Belt-like metal plate butt welding device and butt welding method

Abstract

To achieve welding in the state where end faces of belt-like metal plates are precisely butted at a butt position.SOLUTION: This butt welding device 1 comprises: a second holding part 24 which can hold a first belt-like metal plate W1; a first drive part 25 which can apply the driving force for movement toward a butt position P1 to a first holding part 23; and a second drive part 26 which can apply the driving force for movement toward the butt position P1 to the second holding part 24. The second drive part 26 is configured from a cylinder 47 with a butt direction of a second belt-like metal plate W2 as an extrusion direction, and a thrust F2 in the extrusion direction of the cylinder 47 is so set as to be smaller than the driving force in the butt direction of the first belt-like metal plate W1 that is applied to the first holding part 23 by the first drive part 25.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 13

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for butt-joining metal strips. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a welding device is known that cuts the rear edge of a leading strip metal plate and the front edge of a trailing strip metal plate in order to connect the leading strip metal plate and the trailing strip metal plate, and then butts and welds the cut edge portions (end faces) of the two plates together (see Patent Documents 1 to 3).

[0003] It is also known that, during the butting operation of the metal plates, the side edges of the metal strips are held down in the thickness direction by a pressure plate and a slide plate, and the slide plate is moved along the longitudinal direction of the metal strips, thereby transporting the metal strips in the butting direction. In this case, the rotational force of the motor is converted into a sliding force in the butting direction by the cooperative action of a pinion and a rack that mesh with each other, and the converted sliding force is applied to the slide plate to which the rack is fixed, so that the metal strips can be transported together with the slide plate (see Patent Document 4). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-34254 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-279604 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-253491 [Patent Document 4] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2022-34598 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Therefore, when the rotational driving force of the motor is converted into a sliding force to move the strip metal plates in the butting direction as described in Patent Document 4, it appears that by using the motor as, for example, a servo motor and controlling its rotation amount, it is possible to control the movement amount of each strip metal plate and, ultimately, the longitudinal position of the opposing end faces of each strip metal plate (i.e., the butting position).

[0006] However, even if a motor with excellent position control, such as a servo motor, is used to move each strip metal plate in the butting direction, it is difficult to accurately stop both end faces of the strip metal plates at the butting position. Furthermore, as the width of the strip metal plate increases, the influence of even a slight tilt of the end faces on the butting quality increases, which also makes it difficult to accurately butt both end faces across the entire width.

[0007] Therefore, when trying to reliably butt the end faces together using a conventional butting device, it is necessary to set the motor to feed the metal strips in the butting direction a little more to butt the end faces together firmly, but since the metal strips are configured to be clamped in the thickness direction and move together with the slide plate in the butting direction, if the end faces are butted together too strongly, the reaction force generated during butting will cause the metal strips to shift longitudinally from the pressure plate and slide plate, making it impossible to butt them together accurately.

[0008] In view of the above circumstances, the present invention has as its technical problem to be solved how to join the end faces of belt-shaped metal plates in a state where they are accurately butted together at the butting position. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The above-mentioned problems are solved by an apparatus for butt-joining metal strips according to the present invention. That is, this butt-joining apparatus is an apparatus for joining one longitudinal end surface of a first metal strip and the other longitudinal end surface of a second metal strip at a predetermined butt joint position, and includes a first holding unit capable of moving toward the butt joint position while holding the first metal strip, a second holding unit capable of moving toward the butt joint position while holding the second metal strip, a first drive unit capable of applying a drive force to the first holding unit for moving the first metal strip toward the butt joint position, and a second drive unit capable of applying a drive force to the second holding unit for moving the second metal strip toward the butt joint position, wherein the second drive unit is formed by a cylinder whose pushing direction is the butt joint direction of the second metal strip, and the thrust of the cylinder in the pushing direction is set to be smaller than the drive force in the butt joint direction of the first metal strip that is applied to the first holding unit by the first drive unit.

[0010] As described above, the butt joining device according to the present invention can make the butt force of the second metal strip smaller than the butt force of the first metal strip. As a result, when the end faces of the two metal strips are butted together, the movement of the second metal strip, driven by the cylinder, is restricted by the end face of the first metal strip. Furthermore, by setting the thrust of the cylinder relatively small, the first metal strip is prevented from being pushed backward during butt joining, allowing the end face of the first metal strip to function as a reference surface for the butt joining position. As described above, the butt joining device according to the present invention can accurately butt the end faces of the two metal strips at a predetermined butt position. Therefore, joining, such as welding, can be performed with high precision, thereby enabling the production of a high-quality joint.

[0011] In addition, in the butt joining device of the present invention, the first drive unit may be configured so that one longitudinal end face of the first strip metal plate moves to the butt position, and the extrusion side stroke end position of the cylinder may be set so that the other longitudinal end face of the second strip metal plate moves to a position beyond the butt position.

[0012] By setting the extrusion-side stroke end position of the cylinder in this manner, the end face of the second metal strip can be reliably pressed against the end face of the first metal strip across its entire width. This allows the end faces to be butted together more accurately. Of course, because the cylinder thrust is set relatively small, there is no need to worry about the end face of the first metal strip being pushed out of position by the butting, ensuring high butting position accuracy.

[0013] Alternatively, in the butt joining device according to the present invention, the first drive section may be constituted by a cylinder whose extrusion direction is the butt joining direction of the first metal strip.

[0014] By configuring the first drive unit for moving the first metal strip with a cylinder, even when the conveying direction of the metal strip is reversed and the butt joining device of the present invention is used, the end faces of the two metal strips can be accurately butted together in the same manner as in the original conveying direction. Furthermore, in a conventional configuration in which a rotational drive force generated by a motor is converted into linear motion by a rack-and-pinion mechanism and transmitted to a slide plate, backlash occurs at the pinion's tooth engagement portion. If it is difficult to set the feed rate taking backlash into account, it is difficult to accurately position the end face of the first metal strip, which serves as the reference surface for the butt joining position. In contrast, by configuring the first drive unit with a cylinder, the end face of the first metal strip can be easily and accurately stopped at the butt joining position by, for example, aligning the stroke end position of the extrusion side with the butt joining position.

[0015] Furthermore, when the first driving unit is constituted by a cylinder and the first holding unit is configured to be able to clamp one or both widthwise sides of the first strip metal plate in the plate thickness direction, the butt joining device of the present invention may further be provided with a position adjustment mechanism capable of adjusting the retraction side stroke end position of the cylinder constituting the first driving unit.

[0016] In this way, adjusting the retraction-side stroke end position of the cylinder of the first drive unit allows the position of the end face of the strip metal sheet to be adjusted. That is, the cylinder piston typically reciprocates between a retraction-side stroke end position and a push-side stroke end position and stops at each stroke end position. In this case, the amount of movement of the cylinder piston in the butt direction is equal to the distance from the retraction-side stroke end position to the push-side stroke end position. Therefore, assuming that the first retaining unit clamps the first strip metal sheet with the cylinder piston stopped at the retraction-side stroke end position, the amount of movement of the first strip metal sheet is equal to the amount of movement of the cylinder piston, i.e., the distance from the retraction-side stroke end position of the cylinder to the push-side stroke end position. Therefore, adjusting the retraction-side stroke end position of the cylinder allows the amount of movement of the first strip metal sheet in the butt direction from the clamping position to be adjusted, thereby enabling the end face of the first strip metal sheet to be more accurately stopped at the butt position.

[0017] Considering the above-described effects, it may seem possible to adjust the amount of movement of the first metal strip in the butt direction by adjusting the push-side stroke end position of the cylinder. However, this requires the placement of an element within the limited space inside the butt joining device that can move along the butt direction and mechanically restrict the movement of the cylinder portion that moves integrally with the piston toward the push side. For these reasons, adjusting the push-side stroke end position of the cylinder is difficult. Furthermore, the conditions for placement are limited, which may result in a complex structure and increased costs. In contrast, adjusting the retraction-side stroke end position of the cylinder allows the aforementioned movement restriction element and its movement mechanism to be located far away from the butt position of the butt joining device, i.e., outside the butt joining device, thereby reducing space constraints and allowing for relatively flexible configuration of the position adjustment mechanism. This allows for a simple structure of the position adjustment mechanism while avoiding increased costs.

[0018] In addition, in the butt joining device of the present invention, the position adjustment mechanism is composed of a female threaded portion provided on the fixed side of the butt joining device and a male threaded portion that screws into the female threaded portion, and the rotational axis direction of the male threaded portion is set to be equal to the butt joining direction of the first strip metal plate, and the abutment position between the first retaining portion or a portion that moves integrally with the first retaining portion and the male threaded portion can be changed by movement in a direction along the butt joining direction of the first strip metal plate accompanying the axial rotation of the male threaded portion.

[0019] With this configuration, the position of the first holding portion, i.e., the position of the cylinder connected to the first holding portion (retraction-side stroke end position), can be adjusted simply by axial rotation of the male threaded portion. Furthermore, if the male threaded portion is rotated axially, for example, a female threaded portion can be provided on the casing or outer frame (frame) of the butt welding device, and the male threaded portion can be threadedly attached to the female threaded portion, allowing an operator to easily grasp the head of the male threaded portion and perform axial rotation. Furthermore, since the male threaded portion allows for easy fine adjustment of the axial movement amount by the amount of axial rotation, an operator can easily and accurately control the retraction-side stroke end position of the cylinder and, ultimately, the position of one longitudinal end face of the first metal strip plate.

[0020] In addition, in the butt joining device of the present invention, the second holding portion has a pair of clamp portions that can clamp both sides of the width direction of the strip metal plate in the plate thickness direction, and a slide mechanism that can slide the pair of clamp portions to move closer to or farther apart in the width direction, and the slide mechanism may be connected to the piston of a cylinder that constitutes the second drive portion.

[0021] With this configuration, the second metal strip can be clamped and butted with the widthwise center of the second metal strip aligned with the widthwise center of the pair of clamping parts, making it possible to clamp and butt the second metal strip in a stable position regardless of the width dimension of the second metal strip.

[0022] Furthermore, when the second holding portion has a slide mechanism of the above configuration, in the butt joining device of the present invention, the second drive portion may have a pair of cylinders to which pistons are connected on both sides of the width direction of the slide mechanism, and the pair of cylinders may be configured to be able to drive synchronously.

[0023] In this way, by providing a pair of cylinders and driving them synchronously, the inclination of the slide mechanism can be minimized and it can be moved in the butting direction compared to when only one cylinder is used to move the slide mechanism. Therefore, even if the width of a strip metal plate (second strip metal plate) is large, it is possible to butt the end face of the second strip metal plate while keeping it as parallel as possible to the end face of the other strip metal plate.

[0024] Furthermore, since the butt joining device described above is capable of joining the end faces of strip metal plates while accurately butting them together at the butt position, it can be suitably provided as a butt joining device that further includes, for example, a cutting device for cutting one longitudinal end edge of the first strip metal plate and the other longitudinal end edge of the second strip metal plate along the width direction to obtain one longitudinal end face and the other longitudinal end face to be butted together, and a welding torch for welding the butt joint between the one longitudinal end face and the other longitudinal end face that are butted together at the butt position.

[0025] The above-mentioned problem is also solved by a method for butt-joining metal strips according to the present invention. That is, this butt-joining method is a method for joining one longitudinal end face of a first metal strip and another longitudinal end face of a second metal strip in a butted state at a predetermined butt position, the method comprising holding the first metal strip with a first holding unit and moving the first holding unit in the butt direction of the first metal strip with a first driving unit, and holding the second metal strip with a second holding unit and moving the second holding unit in the butt direction of the second metal strip with a second driving unit, characterized in that the second driving unit is constituted by a cylinder whose pushing direction is the butt direction of the second metal strip, and the first holding unit and the second holding unit are moved in a state in which the thrust of the cylinder in the pushing direction is set smaller than the driving force applied to the first holding unit by the first driving unit in the butt direction of the first metal strip.

[0026] As described above, according to the butt joining method of the present invention, the butt force of the second metal strip can be made smaller than the butt force of the first metal strip. As a result, when the end faces of the two metal strips are butted together, the movement of the second metal strip, driven by the cylinder, is restricted by the end face of the first metal strip. Furthermore, by setting the thrust of the cylinder relatively small, the first metal strip is prevented from being pushed backward during butt joining, allowing the end face of the first metal strip to function as a reference surface for the butt joining position. As described above, according to the butt joining method of the present invention, the end faces of the two metal strips can be accurately butted together at a predetermined butt position, just like the butt joining device of the present invention. Therefore, joining such as welding can be performed with high precision, thereby enabling the production of a high-quality joint.

[0027] In addition, in the butt joining method of the present invention, one longitudinal end face of the first strip metal plate may be moved to a predetermined butt position by the first drive unit, and then the second strip metal plate may be moved in the butt direction by the cylinder of the second drive unit with the extrusion side stroke end position set by the cylinder of the second drive unit so that the other longitudinal end face of the second strip metal plate moves to a position beyond the predetermined butt position.

[0028] By moving the second metal strip with the extrusion-side stroke end position of the cylinder set in this manner, the end face of the second metal strip can be reliably pressed against the end face of the first metal strip across its entire width. In particular, by butting the end face of the second metal strip with the end face of the first metal strip, which is moved to the butting position in advance as in this configuration, the end face of the second metal strip can be butted against the end face of the first metal strip stopped at the butting position. This minimizes the possibility of the end face of the first metal strip being pushed and moved during butting, ensuring that the end faces of both metal strips are butted at the butting position. [Effects of the Invention]

[0029] As described above, the butt joining device and butt joining method for metal strips according to the present invention makes it possible to join the end faces of the metal strips in a state where they are accurately butted together at the butt joining position. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0030] [Figure 1] 1 is a plan view of a butt joining device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of the butt joining apparatus shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 3] 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of the butt joining apparatus shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 4] 2 is a view of the butt joining device shown in FIG. 1 taken along an arrow C. [Figure 5] 5 is a view of a butt joining device showing a modified example of the cutting device shown in FIG. 4, taken along arrow C. FIG. [Figure 6]FIG. 2 is a DD cross-sectional view of the butt joining device shown in FIG. [Figure 7] 2 is an enlarged view of a portion E of the butt joining device shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 8] 1. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion E of the butt joining device shown in FIG. 1, showing a state in which the stroke end position on the retraction side of the cylinder of the first driving unit is changed by the position adjustment mechanism. [Figure 9] 2A and 2B are cross-sectional views taken along the line AA for explaining an example of the operating mode of the cutting device shown in FIG. 1, showing (a) a state in which a strip metal plate is placed and (b) a state in which the strip metal plate is clamped. [Figure 10] 2A and 2B are cross-sectional views taken along the line AA for explaining an example of the operating mode of the cutting device shown in FIG. 1, showing (a) a state in which cutting of the strip metal plate has been completed, and (b) a state in which cutting chips generated by cutting are being discharged from the support table. [Figure 11] 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA for explaining an example of an operation mode of the butting device shown in FIG. 1, showing a state in which the second pressing member has been moved to a position facing the first pressing member. FIG. [Figure 12] 12 is a view of the butt joining device taken along arrow C in FIG. 11, illustrating the manner in which the second pressing member moves. FIG. [Figure 13] 2A and 2B are cross-sectional views taken along the line AA for explaining an example of the operating mode of the butting device shown in FIG. 1, showing (a) a state in which the leading strip metal plate has been moved to the butting position by the first driving unit, and (b) a state in which, after the leading strip metal plate has been moved, the trailing strip metal plate has been moved in the butting direction by the second driving unit. [Figure 14] 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA showing a state in which the welding torch has been moved to a welding position with the front and rear strip-shaped metal plates butted against each other. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0031] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A butt joining apparatus and a butt joining method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0032] Fig. 1 shows a plan view of a butt joining apparatus 1 according to this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, this butt joining apparatus 1 cuts, along the width direction, a rear end edge portion W1a of a leading strip metal sheet W1 flowing on various lines such as a press line, and a front end edge portion W2a of a trailing strip metal sheet W2 flowing on the line following the leading strip metal sheet W1, butts together a rear end surface W1b of the leading strip metal sheet W1 and a front end surface W2b of the trailing strip metal sheet W2 obtained by cutting at a predetermined butt joining position P1, and joins the butt joints by welding.

[0033] In this case, the leading metal strip W1 corresponds to the first metal strip according to the present invention, and the trailing metal strip W2 corresponds to the second metal strip according to the present invention. The rear edge W1a and rear end face W1b of the leading metal strip W1 correspond to one longitudinal edge and one longitudinal end face according to the present invention, respectively, and the front edge W2a and front end face W2b of the trailing metal strip W2 correspond to the other longitudinal edge and other longitudinal end face according to the present invention, respectively.

[0034] Here, the strip-shaped metal plates W1 and W2 to be cut and butt-welded can be any metal plate that is generally strip-shaped and can be welded, such as an electromagnetic steel plate, a stainless steel plate, or a copper plate.

[0035] The butt joining device 1 shown in Fig. 1 mainly includes a cutting device 3, a butt joining device 4, and a welding device 5. The following description will focus on the configuration of the butt joining device 4. Note that the following description will be given assuming that the butt joining direction is the X direction, the direction perpendicular to the butt joining direction (the direction along the butt joint portion) is the Y direction, and the thickness direction along which the strip-shaped metal plates W1 and W2 are cut is the Z direction.

[0036] The cutting device 3 is configured to be able to cut the rear end edge W1a of the preceding strip metal sheet W1 and the front end edge W2a of the following strip metal sheet W2 along the width direction (Y direction). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the cutting device 3 includes a lower blade 6 and an upper blade 7, and is configured to be able to cut the strip metal sheets W1, W2 by applying a shear force to the strip metal sheets W1, W2 through cooperation as the lower blade 6 and the upper blade 7 approach each other. In this embodiment, the lower blade 6 is a fixed blade and is fixed to a first support portion 8 that belongs to the fixed side of the butt joining device 1. In this embodiment, the pair of lower blades 6 are fixed to the first support portion 8 with a predetermined interval in the X direction, and the upper surfaces of the lower blades 6 are positioned at the same height and parallel to the support surfaces of the strip metal sheets W1, W2 (the upper surfaces of support plates 32 shown in FIG. 3, which will be described later).

[0037] In this embodiment, the upper blade 7 is a movable blade that can be raised and lowered between the pair of lower blades 6, 6 in the vertical direction and is attached to a movable head 9 that has an insertion space 9a formed therein into which the rear end edge W1a of the leading strip metal sheet W1 and the front end edge W2a of the trailing strip metal sheet W2 can be inserted. Also, in this embodiment, the pair of upper blades 7 are attached to the movable head 9 at a predetermined interval, and as the movable head 9 descends, they cooperate with the corresponding lower blades 6 to cut the edge portions W1a, W2a of the strip metal sheets W1, W2 placed on the lower blades 6 along the width direction.

[0038] The cutting device 3 further includes a support base 10 in addition to the above-described lower blade 6 and upper blade 7. This support base 10 has a support surface 10a parallel to the upper surface of the lower blade 6, and is configured so that during a cutting operation, more precisely while a shear force is acting on the strip metal sheets W1, W2 placed on the lower blade 6 by the cooperation of the lower blade 6 and the upper blade 7, the support surface 10a can support the portions of the strip metal sheets W1, W2 that protrude from the lower blade 6 toward the insertion space 9a (here, the respective edge portions W1a, W2a).

[0039] In this case, the support base 10 is always positioned below the upper blade 7 (movable head 9) and is configured to be able to move up and down. Furthermore, hydraulic actuators 12 such as hydraulic cylinders are connected to both longitudinal ends of the upper blade 7 (movable head 9) via guide parts 11, and the pair of hydraulic actuators 12 are driven synchronously to enable the movable head 9 and the pair of upper blades 7 to move up and down (see Figure 4).

[0040] Meanwhile, pneumatic actuators 13 such as air cylinders are connected to both longitudinal ends of the support table 10, and by synchronously driving these pair of pneumatic actuators 13, the support table 10 (support surface 10a) can be raised and lowered while maintaining a parallel posture (see FIG. 4). The above-mentioned pneumatic actuator 13 is attached to a second support part 14 located below the first support part 8 (see FIG. 2). Like the first support part 8, this second support part 14 also belongs to the fixed side of the butt joining apparatus 1, and is fixed to the floor surface (not shown) on which the butt joining apparatus 1 is installed.

[0041] 4, when the upper blade 7 is arranged at a predetermined angle (for example, 1 to 5°) with respect to the horizontal direction (a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the upper blade 7 is raised and lowered), a predetermined amount of play may be provided in the connecting portion 13a between the support base 10 and the pneumatic actuator 13 (see FIG. 5). For example, when the support base 10 and the pneumatic actuator 13 are connected by fastening with a bolt, one of the fastening holes through which the bolt passes may be formed slightly larger so that the support base 10 can tilt slightly with respect to the horizontal direction (also see FIG. 5).

[0042] 2 and 3, in this embodiment, the support surface 10a forming the upper surface of the support base 10 is composed of a movable plate 15. This movable plate 15 has a rotation axis extending in the Y direction, for example, on one side in the left-right direction (X direction) of the support base 10, and is configured to be rotatable around this rotation axis. Furthermore, this movable plate 15 is configured to be able to be pushed upward by an air cylinder 16 built into the support base 10 (see FIG. 3). As a result, when edge portions W1a, W2a remain on the support surface 10a of the support base 10 as cutting chips, the movable plate 15 can be tilted relative to the support base 10 by driving the air cylinder 16 (see FIG. 10(b) described later).

[0043] In this embodiment, the movable head 9 further includes a first pressing member 18 housed in a recess 17 provided in the upper part of the movable head 9 (see FIG. 2). The first pressing member 18 is supported by the movable head 9 via an elastic member 19 provided in the bottom part of the recess 17, and the elastic member 19 urges the first pressing member 18 upward.

[0044] The welding device 5 has a welding torch 20 that moves back and forth in the Y direction along the butt joint portion (butt joint position P1) of the strip-shaped metal plates W1, W2 and can butt-weld the butt joint portions of both strip-shaped metal plates W1, W2. Any welding torch 20 can be used here, and for example, a TIG welding torch equipped with a shield nozzle and a constriction nozzle can be applied.

[0045] In this embodiment, the welding device 5 further includes a pair of second press members 21, 21 capable of pressing downward on both the left and right sides of the butt joint of the pair of belt-shaped metal sheets W1, W2 to be welded. The pair of second press members 21, 21 are attached to the lower part of a slider 22 that is reciprocable along the Y direction, thereby enabling downward pressing of the entire width of the belt-shaped metal sheets W1, W2 in a state where the end faces W1b, W2b are butted against each other at the butt joint position P1 (see FIGS. 12 and 14, which will be described later). In this illustrated example, the Z-direction position of the second press members 21, 21 is set so that when the second press members 21, 21 move to a position facing the first press member 18, a small gap is created between the second press members 21 and the first press member 18 in the Z direction (see FIG. 11, which will also be described later). In this case, in order to more reliably clamp each strip-shaped metal plate W1, W2 between the first and second pressing members 18, 21, it is preferable to set the gap to a size less than the thickness dimension of each strip-shaped metal plate W1, W2 (see Figure 11).

[0046] In this case, the welding torch 20 may be configured to be movable integrally with the slider 22, or may be configured to be reciprocally movable along the Y direction separately and independently of the slider 22. In this embodiment, the welding torch 20 is configured to be reciprocally movable along the Y direction separately and independently of the slider 22.

[0047] The butting device 4 enables the rear end surface W1b of the preceding strip metal plate W1 to be butted against the front end surface W2b of the following strip metal plate W2 at a predetermined butt position P1, and is equipped with a first holding unit 23, a second holding unit 24, a first driving unit 25, and a second driving unit 26.

[0048] The first holding portion 23 is configured to be movable toward the butting position P1 while holding the leading metal strip W1. In this embodiment, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the first holding portion 23 has a pair of clamp portions 27, 27 that can clamp both widthwise sides of the leading metal strip W1 in the plate thickness direction, and a slide mechanism 28 that can slide the pair of clamp portions 27, 27 so as to move closer to or farther apart in the width direction.

[0049] Here, each clamping portion 27 is formed of a cylinder 29, as shown in FIG. 2, for example. In this case, a piston 30 of the cylinder 29 is arranged to face upward. A clamping plate 31 is attached to the tip of the piston 30, and a support plate 32 capable of supporting the preceding strip metal sheet W1 from below is disposed between the pair of clamping portions 27, 27 (intermediate position in the Y direction) and at a predetermined height position (position in the Z direction) (see FIGS. 1 and 2). In this case, the lower surface of the clamping plate 31 and the upper surface of the support plate 32 can each function as a clamping surface for the preceding strip metal sheet W1 (see FIG. 2 and FIG. 6, described later).

[0050] The slide mechanism 28 is composed of, for example, a slide base 33 extending in the Y direction, and a feed screw mechanism 34 that allows a pair of clamps 27, serving as a pair of slide units, to slide in the Y direction relative to the slide base 33 (see FIG. 1). In this case, each clamp 27 is provided with an internal thread 36 that threadably engages with a feed screw 35 of the feed screw mechanism 34 (see FIG. 2), and a motor 37 is connected to one longitudinal end of the feed screw 35 (see FIG. 1). In addition, the threads of the portion of the feed screw 35 that threadably engages with the internal thread 36 of one clamp 27 are opposite in direction to those of the portion that threadably engages with the internal thread 36 of the other clamp 27 (see FIG. 1). As a result, by driving the motor 37 to rotate in a predetermined direction, the pair of clamps 27, 27 can slide toward or away from each other (see FIGS. 2 and 6). In this embodiment, a guide bar 38 parallel to the feed screw 35 passes through each clamp portion 27 (see FIGS. 1 and 2), which makes it possible to guide the sliding movement of each clamp portion 27 in the Y direction.

[0051] The slide base 33 is supported by a third support part 39 that belongs to the fixed side of the butt joining device 1. The third support part 39 is provided with a pair of slide rails 40, 40 that both extend in the X direction, and the slide base 33 is configured to be slidable in the X direction along these slide rails 40, 40 (see FIGS. 1 and 2).

[0052] The first driving unit 25 is capable of applying a driving force to the first holding unit 23 to move the preceding strip-shaped metal sheet W1 held by the first holding unit 23 in the butt direction, and in this embodiment is composed of a cylinder 41 (see FIG. 3). In this case, the cylinder body of the cylinder 41 is fixed to a fourth support unit 42 belonging to the fixed side of the butt joining apparatus 1, and the piston 43 of the cylinder 41 is connected to the slide base 33 of the slide mechanism 28 (see FIGS. 1 and 3). This allows the pair of clamp units 27, 27 to slide synchronously along the X direction. In this illustrated example, the fourth support unit 42 forms part of a casing that forms the outer shell of the butt joining apparatus 1.

[0053] In this embodiment, the first driving portion 25 is made up of a pair of cylinders 41, 41, and pistons 43 of each cylinder 41 are connected to both sides of the slide base 33 in the width direction (see FIG. 1).

[0054] When the pair of cylinders 41, 41 are air cylinders, a pressure regulating valve (not shown) is provided in the air supply passage connected to each cylinder 41. Of course, a flow rate regulating valve may also be provided to adjust the speed of the cylinder 41. Similarly, a pressure regulating valve and further a flow rate regulating valve may also be provided for a cylinder 47 of the second drive unit 26, which will be described later.

[0055] In this embodiment, the butting device 4 further includes a position adjustment mechanism 44 that can adjust the retraction-side stroke end position of the cylinder 41 that constitutes the first drive part 25 (see FIG. 1).

[0056] 7, the position adjustment mechanism 44 is configured with a female threaded portion 45 provided on the fixed side of the butt joining device 1 (here, the fourth support portion 42 forming the casing) and a male threaded portion 46 that screws into the female threaded portion 45. Here, the rotational axis direction of the male threaded portion 46 is set to be equal to the butt joining direction (X direction) of the preceding strip-shaped metal plate W1. In addition, the tip of the male threaded portion 46 is disposed in a position where it can abut against the slide base 33, and by rotating the male threaded portion 46 around its axis, the male threaded portion 46 can be moved along the X direction and its tip can abut against the slide base 33 within the stroke range of the male threaded portion 45. As described above, when the movement of the slide base 33 toward the retraction side is restricted by the male thread portion 46 due to the retraction operation of the cylinder 41 (as shown in FIG. 8), the retraction side end stroke position of the cylinder 41, and therefore the retraction side end stroke position of the clamp portion 27 that moves integrally with the slide base 33 along the X direction, is adjusted by the tip position of the male thread portion 46.

[0057] The second holding portion 24 is configured to be movable toward the abutment position P1 while holding the trailing strip metal sheet W2. In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 1, the second holding portion 24 has a pair of clamp portions 27, 27 that can clamp both sides of the width direction of the trailing strip metal sheet W2 in the plate thickness direction, and a slide mechanism 28 that can slide the pair of clamp portions 27, 27 so as to move closer to or farther away from each other in the width direction.

[0058] The pair of clamps 27, 27 and the slide mechanism 28 in the second holding portion 24 may have the same configuration as or different from the pair of clamps 27, 27 and the slide mechanism 28 in the first holding portion 23. In this embodiment, as shown in Figures 1 to 3, the first holding portion 23 and the second holding portion 24 are configured symmetrically in the X direction. That is, the pair of clamps 27, 27 and the slide mechanism 28 in the second holding portion 24 are the same as those in the first holding portion 23 except for their arrangement in the X direction and the manner of movement along the X direction, and therefore detailed description of each clamp 27 and slide mechanism 28 will be omitted.

[0059] The second driving unit 26 is configured by a cylinder 47 and is capable of applying a driving force to the second holding unit 24 for moving the trailing strip-shaped metal sheet W2 held by the second holding unit 24 in the butt direction (see FIG. 3). In this case, the cylinder body of the cylinder 47 is fixed to a fourth support unit 42 belonging to the fixed side of the butt joining apparatus 1, and a piston 48 of the cylinder 47 is connected to a slide base 33 of the slide mechanism 28 (see FIGS. 1 and 3). This allows the pair of clamp units 27, 27 to slide synchronously along the X direction. In the illustrated example, the fourth support unit 42 forms part of a casing that forms the outer shell of the butt joining apparatus 1.

[0060] In this embodiment, the second driving portion 26 is made up of a pair of cylinders 47, 47, and pistons 48 of each cylinder 47 are connected to both sides of the slide base 33 in the width direction (see FIG. 1).

[0061] When both of the pair of cylinders 47, 47 are air cylinders, a pressure regulating valve (not shown) is provided in the air supply passage connected to each cylinder 47. Of course, a flow rate regulating valve may also be provided to adjust the speed of the cylinder 47.

[0062] Here, the thrust in the extrusion direction of the cylinder 47 of the second driving unit 26 is set to be smaller than the driving force in the butting direction of the preceding strip metal sheet W1 (in this embodiment, the thrust in the extrusion direction of the cylinder 41) applied to the first holding unit 23 by the first driving unit 25. As an example, when the thrust in the extrusion direction of the cylinder 41 of the first driving unit 25 is F1 and the thrust in the extrusion direction of the cylinder 47 of the second driving unit 26 is F2, the thrusts F1 and F2 of the cylinders 41 and 47 are set to predetermined magnitudes such that the thrust F2 is 30% or more and less than 80% of the thrust F1.

[0063] The retraction-side and push-out-side stroke end positions of the cylinder 41 are set so that the rear end surface W1b (see FIG. 11), which is the cut surface of the preceding strip-shaped metal plate W1, moves to the butting position P1.

[0064] The retraction-side and push-out-side stroke end positions of the cylinder 47 are set so that the front end surface W2b (see FIG. 11), which is the cutting surface of the trailing strip metal sheet W2, moves at least to the butt position P1. In this embodiment, the push-out-side stroke end position (stroke amount) of the cylinder 47 is set so that the front end surface W2b of the trailing strip metal sheet W2 moves to a position beyond the butt position P1.

[0065] Of course, in this case, the retraction end stroke position and therefore the stroke amount of the cylinder 47 may be adjusted by the position adjustment mechanism 44 provided on the cylinder 47 side.

[0066] Next, an example of a butt joining method using the butt joining device 1 having the above configuration will be described.

[0067] The butt joining method according to this embodiment includes a cutting step S1, a butt joining step S2, and a welding step S3. Each of the steps S1 to S3 will be described below in chronological order. (S1) Cutting process 9(a), in this process, a leading strip metal sheet W1 and a trailing strip metal sheet W2 are placed on support plates 32 located on the left and right of the cutting device 3, respectively, and the movable head 9 is raised to a predetermined height position, and the portion of the leading strip metal sheet W1 that protrudes from one of the lower blades 6 toward the trailing side (rear end edge W1a) is inserted into the insertion space 9a of the movable head 9. Similarly, the portion of the trailing strip metal sheet W2 that protrudes from the other lower blade 6 toward the leading side (front end edge W2a) is inserted into the insertion space 9a of the movable head 9.

[0068] Thereafter, the motor 37 is driven to move the pair of clamps 27, 27 toward each other to position the leading metal strip W1 in the width direction (see FIG. 1), and the cylinders 29 of each clamp 27 are driven to clamp both widthwise sides of the leading metal strip W1 (see FIG. 9(b)). Similarly, the pair of clamps 27, 27 are moved toward each other to position the trailing metal strip W1 in the width direction, and the cylinders 29 of each clamp 27 are driven to clamp both widthwise sides of the trailing metal strip W2 (FIG. 9(b)). In this case, each clamp 27 is in a position corresponding to the retraction-side end stroke position of the cylinder 41 (47) (FIG. 9(b)).

[0069] At this time, the support base 10 is raised so that the support surface 10a is at the same height as the upper surface of the lower blade 6. As a result, the edge portions W1a, W2a of the front and rear strip-shaped metal plates W1, W2 are both supported in a horizontal position by the support surface 10a of the support base 10.

[0070] Therefore, by lowering the movable head 9 from this state and lowering the pair of upper blades 7 attached to the movable head 9, a shear force is applied to the corresponding metal strips W1, W2 by the cooperation of the lower blades 6 and upper blades 7, and each metal strip W1, W2 is cut along the width direction between the portion supported by the lower blades 6 and the portion supported by the support base 10 (see FIG. 10(a)). During this time, the support base 10 is supported from below by the pneumatic actuator 13, and continues to descend in synchronization with the movable head 9 in relation to the downward force of the movable head 9 exerted by the hydraulic actuator 12. Therefore, during the cutting operation (while the shear force is acting on the metal strips W1, W2), the edge portions W1a, W2a of each metal strip W1, W2 can be maintained horizontal in the X direction.

[0071] Furthermore, when the upper blade 7 is lowered while being tilted relative to the horizontal, as in this embodiment, a shear force acts sequentially from one end to the other end in the width direction of each of the metal strips W1 and W2. As shown in Fig. 5, by providing a predetermined play at the connection 13a between the support base 10 and the pneumatic actuator 13, when the upper blade 7 in the tilted position descends and applies a shear force to each of the metal strips W1 and W2 in cooperation with the lower blade 6, the support base 10 tilts in the same direction as the upper blade 7 and descends in synchronization with the upper blade 7 as the upper blade 7 is pushed downward (see Fig. 5). This allows the upper blade 7 in the tilted position to cut each of the metal strips W1 and W2 from one end to the other end in the width direction while the support base 10 supports each of the metal strips W1 and W2 from below.

[0072] Furthermore, when the upper surface (support surface 10a) of the support table 10 is configured with the movable plate 15 as in this embodiment, after the edge portions W1a, W2a of each of the strip-shaped metal plates W1, W2 are cut as described above, the air cylinder 16 built into the support table 10 is driven to push up the movable plate 15. This causes the movable plate 15 to tilt around the connection portion with the support table 10 as a fulcrum (see FIG. 10(b)). Therefore, if cutting chips (edge ​​portions W1a, W2a) generated during cutting remain on the support table 10, the tilting of the movable plate 15 allows the cutting chips to slide off the support surface 10a and be discharged. (S2) Matching process After the cutting of each strip metal plate W1, W2 is completed as described above, the rear end face W1b formed by cutting on the preceding strip metal plate W1 and the front end face W2b formed by cutting on the following strip metal plate W2 are butted at a predetermined butt position P1.

[0073] As shown in Figure 11, at the start of the butting step S2 (i.e., at the end of the cutting step S1), the rear end surface W1b of the preceding strip metal sheet W1 and the front end surface W2b of the following strip metal sheet W2 are both in the shearing position between the left and right lower blades 6 and upper blade 7. In other words, the rear end surface W1b and the front end surface W2b are both in the same position in the X direction as the side end surfaces of the left and right lower blades 6 (see Figure 11). Furthermore, each pair of clamping portions 27 clamping each strip metal sheet W1, W2 is in a position corresponding to the retraction-side stroke end position of the corresponding cylinder 41 (47).

[0074] In this step, first, from the state immediately after the completion of the above-described cutting step S1 (the state shown in FIG. 10(b)), the slider 22 is driven to slide the pair of second presser members 21, 21 attached to the lower part of the slider 22 in the Y direction (see FIG. 12), and the pair of second presser members 21, 21 are positioned in a position facing in the Z direction the first presser member 18 that protrudes slightly from the upper end surface of the movable head 9 (see FIG. 11). At this time, the pair of second presser members 21, 21 are positioned so that the pair of second presser members 21, 21 faces the first presser member 18 in the Z direction over the entire area of ​​the first presser member 18 in the Y direction. At this stage, a small gap is formed between the first presser member 18 and each second presser member 21, large enough to allow each of the strip-shaped metal plates W1, W2 to fit in (see FIG. 11).

[0075] From this state, the cylinder 41 (here, the pair of cylinders 41, 41) of the first drive unit 25 is driven to push the slide base 33 connected to the piston 43 of the cylinder 41 in the X direction, and the pair of clamping units 27, 27 on the slide base 33 are moved in the X direction toward the butting position P1. As a result, the leading strip-shaped metal sheet W1 clamped by the pair of clamping units 27, 27 starts to move toward the butting position P1.

[0076] Then, as the piston 43 of the cylinder 41 moves to the extrusion-side stroke end position and stops, the rear end surface W1b of the leading metal strip W1 enters the gap between the first pressing member 18 and the second pressing member 21, pushing and widening the gap, and moves to the butting position P1 and stops (see FIG. 13(a)). Here, the first pressing member 18 is elastically supported from below, so that the area near the rear end surface W1b is pressed upward by the leading metal strip W1. Therefore, the area near the rear end surface W1b of the leading metal strip W1 is sandwiched between the first and second pressing members 18, 21.

[0077] At this stage, the trailing strip-shaped metal plate W2 and the pair of clamp portions 27, 27 clamping it are still in a position corresponding to the retraction side stroke end position of the cylinder 47.

[0078] Next, the cylinder 47 (here, the pair of cylinders 47, 47) of the second drive unit 26 is driven to push the slide base 33 connected to the piston 48 of the cylinder 47 in the X direction, and the pair of clamp units 27, 27 on the slide base 33 are moved in the X direction toward the abutment position P1. As a result, the trailing strip-shaped metal sheet W2 clamped by the pair of clamp units 27, 27 starts to move toward the abutment position P1.

[0079] Then, when the piston 48 of the cylinder 47 moves to the extrusion-side end stroke position and stops, the rear end surface W1b of the trailing strip metal sheet W1 enters the gap between the first pressing member 18 and the second pressing member 21 and moves to the butting position P1 (see FIG. 13(b)). At this time, the thrust F2 in the extrusion direction of the cylinder 47 is set smaller than the thrust F1 in the extrusion direction of the cylinder 41. Therefore, when the front end surface W2b of the trailing strip metal sheet W2 is pressed against the rear end surface W1b of the preceding strip metal sheet W1 stopped at the butting position P1, the rear end surface W1b is not pushed backward and can maintain its position at the time of stopping (the butting position P1). Therefore, a state in which the rear end surface W1b and the front end surface W2b are in close contact with each other at the butting position P1 is obtained. (S3) Welding process After the end faces W1b, W2b are butted together at the butting position P1 as described above, the welding torch 20 is slid in the Y direction to a position where welding is possible (see FIG. 14). Then, the welding torch 20 is moved along the butt joint to be welded, and welding (e.g., TIG welding) is performed while spraying shielding gas onto the butt joint or its surrounding area in a predetermined manner. This allows the rear end face W1b and the front end face W2b to be joined over the entire area in the Y direction.

[0080] As described above, in the butt joining device 1 according to this embodiment, the thrust F2 in the extrusion direction of the cylinder 47 of the second drive unit 26, which is applied to the pair of clamp units 27 capable of clamping the trailing strip metal sheet W2, is set to be smaller than the thrust F1 in the extrusion direction of the cylinder 41 of the first drive unit 25, which is applied to the pair of clamp units 27 capable of clamping the leading strip metal sheet W1. This makes it possible to make the butt force of the trailing strip metal sheet W1 (the force with which the front end surface W2b presses against the rear end surface W1b) smaller than the butt force of the leading strip metal sheet W1 (the force with which the rear end surface W1b presses against the front end surface W2b). As a result, when the end surfaces W1b, W2b of the trailing strip metal sheet W2 are butted against each other, the movement of the trailing strip metal sheet W2 is restricted by the rear end surface W1b of the leading strip metal sheet W1. Furthermore, by setting the thrust F2 of the cylinder 47 constituting the trailing drive unit (second drive unit 26) relatively small, it is possible to prevent the leading strip metal sheet W1 from being pushed backward during butting, and the rear end surface W1b of the leading strip metal sheet W1 can function as a reference surface for the butt joint position P1. As described above, with the butt joining device 1 according to this embodiment, the end surfaces W1b, W2b of both strip metal sheets W1, W2 can be butted accurately at the predetermined butt joint position P1. Therefore, highly accurate welding can be performed, thereby making it possible to obtain a high-quality welded portion.

[0081] In this embodiment, the first drive unit 25 is configured so that the rear end surface W1b of the leading strip metal sheet W1 moves to the butting position P1, and the extrusion-side stroke end position of the cylinder 47 is set so that the front end surface W2b of the trailing strip metal sheet W2 moves to a position beyond the butting position P1. This ensures that the front end surface W2b of the trailing strip metal sheet W2 is pressed against the rear end surface W1b of the leading strip metal sheet W1 over its entire width. This makes it possible to more accurately butt the end surfaces W1b, W2b together.

[0082] The above describes one embodiment of the present invention, but the butt welding device and butt welding method according to the present invention are not limited to the above-described exemplary configuration, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the present invention.

[0083] For example, in the above embodiment, an example was given in which the rear end face W1b of the preceding strip metal plate W1 was moved to a predetermined butting position P1 and stopped, and then the front end face W2b of the trailing strip metal plate W2 was moved to the butting position P1, but the timing of movement of each strip metal plate W1, W2 to the butting position P1 is not limited to this.

[0084] For example, the cylinders 41 and 47 may be driven at the same timing and speed to start moving the leading strip metal sheet W1 and the trailing strip metal sheet W2. Alternatively, the cylinder 47 of the second driving unit 26 may be driven first to move the front end surface W2b of the trailing strip metal sheet W2 to the butt position P1, and then the cylinder 41 of the first driving unit 25 may move the rear end surface W1b of the leading strip metal sheet W1 toward the butt position P1. Because the thrust F1 of the cylinder 41 of the first driving unit 25 is set to be greater than the thrust F2 of the cylinder 47 of the second driving unit 26, even if the front end surface W2b of the trailing strip metal sheet W2 stops at a position beyond the butt position P1, the front end surface W2b can be pushed rearward, thereby bringing the end surfaces W1b, W2b into close contact with each other at the butt position P1.

[0085] In the above embodiment, the rear end surface W1b of the leading strip metal sheet W1 is moved to the abutment position P1 and stopped, and then the front end surface W2b of the trailing strip metal sheet W2 is moved toward the abutment position P1, but this is not limiting. For example, assuming that the rear end surface W1b of the leading strip metal sheet W1 is pushed slightly rearward by the abutment of the front end surface W2b of the trailing strip metal sheet W2, the position adjustment mechanism 44 may be used to move the rear end surface W1b to a position slightly beyond the abutment position P1 and stop it.

[0086] In the above description, both widthwise sides of each of the metal strips W1, W2 are clamped by a corresponding pair of clamping portions 27, 27 and moved in the X direction, but other configurations are of course possible. For example, although not shown in the drawings, a configuration may be adopted in which a clamping portion 27 is provided only on one widthwise side of each of the metal strips W1, W2, and the clamping portion 27 slides to the other widthwise side to clamp each of the metal strips W1, W2 in the widthwise direction between the clamping portion 27 and the metal strips W1, W2. [Explanation of symbols]

[0087] 1 Bonding equipment 3 Cutting device 4. Butting device 5. Welding equipment 6 Lower blade 7 Upper blade 8 First support part 9 Movable Head 9a Insertion space 10 Support stand 10a Support surface 11 Guide section 12 Hydraulic Actuator 13 Pneumatic Actuators 13a Connecting part 14 Second support part 15 Movable plate 16 Air cylinder 17 Recess 18 First holding member 19 Elastic member 20 Welding torch 21 Second holding member 22 Slider 23 First holding part 24 Second holding part 25 First drive unit 26 Second drive unit 27 Clamp section 28 Slide mechanism 29 cylinders 30 pistons 31 Clamp plate 32 Support plate 33 Slide Base 34 Lead screw mechanism 35 Lead screw 36 Female thread 37 Motor 38 Guide bar 39 Third support part 40 Slide rail 41 cylinders 42 Fourth support part 43 Piston 44 Position adjustment mechanism 45 Male thread 46 Female thread 47 cylinders 48 Piston P1 butting position W1 Leading metal strip W1a Rear edge W1b Rear end surface W2 Trailing metal strip W2a Front edge W2b Front end surface

Claims

1. An apparatus for joining one longitudinal end surface of a first belt-shaped metal plate and another longitudinal end surface of a second belt-shaped metal plate in a state where they are butted together at a predetermined butt position, a first holding portion that is movable toward the butt-joint position while holding the first metal strip, and a second holding portion that is movable toward the butt-joint position while holding the second metal strip; A butt joining device including a first drive unit capable of applying a drive force to the first holding unit to move the first metal strip toward the butt position, and a second drive unit capable of applying a drive force to the second holding unit to move the second metal strip toward the butt position, the second driving unit is composed of a cylinder whose extrusion direction is the butting direction of the second belt-shaped metal plate, A butt-joining device for strip metal plates, characterized in that the thrust force of the cylinder in the extrusion direction is set to be smaller than the driving force in the butt-joining direction of the first strip metal plate applied to the first holding portion by the first driving portion.

2. The first driving unit is configured to move one longitudinal end surface of the first belt-shaped metal plate to the butting position, 2. The butt joining device according to claim 1, wherein a push-side stroke end position of the cylinder is set so that the other longitudinal end face of the second strip metal plate moves to a position beyond the butt position.

3. 2. The butt joining device according to claim 1, wherein the first driving section is constituted by a cylinder whose pushing direction is the butt direction of the first strip-shaped metal plate.

4. the first holding portion is configured to be able to clamp one width direction side or both width direction sides of the first band-shaped metal plate in the plate thickness direction, The butt joining device according to claim 3, further comprising a position adjustment mechanism that can adjust a retraction side stroke end position of the cylinder that constitutes the first drive unit.

5. The position adjustment mechanism is composed of a female threaded portion provided on a fixed side of the butt joining device and a male threaded portion that screws into the female threaded portion, the rotation axis direction of the male thread portion is set to be equal to the butting direction of the first belt-shaped metal plate, and A butt joining device as described in claim 4, which is configured to be able to change the abutment position between the first retaining portion or a portion that moves integrally with the first retaining portion and the male thread portion by moving the first strip metal plate in a direction along the butt direction accompanying the axial rotation of the male thread portion.

6. the second holding portion has a pair of clamp portions capable of clamping both widthwise sides of the band-shaped metal plate in the plate thickness direction, and a slide mechanism capable of sliding the pair of clamp portions so as to move closer to or farther away from each other in the width direction, 2. The butt joining device according to claim 1, wherein the slide mechanism is connected to a piston of a cylinder that constitutes the second drive portion.

7. the second drive unit includes a pair of cylinders whose pistons are connected to both sides of the slide mechanism in the width direction, 7. The butt welding device according to claim 6, wherein the pair of cylinders are configured to be synchronously driven.

8. a cutting device for cutting one longitudinal end edge of the first metal strip and another longitudinal end surface of the second metal strip along the width direction, respectively, to obtain the one longitudinal end surface and the other longitudinal end surface; The butt joining device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a welding torch capable of welding the butted portion of the one longitudinal end face and the other longitudinal end face butted together at the butted position.

9. A method for joining one longitudinal end surface of a first metal strip and another longitudinal end surface of a second metal strip in a butted state at a predetermined butt position, a butt joining method for butting the first metal strip by holding the first metal strip with a first holding part and moving the first holding part in the butting direction of the first metal strip with a first driving part, and by holding the second metal strip with a second holding part and moving the second holding part in the butting direction of the second metal strip with a second driving part, the second driving unit is configured by a cylinder whose extrusion direction is the butting direction of the second belt-shaped metal plate, A method for butt-joining strip metal plates, characterized in that the thrust force of the cylinder in the extrusion direction is set to be smaller than the driving force in the butt-joining direction of the first strip metal plate applied to the first holding part by the first driving part, and then the first holding part and the second holding part are moved respectively to butt the end faces of both strip metal plates.

10. One longitudinal end surface of the first belt-shaped metal plate is moved to the predetermined butting position by the first driving unit, and thereafter, A butt joining method as described in claim 9, in which the second strip metal plate is moved in the butt direction by the cylinder of the second drive unit while setting the extrusion side stroke end position by the cylinder of the second drive unit so that the other longitudinal end face of the second strip metal plate moves to a position beyond the specified butt position.

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