The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 08, 1996
Filed:
Aug. 31, 1994
Jonathan S Dahm, Boulder, CO (US);
Other;
Abstract
A laser welder is provided comprising a housing, an optical fiber, a wheel mounted within the housing and including a slot for receiving an article to be welded, the optical fiber mounted to and wound upon the wheel as the wheel is rotated to bring the fiber around the article, a sleeve for sealing to the article to establish a chamber surrounding the weld zone, the sleeve having a curved window for transmitting the laser light from the fiber to the weld zone, and a clip for removeably mounting the sleeve within the housing coaxial with the wheel. In another aspect, the invention provides the sealing sleeve for use in laser welding. The sleeve preferably includes a ring deformable with heat to clamp the sleeve to the article and center the article along an axis of the sleeve. In a further aspect, the invention relates to a method of welding articles.