Patents Examined by C. L. Albritton
  • Patent number: 5525776
    Abstract: A compound machine tool has a base 10 with a spindle head 16 for machining mounted thereupon, on column 12. Condenser head 18 is mounted on base 10 through second column 14, for laser beam processing. A rotatable workpiece fitting table 20 is also mounted on column 14. Spindle head 16 shifts in a rectangular three-axis coordinate system on base 10, and carries out a machining process. Condenser head 18 also shifts in a rectangular three-axis coordinate system on base 10, and carries out a laser beam process. Work piece fitting table 20 is secured to horizontal shaft 40 supported on second column 14, and is rotated by a rotation drive motor 42. Workpiece fitting table 20 includes workpiece pallets 44 on the circumferential surfaces extending parallel to horizontal shaft 40, and workpieces are fixed to workpiece pallets 44. The compound machine tool carries out rational and optimum processes on a workpiece in accordance with predetermined rules.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 1993
    Date of Patent: June 11, 1996
    Assignee: Fanuc Ltd.
    Inventor: Shinya Okamoto
  • Patent number: 5432313
    Abstract: Uniform films deposited on substrates by laser ablation of targets are inased in size by configuring irradiated target areas as curves rather than flat surfaces. Since material ejected from the target area leaves in a direction normal to the target area, a curved surface results in the material following a trajectory which is at an acute angle to the surface of the substrate being coated. This results in a cone of ejected material which diverges, thus covering an area larger than the irradiated target area. The irradiated target area may be convex, concave or be comprised of a plurality of juxtaposed convex surfaces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 1993
    Date of Patent: July 11, 1995
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army
    Inventors: Steven C. Tidrow, William D. Wilber, Arthur Tauber
  • Patent number: 5430270
    Abstract: Disclosed is a laser beam welding technique which can be utilized to accomplish clad welding and repair of the internal surface of a tube. The technique uses the addition of filler metal to build up the internal surface of the tube. The apparatus includes a laser energy source connected to an elongated weld head by an optical fiber. The elongated weld head is rotatable and contains a mirror canted at a forty-five (45) degree angle. The laser beam generated by the laser source enters the weld head through a rotary joint, passes through focusing lenses, and is reflected to the interior surface of the damaged tube by the canted mirror. Means are provided to rotate the weld head which causes the beam to travel circumferentially around the interior of the tube. Means are also provided to feed metal fill material to the location where the focused beam contacts the interior surface of the tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 1993
    Date of Patent: July 4, 1995
    Assignee: Electric Power Research Institute, Inc.
    Inventors: Shane J. Findlan, Wylie J. Childs
  • Patent number: 5410123
    Abstract: Method and apparatus for welding a plurality of parallel continuous seams on workpieces which comprise the steps of defining a welding station including a laser beam or electron beam welding source and a focal plane spaced from the welding source and wherein the focal plane is perpendicular and intersects a plane containing the radiation welding source. The welding source spans a welding zone defined at the intersection of the focal plane and the plane contains the welding source. The seams are maintained to be welded spaced apart and parallel and moving at least one of the welding stations and the several workpieces, in unison, relative to one another such that the seams to be welded pass through the welding zone whereby welded seams are formed continuously on the workpieces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 1992
    Date of Patent: April 25, 1995
    Inventor: Yvon Rancourt
  • Patent number: 5408065
    Abstract: A laser welding apparatus comprises a mount attached to a laser beam delivery system and a cylinder attached to the mount. A piston having first and second piston ends and a piston body sealingly and slidably engages with the cylinder dividing the cylinder into first and second piston chambers. The piston is slidable between an extended position and a retracted position and has a central axial bore through which a supplemental wire is fed. A wire supply provides supplemental wire to the first piston end and a delivery head attached to the second piston end delivers the supplemental wire proximate to a laser beam and a work-piece.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 1992
    Date of Patent: April 18, 1995
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventors: Mark A. Campbell, John J. Sniezek, Erick W. Rudaitis, Glenn M. Krcek, Alexander M. Turley, Robert I. Phillion
  • Patent number: 5406048
    Abstract: An apparatus in which the length of a propagation path from a laser oscillator (6) to condensing means (a6) of a processing head (5), that is, the optical path length, in a laser processing machine (1), can be freely fixed to a set value. In the laser processing machine (1) of a multi-axis control type designed so that the processing head (5) is driven in the directions of a plurality of axes (X, Y and Z axes) with respect to the body of the laser processing machine by means of head drive means, an optical path length expansion mechanism for extending or contracting the length of an optical path from the laser oscillator (6) to the condensing means (a6) independently of the motion of the processing head (5) is inserted in the middle of the propagation path. For the optical path length expansion mechanism, optical path length control means is combined with optical path length setting means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 1993
    Date of Patent: April 11, 1995
    Assignee: Fanuc Ltd.
    Inventors: Etsuo Yamazaki, Yoshinori Nakata
  • Patent number: 5403990
    Abstract: A rotating polygon mirror deflects a continuous laser beam, applying the deflected beam to a beam-splitting mirror through a focusing lens 6 which functions as an f.theta. lens. The beam is applied to the two reflective surfaces of the mirror alternately. As a result, the mirror splits the beam into two beams, which are applied to two beam-splitting mirrors, respectively. The mirrors split the input beams, each into two segment beams. The four segment beams are focused by four lenses onto the surface of a web sheet, thereby forming beam spots. The beam spots move in the same direction and at the same speed as the web sheet, thus scanning limited surface regions of the sheet. As a result, rows of perforations, each being a truly circular hole, are formed in the web sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 1993
    Date of Patent: April 4, 1995
    Assignee: Japan Tobacco Inc.
    Inventor: Junichi Fukuchi
  • Patent number: 5403989
    Abstract: In a color cathode-ray tube, only a foreign matter adhering to a shadow mask is removed effectively without thermal deformation of the shadow mask or thermal denaturation of phosphors.An electron beam produced by an electron gun incorporated in a cathode-ray tube itself is scanned or irradiated to all over a shadow mask of the color cathode-ray tube. The radiant state of a fluorescent screen at this stage is checked to detect a foreign matter adhering to the shadow mask. The electron beam is deflected to align with the position at which the foreign matter is detected, and then irradiated to the foreign matter in the form of pulses. Thus, the foreign matter is heated and removed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 1993
    Date of Patent: April 4, 1995
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hiroaki Tobuse, Tomoyuki Kanda, Yasusi Hisaoka, Shigeo Sasaki, Minoru Kobayashi, Takuji Oda, Ryuji Ueda, Akio Yoshida, Tadayoshi Owaki, Akihiko Yamasaki, Masaaki Kinoshita, Toshiaki Fukunishi
  • Patent number: 5401934
    Abstract: A lens system for a laser scanning apparatus which incorporates two transfer lenses in tandem. The transfer lenses include angular reflecting mirrors, correction lenses, and concave mirrors. The transfer lenses are located between the projection mask and the target of the scanning apparatus wherein the laser beam passed through the projection mask is reflected by an angularly disposed mirror through the first correction lens onto the first concave mirror where it is reflected back through the first correction lens and onto another angularly disposed mirror where the beam is sent to and back from the second concave mirror through the second correction lens and then onto the target.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 1993
    Date of Patent: March 28, 1995
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Thomas Ainsworth, Jr., George Chiu, Rama N. Singh, Janusz S. Wilczynski
  • Patent number: 5399835
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for working a workpiece with a laser and a working head designed for movement, even though the length of an optical path from a laser oscillator to a working point (laser head) varies as the working head moves. A condensing optical component, formed of a lens and the like, is inserted in the middle of the optical path, and the condensing optical component is shifted so as to be within a workable region for proper working of a workpiece depending on the length of the optical path from the laser oscillator to the working head during the working. That is, a laser beam can be narrowed by shifting the position of the condensing optical component so that its propagation characteristic corresponds to the varied optical path length. In this arrangement, the amount of shift required of the condensing optical component is so small that a compact laser working machine can be obtained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 1993
    Date of Patent: March 21, 1995
    Assignee: Fanuc Ltd.
    Inventor: Yoshinori Nakata
  • Patent number: 5393953
    Abstract: An electron-beam heating apparatus in which an electron-beam of a stable intensity can be obtained. The apparatus is provided with a heating unit having two electrodes comprising a cathode and an anode. A heating of a material is performed by using an electron-beam generated by glow discharge generated in a space between the two electrodes. The apparatus is provided with an electric power source and a current control unit. The electric power source supplies an electric current to the electrodes so as to generate the glow discharge in a space between the two electrodes. The current control unit controls the current flowing to the cathode so as to be constant to obtain a constant glow discharge formed in a space between the two electrodes. A constant electron-beam is obtained by the glow discharge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 1993
    Date of Patent: February 28, 1995
    Assignees: Ricoh Company, Ltd., Ricoh Research Institute of General Electronics, Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazunori Itoh, Masafumi Kumano
  • Patent number: 5393956
    Abstract: The subject of the invention is a method for butt welding at least two metal sheets of different thicknesses, by means of a laser beam. The method consists in bringing the metal sheets into contact at their lateral faces to be butt jointed, in directing the laser beam towards the thicker metal sheet so that the vertical axis X--X passing through the focal point P of the laser beam on the said metal sheet is at a defined distance from the joint plane of the metal sheets and in making a welded joint at the butt jointed lateral faces by local melting of the said metal sheets by means of a laser beam.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 1993
    Date of Patent: February 28, 1995
    Assignee: Sollac
    Inventors: Jerome Guth, Nathalie Philbois
  • Patent number: 5393957
    Abstract: The present invention provides microprocessing and the device therefor which is characterized by radiating proessing pulse laser together with trapping laser to perform the modification and processing of particles and micropcapsules.In the case of using such method for implosion, the reaction group is caused to be released by imploding the micro capsule with the reactive goup enclosed to implosion, permitting specified reaction and processing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 1992
    Date of Patent: February 28, 1995
    Assignees: Research Development Corporation of Japan, Masanori Koshioka
    Inventors: Hiroaki Misawa, Keiji Sasaki, Masanori Koshioka, Noboru Kitamura, Hiroshi Masuhara
  • Patent number: 5391856
    Abstract: A cooling drum for use in casting a thin cast strip is rotated about its axis while a laser beam having a wavelength of from 0.30 .mu.m to 1.07 .mu.m is irradiated onto a peripheral surface of the drum to form dimple therein. At this time, at least one of the oscillation period of the laser beam, the laser output and the divergence angle of the beam is controlled to assure that each dimple has a depth of no less than 50 .mu.m and a diameter of less than 500 .mu.m and the distance measured between the centers of each adjacent pair of dimples ranges from 1.05 times to 5 times the dimple diameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 1992
    Date of Patent: February 21, 1995
    Assignee: Nippon Steel Corporation
    Inventors: Katsuhiro Minamida, Motoi Kido, Fumihiko Nishizawa
  • Patent number: 5387776
    Abstract: This invention relates to a method of separating at least one piece from a super hard material plate having top and bottom surfaces, comprising providing a laser capable of cutting said super hard material plate; making a cut with said laser through the top surface of said plate, said cut defining the shape of the piece to be separated and being to a depth which is less than the overall thickness of said plate; and separating said piece from said plate by applying an effective amount of pressure to said plate along the line of said cut to separate the uncut portion of said plate adjacent said cut.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 1993
    Date of Patent: February 7, 1995
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Tatyana L. Preiser
  • Patent number: 5386097
    Abstract: A device for machining the surface of a thin-walled hollow cylinder using a laser beam. The laser beam is directed essentially radially onto the surface of the hollow cylinder and can be moved in a longitudinal direction along the cylinder's length as the cylinder is rotated, producing a rotary screen. A support bearing can move along with the laser beam for supporting the hollow cylinder around its circumference. The support bearing is stationary in the circumferential direction of the hollow cylinder, that is to say it cannot rotate around the latter, while in addition the laser beam passes through an opening extending radially in the support bearing. As a result, the vibration of the hollow cylinder can be damped in the immediate vicinity of the point of impingement of the laser beam on the hollow cylinder so that very precise master patterns can be generated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 1993
    Date of Patent: January 31, 1995
    Assignee: Schablonentechnik, Kufstein, Gesellschaft
    Inventor: Siegfried Ruckl
  • Patent number: 5384446
    Abstract: A method is disclosed for controlling the length of chips removed from a workpiece that is being machined. A path is etched into the surface of the workpiece by a laser beam and defines a pattern of chip break points. The material is cut away from the workpiece along a second path which periodically intersects with the first path. At the intersection point a chip will break away from the workpiece. By controlling the distance between intersection points, the present invention allows one to control the length of the chips formed during machining.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 1993
    Date of Patent: January 24, 1995
    Inventor: Edward D. Rutkowski
  • Patent number: 5382772
    Abstract: The flat stock (7) to be cut by means of a cutting head (8) rests on a grate of supporting arms (5) which are hinged on a shaft (4). By lowering groups of supporting arms (5) or all present supporting arms, cut pieces or residual skeletons, respectively, can be released and are allowed to drop onto a conveyor belt (22) for disposal. Each of said supporting arms (5) is connected to a control rod (11) which is capable of being reciprocated by means of a slider (20) comprising a pneumatic actuating cylinder (21) in order to couple a coupling tooth (18) either to a stationary holding beam (12) or to a coupling ledge (14a) of a vertically displaceable driving beam (14). A common drive for a plurality of supporting arms (5) is thus provided, and merely a coupling unit for each supporting arm is necessary.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 1993
    Date of Patent: January 17, 1995
    Assignee: Bystronic Laser AG
    Inventor: Ernst Zumstein
  • Patent number: 5382773
    Abstract: An apparatus for fabricating a perforated web comprising an endless masking plate arranged above a continuously conveyed web. The masking plate has a plurality of apertures arranged in a predetermined pattern, the masking plate being adapted so as to be continuously circulated. The light is irradiated to the web via the masking plate so that apertures or slits are formed in the web corresponding to the apertures of the masking plate. The light may be a laser, an infrared light, or an ultraviolet light, and the light from the source is diverged transversely about the web and converged longitudinally about the web.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 24, 1992
    Date of Patent: January 17, 1995
    Assignees: Nippon Petrochemicals Company, Limited, Polymer Processing Research Institute, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazuhiko Kurihara, Hiroshi Yazawa, Shoichi Yazawa, Yuki Kuroiwa, Shuichi Murakami
  • Patent number: 5382771
    Abstract: To render more economical the manufacture of galvanized bar segments 10 illustratively used for three-dimensional frameworks, the components of the bar segments 10, namely the hollow bar 11 and the end pieces 12, are galvanized before being assembled. The ring welds between the galvanized components 11, 12 are implemented by laser welding. Because of the high energy density of the laser welding beam and on account of the narrow ring-weld seams 18 so formed, a zinc coating 24 supplied from the zinc coats 22 of the adjacent components 11, 12 is created during welding and covers each surface 25 of the ring-weld seams, as a result of which, following welding, the bar segment 10 also is provided with a zinc coating 24 covering the surfaces 25 of the ring-weld seams protecting them against corrosion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 1994
    Date of Patent: January 17, 1995
    Assignee: Mero-Raumstruktur Gmbh & Co.
    Inventors: Helmut Eberlein, Gunther Bruckner, Reinhard Schmidek