WELDING EQUIPMENT AND WELDING METHOD

• US 20100200554A1
• Filed: 07/03/2008
• Published: 08/12/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/04/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Mikata, Hironari, Tanzawa, Masaki, Fujimoto, Hiroki, Uchida, Keisuke, Ohno, Masaki, Ihata, Shinji, Miyajima, Hiroshi, Nishio, Masahiro
• Application Number:
  US12/667,485
• Publication Number:
  US 20100200554A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 219/137.R
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 26/044 Seam tracking
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 26/147 Features outside the nozzle for feeding the fluid stream towards the workpiece
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 9/1278 Using mechanical means

Abstract

Welding equipment includes a torch for irradiating a laser beam, wire feeding means for feeding a filler wire, and tracking means for controlling the moving tracks of the torch and the wire feeding means so as to make the moving tracks follow a welding line. The tracking means has a contactor provided so as to be advanceable/retractable for making contact with a joint object resiliently. The torch and the wire feeding means are moved so as to follow the welding line by touching the contactor of the tracking means resiliently to the joint object while feeding the filler wire to a welding portion and irradiating that portion with the laser beam, thereby joining the joint objects.

Claims

1. Welding equipment which includes:

a torch that provides thermal energy to a welding portion;

a wire feeding device that feeds a filler wire to the welding portion; and

a tracking device that makes moving tracks of the torch and the wire feeding device follow a welding line; and

in which joint objects are mutually joined by moving the torch and the wire feeding device along the welding line by using the tracking device while feeding the filler wire to the welding portion by using the wire feeding device and providing thermal energy to that portion by using the torch, wherein

the tracking device has a contactor that has a bar shape and is provided adjacent to the filler wire fed by the wire feeding device, the contactor being advanceable/retractable or rotatable to make resilient contact with the joint object.

2. Welding equipment which includes:

a torch that provides thermal energy to a welding portion;

a wire feeding device that feeds a filler wire to the welding portion; and

a tracking device that makes moving tracks of the torch and the wire feeding device follow a welding line; and

in which joint objects are mutually joined by moving the torch and the wire feeding device along the welding line by using the tracking device while feeding the filler wire to the welding portion by using the wire feeding device and providing thermal energy to that portion by using the torch, the welding equipment comprising

a contactor that has a bar shape and is provided adjacent to the filler wire fed by the wire feeding device, the contactor being advanceable/retractable or rotatable to make resilient contact with the joint object and a control device that detects a gap generated between the joint objects based on a displacement of the contactor and controls at least one of the thermal energy from the torch and a feeding speed of the filler wire by the wire feeding device depending on the detected gap.

3. A welding method, in which joint objects are mutually joined by moving a torch and wire feeding means device along a welding line by using a tracking device while feeding a wire to a welding portion by using the wire feeding device and providing thermal energy to that portion by using the torch, wherein

a contactor that has a bar shape and is provided adjacent to the filler wire fed by the wire feeding device and is able to advance/retract or rotate, is provided as the tracking device, and

the torch and the wire feeding device are moved along the welding line by making the contactor resiliently in contact with the joint object.

4. A welding method, in which joint objects are mutually joined by moving a torch and a wire feeding device along a welding line by using a tracking device while feeding a wire to a welding portion by using the wire feeding device and providing thermal energy to that portion by using the torch, wherein

a contactor that has a bar shape and is placed adjacent to the filler wire fed by the wire feeding device is provided so as to be advanceable/retractable or rotatable to make resilient contact with the joint object,

a gap generated between the joint objects is detected based on a displacement of the contactor, and

at least one of the thermal energy from the torch and a feeding speed of a filler wire by the wire feeding device is controlled depending on the detected gap.