Apparatus and method for laser welding bellows based on reference point determining
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for making bellows from bellows components, the apparatus comprising:
- a fixture for supporting a plurality of bellows components in side-by-side relation to define a plurality of pairs of adjacent outer edges to be welded together;
a reference point determining device for determining at least one reference point relating to locations of the pairs of adjacent outer edges of bellows components supported on said fixture;
a laser for generating a laser beam;
a positioner for relatively positioning the laser beam and said fixture; and
a controller for controlling said laser and said positioner so that the laser beam welds together the pairs of adjacent outer edges based upon the at least one reference point.
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Abstract
A laser welding apparatus includes a fixture for supporting a plurality of bellows diaphragms in side-by-side relation to define pairs of adjacent outer edges to be welded adjacent a laser. The apparatus also includes a reference point determining device for determining at least one reference point relating to locations of the outer edges. A positioner and controller are provided to position the laser relative to the fixture and to control the direction of the laser beam to weld edges based on the at least one reference point.
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Citations
59 Claims
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1. An apparatus for making bellows from bellows components, the apparatus comprising:
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a fixture for supporting a plurality of bellows components in side-by-side relation to define a plurality of pairs of adjacent outer edges to be welded together;
a reference point determining device for determining at least one reference point relating to locations of the pairs of adjacent outer edges of bellows components supported on said fixture;
a laser for generating a laser beam;
a positioner for relatively positioning the laser beam and said fixture; and
a controller for controlling said laser and said positioner so that the laser beam welds together the pairs of adjacent outer edges based upon the at least one reference point. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An apparatus for making bellows from bellows components, the apparatus comprising:
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a fixture for supporting a plurality of bellows components in side-by-side relation to define a plurality of pairs of adjacent outer edges to be welded together;
a laser for generating a laser beam;
a positioner for relatively positioning the laser beam and said fixture;
a optical system for presenting to an operator an image of at least one pair of adjacent edges;
an input device for accepting from the operator an input to set at least one reference point relating to locations of pairs of adjacent outer edges of bellows components supported on said fixture; and
a controller for controlling said laser and said positioner so that the laser beam welds together the pairs of adjacent outer edges based upon the at least one reference point. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 39, 40, 41)
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35. A method of making bellows from bellows components, the method comprising:
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supporting a plurality of bellows components on a fixture in a side-by-side relation to define a plurality of pairs of adjacent outer edges to be welded together;
determining at least one reference point relating to locations of the pairs of adjacent outer edges of the bellows components; and
directing a laser beam so that the laser beam welds together the pairs of adjacent outer edges based upon the at least one reference point.
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48. A method of making bellows from bellows components, the method comprising:
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supporting a plurality of bellows components on a fixture in side-by-side relation to define a plurality of pairs of adjacent outer edges to be welded together;
presenting to an operator an image of the at least one pair of adjacent edges;
accepting from the operator an input to set at least one reference point relating to locations of pairs of adjacent edges of bellows components supported on said fixture; and
directing a laser beam so that the laser beam welds together the at least one pair of adjacent outer edges based on the at least one reference point. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59)
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Specification