Laser sheet perforator
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for cutting perforations in sheet material with a laser, comprising:
- (a) a bed for supporting the sheet material;
(b) a laser operative to provide a laser beam of sufficient intensity to cut through the sheet material supported by said bed;
(c) an arm movable across said bed;
(d) means for moving said arm at a selected speed;
(e) means for reflecting and collimating said beam so that said beam is incident on said sheet;
(f) means for moving said sheet over said bed transverse to the direction of movement of said arm;
(g) said reflecting and collimating means including first and second mirrors rotatable about orthogonal axes mounted on said arm;
(h) means for rotating said first and second mirrors so that said beam traverses a closed path over said sheet to define each perforation, at each of a plurality of spaced apart locations along said sheet so as to produce an array of perforations in said sheet; and
(i) means for shutting off said laser between perforations.
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Abstract
An apparatus for cutting perforations in sheet material with a laser which includes a laser and servo motor controlled rotatable mirrors for focussing and directing a laser beam from the laser onto the sheet material so as to cut a perforation therein. An arm mounts the mirrors for movement of the beam from one perforating position to another. The laser is also shut off when moving from one perforation position to another. A perforation pattern is thus produced over a selected portion of the sheet.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. An apparatus for cutting perforations in sheet material with a laser, comprising:
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(a) a bed for supporting the sheet material; (b) a laser operative to provide a laser beam of sufficient intensity to cut through the sheet material supported by said bed; (c) an arm movable across said bed; (d) means for moving said arm at a selected speed; (e) means for reflecting and collimating said beam so that said beam is incident on said sheet; (f) means for moving said sheet over said bed transverse to the direction of movement of said arm; (g) said reflecting and collimating means including first and second mirrors rotatable about orthogonal axes mounted on said arm; (h) means for rotating said first and second mirrors so that said beam traverses a closed path over said sheet to define each perforation, at each of a plurality of spaced apart locations along said sheet so as to produce an array of perforations in said sheet; and (i) means for shutting off said laser between perforations. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An apparatus for cutting perforations in sheet material with a laser, comprising:
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(a) a bed for supporting the sheet material; (b) a laser operative to provide a laser beam of sufficient intensity to cut through the sheet material supported by said bed; (c) an arm movable across said bed and a drive for moving said arm across said bed; (d) first and second galvanometer servo motors affixed to said arm; (e) first and second mirrors rotatably attached to said first and second galvanometer servo motors, respectively, and positioned so as to move the laser beam, incident on said first mirror and reflected from said first mirror onto said second mirror onto said sheet, in two dimensions over said sheet; (f) a drive for moving said sheet over said bed transverse to the direction of movement of said arm; (g) a signal source for driving said first and second galvanometer servo motors so that said laser beam traverses a closed path on said sheet to define each perforation at each of a plurality of spaced apart locations along said sheet so as to produce an array of perforations in said sheet; and (h) means for shutting off said laser between perforations. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of forming an array of perforations in sheet material, comprising the steps of:
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(a) traversing a laser beam along a closed path on said sheet material to cut through the sheet material and define a discrete perforation therethrough; (b) changing the relative position of the sheet material and the position of impingement of the laser beam on the sheet material; and (c) after step (b), continuously repeating steps (a) and (b) to define additional discrete perforations through the sheet material spaced one from another to provide an array of perforations through the sheet material. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification