Laser joining head assembly and laser joining method
First Claim
1. A laser joining head assembly for simultaneously performing joint tracking and seam inspection of a joint while said joining head assembly is in relative motion along said joint, said laser joining head assembly comprising:
- a joining laser beam directed towards said joint along a joining laser optical path;
integrated tracking laser line projecting means having an optical axis precisely angularly directed towards said joint closely upstream said joining laser beam with respect to said relative motion for projecting a tracking laser line transversally intersecting said joint, thereby generating successive joint transverse profiles;
integrated inspection laser line projecting means having an optical axis precisely angularly directed towards said joint closely downstream said joining laser beam with respect to said relative motion for projecting an inspection laser line transversally intersecting said joint, thereby generating successive seam transverse profiles;
imaging means mounted coaxially to said joining laser beam for successively imaging each of said joint transverse profiles and each of said seam transverse profiles coaxially through said joining laser optical path during said motion; and
processing means operatively connected to said imaging means for processing said joint profiles and said seam profiles to respectively provide joint data and seam data;
monitoring and control means for monitoring and controlling the position of said laser beam relative to said joint with the help of the processing means, thereby performing said joint tracking and said seam inspection of said joint during said motion; and
robot position error monitoring and compensating means for monitoring and compensating robot position error of said joining head assembly.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
There are provided a laser joining head assembly and a laser joining method for simultaneously performing joint tracking and seam inspection of a joint while said joining head assembly is in relative motion along the joint. The laser joining head assembly comprises integrated tracking laser line projecting means and integrated inspection laser line projecting means for respectively projecting a tracking laser line and an inspection laser line on the joint, thereby allowing to respectively generate successive joint transverse profiles and seam transverse profiles. These profiles are processed to respectively provide joint data and seam data, thereby allowing to perform said joint tracking and said seam inspection of said joint during said motion.
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Citations
44 Claims
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1. A laser joining head assembly for simultaneously performing joint tracking and seam inspection of a joint while said joining head assembly is in relative motion along said joint, said laser joining head assembly comprising:
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a joining laser beam directed towards said joint along a joining laser optical path; integrated tracking laser line projecting means having an optical axis precisely angularly directed towards said joint closely upstream said joining laser beam with respect to said relative motion for projecting a tracking laser line transversally intersecting said joint, thereby generating successive joint transverse profiles; integrated inspection laser line projecting means having an optical axis precisely angularly directed towards said joint closely downstream said joining laser beam with respect to said relative motion for projecting an inspection laser line transversally intersecting said joint, thereby generating successive seam transverse profiles; imaging means mounted coaxially to said joining laser beam for successively imaging each of said joint transverse profiles and each of said seam transverse profiles coaxially through said joining laser optical path during said motion; and processing means operatively connected to said imaging means for processing said joint profiles and said seam profiles to respectively provide joint data and seam data; monitoring and control means for monitoring and controlling the position of said laser beam relative to said joint with the help of the processing means, thereby performing said joint tracking and said seam inspection of said joint during said motion; and robot position error monitoring and compensating means for monitoring and compensating robot position error of said joining head assembly. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A laser joining method for simultaneously performing joint tracking and seam inspection of a joint, said method comprising the steps of:
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providing a joining head in relative motion along said joint and having a joining laser beam directed towards said joint along a joining laser optical path; projecting a tracking laser line transversally intersecting said joint closely upstream said joining laser beam with respect to said relative motion to generate successive joint transverse profiles; projecting an inspection laser line transversally intersecting said joint closely downstream said joining laser beam with respect to said relative motion to generate successive seam transverse profiles; imaging each of said joint transverse profiles and each of said seam transverse profiles coaxially through said joining laser optical path; monitoring and compensating robot position error of said joining head assembly; processing said joint profiles and said seam profiles to respectively provide joint data and seam data; and controlling the position of said laser beam relative to said joint during said motion, thereby performing said joint tracking and said scan inspection of said joint. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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Specification