Method for solvent bonding non-porous materials to automatically create variable bond characteristics
First Claim
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1. A method of creating an engineered solvent bond between two items each having a nonporous surface to be bonded to the other comprising the steps of:
- a. predetermining the volume of viscous material to be created;
thenb. providing at least one spacer between said surfaces;
c. removing said at least one spacer;
d. applying a solvent between the surfaces to be bonded;
thene. creating an appropriate volume of viscous material through action of said solvent in dissolving the surfaces;
thenf. acting upon the surfaces while they are in a dissolved state in order to intermix said viscous material from both surfaces;
theng. curing said surfaces to eliminate said viscous material and create a bonded joint.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for preengineering a solvent bond is disclosed. It creates the possibility of preestablishing designs to self-optimize the characteristics of the resultant solvent bond. These characteristics can thus be chosen by the part designer with confidence that inherent variations in the assembly process will not unduly impact the resultant bond. Setting the volume of dissolved material with acting upon it in the dissolved state are included.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method of creating an engineered solvent bond between two items each having a nonporous surface to be bonded to the other comprising the steps of:
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a. predetermining the volume of viscous material to be created;
thenb. providing at least one spacer between said surfaces; c. removing said at least one spacer; d. applying a solvent between the surfaces to be bonded;
thene. creating an appropriate volume of viscous material through action of said solvent in dissolving the surfaces;
thenf. acting upon the surfaces while they are in a dissolved state in order to intermix said viscous material from both surfaces;
theng. curing said surfaces to eliminate said viscous material and create a bonded joint. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A method of creating an engineered solvent bond between two items each having a nonporous surface to be bonded to the other comprising the steps of:
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a. predeterming the volume of viscous material to be created;
thenb. applying a solvent between the surfaces to be bonded;
thenc. creating an appropriate volume of viscous material through action of said solvent in dissolving the surfaces;
thend. acting upon the surfaces while they are in a dissolved state in order to intermix said viscous material from both surfaces, wherein said step of acting comprises the steps of; i. displacing one of said surfaces with respect to the other surface; and ii. timing said displacement to occur at a consistent point during the dissolving of said surfaces based upon the amount of dissolving having occurred;
thene. curing said surfaces to eliminate said viscous material and create a bonded joint. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of creating an engineered solvent bond to join at least two nonporous surfaces together at a planar surface comprising the steps of:
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a. determining the desired characteristics of the bond to be created; b. predetermining the volume of viscous material necessary to produce said desired characteristics;
thenc. establishing an appropriate capillary distribution for a solvent, then; d. applying said solvent to create the bond to at least one of the surface to be bonded;
thene. assuring the creation of the desired characteristics of bond through action of said solvent, wherein said action of said solvent dissolves at least one of said surfaces to produce a volume of viscous material, and wherein said step of assuring the desired characteristics comprises the step of distributing the solvent in a predetermined manner throughout said planar surface wherein said solvent has the property of capillary action and wherein said step of distributing the solvent is achieved automatically through the capillary action of said solvent; and
thenf. acting upon said surface while dissolved in order to intermix said viscous material properly;
theng. curing said bond to create an assembly having the desired characteristics. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of creating an engineered solvent bond having desired characteristics between two items each having a nonporous surface to be bonded to the other comprising the steps of:
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a. predetermining an appropriate volume of viscous material necessary to produce said desired bond characteristics;
thenb. determining the volume of solvent desirable to create the appropriate volume of viscous material; and
thenc. placing said surfaces in proximity to each other; and
thend. establishing a reservoir having a predetermined volume between said surfaces and into which the solvent will be applied, wherein the predetermined volume of the reservoir is substantially equal to the volume of solvent desired; and
thene. completely filling said reservoir with said solvent;
thusf. applying said solvent between said surfaces to be bonded; and
theng. dissolving said surfaces to create said volume of viscous material to create a solvent bond; and
thenh. acting upon said surfaces while dissolved in order to intermix said viscous material. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification