Simultaneous laser cutting and welding of metal foil to edge of a plate
First Claim
1. A method of welding an ultra-thin metal foil to the edge of a metal plate to form a vacuum tight weld comprisinga) providing an ultra-thin foil having a thickness of less than 0.002 inches,b) providing at least one metal plate having a thickness greater than that of the ultra-thin foil, wherein the plate has a top surface, a bottom surface and an edge between the top and bottom surface defining the thickness of the plate,c) placing the ultra-thin foil against the edge of the plate,d) clamping the ultra-thin foil against the edge of the plate,e) providing a laser having a focused beam,f) directing the beam of the laser onto the ultra-thin foil to weld the ultra-thin foil to the edge of the plate at a weld line while simultaneously cutting the edge of the foil along one of the surfaces of the plate.
2 Assignments
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of welding an ultra-thin foil to the edge of a thicker sheet to form a vacuum insulation panel comprising the steps of providing an ultra-thin foil having a thickness less than 0.002, providing a top plate having an edge and a bottom plate having an edge, clamping the foil to the edge of the plate wherein the clamps act as heat sinks to distribute heat through the foil, providing a laser, moving the laser relative to the foil and the plate edges to form overlapping weld beads to weld the foil to the plate edges while simultaneously cutting the foil along the weld line formed by the overlapping beads.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. A method of welding an ultra-thin metal foil to the edge of a metal plate to form a vacuum tight weld comprising
a) providing an ultra-thin foil having a thickness of less than 0.002 inches, b) providing at least one metal plate having a thickness greater than that of the ultra-thin foil, wherein the plate has a top surface, a bottom surface and an edge between the top and bottom surface defining the thickness of the plate, c) placing the ultra-thin foil against the edge of the plate, d) clamping the ultra-thin foil against the edge of the plate, e) providing a laser having a focused beam, f) directing the beam of the laser onto the ultra-thin foil to weld the ultra-thin foil to the edge of the plate at a weld line while simultaneously cutting the edge of the foil along one of the surfaces of the plate.
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14. The method of making a vacuum insulation panel comprising
a) providing a first metal plate having four corners, a top surface, a bottom surface, and an edge between the top and bottom surfaces, b) providing a second metal plate having four corners, a top surface, a bottom surface, and an edge between the top and bottom surfaces, c) placing the first plate parallel to and spaced a distance apart from the second plate, d) providing an ultra-thin metal foil having a thickness less than 0.002 inches, e) clamping the ultra-thin foil around the edges of the plates, f) providing a laser having a focused beam, g) directing the focused beam onto the ultra-thin foil to weld the ultra-thin foil to the edges of the first and second plate to form a panel which when evacuated of gases will hold a vacuum.
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25. The method of welding an ultra-thin foil to the edge of a metal plate comprising
a) providing an ultra-thin foil having a thickness of less than 0.002 inches, b) providing at least one metal plate having a thickness greater than that of the ultra-thin foil, wherein the plate has a top surface, and a bottom surface, and an edge between the top and bottom surface defining the thickness of the plate, c) placing the ultra-thin foil against the edge of the plate, d) clamping the ultra-thin foil against the edge of the plate, e) providing a laser having a focused beam, f) directing the beam of the laser onto the ultra-thin foil to melt the ultra-thin foil to form weld beads and to weld the foil to the edge of the plate, wherein the weld beads have a thickness greater than the thickness of the foil while simultaneously cutting the edge of the foil along one of the surfaces of the plate.
Specification