Method for coupling a mother horn and a plurality of child horns in an ultrasonic resonator

Abstract

To couple a plurality of child horns to a mother horn in the aligned state and obtain sufficient fastening toque in a bolt used for coupling.SOLUTION: A plurality of bolt insertion holes 4 are provided in a penetrating manner at a prescribed interval along each of the thickness direction T and the longitudinal direction L on a coupling surface 3A of each child horn 3 with a prismatic mother horn 2 having a prescribed length. Female screw holes 5 in the number corresponding to the number of child horns 3 coupled along the longitudinal direction L' to a coupling surface 2A with each child horn 3 of the mother horn 2 are provided in the aligned manner. A bolt 6 inserted to the bolt insertion hole 4 provided in the penetrating manner in each child horn 3 is screwed to the female screw hole 5 provided in the mother horn 2 to couple each child horn 3 to the mother horn 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for coupling a mother horn and a plurality of child horns in a resonator for cutting or welding in an ultrasonic cutting device or an ultrasonic welding device.

Background Art

[0002] The resonator for cutting or welding in an ultrasonic cutting device or an ultrasonic welding device is composed of an integral half-wavelength resonator horn (tool horn), or a mother horn that performs ultrasonic oscillation, and a child horn (tool horn) that is coupled to the mother horn and outputs ultrasonic waves in contact with the object to be processed, which is a one-wavelength composite horn.

[0003] In the cutting resonator of the ultrasonic cutting device, on the child horn, the side opposite to the coupling portion with the mother horn has a blade shape. Also, in the welding resonator of the ultrasonic welding device, on the child horn, the side opposite to the coupling portion with the mother horn generally has a planar shape.

[0004] And the coupling between the mother horn and the child horn in the resonator of each device is performed with only one stud bolt. Incidentally, FIGS. 5 and 6 are explanatory diagrams of the conventional coupling method, where 100 is the mother horn, 101 is the child horn, 102 is the stud bolt, and 103 is the female screw hole provided on the coupling surface of the mother horn 100 with the child horn 101.

[0005] By the way, in an ultrasonic cutting device or an ultrasonic welding device, resonators corresponding to the length of the processing portion of the object to be processed are used appropriately, but sometimes there is a case where processing of an object to be processed with a processing portion length exceeding the assumption is required.

[0006] In such a case, as a countermeasure, it is conceivable to prepare a mother horn having a prismatic shape and a predetermined length, and a plurality of child horns corresponding to the length of the processing portion, and align and couple the plurality of child horns to the mother horn.

[0007] However, when aligning and coupling a plurality of child horns to a mother horn, if the mother horn 100 and the child horn 101 that have been conventionally and generally performed as described above are to be coupled with only one stud bolt 102, there are the following problems.

[0008] First, the child horn 101 has to be rotated around the stud bolt 102. In this case, the orientation of the child horn 101 when fully tightened does not become a predetermined orientation, that is, an orientation in which the processing ends of all the child horns are aligned on a straight line, and each child horn will be displaced. Therefore, a plurality of child horns cannot be aligned and coupled to the mother horn in a state where their orientations are aligned.

[0009] Also, if coupling is performed in a state where the screwing is slightly loosened in an attempt to align the orientations, the tightening torque will be insufficient, and there is a risk that play will occur in the child horn 101 during operation and sufficient ultrasonic waves cannot be output. Conversely, if the screwing is performed beyond the tightening torque to align the orientations, there is a risk of cracks in the internal screw portion due to the superposition of the stress of the ultrasonic vibration and the stud tightening stress.

[0010] Further, when attempting to rotate the child horn 101 around the stud bolt 102, since the child horn 101 has a thickness, as shown in FIG. 6, the corner portion in the thickness direction thereof will hit the adjacent child horn 101 that has already been coupled. Therefore, a slight gap will be formed between adjacent child horns, and they cannot be coupled in a state where they are in close contact with each other and aligned in a series and integrally.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0011] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and a method for coupling a plurality of child horns to a mother horn is provided by coupling them with a plurality of bolts inserted at intervals along the thickness direction and the length direction of each child horn, so that the above problems can be completely solved. It is intended to provide a method for coupling a mother horn and a child horn in an ultrasonic resonator.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0012] Thus, the gist of the present invention is an ultrasonic resonator comprising a mother horn that is prismatic and has a predetermined length and performs ultrasonic oscillation, and a plurality of child horns that are coupled to the mother horn and output ultrasonic waves in contact with an object to be processed. On the coupling surface of each child horn with the mother horn, a plurality of bolt insertion holes are provided at predetermined intervals along the thickness direction and the length direction, respectively. On the coupling surface of the mother horn with each child horn, a number of female screw holes corresponding to the number of child horns to be coupled are provided in alignment along the length direction. A method for coupling a mother horn and a plurality of child horns in an ultrasonic resonator, characterized in that each child horn is coupled to the mother horn by screwing a bolt inserted through the bolt insertion hole provided in each child horn into the female screw hole provided in the mother horn.

[0013] Preferably, the bolt used in the above method is a bolt having a length equal to or less than 1 / 4 wavelength of the resonance frequencies of the mother horn and the child horn. Thereby, resonance of the bolt from the mother horn and the child horn can be avoided, and loosening of the bolt can be prevented.

[0014] The resonator in the above method is either for cutting in an ultrasonic cutting device or for welding in an ultrasonic welding device.

Effects of the Invention

[0015] The present invention has the above-described configuration, and since the connection of a plurality of child horns to a mother horn is made with a plurality of bolts inserted at intervals along the thickness direction and the length direction of each child horn, it can completely solve the above problems when trying to connect each child horn of a plurality of child horns to a mother horn with only a conventional single stud bolt.

[0016] Specifically, since the connection is made with a plurality of bolts inserted at intervals along the thickness direction and the length direction of each child horn, it is not necessary to rotate each child horn when connecting, and only by screwing the bolts inserted into the plurality of bolt insertion holes provided through each child horn into the female screw holes provided in the mother horn, it can be connected in a predetermined orientation, that is, in an orientation in which the processing ends of all child horns are aligned on a straight line. Therefore, a plurality of child horns can be aligned and connected to the mother horn in a state where their orientations are aligned.

[0017] Also, in the case of the conventional connection method, the orientation of the child horn when fully tightened does not become the predetermined orientation as described above, so the screwdriver must be loosened slightly to align the orientation, and there is a problem that the tightening torque is insufficient. However, according to the present invention, when a plurality of bolts are tightened, each child horn naturally assumes a predetermined orientation. Therefore, the plurality of bolts used for connection can be fully tightened, and thus a sufficient tightening torque can be obtained. Conversely, if the screwdriver is turned beyond the tightening torque to align the orientation, there is a risk of cracking in the internal screw portion due to the superposition of the stress of ultrasonic vibration and the stud tightening stress. However, according to the present invention, since each child horn naturally assumes a predetermined orientation when a plurality of bolts are tightened, there is no need to forcibly turn each bolt, and thus such a problem does not occur.

[0018] Also, each child horn has a thickness. According to the present invention, since it is not necessary to rotate the child horn for coupling, there is no gap between adjacent child horns as in the case of the conventional coupling method, and they can be coupled in a state where they are in close contact with each other and aligned in a series and integrated.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0019]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0020] Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0021] In the figure, 1 is an ultrasonic resonator, which is composed of a mother horn 2 and a plurality of child horns 3 coupled thereto. Note that the ultrasonic resonator 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is a cutting resonator of an ultrasonic cutting device, and on the side 3a opposite to the coupling portion with the mother horn 2, each child horn 3 has a blade shape.

[0022] The mother horn 2 is prismatic and has a predetermined length corresponding to the length of the cut portion of the object to be processed. A plurality of bolt insertion holes 4 are provided at predetermined intervals along the thickness direction T and the length direction L, respectively, in the joint surface 3A of each child horn 3 with the mother horn 2. On the other hand, female screw holes 5 corresponding to the number of child horns 3 to be joined are provided in alignment along the length direction L' in the joint surface 2A of the mother horn 2 with each child horn 3. Each child horn 3 is joined to the mother horn 2 by screwing a bolt 6 inserted through the bolt insertion hole 4 provided in each child horn 3 into the female screw hole 5 provided in the mother horn 2.

[0023] In addition, in the female screw holes 5 provided in the joint surface 2A of the mother horn 2 with the child horn 3, for two positions in the thickness direction T' of the mother horn 2, they are at the same interval as the bolt insertion holes 4 in the thickness direction T of each child horn 3, and for two adjacent positions in the length direction L' of the mother horn 2, they are at the same interval as the bolt insertion holes 4 in the length direction L of each child horn 3.

[0024] Further, the bolt 6 has a length equal to or less than 1 / 4 wavelength of the resonance frequencies of the mother horn 2 and the child horn 3 (about 75 mm or less for a 20 kHz horn). Thereby, resonance of the bolt 6 from the mother horn 2 and the child horn 3 can be avoided, and thus loosening thereof can be prevented.

[0025] Also, the resonator shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 above is an example of a resonator for cutting of an ultrasonic cutting device, while FIG. 4 shows an example of a resonator for welding of an ultrasonic welding device.

[0026] In addition, the resonator for welding of the ultrasonic welding device is different only in that, in each child horn, the opposite side of the joint portion with the mother horn has a planar shape, and the other configurations are all the same as those of the resonator shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. Therefore, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description is omitted.

[0027] As described above, in this embodiment, the connection of the plurality of child horns 3 to the mother horn 2 is achieved by a plurality of bolts 6 inserted at intervals along the thickness direction T and the length direction L of each child horn 3. Therefore, it is possible to completely solve the above problems in the case of connecting each child horn of a plurality of child horns to the mother horn using only a conventional single stud bolt.

[0028] Specifically, since the connection is made by a plurality of bolts 6 inserted at intervals along the thickness direction T and the length direction L of each child horn 3, it is not necessary to rotate each child horn 3 when connecting. By simply screwing the bolts 6 inserted through the plurality of bolt insertion holes 4 provided through each child horn 3 into the female screw holes 5 provided in the mother horn 2, the connection can be made in a predetermined orientation, that is, in an orientation where the processing ends of all the child horns 3 are aligned on a straight line. Therefore, the plurality of child horns 3 can be aligned and connected to the mother horn 2 in a state where their orientations are aligned.

[0029] Also, in the case of the conventional connection method, the orientation of the child horn when fully tightened does not become the predetermined orientation as described above. Therefore, the screwdriver must be loosened slightly to align the orientation, and there is a problem that the tightening torque is insufficient. However, according to this embodiment, when the plurality of bolts 6 are tightened, each child horn 3 naturally assumes the predetermined orientation. Therefore, the plurality of bolts 6 used for the connection can be fully tightened, and thus a sufficient tightening torque can be obtained. Conversely, if the screwdriver is turned beyond the tightening torque to align the orientation, there is a risk of cracks in the internal screw portion due to the superposition of the stress of ultrasonic vibration and the stud tightening stress. However, according to this embodiment, since each child horn naturally assumes the predetermined orientation when the plurality of bolts are tightened, it is not necessary to forcibly turn each bolt, and thus such a problem does not occur.

[0030] Also, although each child horn 3 has a thickness, according to this embodiment, since it is not necessary to rotate the child horn 3 for coupling, there is no gap between adjacent child horns as in the case of the conventional coupling method, and they can be coupled in a state where they are in close contact with each other and aligned in a series and integrally.

Explanation of Signs

[0031] 1 Ultrasonic resonator 2 Mother horn 3 Child horn 4 Bolt insertion hole 5 Female screw hole 6 Bolt

Claims

1. An ultrasonic resonator comprising a mother horn that performs ultrasonic oscillation and has a predetermined length in a prismatic shape, and a plurality of child horns that are coupled to the mother horn and output ultrasonic waves in contact with an object to be processed. A plurality of bolt insertion holes are formed through the coupling surface of each child horn with the mother horn at predetermined intervals along the thickness direction and the length direction, respectively. On the coupling surface of the mother horn with each child horn, a number of female screw holes corresponding to the number of child horns to be coupled are provided in alignment along the length direction. The child horns are coupled to the mother horn by screwing bolts inserted through the bolt insertion holes formed through each child horn into the female screw holes provided in the mother horn. A method for coupling a mother horn and a plurality of child horns in an ultrasonic resonator, wherein the bolts are bolts having a length equal to or less than 1 / 4 wavelength of the resonance frequencies of the mother horn and the child horns.

2. The method for coupling a mother horn and a plurality of child horns in an ultrasonic resonator according to Claim 1, wherein the resonator is a cutting resonator of an ultrasonic cutting device.

3. The method for coupling a mother horn and a plurality of child horns in an ultrasonic resonator according to Claim 1, wherein the resonator is a welding resonator of an ultrasonic welding device.

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