JP6437631B2 - Vehicle body and seam treatment method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle body and a seam processing method, and more particularly to a vehicle body and a seam processing method that improve the waterproofness and appearance quality of a seam that is generated when panels constituting the vehicle body are joined.

In recent years, when manufacturing a vehicle body such as an automobile, in order to improve the material yield, which is the ratio at which a product can be obtained from the material, a plurality of vehicle body structural parts divided into predetermined forms are joined, and one side panel outer is attached. The method of configuring is adopted.
That is, each body structure part such as a roof rail part, a front pillar inclined part, a front pillar lower part, a side sill part and a center pillar part is formed of a plate material such as a cold-rolled steel plate, and these body structure parts are sequentially joined to the side panel. Outer is configured.

  In addition, as for each vehicle body structural component, those having high strength and high shape accuracy using a hot press (so-called hot stamp) are being applied recently. In addition, a technique for joining a vehicle body structural component made of a different material that is lighter in weight is being developed. In this case, the main development goal has been to reduce the weight of the vehicle body.

  On the other hand, a seam processing method has been proposed in which smoothing processing is performed on the joint portion where the panels of the vehicle body are joined to achieve an appearance quality like an integrated panel (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ). In this proposal, an adhesive is applied in the vicinity of the joint where the vehicle body panels formed in the joggle shape for coating build-up are joined together, and then a low temperature thermal spray coating of metal is applied to the adhesive application surface. Is to have a smooth finish. By applying a low temperature thermal spray coating of metal, it is said that the base material side is not distorted by high heat, a smooth finished surface is obtained, and sufficient strength is obtained by the combined use of adhesive application.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-88633

By the way, not only the strength but also the appearance quality and sufficient waterproofness must be ensured in many portions where the panels of the body of an automobile or the like are joined. For example, in a center pillar or the like, a weather strip on the door side needs to be in contact with a joint portion of the panel with no gap even in a portion formed by joining the panels.
However, in the joint processing method disclosed in Patent Document 1, a complicated control mechanism is required to obtain the shape and accuracy of the contact surface suitable for the weather strip to come into contact with no gap.
Moreover, since control for executing the process is difficult, there is still a problem that further improvement in the appearance quality in the finished state is desired.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and a vehicle body in which appearance quality and sufficient waterproofness are ensured by a simple method with respect to a joint portion relating to joining between panels of the vehicle body, and An object is to provide a seam processing method.

In order to achieve the above object, the following technique is proposed here.
(1) A vehicle body configured by joining a plurality of panels (for example, a first panel 111, a second panel 112, and a third panel 113 described later) at their end portions, Bending portions (for example, bending portions 13f and 16f, which will be described later) forming concave curved surface portions (for example, a curved surface portion 410 to be described later) that are recessed toward the inside of the vehicle body in the joined state at the end portions thereof. The concave curved surface portion is provided with a sealing material (for example, a later-described sealing material 210) so as to cover the depression (for example, a later-described concave portion 410s), and the sealing material has a recessed central portion. The vehicle body has a shape in which the side portion smoothly continues to the edge of the concave portion of the concave curved surface portion.

  In the vehicle body of the above (1), the outer surface of the panel is in the vicinity of the end portion because the sealing material has a shape in which the central part is concave and the side part is smoothly connected to the edge of the concave part of the concave curved surface part. It seems to form a continuous curved surface. For this reason, the trace which performed the joint process to the junction part of the panel is not conspicuous. In addition, when a door seal structure in which a weather strip or the like is brought into contact with a jointed portion, a gap between a door seal member such as a weather strip and the jointed portion can be prevented. Therefore, appearance quality and sufficient waterproofness are ensured.

  (2) Between a plurality of panels (for example, a concave curved surface portion 410 described below) that is recessed toward the inside of the vehicle body at a portion where corresponding end portions are joined to each other (for example, a concave curved surface portion 410 described later) A seam treatment method for sealing a seam generated at a joint portion of a first panel 111, a second panel 112, and a third panel 113, which will be described later, and a sealing material (for example, so as to cover the concave portion of the concave curved surface portion) , A sealing material application processing step (for example, a sealing material application processing step described later ... step S621) to be applied, and the sealing material applied in the sealing material application processing step. A sealing material processing step (for example, a sealing material processing step described later ... step S622) for forming a concave portion (for example, a concave portion 400s described later) in the central portion of the sealing material by partially removing the sealing material with a processing apparatus; In the sealing material processing step, as the processing device, a processing device (for example, a polishing material 511 described later) that performs processing in contact with the sealing material is an elastic body (for example, a processing device 500 described later). ) To apply the seam processing method.

  In the seam treatment method of (2) above, when the processing element of the processing apparatus is bent, if the sealing material softer than the panel is cut, it becomes possible to cut deeper, and the central portion of the sealing material is easily recessed. be able to. As a result, the sealing material has a shape in which the center portion is recessed and the side portion is smoothly connected to the edge of the recessed portion of the recessed curved surface portion of the panel. Therefore, the appearance quality and sufficient waterproofness as a vehicle body are ensured.

  (3) The seam processing method according to (2), wherein in the sealing material processing step, processing is performed in a state where processing elements of the processing device are passed to a peripheral portion of the concave curved surface portion.

  In the seam processing method of (3) above, in particular, in the seam processing method of (2), the processing element of the processing device is processed in a state where the processing element is passed to the peripheral portion of the concave curved surface portion. However, it can be bent into a shape along the concave portion of the concave curved surface portion of the panel to come into contact with the sealing material. For this reason, the sealing material can be easily processed so as to have a shape in which the central portion is recessed and the side portion smoothly forms the edge of the recessed portion of the concave curved surface portion of the panel. It does not require a simple control mechanism.

  (4) In the sealing material application processing step, the sealing material is applied so as to cover the concave surface portion including the peripheral portion thereof (for example, a concave portion 410s described later) (2) or (3 ) Any one of the seam processing methods.

  In the seam treatment method of (4) above, in particular in the seam treatment method of (2) or (3), by applying a sealing material so as to cover the concave surface portion including the peripheral portion of the concave curved surface portion. The sealing material is surely processed so as to have a shape in which a central portion is recessed and a side portion is smoothly connected to an edge of the concave portion of the concave curved surface portion of the panel. Therefore, processing becomes easy while maintaining appearance quality.

  (5) In the sealing material processing step, when the processing device moves the processing element along the joint between the panels, it moves so as to be accompanied by peristalsis (for example, peristalsis in the example of FIG. 10 described later). (2) The joint processing method according to any one of (4).

  In the seam processing method of (5), in particular, in the seam processing method of any one of (2) to (4), no trace remains after the sealing material has been removed by the processing element of the processing device. For this reason, the appearance quality is improved.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the vehicle body and the seam processing method which ensured external appearance quality and sufficient waterproofness by the simple method about the site | part of the joint concerning joining of the panels of a vehicle body are realizable.

It is a figure which illustrates the side panel outer to which this invention is applied. It is a figure which illustrates one site | part to which this invention in the side panel outer of FIG. 1 is applied. It is a figure which illustrates the door seal mechanism in the site | part of FIG. It is a figure showing the outline | summary of the seam processing method of this invention. It is a schematic diagram showing the processing condition in the joint processing method of the present invention. It is a flowchart showing the joint processing method of this invention. It is a figure which illustrates the processing apparatus applied to the joint processing method of this invention. It is a schematic diagram showing the magnitude | size of the process element in the processing apparatus of FIG. It is a figure showing the processing operation by the processing apparatus of FIG. It is a schematic diagram showing the movement of the process element in the processing apparatus of FIG. It is sectional drawing of the target object after the joint process by the joint process method of this invention. It is a joint image figure of the center pillar after the joint processing by the joint processing method of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram showing the example of a process by the seam processing method of this invention.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be clarified by describing embodiments of the present invention in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating one side panel outer of a vehicle body to which the present invention is applied.
The side panel outer 11 constituting the outer shell of the side of the vehicle body 10 (the left side in the figure) has a lower front side of the front pillar lower part 12 at the front, the center pillar 13 at the center, and the rear pillar 14 at the rear. They are connected by a strong frame portion 15. The upper side of the outer side panel 11 is connected to the upper part of the front front pillar lower part 12, the upper part of the center center pillar part 13, and the upper part of the rear rear pillar part 14 by the roof rail part 16.
A rear fender panel 17 is provided so as to extend rearward from the lower portion of the rear pillar portion 14.

The roof rail portion 16 is formed with an extension portion 16c extending from its central portion and joined to the upper portion of the center pillar portion 13.
A front door opening 21a is formed so as to be surrounded by the front pillar lower portion 12, the roof rail front half portion 16a, the center pillar portion 13 and the frame portion front half portion 15a.
Further, a rear door opening 21b is formed so as to be surrounded by the center pillar part 13, the roof rail rear part 16b, the rear pillar part 14, and the frame part rear part 15b.
Although a side sill (not shown) is provided along the outer surface of the frame portion 15, the description thereof is omitted because it does not form the feature of the present embodiment.

The above-described side panel outer 11 is configured by joining, for example, each panel divided into three into a first panel 111, a second panel 112, and a third panel 113.
The first panel 111 includes the front pillar lower portion 12 and the frame front half portion 15 a and extends to the lower side of the center pillar portion 13. The second panel 112 is configured by the center pillar portion 13. The third panel 113 includes a roof rail portion 16, an extension portion 16 c, a rear pillar portion 14, and a rear fender panel 17.

A seam is formed at a joint portion between corresponding end portions of the first panel 111, the second panel 112, and the third panel 113. These seams are typically as follows.
That is, the center pillar lower end side seam 13 b is formed at the joint portion between the frame front half portion 15 a in the first panel 111 and the center pillar portion 13 in the second panel 112.
Further, a center pillar upper side seam 13 u is formed at a joint portion between the center pillar portion 13 in the second panel 112 and the extension portion 16 c in the third panel 113.
In addition, a front pillar lower upper joint 12u is formed at a joint portion between the upper end side of the front pillar lower portion 12 in the first panel 111 and the front side of the roof rail portion 16 in the third panel 113.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating one part to which the seam processing method of the present invention is applied to the outer side panel of FIG.
In FIG. 2, the same reference numerals are assigned to the corresponding parts in FIG. 1. The center pillar upper side seam 13u generated at the joint between the center pillar part 13 constituting the second panel 112 and the extension part 16c in the third panel 113 is one part to which the seam treatment method of the present invention is applied. It is.
When this method is applied to the center pillar upper side seam 13u, first, the seal material 210 is provided by coating or pasting so as to cover the center pillar upper side seam 13u from the outside, and then the seal material 210 is partially applied by a processing apparatus. The removal process is performed. Such a seam processing method of the present invention will be described in detail later.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a door seal mechanism in the region of FIG. FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the center pillar upper side seam 13u of FIG. 2 from below. Therefore, in FIG. 3, the aforementioned front door opening 21 a is formed on the left side of the center pillar portion 13, and the aforementioned rear door opening 21 b is formed on the right side of the center pillar portion 13.
A front door 31a that covers the front door opening 21a is provided, and a rear door 31b that is a slide door that covers the front door opening 21b is provided.
A front door weather strip 311a is provided inside the vicinity of the rear edge of the front door 31a. Similarly, a rear door weather strip 311b is provided inside the vicinity of the front edge of the rear door 31b.
The front door weather strip 311a abuts on the front corner portion 131a of the center pillar portion 13 and performs a sealing function related to the front door 31a. Similarly, the rear door weather strip 311b abuts on the rear corner portion 131b of the center pillar portion 13 and performs a sealing function related to the rear door 31b.

  In this example, the front door weather strip 311a abuts against the front corner portion 131a of the center pillar portion 13 so as to predominantly include the front side (upper side in FIG. 3) portion of the center pillar portion 13. On the other hand, the rear door weather strip 311b abuts against the rear corner portion 131b of the center pillar portion 13 so as to predominantly include a portion on the side surface side (right side surface in FIG. 3) of the center pillar portion 13. The arrow lines in the figure respectively indicate portions where the front door weather strip 311a and the rear door weather strip 311b abut on the center pillar portion 13.

As briefly described with reference to FIG. 2, the seal material 210 is provided on the center pillar upper side seam 13 u of the center pillar portion 13 by coating or pasting. This is to improve the appearance quality and ensure waterproofness.
In order to ensure waterproofness, the front door weather strip 311a and the rear door weather strip 311b in FIG. Regardless, it is necessary to adhere to the center pillar portion 13 so as to ensure sufficient water tightness.

Next, the seam processing method of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an outline of the seam processing method of the present invention. In the notation of FIG. 4, the right side corresponds to the upper side of the vehicle body (that is, the side panel outer 11), and the left side corresponds to the lower side of the vehicle body.
A center pillar upper side seam 13u is formed at a joint portion between the above-described center pillar portion 13 of the second panel 112 and the extension portion 16c of the third panel 113. The joint is, for example, a dissimilar material joint between the center pillar portion 13 of the high-strength automotive steel plate and the aluminum alloy extension 16c, but the joint to which the seam treatment method of the present invention is applied is a dissimilar material joint. It is not limited to.
Above the center pillar portion 13 in the second panel 112 forms a bent portion 13f that is bent at a step inside the vehicle body in the vicinity of the end portion. Similarly, the extension portion 16c in the third panel 113 forms a bent portion 16f that is bent at a step inside the vehicle body in the vicinity of the end portion.

As shown in FIG. 4, in the state where the bent portion 13f and the bent portion 16f are joined, a concave curved surface portion 410 that is recessed toward the inside thereof is formed in the vehicle body (outer side panel 11).
The concave surface portion 410 formed on the center pillar upper side seam 13u is smoothed on the surface to ensure waterproofness, and the seam processing method of the present invention is intended to improve the appearance quality. Apply.

  First, for example, a sealing material 210 that is a resin sealer is attached to the concave curved surface portion 410 so as to cover the concave portion 410s. At this time, the sealing material 210 is used more than the volume of the recess 410s so that it protrudes slightly to the periphery of the recess 410s. In the example of FIG. 4, the surplus portion 210e of the sealing material 210 that protrudes in this manner protrudes outward (upward in the drawing). For example, even when a melt tape is used as the sealing material 210, it is stuck and attached so as to protrude slightly to the periphery of the recess 410s. In this case as well, the surplus portion 210e of the sealing material 210 (melt tape) protrudes outward (upward in the figure).

  As described above, the step of depositing the sealing material 210 so as to cover the concave portion 410s of the concave curved surface portion 410 is the sealing material deposition processing step in the joint processing method of the present invention (step S621 in FIG. 6 described later). .

Next, by using the processing apparatus 500, the sealing material 210 applied as described above is removed from the peripheral portion of the concave portion 410s, so that the portion that was the concave portion 410s and the peripheral portion thereof become smooth. To process. In this processing, the sealing material 210 including the above-described excess portion 210e is partially removed by cutting or polishing, and a shallow concave portion 400s as shown by a broken line is formed in the central portion of the sealing material 210 around the concave portion 410s. To a smooth surface.
As the processing apparatus 500, an apparatus in which an abrasive 511 such as a rotary rubber grindstone or sandpaper is attached to the tip of an end effector 510 of an industrial manipulating robot is used.

In the example of FIG. 4, the polishing material 511 is pressed against the sealing material 210 that is the object to be processed with a constant force due to the elastic action of the end effector 510 having a bellows portion (not shown), and is rotated. Excess parts including the excess part 210e are removed. At this time, an abrasive material 511 that is itself an elastic body is applied so that the abrasive material 511 is bent into a shape along the concave portion 410s of the concave curved surface portion 410 of the panel and can come into contact with the sealing material.
By such a processing operation, the sealing material 210 has a shape in which the central portion is recessed and the side portion is smoothly connected to the edge of the concave portion 410s of the concave curved surface portion 410.

  As described above, the step of forming the recess 400s in the central portion of the sealing material 210 by partially removing the sealing material 210 applied in the sealing material application processing step by the processing apparatus is the seam processing of the present invention. This is a sealing material processing step in the method (step S622 in FIG. 6 described later).

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a processing situation in the joint processing method of FIG.
In FIG. 5, the same reference numerals are given to the corresponding parts to FIG. 4, but in FIG. 5, the thickness of the abrasive 511 is exaggerated for convenience of explanation. The other parts are also illustrated with some modifications.
A polishing material 511 such as a rotary rubber grindstone or sandpaper, which is a processing element, is elastically pressed against the sealing material 210 which is a processing target. In such a pressing method, the elasticity of the abrasive 511 itself such as a rubber grindstone or sandpaper acts on the pressing force adjusting action of the end effector 510 of the industrial manipulating robot that supports the abrasive 511. Realized.
The schematic diagram of FIG. 5 shows a situation in which the partial removal of the sealant 210 (hereinafter referred to as “polishing” as appropriate) has progressed to a stage close to the final stage by the abrasive 511 at the end of the end effector 510 in FIG. Further, for the convenience of explanation, the deformation and curvature of the polishing material 511 and the recess 400s formed in the central portion of the sealing material 210 are exaggerated than in the actual phenomenon.

  When the center position of the abrasive 511 is pressed to the center position in the width direction (direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction) of the sealing material 210 by the pressing force generated by the elastic effect of the end effector 510, the sealing material 210 comes into contact. The elastic abrasive 511, which is a processing element that performs processing, is deformed so that the center position thereof protrudes downward toward the center of the sealing material 210. This is because the center pillar portion 13 of the steel plate for automobiles and the extension portion 16c of the aluminum alloy joined by the center pillar upper side seam 13u are higher in rigidity than the seal material 210, and therefore the abrasive 511 which is an elastic body. This is because the central portion protrudes as a result of relatively large compression deformation on the peripheral side. The repulsive force of the abrasive 511, which is an elastic body, increases in the peripheral portion where the compression deformation is large. As described above, the region of the sealing material 210 in contact with the peripheral portion where the repulsive force of the abrasive 511 is increased is relatively greatly shaved. When the sealing material 210 is scraped, the repulsive force of the abrasive 511 becomes weak, so that the shaving amount remains at a certain level.

  In the seam processing method of the present invention, this phenomenon is actively used, and the polishing material 511 that is a processing element is processed in a state where it is passed to the peripheral portion of the concave curved surface portion 410. Since the peripheral part is the center pillar part 13 and the extension part 16c having higher rigidity than the sealant 210 as described above, the processing element (the abrasive 511) naturally elastically deforms. That is, the processing element (abrasive material 511) bends into a shape along the concave portion 410s of the concave curved surface portion 410 of the panel (center pillar portion 13 and extension portion 16c), and rotates on the sealing material 210 by the driving force of the end effector 510. While touching.

  When the abrasive 511 as a processing element is passed to and contacted with the peripheral portion of the concave curved surface portion 410, the processing element that comes into contact with a panel having high rigidity at the peripheral portion (corresponding portions of the center pillar portion 13 and the extension portion 16c). The part of (abrasive 511) naturally bends. In other words, the peripheral portion of the concave curved surface portion 410 gives a position reference for causing the processing element (abrasive 511) to bend and position suitable for processing as described above.

  For this reason, the sealing material 210 is easily processed so as to have a shape in which the central portion is recessed and the side portion is smoothly connected to the edge of the recess 410s of the concave curved surface portion 410 of the panel. Therefore, a complicated control mechanism for this processing is not required.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the steps from the split panel to the side panel outer and door seal including steps of the seam processing method of the present invention.
In the divided panel joining step (step S610), as described with reference to FIG. 1, the first panel 111, the second panel 112, and the third panel 113 that are each divided into three panels are made of, for example, different materials. The side panel outer 11 is configured by being joined together by spot welding including joining.
Subsequently, the process by the joint processing method of this invention is performed to the applicable seam site | part of the side panel outer 11 comprised by the division | segmentation panel joining process of step S610. This is the process of the seam processing step (step S620).
As described with reference to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the seam processing step (step S620) includes a sealing material deposition processing step (step S621) and a sealing material processing step (step S622) subsequent thereto.

In the above-described example in the sealing material deposition process (step S621), the sealing material 210 is deposited so as to cover the concave portion 410s of the concave curved surface portion 410 of the panel (center pillar portion 13 and extension portion 16c).
Subsequently, in the above-described example in the sealing material processing step (step S622), the sealing material 210 applied in the sealing material application processing step (step S621) is partially removed by the processing apparatus to thereby remove the sealing material 210. A recess 400s is formed at the center. The concave portion 400s has a shape in which the central portion is concave and the side portion is smoothly connected to the edge of the concave portion 410s of the concave curved surface portion 410 of the panel.

For this reason, the side panel outer 11 that has undergone the seam processing step (step S620) appears to have a curved surface in which the portion to which the seam sealing material 210 is applied and its periphery are continuous. For this reason, the trace which performed the joint process to the junction part of the panel is not conspicuous. Further, even when a door seal structure is employed in which a weather strip or the like is brought into contact with the jointed portion, there is no gap that causes water leakage. Therefore, the appearance quality is improved and sufficient waterproofness is ensured.
After the seam processing step (step S620) as described above, the door seal is installed at a corresponding portion of the side panel outer 11 in the subsequent door seal installation step (step S630).

Next, with reference to the drawings, a processing apparatus applied to the sealing material processing step (step S622) and its operation will be further described.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a machining apparatus applied to the joint processing method of the present invention.
7 is an industrial manipulating robot in which an end effector 510 described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 is mounted with an abrasive 511 such as a rotating rubber grindstone or sandpaper as a processing element. It is. This processing apparatus 500 performs a predetermined processing operation by teaching. The end effector 510 presses an abrasive 511 such as a rubber grindstone or sandpaper against a workpiece with a constant pressing force while rotationally driving the abrasive 511.
In processing by this type of industrial manipulating robot, it is generally required to perform extremely complicated control according to the shape before processing of the workpiece and the target shape after processing.

However, in the case of using this processing apparatus (industrial manipulating robot) 500 in the seam processing method of the present invention, as described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, a rotary rubber grindstone as a processing element, By applying an elastic material having an appropriate elasticity to the abrasive 511 such as a sandpaper, the abrasive 511 is bent into an appropriate shape to perform a required cutting or polishing.
In addition, a portion of the panel (corresponding portion of the center pillar portion 13 and the extension portion 16c) having a high peripheral edge of the abrasive 511 that is in contact with the abrasive 511 is bent to be suitable for the above-described processing. A position reference for naturally generating the shape and positioning is given.
For this reason, it is not required to perform too complicated control. That is, the end effector 510 may be controlled so that the abrasive 511 contacts the sealing material 210 as a workpiece with a constant pressing force.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the size of the machining element in the machining apparatus of FIG.
In the example of FIG. 8, a melt tape is applied as the sealing material 210, and this melt tape is affixed to the junction (joint) of the corresponding panel. In this case, the width of the melt tape is such that there is some margin even when the concave curved surface portion 410 in FIGS. 4 and 5 is covered.
An upper left circle 81c in FIG. 8 represents an appropriate size and position of an abrasive 511 such as a rotary rubber grindstone or sandpaper as a processing element. That is, the abrasive 511 corresponding to the size and position of the circle 81c can be used so as to be passed to the peripheral portion of the concave curved surface portion 410 (FIGS. 4 and 5). The effect of using the abrasive 511 as such a processing element is as described with reference to FIGS.
On the other hand, a relatively right-side circle 82c in FIG. 8 represents an inappropriate size and position as a processing element. The abrasive corresponding to the size and position of the circle 82c cannot be used to pass to the peripheral portion of the concave curved surface portion 410 (FIGS. 4 and 5). It is not possible to adjust the amount of cutting appropriately using the position reference.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a machining operation by the machining apparatus of FIG.
In the notation of FIG. 9, the longitudinal direction of the sealing material 210 (melt tape) attached so as to cross the center pillar portion 13 is the left-right direction, and the width direction thereof is a direction perpendicular to the paper surface.
In the example of FIG. 9, the seal material 210 (melt) provided by coating or pasting the center pillar upper side seam 13 u of the center pillar portion 13 described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 so as to cover from the outside. The case where the processing device 500 performs processing on the tape) is shown.
An abrasive 511 as a processing element attached to the end of the end effector 510 on the distal end side by moving the arm 520 of the industrial manipulating robot as the processing apparatus 500 with respect to the seal material 210 at the site of the center pillar upper side seam 13u. The positions and orientations of these are typically shown by thin broken lines at several points. Moreover, the state of the movement is represented by a thick broken arrow. That is, the abrasive 511 is moved as indicated by the thick broken line.
The end effector 510 is a so-called active contact flange, and can adjust the pressing force when the processing element is brought into contact with the workpiece. In this example, the pressing force is adjusted to be constant.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the movement of the machining element in the machining apparatus of FIG.
In the example of FIG. 10, a melt tape is applied as the sealing material 210, and the melt tape is applied to the joint (seam) of the corresponding panel, and then the rotary rubber grindstone or sandpaper as the processing element is used. This shows a case where polishing is performed with an abrasive 511 such as.
A polishing material 511 such as a rotating rubber grindstone or sandpaper as a processing element is continuously rotated by an end effector 510 of an industrial manipulating robot as a processing device 500, as indicated by an arrow drawn in an arc. Is done. At this time, the arm 520 of the industrial manipulating robot is moved along with the rotational drive to move along the joint between the panels (for example, the center pillar upper side seam 13u of the center pillar 13). It is moved so as to move in the direction along the line or in the intersecting direction (the direction indicated by the arrow line in the arc in the figure).

When the processing element (abrasive material 511) is moved in this way, the movement trajectory can be drawn in an ellipse, and no polishing (cutting) trace is generated in the portion where the sealing material 210 has been polished (cut).
In addition, when swinging as described above, the size (diameter) of the processing element (abrasive 511) is selected so that the processing element (abrasive 511) does not deviate from the portion of the panel that provides the above-described position reference.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the target object after the seam processing according to the seam processing method of the present invention.
In FIG. 11, the same reference numerals are assigned to the corresponding parts in FIG. Also in FIG. 11, as in FIG. 4, the right side corresponds to the upper side of the vehicle body (that is, the side panel outer 11), and the left side corresponds to the lower side of the vehicle body.
The sealing material 210 was applied to the center pillar upper side seam 13u in the sealing material application process described above.
Specifically, at the site of the center pillar upper side seam 13u, the second panel 112 is formed at a joint portion between the bent portion 13f above the center pillar portion 13 and the bent portion 16f of the extension portion 16c in the third panel 113. For example, a sealing material 210, which is a resin sealer, is attached by coating or pasting so as to cover the concave portion 410s of the concave curved surface portion 410.
In this sealing material deposition treatment process, the sealing material 210 (melt tape) is used more than the volume of the recess 410s, and is protruded slightly to the periphery of the recess 410s. The surplus portion 210e (FIG. 4) of the material 210 was removed by the processing element (abrasive 511) of the processing apparatus 500.

As a result, the sealing material 210 has a shape in which the center portion is recessed and the side portion is smoothly connected to the edge of the recess 410s of the recessed curved surface portion 410.
Therefore, the mark which performed the joint process to the junction part (center pillar upper side seam 13u) of a panel is not conspicuous. In addition, when a door seal structure in which a weather strip or the like is brought into contact with a jointed portion, a gap between a door seal member such as a weather strip and the jointed portion can be prevented. Therefore, appearance quality and sufficient waterproofness are ensured.

FIG. 12 is an image diagram of the center pillar seam after the seam processing according to the seam processing method of the present invention.
As shown in the drawing, in the portion where the center pillar upper side seam 13u has been subjected to the seam treatment, the sealing material 210 (melt tape) provided so as to cross the center pillar portion 13 has its width direction (the longitudinal direction of the center pillar portion 13). The central part of the outer surface in the direction) becomes a very concave shape. In this case, the width of the sealing material 210 (melt tape) is, for example, about 20 mm, and the degree (depth) of the recess in the recess 400s is, for example, about 0.3 mm to 0.5 mm.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a processing example by the joint processing method of the present invention.
In FIG. 13A, the seal material 210 (melt) is formed so as to cover the concave portion of the concave curved surface portion of the joint portion for joining the panels in the seal material deposition process (FIG. 6: step S621). (Tape) is shown. The surplus portion 210e of the sealing material 210 (melt tape) described with reference to FIG. 4 is convex.
(B) part of FIG. 13 represents a mode that the sealing material 210 (melt tape) of the state in (A) part was processed in a sealing material processing process (FIG. 6: step S622).
The convex surplus portion 210e that is noticeably visible in the state of FIG. 13A is polished and removed, and is smoothed so as not to cause a step with the surroundings.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and modifications, improvements, etc. within a scope that can achieve the object of the present invention are included in the present invention.

13f, 16f ... bent portion 111 ... first panel 112 ... second panel 113 ... third panel 210 ... sealing material (melt tape)
400s ... concave portion 410 ... concave curved surface portion 410s ... concave portion 500 ... processing device 511 ... processing element (abrasive)

Claims (5)

A vehicle body constructed by joining a plurality of panels at their ends,
The plurality of panels have bent portions that form concave curved portions that are recessed toward the inside of the vehicle body from the flat portions of the panels in the joined state, at the end portions thereof,
The concave curved surface portion is provided with a sealing material so as to cover the concave portion,
The sealing material has a shape in which a central portion is recessed in the same direction as the recessed portion, and a side portion reaches an edge portion of the recessed portion of the concave curved surface portion to form a minute concave shape smoothly connected to the flat portion of the panel. Body. As a plurality of the concave surface portion of the flat portion of the panel when the corresponding ends are said joined portions joined recessed toward the inside of the vehicle body panel constituting the vehicle body are respectively formed A seam treatment method for sealing a seam generated at a joint portion between a plurality of panels,
A sealing material deposition treatment step of depositing a sealing material so as to cover the concave portion of the concave curved surface portion;
The sealing material deposited in the sealing material deposition treatment step is partially removed by a processing device, so that the central portion of the sealing material is recessed in the same direction as the recess, and the side portion is the concave curved surface portion. A sealing material processing step of forming a concave portion having a shape of a minute recess that reaches the edge of a recess and smoothly continues to the flat portion of the panel;
In the sealing material processing step, a processing device in which a processing element that performs processing in contact with the seal material is an elastic body is applied as the processing device.
Seam processing method.   The seam processing method according to claim 2, wherein in the sealing material processing step, processing is performed in a state in which a processing element of the processing device is passed to a peripheral portion of the concave curved surface portion.   The seam processing method according to claim 2, wherein, in the sealing material application processing step, the sealing material is applied so as to cover the concave surface including the peripheral portion of the concave curved surface portion.   5. The seam processing according to claim 2, wherein, in the sealing material processing step, the processing device moves the processing element along with the peristalsis when moving the processing element along the joint portion between the panels. Method.

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