Apparatus for connecting planar plastic materials

• US 20050039855A1
• Filed: 09/22/2003
• Published: 02/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Leister Process Technologies
• Original Assignee: Leister Process Technologies
• Inventors: Pironato, Marcel, Chen, Jie-Wei
• Application Number:
  US10/667,853
• Publication Number:
  US 20050039855A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 156/379.600
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/1635 at least passing through one of the parts to be joined, i.e. laser transmission welding
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/1658 scanning once, e.g. contour laser welding
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/1664 making use of several radiators
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/1674 making use of laser diodes B29C65/167 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/0242 Heating, or preheating, e.g. drying B29C66/3464 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/1122 Single lap to lap joints, i.e. overlap joints B29C66/45, B29C66/472, B29C66/52272 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/232 said joint lines being multiple and parallel, i.e. the joint being formed by several parallel joint lines
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/3452 Making complete joints by combining partial joints
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/43 Joining a relatively small portion of the surface of said articles B29C66/45 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/73921 characterised by the materials of both parts being thermoplastics
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/8122 characterised by the composition of the material constituting the pressing elements, e.g. constituting the welding jaws or clamps
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/81267 Transparent to electromagnetic radiation, e.g. to visible light
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/81469 one placed next to the other in a single line transverse to the feed direction, e.g. shoulder to shoulder sonotrodes
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/8161 said pressing elements being supported or backed-up by springs or by resilient material
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/8242 Pneumatic or hydraulic drives using fluid pressure directly acting on the parts to be joined B29C66/8266
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/83441 Ball types
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/8362 Rollers, cylinders or drums moving relative to and tangentially to the parts to be joined
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/8432 Machines for making separate joints at the same time mounted in parallel or in series
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/86533 by rails
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/86535 by the edge of one of the parts to be joined or by a groove between the parts to be joined, e.g. using a roller
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2909/08 : Glass
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2995/0027 : for light outside the visible spectrum
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2028/00 : Nets or the like

Abstract

An apparatus for welding over a large area according to the laser transmission method, in particular for welding plastic strips to form a grid structure. To this end, a multiplicity of processing heads are assembled to form a unit, so that a high production throughput can be achieved. Spacer devices for setting the distance of the top transparent material strips to be welded are also located between the individual processing heads.

Claims

1. An apparatus for connecting planar plastic materials by a laser transmission method, wherein a top material layer facing a laser source consists of a material which is transparent for the laser beam and a bottom material layer consists of a material which is absorbent for the laser beam, so that the contact surfaces adjoining one another of the two material layers fuse and combine with one another under pressure during the subsequent cooling, the apparatus comprises a processing head for accommodating guide devices for the laser beam and a device for transmitting the laser beam under the application of pressure to the material layers to be connected, wherein focussing means is arranged in the processing head and a rotatable roller which is transparent for the laser beam is arranged at the outlet end facing the material layers, the means comprises an integrated lens system, during the setting to the focus plane, interacting with the transparent roller, and the processing head having pressure devices for pressing the material layers together during the joining operation.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein passages for injecting air for mounting the roller are arranged in the processing head.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein a plurality of processing heads are arranged next to one another.

4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein spacer devices are arranged between the processing heads, wherein the spacer devices engaging between the top material layers located under the processing heads.

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processing head has an elongated narrow housing, on which a piston/cylinder unit engages in alignment with lateral housing walls.