Joining device

Abstract

To provide a joint device which has decreased stand-by time of mirror adjustment and which has improved tact time.SOLUTION: Galvano-scanners 4R, 4L have mirrors 41, 42 for reflecting laser light LL, and by adjusting the angle of the mirrors 41,42, the irradiation position of the laser light LL can be adjusted. A control part 5 adjusts the mirrors 41, 42 in such a manner that the laser light LL is radiated sequentially to a plurality of joint places, and joins the plurality of joint places sequentially. The control part 5 alternately performs: a first control step of adjusting the mirrors 41, 42 owned by the galvano-scanner 4L in such a manner that the laser light irradiation position of the galvano-scanner 4L becomes the next joint position while the galvano-scanner 4R is radiating the laser light LL to the joint place; and a second control step of adjusting the mirrors 41, 42 owned by the galvano-scanner 4R in such a manner that the laser light LL irradiation position of the galvano-scanner 4R becomes the next joint position while the galvano-scanner 4L is radiating the laser light LL to the joint place.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a joining device. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, as the above-mentioned joining device, for example, a pressure welding tool described in Patent Document 1 has been proposed. Patent Document 1 describes joining a terminal fitting of a connector and a core wire of an electric wire by using two pressure welding tools.

[0003] The applicant is also considering joining a terminal metal fitting and a core wire of an electric wire by laser welding using a galvanometer scanner instead of pressure welding. However, when a connector houses a plurality of terminal metal fittings, there are a plurality of joining points for one connector. For this reason, with one galvanometer scanner, it is necessary to adjust the mirror so that the laser light is irradiated to the plurality of joining points in sequence, and to join the plurality of joining points in sequence. In other words, there is a problem that a wait for mirror adjustment occurs every time the laser light is irradiated. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 8-37044 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a bonding apparatus which reduces the waiting time for mirror adjustment and improves the tact time. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the joining device according to the present invention comprises the following features [1] to [ 3 ] is one of its features. [1] A joining device including a galvano scanner having a mirror that reflects laser light, the galvano scanner being capable of adjusting an irradiating position of the laser light by adjusting an angle of the mirror, and a control unit that adjusts the mirror so that the laser light is irradiated to a plurality of joining points in sequence, thereby joining the plurality of joining points in sequence, A plurality of the galvano scanners are provided, The control unit is a first control step of adjusting the mirrors of the remaining galvano scanners so that, while a part of the plurality of galvano scanners irradiates the laser light to the joint, the irradiation positions of the laser light of the remaining galvano scanners excluding the part of the plurality of galvano scanners become the next joint; and a second control step of adjusting the mirror of the part so that the irradiation position of the laser light of the part is the next joint while the rest is irradiating the joint with the laser light. stomach , the plurality of joints are joints between a plurality of terminal fittings accommodated in a housing of the connector and core wires of electric wires respectively connected to the plurality of terminal fittings, a conveying unit that conveys the connectors in sequence, the number of which is equal to the number of the galvano scanners; The plurality of galvanometer scanners are connected to the connection points of the connectors, the connection points being different from each other. It is a joining device. [2] In the joining apparatus according to [1], further comprising an oscillator for generating the laser light; The control unit causes the laser light generated by the oscillator to be incident only on the part in the first control step, and causes the laser light generated by the oscillator to be incident only on the remainder in the second control step. It is a joining device. [ 3 ] [ 1 ] Or [2] In the joining apparatus described in A support unit that supports a plurality of the galvano scanners in an aligned manner is further provided, the transport unit transports the connectors in a direction intersecting an arrangement direction of the galvano scanners in a state in which the connectors are arranged parallel to the arrangement direction of the galvano scanners. It is a joining device.

[0007] According to the bonding device having the configuration of [1] above, the control unit alternately performs a first control process in which the control unit adjusts the mirrors of the remaining galvano scanners excluding the part of the plurality of galvano scanners while the part of the plurality of galvano scanners is irradiating a laser beam, and a second control process in which the control unit adjusts the mirrors of the part of the plurality of galvano scanners while the rest is irradiating a laser beam. This reduces the waiting time for mirror adjustment, and improves the takt time. Furthermore, according to the joining device having the configuration [1] above, when joining the core wires of electric wires to each of the multiple terminal fittings accommodated in the connector housing, the waiting time for mirror adjustment is reduced, and the tact time can be improved. Furthermore, according to the joining device having the configuration [1] above, the multiple galvanometer scanners sequentially join multiple joining points of separate connectors, so there is no need to adjust the mirror so that the irradiation position of the laser light moves between the separate connector joining points. This further reduces the waiting time for mirror adjustment and improves the takt time. According to the bonding device having the configuration [2] above, a plurality of galvano scanners can be bonded using one oscillator. the above[ 3 According to the joining device having the above configuration, a plurality of connectors arranged in the arrangement direction of the galvano scanners can be transported in sequence, and the transported connectors can be joined to the core wires. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a bonding apparatus in which the waiting time for mirror adjustment is reduced and the tact time is improved.

[0009] The present invention has been briefly described above. Furthermore, the details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading the following description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter, referred to as "embodiment") with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the joining device of the present embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an electrical configuration of the joining device shown in FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a connector to be joined using the joining device of FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of the control unit shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0012] For convenience of explanation, the following definitions are used: "front-rear direction", "up-down direction", "left-right direction", "front", "rear", "up", "down", "right" and "left" as shown in Figures 1 to 3. The front-rear direction, the up-down direction and the left-right direction are perpendicular to each other.

[0013] 3, the joining device 1 of the present embodiment is a device that joins a plurality of terminal fittings 21 housed in a connector 20 to a core wire 10a of an electric wire 10. It is assumed that the electric wire 10 is used in a wire harness of an automobile or the like.

[0014] First, before describing the joining device 1, the electric wire 10 will be described. The electric wire 10 is composed of a conductive core wire 10a and an insulating coating 10b that covers the periphery of the core wire 10a. The core wire 10a may be a single wire or a bundle of electric wires that is an assembly of multiple thin conductor wire cores.

[0015] Next, a description will be given of the connector 20 attached to the end of the electric wire 10. The connector 20 is composed of a plurality of terminal fittings 21 and a resin housing 22 that accommodates the terminal fittings 21. The terminal fittings 21 are integrally provided with a square cylindrical contact portion 21a extending in the front-rear direction, and a rectangular flat connecting portion 21b that extends rearward in the front-rear direction continuously from the rear end of the bottom wall (lower wall) of the contact portion 21a.

[0016] The contact portion 21a is a portion into which a mating terminal (male terminal, not shown) is inserted from the front side and connected. The core wire 10a exposed by stripping off the coating 10b at the end of the electric wire 20 is mounted and joined above the connection portion 21b. In this embodiment, five terminal fittings 21 are accommodated in the housing 22 of the connector 20, so that there are five joining points between the terminal fittings 21 and the core wire 10a of the electric wire 10.

[0017] The housing 22 has a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape extending in the front-rear and left-right directions. A plurality of terminal fittings 21 (five in this embodiment) extending in the front-rear direction are integrated into the housing 22 by insert molding so as to be aligned in a row at intervals in the left-right direction. As a result, the entire side surface of the contact portion 21a of each terminal fitting 21 is embedded in the contact portion holding portion 22a (extending in the left-right direction) that constitutes the front end portion of the housing 22. The connection portion 21b of each terminal fitting 21 is embedded in the connection portion holding portion 22b that constitutes the area of ​​the housing 22 rearward of the contact portion holding portion 22a so that their upper surfaces are exposed.

[0018] Next, the joining device 1 of this embodiment will be described. As shown in Fig. 1, the joining device 1 of this embodiment includes a laser light oscillation device 2 (oscillator), optical fibers 3R and 3L, two galvano scanners 4R and 4L, a control unit 5 (see Fig. 2), a support table 6 (support unit), and a belt conveyor 7 (transport unit).

[0019] The laser light oscillation facility 2 is a device that generates laser light LL. The optical fiber 3R is connected between the laser light oscillation facility 2 and the galvano scanner 4R, and when the laser light LL from the laser light oscillation facility 2 is incident, the optical fiber 3R propagates the laser light LL and makes it incident on the galvano scanner 4R. The optical fiber 3L is connected between the laser light oscillation facility 2 and the galvano scanner 4L, and when the laser light LL from the laser light oscillation facility 2 is incident, the optical fiber 3L propagates the laser light LL and makes it incident on the galvano scanner 4L. The laser light oscillation facility 2 can switch between the optical fibers 3R and 3L that make the laser light LL incident.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 2, the galvanometer scanners 4R, 4L are equipped with a left-right mirror 41 (mirror) and a front-back mirror 42 (mirror) that reflect the laser light LL incident from the laser light oscillation equipment 2 via the optical fibers 3R, 3L, a left-right motor 43 and a front-back motor 44 that drive the left-right mirror 41 and the front-back mirror 42, and a driver 45 that drives the left-right motor 43 and the front-back motor 44. The irradiation position of the laser light LL is adjustable by adjusting the angles of the left-right mirror 41 and the front-back mirror 42.

[0021] The galvano scanners 4R, 4L irradiate laser light onto a mounting surface perpendicular to the up-down direction of the belt conveyor 7 described below. The irradiation position of the laser light LL in the left-right direction can be adjusted by adjusting the angle of the left-right mirror 41 with the left-right motor 43. The irradiation position of the laser light LL in the front-back direction can be adjusted by adjusting the angle of the front-back mirror 42 with the front-back motor 44.

[0022] The control unit 5 is composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), which is a computer that operates using a readable and writable memory unit such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) in accordance with a program stored in a memory unit such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), and controls the entire joining device 1.

[0023] The control unit 5 is connected to a driver 45 of the galvano scanners 4R, 4L and controls the driver 45. The control unit 5 adjusts the angles of the left-right mirror 41 and the front-back mirror 42 so that the laser light is sequentially irradiated to the multiple joints of the connector 20. The control unit 5 is also connected to the laser light oscillation facility 2 and controls the laser light oscillation facility 2. The control unit 5 controls the on-off of the laser light generated from the laser light oscillation facility 2 and the switching of the optical fibers 3R, 3L into which the generated laser light is incident.

[0024] As shown in Fig. 1, the support base 6 includes two pillars 61 standing in the vertical direction and a connecting portion 62 connecting the upper ends of the pillars 61 to each other. The two pillars 61 are arranged side by side in the left-right direction. The connecting portion 62 supported by the pillars 61 is provided long in the left-right direction. The two galvanometer scanners 4R, 4L are supported by the connecting portion 62 side by side in the left-right direction.

[0025] The belt conveyor 7 is disposed between the two pillars 61, and conveys the connector 20 and the electric wire 10 before joining from the rear to the front in the front-rear direction. The two connectors 20 are mounted on the belt conveyor 7 in a state of being arranged in the left-right direction. The galvano scanner 4R sequentially joins a plurality of joint points of the right connector 20 of the two connectors 20 before joining, and the galvano scanner 4L sequentially joins a plurality of joint points of the left connector 20 of the two connectors before joining. When joining of the connector 20 and the core wire 10a of the electric wire 10 is completed, the belt conveyor 7 conveys the next two connectors 20 before joining and the electric wire 10 to under the support stand 6. The belt conveyor 7 is controlled by the control unit 5 described above.

[0026] Next, the operation of the joining device 1 having the above-mentioned configuration will be described below with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 4. First, the control unit 5 controls the belt conveyor 7 to transport the two connectors 20 and the electric wires 20 before joining under the support stand 6 (S1). In addition, while the connectors 20 and the electric wires 20 are being transported, the control unit 5 adjusts the angles of the mirrors 41 and 42 so that the irradiation positions of the laser light LL of the galvano scanners 4R and 4L are set to the initial positions (S1). The initial position is, for example, the joining point between the terminal fitting 21 housed at the far right of each connector 20 and the core wire 10a of the electric wire 10 as shown in Fig. 3.

[0027] Thereafter, the control unit 5 controls the laser light oscillation equipment 2 so that the laser light LL is incident on the optical fiber 3R, and the laser light LL is emitted from the galvano scanner 4R (corresponding to a part of the multiple galvano scanners 4R, 4L) (S2; first control step). As a result, one of the terminal fittings 21 of the right connector 20 and the core wire 10a are joined. In addition, while the galvano scanner 4R is irradiating the laser light LL, the control unit 5 adjusts the angles of the mirrors 41, 42 of the galvano scanner 4L (corresponding to the remaining part of the multiple galvano scanners 4R, 4L excluding a part) so that the irradiation position of the laser light LL becomes the next joining point (S2; first control step). Note that when the process first proceeds from S1 to S2, the irradiation position of the laser light LL of the galvano scanners 4R, 4L is the initial position, so the control unit 5 does not adjust the mirror of the galvano scanner 4R.

[0028] Next, the control unit 5 controls the laser light oscillation equipment 2 so that the laser light LL is incident on the optical fiber 3L, and the galvano scanner 4L irradiates the laser light LL (S3; second control step). In addition, while the galvano scanner 4L is irradiating the laser light LL, the control unit 5 adjusts the angles of the mirrors 41 and 42 of the galvano scanner 4R so that the irradiation position of the laser light LL is the next joining point (for example, the joining point of the terminal fitting 21 to the left of the terminal fitting 21 joined in S2) (S3; second control step).

[0029] After that, the control unit 5 judges whether or not the joining of all the joint parts of the two connectors 20 has been completed (S4). If the joining of all the joint parts has not been completed (N in S4), the control unit 5 returns to S2. In S2, the control unit 5 controls the laser light oscillation equipment 2 so that the laser light LL is incident on the optical fiber 3R, and the galvano scanner 4R irradiates the laser light LL. In addition, while the galvano scanner 4R irradiates the laser light LL, the control unit 5 adjusts the angles of the mirrors 41 and 42 of the galvano scanner 4L so that the irradiation position of the laser light LL is the next joint part (for example, the joint part of the terminal metal fitting 21 to the left of the terminal metal fitting 21 joined in S3). In this way, the control unit 5 alternates between S2 and S3 until the joining of all the joint parts of the two connectors 20 has been completed. When the joining of all the joint parts of the two connectors 20 has been completed (Y in S4), the control unit 5 returns to S1. In S1, the control unit 5 controls the belt conveyor 7 to transport the joined connector 20 and the electric wire 10 to the front side, and transport the unjoined connector 20 and the electric wire 10 to below the support stand 6.

[0030] According to the embodiment described above, the galvano scanners 4R, 4L irradiate the laser light LL sequentially from the rightmost terminal fitting 21 of the connector 20 toward the left side to join the core wire 10a of the electric wire 10. At that time, the mirrors 41, 42 of the galvano scanner 4L are adjusted while the galvano scanner 4R is irradiating the laser light LL, and the mirrors 41, 42 of the galvano scanner 4R are adjusted while the galvano scanner 4L is irradiating. As a result, when joining the terminal fitting 21 and the core wire 10a of the electric wire 10, the waiting time for adjusting the mirrors 41, 42 is reduced, and the tact time can be improved.

[0031] The irradiation time of the laser light LL for joining varies depending on the combination of the terminal fitting 21 and the electric wire 10, but is about 20 ms to 110 ms. The adjustment time of the mirrors 41, 42 depends on the distance between the joining points, but when the distance is 2.2 mm, it is, for example, about 11.1 ms, and there is no significant difference between the irradiation time and the adjustment time.

[0032] According to the embodiment described above, the control unit 5 inputs the laser light LL generated by the laser light oscillation facility 2 into the optical fiber 3R in S1 to emit the laser light LL only from the galvano scanner 4R, and inputs the laser light LL generated by the laser light oscillation facility 2 into the optical fiber 3L in S2 to emit the laser light LL only from the galvano scanner 4L. This allows the two galvano scanners 4R and 4L to be joined using one laser light oscillation facility 2.

[0033] According to the embodiment described above, the belt conveyor 7 sequentially conveys two connectors 20, the number of which is the same as the number of the galvano scanners 4R and 4L, to the bottom of the support base 6. The galvano scanners 4R and 4L join the joints of the separate connectors 20. That is, the galvano scanner 4R sequentially joins a plurality of joints on the right side of the two connectors 20 arranged side by side, and the galvano scanner 4L sequentially joins a plurality of joints on the left side of the two connectors 20 arranged side by side. This makes it unnecessary to move the irradiation position of the laser light LL from the right connector 20 to the left connector 20, and thus makes it possible to further reduce the waiting time for adjustment of the mirrors 41 and 42.

[0034] According to the embodiment described above, the galvanometer scanners 4R, 4L are aligned in the left-right direction (arrangement direction) and supported by the support base 6. The belt conveyor 7 transports the connectors 20 in the front-rear direction (direction intersecting the arrangement direction) while the connectors 20 are aligned in the left-right direction. This allows the belt conveyor 7 to transport the connectors 20 in sequence, and to splice the transported connectors 20 with the core wires 10a of the electric wires 10.

[0035] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately modified, improved, etc. In addition, the material, shape, size, number, arrangement location, etc. of each component in the above-described embodiment are arbitrary as long as the present invention can be achieved, and are not limited.

[0036] According to the embodiment described above, the number of galvano scanners 4R, 4L is two, but the present invention is not limited to this. It is sufficient that a plurality of galvano scanners 4R, 4L is provided, and three or more galvano scanners may be provided.

[0037] According to the embodiment described above, one laser light oscillation device 2 is provided for the multiple galvano scanners 4R, 4L, but this is not limited to the above. A laser light oscillation device 2 may be provided for each of the multiple galvano scanners 4R, 4L. In other words, two laser light oscillation devices 2 may be provided.

[0038] In addition, according to the embodiment described above, the galvano scanners 4R and 4L each join the joining points of a separate connector 20, but this is not limited to this. For example, the galvano scanners 4R and 4L may alternately join a plurality of joining points of the left connector 20 in sequence, and then join a plurality of joining points of the right connector 20 in sequence.

[0039] According to the embodiment described above, the belt conveyor 7 sequentially conveys the same number of connectors 20 as the galvano scanners 4R, 4L, but this is not limited to the above. The connectors 20 may be sequentially conveyed one by one, or three or more by one.

[0040] Here, the features of the embodiments of the joining device according to the present invention described above will be briefly summarized and listed in the following [1] to [5]. [1] A joining device (1) including: a galvanometer scanner (4R, 4L) having mirrors (41, 42) that reflect a laser beam (LL), and capable of adjusting an irradiation position of the laser beam (LL) by adjusting an angle of the mirrors (41, 42); and a control unit (5) that adjusts the mirrors (41, 42) so that the laser beam (LL) is irradiated to a plurality of joining points in sequence, thereby joining the plurality of joining points in sequence, A plurality of the galvano scanners (4R, 4L) are provided, The control unit (5) a first control step of adjusting the mirrors (41, 42) of the remaining galvano scanners (4L) excluding the part (4R) of the plurality of galvano scanners (4R, 4L) so that the irradiation position of the laser light (LL) of the remaining galvano scanners (4L) excluding the part (4R) of the plurality of galvano scanners (4R, 4L) becomes the next joint while a part (4R) of the galvano scanners (4R, 4L) irradiates the joint with the laser light (LL); and a second control step of adjusting the mirrors (41, 42) of the part (4R) so that the irradiation position of the laser light (LL) of the part (4R) becomes the next joining point while the remainder (4L) is irradiating the joining point with the laser light (LL). Joining device (1). [2] [In the joining device (1) described in 1, The laser device further includes an oscillator (2) for generating the laser light (LL), the control unit (5) causes the laser light (LL) generated by the oscillator (2) to be incident only on the part (4R) in the first control step, and causes the laser light (LL) generated by the oscillator (2) to be incident only on the remainder (4R) in the second control step. Joining device (1). [3] In the joining device (1) according to [1] or [2], the plurality of joints are joints between a plurality of terminal fittings (21) accommodated in a housing (22) of the connector (20) and core wires (10a) of the electric wires (10) connected to the plurality of terminal fittings (21), respectively; Joining device (1). [4] In the joining device (1) according to [3], a conveying unit (7) for sequentially conveying the connectors (20) in the same number as the number of the galvano scanners (4R, 4L); The plurality of galvanometer scanners (4R, 4L) connect the connection points of the connectors (20) that are separate from each other. Joining device (1). [5] In the joining device (1) according to [4], The apparatus further includes a support portion (6) for supporting a plurality of the galvano scanners (4R, 4L) in an aligned manner, the conveying unit (7) conveys the connector (20) in a direction intersecting an arrangement direction of the galvano scanners (4R, 4L) in a state in which the connectors are arranged parallel to the arrangement direction of the galvano scanners (4R, 4L); Joining device (1). [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] 1 Bonding equipment 2 Laser light oscillation equipment (oscillator) 4R Galvanometer Scanner (One of several Galvanometer Scanners) 4L Galvanometer scanner (the remaining part of multiple galvanometer scanners) 5. Control section 6 Support stand (support part) 7 Belt conveyor (transport section) 10 Electric wire 10a core wire 20 Connectors 21 Terminal fitting 22 Housing 41 Left and right mirrors (mirrors) 42 Front and rear mirrors (mirrors) LL Laser light

Claims

1. A joining device including a galvano scanner having a mirror that reflects laser light, the galvano scanner being capable of adjusting an irradiating position of the laser light by adjusting an angle of the mirror, and a control unit that adjusts the mirror so that the laser light is irradiated to a plurality of joining points in sequence, thereby joining the plurality of joining points in sequence, A plurality of the galvano scanners are provided, The control unit is a first control step of adjusting the mirrors of the remaining galvano scanners so that, while a part of the plurality of galvano scanners irradiates the laser light to the joint portion, the irradiation positions of the laser light of the remaining galvano scanners excluding the part of the plurality of galvano scanners become the next joint portion; and a second control step of adjusting the mirror of the part so that the irradiation position of the laser light of the part is set to the next joint while the rest is irradiating the laser light to the joint, the plurality of joints are joints between a plurality of terminal fittings accommodated in a housing of the connector and core wires of electric wires respectively connected to the plurality of terminal fittings, a conveying unit that conveys the connectors in sequence, the number of which is equal to the number of the galvano scanners; The plurality of galvanometer scanners are connected to the connection points of the connectors, the connection points being different from each other. Bonding equipment.

2. The joining apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising an oscillator for generating the laser light; The control unit causes the laser light generated by the oscillator to be incident only on the part in the first control step, and causes the laser light generated by the oscillator to be incident only on the remainder in the second control step. Bonding equipment.

3. The joining device according to claim 1 or 2, A support unit that supports a plurality of the galvano scanners in an aligned manner is further provided, the transport unit transports the connectors in a direction intersecting an arrangement direction of the galvano scanners in a state in which the connectors are arranged parallel to the arrangement direction of the galvano scanners. Bonding equipment.

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