JPH11114471A - Adhesive coating apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an adhesive coating apparatus capable of achieving adhesion work of high quality by preventing the flow-down of an adhesive. SOLUTION: A semi-flowable adhesive S is ejected from a coating nozzle 10 to coat a work wa and air compressed in an air compression part 32 is blown off from a cooling nozzle 20 through a solenoid valve 38 and a gathering manifold 40 to move the coating nozzle 10 and the cooling nozzle 20 left and right in an adhesive coating direction by a moving means 18 and the adhesive S is applied to the work in a bead state and, at the same time, cooling air is blown to both side end parts in the lateral direction of the adhesive S by the cooling nozzle 20 to cool the adhesive S to increase the viscosity thereof, and the dripping of the adhesive is thus prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an adhesive applying apparatus, and more particularly to an adhesive applying apparatus for applying an adhesive to an adhesive applied surface of a sheet metal member to bond and assemble a sheet metal member such as an outer plate member of an automobile. Related to the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in an outer panel structure of an automobile or the like, a plurality of sheet metal members are assembled to form a required vehicle body shape. The body assembly work is mainly performed by an adhesive in addition to the work by the resistance welding.

In the assembly operation using an adhesive, a coating nozzle is disposed opposite to an adhesive coating surface of a sheet metal member (hereinafter referred to as a "work"), and a semi-fluid adhesive is discharged from the coating nozzle and the coating nozzle is discharged. Move the adhesive in the direction of the adhesive application along the adhesive application surface, apply the adhesive in a bead shape to the adhesive application surface, and then press the other work on the work on which this adhesive has been applied, and press the two work pieces together. Is to adhere.

By the way, in order to smoothly perform the application operation of the adhesive, it is desirable that the adhesive discharged from the application nozzle has a low viscosity and an excellent fluidity. However, when the viscosity is excessively low, if the adhesive application surface of the work to which the adhesive is applied is inclined, the adhesive flows out before the other work is pressed after the application of the adhesive, Adhesives that are effectively used for bonding are not sufficiently secured, so that sufficient performance as a seal cannot be exhibited, and there is also a problem that the adhesive that has flowed out adheres to the periphery of the bonding portion or other members. I do.

If the adhesive is applied excessively in order to secure an effective adhesive for bonding, the adhesive is extruded at the time of pressing the work after the application, and the extruded adhesive is further applied to the periphery of the bonding portion or other members. The operation of adhering and peeling off the adhered excess adhesive is troublesome, and may cause a large number of work steps in so-called post-treatment.

As a prior art for solving these problems, there is, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-57221.

In this prior art, an air blowing nozzle for blowing air from the outer periphery of the tip of the coating nozzle in the direction of discharging the adhesive (high-viscosity fluid) is provided, and the air is sprayed from the air blowing nozzle to apply the air. When applying the adhesive to the inclined part by guiding the adhesive discharged from the nozzle to the application target position and preventing it from dripping, even if the application nozzle and the work are separated, the adhesive target does not droop from the application nozzle It is disclosed that it can be applied to a location.

[0008]

However, according to the above-mentioned prior art, since the adhesive which is about to hang down from the application nozzle is forcibly guided by the blowing pressure of air, for example, the adhesive is applied. During the process of transporting the work to the assembly process where the other work is bonded to the work, the adhesive flows down during this time, and the securing of the effective adhesive required for bonding is impaired, and the adhesive adheres to the area around the bonded part and the work This may cause a problem such as in summer when the viscosity of the adhesive is reduced due to a relatively high environmental temperature.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention, which has been made in view of the above points, is to provide an adhesive applying apparatus capable of preventing a flow of an adhesive beforehand and achieving a high quality bonding operation.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an adhesive application apparatus for discharging a semi-fluid adhesive from an application nozzle to apply the adhesive to a workpiece. It is characterized by having a cool air generating means for generating cool air, and a cooling nozzle arranged adjacent to the application nozzle and blowing the cool air supplied from the cool air generating means toward the adhesive applied to the work. And

According to the first aspect of the present invention, by blowing cool air from the cooling nozzle onto the adhesive applied to the work by the application nozzle, at least the surface of the adhesive is cooled to increase the viscosity of the adhesive. Therefore, even when the cold air is stopped thereafter, it is possible to prevent the adhesive from flowing out from the adhesive applied surface.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a moving means for holding the application nozzle and the cooling nozzle at a predetermined distance from the adhesive application surface of the work and moving the application nozzle and the cooling nozzle along the adhesive application direction. The moving means is located at least below both ends in the width direction of the adhesive with respect to the adhesive applied to the adhesive application surface in a bead shape with the movement of the application nozzle. The cooling nozzle is held such that the cold air is blown toward the vicinity of one side end.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, by moving the application nozzle and the cooling nozzle, the adhesive can be applied to the adhesive application surface in a bead shape. Can be sequentially cooled.

Further, for example, in the case where the adhesive application surface is inclined, the adhesive located at the lower end of both sides in the width direction of the applied adhesive easily flows downward. Therefore, by blowing cold air to the vicinity of the lower side end of both sides of the adhesive, it is possible to effectively prevent the adhesive from flowing out. It is needless to say that cold air may be blown toward the upper side in addition to the lower side of the both end portions of the adhesive.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the moving means holds the cooling nozzle such that the cold air is blown in a direction orthogonal to the surface of the adhesive.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the applied adhesive is cooled by cold air to prevent the adhesive from flowing out, and can also be prevented from flowing out by the wind pressure of the cold air.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the cold air generating means includes an air compression section for compressing the air, and a cooling means for adiabatically expanding the compressed air supplied from the air compression section for cooling and sending the compressed air to the cooling nozzle. And a part.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the cool air generating means can generate the cool air by using the compressed air without using a special refrigerant or the like. For example, a compressor generally installed in a production line of an automobile or the like can be used as it is.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the adhesive coating apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing an outline of an adhesive application device according to the present invention. The adhesive application device 1 includes an application nozzle 10 for discharging an adhesive, a cold air nozzle 20 for blowing out cold air, and a cold air nozzle. And a cool air generating means 30 for supplying cool air to the heat generating device 20.

The application nozzle 10 is connected to a pump 14 for pumping the adhesive S stored in the adhesive drum 12. The adhesive drum 12 and the pump 14 are disposed in a constant temperature chamber 16 in order to keep the temperature of the adhesive S constant and maintain its viscosity at a predetermined viscosity.

The coating nozzle 10 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (1), the tip 10a is held at a predetermined distance and a predetermined angle with respect to the adhesive application surface A of the work wa by a moving means 18 such as an arm tip of an adhesive application robot. . Note that these distances and angles are appropriately set according to the type, viscosity, and application amount of the adhesive S.

The moving means 18 can move the coating nozzle 10 while maintaining the coating nozzle 10 at a predetermined distance and angle. With this movement, the coating nozzle 10 transfers the adhesive S pressure-fed by the pump 14. The adhesive S can be applied in a bead shape while being discharged onto the adhesive application surface A from the tip 10a.

The cooling nozzle 20 is arranged so as to be held adjacent to the coating nozzle 10 by the moving means 18 for holding the coating nozzle 10. In the present embodiment, two cooling nozzles 20 are provided with the coating nozzle 10 interposed therebetween. Are arranged facing each other. The front end 20a of the cooling nozzle 20 that blows out the cold air is directed to both side ends Sa and Sb in the width direction of the adhesive S applied to the adhesive application surface A.

The tip 20a is more preferably oriented in a direction perpendicular to the surface at both side ends Sa and Sb in the width direction of the adhesive S. The distance and the angle of the cooling nozzle 20 with respect to the adhesive coating surface A
Similarly to the above, it may be appropriately set according to the type, viscosity and application amount of the adhesive S, and may be appropriately changed according to the inclination angle of the adhesive application surface A, the temperature and the amount of cold air, and the like.

The cooling nozzle 20 moves integrally with the application nozzle 10 along with the movement of the moving means 18, and is connected to the cool air generating means 30. In addition, the cooling nozzle 20 is not necessarily two
A book is not required, and one book can be used. For example, in FIG. 2, only one of the two side edges in the width direction of the adhesive S after application corresponding to the lower side edge Sb where the adhesive S easily drips may be provided. Good.

The cool air generating means 30 includes an air compressing section 32 for compressing the air, and a cooling section 34 for adiabatically expanding the compressed air supplied from the air compressing section 32 for cooling and sending the compressed air to the cooling nozzle 20. Have.

The air compressing section 32 is, for example, 5 kg which is installed on a production line of a general automobile manufacturing plant.
/ Cm ² can be used, such as a compressor that generates compressed air.
Between the cooling unit 3 and the electromagnetic valve 38 that is opened and closed by the control device 36, and compressed air sent from the electromagnetic valve 38.
4 are provided.
The cooling unit 34 that cools air using the adiabatic expansion described above.
For example, vortex (VOLTEX: trade name) can be used.

Next, with respect to the operation of the adhesive application device 1 configured as described above, the adhesive S
The case of applying is described as an example.

In the drawing, reference numeral wa denotes a side panel of the vehicle body w which has been assembled in advance, and is hereinafter referred to as a work wa. Also, wb and wc are a roof panel and a counter panel, respectively, and are respectively called works wb and wc.

In FIG. 1, for example, a work w of a work wa
b, apply adhesive in a bead shape along the joint of wc,
The work wb and wc are bonded to the work wa.

The pump 12 and the air compressor 32 are started, and the controller 36 opens the solenoid valve 38. This allows
The adhesive S in the adhesive drum 14 is pumped to the application nozzle 10 by the pump 12, and is discharged from the tip 10a toward the adhesive application surface A. At the same time, the air compressed by the air compression unit 32 is sent to each cooling unit 34 via the solenoid valve 38 and the collecting manifold 40, and the air is cooled by the cooling unit 34.
The adiabatic expansion and cooling of the cooling
And blows out from the tip 20a. As described above, the adhesive S is discharged onto the adhesive application surface A, and the moving means 18 is moved along the adhesive application direction of the adhesive application surface A in a state where the cool air is blown out.

Thus, while the adhesive S is applied to the workpiece wa in a bead shape, the adhesive S applied to the workpiece wa is
Cold air can be blown at the both ends Sa, Sb in the width direction of the bead-shaped adhesive S at this time.
Since the adhesive S is sprayed in a direction substantially orthogonal to the surface of the adhesive S, the adhesive S is cooled and its viscosity is reduced, and is prevented from flowing downward even by the wind pressure of the cool air.

FIG. 3 shows the relationship between the temperature and the viscosity of Sundyne # 2405 (trade name) manufactured by Asahi Corporation as an example of the adhesive S used for bonding the above-mentioned vehicle body members.

For example, when the ambient temperature in the factory is 20 to 30
C., the viscosity of the adhesive in this temperature range is about 160,000 to 29,000 cps. When the temperature of the adhesive is reduced to 15 ° C. by cold air, the viscosity increases to about 530000 cps and becomes about 1.5 to 3 times. With such a viscosity, the dripping or outflow of the adhesive S can be effectively prevented even when the adhesive application surface A of the adhesive S is inclined, though it depends on the amount of the adhesive applied. It is possible.

Even when the cool air is stopped after the cool air is blown, the adhesive S and the peripheral portion of the adhesive S of the work wa are sufficiently cooled, so that the adhesive S maintains a high viscosity state. Therefore, there is no possibility that the liquid will flow downward or drop during transportation to the next step.

After the adhesive application step is completed as described above, the work wa is transferred to the next step by a transfer device such as a conveyor, and the assembly step is performed. That is, the work wb and the work wc are placed at a predetermined position from above on the work wa on which the adhesive S is applied in a bead shape, and are pressed and pressed.
Each work wa, wb, wc is assembled by the adhesive S.

At this time, since the viscosity of the adhesive S has been increased by the blowing of the cold air in the previous step, the amount of adhesion does not become insufficient due to the outflow, and a sufficient adhesive function can be exhibited. In addition, problems such as adhesion of the adhesive to the periphery of the bonded portion and other works due to the outflow can be avoided beforehand, so that post-processing can be simplified and a high-quality bonding operation can be obtained.

In the above embodiment, two cooling nozzles are arranged for one coating nozzle. However, one or three or more cooling nozzles may be arranged for one coating nozzle. The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately modified without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0040]

According to the adhesive application apparatus according to the present invention described above, the viscosity of the adhesive can be increased by blowing cold air from the cooling nozzle onto the adhesive applied to the work by the application nozzle. afterwards,
For example, even when the cold air is stopped, it is possible to effectively prevent the adhesive from flowing out, and the adhesive provided for the adhesive is insufficient, and the adhesive strength is reduced. Problems such as sticking to members are prevented beforehand,
High quality bonding work is ensured.

Further, by moving the application nozzle and the cooling nozzle, when the adhesive is applied to the adhesive application surface in a bead shape, the adhesive is positioned at least below both ends in the width direction of the adhesive. By blowing cold air near the other end, it is possible to effectively prevent the adhesive from flowing out.

Further, by blowing cold air in a direction perpendicular to the surface at the side end of the adhesive, the applied adhesive is cooled by cold air to make it difficult to flow out, and also flows out by the wind pressure of the cold air. Can be prevented. In addition, the cool air generating means includes an air compressing section that compresses air, and a cooling section that adiabatically expands the compressed air supplied from the air compressing section to cool and send the cooled air to the cooling nozzle. Since it is possible to generate cold air using compressed air without using a special refrigerant or the like, for example, a compressor or the like generally installed in a factory may be used as an air compression unit of the cold air generating means as it is. The present invention has an effect peculiar to the present invention, such as being able to be diverted and simplifying a facility for blowing cold air, and greatly contributes to the work field of joining with an adhesive.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration and operation of an adhesive application device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion I in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between temperature and viscosity of an adhesive used in the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Adhesive application device 10 Application nozzle 10a Tip 18 Moving means 20 Cooling nozzle 20a Tip 30 Cold air generator 32 Air compression unit 34 Cooling unit 36 Control device 38 Electromagnetic valve A Adhesive application surface S Adhesive Sa Adhesive side end Side edge of Sb adhesive

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An adhesive coating apparatus for discharging a semi-fluid adhesive from a coating nozzle and coating the workpiece with a cold air, comprising: a cold air generating means for generating a cold air; And a cooling nozzle for blowing cold air supplied from the generating means toward the adhesive applied to the workpiece. 2. A moving means for holding the application nozzle and the cooling nozzle at a predetermined distance from an adhesive application surface of the work and moving the application nozzle and the cooling nozzle along the adhesive application direction. In the vicinity of the side edge of at least the lower side of the both sides in the width direction of the adhesive with respect to the adhesive applied in a bead shape to the adhesive application surface with the movement of the application nozzle The adhesive application device according to claim 1, wherein the cooling nozzle is held so that the cold air is blown toward the device. 3. The adhesive application according to claim 2, wherein the moving unit holds the cooling nozzle such that the cold air is blown in a direction orthogonal to a surface of the adhesive. apparatus. 4. The cold air generating means has an air compressing section for compressing air, and a cooling section for adiabatically expanding the compressed air supplied from the air compressing section to cool and send the compressed air to the cooling nozzle. The adhesive application device according to claim 1, wherein: