Piping sealing method and piping sealing system

Abstract

This piping sealing method includes: a step S3 for pressing and crushing a target portion of a piping member, the proximal end side thereof being connected to a main body filled with a filler; steps S5 and S8 for driving a laser irradiation unit by a control unit and thereby irradiating the crushed target portion with a welding laser beam so as to seal the crushed target portion; and a step S6 for driving the laser irradiation unit by the control unit and thereby irradiating the crushed target portion with a cutting laser beam.

Description

Pipe sealing method and pipe sealing system

[0001] The present invention relates to a pipe sealing method and a pipe sealing system, and particularly relates to a pipe sealing method and a pipe sealing system for a pipe member connected to a main body portion filled with a filler.

[0002] Conventionally, a pipe member connected to a main body portion filled with a filler is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] The above Patent Document 1 describes a cooler that cools a heating element by absorbing heat of a refrigerant. This cooler has an internal accommodation space filled with a refrigerant as a filler. The cooler includes a pipe section serving as a pipe member for introducing the refrigerant into the accommodation space. The pipe section is sealed after the refrigerant is injected into the accommodation space.

[0004] Japanese Patent No. 7299441

[0005] Here, although not described in the above Patent Document 1, when sealing a pipe section (pipe member) as described in Patent Document 1, first, an operator performs work of attaching a pressing tool for pressing the pipe member to the pipe member in order to crush and seal the pipe member. Then, the operator performs work of cutting the pipe member pressed by the pressing tool. Thereafter, the operator performs work of welding the cut surface of the pipe member. These works impose a burden on the operator. In addition, the work accuracy may vary depending on the skill level of the operator. It is conceivable that the quality of sealing the pipe member may deteriorate due to this variation in work accuracy. Therefore, when sealing a pipe member connected to a main body portion filled with a filler, it is desired to reduce the work burden and suppress deterioration of sealing quality.

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and one object of the present invention is to provide a pipe sealing method and a pipe sealing system that can reduce work burden and suppress deterioration of sealing quality when sealing a pipe member connected to a main body portion filled with a filler.

[0007] To achieve the above objective, the pipe sealing method according to the first aspect of this invention comprises the steps of: crushing a target portion of a pipe member, whose base end is connected to a main body filled with a filler, by pressing it so that the inner surfaces of the pipe member come into contact with each other; operating a laser irradiation unit with a control unit to irradiate a welding laser beam to weld at least one sealing position on the target portion so as to seal the crushed target portion; and operating a laser irradiation unit with a control unit to irradiate a cutting laser beam to cut the pipe member at a cutting position on the tip side of the sealing position on the pipe member.

[0008] The pipe sealing method according to the first aspect of this invention, as described above, comprises the steps of: operating a laser irradiation unit with a control unit to irradiate welding laser light to weld at least one sealing position on a target portion in order to seal the crushed target portion; and operating a laser irradiation unit with a control unit to irradiate cutting laser light to cut the pipe member at a cutting position on the tip side of the sealing position on the pipe member. As a result, by operating the laser irradiation unit with a control unit, the pipe member can be automatically sealed by welding and automatically cut. Therefore, the workload on the worker can be reduced compared to when the welding and cutting of the pipe member are performed manually by an operator. Furthermore, by controlling the operation of the laser irradiation unit that irradiates welding laser light and cutting laser light, which are laser beams capable of locally heating the base material, with a control unit, the welding and cutting of the pipe member can be controlled to be performed with consistent movements. Therefore, variations in work accuracy can be suppressed compared to when the welding and cutting of the pipe member are performed manually by an operator. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the quality of sealing of the pipe member due to variations in work accuracy. As a result, when sealing piping components connected to the main body filled with the packing material, the workload can be reduced, and a deterioration in the quality of the sealing can be suppressed.

[0009] In the pipe sealing method according to the first aspect described above, preferably, the step of irradiating with welding laser light includes irradiating the welding laser light from one side in the pressing direction in which the target portion is pressed, so as to weld from the laser irradiation surface, which is one side of the flattened target portion in the pressing direction, to the other side, which is the opposite side of the laser irradiation surface. Here, because the inner surfaces of the pipe members are pressed together so as to come into contact with each other and are flattened, the target portion is in a state where two plate-shaped members are crushed so as to overlap each other in the pressing direction. Therefore, by irradiating the flattened target portion with welding laser light so as to weld from the laser irradiation surface, which is one side of the target portion in the pressing direction, to the other side, which is the opposite side of the laser irradiation surface, the two plate-shaped members on the laser irradiation surface side and the other side of the target portion can be welded together without any gaps. As a result, the target portion can be sealed more reliably, and the deterioration of the sealing quality in the target portion can be further suppressed. Furthermore, by irradiating the target portion with a welding laser beam from one side in the direction of pressure, and welding from the laser-irradiated surface to the other side of the flattened target portion, it becomes unnecessary to weld the cut end face, thus making it possible to perform welding before cutting.

[0010] In this case, preferably, the step of irradiating with welding laser light includes moving the laser irradiation unit along a transverse direction that crosses the pipe member perpendicular to the direction in which the pipe member extends and the direction in which it is pressed, thereby irradiating the welding laser light so as to cross the pipe member from one end to the other in the transverse direction. With this configuration, by irradiating the welding laser light so as to cross the pipe member from one end to the other, the entire area of ​​the target can be welded more reliably from end to end in the transverse direction that crosses the pipe member. As a result, the target area can be sealed more reliably, and the deterioration of the sealing quality in the target area can be further suppressed.

[0011] In the pipe sealing method according to the first aspect described above, preferably, the step of crushing the target portion includes the step of flattening the target portion of the pipe member with a pressing part that presses the pipe member, the step of irradiating with welding laser light includes the step of irradiating with welding laser light to at least one sealing position on the target portion with the pressing part separated from the target portion after the target portion has been flattened, and the step of irradiating with cutting laser light includes the step of irradiating with cutting laser light with at least one sealing position welded. With this configuration, by irradiating with cutting laser light with at least one sealing position welded, the inside of the pipe member can be sealed by welding before cutting the pipe member. Therefore, compared to welding after cutting the pipe member, cutting the pipe member in a welded sealed state can effectively suppress leakage of the filling material from the main body connected to the pipe member.

[0012] In the pipe sealing method according to the first aspect described above, preferably, the step of irradiating with welding laser light includes irradiating with welding laser light a refrigerant-filling pipe member, which is connected to a cooler, a main body filled with refrigerant as a filler, at its base end, and has a lid member attached to seal the inside at its tip end. Here, when sealing a refrigerant-filling pipe member, which is connected to a cooler filled with refrigerant at its base end and has a lid member attached to seal the inside at its tip end, if the quality of the sealing deteriorates, it is thought that the refrigerant from the cooler will leak out, and the cooling performance of the cooler will deteriorate. In contrast, in the present invention, when sealing a refrigerant-filling pipe member connected to a cooler and having a lid member attached, the control unit operates the laser irradiation unit to irradiate with welding laser light and cutting laser light, thereby effectively suppressing the deterioration of the sealing quality. As a result, leakage of refrigerant from the cooler can be effectively suppressed, and thus the deterioration of the cooling performance of the cooler can be effectively suppressed.

[0013] In the pipe sealing method according to the first aspect described above, preferably, the step of crushing the target portion includes a step of crushing the target portion to a size smaller than the difference between the outer diameter and inner diameter of the pipe member before crushing, by controlling the movement distance of the pressing part that presses the pipe member with the control unit. With this configuration, by controlling the movement distance of the pressing part that presses the pipe member with the control unit, the target portion can be crushed more reliably to a size smaller than the difference between the outer diameter and inner diameter of the pipe member before crushing. As a result, the inner surfaces of the pipe members can be brought into closer contact with each other at the target portion, thus sealing the target portion more reliably. As a result, the deterioration of the sealing quality can be further suppressed.

[0014] In the pipe sealing method according to the first aspect described above, preferably, the step of irradiating with welding laser light includes the step of irradiating with welding laser light to a first sealing position, which is at least one sealing position, and the step of irradiating with welding laser light to a second sealing position different from the first sealing position. With this configuration, the pipe member can be sealed more reliably by welding at two locations, the first sealing position and the second sealing position. As a result, the deterioration of the sealing quality can be further suppressed.

[0015] In this case, preferably, the step of irradiating the first sealing position with welding laser light includes the step of irradiating the first sealing position in the target portion with welding laser light before the step of irradiating the cutting laser light to cut the piping member, the step of irradiating the cutting laser light includes the step of irradiating the cutting laser light to a cutting position located on the tip side of the first sealing position in the target portion while the first sealing position is welded, and the step of irradiating the second sealing position with welding laser light includes the step of irradiating the second sealing position located on the target portion between the first sealing position and the cutting position after the step of irradiating the cutting laser light. With this configuration, by cutting the piping member while the first sealing position is welded and before welding the second sealing position, the second sealing position located on the tip side of the first sealing position can be released from a sealed state. Therefore, it is possible to suppress welding the second sealing position while it is filled with filler, and thus it is possible to suppress defects such as the generation of voids caused by the filler during welding of the second sealing position. As a result, welding defects caused by the filler can be suppressed at the second sealing position, further reducing the deterioration of sealing quality.

[0016] In the pipe sealing method according to the first aspect described above, preferably, the step of irradiating with a cutting laser beam includes the step of irradiating with a cutting laser beam by operating a laser irradiation unit common to the welding laser beam using a control unit. Here, if the welding laser beam and the cutting laser beam are irradiated by different laser irradiation units, it is necessary to move the pipe member or rearrange the different laser irradiation units during the irradiation of the welding laser beam and the cutting laser beam. In that case, the work process in the pipe sealing method becomes complicated due to the step of moving the pipe member or the step of rearranging the laser irradiation units. Also, if the welding laser beam and the cutting laser beam are irradiated by different laser irradiation units, the cost increases due to the arrangement of different laser irradiation units. In contrast, in the present invention, since the step of irradiating with a cutting laser beam is performed by operating a laser irradiation unit common to the welding laser beam, the complexity of the work process and the increase in cost can be suppressed.

[0017] In the pipe sealing method according to the first aspect described above, preferably, the method further includes a step of deburring the cut surface of the pipe member by polishing it with a polishing unit after the step of irradiating it with a cutting laser beam. With this configuration, the shape of the cut surface can be made smoother by performing deburring by polishing the cut surface.

[0018] In the pipe sealing method according to the first aspect described above, preferably, the method further includes a step of placing the main body on a rotating stage that rotates to swap the position of the main body to which the pipe member is connected between the pressing position, the irradiation position, and the removal position, which includes a pressing position in which a step of crushing the target portion is performed, an irradiation position in which a step of irradiating with welding laser light and a step of irradiating with cutting laser light are performed, and a removal position in which a step of removing the main body to which the pipe member is connected is performed. With this configuration, by rotating the rotating stage on which the main body is placed, the main body can be easily moved to each of the pressing position in which a step of crushing the target portion is performed, the irradiation position in which a step of irradiating with welding laser light and a step of irradiating with cutting laser light are performed, and the removal position in which a step of removing the main body is performed.

[0019] In this case, preferably, the process further includes, after the step of irradiating with cutting laser light, a step of placing the tip portion of the pipe member separated by the cutting laser light onto a rotating stage, and after the step of placing the tip portion onto the rotating stage, a step of rotating the rotating stage to move both the main body to which the cut pipe member is connected and the tip portion of the separated pipe member to the removal position. With this configuration, by rotating the rotating stage on which the main body is placed, both the main body to which the cut pipe member is connected and the tip portion of the separated pipe member move to the removal position, so that the operator can easily remove both the main body to which the cut pipe member is connected and the tip portion of the separated pipe member. In addition, since the tip portion of the separated pipe member is moved to the removal position while placed on the rotating stage, it is possible to suppress physical interference of other members with the lid member or the like attached to the tip portion of the pipe member during movement. Therefore, it is possible to suppress any abnormalities that may occur in the lid member or the like attached to the tip portion of the pipe member, so that the lid member or the like can be easily reused.

[0020] A pipe sealing system according to the second aspect of this invention comprises: a pressing unit that crushes a target portion of a pipe member, whose base end is connected to a main body filled with a filler, by pressing it so that the inner surfaces of the pipe member come into contact with each other; a laser irradiation unit that irradiates a welding laser beam to weld at least one sealing position on the target portion to seal the crushed target portion, and a cutting laser beam to cut the pipe member at a cutting position on the tip side of the sealing position on the pipe member; and a control unit that controls the operation of the pressing unit and the laser irradiation unit.

[0021] The pipe sealing system according to the second aspect of this invention includes, as described above, a laser irradiation unit that irradiates a welding laser beam that welds at least one sealing position on a target portion to seal the crushed target portion, and a cutting laser beam that cuts the pipe member at a cutting position on the tip side of the sealing position on the pipe member, and a control unit that controls the operation of the pressing unit and the laser irradiation unit. As a result, by operating the laser irradiation unit with the control unit, the pipe member can be automatically sealed by welding and the pipe member can be automatically cut. Therefore, the workload on the worker can be reduced compared to when the welding and cutting of the pipe member are performed manually by the worker. Furthermore, by controlling the operation of the laser irradiation unit that irradiates the welding laser beam and the cutting laser beam, which are laser beams capable of locally heating the base material, with the control unit, the welding and cutting of the pipe member can be controlled to be performed with consistent movements. Therefore, variations in work accuracy can be suppressed compared to when the welding and cutting of the pipe member are performed manually by the worker. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the quality of sealing of the pipe member due to variations in work accuracy. As a result, it is possible to provide a pipe sealing system that reduces the workload when sealing piping components connected to a main body filled with a packing material, and that can suppress a deterioration in the quality of the sealing.

[0022] According to the present invention, as described above, when sealing a piping member connected to a main body filled with a packing material, it is possible to reduce the workload and suppress a deterioration in the quality of the sealing.

[0023] This is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of a pipe sealing system according to one embodiment of the present invention. This is a perspective view showing the configuration of a cooler to which pipe members are connected. This is a block diagram showing the configuration of the pipe sealing system. This is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the rotating stage. This is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the pressing section. This is an example of a cross-sectional view of the pipe member before and after pressing. This is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the laser irradiation section. This is a diagram for explaining the cutting position and two welding positions in the target portion. This is a schematic diagram for explaining the irradiation of welding laser light. This is an example of a cross-sectional view at the welded position. This is a diagram for explaining the irradiation of cutting laser light. This is a perspective view for explaining the arrangement of the cut tip portion on the rotating stage. This is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the polishing section. This is a flowchart for explaining the pipe sealing method according to the present invention. This is a diagram for explaining the irradiation of welding laser light according to a first modification of one embodiment. This is a diagram for explaining the arrangement of pipe members in a cooler according to a second modification of one embodiment. This is a diagram for explaining the arrangement of pipe members in a cooler according to a third modification of one embodiment.

[0024] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0025] Referring to Figures 1 to 13, the configuration of a pipe sealing system 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0026] (Overall configuration of the pipe sealing system) As shown in Figure 1, the pipe sealing system 100 comprises a rotating stage 10, a pressing unit 20, a laser irradiation unit 30, and a polishing unit 40. The rotating stage 10, the pressing unit 20, the laser irradiation unit 30, and the polishing unit 40 are arranged inside a housing 100a. The housing 100a is, for example, a box-shaped member formed from a metal plate member. The housing 100a may also have a safety door for maintenance and a viewing window. The pipe sealing system 100 seals and cuts pipe members 102 connected to a cooler 101 filled with refrigerant. A jig 105 on the rotating stage 10 is arranged to fix the cooler 101. The pressing unit 20 flattens the pipe members 102 by pressing them. The laser irradiation unit 30 welds and cuts the pipe members 102 by laser irradiation. The polishing section 40 removes burrs from the cut pipe member 102 by polishing it.

[0027] As shown in Figure 2, the cooler 101 includes a condensing section 101a, a boiling section 101b, and a piping member 102. The cooler 101 is filled with a refrigerant as a packing material. The cooler 101 is a boiling cooling type cooler that absorbs heat from a heat-generating element and dissipates it to the outside by utilizing the phase change (latent heat) of vaporization and condensation of the refrigerant filled inside. The heat-generating element to be cooled is, for example, a semiconductor element such as a power module. In the boiling section 101b, the cooler 101 cools the heat-generating element by the heat absorption of the refrigerant. The boiling section 101b has the object to be cooled attached to its outer surface opposite to the condensing section 101a, and the object to be cooled is cooled by the vaporization (evaporation) of the refrigerant inside. Fins are arranged in the condensing section 101a. In the boiling section 101b, the refrigerant gas vaporized by endothermic reaction is cooled in the condensing section 101a by heat exchange with an external fluid such as air circulating within the fins, causing it to condense and return to the liquid phase (liquid). The refrigerant, having returned to the liquid phase, returns from the condensing section 101a to the boiling section 101b, for example, by its own weight. The cooler 101 is sealed with refrigerant inside so as to cool the object to be cooled while circulating the refrigerant between the condensing section 101a and the boiling section 101b. The refrigerant filled in the cooler 101 is, for example, fluorocarbon, hydrocarbon, hydrofluoroolefin, or water. The cooler 101 is made of a metallic material including aluminum or copper. Note that the cooler 101 is an example of the "main body" in the claims.

[0028] A piping member 102 is connected to the cooler 101. The piping member 102 is connected to the cooler 101 at its base end, and a lid member 103 that seals the inside is attached to its tip end. The piping member 102 is a refrigerant filling pipe for filling the inside of the cooler 101 with refrigerant. That is, the internal space of the cooler 101 and the internal space of the piping member 102 are in communication with each other, and refrigerant is filled into the inside of the cooler 101 from a refrigerant supply device (not shown) via the piping member 102. The inside of the cooler 101 and the piping member 102, which are filled with refrigerant, are sealed by the lid member 103. The lid member 103 also serves as a joint member that can be detachably connected to the refrigerant supply piping of the refrigerant supply device. The lid member 103 is, for example, a male coupler (plug), and when connected to refrigerant supply piping, it connects the piping member 102 to the piping, and when the connection is released, it seals the inside of the piping member 102.

[0029] As shown in Figure 3, the pipe sealing system 100 comprises a rotating stage 10, a pressing unit 20, a laser irradiation unit 30, a polishing unit 40, a detection unit 50, and a control unit 60. The rotating stage 10 includes a rotation drive unit 11. The rotation drive unit 11 includes a drive source for rotational movement of the rotating stage 10. For example, the rotation drive unit 11 includes a motor as the drive source. The pressing unit 20 includes a moving unit 21 and a position detection unit 22. The laser irradiation unit 30 includes a head unit 31, a blower unit 32, a chuck unit 33, and a moving unit 34. The polishing unit 40 includes a contact member 41 and a moving unit 42. The detection unit 50 includes an orientation detection unit 51, a holding detection unit 52, and a tip detection unit 53. The control unit 60 controls the operation of each part of the pipe sealing system 100. The control unit 60 controls the operation of the rotating stage 10, the pressing unit 20, the laser irradiation unit 30, the polishing unit 40, and the detection unit 50.

[0030] <Rotating Stage> As shown in Figure 4, the rotating stage 10 is arranged along the horizontal plane inside the housing 100a. The rotating stage 10 rotates around the center position C with the vertical direction as the axis of rotation. The rotating stage 10 has four main body mounting sections 12 and four tip mounting sections 13. A jig 105 for fixing the cooler 101 is attached to each of the four main body mounting sections 12. The jig 105 is changed according to the type of cooler 101. In the housing 100a, the cooler 101 is fixed to the jig 105 such that the piping member 102 is positioned to extend along the vertical direction. The four main body mounting sections 12 are positioned at angles of 90 degrees each around the center position C. The tip mounting section 13 is positioned adjacent to each of the four main body mounting sections 12. The tip mounting section 13 is on which the tip portion 104, which is the tip side of the piping member 102 separated by the laser irradiation section 30, is mounted. The rotating stage 10 rotates in 90-degree increments around the vertical direction by the control unit 60 controlling the operation of the rotation drive unit 11.

[0031] The rotating stage 10 also has a removal position 10a, a pressing position 10b, an irradiation position 10c, and a polishing position 10d. The removal position 10a, pressing position 10b, irradiation position 10c, and polishing position 10d are positioned at angles of 90 degrees each around the central position C. Each of the four main body mounting sections 12 is positioned at one of the removal position 10a, pressing position 10b, irradiation position 10c, and polishing position 10d. In other words, by rotating the rotating stage 10 in 90-degree increments, the position of the cooler 101 to which the piping member 102 is connected is swapped between the removal position 10a, pressing position 10b, irradiation position 10c, and polishing position 10d. Note that the tip mounting section 13 rotates similarly along with the main body mounting section 12 when the rotating stage 10 rotates in 90-degree increments.

[0032] The removal position 10a is the position for loading and unloading the cooler 101, which is the object to be processed. Specifically, the removal position 10a is the position where the process of loading the cooler 101, to which the piping member 102 is connected, onto the rotating stage 10, and the process of removing the cooler 101, to which the piping member 102 is connected, are performed. The removal position 10a is located opposite the door portion 100b located on the housing 100a. The pressing position 10b is the position where the piping member 102 is crushed by the pressing portion 20. Specifically, the pressing position 10b is the position where the process of crushing the target portion 90 (see Figure 5), which will be described later, is performed. The pressing position 10b is located opposite the pressing portion 20. The irradiation position 10c is the position where the welding laser beams L1 and L3 (see Figure 7) and the cutting laser beam L2 (see Figure 7) are irradiated onto the piping member 102, respectively. In other words, the irradiation position 10c is the position where the welding laser beams L1 and L3 are irradiated and the cutting laser beam L2 is irradiated. The irradiation position 10c is located opposite the laser irradiation unit 30. The polishing position 10d is the position where deburring is performed. The polishing position 10d is located opposite the polishing unit 40.

[0033] The removal position 10a, pressing position 10b, irradiation position 10c, and polishing position 10d are arranged in this order clockwise at 90-degree angular intervals when viewed from above in the vertical direction. By rotating the rotating stage 10 90 degrees clockwise when viewed from above in the vertical direction, the cooler 101 fixed to the jig 105 moves sequentially to the removal position 10a, pressing position 10b, irradiation position 10c, and polishing position 10d. Furthermore, by rotating the rotating stage 10 another 90 degrees from the polishing position 10d, the cooler 101 moves from the polishing position 10d to the removal position 10a.

[0034] <Pressing part> As shown in Figure 5, the pressing part 20 flattens the target portion 90 of the piping member 102 by pressing it in the pressing direction, which is the X direction. The pressing direction is along the plane perpendicular to the direction in which the piping member 102 extends. The pressing direction may be along the surface of the cooler 101 facing the piping member 102 (the X direction in Figure 5), or, unlike the example in Figure 5, it may be in the direction in which the surfaces of the piping member 102 and the cooler 101 face each other (the Y direction in Figure 5). The pressing part 20 positions the contact portion 20a along the X direction to sandwich the piping member 102, and performs a pressing operation to press the piping member 102 by moving the contact portion 20a so as to come into contact with the piping member 102. The moving part 21 moves the pressing part 20. For example, the moving unit 21 moves the entire pressing unit 20 in three dimensions (X, Y, and Z directions) and moves the contact portion 20a of the pressing unit 20 in directions that move closer to and further apart from each other along the pressing direction. The moving unit 21 has an air actuator such as an air cylinder, a motor, a solenoid coil, or a hydraulic actuator as a drive source. The moving unit 21 also includes a link mechanism or a sliding mechanism as a moving mechanism that transmits power from the drive source. The moving unit 21 may also have a ball screw mechanism, a rack and pinion mechanism, a belt and pulley mechanism, etc. as a moving mechanism. The position detection unit 22 detects the position of the pressing unit 20. Specifically, the position detection unit 22 detects the distance traveled by the contact portion 20a during the pressing operation of the pressing unit 20 by detecting the position of the contact portion 20a. The position detection unit 22 includes various sensors such as a limit switch or a photoelectric sensor.

[0035] The target portion 90 of the piping member 102 is flattened by the pressing portion 20 so that its size in the X direction decreases and its width in the Y direction increases. Note that the size of the target portion 90 in the Z direction, which is the direction in which the piping member 102 extends, is greater than the width in the Z direction that the pressing portion 20 can press with a single pressing operation. The pressing portion 20 performs the pressing operation multiple times while changing its position in the Z direction by the operation of the moving portion 21. For example, the pressing portion 20 presses an area of ​​4 mm in the Z direction with a single pressing operation. The size of the target portion 90 in the Z direction is, for example, 7 mm. The pressing portion 20 presses an area of ​​7 mm in the Z direction of the target portion 90 by performing two pressing operations while moving the position of the contact portion 20a in the Z direction. The pressing section 20 is configured to easily crush the piping member 102 over a wider area, even when the force applied in a single pressing operation is small, by performing the pressing operation multiple times while changing its position. The pressing section 20 may also be configured to include a chuck portion that holds the tip side of the piping member 102, including the lid member 103, during the period in which the pressing operation is performed.

[0036] As shown in Figure 6, in this embodiment, the pressing unit 20 flattens the target portion 90 along the X direction by pressing it so that the inner surfaces 102a of the piping member 102 come into contact with each other. The pressing unit 20 is configured to flatten the piping member 102 to a predetermined thickness, controlled by the control unit 60. The control unit 60 controls the movement distance of the pressing unit 20. Specifically, the pressing unit 20 flattens the target portion 90 in the X direction to a predetermined width d3, which is smaller than the difference between the outer diameter d1 and the inner diameter d2 of the piping member 102 before it is flattened. In the target portion 90 after it has been pressed, the width d3 from the surface 90a to the back surface 90b in the X direction, which is the pressing direction, is, for example, 75% of the difference between the outer diameter d1 and the inner diameter d2. For example, if the outer diameter d1 of the piping member 102 is 6 mm and the inner diameter d2 is 4 mm, the width d3 from the front surface 90a to the back surface 90b will be 1.5 mm. The control unit 60 does not detect the load on the pressing part 20, but rather controls the movement of the contact portion 20a of the pressing part 20 during the pressing operation to a position where the width d3 of the piping member 102 is equal to the pressing part 20, based on the detection result by the position detection unit 22 which detects the position of the pressing part 20. Note that the front surface 90a and the back surface 90b are examples of the "laser irradiation surface" and "other surface" in the claims.

[0037] <Laser Irradiation Unit> As shown in Figure 7, the laser irradiation unit 30 sequentially irradiates the target portion 90 of the piping member 102 with welding laser light L1, cutting laser light L2, and welding laser light L3. In this embodiment, the welding laser light L1, cutting laser light L2, and welding laser light L3 are irradiated from a common laser irradiation unit 30. The head unit 31 is connected to the laser oscillator 30a, which emits laser light, by an optical fiber or the like, which is a light guide member that guides the laser light. The laser oscillator 30a may be located inside or outside the housing 100a. The head unit 31 irradiates the target portion 90 of the piping member 102 to be irradiated with laser light emitted from the laser oscillator 30a from its tip 31a. The head unit 31 includes, for example, an optical member such as a focusing lens. The blower unit 32 sprays shielding gas G1 and assist gas G2 onto the target portion 90 of the piping member 102. In this embodiment, shield gas G1 and assist gas G2 are, for example, both nitrogen gas. Shield gas G1 and assist gas G2 are injected at different timings. Furthermore, shield gas G1 and assist gas G2 have different flow rates (pressures).

[0038] The chuck portion 33 holds the pipe member 102 beyond the target portion 90. The chuck portion 33 holds the pipe member 102 beyond the target portion 90, including the lid member 103, by clamping it. The moving portion 34 moves each part of the laser irradiation portion 30. The moving portion 34 moves, for example, the head portion 31 and the chuck portion 33 separately in the three-dimensional direction. The moving portion 34 also moves, for example, a holding member positioned in the chuck portion 33 to perform the operation of the chuck portion 33 clamping the pipe member 102. The moving portion 34 has an air actuator such as an air cylinder, a motor, a solenoid coil, or a hydraulic actuator as a drive source. The moving portion 34 also includes a link mechanism or a sliding mechanism as a moving mechanism to transmit power from the drive source. The moving portion 34 may have a ball screw mechanism, a rack and pinion mechanism, a belt and pulley mechanism, etc. as a moving mechanism.

[0039] As shown in Figure 8, the target portion 90 includes a sealing position 91, a cutting position 92, and a sealing position 93. Each of the sealing position 91, cutting position 92, and sealing position 93 is at a different location in the target portion 90. The sealing position 91 is located on the base end side in the Z direction, which is the direction in which the piping member 102 extends, in the target portion 90. The cutting position 92 is located on the tip side in the Z direction in the target portion 90. The sealing position 93 is located between the sealing position 91 and the cutting position 92 in the Z direction in the target portion 90. That is, the cutting position 92 is located on the tip side of the sealing position 91 and sealing position 93. The laser irradiation unit 30 irradiates the sealing position 91 in the target portion 90 with welding laser light L1. The laser irradiation unit 30 irradiates the cutting position 92 in the target portion 90 with cutting laser light L2. The laser irradiation unit 30 irradiates the sealing position 93 in the target portion 90 with welding laser light L1. The welding laser beams L1 and L3 weld sealing positions 91 and 93, respectively, to seal the target portion 90 that has been crushed by the pressing portion 20. The cutting laser beam L2 cuts the piping member 102 at a cutting position 92, which is further forward than sealing positions 91 and 93. Sealing positions 91 and 93 are examples of the "first sealing position" and "second sealing position" in the claims, respectively.

[0040] In this embodiment, after the target portion 90 is flattened by the pressing portion 20, the first welding laser beam L1 is irradiated onto the sealing position 91 with the pressing portion 20 separated from the target portion 90, before the cutting laser beam L2 is irradiated. Then, with the sealing position 91 welded, the cutting laser beam L2 is irradiated onto the cutting position 92. Then, with the target portion 90 cut at the cutting position 92 by the cutting laser beam L2, the welding laser beam L3 is irradiated onto the sealing position 93.

[0041] The sealing position 91 and sealing position 93 are spaced apart by a width that prevents the weld beads from overlapping. For example, if the length of the target portion 90 in the Z direction is 7 mm, the sealing position 91 is positioned 2 mm away from the base end of the target portion 90. The sealing position 93 is positioned 2 mm away from the sealing position 91 towards the tip. The cutting position 92 is positioned 2 mm further away from the sealing position 93 towards the tip. The width of the weld bead in the Z direction is, for example, less than 1 mm. That is, the sealing position 91 and sealing position 93 are positioned at a distance greater than, for example, twice the width of the weld bead.

[0042] The laser irradiation unit 30 irradiates the target portion 90 with welding laser light L1, cutting laser light L2, and welding laser light L3 from one side in the X direction, which is the direction of pressure in which the target portion 90 is pressed, along the X direction. The laser irradiation unit 30 moves along the transverse direction (Y direction) that crosses the pipe member 102, perpendicular to the direction in which the pipe member 102 extends (Z direction) and the direction of pressure (X direction), so as to irradiate the pipe member 102 from one end 90c to the other end 90d in the Y direction with welding laser light L1, cutting laser light L2, and welding laser light L3. The laser irradiation unit 30 does not perform a reciprocating motion in the Y direction, but irradiates the pipe member 102 with welding laser light L1, cutting laser light L2, and welding laser light L3 by a single linear movement from one side to the other in the Y direction. The laser irradiation unit 30, with the head unit 31 positioned to face the X direction by the operation of the moving unit 34, irradiates the welding laser beam L1, cutting laser beam L2, and welding laser beam L3 while translating the entire head unit 31 along the Y direction.

[0043] As shown in Figure 9, when the laser irradiation unit 30 irradiates with welding laser light L1 or welding laser light L3, the blower unit 32 injects shielding gas G1. The shielding gas G1 is injected from the blower unit 32 at a relatively small flow rate (wind pressure). The blower unit 32 injects shielding gas G1 to protect the target part 90 in order to suppress the reaction between molten metal and air during welding.

[0044] As shown in Fig. 10, the laser irradiation unit 30 irradiates welding laser light L1 and welding laser light L3 so as to weld across from the front surface 90a, which is a surface on one side in the X direction of the flattened target portion 90, to the back surface 90b, which is the other surface opposite to the front surface 90a. That is, at each of the sealing position 91 and the sealing position 93, a weld bead 90e is formed so as to penetrate from the front surface 90a on one side in the X direction of the target portion 90 toward the back surface 90b on the other side. Although FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a state where the sealing position 91 is irradiated with the welding laser light L1, the same applies to a case where the sealing position 93 is irradiated with the welding laser light L3 after cutting.

[0045] In addition, as shown in FIG. 11, the laser irradiation unit 30 causes the blower unit 32 to inject assist gas G2 when emitting cutting laser light L2. The assist gas G2 is injected from the blower unit 32 at a relatively large flow rate (wind pressure). The blower unit 32 injects the assist gas G2 for cutting the target portion 90 in order to blow away molten metal during cutting. The pressure at the time of injection of the assist gas G2 is higher than that of the shielding gas G1. For example, the injection pressure of the assist gas G2 is approximately five times that of the shielding gas G1.

[0046] Note that the welding laser light L1 and the welding laser light L3 are set to have the same output and irradiation time. The laser irradiation unit 30 adjusts the irradiation time of the welding laser light L1, the cutting laser light L2, and the welding laser light L3 onto the target portion 90 by adjusting the movement speed of the head unit 31 along the Y direction which is the transverse direction crossing the piping member 102. The cutting laser light L2 irradiated by the laser irradiation unit 30 may be set such that both the output and the irradiation time are equal to those of the welding laser light L1 and the welding laser light L3, or may be set such that at least one of the output and the irradiation time is different from those of the welding laser light L1 and the welding laser light L3.

[0047] As shown in Fig. 12, after cutting by the cutting laser beam L2, the tip portion 104, which is the tip side of the piping member 102 cut off by the cutting laser beam L2, is placed on the tip mounting portion 13 of the rotary stage 10. For example, by moving the chuck portion 33 gripping the cut-off tip portion 104 by the moving portion 34, the tip portion 104 is placed on the tip mounting portion 13. The tip portion 104 is a portion closer to the tip side than the cutting position 92 of the target portion 90 of the piping member 102, and includes the lid member 103. After the irradiation of the welding laser beam L1, the cutting laser beam L2, and the welding laser beam L3 by the laser irradiation unit 30 is completed, the tip portion 104 moves together with the cooler 101 by the rotation of the rotary stage 10 while being placed on the tip mounting portion 13. Note that the laser irradiation unit 30 may include a dust collector.

[0048] <Polishing Section> As shown in Fig. 13, the polishing section 40 performs deburring by polishing the cut surface, which is the end face at the cutting position 92 of the cut piping member 102. For example, the polishing section 40 performs deburring by bringing the contact member 41 into contact with the cut surface of the piping member 102 by moving the contact member 41 while rotating it with the vertical direction as the rotation axis. The polishing section 40 performs deburring on the cut surface at the cutting position 92 from both sides in the X direction, which is the pressing direction. The contact member 41 includes, for example, a file or a brush. The moving section 42 moves each part of the polishing section 40. For example, the moving section 42 moves the entire polishing section 40 in a three-dimensional direction. The moving section 42 has, as a drive source, an air actuator such as an air cylinder, a motor, a solenoid coil, or a hydraulic actuator. Further, the moving section 42 includes a link mechanism as a moving mechanism that transmits the power of the drive source, or a slide moving mechanism, or the like. The moving section 42 may have a ball screw mechanism, a rack and pinion mechanism, a belt and pulley mechanism, or the like as the moving mechanism. Further, the moving section 42 includes, for example, a drive source such as a motor that rotates the contact member 41. The polishing section 40 may include a dust collector.

[0049] <Detection Unit and Control Unit> The detection unit 50 detects the operating state of each part and the arrangement state of the cooler 101 and the piping member 102 in the pipe sealing system 100. Specifically, the orientation detection unit 51 detects the orientation of the cooler 101. The orientation detection unit 51 detects the orientation of the cooler 101 relative to the jig 105 by detecting, for example, the position of the piping member 102 of the cooler 101 fixed to the jig 105 at the removal position 10a. The holding detection unit 52 detects that the cooler 101 is fixed to the jig 105. The holding detection unit 52 detects, for example, the position of the handle member that is placed on the jig 105 to fix the cooler 101 at the removal position 10a. The tip detection unit 53 detects the tip portion 104, which is the detached tip side of the piping member 102. The tip detection unit 53 detects the tip portion 104 placed on the tip mounting unit 13 at, for example, the removal position 10a and the irradiation position 10c.

[0050] Each of the orientation detection unit 51, the holding detection unit 52, and the tip detection unit 53 is arranged, for example, inside the housing 100a. Each of the orientation detection unit 51, the holding detection unit 52, and the tip detection unit 53 includes, for example, a photoelectric sensor, a laser sensor, an image sensor, a proximity sensor, an eddy current sensor, a magnetic sensor, or an ultrasonic sensor. The detection unit 50 outputs a signal indicating the detection result to the control unit 60. The detection unit 50 may also include sensors for determining whether or not the cooler 101 is positioned at each of the removal position 10a, the pressing position 10b, the irradiation position 10c, and the polishing position 10d. Furthermore, the detection unit 50 may also include sensors for determining the type of jig 105 to which the cooler 101 is fixed.

[0051] The control unit 60 includes, for example, a computing device such as a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller), a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array). The control unit 60 may also include a storage device such as volatile or non-volatile memory. The control unit 60 may also include, for example, a computer or a circuit. The control unit 60 is located, for example, in a housing 100a. The housing 100a may also include an operation unit for receiving input operations and a display unit for displaying character information and image information.

[0052] (Pipe sealing method) Next, with reference to Figure 14, the pipe sealing method in the pipe sealing system 100 of this embodiment will be described.

[0053] First, in step S1, the cooler 101 is placed on the rotating stage 10 before the piping members 102 are sealed and cut. Specifically, the door portion 100b of the housing 100a is opened, and an operator fixes the cooler 101 to a jig 105 attached to the main body mounting portion 12 at the removal position 10a of the rotating stage 10. Then, the door portion 100b is closed.

[0054] Next, in step S2, the rotating stage 10 is rotated. Specifically, the operation of the rotation drive unit 11 of the rotating stage 10 is controlled by the control unit 60, causing the rotating stage 10 to rotate by 90 degrees. As a result, the position of the main body mounting section 12 on which the cooler 101 was placed in step S1 moves from the removal position 10a to the pressing position 10b.

[0055] Next, in step S3, the control unit 60 operates the pressing unit 20 to flatten the target portion 90 of the piping member 102 by pressing it so that its inner surfaces 102a come into contact with each other. Specifically, based on the detection result from the position detection unit 22, the control unit 60 controls the movement of the moving unit 21 and controls the movement distance of the pressing unit 20 so that the target portion 90 of the piping member 102 is pressed and flattened to a preset width d3.

[0056] Next, in step S4, the rotating stage 10 rotates by 90 degrees, similar to step S2. As a result, the position of the main body mounting section 12 on which the cooler 101, on which the target portion 90 was pressed in step S3, is placed moves from the pressing position 10b to the irradiation position 10c. Due to the rotation of the rotating stage 10 in step S4, the flattened target portion 90 moves away from the pressing section 20.

[0057] Next, in step S5, the control unit 60 operates the laser irradiation unit 30 to seal the target portion 90 that was crushed in step S3, thereby irradiating the sealing position 91 of the target portion 90 with the first welding laser beam L1. The control unit 60 controls the operation of the laser irradiation unit 30 to irradiate the welding laser beam L1 from one side in the X direction, which is the pressing direction, so as to weld the flattened target portion 90 from the surface 90a to the back surface 90b in the X direction. The control unit 60 moves the laser irradiation unit 30 along the Y direction, which is the transverse direction across the piping member 102, so as to irradiate the welding laser beam L1 along the X direction so as to cross the sealing position 91 in a straight line from one end 90c to the other end 90d in the Y direction, which is the transverse direction.

[0058] Next, in step S6, the control unit 60 operates the laser irradiation unit 30 so that, with the sealing position 91 welded, the cutting laser beam L2 is irradiated onto the cutting position 92 of the target portion 90. Similar to step S5, the control unit 60 controls the operation of the laser irradiation unit 30 so that the laser irradiation unit 30 moves along the Y direction, which is the transverse direction, while irradiating the cutting laser beam L2 from one side in the X direction, which is the pressing direction.

[0059] Next, in step S7, the control unit 60 moves the chuck unit 33 with the moving unit 34, thereby placing the tip portion 104, which is the tip side of the piping member 102 separated by the cutting laser beam L2, onto the tip mounting unit 13 located at the irradiation position 10c of the rotating stage 10.

[0060] Next, in step S8, the control unit 60 operates the laser irradiation unit 30 so that the welding laser beam L3 is irradiated a second time onto the sealing position 93 of the target portion 90. Similar to step S5, the control unit 60 controls the operation of the laser irradiation unit 30 so that the laser irradiation unit 30 moves along the Y direction, which is the transverse direction, while irradiating the welding laser beam L3 from one side in the X direction, which is the pressing direction. Note that the process in step S8 may be performed before step S7.

[0061] Next, in step S9, the rotating stage 10 rotates 90 degrees, similar to step S2. As a result, the position of the main body mounting section 12 on which the cooler 101, whose target portion 90 was sealed and cut in steps S5 to S8, is placed moves from the irradiation position 10c to the polishing position 10d. The position of the tip mounting section 13 on which the tip portion 104, which was separated in step S6, is placed also moves from the irradiation position 10c to the polishing position 10d due to the rotation of the rotating stage 10.

[0062] Next, in step S10, the control unit 60 operates the polishing unit 40, thereby performing a deburring process by polishing the cut surface of the piping member 102 with the polishing unit 40.

[0063] Next, in step S11, the rotating stage 10 is rotated by 90 degrees, similar to step S2. As a result, the position of the main body mounting section 12 on which the deburred cooler 101 is placed moves from the polishing position 10d to the removal position 10a. Similarly to step S9, the position of the tip mounting section 13 on which the separated tip portion 104 is placed also moves from the polishing position 10d to the removal position 10a due to the rotation of the rotating stage 10. In other words, in step S11, the rotating stage 10 is rotated so that both the cooler 101 to which the cut pipe member 102 is connected and the tip portion 104, which is the tip side of the separated pipe member 102, are moved to the removal position 10a.

[0064] Next, in step S12, the cooler 101 to which the cut pipe member 102 is connected and the tip portion 104 are removed. Specifically, the door portion 100b is opened, and an operator removes the cooler 101 from the jig 105 at the removal position 10a of the rotating stage 10, and also removes the tip portion 104 that has been separated from the tip mounting portion 13.

[0065] Furthermore, when sealing and cutting the piping members 102 sequentially for multiple coolers 101, in each of steps S2, S4, and S9, each time the rotating stage 10 is rotated, the door portion 100b is opened, similar to step S12, and the cooler 101 and tip portion 104 are removed at the removal position 10a, and a new cooler 101 is placed on the rotating stage 10, similar to step S1. That is, the pressing operation by the pressing portion 20 at the pressing position 10b in step S3, the irradiation of welding laser light L1, cutting laser light L2, and welding laser light L3 by the laser irradiation portion 30 at the irradiation position 10c in steps S5 to S8, and the deburring process by the polishing portion 40 at the polishing position 10d in step S10 are performed in parallel for different coolers 101.

[0066] Furthermore, the control unit 60 determines whether each process is being performed normally based on the detection results from the detection unit 50. For example, after a new cooler 101 is placed in step S1, the control unit 60 determines whether the cooler 101 is positioned in the correct orientation on the main body mounting unit 12 based on the detection results from the orientation detection unit 51. If the control unit 60 determines that the cooler 101 is not positioned in the correct orientation, it does not perform the rotation of the rotating stage 10 in step S2 and broadcasts an alert indicating an abnormality. Similarly, the control unit 60 determines whether the cooler 101 is properly fixed to the jig 105 based on the detection results from the holding detection unit 52. If the control unit 60 determines that the cooler 101 is not properly fixed, it also does not rotate the rotating stage 10 and broadcasts an alert indicating an abnormality. Furthermore, if the control unit 60 detects that the tip portion 104 is placed on the tip mounting unit 13, which is positioned at the removal position 10a, it will notify the control unit 60 that the tip portion 104 was left behind last time, indicating an abnormality.

[0067] (Effects of this embodiment) In this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0068] In this embodiment, as described above, the pipe sealing method (steps S1 to S12) includes the steps of: operating the laser irradiation unit 30 with the control unit 60 to irradiate welding laser beams L1 and L3 to weld sealing positions 91 and 93, which are at least one sealing position on the target portion 90, in order to seal the crushed target portion 90 (steps S5 and S8); and operating the laser irradiation unit 30 with the control unit 60 to irradiate cutting laser beams L2 to cut the pipe member 102 at a cutting position 92 on the tip side of the sealing positions 91 and 93 on the pipe member 102 (step S6). As a result, by operating the laser irradiation unit 30 with the control unit 60, the pipe member 102 can be automatically sealed by welding and the pipe member 102 can be automatically cut. Therefore, the workload on the worker can be reduced compared to when the welding and cutting of the pipe member 102 are performed manually by the worker. Furthermore, by controlling the operation of the laser irradiation unit 30, which irradiates welding laser beams L1 and L3 and cutting laser beam L2, which are laser beams capable of locally heating the base material, the control unit 60 can control the welding and cutting of the piping member 102 to be performed with consistent movements. As a result, variations in work accuracy can be suppressed compared to when welding and cutting of the piping member 102 is performed manually by an operator. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the quality of sealing of the piping member 102 due to variations in work accuracy. As a result, when sealing the piping member 102 connected to the cooler 101 (main body) filled with refrigerant (filling material), it is possible to reduce the workload and suppress a decrease in the quality of sealing.

[0069] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as described above, the pipe sealing method (steps S1 to S12) includes steps (steps S5 and S8) of irradiating welding laser beams L1 and L3 from one side in the pressing direction (X direction) in which the target portion 90 is pressed, so as to weld from the surface 90a (laser irradiation surface), which is one side of the flattened target portion 90 in the pressing direction, to the back surface 90b (other side), which is the other side opposite to the laser irradiation surface. Here, the inner surfaces 102a of the pipe member 102 are pressed together and flattened, so that the target portion 90 is in a state where two plate-shaped members are crushed so that they overlap each other in the pressing direction. Therefore, by irradiating the flattened target portion 90 with welding laser beams L1 and L3 so as to weld from the surface 90a, which is one side of the target portion 90 in the pressing direction, to the back surface 90b, which is the other side opposite to the surface 90a, the two plate-shaped members of the target portion 90, the surface 90a side and the back surface 90b side, can be welded together without any gaps. As a result, the target portion 90 can be sealed more reliably, and the deterioration of the sealing quality of the target portion 90 can be further suppressed. In addition, by irradiating the target portion 90 with welding laser beams L1 and L3 from one side in the pressing direction in which the target portion 90 is pressed, and welding from the surface 90a to the back surface 90b of the flattened target portion 90, it becomes unnecessary to weld the cut end face, making it possible to perform welding before cutting.

[0070] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as described above, the pipe sealing method (steps S1 to S12) includes steps (steps S5 and S8) of irradiating welding laser beams L1 and L3 across the pipe member 102 from one end 90c to the other end 90d in the transverse direction of the pipe member 102 by moving the laser irradiation unit 30 along the transverse direction (Y direction) that crosses the pipe member 102, perpendicular to the extending direction (Z direction) and the pressing direction (X direction). By irradiating the welding laser beams L1 and L3 across the pipe member 102 from one end 90c to the other end 90d, the entire target portion 90 from end to end in the transverse direction of the pipe member 102 can be welded more reliably. As a result, the target portion 90 can be sealed more reliably, and the deterioration of the sealing quality in the target portion 90 can be further suppressed.

[0071] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as described above, the pipe sealing method (steps S1 to S12) includes a step (step S3) of flattening the target portion 90 of the pipe member 102 with a pressing part 20 that presses the pipe member 102. The pipe sealing method (steps S1 to S12) also includes a step (steps S5 and S8) of irradiating welding laser beams L1 and L3 onto at least one sealing position 91 and 93 on the target portion 90 with welding laser beams while the pressing part 20 is separated from the target portion 90. The pipe sealing method (steps S1 to S12) also includes a step (step S6) of irradiating cutting laser beams L2 with at least one sealing position 91 welded. As a result, by irradiating cutting laser beams L2 with at least one sealing position 91 welded, the inside of the pipe member 102 can be sealed by welding before cutting the pipe member 102. Therefore, compared to cutting the piping member 102 and then welding it, cutting the piping member 102 while it is sealed by welding effectively prevents the refrigerant (filling material) from leaking out of the cooler 101 (main body) connected to the piping member 102.

[0072] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as described above, the pipe sealing method (steps S1 to S12) includes the steps (steps S5 and S8) of irradiating a refrigerant-filling pipe member 102, which is connected to a cooler 101 (main body) filled with refrigerant as a packing material at its base end and has a lid member 103 attached to its tip end for sealing the inside, with welding laser beams L1 and L3. Here, when sealing the refrigerant-filling pipe member 102, which is connected to a cooler 101 filled with refrigerant at its base end and has a lid member 103 attached to its tip end for sealing the inside, if the sealing quality deteriorates, it is thought that the refrigerant from the cooler 101 will leak out and the cooling performance of the cooler 101 will deteriorate. In contrast, in this embodiment, when sealing the refrigerant-filling pipe member 102, which is connected to a cooler 101 and has a lid member 103 attached, the control unit 60 operates the laser irradiation unit 30 to irradiate with welding laser beams L1 and L3, as well as cutting laser beam L2, thereby effectively suppressing the deterioration of the sealing quality. As a result, leakage of refrigerant from the cooler 101 can be effectively suppressed, thus effectively preventing a decrease in the cooling performance of the cooler 101.

[0073] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as described above, the pipe sealing method (steps S1 to S12) includes a step (step S3) in which the control unit 60 controls the movement distance of the pressing part 20 that presses the pipe member 102, thereby crushing the target portion 90 to a size (width d3) smaller than the difference between the outer diameter d1 and the inner diameter d2 of the pipe member 102 before it is crushed. As a result, by controlling the movement distance of the pressing part 20 that presses the pipe member 102 with the control unit 60, the target portion 90 can be crushed more reliably to a size smaller than the difference between the outer diameter d1 and the inner diameter d2 of the pipe member 102 before it is crushed. Therefore, the inner surfaces 102a of the pipe member 102 can be brought into closer contact with each other in the target portion 90, and the target portion 90 can be sealed more reliably. As a result, the deterioration of the sealing quality can be further suppressed.

[0074] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as described above, the pipe sealing method (steps S1 to S12) includes a step (step S5) of irradiating a welding laser beam L1 to at least one sealing position, which is a sealing position 91 (first sealing position), and a step (step S8) of irradiating a welding laser beam L3 to a sealing position 93 (second sealing position) that is different from the sealing position 91. By welding at two locations, the sealing position 91 and the sealing position 93, the pipe member 102 can be sealed more reliably. As a result, the deterioration of the sealing quality can be further suppressed.

[0075] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as described above, the pipe sealing method (steps S1 to S12) includes a step (step S5) of irradiating a sealing position 91 (first sealing position) in the target portion 90 with a welding laser beam L1 before the step (step S6) of irradiating a cutting laser beam L2 to cut the pipe member 102. The pipe sealing method (steps S1 to S12) also includes a step (step S6) of irradiating a cutting position 92 located on the tip side of the sealing position 91 in the target portion 90 with a cutting laser beam L2 while the sealing position 91 is welded. The pipe sealing method (steps S1 to S12) also includes a step (step S8) of irradiating a sealing position 93 (second sealing position) located between the sealing position 91 and the cutting position 92 in the target portion 90 after the step (step S6) of irradiating with a cutting laser beam L2. As a result, by cutting the piping member 102 before welding the sealing position 93 while the sealing position 91 is welded, the sealing position 93 on the tip side of the sealing position 91 can be released from its sealed state. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the sealing position 93 from being welded while it is filled with refrigerant (filling material), and thus prevent defects such as the generation of voids caused by the refrigerant during welding of the sealing position 93. As a result, defects in welding caused by the refrigerant at the sealing position 93 can be suppressed, further preventing a deterioration in the quality of the sealing.

[0076] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as described above, the pipe sealing method (steps S1 to S12) includes a step (step S6) in which the cutting laser beam L2 is irradiated by operating a laser irradiation unit 30 common to the welding laser beams L1 and L3 using the control unit 60. Here, if the welding laser beams L1 and L3 and the cutting laser beam L2 are irradiated by different laser irradiation units, it is necessary to move the pipe member 102 or rearrange the different laser irradiation units during the irradiation of the welding laser beams L1 and L3 and the irradiation of the cutting laser beam L2. In that case, the work process in the pipe sealing method becomes complicated due to the step of moving the pipe member 102 or the step of rearranging the laser irradiation units. Also, if the welding laser beams L1 and L3 and the cutting laser beam L2 are irradiated by different laser irradiation units, the cost increases due to the arrangement of different laser irradiation units. In contrast, in this embodiment, the step of irradiating with cutting laser light L2 (step S6) is performed by operating a laser irradiation unit 30 that is common to both welding laser light L1 and L3. This makes it possible to suppress the complexity of the work process and to suppress the increase in costs.

[0077] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as described above, the pipe sealing method (steps S1 to S12) includes a step (step S10) in which, after the step of irradiating with cutting laser light L2 (step S6), the cut surface of the pipe member 102 is polished by the polishing unit 40 to remove burrs. By performing deburring by polishing the cut surface, the shape of the cut surface can be made smoother.

[0078] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as described above, the pipe sealing method (steps S1 to S12) includes a pressing position 10b in which a step of crushing the target portion 90 (step S3) is performed, an irradiation position 10c in which welding laser beams L1 and L3 are irradiated (steps S5 and S8) and cutting laser beam L2 is irradiated (step S6), and a removal position 10a in which a step of removing the cooler 101 (main body) to which the piping member 102 is connected (step S12) is performed, and a step of placing the cooler 101 on a rotating stage 10 which rotates to swap the position of the cooler 101 to which the piping member 102 is connected between the pressing position 10b, the irradiation position 10c, and the removal position 10a. As a result, by rotating the rotating stage 10 on which the cooler 101 is mounted, the cooler 101 can be easily moved to the pressing position 10b where the process of crushing the target portion 90 is performed, the irradiation position 10c where the processes of irradiating with welding laser beams L1 and L3 and irradiating with cutting laser beam L2 are performed, and the removal position 10a where the process of removing the cooler 101 is performed. Therefore, by rotating the rotating stage 10 on which the cooler 101 is mounted, it is possible to easily switch between each process (steps S3, S5, S6, S8, and S12), and the working time required to switch between each process can be shortened.

[0079] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as described above, the pipe sealing method (steps S1 to S12) includes a step (step S7) in which the tip portion 104 of the pipe member 102 separated by the cutting laser light L2 is placed on the rotating stage 10, after the step (step S6) in which the cutting laser light L2 is irradiated. Furthermore, the pipe sealing method (steps S1 to S12) includes a step (step S11) in which the rotating stage 10 is rotated so as to move both the cooler 101 (main body) to which the cut pipe member 102 is connected and the tip portion 104 of the separated pipe member 102 to the removal position 10a, after the step (step S7) in which the tip portion 104 is placed on the rotating stage 10. As a result, by rotating the rotating stage 10 on which the cooler 101 is placed, both the cooler 101 to which the cut pipe member 102 is connected and the tip portion 104 of the cut pipe member 102 move to the removal position 10a, allowing the worker to easily remove both the cooler 101 to which the cut pipe member 102 is connected and the tip portion 104 of the cut pipe member 102. Furthermore, since the tip portion 104 of the cut pipe member 102 is moved to the removal position 10a while still placed on the rotating stage 10, it is possible to suppress physical interference between other components and the lid member 103 attached to the tip portion 104 of the pipe member 102 during movement. Therefore, it is possible to suppress any abnormalities occurring in the lid member 103 attached to the tip portion 104 of the pipe member 102, and thus the lid member 103 can be easily reused.

[0080] (Modifications) It should be noted that the embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative and not restrictive in all respects. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims rather than the description of the embodiments above, and further includes all modifications (modifications) within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims.

[0081] For example, the above embodiment shows an example in which welding laser beams L1 and L3 are irradiated to two different sealing positions 91 (first sealing position) and sealing position 93 (second sealing position) of the target portion 90, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In the present invention, as shown in the first modified example in Figure 15, the welding laser beam L1 may be irradiated only to one sealing position 91 (first sealing position) without irradiating the second sealing position with welding laser beam. In other words, in the pipe sealing method, the second irradiation of the welding laser beam in step S8 may be omitted. Furthermore, welding laser beams may be irradiated to three or more sealing positions.

[0082] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example was shown in which welding is performed by irradiating the target portion 90 with welding laser beams L1 and L3 so as to penetrate from one side in the X direction, which is the pressing direction, from the surface 90a (laser irradiation surface), which is one side of the target portion 90 in the pressing direction, to the back surface 90b (other side), which is the other side. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, welding may be performed not to penetrate from one side of the target portion to the other side, but only to an intermediate position in the pressing direction of the target portion.

[0083] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example was shown in which the laser irradiation unit 30 is moved along the Y direction, which is a transverse direction perpendicular to the Z direction, which is the direction in which the piping member 102 extends, while the welding laser beams L1 and L3 and the cutting laser beam L2 are irradiated along the X direction, which is the pressing direction. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, when irradiating with welding laser beams and cutting laser beams, the laser irradiation unit may be moved along a direction that is offset from the direction perpendicular to the direction in which the piping member extends. Also, the irradiation direction of the welding laser beams and cutting laser beams may be a direction different from the pressing direction.

[0084] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example was shown in which the target portion 90 of the piping member 102 is flattened by the pressing portion 20, and then the welding laser beams L1 and L3 are irradiated with the pressing portion 20 separated from the target portion 90. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the welding laser beam may be irradiated with the pressing portion positioned on the target portion for flattening it. For example, the target portion may be pressed by a pressing device as the pressing portion, and the welding laser beam may be irradiated with the target portion while it is being pressed by the pressing device. By keeping the target portion pressed until welding with the welding laser beam is completed, it is possible to suppress leakage of the filling material even if cutting is performed before welding. Also, even when the pressing operation is performed multiple times while changing the position in the direction in which the piping member extends on the target portion, it is possible to suppress leakage of the filling material by keeping at least one place on the target portion pressed until welding with the welding laser beam is completed. In addition, after pressing the target portion, the cutting laser beam may be irradiated before the welding laser beam is irradiated. In other words, the piping component may be cut before sealing by welding. The pressing action on the target portion may be performed multiple times or only once.

[0085] Furthermore, although the above embodiment shows an example of sealing and cutting a piping member 102 connected to a cooler 101 (main body) filled with a refrigerant as a packing material, the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, sealing and cutting of piping members connected to a cooler other than a cooler may also be performed. For example, the main body to which the piping member is connected may be a container filled with liquid or gas as a packing material.

[0086] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example was shown in which the control unit 60 controls the movement distance (position) of the pressing unit 20 based on the detection result of the position detection unit 22, thereby crushing the target portion 90 to a width d3 which is 75% of the difference between the outer diameter d1 and the inner diameter d2 of the piping member 102. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the target portion may be crushed to a size greater than 75% of the difference between the outer diameter and the inner diameter of the piping member, or to a size smaller than 75% of the difference between the outer diameter and the inner diameter. In addition, the position of the pressing unit may not be detected, but the magnitude of the force (torque) applied to the pressing unit may be detected to control the crushing of the target portion with a predetermined force. Alternatively, the operation of the pressing unit may not be controlled by the control unit, and the target portion may be pressed and crushed by the operator's manual labor.

[0087] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example was shown in which the cutting laser beam L2 was irradiated after the first welding laser beam L1, and the second welding laser beam L3 was irradiated after the cutting laser beam L2. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the cutting laser beam may be irradiated after two (or more) welding laser beams. Alternatively, the welding laser beam may be irradiated two (or more) times after the cutting laser beam.

[0088] Furthermore, although the above embodiment shows an example in which welding laser beams L1 and L3 and cutting laser beam L2 are irradiated by a common laser irradiation unit 30, the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the laser irradiation unit that irradiates the welding laser beam and the laser irradiation unit that irradiates the cutting laser beam may be arranged separately from each other. Also, the laser irradiation unit that irradiates the first welding laser beam and the laser irradiation unit that irradiates the second welding laser may be arranged separately from each other.

[0089] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example was shown in which the welding laser beam L1 and the welding laser beam L3 are set to have the same output and irradiation time, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the output of the first welding laser beam and the second welding laser beam may be set to be different from each other, or the irradiation times may be set to be different from each other.

[0090] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example was shown in which the shielding gas G1 injected by the blower unit 32 during welding and the assisting gas G2 injected by the blower unit 32 during cutting are both nitrogen gas, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the shielding gas and the assisting gas may be different types of gases. Also, the shielding gas and the assisting gas may be air, oxygen, argon, or helium, etc. Furthermore, the blower unit that injects the shielding gas and the blower unit that injects the assisting gas may be arranged separately from each other.

[0091] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example was shown in which the cooler 101 (main body) is moved to the pressing position 10b, the irradiation position 10c, and the polishing position 10d by rotating the rotating stage 10 on which the cooler 101 (main body) is mounted, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the main body may be moved by sliding movement (linear movement) instead of rotational movement. The main body may also be moved by a moving mechanism such as a conveyor device or a robot arm. Alternatively, the main body may be moved by an operator gripping it.

[0092] Furthermore, although the above embodiment shows an example in which a polishing section 40 for deburring is provided, the present invention is not limited thereto. In the present invention, a polishing section may not be provided and deburring may not be performed. For example, the worker may manually deburr the pipe member after cutting is complete.

[0093] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example was shown in which the tip portion 104, which is the front end of the detached piping member 102, is placed on the rotating stage 10 and moved to the removal position 10a together with the cooler 101 (main body), but the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the tip portion of the detached piping member may be placed on a jig to which the main body is fixed. Alternatively, the tip portion of the detached piping member may be discharged by a moving mechanism arranged separately from the rotating stage that moves the main body. Alternatively, the tip portion of the detached piping member may be stored in a storage compartment provided inside the housing.

[0094] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example was shown in which the cooler 101 (main body) is placed on the rotating stage 10 in a direction in which the piping member 102 extends along the vertical direction, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the main body may be placed in a direction in which the piping member extends along the horizontal direction. In that case as well, it is preferable that the piping member be positioned higher in the vertical direction relative to the other parts of the main body so that there is no liquid refrigerant (filling material) inside the target part of the piping member. For example, as shown in the second modified example in Figure 16, the cooler 101 may be placed in a direction in which the piping member 102 is positioned directly above the cooler 101 (main body) in the vertical direction (Z direction). Also, as shown in the third modified example in Figure 17, when the piping member 102 is positioned to the side of the cooler 101 (main body), the cooler 101 may be placed in a direction in which the position of the piping member 102 is higher in the vertical direction (Z direction). In the third modified example shown in Figure 17, the position of the piping member in the Z direction is positioned higher than the midpoint of the cooler 101 in the Z direction.

[0095] 10 Rotating stage 10a Removal position 10b Pressing position 10c Irradiation position 10d Polishing position 20 Pressing part 30 Laser irradiation part 31 Head part 33 Chuck part 40 Polishing part 60 Control unit 90 Target part 90a Surface (laser irradiation surface) 90b Back surface (other surface) 90c End on one side 90d End on the other side 91 Sealing position (first sealing position) 92 Cutting position 93 Sealing position (second sealing position) 100 Pipe sealing system 101 Cooler (main body) 102 Piping member 102a Inner surface 103 Lid member 104 Tip part

Claims

1. A pipe sealing method comprising: a step of crushing a target portion of a pipe member, whose base end is connected to a main body filled with a filler, by pressing it so that the inner surfaces of the pipe member come into contact with each other; a step of operating a laser irradiation unit with a control unit to irradiate a welding laser beam to weld at least one sealing position on the target portion so as to seal the crushed target portion; and a step of operating the laser irradiation unit with the control unit to irradiate a cutting laser beam to cut the pipe member at a cutting position on the tip side of the sealing position on the pipe member.

2. The pipe sealing method according to claim 1, wherein the step of irradiating the target portion with welding laser light includes irradiating the target portion with welding from one side in the pressing direction in which the target portion is pressed, to the other side, which is the other side, opposite to the laser irradiation surface, from the laser irradiation surface, which is the one side of the flattened target portion in the pressing direction.

3. The pipe sealing method according to claim 2, wherein the step of irradiating with welding laser light includes moving the laser irradiation unit along a transverse direction that crosses the pipe member perpendicular to the direction in which the pipe member extends and the pressing direction, thereby irradiating with welding laser light so as to cross the pipe member from one end to the other end in the transverse direction.

4. The pipe sealing method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the step of crushing the target portion includes a step of flattening the target portion of the pipe member with a pressing part that presses the pipe member, the step of irradiating with welding laser light includes a step of irradiating with welding laser light to at least one of the sealing positions on the target portion with the pressing part separated from the target portion after the target portion has been flattened, and the step of irradiating with cutting laser light includes a step of irradiating with cutting laser light with at least one of the sealing positions welded.

5. The pipe sealing method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the step of irradiating with welding laser light includes irradiating with welding laser light to the refrigerant-filling piping member, which is connected at the base end to a cooler, which is the main body, filled with the refrigerant as the filler, and to which a lid member for sealing the inside is attached at the tip end.

6. The pipe sealing method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the step of crushing the target portion includes a step of crushing the target portion to a size smaller than the difference between the outer diameter and inner diameter of the pipe member before crushing, by controlling the movement distance of the pressing portion that presses the pipe member with the control unit.

7. The pipe sealing method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the step of irradiating with welding laser light includes the step of irradiating with welding laser light to at least one sealing position, which is a first sealing position, and the step of irradiating with welding laser light to a second sealing position different from the first sealing position.

8. The pipe sealing method according to claim 7, wherein the step of irradiating the first sealing position with the welding laser light includes the step of irradiating the first sealing position in the target portion with the welding laser light before the step of irradiating the cutting laser light for cutting the pipe member, the step of irradiating the cutting laser light includes the step of irradiating the cutting position in the target portion located toward the tip of the first sealing position, with the first sealing position welded, and the step of irradiating the second sealing position with the welding laser light includes the step of irradiating the second sealing position in the target portion located between the first sealing position and the cutting position, after the step of irradiating the cutting laser light.

9. The pipe sealing method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the step of irradiating with the cutting laser light includes the step of irradiating with the cutting laser light by operating the laser irradiation unit, which is common to the welding laser light, by the control unit.

10. The pipe sealing method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising the step of deburring the cut surface of the pipe member by polishing it with a polishing unit after the step of irradiating it with the cutting laser light.

11. A pipe sealing method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising the step of placing the main body on a rotating stage that includes a pressing position in which the step of crushing the target portion is performed, an irradiation position in which the step of irradiating with welding laser light and the step of irradiating with cutting laser light are performed, and an extraction position in which the step of extracting the main body to which the piping member is connected is performed, and which rotates to swap the position of the main body to which the piping member is connected between the pressing position, the irradiation position, and the extraction position, respectively.

12. The pipe sealing method according to claim 11, further comprising: a step of placing the tip portion of the pipe member separated by the cutting laser light onto the rotating stage after the step of irradiating with the cutting laser light; and a step of rotating the rotating stage after the step of placing the tip portion onto the rotating stage, so as to move both the main body to which the cut pipe member is connected and the separated tip portion of the pipe member to the removal position.

13. A pipe sealing system comprising: a pressing unit that crushes a target portion of a pipe member, whose base end is connected to a main body filled with a filling material, by pressing the inner surfaces of the pipe member together so as to come into contact with each other; a laser irradiation unit that irradiates a welding laser beam to weld at least one sealing position on the target portion so as to seal the crushed target portion, and a cutting laser beam to cut the pipe member at a cutting position on the tip side of the sealing position on the pipe member; and a control unit that controls the operation of the pressing unit and the laser irradiation unit.

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