesive in a planar manner. An image sensor that captures the surface of the spatula,
2. The adhesive application device according to claim 1, wherein the control device confirms whether or not the adhesive has been appropriately supplied from an image captured by the image sensor after the adhesive has been supplied by the dispenser. 3. The adhesive application device according to claim 2, wherein said control device confirms whether the adhesive application work has been properly performed from the image captured by said image sensor after the adhesive application work with said spatula is completed. 4. The control device causes a cutting operation to cut the adhesive that is in a stringy state between the multi-hole nozzle and the spatula during the operation of supplying the adhesive to the surface of the spatula by the dispenser. The adhesive application device according to any one of . The control device causes the dispenser to supply the adhesive to the surface of the spatula on both sides of the spatula,
5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the operation of applying the adhesive with the spatula is continuously performed by pressing both surfaces of the spatula against two opposing inner surfaces of the hole in the work. adhesive applicator. A method for applying an adhesive to the inner surface of a work having a hole having a flat shape, comprising:
an adhesive supply step of moving a thin-plate-like application spatula to a supply position by a moving mechanism and supplying adhesive onto the surface of the spatula by a dispenser;
an adhesive applying step of moving the spatula to the work held by the work holding part and inserting the spatula into the hole to apply adhesive;
In the adhesive supply step, a predetermined amount of adhesive is ejected in one shot from a multi-hole nozzle provided in the dispenser and having a large number of ejection holes in a plane, thereby applying the adhesive to the surface of the spatula. A method of applying an adhesive in which a predetermined area is supplied in a planar manner. 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the adhesive supplied to the surface of the spatula by the dispenser is photographed by an image sensor, and a first confirmation step is executed to confirm whether the adhesive has been properly supplied from the photographed image. Adhesive application method. 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the surface of said spatula after said adhesive application step is photographed with an image sensor, and a second confirmation step is performed to confirm whether or not the adhesive application work has been appropriately performed from the photographed image. adhesive application method. 9. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein in the adhesive supply step, after the adhesive is supplied to the surface of the spatula, a cutting operation is performed to cut the adhesive that is stringy between the multi-hole nozzle and the spatula. The method of applying an adhesive according to any one of claims 1 to 3. In the adhesive supply step, the dispenser supplies the adhesive to the surface of the spatula on both sides of the spatula,
7. From claim 6, wherein, in said adhesive application step, the operation of applying the adhesive by said spatula is continuously performed by pressing both surfaces of said spatula against two opposing inner surfaces of said hole in said workpiece. 10. The adhesive application method according to any one of 9.

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