JP2016112605A - Ball chain, ball chain manufacturing apparatus and ball chain manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a ball chain, a ball chain manufacturing apparatus, and a ball chain manufacturing method, which are suitable for appearance design and appearance. SOLUTION: A material delivery part 11 for delivering a spherical member material 1 and a connecting core material 2; a laser irradiation part 12 for welding a joint line 3 of the spherical member material 1 formed into a sleeve shape; A ball chain manufacturing apparatus including a spherical forming die 19 for forming the member 4, and rolling the entire outer periphery of the spherical member material 1 welded to the joint line 3 of the sleeve by the laser irradiation unit 12 to reduce the outer diameter. While narrowing down, the outer periphery shaping | molding die 14 which cuts the laser-welded part 18 of the joint line 3 so that it may become substantially flush with another outer peripheral part is provided, It is characterized by the above-mentioned. [Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a ball chain for jewelry mainly made of a rare metal such as gold or platinum, a method for manufacturing the ball chain, and a method for manufacturing the ball chain.

  A ball chain applied to a necklace, a bracelet, or the like of a jewelry is a structure in which a plurality of spherical members and a connecting core member inserted through a through hole between the spherical members are alternately swingably connected. And in the manufacturing process of the spherical member of these, the spherical member material used as the base material of the spherical member and the connecting core material is passed through a dedicated manufacturing apparatus called a knitting machine. By passing through the manufacturing apparatus, the plate-like spherical member material is rolled into a sleeve shape. The spherical member material is formed by welding the joint line of the sleeve at the laser irradiation portion and further plastically deforming the outer peripheral portion with a spherical forming die, thereby forming the spherical member of the ball chain.

      JP 2003-25041 A

In the spherical member molded through the manufacturing apparatus described above, the welded portion of the joint line of the sleeve of the spherical member material remains as it is. For this reason, there is a problem of reducing the added value as an accessory when the roughness of the finish of the welded portion remains as it is in the accessory whose appearance design and aesthetics are important.
An object of the present invention is to provide a ball chain having a good appearance, a ball chain manufacturing apparatus, and a ball chain manufacturing method.

  The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is a plurality of spherical members formed into a spherical shape having a hollow portion by applying plastic deformation to a plurality of locations along a longitudinal direction of a work material having a sleeve shape having a seam line. And a plurality of connecting core members that slidably connect the arranged spherical members, and the spherical member is formed such that the laser welded portion of the seam line remaining after molding is substantially flush with the other spherical surfaces. It is characterized by being.

  The invention according to claim 2 of the present invention comprises a material delivery part for delivering a spherical member material and a connecting core material, a laser irradiation part for welding a joint line of the spherical member material formed into a sleeve shape, and a spherical member material. A ball chain manufacturing apparatus having a spherical forming die for forming a spherical member, and rolling the entire outer periphery of the spherical member material welded to the seam line of the sleeve by the laser irradiation unit to reduce the outer diameter, and the seam An outer peripheral forming die for cutting the laser welded portion of the wire so as to be substantially flush with the other outer peripheral portion is provided.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the spherically shaped member material having a plate shape and a plurality of unconnected segmented core material are fed out simultaneously and passed through a sleeve forming die so as to surround the core material. A process of winding a spherical member material around a sleeve to form a sleeve, a step of laser welding over the entire seam line of the spherical member material forming the sleeve, and a spherical member material formed into a pipe shape after laser welding And cutting the laser welded portion while reducing the outer diameter of the spherical member material, and forming it substantially flush with the other outer peripheral portion.

  According to the present invention, in addition to the outer periphery forming die for winding a plate-shaped spherical member material into a sleeve shape, it is passed through an outer periphery forming die for passing a pipe-shaped spherical member material after laser welding. By doing this, the joint line of the spherical member material formed in the sleeve shape is laser welded into a pipe shape, and then the laser weld is cut while passing through a die while reducing the outer diameter of the spherical member material. The outer periphery of the member material is substantially flush. Accordingly, since the laser welded portion is not distorted from the spherical member and a uniform outer shape line can be formed, the added value of the ball chain as an accessory that places importance on the appearance design and appearance is improved.

  Further, since the welded portion of the seam line of the spherical member material is made substantially flush with the other outer peripheral portion by providing the laser welded portion and the outer peripheral forming die as in claim 2, the existing ball chain manufacturing apparatus Therefore, it is possible to provide a ball chain having a better appearance design and appearance than the conventional one at a low cost without complicated labor.

(A) which shows the manufacturing apparatus of the ball chain by this implementation is the top view which simplified the whole and was partially cross-sectional, (b) is an enlarged view of A in (a). (A) which shows a sleeve shaping | molding die and an outer periphery shaping | molding die is a top view, (b) is a front view, (c) is a BB sectional drawing in (b). (A) (b) (c) is the top view which expanded the principal part which shows the molding state for every process of the spherical member material of the ball chain by this implementation. (A) and (b) are the top views which simplified and showed a cross section partially showing the process of shaping | molding by a spherical shaping | molding die. (A) of the ball chain by this implementation is the top view which expanded the principal part, (b) is a side view which carried out the longitudinal cross-section of only the spherical member, (c) is CC in (b). It is line sectional drawing.

Hereinafter, the ball chain according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C, the ball chain is composed of a spherical member 4 and a connecting core member 5, and the spherical member 4 has a hollow portion S in an outer peripheral wall portion 6 having a substantially spherical shape. Furthermore, through holes 7 are provided at two opposing positions on the outer peripheral wall 6. Further, since the spherical member 4 is formed from the spherical member material 1 having a sleeve shape, the seam line 3 remaining on the outer peripheral wall portion 6 is welded by a laser welding portion. Further, referring to FIG. 5 (b), the connecting core 5 has a diameter of the rod-shaped portion 5a slightly smaller than the through-hole 7 of the spherical member 4, and at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the rod-shaped portion 5a. In addition, it has locking portions 8 and 8 having an elliptical bulge. And the latching | locking parts 8 and 8 are penetrated by the hollow part S of the spherical member 4 adjacent to the connection core material 5, and the latching | locking parts 8 and 8 are the inner periphery of the outer peripheral wall part 6 of said spherical member 4. By engaging the surface, the spherical member 4 and the connecting core member 5 are connected. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 5B, a ball chain in which a plurality of spherical members 4 are connected by the connecting core material 5 is formed.

Next, for manufacturing the ball chain, a manufacturing apparatus as shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b) is used.
The ball chain manufacturing apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a base 10, a material delivery unit 11, a laser irradiation unit 12, a sleeve forming die 13 and an outer peripheral forming die 14, and spherical forming dies 19 and 19. The pedestal 10 has a flat upper surface, and is provided with a material conveyance path 15 extending from one side of the upper surface to the other side. In addition, a material delivery unit 11, a laser irradiation unit 12, a sleeve forming die 13, and an outer peripheral forming die 14 are arranged in the order of the course of transporting the spherical member material 1 along the material transporting path 15. The material delivery part 11 delivers the plate-shaped spherical member material 1 and the connecting core material 2 simultaneously. Furthermore, the laser irradiation unit 12 continuously or intermittently along the joint line 3 of the spherical member material 1 by performing laser welding on the joint line 3 of the spherical member material 1 conveyed in the material conveyance path 15. Welding.

  As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the sleeve forming die 13 and the outer peripheral forming die 14 are arranged on the front side in the traveling direction of the materials 1 and 2 in the material conveying path 15 in the traveling direction of the materials 1 and 2. An outer peripheral forming die 14 is disposed on the rear side, and the sleeve forming die 13 and the outer peripheral forming die 14 are integrally formed continuously in the traveling direction of the materials 1 and 2. Further, the primary material insertion hole 16 of the sleeve forming die 13 is formed in a conical shape whose diameter gradually decreases from the front side to the rear side in the traveling direction of the materials 1 and 2. As a result, the spherical member material 1 having a plate shape passed through the primary material insertion hole 16 of the sleeve forming die 13 is inserted into the primary material insertion hole 16 while the inner peripheral portion of the primary material insertion hole 16 is being inserted. It is rounded from both end sides of the spherical member material that forms the plate material while being guided by, and gradually formed into a sleeve shape. Further, the secondary material insertion hole 17 of the outer peripheral forming die 14 communicates with the primary material insertion hole 16 of the sleeve forming die 13. Further, the secondary material insertion hole 17 of the outer peripheral forming die 14 is smaller than the diameter of the primary material insertion hole 16 of the sleeve forming die 13. When the spherical member material 1 is conveyed from the sleeve forming die 13, the outer peripheral forming die 14 is received while rotating in the same axial direction as the spherical member material 1. As a result, the outer peripheral portion of the spherical member material 1 formed into a sleeve shape is pulled out by the feed pitch of the spherical member material 1, thereby cutting at the inner peripheral portion of the secondary material insertion hole 17 of the outer peripheral forming die 14. Together with rolling, the outer diameter of the spherical member material 1 is further reduced.

  As described above, the spherical member material 1 that has passed through the sleeve forming die 13 is left with a laser welded portion 18 that is a mark that has been laser welded to the sleeve-like joint line 3 as shown in FIG. When the spherical member material 1 in the above state passes through the secondary material insertion hole 17 of the outer periphery forming die 14, the outer peripheral portion of the sleeve-shaped spherical member material 1 is the outer periphery as shown in FIG. It is rolled and cut at the inner peripheral wall of the secondary material insertion hole 17 of the forming die 14. Thereby, the formation width of the joint line 3 of the spherical member material 1 is narrowed and extends in the material transport direction, and a part of the laser welded portion 18 protruding from the outer peripheral surface of the spherical member material 1 is cut. 3 (c), the joint line 3 of the spherical member material 1 is formed substantially flush with the other outer peripheral surface. In this way, when the spherical member material 1 is formed into the spherical member 4 in the subsequent manufacturing process, the spherical surface of the spherical member 4 has no distorted irregularities as shown in FIG. Since the welded portion 18 is molded in a beautiful finish, the spherical member 4 having a favorable appearance design and appearance can be obtained.

The spherical forming dies 19, 19 are responsible for the step of forming the spherical member material 1 that has passed through the sleeve forming die 13 and the outer peripheral forming die 14 into the spherical member 4, as shown in FIG. This will be described below with reference to FIGS.
On the rear side in the traveling direction of the materials 1 and 2 of the sleeve forming die 13 and the outer periphery forming die 14 of the material conveying path 15, a pair of spherical shapes is provided at opposed positions sandwiching the material conveying path 15 in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction. Molding dies 19, 19 are arranged. In the spherical forming dies 19, 19, a plurality of hemispherical concave portions 20 are formed in a wavy shape on the opposing surface of the one and the other spherical forming dies 19. Further, the concave portion 20 of the spherical forming die 19 is formed deeper toward the conveyance outlet side sent out from the conveyance start side where the materials 1 and 2 are conveyed. Thus, as shown in FIG. 4B, each time the spherical member material 1 is moved by one spherical member 4 along the material movement direction of the material conveyance path 15, it is pressed by the spherical forming dies 19, 19 on both sides, By gradually applying strong plastic deformation to the sleeve-shaped spherical member material 1, the shape thereof is formed into a substantially spherical shape. The arrangement relationship with the connecting core material 2 fed together through the sleeve hole 22 of the spherical member material 1 (see FIG. 1 (b)) is such that the concave portions 20 of the spherical molding dies 19, 19 are continuous. The connection location of the connection core material 2 is located. This is because, when the spherical member 4 is molded by being sandwiched by the spherical molding dies 19 and 19 on both sides, the connecting portions of the connecting core material 5 are separated if the connecting portions of the connecting core material 2 are divided. 8 is locked to the inner peripheral portion of the spherical member 4 to form a ball chain in which a plurality of spherical members 4 by the connecting core member 5 are connected.

  In the embodiment of the ball chain manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, the sleeve forming die 13 and the outer periphery forming die 14 are formed continuously and integrally. However, the dies 13 and 14 are formed separately. It may be what you have. In the above embodiment, the laser welded portion 18 is laser welded to the window 21 provided on the outer peripheral forming die 14. However, the joint of the spherical member material 1 immediately after being rolled into a sleeve shape by the sleeve forming die 13 is described. The laser beam may be welded to the wire 3 from the laser irradiation unit 12. If the spherical member 4 is finally passed through the outer periphery forming die 14 to roll and cut the outer periphery, the laser beam from the laser irradiation unit 12 may be used. The timing for laser welding is not limited. Moreover, about the magnitude | size and shape of the spherical member 4 of the ball chain and the connection core material 5 which are manufactured with the ball chain manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the connection state is established by the connection core material 5 locking the spherical members 4 to each other. If it maintains, it will not specifically limit. Further, the method other than the step of forming the spherical member material 1 into the spherical member 4 is not particularly limited in the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Spherical member material 2 Connection core material 3 Seam line 4 Spherical member 5 Connection core material 5a Rod-shaped part 6 Outer wall part 7 Through-hole 8 Locking part 10 Base 11 Material delivery part 12 Laser irradiation part 13 Sleeve shaping die 14 Outer circumference molding Die 15 Material conveying path 16 Primary material insertion hole 17 Secondary material insertion hole 18 Laser welding part 19 Spherical forming die 20 Recess 21 Window 22 Sleeve hole S Hollow part

Claims (3)

  By giving plastic deformation to a plurality of locations along the longitudinal direction of the work material forming a sleeve shape having a seam line, a plurality of spherical members formed into a spherical shape having a hollow portion and the arranged spherical members can be swung freely. A ball chain comprising a plurality of connecting core members to be connected, wherein the spherical member has a laser welded portion of a seam line remaining after molding formed substantially flush with other spherical surfaces. A ball chain provided with a material delivery part for delivering a spherical member material and a connecting core material, a laser irradiation part for welding a joint line of the spherical member material formed into a sleeve shape, and a spherical forming die for forming a spherical member from the spherical member material Manufacturing equipment,
The outer circumference of the spherical member material welded to the seam line of the sleeve at the laser irradiation part is rolled to reduce the outer diameter, and the laser weld part of the seam line is cut to be almost flush with the other outer circumference part. An apparatus for producing a ball chain, wherein an outer peripheral forming die is provided.   A plate-shaped spherical member material and a plurality of unconnected segmented core materials are fed out simultaneously, passed through a sleeve forming die, and the spherical member material is wound around the core material to form a sleeve. The process, the step of laser welding over the entire length of the seam line of the spherical member material forming the sleeve shape, while the spherical member material formed into a pipe shape after laser welding is passed through the outer peripheral forming die while reducing the outer diameter of the spherical member material A method of manufacturing a ball chain, comprising: cutting a laser welded portion and forming the laser welded portion substantially flush with other outer peripheral portions.

Images