WO2022158320A1

WO2022158320A1 - Fastening device

Info

Publication number: WO2022158320A1
Application number: PCT/JP2022/000399
Authority: WO
Inventors: 哲岩瀬; 真三樹奥田; 健司仲宗根
Original assignee: 株式会社神戸製鋼所; 有限会社新城ホールディングス
Priority date: 2021-01-22
Filing date: 2022-01-07
Publication date: 2022-07-28
Also published as: JP2022113006A

Abstract

This fastening device for driving a solid fastening element, which is delivered to a joining position (P1), into a joining member has: a die; a punch which has a through-hole formed therein and which, through movement in the direction of approaching the die, drives the fastening element having been delivered to a joining position (P2) between the punch and the joining member into the joining member disposed between the punch and the die and then crimps the fastening element; and a detection sensor which irradiates the fastening element disposed at the joining position (P2) with detection light via the through-hole of the punch, receives light reflected therefrom, and detects the fastening element.

Description

fastening device

The present invention relates to a fastening device.

As a conventional joining method, there are known a self-piercing riveting (SPR) method in which fasteners such as rivets are mechanically punched into joining members such as plate materials, and a punch metal method (for example, See Patent Documents 1 and 2).

In the above construction method, if the punch is driven without fasteners, that is, if a so-called dry-punching operation is performed, the punch and the product, which is the joining member, will be damaged. For this reason, in the fastening device, a sensor for detecting the fastener is provided in the middle of the fastener supply path in order to avoid blank striking due to unsupplied fasteners (see, for example, Patent Document 3).

Japanese Patent No. 5192830 Japanese Patent No. 5704798 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-61909

However, even if the fastener is detected in the middle of the fastener supply route, it is difficult to accurately detect whether or not the fastener exists at the joining position by the punch. For example, if the fastener is caught after detection by the sensor, the fastener may not be fed to the joining position, resulting in blank striking.

In addition, in a device that detects fasteners in the middle of the supply route, complicated control is required, such as executing a driving operation with a punch after a certain period of time has been secured after the fastener has been detected by the sensor.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a fastening device capable of favorably driving a fastener into a joining member without performing complicated control.

The present invention consists of the following configurations.
A fastening device for driving a solid fastener fed into a joining position into a joining member,
die and
It has a through hole and is fed to the bonding member arranged between the die and the bonding position between the bonding member by moving in a direction close to the die. A punch for driving and crimping fasteners;
a detection sensor that irradiates detection light through the through hole of the punch to the fastener placed at the joining position and receives the reflected light to detect the fastener;
having
Fastening device.

According to the fastening device of the present invention, it is possible to favorably drive the fastener into the joining member without performing complicated control.

It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view explaining the structure of the fastening device which concerns on this embodiment, and a delivery mechanism. It is a perspective view which shows an example of a fastener. Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the fastener shown in Figure 2; It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view along the feeding direction of the fastener in the fastening device. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 4; FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 4; FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the fastening device in which the fastener is held at the joining position, along the delivery direction of the fastener; 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in FIG. 7; FIG. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line DD in FIG. 7; FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to CC of FIG. 7 when the fastener is driven; It is process explanatory drawing which shows a mode that the joining member in which the fastener was driven|stuck is spot-welded step by step.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of a fastening device and delivery mechanism according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, a fastening device 101 according to this embodiment includes a feeding mechanism 103 . Fastening device 101 and feeding mechanism 103 are supported by frame 105 . The fastening device 101 is provided adjacent to the feeding mechanism 103 . The fastening device 101 is a device for fastening by driving a fastener 3 made of a rivet into a plate-shaped joining member 1 . The joining member 1 is, for example, a plate material made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of the fastener 3, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the fastener 3 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , the fastener 3 has a head portion 4 and a shaft portion 5 . The head portion 4 has a substantially disc shape with a diameter larger than that of the shaft portion, and the shaft portion 5 has a substantially columnar shape protruding from the center of the head portion 4 in the axial direction. An annular groove 6 is formed in the connecting portion between the shaft portion 5 and a flange 7 projecting radially from the shaft portion 5 of the head portion 4 . A projection 8 is formed on the tip surface of the shaft portion 5 to serve as a projection. The fastener 3 is solid, and the detection sensor 57, which will be described later, can detect the fastener 3 held at the joining position P2.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the feeding mechanism 103 has a feeding path 13 connected to the fastening device 101 . The delivery path 13 slidably holds the fastener 3 . A transport path 15 connected to the delivery path 13 is provided on the opposite side of the delivery path 13 from the fastening device 101 . The conveying path 15 is curved obliquely from above toward the delivery path 13 below. Fasteners 3 are supplied to the transport path 15 one by one from a fastener supply device (not shown). In the conveying path 15, a pair of continuous grooves 15a (only one continuous groove 15a is shown in FIG. 1) supports the end face of the flange 7 on the side of the shaft portion 5 where the head portion 4 of the fastener 3 protrudes from the shaft portion 5. are formed, and the fastener 3 is conveyed while maintaining a constant posture by the pair of continuous grooves 15a.

A lever 21 is provided on the top of the transport path 15 . This lever 21 is rotatably supported by a shaft 23 and has a distal end portion 21 a extending toward the delivery path 13 . The lever 21 has an arc-shaped guide surface 24 along the transport path 15 , and the guide surface 24 of the lever 21 forms the upper surface side of the transport path 15 . A locking recess 25 for locking the flange 7 of the fastener 3 is formed at the tip 21 a of the lever 21 .

A compression spring 31 is provided above the tip portion 21a of the lever 21, and the compression spring 31 biases the tip portion 21a of the lever 21 in the direction in which the conveying path 15 narrows. An adjustment pin 33 is provided on the base end side of the lever 21 supported by the shaft 23 . The adjustment pin 33 is screwed onto a screw (not shown), and can appear and retract according to the amount of screwing into the screw. The tip of the adjustment pin 33 is in contact with the proximal end of the lever 21 . The lever 21 is pivoted about the shaft 23 by retracting and extending the adjustment pin 33 . In other words, the tip position of the lever 21 can be adjusted up and down by retracting and protruding the adjustment pin 33 . By adjusting the tip position of the lever 21 vertically, the vertical interval of the transport path 15 is adjusted.

The lever 21 presses against the fastener 3 moving on the conveying path 15 by the elastic force of the compression spring 31 to stop the fastener 3 at the standby position P1 of the delivery path 13 . The pressing force of the fastener 3 by the lever 21 is set by adjusting the elasticity of the compression spring 31 and the adjustment pin 33 that prevents the lever 21 from turning according to the type (size, etc.) of the fastener 3 .

In addition, an arrival sensor 35 is provided on the upper portion of the delivery path 13 . The arrival sensor 35 is a sensor that detects the fastener 3 sent to the delivery path 13 and arriving at the standby position P1 through a through hole 36 formed above. sensor.

A pusher 37 is provided on the lower side of the transport path 15 on the opposite side of the delivery path 13 from the fastening device 101 . The pusher 37 has an engaging portion 39 at the end on the delivery path 13 side. The pusher 37 is moved toward and away from the delivery path 13 . When the pusher 37 is moved in the direction of the arrow K1 in proximity to the delivery path 13, the engaging portion 39 engages the fastener 3 held at the standby position P1 of the delivery path 13, thereby fastening the fastener. The tool 3 is pushed out in the direction of arrow K2. As a result, the fastener 3 is sent from the delivery path 13 to the joining position P2 of the fastening device 101 .

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the fastening device 101 along the delivery direction of the fastener 3 . FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. 4. FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the fastening device 101 has a die 51 and a punch 53. As shown in FIGS. The punch 53 is arranged above the die 51 . The punch 53 is moved up and down by a punch driving mechanism such as an air cylinder (not shown), thereby moving toward and away from the die 51 .

The fastening device 101 has a joining position P2 between the die 51 and the punch 53 . The joining member 1 is inserted into the joining position P2 and placed above the die 51 . Further, the fastener 3 is pushed out from the feeding mechanism 103 to the joining position P2. Thereby, the fastener 3 is arranged on the upper part of the joining member 1 . By lowering the punch 53 in this state, the fastener 3 arranged at the joining position P2 is driven into the joining member 1 and crimped.

The punch 53 has a through hole 55 approximately at its center. A detection sensor 57 is provided on the upper portion of the punch 53 . As the detection sensor 57, it is preferable to use a non-contact sensor having excellent directivity. For example, it is preferable to use a laser sensor that emits laser light as detection light. The detection sensor 57 has a light emitting/receiving portion 59. The light emitting/receiving portion 59 irradiates the detection light L, and the light reflected from the light emitting/receiving portion 59 is received. The detection sensor 57 irradiates detection light L from above the punch 53 through the through hole 55 of the punch 53 to the fastener 3 arranged at the joining position P2. Reflected light reflected by the fastener 3 is received, and the presence or absence of the fastener 3 at the joint position P2 is detected based on the received reflected light.

The fastening device 101 has a holding portion 61 . The holding portion 61 has a holding plate 63 comprising a pair of leaf springs made of an elastic metal material. These holding plates 63 are integrally provided with their upper end portions fixed to both sides of the punch 53 . These holding plates 63 have holding ends 65 at their lower ends, and project downward from the lower ends of the punches 53 with a projection dimension slightly smaller than the thickness dimension of the flange 7 of the head 4 of the fastener 3 . It is These holding ends 65 are arranged with a gap G that is smaller than the outer diameter of the head 4 of the fastener 3 (see FIG. 6).

The fastening device 101 also includes a positioning portion 71 . The positioning portion 71 is formed integrally with the punch 53 . The positioning part 71 is arranged on the side opposite to the feeding mechanism 103 at the joining position P2, and has a projection dimension slightly smaller than the thickness dimension of the flange 7 of the head part 4 of the fastener 3 from the lower end part of the punch 53. It protrudes downward. The positioning portion 71 has a guide surface 73 on the joining position P2 side. The guide surface 73 is formed in an arcuate shape having substantially the same radius of curvature as the head portion 4 of the fastener 3 in a cross-sectional view.

Next, the operation of driving the fastener 3 into the joining member 1 by the fastening device 101 will be described.
FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the fastening device 101 in which the fastener 3 is held at the joining position P2 along the delivery direction of the fastener 3. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in FIG. 7. FIG. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line DD in FIG. FIG. 10 is a sectional view corresponding to CC of FIG. 5 when the fastener 3 is driven.

When the fastener 3 is supplied from the fastener supply device to the conveying path 15 of the feeding mechanism 103 , the fastener 3 passes through the conveying path 15 and is sent to the sending path 13 . The fastener 3 fed into the delivery path 13 is held at the standby position P<b>1 with the flange 7 locked by the locking recess 25 of the lever 21 and detected by the arrival sensor 35 .

When the arrival sensor 35 detects the fastener 3, the pusher 37 moves toward the delivery path 13 in the K1 direction. As a result, the fastener 3 is pushed out in the K2 direction toward the joining position P2 of the fastening device 101 while being engaged with the engaging portion 39 of the pusher 37 . The pusher 37 that has pushed out the fastener 3 is moved away from the delivery path 13 and placed at the retracted position.

As shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, when the fastener 3 is pushed out by the pusher 37 and sent to the joining position P2, the fastener 3 is held between the holding ends 65 of the holding plate 63 constituting the holding portion 61 of the fastening device 101. As shown in FIGS. The head 4 of 3 is pushed in. Then, the holding plates 63 of the holding portion 61 are elastically deformed outward, and the elastic force of these holding plates 63 clamps the head portion 4 of the fastener 3 from the outer peripheral side. Thereby, the fastener 3 is held at the joining position P2.

In addition, the outer peripheral portion of the head portion 4 of the fastener 3 pushed out to the joining position P2 contacts the guide surface 73 of the positioning portion 71 . As a result, the fastener 3 held by the holding portion 61 is positioned at the joining position P<b>2 with its central axis aligned with the central axis of the punch 53 .

The upper surface of the fastener 3 positioned and held at the joining position P2 in this way is irradiated with the detection light L from the light receiving/emitting part 59 of the detection sensor 57 through the through hole 55 of the punch 53 . This detection light L is reflected by the upper surface of the head 4 of the fastener 3 held at the joint position P2, and the reflected light L is received by the light receiving/emitting part 59 of the detection sensor 57, and the fastener 3 is detected. .

As shown in FIG. 10, when the fastener 3 at the joining position P2 is detected, the punch 53 descends, and the shaft portion 5 of the fastener 3 arranged at the joining position P2 is driven into the joining member 1. The fastener 3 is crimped and integrated with the joining member 1 . At this time, the fastener 3 is pushed downward by the punch 53 to the position where the joining member 1 is arranged, so that the fastener 3 is held by the holding plate 63 of the holding portion 61 that descends together with the punch 53 and is attached to the joining member 1 . be crimped. Unnecessary matter 1a generated when the fastener 3 is driven into the joining member 1 is pushed into a hole 51a formed in the die 51 and accommodated, and then collected. After that, the punch 53 that has crimped the fastener 3 to the joining member 1 rises and is placed at an upper standby position, and the holding plate 63 holding the fastener 3 rises together with the punch 53 . At this time, the fastener 3 is crimped and firmly joined to the joining member 1 . Therefore, when the holding plate 63 rises together with the punch 53 , the fastener 3 is released from the holding plate 63 and the holding of the fastener 3 by the holding plate 63 is released.

One fastener 3 is fixed to the joining member 1 by the above procedure.
Next, a procedure for spot welding the joining member 1 into which the fastener 3 is driven will be described.

FIG. 11 is a process explanatory view showing step by step how the joining member 1 into which the fastener 3 is driven is spot-welded.

As shown in FIG. 11(A), the joining member 1 into which the fastener 3 is driven is firmly caulked by the plastic flow of the material 1b into the annular groove 6 of the fastener 3 . Since the fastener 3 does not come off from the joining member 1 in the intermediate joint 10 between the fastener 3 and the joining member 1, handling of the intermediate joint 10 during transportation, welding, etc. is enhanced.

As shown in FIG. 11B, the above-described intermediate joint 10 and another joining member 80 are superimposed on each other in the plate thickness direction, and the head 4 of the fastener 3 is positioned between a pair of

welding electrodes

201 and 201 . It is sandwiched between 203 . A welding current I is applied to the pair of

welding electrodes

201 and 203 . As a result, as shown in FIG. 11C, a joined body 90 having a nugget N formed between the tip of the shaft portion 5 of the fastener 3 and the joining member 80 is obtained.

Although an example in which the fastener 3 is provided at one location is shown here, an arbitrary number of fasteners 3 can be provided at arbitrary positions.

As described above, according to the fastening device 101 of the present embodiment, the detection sensor 57 detects the detection light L through the through hole 55 formed in the punch 53 with respect to the fastener 3 sent to the joining position P2. is irradiated and the reflected light is received to detect the fastener 3 . Therefore, the presence or absence of the fastener 3 at the joining position P2 can be detected with high accuracy. As a result, compared to the case where the fastener 3 is detected while the fastener 3 is being sent to the joining position P2, it is possible to avoid blank striking due to failure in sending the fastener 3 to the joining position P2 after the detection of the fastener 3. Further, it is possible to eliminate the need for complicated control such as executing the driving operation after ensuring a certain period of time after the detection of the fastener 3 . Moreover, by aligning the detection light L that irradiates the fastener 3 through the through hole 55 of the punch 53 with the central axis of the punch 53, the presence or absence of the fastener 3 at the joining position P2 can be detected with higher accuracy.

Further, in the fastening device 101 according to the present embodiment, the pair of holding plates 63 of the holding portion 61 sandwich and hold the fastener 3 sent to the joining position P2. Therefore, fasteners 3 of various shapes, such as thin fasteners 3 having a small thickness, can be clamped from both sides of the joining position P2 by the holding plates 63 and held well until the punching by the punch 53 is completed. can be done. Moreover, since the holding plates 63 are fixed to and integrated with both sides of the punch 53, the apparatus can be simplified and made more compact than the configuration in which the holding plates 63 are provided separately from the punches 53. FIG. In this embodiment, the fastener 3 is held by the elastic force of the holding plate 63 made of a leaf spring. The fastener 3 may be retained by the biasing force.

Further, in the fastening device 101 according to the present embodiment, the fastener 3 abuts against the positioning portion 71, so that the fastener 3 is accurately positioned at the joint position P2. As a result, the fastener 3 accurately held at the joining position P2 can be driven into the joining member 1 by the punch 53 with high accuracy. Moreover, since the positioning portion 71 is formed integrally with the punch 53, the device can be simplified and made compact compared to a configuration in which the positioning portion 71 is provided separately.

The fastening device 101 according to the present embodiment also includes a feeding mechanism 103 that pushes the fastener 3 held in the feeding path 13 toward the joining position P2 by the pusher 37 . Therefore, the fastener 3 can be easily and accurately sent to and held at the joining position P2, and the efficiency of the driving operation can be improved.

As described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and those skilled in the art can make modifications and applications by combining each configuration of the embodiments with each other, based on the description of the specification and well-known techniques. It is also contemplated by the present invention that it falls within the scope of protection sought.

As described above, this specification discloses the following matters.
(1) A fastening device for driving a solid fastener fed into a joining position into a joining member,
die and
It has a through hole and is fed to the bonding member arranged between the die and the bonding position between the bonding member by moving in a direction close to the die. A punch for driving and crimping fasteners;
a detection sensor that irradiates detection light through the through hole of the punch to the fastener placed at the joining position and receives the reflected light to detect the fastener;
having
Fastening device.

According to this fastening device, the detection sensor irradiates the detection light through the through hole formed in the punch to the solid fastener sent to the joining position, and receives the reflected light to detect the fastener. do. Therefore, the presence or absence of the fastener at the joining position can be detected with high accuracy. As a result, compared to the case where the fastener is detected while the fastener is being fed to the bonding position, it is possible to avoid blank strikes due to defective feeding to the bonding position after detection of the fastener. In addition, it is possible to eliminate the need for complicated control such as executing the driving operation after ensuring a certain period of time after the detection of the fastener. Moreover, the presence or absence of the fastener at the joining position can be detected with higher accuracy by aligning the detection light that irradiates the fastener through the through hole of the punch with the central axis of the punch.

(2) a holding part having a pair of holding plates arranged on both sides of the joining position along the feeding direction of the fastener;
The fastening device according to (1), wherein the holding portion sandwiches and holds the fastener sent to the joining position by the holding plate.

According to this fastening device, for example, fasteners of various shapes, such as thin fasteners with a small thickness, are clamped from both sides of the joining position by the holding plates, and held well until the punching is completed. can be done.

(3) The fastening device according to (2), wherein the holding plates are fixed to both sides of the punch.

According to this fastening device, since the holding plates are fixed to and integrated with both sides of the punch, the device can be simplified and made more compact than a configuration in which the holding plates are provided separately from the punch.

(4) a positioning portion is provided on the opposite side of the fastener feeding side at the joining position;
The fastening device according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the fastener sent to the joining position abuts against the positioning portion and is positioned at the joining position.

According to this fastening device, the fastener is accurately positioned at the joining position by abutting the fastener on the positioning portion. As a result, the fastener, which is accurately held at the joining position, can be driven into the joining member by the punch with high accuracy.

(5) The fastening device according to (4), wherein the positioning portion is formed integrally with the punch.

According to this fastening device, since the positioning portion is formed integrally with the punch, the device can be simplified and made more compact than a configuration in which the positioning portion is provided separately.

(6) A feeding mechanism for feeding the fastener to the joining position;
The feeding mechanism is
a delivery path provided on the side of the joining position for movably holding the fastener;
a pusher that pushes the fastener held in the delivery path toward the joining position;
The fastening device according to any one of (1) to (5), comprising:

According to this fastening device, it is equipped with a feed mechanism that pushes the fastener held in the feed path toward the joining position by the pusher. Therefore, the fastener can be easily and accurately fed to and held at the joining position, and the efficiency of the driving operation can be improved.

This application is based on a Japanese patent application (Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-9079) filed on January 22, 2021, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

1 joining member 3 fastener 13 delivery path 37 pusher 51 die 53 punch 55 through hole 57 detection sensor 61 holding part 63 holding plate 71 positioning part 101 fastening device 103 feeding mechanism L detection light P2 joining position

Claims

A fastening device for driving a solid fastener fed into a joining position into a joining member,
die and
It has a through hole and is fed to the bonding member arranged between the die and the bonding position between the bonding member by moving in a direction close to the die. A punch for driving and crimping fasteners;
a detection sensor that irradiates detection light through the through hole of the punch to the fastener placed at the joining position and receives the reflected light to detect the fastener;
having
Fastening device.
A holding part having a pair of holding plates arranged on both sides of the joining position along the feeding direction of the fastener,
The holding part sandwiches and holds the fastener sent to the joining position by the holding plate.
Fastening device according to claim 1.
The holding plate is fixed to each side of the punch,
Fastening device according to claim 2.
A positioning portion is provided on the side opposite to the feed side of the fastener at the joining position,
The fastener sent to the joining position is brought into contact with the positioning portion and positioned at the joining position.
Fastening device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
The positioning portion is formed integrally with the punch,
Fastening device according to claim 4.
A feeding mechanism for feeding the fastener to the joining position,
The feeding mechanism is
a delivery path provided on the side of the joining position for movably holding the fastener;
a pusher that pushes the fastener held in the delivery path toward the joining position;
comprising
Fastening device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
A feeding mechanism for feeding the fastener to the joining position,
The feeding mechanism is
a delivery path provided on the side of the joining position for movably holding the fastener;
a pusher that pushes the fastener held in the delivery path toward the joining position;
comprising
Fastening device according to claim 4.
A feeding mechanism for feeding the fastener to the joining position,
The feeding mechanism is
a delivery path provided on the side of the joining position for movably holding the fastener;
a pusher that pushes the fastener held in the delivery path toward the joining position;
comprising
Fastening device according to claim 5.