JPH08271369A - Leak inspecting device for wheel rim - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a leak inspecting device for a wheel rim capable of reducing the helium gas quantity and vacuum capacity. CONSTITUTION: An outside envelope 16 is provided around a helium gas spray nozzle 15. An elastic seal material 17 is fitted to a contact section with a wheel rim. An inside envelope 13 is provided to surround a rim weld section from the rim inside. An elastic seal material 14 is fitted to the contact section with the wheel rim.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wheel rim leakage inspection apparatus, and more particularly to a leakage inspection apparatus capable of reducing at least one of the amount of helium gas used for inspection and the vacuum volume required for inspection.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A disc wheel for an automobile is formed by welding a wheel rim and a wheel disc.
Among them, a wheel rim (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a rim) is formed by rolling a steel sheet, butt-welding it, and then forming it into a rim shape by roll forming. Since the rim is the part where the tire is mounted and air leakage is not allowed, the rim is a single piece of rim after the rim is formed and before it is joined to the disc. It FIG. 5 schematically shows a conventional wheel rim leakage inspection device. In FIG. 5, the rim 1 is sealed from both axial ends by the seal plates 3 and 4 with the urethane seals 2 (5 is an air cylinder for moving the seal plate 3 forward and backward), and then the inside of the rim is evacuated by the vacuum pump 6. After achieving a vacuum (0.2 Torr) in the portion excluding the core 7 (hatched portion), helium gas is sprayed from the nozzle 9 near the rim welded portion 8 from the outside of the rim. When there is a welding defect, helium gas enters the rim and is detected by the helium detector 10 (helium gas analyzer).

[0003]

The prior art has the following problems. Since the helium gas is open to the atmosphere, the concentration of helium gas applied to the rim weld is reduced, and therefore the amount of gas discharged per time is increased (for example, 400 cc /
Times). In addition, the work environment is deteriorated, and detection failure occurs due to helium gas scattering. In addition, it takes a long time to reach a vacuum because the volume that must be evacuated is large. For example, about 8 seconds / piece from the start of evacuation to the detection of helium gas, and 12 seconds / piece per cycle including the positioning transfer system. Due to the difference in capacity with other parts of the manufacturing line, 4 lines for the leak inspection line are required for 1 line for the normal rim, which requires initial cost and running cost, requires a lot of space, and has a large vacuum capacity. And the vacuum system becomes larger. An object of the present invention is to provide a wheel rim leak inspection device capable of reducing at least one of the amount of helium gas used in a leak inspection and the vacuum capacity.

[0004]

Means for Solving the Problems A wheel rim leakage inspection apparatus of the present invention that achieves the above object is as follows. (1) The inner circumference of the wheel rim is evacuated, helium gas is blown from the outer circumference of the wheel rim to the welded portion of the wheel rim, and if there is a defect in the welded portion, it enters the inner circumference of the wheel rim through the defect. In a wheel rim leak detection device for detecting helium gas by a helium detector connected to an inner peripheral side of a wheel rim, an outer enclosure surrounding the helium gas blowing nozzle arranged on the outer peripheral side of the wheel rim is provided, and the outer enclosure Wheel rim leak inspection device with elastic sealing material attached to the part in contact with the wheel rim. (2) The inner circumference of the wheel rim is evacuated, helium gas is blown from the outer circumference of the wheel rim to the welded portion of the wheel rim, and if there is a defect in the welded portion, it enters the inner circumference of the wheel rim through the defect. In a leak detection device for a wheel rim, which detects helium gas by a helium detector connected to an inner peripheral side of a wheel rim, an inner enclosure surrounding the wheel rim welded portion from the inner peripheral side of the wheel rim is provided, and a portion contacting the inner rim of the wheel rim. Wheel rim leak inspection device with elastic sealing material attached to the.

[0005]

In the device of the above (1), since the helium gas blowing nozzle is surrounded by the outer enclosure, the helium gas is confined inside the outer enclosure. As a result, compared to the conventional open-air type, it is possible to prevent the decrease of the helium concentration in the rim weld,
The amount of gas discharged per time can also be reduced. Further, the work environment is less polluted, and the detection failure due to the helium gas scattering can be prevented. In the device of (2) above, since the inner enclosure surrounding the rim welded portion is provided and only the inner enclosure is evacuated, the volume capacity is about 1/80, which is extremely high compared to the conventional method. Can be made smaller. As a result, it is possible to limit the number of leak test lines by shortening the 1 cycle time, save space by reducing the number of lines and downsizing the equipment, and downsizing the most expensive vacuum system in the equipment. Equipment costs can be reduced.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, in a wheel rim leakage inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, a box-shaped inner enclosure 13 enclosing a welded portion 12 of a wheel rim 11 from the inner peripheral side of the wheel rim 11. An elastic (for example, rubber) seal member 14 attached to a portion of the inner circumference side that contacts the wheel rim 11, a helium gas blowing nozzle 15 arranged on the outer circumference side of the wheel rim 11, and a helium gas blowing nozzle. An outer enclosure 16 that surrounds 15 is provided, and an elastic seal material 17 attached to a portion of the outer enclosure 16 that contacts the wheel rim 11. The inside of the inner enclosure 13 is connected to a vacuum pump 19 via a hose 18,
A helium detector 20 including a helium gas analyzer is provided in the middle of the hose 18.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the inner enclosure 13 is a box which opens upward. The inner enclosure 13 is supported by a wheel support 21, which is mounted on a frame 22 of the air cylinder 2.
3, it is moved up and down together with the inner enclosure 13 and the wheel rim 11. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the outer enclosure 16 comprises a box that opens downward. The outer enclosure 16 is fixed to the frame 22. Inside the outer enclosure 16 is a helium blowing nozzle 15, and the outer enclosure 16 and the helium blowing nozzle 15 are stationary members. A hose 24 is connected to the helium spray nozzle 15,
The hose 24 penetrates the outer enclosure 16 to the outside and is further connected to a helium gas cylinder (not shown). As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the inner enclosure 13 and the outer enclosure 16 as well.
Also, only the welded portion 12 of the rim 11 and its immediate vicinity are enclosed to shut off and seal the outside. Both the inner volume of the inner enclosure 13 and the inner volume of the outer enclosure 16 are much smaller than the inner peripheral side volume of the wheel rim 11, and are, for example, 1/80 or less of the inner peripheral side volume of the rim.

Next, the operation will be described. The wheel rim 11 to be subjected to the leak test is suspended on the inner rim 13 so that the inner rim 13 set on the wheel support 21 protrudes toward the inner peripheral side of the wheel rim 11, and the welded portion 12 is located at the uppermost part of the wheel rim 11. Decide the circumferential position so that it will come out. Next, the air cylinder 23 is operated to operate the wheel support base 2
1, the inner enclosure 13 and the wheel rim 11 are moved to the outer enclosure 16 so that the outer peripheral surface of the wheel rim 11 is sealed with the sealing material 17.
Raise to the position where it can be pressed via. In this state, the inside of the inner enclosure 13 and the inside of the outer enclosure 16 are shielded from the outside and sealed by the sealing materials 14 and 17, respectively.

Next, the vacuum pump 19 is operated to create a vacuum (about 0.2 Torr) inside the inner enclosure 13.
Since it is not necessary to evacuate the entire inside of the wheel rim 11 and only the inside of the inner enclosure 13 needs to be evacuated, the vacuum volume becomes about 1/80 of that of the conventional case, and the evacuation time is greatly shortened. By shortening the one cycle time, the number of leak test lines can be reduced, and the device can be downsized, the space can be saved, and the vacuum system can be downsized. Then, helium gas is jetted from the helium blowing nozzle 15 toward the wheel rim welded portion 12. Helium gas is outside 1
Since it is confined inside 6, the helium concentration in the vicinity of the welded portion 12 is higher than that of the conventional open-air type, and the gas discharge amount per one time is small. Further, since it is not exposed to the atmosphere, environmental pollution is small and detection failure due to helium gas scattering is prevented. When helium gas is blown, if the welded portion 12 has a welding defect penetrating over the inner and outer surfaces,
Helium gas penetrates into the rim, and the helium gas leaked into the rim is detected by the helium detector 20. Thereby, the welding defect and the presence or absence of air leakage from the welding defect when the tire is mounted are inspected.

[0010]

According to the apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, the helium gas blowing nozzle is provided with the outer enclosure surrounding the helium gas blowing nozzle and the elastic sealing material attached thereto. The amount is small, environmental pollution is reduced, and erroneous inspection due to scattered helium gas is prevented. According to the apparatus of claim 2, since the inner enclosure and the elastic sealing material attached to the inner enclosure are provided, the vacuum capacity can be made small, and the one cycle time can be shortened to reduce the leak test line and thereby reduce the size of the apparatus. Space saving and cost reduction are possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a wheel rim leakage inspection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a front view of the device of FIG. 1. FIG.

3 is a partially enlarged side view of the device of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the device shown in FIG. 3 when the device is opened.

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view of a conventional leakage inspection device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Wheel rim (rim) 12 Welded portion 13 Inner enclosure 14 Elastic seal material 15 Helium gas spray nozzle 16 Outer enclosure 17 Elastic seal material

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A vacuum is applied to the inner peripheral side of the wheel rim, and helium gas is blown from the outer peripheral side of the wheel rim to the welded portion of the wheel rim. If there is a defect in the welded portion, the inner peripheral side is passed through the defect to the inner peripheral side of the wheel rim. In a leak detection device for a wheel rim, which detects an intruding helium gas by a helium detector connected to an inner peripheral side of the wheel rim, an outer enclosure surrounding the helium gas blowing nozzle arranged on the outer peripheral side of the wheel rim is provided, A wheel rim leakage inspection device, characterized in that an elastic sealing material is attached to a portion of the enclosure in contact with the wheel rim. 2. The inner peripheral side of the wheel rim is evacuated, helium gas is blown from the outer peripheral side of the wheel rim to the welded portion of the wheel rim, and if there is a defect in the welded portion, it is passed through the defect to the inner peripheral side of the wheel rim. In a leak detection device for a wheel rim that detects invading helium gas with a helium detector connected to the inner circumference side of the wheel rim, an inner enclosure is provided surrounding the wheel rim welded portion from the inner circumference side of the wheel rim, and the wheel rim of the inner enclosure is provided. An inspection device for a wheel rim leakage, characterized in that an elastic seal material is attached to a contact portion.