3m Innovative Properties Company

Donald S Oblak

Satinder K Nayar

John Russell Mlinar

Paul M Fettig

Donald L Pochardt

Ronald W Gerdes

Gopal B Haregoppa

Jennifer L Trice

Peihui Zhang

Timothy J Rowell

Verlin W Schelhaas

John R Mlinar

A rotary acoustic horn. The rotary acoustic horn includes a shaft having an axial input end and an axial output end; and at least one welding portion; wherein the welding portion comprises an outer weld face that expands and contracts with the application of acoustic energy; wherein the welding portion comprises a first opposing end portion and a second opposing end portion; wherein the welding portion comprises through holes extending substantially along an axial direction of the welding portion from the first opposing end portion to the second opposing end portion; and wherein the through holes are located between the weld face and the shaft.

Rotary acoustic horn

A system for applying ultrasonic energy to a workpiece, the system including a horn stack; a mounting system upon which the horn stack is mounted; a source of energy coupled to the horn stack; an anvil having a surface for supporting the workpiece; and a controller configured to receive a resonant frequency of the horn stack, and to determine a quantity standing in known relation to a change in gap between the horn stack and the anvil.

Method and system for determining a gap between a vibrational body and fixed point

The invention is a mounting system for a vibrational element. The vibrational element has a longitudinal axis, an outer surface and an axial displacement node. The mounting system includes an isolation member which has an isolation surface, an isolating body, and an engaging portion. The engaging portion is immovably secured to the isolation member and extends radially inward from the isolation body at a point radially opposite the isolation surface. The engaging portion is disposed so as to engage the outer surface of the vibrational element. Radial displacements of the vibration element are substantially decoupled from the isolation surface through the engaging portion.

Mount for vibratory elements

A system and method for adjusting the gap between a horn and an anvil in an ultrasonic welding system includes the act of positioning a horn proximal to an anvil, so that a gap is established between the horn and the anvil. A force is applied to the horn, so as to urge the horn toward the anvil. A deformable stop is positioned at a location, such that application of the urging force causes a member operatively connected to the horn to abut the deformable stop, and to deform the stop. The urging force is iteratively adjusted during operation of the horn, so as to adjust the extent of the deformation of the deformable stop, and to maintain the gap between the horn and the anvil substantially constant.

Cantilevered bar gap adjustment for an ultrasonic welding system

A system and method for monitoring a gap between a vibrational body and a reference is achieved by monitoring the resonant frequency of the vibrational body. A portion of the vibrational body is fixed a given distance from the reference by a rigid mounting system. A resonant frequency of the vibrational body is received. Then, a quantity standing in known relation to an approximate change in the length of the gap is determined, based upon the resonant frequency.

An ultrasonic rotary welding apparatus and methods of using the same are disclosed. The ultrasonic welding device includes an ultrasonic horn and an anvil. The ultrasonic horn is constrained by a mounting system. The mounting system permits the horn to exhibit two degrees of freedom. The first degree of freedom permits translational motion in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the horn. The second degree of freedom permits rotation about an axis perpendicular to both the longitudinal axis of the horn and the direction of translational motion.

Apparatus of adjusting the position of an ultrasonic welding horn

The invention is an apparatus comprising an ultrasonic horn. The horn is mounted to a support structure and includes a first mounting surface. An anvil is mounted to the support structure and spaced from the ultrasonic horn. The anvil has a first bearer surface. A bearer assembly supportably links the first mounting surface to the first bearer surface.

Adjustable-gap rotary ultrasonic horn mounting apparatus and method for mounting

A non-nodal mounting system for an ultrasonic element includes a drive ring and a flexible disk. The drive ring is rotatably connected to a mounting housing. The flexible disk is fixed at a radially inner portion to the ultrasonic element and at a radially outer portion to the drive ring. The flexible disk can include flexible fingers for reducing the force transmitted to the drive ring. Also, the flexible disk can include an inner annular ring at the radially inner portion and a concentric annular ring at the radially outer portion. The rings are connected by the fingers.

Growing community of inventors

North St. Paul, MN, United States of America

Donald S Oblak