Patents by Inventor Roberto Menin

Roberto Menin has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 8148662
    Abstract: Device for remote laser welding of metal sheet structures comprises an anthropomorphous robot onto whose wrist is mounted an accessory device carrying a focusing head for the laser beam coming from a laser source, as well as means for oscillating the pointing direction of the focused laser beam around one oscillation axis. During welding the robot shifts the accessory device along a given trajectory and at a given speed, while the pointing direction of the focused beam is oscillated to as to allow the area of structure that is lighted by the laser beam to shift at a speed and/or along a trajectory not depending directly on the shifting trajectory and speed of the accessory device carried by the robot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2012
    Assignee: Comau S.p.A.
    Inventor: Roberto Menin
  • Patent number: 7786404
    Abstract: A plurality of stretches of laser weld are executed on a structure to be welded by means of a device for focusing and orientation of the laser beam, which is associated to a component element of a manipulator robot. The focusing head is kept in the proximity of, but not closely adjacent to, the different areas to be welded and can consequently follow a simplified path, whilst the device for orientation of the laser beam aims the latter on the different areas of the structure to be welded, so that the speed of travel of the laser beam spot along the longitudinal direction of the weld stretch is independent from the speed of travel of the robot end element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2010
    Assignee: Comau S.p.A.
    Inventors: Roberto Menin, Arturo Baroncelli, Enrico Mauletti
  • Publication number: 20090230100
    Abstract: device for remote laser welding of metal sheet structures comprises an anthropomorphous robot onto whose wrist is mounted an accessory device carrying a focusing head for the laser beam coming from a laser source, as well as means for oscillating the pointing direction of the focused laser beam around one oscillation axis. During welding the robot shifts the accessory device along a given trajectory and at a given speed, while the pointing direction of the focused beam is oscillated to as to allow the area of structure that is lighted by the laser beam to shift at a speed and/or along a trajectory not depending directly on the shifting trajectory and speed of the accessory device carried by the robot.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 27, 2009
    Publication date: September 17, 2009
    Applicant: COMAU, INC
    Inventor: Roberto Menin
  • Patent number: 7560659
    Abstract: device for remote laser welding of metal sheet structures comprises an anthropomorphous robot onto whose wrist is mounted an accessory device carrying a focusing head for the laser beam coming from a laser source, as well as means for oscillating the pointing direction of the focused laser beam around one oscillation axis. During welding the robot shifts the accessory device along a given trajectory and at a given speed, while the pointing direction of the focused beam is oscillated to as to allow the area of structure that is lighted by the laser beam to shift at a speed and/or along a trajectory not depending directly on the shifting trajectory and speed of the accessory device carried by the robot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2009
    Assignee: Comau, S.p.A.
    Inventor: Roberto Menin
  • Publication number: 20050263499
    Abstract: device for remote laser welding of metal sheet structures comprises an anthropomorphous robot onto whose wrist is mounted an accessory device carrying a focusing head for the laser beam coming from a laser source, as well as means for oscillating the pointing direction of the focused laser beam around one oscillation axis. During welding the robot shifts the accessory device along a given trajectory and at a given speed, while the pointing direction of the focused beam is oscillated to as to allow the area of structure that is lighted by the laser beam to shift at a speed and/or along a trajectory not depending directly on the shifting trajectory and speed of the accessory device carried by the robot.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 27, 2005
    Publication date: December 1, 2005
    Applicant: Comau S.p.A.
    Inventor: Roberto Menin
  • Publication number: 20050150876
    Abstract: A plurality of stretches of laser weld are executed on a structure to be welded by means of a device for focusing and orientation of the laser beam, which is associated to a component element of a manipulator robot. The focusing head is kept in the proximity of, but not closely adjacent to, the different areas to be welded and can consequently follow a simplified path, whilst the device for orientation of the laser beam aims the latter on the different areas of the structure to be welded, so that the speed of travel of the laser beam spot along the longitudinal direction of the weld stretch is independent from the speed of travel of the robot end element.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 14, 2004
    Publication date: July 14, 2005
    Inventors: Roberto Menin, Arturo Baroncelli, Enrico Mauletti
  • Patent number: 6770839
    Abstract: Remote laser welding system comprising a laser beam generator and an optical head (1) including a mirror orienting unit (3, 4) and a focusing device (6), to orient and focus the laser beam (P) respectively inside a spatial sector (T). The mirror orienting unit (3, 4) is also arranged to orient the spatial sector (T) on a vertical plane and the optical head (1) can be translated vertically.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2004
    Assignees: Prima Industrie SpA, Comau SpA
    Inventors: Carlo Mangiarino, Gianfranco Carbonato, Maurizio Gattiglio, Roberto Menin
  • Patent number: 6703583
    Abstract: Welding of two or more steel sheets, at least one of which has a protective layer of a material with a low vaporization temperature, is carried out by directing a laser beam on two overlapped flanges of the sheets, which are clamped in position during welding by means of clamping devices. These clamping devices are able to hold the flanges to be welded in a slightly spaced apart position from each other, so as to create a gap, which does not jeopardize the possibility of carrying out the welding while enabling evacuation of the vapors of the protective material, which are generated during welding.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2004
    Assignee: Comau SPA
    Inventor: Roberto Menin
  • Patent number: 6693254
    Abstract: Two or more metal sheets, at least one of which has a protective layer made of material having a low vaporization temperature, are welded to each other by means of a laser beam after that a gap has been provided between the sheets to enable the vapors of the protective material which are created during welding to escape. The gap is obtained by exploiting the elastic return of one of the sheets starting from an elastically deformed condition in which this sheet is brought following the engagements of the device hich is used to clamp the sheets with each other during welding. In a first stage, the clamping device is closed to bring the sheets in complete contact with each other, by causing the above-mentioned elastic deformation of one of the sheets, in a second stage, the clamping device is opened again by a limited extent, until a predetermined position is reached, so as to define a gap between the sheets having substantially predetermined dimensions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2004
    Assignee: Comau S.p.A.
    Inventor: Roberto Menin
  • Publication number: 20020130111
    Abstract: Two or more metal sheets, at least one of which has a protective layer made of material having a low vaporization temperature, are welded to each other by means of a laser beam after that a gap has been provided between the sheets to enable the vapors of the protective material which are created during welding to escape. The gap is obtained by exploiting the elastic return of one of the sheets starting from an elastically deformed condition in which this sheet is brought following the engagements of the device hich is used to clamp the sheets with each other during welding. In a first stage, the clamping device is closed to bring the sheets in complete contact with each other, by causing the above-mentioned elastic deformation of one of the sheets, in a second stage, the clamping device is opened again by a limited extent, until a predetermined position is reached, so as to define a gap between the sheets having substantially predetermined dimensions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 1, 2002
    Publication date: September 19, 2002
    Applicant: COMAU S.P.A.
    Inventor: Roberto Menin
  • Publication number: 20020121506
    Abstract: Welding of two or more steel sheets, at least one of which has a protective layer of a material with a low vaporization temperature, is carried out by directing a laser beam on two overlapped flanges of the sheets, which are clamped in position during welding by means of clamping devices. These clamping devices are able to hold the flanges to be welded in a slightly spaced apart position from each other, so as to create a gap, which does not jeopardize the possibility of carrying out the welding while enabling evacuation of the vapours of the protective material, which are generated during welding.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 1, 2002
    Publication date: September 5, 2002
    Applicant: COMAU Spa
    Inventor: Roberto Menin
  • Publication number: 20020104834
    Abstract: Remote laser welding system comprising a laser beam generator and an optical head (1) including a mirror orienting unit (3, 4) and a focusing device (6), to orient and focus the laser beam (P) respectively inside a spatial sector (T). The mirror orienting unit (3, 4) is also arranged to orient the spatial sector (T) on a vertical plane and the optical head (1) can be translated vertically.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 29, 2002
    Publication date: August 8, 2002
    Applicant: PRIMA INDUSTRIE Spa
    Inventors: Carlo Mangiarino, Gianfranco Carbonato, Maurizio Gattiglio, Roberto Menin