Vehicle body manufacturing apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9993899-B2
Application number	US-201514845125-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 3, 2015
Priority date	Sep 4, 2014
Publication date	Jun 12, 2018
Grant date	Jun 12, 2018

Abstract

A vehicle body manufacturing apparatus includes: a jig that holds one work of the vehicle body, positions the one work to the another work, and joins the works together at a joint section; a welding gun that welds a weld portion in the joint section by an electrode that is moved along a pressure axis and pressed against the weld portion; and a welding position fixing member that regulates the pressure axis, along which the electrode is moved, within a setting area, the welding position fixing member being movable in a coaxial direction to the pressure axis along which the electrode is moved, being contactable with the joint section to interpose the joint section between the jig and the welding position fixing member, and having a controllable pressure at a time of welding the weld portion by the electrode, which is moved at the time of welding.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicle body manufacturing apparatus temporary to assemble a vehicle body by welding a first work of the vehicle body to a second work by spot the vehicle body manufacturing apparatus comprising:
a jig to hold the first work of the vehicle body and to position, the first work to die second work, the first work being on the second work at a joint section;
a welding gun to weld a weld portion in the joint section by at least one electrode that is moved along a pressure axis and pressed against the weld portion; and
a welding position fixing member to fix a position of the pressure axis along which the at least one electrode of the welding gun is moved,
wherein the jig and the welding position fixing member are configured to directly and simultaneously clamp the first and second works at the joint section between the jig and the welding position fixing member by tire welding position fixing member moving toward the jig in the coaxial direction of the pressure axis, and wherein the welding gun and the welding position fixing member are attached to an arm movable with respect to the vehicle body and operating independently of the jig.

2. The apparatus for manufacturing a vehicle body according to claim 1 , wherein
the at least one electrode comprises a fixed side electrode, and
a portion of the welding position fixing member, the portion being in contact with the joint section, is provided near the fixed side electrode of the welding gun, and is in contact with a surface of the joint section, the surface being opposed to the fixed side electrode.

3. The apparatus for manufacturing a vehicle body according to claim 1 , wherein the jig comprises an upper jig that makes a joint at an upper portion of the vehicle body.

4. The apparatus for manufacturing a vehicle body according to claim 1 , wherein a portion of the jig contacts the first work of the vehicle body.

5. The apparatus for manufacturing a vehicle body according to claim 1 , wherein a portion of the jig contacts the first work of the vehicle body simultaneously with the welding position fixing member as the welding gun welds the weld portion.

6. The apparatus for manufacturing a vehicle body according to claim 1 , wherein the jig independently contacts the first work of the vehicle body at a different location of the first work than where the welding position fixing member contacts the first work.

7. The apparatus for manufacturing a vehicle body according to claim 1 , wherein the jig contacts the first work of the vehicle body at a different location of the first work than a location of the weld portion.

8. The apparatus for manufacturing a vehicle body according to claim 1 , wherein holding, positioning, and fixing of the first work of the vehicle body is jointly performed by the jig and the welding position fixing member.

9. The apparatus for manufacturing a vehicle body according to claim 1 , wherein the jig holds the first work and the second work prior to the jig and the welding position fixing member clamping the first and second works at the joint section.

10. The apparatus for manufacturing a vehicle body according to claim 1 , wherein the welding position fixing member comprises a sub-pressure plate.

11. The apparatus for manufacturing a vehicle body according to claim 1 , wherein the jig and the welding gun concurrently clamps, positions, and fixes the first and second works.

12. The apparatus for manufacturing a vehicle body according to claim 10 , wherein the jig and the sub-pressure plate concurrently clamps, positions, and fixes the first and second works.

13. The apparatus for manufacturing a vehicle body according to claim 2 , wherein a portion of the welding position fixing member, the portion being in contact with the joint section, is extended from a movement axis of the welding position fixing member toward the fixed side electrode of the welding gun, and is rotatably provided.

14. The apparatus for manufacturing a vehicle body according to claim 2 , wherein the jig comprises an upper jig that makes a joint at an upper portion of the vehicle body.

15. The apparatus for manufacturing a vehicle body according to claim 13 , wherein the jig comprises an upper jig that makes a joint at an upper portion of the vehicle body.

Assignees

• Fuji Heavy Ind Ltd
• Subaru Corp

Inventors

• Sakamoto Noboru

Classifications

• B23K2101/18

  Sheet panels · CPC title

• B23K2101/006

  Vehicles · CPC title

• B23K2103/04

  Steel {or steel} alloys · CPC title

• B23K11/364

  Clamping contacts · CPC title

• B23K11/115

  by means of two electrodes placed opposite one another on both sides of the welded parts · CPC title