Apparatus and method capable of manufacturing two or more different types of welded panels

Abstract: An apparatus for manufacturing a single welded panel from a plurality of material panels by abutting together the material panels using a welder member and irradiating the abutted edges with a welding beam. The apparatus includes two or more bases each provided for each type of welded panel to be manufactured and for supporting the welder member and material panels for the each type of welded panel, and guide rails for guiding one of the bases to a welding beam irradiation region, whereby two or more different types of welded panels can be manufactured.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an apparatus and a method capable of manufacturing a single welded panel by welding abutted edges of a plurality of blanks and, more particularly, to an apparatus and a method capable of manufacturing a plurality of different types of welded panels. When an automotive door panel is produced with a press from a single material, a portion thereof having a considerably large area corresponding to a window is wasted, which is undesired from the standpoint of the effective utilization of the material. Accordingly, an apparatus for manufacturing a welded panel 50C, as shown in FIG. 9, has been developed. In this apparatus, a plurality of blanks 20C, 22C, 24C and 26C are set in an abutting relation to one another using a welding fixture 30C and are welded together by irradiating their abutted edges WL with a welding beam (for instance a laser beam LZ). In this way, a single welded panel 50C is produced. This apparatus is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 59-220229. FIG. 10 shows an apparatus for welded panel manufacture, which realizes this technique. FIG. 9 shows an example of manufacturing a welded panel 50C of type C, while FIG. 10 shows an example of manufacturing a welded panel D of type D. In FIG. 10, designated at I is a prearranging section, in which stacks of blanks 20D, 22D, 24D, 26D and 28D are set on a pallet 18D, which is moved along guide rails 13 and 15 to a material input section II. In the material input section II, the stacks of blanks 20D, 22D, 24D, 26D and 28D are fed one by one from the uppermost ones to a welding fixture 30D by a material feeder (not shown). In the welding fixture 30D, the individual blanks in a set are positioned such that their edges are abutted as in the example shown in FIG. 9. Designated at III is a welding section. In this section, the abutted edges WL as shown in FIG. 9 are irradiated with a laser beam coupled from a laser oscillator 42 via a torch 46. As a result, the blanks 20D, 22D, 24D, 26D and 28D in the set are welded together to obtain a single welded panel 50D. The welded panel 50D thus obtained is fed by a feeder 53 to a grinding section IV. In the grinding section IV, the welding bead is ground away with a rotating grindstone. Designated at V is a punching section, in which the corners (designated at X in FIG. 9) between adjacent abutted blanks are finished to be smooth by a punching process. Designated at VI are a stacking section, in which finished welded panels 50D are stacked on a base 86. When a predetermined number of finished welded panels are stacked, they are fed to the next step by moving the base 86 supporting them along guide rails 88 and 90. When a single welded panel is produced by welding together the individual blanks in one set, the wasted material can be extremely reduced. However, the manufacture of one type of welded panel requires an exclusive manufacturing system, and it is difficult to provide a manufacturing system, which can manufacture a number of different types of welded panels; for instance, it is difficult for the apparatus shown in FIG. 10 to manufacture welded panels of types C and D. In order to be able to manufacture a plurality of different types of welded panels with the apparatus shown in FIG. 10, it may be thought to permit movement of a positioning stopper for the welding fixture 30 and also positioning cylinders for the blanks such as to conform to the intended type of welded panel. However, for the irradiation of the abutted edges with a welding beam it is necessary for the positions of the abutted edges to have an accuracy of about 0.1 mm. Therefore, with the system, in which the position of the stopper for the welding fixture 30 is variable, it is impossible to ensure satisfactory welding. As another proposal, it may be thought to prepare welding fixtures 30 for different types of welded panels and provide means for guiding a welding fixture in a direction perpendicular to the direction of feed of the work so as to permit replacement of the welding fixture with desired ones. However, as shown in FIG. 10, the laser oscillator 42, the laser beam guide path 44, the mechanism for scanning the laser beam torch 46, etc. are disposed complicatedly along the edge of the welding section III requiring the welding fixture 30, and therefore it is extremely difficult to dispose the replacement means for the welding fixture 30 such as not to interfere with these components. Particularly, where a plurality of laser beam torches 46 are disposed (two torches 46B and 46F being disposed in the example of FIG. 10) to effect welding of a plurality of abutment edges at a time so as to improve the welding speed, the structure of the welding section III is correspondingly complicated, and it is extremely difficult to provide the replacement means for the welding fixture 30 such as to be free from the interference. Particularly, where laser oscillators are disposed on the opposite sides of the line, it is almost impossible to secure the welding fixture replacement paths. For the above reasons, it is difficult to realize the idea of replacing the welding fixture 30. Furthermore, from the document D1 (FR-A-2 523 221), a workpiece gripping and manipulating apparatus for laser welding systems is known. This apparatus transfers a mounting plate which carries the workpiece into a welding station and back after the workpiece has been treated by welding. Each workpiece is latched to such a mounting plate before it enters the welding station. One particular disadvantage of this known apparatus is that it is unsuitable for mass-production of workpieces since it requires a high number of mounting plates, which hold the workpiece very precisely in their welding position. It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide a manufacturing apparatus and a method for manufacturing welded panels, which have a high flexibility in manufacturing different types of welded panels at reduced manufacturing cost. The object is solved with an apparatus having the features recited in the new claim 1 and with a method according to claim 9. According to the invention, a base member is provided which carries a stack of sets of blanks to be welded together at their abuting edges, and a suitable welding fixture which precisely holds the blanks in position during welding. The base member is movable into a welding section. In the welding section, the sets of blanks on the base member are fed to the welding fixture and are welded in a subsequent step. The provision of a plurality of base members carrying a stack of blanks and a suitable welding fixture, and the base members being selectively movable to the welding section allows a high production efficiency of the apparatus, since base members which are not in the welding section can, in the meantime, be equipped with new sets of blanks. Futhermore, only one welding fixture is required for the stack of blanks on the base member. The flexibility of the apparatus is increased since each base member carries a welding fixture and a stack of sets of blanks, which sets of blanks and which welding fixture can be of a different type than those on other base members, so that a different type of panels can be manufactured on each base member. According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the replacement of the welding fixture is simplified. To this end, a welding fixture support space on the base, for supporting the welding fixture, has an opening, through which the welding fixture is raised from the base by a lift being raised. Further, a frame is disposed above the welding beam irradiation region, and an upper die of the welding fixture can be mounted on the frame. The upper die is thus mounted and dismounted by the lift. Also, the upper and lower dies can be opened and closed by the same lift. In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, a strong abutment of blank edges is caused. To this end, the welding fixture is provided with raising members for curving blanks. The blanks are positioned in their curved state. When the curved state is subsequently released, the abutment edges are strongly abutted. The invention will be more fully understood from the description of the embodiments thereof with reference to the drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing an embodiment of the apparatus; FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing the embodiment of the apparatus: FIG. 3 is a schematic top view showing a lower die of a welding fixture; FIGS. 4A to 4G are views showing a manner in which blanks are positioned by the welding fixture; FIGS. 5A to 5D are views showing one cycle of movement of the welding fixture; FIGS. 6A and 6B are views showing a grinding head in detail; FIG. 7 is a view showing a punching section in detail; and FIG. 8 is a view showing punching spots; FIG. 9 is a view showing a prior art; and FIG. 10 is a view showing a prior art apparatus. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A specific embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8. FIGS. 1 and 2 schematically show the apparatus, in side view in FIG. 1 and in plan view in FIG. 2. Reference numerals used in FIGS. 9 and 10 designate like of equivalent parts. "A" in the reference numerals indicates type A, and "B" type B. L in parentheses indicates right side location in the plan view of FIG. 2, L left side location, and C central location. F indicates forward location, and B backward location. Omission of the subscript indicates that the description is common to all types of welded panels. First, prearranging section I will be described. In the prearranging section I, a pair of guide rails 2 and 4 are laid on a floor. The guide rails 2 and 4 extend in a direction perpendicular to work feed direction (i.e., vertical directions in FIG. 2). A self-running base member 6 can run along the guide rails 2 and 4. Two pairs of guide rails 8 and 10, and 12 and 14, are secured to the top of the base member 6. These guide rails 8 and 10, and 12 and 14, extend in the work feed direction. A right side base 16R rests on the right side guide rails 8 and 10. A left side base 16L rests on the left side guide rails 12 and 14. In the illustrated state of this embodiment, the blanks (20A, 22A, 24A, 26A and 28A) and welding fixture (30A) for type A are supported on the right side base 16R. The illustrated state is a prearranging state for switching over to the manufacture Of type A welded panel after the end of the manufacture of type B, as will be described later in detail. The blanks (20A, 22A, 24A, 26A and 28A) are supported on the base 16R via a pallet 18A. Actually, a plurality of sets of blanks (20A, 22A, 24A, 26A and 28A) are supported as a stack, as shown in FIG. 10. The base 16R has an opening 17R provided at the front end. The welding fixture 30A is supported on the base 16A at the left and right sides of the opening 17R. As shown clearly in FIG. 1, a feed jaw 32A is provided on the welding fixture 30A. On the left side base 16L are supported blanks (20B, 22B, 24B, 26B and 28B) and welding fixture (30B) for type B welded panel. Like the type A, a plurality of sets of blanks are supported as a stack via a pallet 18B, the base 16L has an opening 17L, and the welding fixture 30B is supported on the base 16L at the left and right sides of the opening 17L. A pair of, i.e., left and right, guide rails 36 and 38 are laid from feed-in section II to welding section III. The guide rails 36 and 38 can extend from either guide rails 8 and 10 or guide rails 12 and 14 on the base member 6. When the base member 6 is located at position 6(R), the guide rails 12 and 14 extend for operation. When the base member 6 is at position 6(L), the guide rails 8 and 10 extend. In the illustrated state, the base member 6 is at position 6(R), the guide rails 36 and 38 extend from the guide rails 12 and 14, and the left base 16L has been advanced in the central position. This state corresponds to the manufacture of the type B welded panel. When the manufacture of the type B welded panel has been completed, the left base 16L is retreated from position (CF) to position (CB). Then, the base member 6 is moved from position 6(R) to position 6(L). As a result, the left base 16L is retreated to position 16L(LB). On the other hand, the right base 16R is advanced to the position (CF) after movement of the base member 6 to the position 6(L). Thus, the state is switched over to one for next manufacturing type A welded panel. When continuously manufacturing the type A after manufacture of the same type A, the blanks for the type A are set on the left base 16L held in the retreated position. When switching the state over to the manufacture of type B, the blanks, welding fixture and feed jaw for the type B are prepared in advance. When switching is to be made over to a further different type, prearrangement for this type is also made. As an alternative to this system, it is possible to increase the length of the guide rails 2 and 4 and prepare bases 16 for the individual types. The system is selected suitably in dependence on the available space. Now, the description will be made by assuming that the status is switched over to the manufacture of type B of welded panel by feeding the base 16L to the welding beam irradiation region. The description will be made from a situation of causing the movement of the base 16L, supporting the blanks 20B, 22B, 24B, 26B and 28B, welding fixture 30B and feed jaw 32B, from the position 16L (LB) to the position 16L(CF). Above the material feed-in section II, a gate-like frame 34 is disposed such that it is secured in position. While the base 16L is advanced toward the position 16L(CF), the feed jaw 32B, which is set on the welding fixture 30B, is brought to a position right beneath the frame 34. At this time, the base 16L is stopped tentatively. The base 16 is also self-running. In this state, the feed jaw 32B is mounted on the frame 34. The frame 34 accommodates a mechanism for moving the feed jaw 32B in the directions of arrows 31 and 33 shown in FIG. 1. The feed jaw 32B has a lower suction member, and it thus attracts the blanks 20B, 22B, 24B, 26B and 28B by suction and then rises to feed the blanks to the welding beam irradiation region as shown by arrow 33. The feed jaw 32 is also replaceable because it is necessary to feed blanks having different shapes for different types of welded panels. When the mounting of the feed jaw 32B is completed, the base 16L is further advanced to the position 16L(CF). In the section III in FIG. 1, a lift 48 is provided for raising the welding fixture 30. It can raise the welding fixture 30 from the base 16 through the opening 17 of the base 16. Above the welding section III, a gate-like frame 40 is disposed such that it is secured in position. As shown in FIG. 5, the welding fixture 30 comprises two divisions, i.e., an upper and a lower die 30U and 30D. When the welding fixture 30 (i.e., the two dies 30U and 30D) are raised by the lift 48 until it touches the frame 40, the upper die 30U is secured to the frame 40 by a cylinder (not shown), and thus its lowering is prohibited. That is, with subsequent lowering of the lift 48, the sole lower die 30D is lowered. The feed jaw 32 noted above enters the space between the separated upper and lower dies 30U and 30D, as shown in FIG. 5A. The welding fixture 30 is roughly as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 3 shows the lower die 30D in plan view. To the lower die 30D are secured stopper pins 302, 312 and 316 for the blank 20, stopper pins 304 and 306 for the blank 22, a stopper pin 314 for the blank 24, a stopper pin 320 for the blank 26, and stopper pins 308, 310 and 318 for the blank 28. The blank 20 is urged by pushers 350 to be in contact with the stopper pins 312 and 316, and also it is urged by a pusher 351 to be in contact with the stopper pin 302. The blank 28 is urged by pushers 349 to be in contact with the stopper pins 310 and 318, and also it is urged by a pusher 347 to be in contact with the stopper pin 308. The blank 22 is urged by a pusher 322 toward the side a s shown by arrow 324 to be in contact with the stopper pins 304 and 306. The blank 24 is urged by a pusher 326 toward the side as shown by arrow 328 to be in contact with the stopper pin 314. The blank 26 is urged by a pusher 330 toward the side as shown by arrow 332 to be in contact with the stopper 320. Two opposite side blanks 20 and 28 are positioned by being urged against the inner fixed stopper pins 312 and 316 and 310 and 318 from the outside by the pusher 350 and 349. A raising member 334 is raised from below the blank 22 to raise the center thereof. A raising member 336 is raised from below the blank 24 to raise the center thereof. A raising member 338 is raised from below the blank 26 to raise the center thereof. Designated at 340 is a clamp for positioning the blank 20, at 342 a clamp for positioning the blank 22, at 344 a clamp for positioning the blank 24, at 346 a clamp for positioning the blank 26, and at 348 a clamp for positioning the blank 28. These clamps are mounted on the upper die 30U. On the lower die 30D are mounted base plates corresponding to the clamps. On the side of the upper die 30U, the clamps 340, 342, 344, 346 and 348 are provided on gas spring. When the lower die 30D is raised, the blanks are clamped with a constant pressure between the clamps and base plates, and thus they are positioned. The upper die 30U has push rollers 352 (shown in FIG. 4) for pushing the blanks 22, 24 and 26 on the opposite sides of the raising members 334, 336 and 338. As shown in FIG. 5A, the feed jaw, in a rearwardly located state, attracts by vacuum suction the uppermost set of blanks (20, 22, 24, 26 and 28) in the blank set stack supported on the pallet 18 and feeds this blank set to the space between the separated upper and lower dies of the welding fixture, as shown in FIG. 5A. At this time, if there already is a welded panel 50 in the welding fixture 30, it is brought to the right in FIG. 5A by an arm 33 of the feed jaw 32 to be transferred onto a conveyer 52 shown in FIG. 1. That is, with a movement of the feed jaw 32 the feeding of the new blanks into the welding fixture and the feeding of the welded panel 50 out of the welding fixture are executed simultaneously. When the feed jaw 32 enters the welding fixture, the vacuum suction is stopped, and the blanks are put on the lower die 30D. Then, as shown in FIG. 5B, the lift 48 is raised to bring the upper and lower dies 30U and 30D into a predetermined positional relation to each other. In this state, the operations shown in FIGS 4A to 4G are executed in the welding fixture. More specifically, with the rising of the lower die 30D the push roller 352 on the side of the upper die 30U urges the blanks 22, 24 and 26 against the base plate 399 (FIG. 4B). Then, the raising members 334, 336 and 338 are raised to cause upward curving of the central portion of each of the blanks 22, 24 and 26 (FIG. 4C). This operation is effected within the limits of elasticity of the individual intermediate blanks 22, 24 and 26. At the same time, the pushers 350, 351, 349 and 347 push the opposite side blanks 20 and 28 against the stopper pins 312, 316, 302, 310, and 318 and 308(FIG. 4C). In this way, the opposite side blanks 20 and 28 are positioned (FIG. 4C). The intermediate blanks 22, 24 and 26 intervening between the opposite side blanks 20 and 28 are held curved while the side blanks 20 and 28 are positioned. Then, with the progress of rising of the lower die 30D the positioned blanks 20 and 28 are clamped and secured between the clamps 340 and 348 and base plates 399 (FIG. 4D). Then, the pushers 322, 326 and 330 are operated to bring the intermediate blanks 22, 24 and 26 into contact with the stopper pins 304, 306, 314 and 320 (FIG. 4E). In this way, the intermediate blanks 22, 24 and 26 are positioned. Then the intermediate blanks 22, 24 and 26 are released from the curving by causing a retreat of the raising members 334, 336 and 338 and push roller 352 (FIG. 4F). At this time, the edges of the opposite side blanks 20 and 28 and those of the intermediate blanks 22, 24 and 26 are in satisfactory abutment with one another. With further rising of the lower die 30D, the blanks 22, 24 and 26 are clamped and secured between the clamps 342, 344 and 346 and base plates 399. (FIG. 4G). When the abutment of the blanks is effected in the welding fixture 30 in the above way, as shown in FIG. 5C, a welding torch 46 is scanned along the abutment lines WL, that is, a welding step is executed. The upper die 30U has an opening lest the scanning of the torch 46 should be interfered. The torch 46 is programmed such as to scan abutment edges which are predetermined for each type of welded panel. When the type of welded panel is switched, the scanning trace is also switched. The torch 46 includes a magnetic sensor, and it can accurately trace the abutment edges by detecting the position thereof with the magnetic sensor. This technique is disclosed in detail in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 59-141391. The apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has four torches 46LF, 46LB, 46RF and 46RB for effecting the welding of the abutment edges WL. Thus, the welding is effected at the four times the speed in the case of using a single torch. Each laser oscillator 42 and each torch 46 are coupled to each other by an optical path 44. As described before in connection with FIG. 5A, when the welded panel 50 is manufactured by the welding of the blanks, it is transferred onto the conveyer 52 with the feed-in of the feed jaw 32. While the lower die 30D remains in its lowered position after the completion of the welding step, a lifter 398 in the lower die 30D is raised to raise the welded panel 50 from the lower die 30D. Thus, the panel 50 is smoothly transferred onto the conveyer 52 by the arm 33 of the feed jaw 32. The conveyer 52 feeds the welded panel 50 to the grinding section IV. The grinding section IV, as clearly shown in FIG. 1, has an upper conveyer 54. The conveyer 54 magnetically attracts the welded panel 50, and transports it in this state to a position above a grinder 55. Then, the attraction is cut off, and the welded panel 50 is thus charged into the grinder 55. As shown in FIG. 2, in the grinder 55 cylinders 56, 58, 60, 62 and 64 for positioning the welded panel 50 are movable in the directions of arrows. The advanced positions of these cylinders are variable for each type of welded panel 50 for positioning the welded edges of each welded panel on the scanning line of grinding heads 66 and 68. The grinding head 66 (or 68) is shown in FIG. 6. It has guide rollers 666 and 668 provided at an end of a guide 664. A rotatable grindstone 670 disposed inside the guide 664 is rotated by a motor 662. As clearly shown in FIG. 6A, the grindstone 670 is retreated slightly (i.e., 0.05 mm in this embodiment) from the rollers 666 and 668. This permits grinding of the weld beads WLB without causing damage to the surface of the welded panel 50. The individual grinding heads 66 and 68 are programmed such that they are three-axis controlled to be moved along the weld lines of each type of welded panel. The grindstone has a width of slightly less than 10 mm to permit satisfactory grinding even if the position of the weld beat WLB is deviated within this width. Thus, the accuracy of the positioners 56, 58, 60, 62 and 64 for the welded panel 50 may be of such order that the advanced position noted above can be numerically controlled, and there is no need for replacing the positioners for each type of welded panel. After grinding in the grinder 55, the welded panel 50 is lifted by a lift (not shown) to be attracted again to the conveyer 54 and transferred to a conveyer 70 in the punching section V. In the punching section V, as clearly shown in FIG. 2, rails 78 and 80 are provided such that they extend in a direction crossing the direction of feeding of the welded panel 50. A punching unit 76, which is prepared for each type of welded panel, rests on the rails 78 and 80. FIGS. 1 and 2 show the apparatus during the manufacture of type B welded panel, and thus the punching unit 76B for the type B is set in the punching section V. While the punching unit 76 is prepared for each type of welded panel, a common punching unit can be used for transversally symmetrical welded panels. Each punching unit 76 has two punching heads 72 and 74 for permitting processing of both sides of transversally symmetrically welded panels. One of these punching heads is set in an operative position, while the other is held in a retreated position. In the case of Figs. 1 and 2, the punching head 72 is in the operative position. The welded panel 50 having been conveyed on the conveyer 70 is charged into the punching unit 70 for positioning substantially in the same way as in the grinder 55. Since the punching unit 76 is prepared for each type of welded panel, accurate positioning can be obtained. When the positioning is completed, a punch 724 is advanced by an oil hydraulic cylinder shown in FIG. 7 toward a die 726, and thus a projected end portion of the welded panel 50 is smoothly cut away. FIG. 8 shows an example, in which corners X1 to X5 of type E welded panel 50E are smoothly cut away by a punching head 72E. The punching head 74B in Fig. 2 performs punching operation at symmetrical positions with respect to a symmetry line CL, and thus a transversally symmetrical welded panel can be processed with a single punching unit. After its projected end portions have been cut away by the punching unit 76, the welded panel 50 is lifted by a lift (not shown) to be attracted by the conveyer 70 again and transferred to a next conveyer 82. In a stacking section VI, a pair of base guide rails 88 and 90 are laid, and a base 86 can run along these rails. The base 86 has four walls erected from its four sides. In the space defined by these walls, welded panels 50 having been transferred after the punching operation are stacked. When a predetermined number of welded panels are stacked, the base 86 is driven toward the next step, and the next vacant base is brought to the stacking section. Alternatively, it is possible to use two bases alternately. As has been described in the foregoing, as the feed jaw 32, welding fixture 30, blanks 20, 22, 24, 26 and 28 and punching unit 76 may be used those which are peculiar to each type of welded panel to be manufactured. Also, the welding torches 46, grinder positioning cylinders 56, 58, 60, 62 and 64 and grinding heads 66 and 68 are controlled according to a program peculiar to each type. In other words, for the steps requiring high accuracy, such as the positioning of blanks for welding and the positioning of the welded panel for punching, the processing units for executing the steps are replaced, for ensuring necessary accuracy, while for the steps requiring comparatively low accuracy such as the positioning of the welded panel for grinding, it is made possible to cope with the type through numerical control of the stopper position. Further, although it may be possible for the feed jaw 32 to cope with each type by causing displacement of the suction board, the structure of the jaw is simplified such that the jaw as a whole is replaceable. Further, the replacement of the jaw as a whole permits coping with sets of different numbers of blanks. In this embodiment, the base member 6 running along the rails 2 and 4, and rails 36 and 38 capable of being extended from the rails 8 and 10, or 12 and 14, on the base member 6, constitute means for guiding a given base 16 to the welding beam irradiation region. However, this arrangement is only an example, and it is possible to guide a given base 16 to the welding beam irradiation region in various ways. Further, various other changes and modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the claims.

Claims: An apparatus for manufacturing a welded panel (50) from a set of blanks (20, 22, 24, 26, 28) by abutting edges of said blanks against each other, and irradiating said abutted edges with a welding beam, said apparatus being characterized in that at least two different types of welded panels (50A, 50B) are manufacturable therewith, said apparatus comprising one base member (16R, 16L) for each type of welded panels (50A, 50B) to be manufactured, wherein said base member (16R, 16L) is adapted to support a stack of similar sets of blanks (20A, 22A, 24A, 26A, 28A, 20B, 22B, 24B, 26B, 28B), and a welding fixture (30A, 30B) for holding one set of said blanks in position (20, 22, 24, 26, 28) during welding, said set of blanks being fed to said welding fixture (30A, 30B) by means of a feeding means (32A, 32B), said base member (16R, 16L) being conveyable to and from a welding section (II, III) so as to replace a base member (16R) for one type of welded panels (50A) by a base member (16L) for another type of welded panels (50B). An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said feeding means is a feed jaw (32A, 32B) supported on said base member (16R, 16L). An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each base member (16R, 16L) has a welding fixture support space having an opening (17R, 17L) such that the welding fixture (30A, 30B) can be raised from the base member (16R, 16L) by a lift (48) rising through said opening (17R, 17L). An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said welding section (II, III) comprises a frame (40) disposed above a welding beam irradiation region, said welding fixture (30A, 30B) comprises an upper (30U) and a lower (30D) die, said upper die (30U) being mountable to said frame (40) on rising of said welding fixture (30A, 30B) by said lift (48), and said lower die (30D) being vertically moved on rising of said lift (48). An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a punching unit (76) having means for positioning said welded panel (50A, 50B) and means for punching corners (72, 74) of said welded panel (50A, 50B), wherein said punching unit (76) is replaceable for each type of welded panels (50A, 50B). An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an irradiation trace of said welding beam is predetermined for each type of welded panel (50A, 50B). An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each set of blanks (20, 22, 24, 26, 28) for a welded panel (50A, 50B) comprises a pair of opposite side blanks (20A, 28A, 20B, 28B) and intermediate blanks (22A, 24A, 26A, 22B, 24B, 26B) interposed between said opposite side blanks (20, 28), said opposite side blanks (20, 28) being positioned at said welding fixture (30A, 30B) by being urged against inner fixed stopper pins (310, 318, 312, 316) from the outer side, and wherein said intermediate blanks (22, 24, 26) interposed between said opposite side blanks (20, 28) are held curved while said opposite side blanks (20, 28) are positioned. An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the abutting edges of said intermediate blanks (22, 24, 26) are strongly brought into close contact with the abutment edges of said opposite side blanks (20, 28) with an elongation of said intermediate blanks (22, 24, 26) occuring when said blanks (22, 24, 26) are released from their curved position. A method of manufacturing a welded panel (50A, 50B) from a set of blanks (20, 22, 24, 26, 28) by abutting the edges thereof and welding said abutted edges with a welding beam, said method being characterized by the following steps: preparation of a plurality of base members (16R, 16L), each of which supports a plurality of similar sets of blanks (20A, 22A, 24A, 26A, 28A, 20B, 22B, 24B, 26B, 28B) for one type of welded panels (50A, 50B) and a corresponding welding fixture (30A, 30B), transferring one of said base members (16R, 16L) into a welding section (II, III) and supplying said set of blanks (20, 22, 24, 26, 28) to said welding fixture (30A, 30B), so as to hold each set of blanks (20, 22, 24, 26, 28) in position during welding, replacing said base member (16R, 16L) for one type of welded panels (50A, 50B) in said welding section by a base member (16R, 16L) for another type of welded panels (50A, 50B), when the type of welded panels is to be changed.

Inventors: IKEMOTO KIMIKAZU, IWAI TAKAO, NATSUMI FUMIAKI, SHIRAKI TOSHIRO, YANAGISAWA TAMINORI, IKEMOTO, KIMIKAZU, IWAI, TAKAO, NATSUMI, FUMIAKI, SHIRAKI, TOSHIRO, YANAGISAWA, TAMINORI
Applicants: TOYOTA MOTOR CO LTD, TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Application year: 1993
Main classification: B23K26
IPC codes: B23K26, B23K37