JP2001225124A - Sheet metal bonding apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the bonding quality by bonding through swaging at least two metal sheet materials which are relatively low in hardness such as aluminum. SOLUTION: An air-blow apparatus is installed in a housing 59, compressed air is blown to a tip portion of a punch 58 from the apparatus to give the air blow, and thus, the bonding quality in bonding the sheet metals is improved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for joining metal sheets, and more particularly, to an apparatus for joining laminated metal sheets to an integral structure by upsetting to adhere to a surface of a metal sheet and a punch. An air blow device for blowing off metal powder is installed.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A joining device for joining at least two superposed sheets of metal (sheet metal) in a single continuous process is disclosed in U.S. Pat. 4,459,4
No. 40 (corresponding to Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-18259).

[0003] The basic structure of such a conventional apparatus is such that a punch which is driven forward and backward with a predetermined stroke and an upsetting machine provided with a die having a die hole are used to form a superposed thin metal sheet into a punch. By arranging a stripper between the dies and advancing a punch, the metal sheet is squeezed into a die hole to form a bulging portion,
Subsequently, the punch is further advanced so that the bottom of the bulging portion is set up between the punch and the anvil in the die hole, and is extended in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the punch.

[0004]

However, the above-described conventional thin metal sheet joining apparatus is suitable for joining thin metal sheets made of steel or the like, but is relatively soft and hard made of aluminum or the like. When used for bonding sheet metal materials, the material to be bonded such as aluminum adheres to the punch during drawing or upsetting, or shavings are generated by processing, resulting in the shape of a button-shaped connecting portion to be formed by processing. Various problems occur in the connection quality such as distortion of the connection.

[0005] Here, the joining strength and the joining quality will be described. The quality of the joining quality is controlled by the button size (B).
Apply D). The button dimensions are as shown in FIG.
It is the diameter or width of the button-shaped connecting part formed by connecting the metal sheets. On the other hand, in order to check the coupling strength, a shut height (SH) is applied. As shown in FIG. 2, the shut height is the thickness of the bottom of the formed button-shaped coupling portion and is measured using a dial caliper gauge or the like. Conventionally, when a thin plate made of aluminum or the like is to be joined, a part of the thin plate material adheres to the punch during machining, or shavings are generated by the machining, and the shape of the button-like joined portion is distorted. Error occurred in the product, which was more than the allowable range, and had a problem in quality control.

[0006] It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet metal joining apparatus which can solve the above-mentioned problems.

[0007]

In the present invention, compressed air is sent to the tip of the punch and air blow is performed, so that the tip of the punch can be deformed and joined before the metal plate is deformed and joined by the punch moving downward. By sending compressed air to the part and performing air blowing, the adhesion of metal powder etc. to the punch is reduced, and furthermore, the joining quality of the metal sheet is improved by eliminating the shavings of the metal sheet generated during processing. Can be.

That is, the invention of claim 1 uses an upsetting machine provided with a punch which is driven forward and backward at a predetermined stroke and a die having a die hole, and the superposed thin metal sheet is formed by the punch and the die. The metal sheet is squeezed into a die hole by forming a bulge portion by disposing the metal sheet between the punch and the anvil in the die hole. A joining device for a thin metal plate in which the bottom of the punch is set up and extended in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the punch, wherein an air blow device for blowing air toward the tip of the punch is provided. It is a sheet metal joining device.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the air blow device includes a housing surrounding the punch, a stripper mounted to the punch in the housing so as to be movable in the axial direction, and the stripper mounted on a tip side of the punch. A spring that presses toward the housing, and an air supply pipe connected to the housing.The air supplied from the air supply pipe into the housing is supplied from the gap between the punch and the stripper. A thin metal plate joining device characterized in that it is ejected toward a tip portion.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a thin metal plate joining apparatus wherein at least one air ventilation groove is formed on an inner peripheral surface of a hole through which the punch of the stripper passes.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First, the basic structure of a joining device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 8. The device is for joining two thin metal plates a and b. 30 and a dice device 10. Punch device 3
Numeral 0 has a circular punch 34 carried on the punch body 32, and has a stripper 40 and a return spring 31 for urging the stripper 40 in a holder 38 screwed and supported on a threaded portion 36 of the punch body 32. . The dice device 10 includes a dice body 16 fixedly supported by a support structure 14. The dice body 16 has an integral projection 18 at the upper end as shown in FIG. , Respectively, are formed. The die body 16 has a hole 22 at the center as shown in FIG. 3, and an anvil 24 (FIG. 5) composed of a hardening pin fitted into the hole 22 is projected above the projection 18.

As shown in FIG. 6, the dice of the dice device 10 are rotatably supported by a fulcrum pin 28 inserted through a through hole 26 of the dice body 16, and are provided on each side surface of the dice body 16. Are formed separately from the T-shaped dividing wall portion 11 in side view. Each dividing wall 11 has two shoulders 20 of the die body 16 for directly receiving the vertical force applied thereto on the die body 16 without passing through the fulcrum pin 28.
(FIG. 7) are formed with two shoulders 13 (FIG. 5) that can be engaged with the same, and are formed with a notch 15 (FIG. 6) so as to be lightweight and easy to rotate. I have. The partition walls 11 are pivoted between a position shown in FIG. 3 and a position shown in FIG. 5, and are disposed between the integral legs 17 as shown in FIG. The return spring 12 which penetrates the through hole 18 of FIG. 18 always keeps the closed position shown in FIG.

When the dividing wall 11 is in the closed position shown in FIG. 3, the upper surfaces 21 of the dividing walls 11 are on the same horizontal plane, and the engaging surfaces of the dividing walls 11 are on the same vertical plane. is there. Each dividing wall 11 is provided with a semi-circular groove 23 (FIG. 4) that forms a circular opening at the closing position of both dividing walls 11 corresponding to the cross-sectional shape of the punch at the closing position. . The fulcrum pin 28 is disposed at a position outside the peripheral edge of the concave groove 23 and is positioned at a position outside the peripheral edge of the concave groove 23.
Is prevented from rotating outward. In FIG. 8, reference numeral 25 denotes a chamfer provided on the peripheral edge of the concave groove 23.

In joining the metal sheets a and b, the metal sheets a and b which are superimposed on each other are first placed on the upper surface 21 of the partition wall 11, as shown in FIG. Next, the punch 34 is lowered to engage with the metal sheets a and b, and then the dies are further projected into the opening of the die and moved toward the anvil 24 to pull the metal sheets a and b toward the anvil 24 so that the metal sheets a and b are moved. Is formed in a part of the projection as shown by reference numeral 27 in FIG. When the punch 34 approaches the anvil 24 to a distance smaller than the sum of the initial thicknesses of the sheet metals a and b, the sheet metal is laterally extruded, and the two pieces in a mating relationship on the sheet metals a and b are formed. Reference numeral 2 in FIG.
9, a laterally bulging portion is formed, and the metal sheet a,
Mechanical interengagement between b is achieved. The above-described lateral extrusion of the metal sheet material is performed by pushing each of the dividing wall portions 11 around the fulcrum pin 28 in the lateral direction as shown in FIGS. 5 and 8 by being pushed by the extruded metal sheet material. Permissible. When the punch 34 is returned to the original position shown in FIG. 3 and the joined metal sheets a and b are removed from the die, the dividing wall 1 is removed.
1 is returned by the return spring 12 to the closed position shown in FIGS.

FIG. 9A shows the upsetting process.
As shown in FIG.
As shown in (B), a type in which a cut is formed in a joint portion is known. In each case, a processing machine provided with a die 56 and a punch 58 is used. A punch 58 is formed by an anvil 56 'and a partition wall portion 57 which is elastically spreadable around the anvil 56'.
A die hole is formed to receive the tip of the die.

Referring to FIG. 9 (A), a description will be given of a joining process of a type in which no break occurs.
With the 2 fixed on the die 56, a pressing force is applied by a stripper 90 serving as a clamp mechanism to cause the punch 58 to advance, thereby narrowing the metal thin plates 51 and 52 in the die hole and bulging toward the die side. Let
With the further advance of punch 58, anvil 5
6 ′, the bottom portion 54 of the bulging portion 53 is set up and extended in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the punch 58 to form a button-shaped, unbroken connecting portion 55 having a recess on the punch 58 side. . The joint 55 is watertight because there is no break,
This is advantageous when airtightness is required. Note that a punch having a shape as shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 9 (B), a description will be given of a joining process of a type in which a cut is made, that is, a cut-out type. By applying pressure to advance the punch 58, the metal sheets 51, 52 are cut at the edge of the punch 58 and squeezed in the die hole to form a bulged portion 53. And the bottom portion 54 of the bulging portion 53 is swung up and extended in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the punch 58 to form the joint portion 55. Since the bottom portion 54 of the extended bulging portion 53 extends beyond the cut and engages with the lower surface of the lower thin metal plate 52, a connecting portion 55 having high bonding strength is obtained. The joint portion 55 is not suitable for applications requiring watertightness and airtightness due to the presence of cuts, but is suitable for use in a case where it is difficult to perform a type of connection that does not cause breaks. For example, a material with high hardness (low malleability) such as stainless steel or high-tensile material, a bond of three or more thin plates, and a bond between materials having significantly different plate thicknesses and malleability. And so on. Note that a punch having a shape as shown in FIG.

The type in which the peripheral wall of the die hole is formed by the elastically expandable dividing wall portion has been described. However, as shown in FIG. 12, the present invention is also applicable to a type in which a die having a fixed volume die hole is formed. Applicable. That is, the molding ram 71 can reciprocate in the direction of the die 72, and the die 72 is fixed in the coupling device, and has a blind hole 73 having a circular cross section serving as a die hole. The bottom surface of the blind hole 73 functions as an anvil. As shown in FIG. 12A, a lower plate 74 and an upper plate 75 to be interconnected are placed on a die 72 formed as a matrix. The molding ram 71 includes a support shaft 76 and a coaxially arranged deep drawing portion of smaller diameter,
That is, it has a punch 77, whereby a shoulder 78 is formed.

In FIG. 12B, the first part of the processing, that is, the deep drawing is completed, and the punch 77 is moved to the flat portions or the regions 83a, 8 of the plates 74, 75 in front of the free end face 79 thereof.
3b is pushed into the blind hole 73. The thin plates 74 and 75 remaining at the initial position and the flat portion or region 83 drawn deeply
stretched joints 80, 81 between a and 83b
Furthermore, although the material is thinned, the mutual hooking action of the thin plates 74 and 75 has not yet occurred in the concave molded portion.

FIG. 12C shows the final position of the molding ram 71, that is, the position after crushing the deep drawn flat portions, that is, the regions 83a and 83b. In this position, the shoulder 78
Is on the upper surface of the upper plate 75. The flats or regions 83a, 83b facing the end face 79 are strongly squeezed, with the material being pressed radially outward. The blind hole 73 is completely filled, while at the same time solidification compression of the deformed material occurs. Due to the crushing action, the flat portion or the region 83b of the upper plate 75 is extended in the radial direction so as to bite below the deep drawing hole 84 of the lower plate 74. Due to the high deformation forces, a very strong bond is achieved which is adapted to the mold due to the mutual flow of the materials.

The punch 77 is used to prevent a notch effect that may cause peeling of the flat portion of the upper plate 75, that is, the region 83b.
Of the end surface 79 is formed in a round shape at the lower end portion, that is, in an edged shape. There is a contact surface between the plates 74, 75 that automatically rounds easily during deep drawing. Blind hole 7
3 is rigid in the pressing direction and in a direction perpendicular thereto, and its volume is invariable, so that the deeply drawn regions 83a, 8
3b is restricted in vertical and horizontal expansion. In order to discharge the molded part, the molding ram simply has to be lifted, so that the molded part has a blind hole 7 with a smooth boundary wall 75 in the direction of movement.
3 easily lifted.

Next, an embodiment of the sheet metal joining apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the coupling device has a punch 58 and a die 56 arranged coaxially as main components. The punch 58 is supported so as to be able to advance and retreat in the axial direction, and is driven at a predetermined stroke. FIG. 1 shows a state before and after the punch 58 advances on both sides of the center line. The punch 58 is fixed to a punch holder 94. The punch 58 is surrounded by a housing 59 also fixed to a punch holder 94, and a stripper 90 is attached to the punch 58 in the housing 59 so as to be movable in the axial direction. The stripper 90 is pressed by a spring 92 toward the tip of the punch 58. An air blower that connects the air supply pipe 62 to the housing 59 and introduces compressed air into the housing 59 from a factory air system or a compressor or the like to blow out air in a path indicated by a broken line in the drawing is configured. I do.

The die 56 includes an anvil 56 ′ and a plurality of elastically expandable dividing walls 57 arranged around the anvil 56 ′. The anvil 56 ′ and the dividing wall 57 cooperate with a punch 58. It defines a die hole 96 for performing a kind of drawing work. That is, the top surface of the anvil 56 ′ forms the bottom surface of the die hole 96, and the opposing surfaces of the dividing wall portion 57 form the peripheral wall surface of the die hole 96.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG.
Is a two-piece type, and a pair of dividing wall portions 5 is provided on both sides of the anvil 56 '.
7 are arranged face to face. Each partition wall portion 57 is supported so as to be rotatable about a pin 61. And
The upper ends of the pair of partition walls 57 face each other across the anvil 56 ', and a return spring 60 is interposed between the lower ends. Therefore, the dividing wall portion 57 is usually
As shown by the solid line on the left side of the center line, the upper end is elastically held in a reduced diameter posture.

The dividing wall portion 57 is formed on the bottom 5 of the bulging portion 53 (FIG. 2) which extends as a result of the upsetting as described later.
It expands by receiving a force exceeding a predetermined value from 4,
Any configuration may be used as long as the configuration can be elastically expanded so that the configuration can be restored simultaneously with the release of the force, and is not limited to the configuration illustrated in FIG. For example, the return spring 60
In addition to a compression coil spring, a leaf spring, an elastic material such as rubber or resin, or the like can be appropriately selected and employed. Further, instead of or in addition to such a return spring 60, a ring-shaped member for restoring the divided wall portion 57 after the expansion can be wound around the outer periphery of the divided wall portion 57.

Next, the joining step will be described.
As shown on the left side of the center line of FIG.
Press 0 for positioning. Then, the metal sheet 51, 52 is inserted into the die hole 9 by making the punch 58 advance.
6 to form a bulged portion 53 (FIG. 2). In the drawing process, the dividing wall portion 57 is held in the posture shown by the solid line on the left side of the center line in FIG. Subsequently, by further extending the punch 58, the bottom portion 54 of the bulging portion 53 is set up by the punch 58 and the anvil 56 'as shown on the right side of the center line in FIG. At this time, the bottom portion 54 of the bulging portion 53 extends in a direction orthogonal to the axis of the punch 58, and the dividing wall portion 57
Press to expand. Thus, the bottom 5 of the bulging portion 53
4 is extended to expand the dividing wall portion 57, so that the die holes 9 are formed.
6, the metal sheets 51, which have been joined without being bitten
52 can be easily removed. After the joining, the punch 5 is held while holding the metal sheets 51 and 52 with the stripper 59.
8 is retracted to cause the punch 58 to escape from the bulging portion 53, and then the punch 58 and the stripper 59 are raised. Then, the joined metal sheets 51 and 52 are removed from the apparatus.

The punch 58 is advanced vertically downward so that the thin plate 5
In the process of connecting the first and second components 52, 52, a route shown by a broken line in FIG.
Air is blown out to the tip of the punch 58 through a cavity in the housing 59 and a clearance between the stripper 90 and the punch 58, and air blow is performed to perform processing such as metal powder derived from a thin metal plate adhered to the punch 58 during processing. Remove or reduce foreign matter. Since the punch 58 and the stripper 90 are fitted with an appropriate clearance, air can be blown out from the entire circumference of the clearance to clean the entire circumference of the punch surface.

If it is difficult to supply air only through the gap between the stripper 90 and the punch 58, as shown in FIGS.
If necessary, at least one air ventilation groove 63 may be formed on the inner peripheral surface of the hole through which the zero punch 58 penetrates.

[0029]

According to the joining device provided with the air blow device of the present invention, even when joining not only a steel plate material but also a relatively soft aluminum material or the like, the material of the metal thin plate to be joined can be punched during processing. It is possible to solve various problems at the time of bonding, such as adhesion to the surface and generation of shavings due to processing, and it is possible to improve the bonding quality.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a sheet metal bonding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a joining portion of a thin metal plate by the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a basic configuration of the sheet metal bonding apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a dice device in the sheet metal bonding apparatus of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state at the time of completing the upsetting of the sheet metal bonding apparatus of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of a dice device in the metal thin plate joining device of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a die body in the metal sheet joining apparatus of FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 5;

FIG. 9A is a longitudinal sectional view showing a continuous joining process of two thin metal sheets. (B) A longitudinal sectional view showing a joining process with a cut between two metal sheets.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a punch.

FIG. 11A is a longitudinal sectional view of an air blow device. (B) The cross-sectional view.

FIG. 12 is a longitudinal sectional view similar to FIG. 9 showing a joining process.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 die device 11 partition wall portion 12 return spring 16 die body 24 anvil 28 fulcrum pin 29 lateral bulging portion 30 punch device 32 punch body 34 punch 40 stripper 51 thin metal plate 52 thin metal plate 53 bulging portion 54 bottom portion of bulging portion 55 Coupling part 56 Dice 56 'Anvil 57 Partition wall part 58 Punch 59 Housing 60 Return spring 61 Pin 63 Air ventilation groove 71 Molding ram 72 Dice 73 Blind hole 77 Punch 90 Stripper 92 Spring 94 Punch holder 96 Dice hole

Claims (3)

[Claims] An upsetting machine provided with a punch that is driven forward and backward by a predetermined stroke and a die having a die hole, and a superposed metal thin plate is arranged between the punch and the die. The metal sheet is squeezed into the die hole to form a bulge portion, and the punch is further advanced to set the bottom of the bulge portion between the punch and the anvil in the die hole. A joining device for a metal sheet, which is extended in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the punch, comprising an air blow device for blowing air toward a tip portion of the punch. 2. An air blow device comprising: a housing surrounding the punch; a stripper mounted on the punch in the housing so as to be movable in an axial direction; and a spring for pressing the stripper toward a tip end of the punch. And an air supply pipe connected to the housing,
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein air supplied from the air supply pipe into the housing is ejected from a gap between the punch and the stripper toward a tip end of the punch. . 3. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein at least one groove for air ventilation is formed in an inner peripheral surface of a hole through which said punch of said stripper passes.