Patents by Inventor Martin Spiess

Martin Spiess 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: 11420292
    Abstract: A method for cutting a workpiece includes cutting the workpiece along a predefined cutting contour to separate a workpiece part from a scrap part, and checking whether the workpiece part has been fully separated from the scrap part during the cutting. The workpiece is re-cut along an additional cutting contour laterally offset from the predefined cutting contour if it is found during the checking that the workpiece part has not been fully separated from the scrap part. The disclosure also relates to an associated machine for cutting a workpiece.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2022
    Assignee: TRUMPF Werkzeugmaschinen GmbH + Co. KG
    Inventors: Uwe Mienhardt, Martin Spiess, Guido Schoenhardt, Michael Krutzke, Dennis Wolf, Carsten Krenz
  • Patent number: 11219965
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to methods and systems for piercing, drilling, or cutting metal workpieces in a laser processing operation. The methods include focusing a pulsed laser beam onto a processing location on a workpiece; detecting process radiation emitted from the processing location; determining an intensity of the process radiation at a plurality of temporally sequential times during pulse pauses; determining an intensity gradient of the process radiation; comparing the intensity gradient with a gradient threshold value; and detecting a spontaneous material removal on the workpiece when the number of times the gradient threshold value has been exceeded is above a predetermined limit value. When a spontaneous material removal is detected, the system changes one or both of a laser parameter and a processing parameter of the laser processing operation. The disclosure also relates to processing machines for carrying out the methods.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2022
    Assignee: TRUMPF Werkzeugmaschinen GmbH + Co. KG
    Inventors: Martin Spiess, Markus Blaschka
  • Patent number: 11045908
    Abstract: This disclosure relates to methods and apparatuses for piercing workpieces at a piercing point using a laser beam, which exits from a laser processing nozzle with a process gas, whereby a bulge is formed on the workpiece surface around the piercing point during the piercing. A distance between the laser processing nozzle and the bulge is determined during the piercing and at least one piercing parameter is changed in dependence on the distance determined.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2021
    Assignee: TRUMPF Werkzeugmaschinen GmbH + Co. KG
    Inventors: Martin Spiess, Dieter Hallasch, Daniel Knorreck, Markus Blaschka
  • Publication number: 20210078110
    Abstract: A method for cutting a workpiece includes cutting the workpiece along a predefined cutting contour to separate a workpiece part from a scrap part, and checking whether the workpiece part has been fully separated from the scrap part during the cutting. The workpiece is re-cut along an additional cutting contour laterally offset from the predefined cutting contour if it is found during the checking that the workpiece part has not been fully separated from the scrap part. The disclosure also relates to an associated machine for cutting a workpiece.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 20, 2020
    Publication date: March 18, 2021
    Inventors: Uwe Mienhardt, Martin Spiess, Guido Schoenhardt, Michael Krutzke, Dennis Wolf, Carsten Krenz
  • Patent number: 10843296
    Abstract: A method for cutting a workpiece includes cutting the workpiece along a predefined cutting contour to separate a workpiece part from a scrap part, and checking whether the workpiece part has been fully separated from the scrap part during the cutting. The workpiece is re-cut along an additional cutting contour laterally offset from the predefined cutting contour if it is found during the checking that the workpiece part has not been fully separated from the scrap part. The disclosure also relates to an associated machine for cutting a workpiece.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2020
    Assignee: TRUMPF Werkzeugmaschinen GmbH + Co. KG
    Inventors: Uwe Mienhardt, Martin Spiess, Guido Schoenhardt, Michael Krutzke, Dennis Wolf, Carsten Krenz
  • Publication number: 20190247960
    Abstract: A method for cutting a workpiece includes cutting the workpiece along a predefined cutting contour to separate a workpiece part from a scrap part, and checking whether the workpiece part has been fully separated from the scrap part during the cutting. The workpiece is re-cut along an additional cutting contour laterally offset from the predefined cutting contour if it is found during the checking that the workpiece part has not been fully separated from the scrap part. The disclosure also relates to an associated machine for cutting a workpiece.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 18, 2019
    Publication date: August 15, 2019
    Inventors: Uwe Mienhardt, Martin Spiess, Guido Schoenhardt, Michael Krutzke, Dennis Wolf, Carsten Krenz
  • Patent number: 10207361
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to methods and systems for piercing, drilling, or cutting metal workpieces in a laser processing operation. The methods include focusing a pulsed laser beam onto a processing location on a workpiece; detecting process radiation emitted from the processing location; determining an intensity of the process radiation at a plurality of temporally sequential times during pulse pauses; determining an intensity gradient of the process radiation; comparing the intensity gradient with a gradient threshold value; and detecting a spontaneous material removal on the workpiece when the number of times the gradient threshold value has been exceeded is above a predetermined limit value. When a spontaneous material removal is detected, the system changes one or both of a laser parameter and a processing parameter of the laser processing operation. The disclosure also relates to processing machines for carrying out the methods.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2019
    Assignee: TRUMPF Werkzeugmaschinen GmbH + Co. KG
    Inventors: Martin Spiess, Markus Blaschka
  • Patent number: 10155287
    Abstract: Methods and systems are implemented for forming a through hole in a workpiece using a laser beam and a process gas, such as oxygen or nitrogen, coming from a gas nozzle. A hole is formed in the workpiece using the laser beam and a process gas emerging from a gas nozzle, such that the formed hole extends only partially through the workpiece. A bulge deposited while forming the hole partially through the workpiece is removed from the workpiece surface by directing a flow of gas through the nozzle toward the workpiece surface as the nozzle is moved with the laser beam switched off, the flow of gas being delivered to the nozzle at a higher pressure than the process gas is delivered to the nozzle during forming the hole partially through the workpiece. Then, the hole is fully pierced through the workpiece by the laser beam using the process gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2018
    Assignee: TRUMPF Werkzeugmaschinen GmbH + Co. KG
    Inventors: Martin Spiess, Patrick Mach
  • Publication number: 20180111224
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to methods and systems for piercing, drilling, or cutting metal workpieces in a laser processing operation. The methods include focusing a pulsed laser beam onto a processing location on a workpiece; detecting process radiation emitted from the processing location; determining an intensity of the process radiation at a plurality of temporally sequential times during pulse pauses; determining an intensity gradient of the process radiation; comparing the intensity gradient with a gradient threshold value; and detecting a spontaneous material removal on the workpiece when the number of times the gradient threshold value has been exceeded is above a predetermined limit value. When a spontaneous material removal is detected, the system changes one or both of a laser parameter and a processing parameter of the laser processing operation. The disclosure also relates to processing machines for carrying out the methods.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 21, 2017
    Publication date: April 26, 2018
    Inventors: Martin Spiess, Markus Blaschka
  • Publication number: 20170157711
    Abstract: This disclosure relates to methods and apparatuses for piercing workpieces at a piercing point using a laser beam, which exits from a laser processing nozzle with a process gas, whereby a bulge is formed on the workpiece surface around the piercing point during the piercing. A distance between the laser processing nozzle and the bulge is determined during the piercing and at least one piercing parameter is changed in dependence on the distance determined.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 24, 2017
    Publication date: June 8, 2017
    Inventors: Martin Spiess, Dieter Hallasch, Daniel Knorreck, Markus Blaschka
  • Publication number: 20160096238
    Abstract: Methods and systems are implemented for forming a through hole in a workpiece using a laser beam and a process gas, such as oxygen or nitrogen, coming from a gas nozzle. A hole is formed in the workpiece using the laser beam and a process gas emerging from a gas nozzle, such that the formed hole extends only partially through the workpiece. A bulge deposited while forming the hole partially through the workpiece is removed from the workpiece surface by directing a flow of gas through the nozzle toward the workpiece surface as the nozzle is moved with the laser beam switched off, the flow of gas being delivered to the nozzle at a higher pressure than the process gas is delivered to the nozzle during forming the hole partially through the workpiece. Then, the hole is fully pierced through the workpiece by the laser beam using the process gas.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2015
    Publication date: April 7, 2016
    Inventors: Martin Spiess, Patrick Mach
  • Publication number: 20150224600
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to methods and systems for piercing, drilling, or cutting metal workpieces in a laser processing operation. The methods include focusing a pulsed laser beam onto a processing location on a workpiece; detecting process radiation emitted from the processing location; determining an intensity of the process radiation at a plurality of temporally sequential times during pulse pauses; determining an intensity gradient of the process radiation; comparing the intensity gradient with a gradient threshold value; and detecting a spontaneous material removal on the workpiece when the number of times the gradient threshold value has been exceeded is above a predetermined limit value. When a spontaneous material removal is detected, the system changes one or both of a laser parameter and a processing parameter of the laser processing operation. The disclosure also relates to processing machines for carrying out the methods.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 22, 2015
    Publication date: August 13, 2015
    Inventors: Martin Spiess, Markus Blaschka
  • Patent number: 7188013
    Abstract: A method for interlinking regulation and/or control functions for a motor vehicle, the communication structure of the control or regulation functions is defined by way of graphs containing nodes and directed gridlines, the nodes of the graph representing control or regulation functions and its directed gridlines representing defined communication paths of the control or regulation functions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2007
    Assignee: ZF Friedrichshafen AG
    Inventors: Horst Krimmel, Wolf-Dieter Gruhle, Martin Spiess, Claus Granzow, Udo Gillich, Roland Geiger, Jürgen Lucas, Frank König
  • Patent number: 6471022
    Abstract: A method and a device for actuating a motor vehicle clutch device (4). A control device (12) automatically influence the frictional power of the clutch device (4) in accordance with predetermined criteria (19) by varying the continuously variable ratio of a vehicle transmission (2).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2002
    Assignee: ZF Friedrichshafen AG
    Inventors: Christoph Goebel, Gerhard Bailly, Martin Spiess, Willibald Probst, Oliver Rumpf
  • Patent number: 6413189
    Abstract: Method and device for controlling a motor vehicle drive train. To reverse the travel direction, the input torque is transmitted with pressure modulation from one clutch (Kv) of one travel direction to one clutch (Kr) of the opposite travel direction. If at the time that a reverse travel direction is selected and the speed of travel exceeds a set maximum value (VR,max), the speed of travel is automatically reduced to the maximum value first by continuous change of the ratio of the transmission (2) of the drive train.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 2, 2002
    Assignee: ZF Friedrichshafen AG
    Inventors: Martin Spiess, Christoph Goebel, Willibald Probst