JPH0819865A - Method for welding outfit parts fixing bracket and device therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automatize the welding process of a bracket to fix a wire harness on a body of an automobile. CONSTITUTION:A bracket W is unified into one kind of a L shape, chuck rollers 22, 22 are installed so as to be able to clamp a vertical periphery of the bracket into an electrode 10 of a gun 1 of a stud welding machine, the bracket W is chucked directly to the electrode 10, made to weld it to a prescribed position of the body B, and the bracket is made needlessly to be preliminarily fixed on the body by using a fixing tool.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a welding method for welding a bracket for fixing a fitting part such as a wire harness to a body of an automobile at a predetermined position of the body and welding used in the method. Regarding the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, a bracket for fixing a wire harness is provided with two types of modes according to the shape of a body of a mounting portion. That is, the substantially L-shaped bracket shown in FIG. 9A or the hat-shaped bracket shown in FIG. 7B is set. In some cases, several types of modes were set. In the related art, the brackets in which various kinds of modes are set are conventionally mounted one by one by using a dedicated fixture and positioned and held at a predetermined portion of the body, and then manually spot-welded.

[0003]

As described above, in the related art, not only the number of types of brackets is high, but also the cost is high, and since the positioning and holding are performed by the fixing tools one by one, and the spot welding is performed, the fixing tools are There is a problem that it takes time to dispose the electrode of the spot gun in the way, and it is very difficult to dispose the electrode in some cases, and in this respect it is difficult to automate the welding process of this bracket, Therefore, in the past, the setting of brackets and welding work relied exclusively on human labor. The present invention has been made in order to solve these conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a welding method and a welding device therefor capable of automatically welding a bracket for fixing outfitting parts.

[0004]

Therefore, according to the invention of claim 1, there is provided a method of welding a bracket for fixing an outfitting component to a body of an automobile to the body using a stud welding machine. The bracket is formed in a substantially L-shape including a vertical edge to which the outfitting part is fixed and a horizontal edge to be welded to the body side, and the gun electrode of the stud welding machine is formed in a substantially block shape. A chuck roller for elastically sandwiching the vertical edge of the bracket with the one side surface is provided, and the vertical edge is sandwiched between the chuck roller and the one side surface to hold the bracket to the electrode. After that, the welding method of the bracket for fixing outfitting parts is devised, wherein the gun is moved and the lateral edge is welded to the welding portion of the body.

According to the invention of claim 2, claim 1
In the invention described above, both sides of the vertical edge are bent to the side of the horizontal edge to form a flange portion for positioning with respect to the electrode, and the vertical edge with one side surface and a chuck roller in a state where the electrode is positioned between the both flange portions. A method for welding a bracket for fixing outfitting components has been devised, which is characterized in that the bracket is positioned with respect to the electrode in a pressing direction of the chuck roller and a direction orthogonal to the pressing direction by sandwiching the bracket between them.

Further, according to the invention of claim 3, there is provided a bracket for fixing outfitting parts to a body of an automobile, comprising a vertical edge to which the outfitting parts are fixed and a lateral edge welded to the body side. A welding device mainly for a stud welder for welding a substantially L-shaped bracket to the body, wherein an electrode of a gun of the stud welder is formed in a substantially block shape, and one side surface thereof is provided. And a chuck roller for elastically sandwiching a vertical edge of the bracket between, and a configuration capable of holding the bracket on the electrode by sandwiching the vertical edge between the chuck roller and the one side surface. We devised a welding device for a bracket for fixing outfitting parts, which is characterized by the above.

[0007]

According to the welding method of the present invention, the bracket is directly held by the electrode of the gun of the stud welder, and the gun is moved in this held state to set the bracket at a predetermined portion of the body. After that, the stud welder is activated and the bracket is welded to the body. In this way, since the bracket to be welded is directly held by the gun, it is not necessary to previously hold the bracket at a predetermined position of the body by using a fixing tool or the like as in the conventional case, and thus the fixing tool as in the conventional case is not necessary. Since there is no problem in that the arrangement of the electrodes is difficult to dispose because of the obstacles, it is possible to set and weld the brackets without manpower, and it becomes easier to automate the welding process.

Generally, in a stud welding machine, a stud to be welded is automatically supplied to and held at the electrode tip, and a welded material is used as in a spot welding machine for welding the upper electrode and the lower electrode. There is no need to put it in. Although the present invention has been made in view of this point, the conventional stud welding machine cannot be directly applied to the welding of the bracket which is the subject of the present invention. Therefore, the electrode of the gun of the stud welder is formed in a block shape, and the chuck roller is provided on one side of the block in an elastically pressed state so that the bracket is directly held on the electrode similarly to the stud. did. This eliminates the need to previously fix the bracket to the welding site with a fixture or the like as in the case of spot welding, and eliminates the need to sandwich it between the lower electrode and the welding process of the bracket. Will be easier.

And, the bracket is of one type having a substantially L shape having vertical and horizontal edges, the body shape of the welding portion is changed so that this one type of bracket is sufficient, and a large number of brackets are arranged one by one. By jointly using the bracket supply device for supplying, it is possible to fully automate the welding work of all the small brackets for one automobile.

According to the method of claim 2, since the vertical edge is pressed against one side surface of the electrode by the chuck roller, the bracket is positioned in the pressing direction of the chuck roller. Further, since the electrode is held in a state of being inserted between both flange portions provided on the vertical edge, the bracket is restricted from moving in a direction orthogonal to the flange portion, that is, a direction orthogonal to the pressing direction. Positioning in the same direction is performed by setting the interval between the flange portions according to the width of the electrode. In this way, the bracket is held in a state of being positioned with respect to the electrode in the pressing direction of the chuck roller and the direction orthogonal thereto, so that the variation in the welding position is suppressed.

A welding device according to a third aspect is for carrying out the welding method according to the first or second aspect, and according to this welding device, the vertical edge of the bracket is the chuck roller and one side surface of the electrode. It is held by the electrode by sandwiching it between the vertical edges, and the flange portion is provided on both sides of the vertical edge, and the vertical edge is sandwiched as described above with the electrode sandwiched between both flange portions, so that the flange portion of the chuck roller is It is held in a state of being positioned in the pressing direction and the direction orthogonal thereto. After holding the bracket to be welded on the electrode in this way, the gun is moved to set the bracket at the welding site of the body, and then the stud welder is activated to weld the lateral edge to the body. During this time, the bracket is held by the electrode. Therefore, unlike the case of spot welding, it is not necessary to fix the bracket to the welding site in advance by using a separate fixture or the like. Therefore, the conventional problem that the fixture or the like is an obstacle and takes time to arrange the electrodes. Does not occur at all.

The gun of the stud welder is attached to a robot hand in which a predetermined moving program is stored, and the gun is moved by the operation of the robot hand. The bracket is supplied by a large number of brackets. One by one, that is, the automatic feeding device capable of supplying by aligning vertically with the vertical edges standing up and down, first, the robot hand is operated to align the robot hand in a predetermined posture by the automatic feeding device. The electrode is positioned above the bracket in the opened state, and then the gun is lowered by the operation of the robot hand, and in the lowering process, the vertical edge of the bracket is sandwiched between the chuck roller and one side surface of the electrode. The robot hand is operated to lower the gun until the tip surface (lower surface) of the electrode comes into contact with the lateral edge of the bracket or immediately before that. With this, one bracket is held by the electrode. Then, the gun is moved up by the operation of the robot hand and then moved toward the body, and the held bracket is set at a predetermined welding site. When the lateral edge of the bracket is slightly above the weld, the stud welder is operated to generate an arc from the tip of the electrode, which melts approximately the center of the bracket's lateral edge and the body weld. After that, the gun is lowered by the operation of the robot hand or by the slide mechanism of the gun, and the lateral edge of the bracket is pressed against the welding site. After the melting part is cooled by stopping the arc, the gun is raised by the operation of the robot hand. In this ascending process, the vertical edge of the bracket is pulled out from between the chuck roller and the electrode, and the welding process for one bracket is completed. In this way, the steps from the supply of a large number of brackets one by one to the completion of welding are automatically performed without human labor, so that the welding process of the brackets is automated.

[0013]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, for example, prior to the welding work of the bracket for fixing the wire harness to the body, the bracket is fixed to the body by using a fixture or the like as in the conventional case. Since it is not necessary to take time and labor, the welding work can be simplified. Also,
This is a welding method using a stud welder instead of spot welding as in the past, and since the bracket is directly held on the electrode, automation of the welding process is facilitated.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the bracket to be welded is held in a state of being positioned with respect to the electrode, variations in welding position are reduced.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the vertical edge of the bracket is sandwiched and held between the chuck roller and the electrode, the bracket is preliminarily fixed to the body using a fixture or the like. Therefore, the welding work can be simplified, and the stud welder is attached to the robot hand and the robot hand and the stud welder are operated according to a predetermined program. The bracket welding process can be automated.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In this example, as shown in FIG. 6, a bracket W for fixing the wire harness H to a predetermined position of the body B via a harness clamp h will be described as an example. As shown in FIG. 5, the bracket W has a substantially L-shaped strip.
It is bent in a letter shape and has a vertical edge Wa and a horizontal edge Wb. Both left and right sides of the vertical edge Wa are bent to the side of the horizontal edge Wb to form flanges Wc and Wc. Vertical edge Wa
A hole Wd for fitting the protrusion ha of the harness clamp h is provided substantially at the center. Also, the horizontal edge W
A projection for arc generation during welding is formed on the lower surface side at a portion indicated by X in FIG. And, all the brackets necessary for fixing the wire harness H are substantially L-shaped brackets W formed as described above.
The body shape of the bracket welding portion is set so that only one type of bracket is required, and the bracket W is unified into this L-shaped one.

Next, a welding device for welding the bracket W unified into one type as described above will be described. FIG. 1 shows a part of a stud welding gun 1 which is a main body of a welding apparatus according to the present invention and an automatic bracket supplying apparatus 2. The stud welding gun 1 is attached to the tip of a robot hand (not shown). Since this stud welding gun 1 has its own vertical slide mechanism 1b built-in, it can be moved vertically with a constant stroke without the operation of the robot hand. An electrode 10 is provided on the tip 1 a of the stud welding gun 1.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the electrode 10 is formed in a substantially block shape, and has a tip surface (lower surface in FIG. 2) 10a, left and right side surfaces 10b, 10b, and substantially orthogonal to the both side surfaces 10b. It has a shape having a rear surface 10c as a side surface to be formed. The space between the left and right side surfaces 10b, 10b (width of the electrode 10) is set to a dimension necessary and sufficient for inserting the electrode 10 between the flange portions WC, Wc of the bracket W. A recess 10d is formed in the front part (right part in the figure) of the electrode 10, and the recess 10d has a recess 10d.
A support block 20 made of an insulating material is fitted and fixed. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the left and right side portions of the support block 20 are respectively projected to the left and right sides (in the vertical direction in the drawing), and the support plates 21 are mutually attached to the protruding end faces. It is fixed in parallel and rearward (to the left in the drawing) in a protruding shape.
The support plate 21 is also made of an insulating material. Both support plates 2 in the part projecting to the rear
Two chuck rollers 22 and 22 are supported between 1 and 21.

Both chuck rollers 22, 22 are rotatably supported in both directions via support rods 23, 23 which are suspended and supported between the support plates 21, 21 at a certain interval in the vertical direction. However, although not shown, both chuck rollers 22 and 22 do not move in the axial direction. Since both chuck rollers 22, 22 are formed of a material having wear resistance, the peripheral surface thereof has good wear resistance with respect to the bracket W. Both support rods 23, 23 are made of a material having an appropriate elasticity, and have a certain elasticity in the bending direction thereof (see FIG. 4). Therefore, both chuck rollers 22 and 22 are
The peripheral surfaces of the electrodes 10 are supported by the rear surface 10c of the electrode 10 in an elastically pressed state. The electrode 10 thus configured is fixed to the tip of the chuck adapter 1c of the stud welding gun 1 via the screw portion 1d. Note that the other configurations of the stud welding gun 1 do not need to be particularly changed, and thus the description thereof will be omitted.

The bracket automatic feeder 2 described above is
The main components are an aligning device (not shown) for aligning a large number of brackets W to W in a predetermined posture, and an arm 2a for taking out the aligned brackets W one by one to a chuck position. Bracket W is arm 2a
Is taken out in a posture in which the vertical edge Wa is raised upward on the upper surface of the tip of the.

According to the welding device constructed as described above, the bracket W is automatically welded as follows. First.
As described above, one bracket W is taken out in a predetermined posture by the automatic bracket supply device 2. After that,
The robot hand is activated and the bracket W is chucked.

That is, the stud welding gun 1 is moved to a position above the taken-out bracket W by the operation of the robot hand, and then lowered. In the descending process, the upper end of the vertical edge Wa of the bracket W resists the elastic force of the support rod 23 and first pushes in between the lower chuck roller 22 and the electrode 10 to be inserted and sandwiched.
Moreover, at this point, the electrode 10 enters between the flange portions Wc, Wc. Further, when the stud welding gun 1 is lowered and the electrode 10 enters between the flange portions Wc, Wc, the vertical edge Wa of the bracket W pushes in between the upper chuck roller 22 and the rear surface 10c of the electrode 10 and enters. It gets caught. Further, the stud welding gun 1 is lowered and the tip surface 10a of the electrode 10 is moved to the lateral edge Wb of the bracket W.
When it almost comes into contact with, the operation of the robot hand is stopped and the descent of the stud welding gun 1 is stopped. As described above, in the process of lowering the stud welding gun 1, the vertical edge Wa of the bracket W has two chuck rollers 22, 2.
2 and the rear surface 10c of the electrode 10 are sandwiched and held, and moreover, the electrode is inserted between both flange portions Wc, Wc of the bracket W, and the flange portions Wc substantially contact the left and right side surfaces 10b, 10b respectively. Therefore, the bracket W is held in a state in which the bracket W is positioned with respect to the electrode 10 in the pressing direction of the chuck roller 22 (horizontal direction in FIG. 4) and the direction orthogonal to this (vertical direction in FIG. 4). It Figure 1 shows the state at this point.
And shown in FIG.

As described above, the bracket W is attached to the electrode 10.
When it is held by the robot hand again, the stud welding gun 1 is moved upward, and thus the arm 2 of the supply device 2 is held with the bracket W held by the electrode 10.
Lifted from a. After that, the robot hand is operated according to a program stored in advance, and the bracket W held by the electrode 10 is moved to the welding portion of the body B. Next, at the position where the lateral edge Wb of the bracket W is slightly above the welding portion of the body B, the stud welding gun 1
Is operated to cause arc discharge from the tip of the electrode 10, and thereby the substantially central portion of the lateral edge Wb (the portion marked with X in FIG. 5) and the welded portion of the body B are melted. After that, the vertical slide mechanism 1b of the stud welding gun 1 is operated and the stud welding gun 1 is lowered, whereby the lateral edge Wb of the bracket W is pressed against the welding portion of the body B. After a lapse of a predetermined time, the melted portion is cooled and hardened, and then the stud welding gun 1 is moved up again by the operation of the robot hand. At this point, the lateral edge Wb of the bracket W
Is welded to body B, so stud welding gun 1
In the ascending process, the vertical edge Wa of the bracket W is relatively pulled out from between the chuck rollers 22 and 22 and the rear surface 10c of the electrode 10, so that the bracket W is separated from the tip of the stud welding gun 1. With the above, the welding process of one bracket W is completed, and thereafter, the robot hand and the stud welding gun 1 are operated according to a predetermined program to weld a predetermined number of brackets W to W to predetermined portions of the body B, respectively.

As described above, according to the welding method and the welding machine of this embodiment, since the bracket W to be welded is directly held on the electrode 10, the bracket is preliminarily attached to the body by using a fixing tool or the like prior to welding. There is no need to fix it on. From this, the welding work is simplified, and since no fixtures or the like are used, the fixtures and the like do not get in the way and the arrangement of the electrodes does not take time, unlike the conventional case.
Therefore, it becomes easy to automate the welding process.

In this embodiment, the support rod 23 itself has elasticity to support the chuck roller 22 in an elastically pressed state, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the chuck roller 22 has an appropriate rigidity (having elasticity). (No) A support pin may be supported in parallel between the support plates, and a spring or the like may be interposed between the support plates to indirectly press and support both upper and lower pressing rollers.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall side view of a stud welding gun according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion A in FIG. 1, and is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a main part of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an electrode when not holding a bracket.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an electrode when holding a bracket.

FIG. 5 is an overall perspective view of a bracket.

FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which the wire harness is fixed to the body via a bracket.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a conventional bracket, where (a) shows an L-shaped bracket and (b) shows a hat-shaped bracket.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Stud welding gun 2 ... Automatic bracket feeder 10 ... Electrode 10a ... Tip surface, 10b ... Side surface, 10c ... Rear surface, 10d
... Recessed portion 22 ... Chuck roller 23 ... Support rod W ... Bracket Wa ... Vertical edge, Wb ... Horizontal edge, Wc ... Flange portion H ... Wire harness B ... Body

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A method of welding a bracket for fixing an outfitting component to a body of an automobile to the body by using a stud welding machine, wherein the bracket includes a vertical edge to which the outfitting component is fixed and the bracket. It is formed in a substantially L shape having a lateral edge welded to the body side, and the electrode of the gun of the stud welding machine is formed in a substantially block shape, and the vertical edge of the bracket is elastically sandwiched between the electrode and the side surface. A chuck roller for attachment, the vertical edge is sandwiched between the chuck roller and the one side surface to hold the bracket on the electrode, and then the gun is moved to move the lateral edge to the body. A method for welding a bracket for fixing outfitting parts, which comprises welding to a welded part of the. 2. Both sides of the vertical edge are bent to the side of the horizontal edge to form a flange portion for positioning with respect to the electrode, and the vertical edge is provided with one side surface and a chuck roller in a state where the electrode is positioned between the both flange portions. By sandwiching it between
The welding method for a fitting component fixing bracket according to claim 1, wherein the bracket is positioned with respect to the electrode in a pressing direction of the chuck roller and in a direction orthogonal to the pressing direction. 3. A bracket for fixing an outfitting component to a body of an automobile, the bracket having a substantially L-shape having a vertical edge to which the outfitting component is fixed and a lateral edge welded to the body side. A welding device mainly for a stud welding machine for welding to the body, wherein an electrode of a gun of the stud welding machine is formed in a substantially block shape,
A chuck roller for elastically sandwiching the vertical edge of the bracket with the one side surface is provided, and the vertical edge can be sandwiched between the chuck roller and the one side surface to hold the bracket on the electrode. Welding device for brackets for fixing outfitting parts, which has a unique structure.