US 12,269,113 B2
Joining method
Nobushiro Seo, Shizuoka (JP); Keita Oikawa, Shizuoka (JP); and Ryo Yoshida, Shizuoka (JP)
Assigned to NIPPON LIGHT METAL COMPANY, LTD., Tokyo (JP)
Appl. No. 17/602,945
Filed by NIPPON LIGHT METAL COMPANY, LTD., Tokyo (JP)
PCT Filed Dec. 24, 2019, PCT No. PCT/JP2019/050708
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Oct. 11, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/208879, PCT Pub. Date Oct. 15, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 2019-076104 (JP), filed on Apr. 12, 2019; and application No. 2019-102468 (JP), filed on May 31, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0161354 A1, May 26, 2022
Int. Cl. B23K 20/00 (2006.01); B23K 20/12 (2006.01); B23K 103/10 (2006.01)
CPC B23K 20/128 (2013.01) [B23K 20/1255 (2013.01); B23K 2103/10 (2018.08)] 2 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A joining method by which a pair of metal members are joined to each other with use of a rotary tool provided with a stirring pin having a smaller diameter toward a tip thereof, the method comprising:
a preparation process in which a first metal member made of an aluminum alloy, a second metal member made of an aluminum alloy, and an auxiliary member made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy having a hardness lower than those of the first metal member and the second metal member are prepared;
a butting process in which a butted portion is formed in such a form that an end portion of the first metal member and an end portion of the second metal member face each other, the auxiliary member is interposed in a gap formed between the end portions, an end face of the first metal member is butted against one side face of the auxiliary member, and an end face of the second metal member is butted against the other side face of the auxiliary member; and
a joining process in which the first metal member and the second metal member are joined with the auxiliary member interposed therebetween by moving the rotary tool along the butted portion in a state where the rotary tool which is being rotated is inserted only from a front face side of the auxiliary member, only the stirring pin is in contact with the auxiliary member, a base end side of the stirring pin is exposed, and a circumferential face of the stirring pin is in contact with each of the end face of the first metal member and the end face of the second metal member, with a contact dimension of between greater than 0 mm and less than 1.0 mm,
wherein the auxiliary member is provided with an inclined face on at least one of the one side face and the other face thereof in such a form that the auxiliary member has a smaller dimension with increasing distance from the front face thereof, and at least one of the first metal member and the second metal member is provided with an inclined face which corresponds to the inclined face of the auxiliary member and is inclined from a front face toward a back face.