PURPOSE: To detect the position of a groove always exactly and to perform automatic welding stably in the stage of welding materials to be welded automatically, by detecting the groove shape and size of the materials to be welded as a video and detecting the same as the coordinates of the coordinate system on the image plane of an image sensor.
CONSTITUTION: The shape and position of a groove 4 are detected correctly and the position and attitude of a welding torch 5 are determined in the stage of welding the groove 4 of the upper and lower side plates 1, 2 of materials to be welded. For this purpose, the light 6 subjected to beam processing is irradiated to the groove 4, and the image 8 thereof is detected on the video plane 10 of an image sensor 9 and is detected as the coordinates of an X-Y coordinate system. The image is then arithmetically processed in an arithmetic control device 11 and the resulted image 12 of the shape and position of the groove 4 is detected as the coordinates of the X-Y coordinate system. The required signal relating to the position, angle, welding current and voltage that the torch 5 is ought to have with respect to the groove 4 in accordance with the image 12 is outputted from the device 11 so that the torch 5 is operated correctly with a servocontrol mechanism 14.
AWAZU YASUO
GOTANDA KOUJI
OKUMURA KATSUJI
TSURUGA TAKAHIRO
AUTOMAX KK