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:
May. 17, 2011
Filed:
Oct. 18, 2006
Toshio Watanabe, Toyota, JP;
Katsuhiko Nakajima, Nisshin, JP;
Hideo Nakamura, Toyota, JP;
Hiroshi Mori, Hino, JP;
Susumu Fujita, Shimotsuke, JP;
Mitsunobu Nakatani, Utsunomiya, JP;
Toshio Watanabe, Toyota, JP;
Katsuhiko Nakajima, Nisshin, JP;
Hideo Nakamura, Toyota, JP;
Hiroshi Mori, Hino, JP;
Susumu Fujita, Shimotsuke, JP;
Mitsunobu Nakatani, Utsunomiya, JP;
Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Aichi, JP;
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Wilmington, DE (US);
Abstract
A method and apparatus for welding members formed of thermoplastic resin material, with high welding strength and small strength variations. A laser welding apparatusbrings a first memberformed of a transmissive thermoplastic resin that transmits a laser beam into contact with a second memberformed of an absorptive thermoplastic resin that absorbs the laser beam, and joins the thermoplastic resin members by melting their contact surfaceswith the laser beam. The laser welding apparatusfurther comprises a laser beam generatorfor irradiating the contact surfaces with the laser beam shone from the side of the first memberso as to melt at least one of the contact surfaces of the first member and the second member. The apparatus also comprises a clamp mechanismfor pressing the first member and the second member together, a temperature sensoras an adjusting means for adjusting the pressing force applied to the first member and the second member, and a personal computerfor calculating the pressing force based on the output of the temperature sensor. The clamp mechanism is controlled with the calculated pressing force.