Spot Arc Bonding (e.g., Arc Riveting) Patents (Class 219/127)
  • Patent number: 12245506
    Abstract: A hydro-electrochemical power generator includes an interlayer having a first end and a second end opposite the first end, a first electrode in contact with the first end of the interlayer, wherein the first electrode includes a first material that is a corrodible metallic material, a second electrode in contact with the second end of the interlayer, wherein the second electrode includes a second material that is a corrodible metallic material, and at least one heat source coupled to one of the first electrode and the second electrode and configured to apply a temperature gradient across the first end and the second end of the interlayer, and wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are configured to output a non-zero electrical voltage in response to the application of the temperature gradient.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2025
    Assignee: The Texas A&M University System
    Inventors: Choongho Yu, Yufan Zhang
  • Patent number: 12128508
    Abstract: Systems and methods for initiating and/or terminating a GMAW-P welding process are disclosed. A welding-type power supply may include a power conversion circuitry configured to convert input power to welding-type power, and a controller configured to control the power conversion circuitry based on a plurality of operating parameters. In examples, the systems and methods disclosed herein implement pulsed cycles with one or more increased output parameters (such as current, pulse width, etc.) in order to jump start a pulsed welding cycle at a cold start (i.e. at initiation of a welding process), and thereby prevent a ball forming and remaining on the end of an electrode wire as the welding process continues. In a similar manner, a pulsed cycle with one or more increased parameters can be used to terminate the welding process, also preventing the ball forming and remaining on the electrode wire.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2024
    Assignee: Illinois Tool Works Inc.
    Inventors: Craig Steven Knoener, Lucas Charles Johnson, Zach W. MacMullen, Charles Ace Tyler, Christine Dong
  • Patent number: 12042875
    Abstract: A method includes positioning a braze material along a defect of a component of a turbine system, positioning a cover over the braze material, and focusing a heat source on the cover to melt the braze material along the defect.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2024
    Assignee: GE INFRASTRUCTURE TECHNOLOGY LLC
    Inventors: Yan Cui, Michael Arnett, Matthew Laylock, Brian Lee Tollison
  • Patent number: 11911855
    Abstract: A welding tool for a robot welds together a first component and a second component by using a metallic welding element disposed within a through-hole in the second component. The welding tool includes a welding torch attached to an arm, an element pusher that is attached to a distal end of the arm and disposes the held welding element between the welding torch and the through-hole and disposes at least a part of the welding element within the through-hole, a component pusher attached to the distal end of the arm and movable in an axial direction of a distal end of the welding torch, and a driving device that presses the component pusher against the second component. The element pusher is movable in the axial direction relative to the component pusher.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kiichi Miyazaki
  • Patent number: 11733194
    Abstract: An impact panel for protecting mining equipment may include a plurality of ceramic tiles affixed to a base plate. The impact panel may further include at least one fixing hole disposed within the plurality of ceramic tiles and the base plate with a metal frame disposed around an outer peripheral edge of the plurality of ceramic tiles that is also affixed to the base plate. The impact panel may have at least one plug disposed inside the at least one fixing hole to seamlessly cover the at least one fixing hole. The panels may also be wired with sensors that will communicate with process control circuits allowing data collection on remote process and remote mining equipment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2023
    Assignee: CERAMIC TECHNOLOGY, INC.
    Inventors: Lee R. Osborne, William Farley, Stephane Guerchon
  • Patent number: 11701737
    Abstract: The disclosed wall includes several narrow aluminum sheets and posts that are Friction Stir Welded (FSW) into a sidewall. The length of the wall is the summation of the narrow sheets' width, and the walls width is the narrow sheets' length. Several aluminum posts are spaced along the wall's length direction in order to improve the stiffness and strength of the wall. When welding the aluminum sheets and posts together, the sheets are placed under the posts and jointed tightly together through FSW. With the high-speed spinning of the stirring pin, the post and sheet melt and form into a compact solid phase weld seam under the extrusion of the welding head. When welding two aluminum sheets and one post together, the two sheets are placed edge-to-edge or slightly overlapped. The post is then placed over the sheet joint and the stir-welding head melts portions of the post and the two sheets simultaneously.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignees: Qingdao CIMC Reefer Trailer Co., Ltd., CIMC Vehicles (Group) Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Xiaoyi Wang, Niancheng Zhou, Liming Song
  • Patent number: 11660910
    Abstract: An axle tube assembly includes an axle tube, a first tube reinforcement apparatus disposed in the axle tube at one end and a second identical tube reinforcement apparatus disposed into the axle tube at the second end the reinforcement apparatuses welded in place to the axle tube, a first spindle assembly coupled to the first tube reinforcement apparatus, a second spindle assembly coupled to the second tube reinforcement apparatus, and an elongated connector rod or tube connected to the first and second reinforcement apparatuses inside the axle tube and disposed between the reinforcement apparatuses the first and second spindle assemblies having spindle bodies welded to the cylindrical ends of the axle tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2023
    Inventor: Jason D Heft
  • Patent number: 11638968
    Abstract: An example system includes: a hand-held welding tool that is manually placed in a welding position, wherein the hand-held welding tool is configured to be activated to cause a contact tip or a welding heat source to automatically move from a first position and to second position during a welding operation, and wherein a welding arc is automatically and repeatedly turned off and on while the contact tip or the welding heat source moves from the first position to the second position to make a plurality of welds between the first position and the second position, wherein, as a travel speed decreases, a time period between each arc on time increases to make equally spaced welds.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2023
    Assignee: Illinois Tool Works Inc.
    Inventor: Christopher Hsu
  • Patent number: 11618095
    Abstract: A rotating are sensor is provided. The rotating arc sensor includes a motor, a connecting rod for driving a welding gun to perform an annular movement, a sliding assembly for supporting a weight of the connecting rod and supporting a free movement of a first end of the connecting rod, and an eccentric oscillating member for driving a second end of the connecting rod to perform the annular movement, wherein a center of a rotating shaft of the motor is provided with a hollow cavity capable of communicating with both ends of the motor, the sliding assembly is disposed at a top end of the motor, and the first end of the connecting rod protrudes out of the top end of the motor through the hollow cavity and is connected with the sliding assembly. The eccentric oscillating member includes a first flange and a second flange.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2023
    Inventor: Guoqing Yan
  • Patent number: 11364623
    Abstract: A component assembly system comprises a first robot arm having a first end-of-arm tool mounted thereon and adapted to grasp a first subcomponent; a second robot arm having a second end of arm tool mounted thereon and adapted to grasp a second subcomponent. A system controller is adapted to control the first and second robot arms and first and second end-of-arm tools to position the first and second subcomponents relative to one another. A first interlocking mechanism is mounted onto the first end-of-arm tool and a second interlocking mechanism is mounted onto the second end-of-arm tool, wherein the first and second interlocking mechanisms engage one another and lock the first end-of-arm tool to the second end-of arm tool, thereby locking the first and second subcomponents into an initial position relative to one another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2022
    Assignee: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC
    Inventors: Miguel A. Saez, John P. Spicer, James W. Wells, Jeffrey A. Abell, Muhammad E. Abdallah
  • Patent number: 10888949
    Abstract: Provided is a spot welding machine able to perform spot welding in which the desired nugget size is formed while suppressing spatter even if the strengths or thicknesses of the metal sheets change, the machine comprising: a pair of electrode tips, a pair of pressing members arranged around the tips, a first power supply, first and second drive mechanisms, and a pressing force control part, wherein the tips and the pressing members are respectively arranged facing each other so as to be able to sandwich a set of sheets between them, the first drive mechanisms give pressing forces pressing the tips against the sheets, the second drive mechanisms give pressing forces pressing the pressing members against the sheets, and the control part independently controls the pressing forces given by the first and second drive mechanisms.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2021
    Assignee: NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Gen Murayama, Tohru Okada, Masanori Yasuyama
  • Patent number: 10869365
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to an induction heating device. A loaded-object sensor according to the present disclosure is arranged concentrically and centrally in the working coil. Thus, the sensing coil and the working coil are adjacent to each other. When a current for the heating operation is applied to the working coil, an induction voltage is generated in the sensing coil by magnetic force generated by the current applied to the working coil. According to the present disclosure, a resistor circuit is used to reduce the induction voltage generated in the sensing coil when the heating operation of the working coil is performed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 15, 2020
    Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventors: Byeong Geuk Kang, Ho Yong Jang, Jea Shik Heo
  • Patent number: 10464160
    Abstract: A resistance point welding apparatus for fixing a turbulence installation body to an inner wall of a steam generator pipe, having a welding head, which is introduced into the pipe and includes a lance having an electrically conductive material, a point welding electrode, which projects out of the lance in the radial direction, an effective element and an insulation body, which is opposite the point welding electrode in the radial direction and is moved by the effective element, is provided. The lance is tapered at a defined distance from the welding head end such that the insulation body and the point welding electrode press the turbulence installation body against the inner wall of the pipe when the effective element is activated. When a welding stream is impressed on the lance, a point-like welding stream flows via the point welding electrode to a counter electrode arranged outside the pipe.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: SIEMENS AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
    Inventors: Jan Brückner, Martin Effert
  • Patent number: 10081073
    Abstract: In a spot welded joint according to an aspect of the present invention, with respect to a rectangular planar region of 100 ?m×100 ?m which is perpendicular to a sheet surface of the plurality of the steel sheets and which centers around an inner point spaced away by 100 ?m in a direction parallel with the sheet surface from an edge of a nugget, in a case of measuring a P concentration at a pitch of 1 ?m to obtain measured values of the P concentration at 100×100 of measurement points, and in a case of repetitively calculating an average value of the measured values of the P concentration at 20 of the measurement points which are adjacent to each other and which are arranged in a row in the direction parallel with the sheet surface among the 100×100 of the measurement points while shifting each one point to obtain 81×100 of the average values, the number of the average values which are more than two times an average P concentration is 0 to 100.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2018
    Assignee: NIPPON STEEL & SUMITOMO METAL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Fuminori Watanabe, Tomohito Tanaka, Seiji Furusako, Yasunobu Miyazaki, Hideki Hamatani, Hatsuhiko Oikawa
  • Patent number: 9937591
    Abstract: A welding device provided for welding automobile parts received in a pallet to a vehicle body includes: an aligner configured to grip and align the parts received in the pallet; a mover configured to move the aligner to take out the parts and let the taken out parts adhere to an installation position of the vehicle body; and a welding machine configured to weld the adhering portion between the parts and the vehicle body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2018
    Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company
    Inventor: Hyun Woo Lee
  • Patent number: 9873168
    Abstract: A method of laser welding where two steel sheets are welded by a laser beam after the two steel sheets are overlapped with a predetermined gap is disclosed. The method includes: a stitch welding step where a laser beam of focal region is irradiated along a welding portion of the upper steel sheet and the lower steel sheet such that a molten slot is formed at the upper steel sheet along the welding portion and an heat expansion portion is formed at the lower steel sheet along the welding portion by thermal conduction; and a pattern welding step where the laser beam of focal region is irradiated along the welding portion with a predetermined pattern such that an edge of the molten slot formed at the upper steel sheet is melted together with the heat expansion portion of the lower steel sheet so as to form a molten pool.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2018
    Assignee: SUNGWOO HITECH CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Mun-Yong Lee, Mun-Jong Song
  • Patent number: 9867237
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide an induction heating cooker with improved assemblability, and with which a reduction in the temperature sensing precision of an infrared sensor can be suppressed and a reduction in the thickness of the induction heating cooker can be achieved. To this end, the induction heating cooker of the present invention includes a duct 33 that forms a cooling air path for guiding the cooling air produced by the air blower 32 to a control circuit 27 and to an infrared sensor 26. The infrared sensor 26 and the control circuit 27 are disposed at positions lower than the top wall of the duct 33.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2018
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Eiji Matsui, Akira Kataoka, Takaaki Kusaka
  • Patent number: 9839443
    Abstract: A surgical system and method for manipulating tissue. A steerable assembly comprises a steerable instrument and a deformable conduit. The steerable instrument comprises a control element and a deflectable portion operatively connected to the control element. The steerable assembly is directed through an access cannula such that at least a portion of the steerable assembly protrudes from the distal end of the access cannula. The steerable instrument is actuated to move a deflectable portion of the steerable instrument and a distal portion of the deformable conduit away from the longitudinal axis of the access cannula so that the deformable conduit assumes a deformed position. The steerable instrument is retracted from the deformable conduit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2017
    Assignee: STRYKER CORPORATION
    Inventors: Christopher Scott Brockman, Gabriel James Harshman
  • Patent number: 9821400
    Abstract: A method providing a manual welding apparatus configured to supply a welding wire to a welding gun. The welding gun has a trigger and an opening where the welding wire extends when the trigger is activated. The method also has a computer with a user interface that includes an automatic wire retract program. The program monitors the welding gun and determines when the trigger is disabled. The program indicates when a first condition is satisfied and retracts the welding wire so the welding wire does not extend from the opening of the welding gun.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2017
    Assignee: LINCOLN GLOBAL, INC.
    Inventors: Edward Hillen, David Kempert
  • Patent number: 9636766
    Abstract: The present invention includes a welding system that has at least two metal inert gas (MIG) welders configured to perform a cooperative pulsed MIG welding process. The welding system also includes at least one communications link connecting the at least two MIG welders to deliver at least one of subordination commands and superiority commands to either of the at least two MIG welders to synchronize the cooperative pulsed MIG welding process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2017
    Assignee: ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS INC.
    Inventors: James L. Uecker, Todd E. Holverson, Jeremy D. Overesch
  • Patent number: 8895894
    Abstract: An electric spot welding gun (10) includes: a servo motor (40); a push rod (50) that advances and retracts in response to rotation of a rotor (43) of the servo motor; a drive-side electrode tip (71) that is mounted to a drive-side arm (70) fixed to a leading end of the push rod; and an encoder (60) that detects the rotation angle of the rotor of the servo motor, the position of the electrode tip being offset relative to the push rod, in which the rotor and the encoder are disposed in parallel to each other in an offset plane on which the electrode tip is offset relative to the push rod, at an attitude in which a trailing end (44) of the rotor on a side opposite to a push rod side thereof and an input end (64) of the encoder are facing in the same direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2014
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Koichi Matsumoto, Hiroshi Miwa
  • Patent number: 8872056
    Abstract: A method for metalworking using an adjustable vacuum and support system for evacuating particulate matter, smoke, excess gas, and molten metal from a work area during welding and for providing adjustable support to a welding head. The vacuum system has a vacuum head and a vacuum nozzle. An adjustable mounting bracket has a first portion fixed to the vacuum head and a second portion securable to the welding head. The bracket arrangement establishes pivotal and slidable couplings between the welding head and the vacuum head. The vacuum nozzle has a support surface for being rested on a surface of a workpiece to support the vacuum head and the welding head. The support surface can be a base bevel surface at the tip of the nozzle, and an opposed suction bevel surface can have a nozzle aperture interposed therealong.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 28, 2014
    Inventor: Charles Klangos
  • Publication number: 20140224774
    Abstract: There is illustrated and described a method for joining a composite sheet metal member to an additional component, the composite sheet metal member having at least two outer covering metal sheets and at least one non-metal layer which is arranged between the covering metal sheets and the additional component having at least one outer metal layer, wherein the composite sheet metal member and the additional component are moved so as to overlap each other between two electrodes of a resistance welding unit. In order to be able to join composite sheet metal members in an operationally reliable manner by means of resistance welding, there is provision for an electrically conductive dummy element to be moved into abutment with an outer covering metal sheet and for at least one current path between the two electrodes to be closed by means of an electrically conductive dummy element.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 23, 2012
    Publication date: August 14, 2014
    Applicant: THYSSENKRUPP STEEL EUROPE AG
    Inventors: Azeddine Chergui, Robert Klimek
  • Publication number: 20140001165
    Abstract: A spot welding system according to an embodiment includes a spot welding robot and a control device. The spot welding robot has a plurality of joint axes and includes a plurality of motors in correspondence with the joint axes. The control device drives the motors. Furthermore, the control device includes a capacitor that accumulates regenerative electric power generated from the motor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 18, 2013
    Publication date: January 2, 2014
    Applicant: KABUSHIKI KAISHA YASKAWA DENKI
    Inventors: Fumihiko TAKEMOTO, Toshitaka MIYAZATO, Michiharu MINE
  • Publication number: 20130186872
    Abstract: A method of controlling a spot welding system used for attaching an inserted element in a hollow member is provided. A position of the inserted element in the hollow member is determined, the position of an attachment point is determined from the position of the inserted element in the hollow member, and a spot welding operation is performed at the attachment point. Further, a spot welding system for carrying out the method is provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 7, 2011
    Publication date: July 25, 2013
    Inventors: Jan Brückner, Martin Effert, Joachim Franke
  • Publication number: 20130092671
    Abstract: There is provided a pressure control method for a spot welding apparatus. Upon spot-welding a workpiece while applying a preset pressure to the workpiece by a pressure actuator through a movable electrode and a fixed electrode holding a workpiece and applying a preset sub-pressure by a sub-pressure actuator through a sub-pressure unit, the workpiece is pressed with an initial pressure by the movable electrode and the fixed electrode, and an initial sub-pressure is applied through the sub-pressure unit. After that, the setting pressure is applied to the workpiece by the pressure actuator through the movable electrode and the fixed electrode, and the setting sub-pressure is applied by the sub-pressure actuator through the sub-pressure unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 10, 2012
    Publication date: April 18, 2013
    Inventor: Fuji Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
  • Publication number: 20130075378
    Abstract: There is provided a spot welding apparatus. The apparatus includes fixed and movable electrodes to hold and press a workpiece therebetween, and a sub pressure force applicator having a sub pressure unit that moves and selectively stops at a plurality of positions including a sub pressure position where the sub pressure unit is adjacent to the fixed electrode and in contact with the workpiece so as to apply a sub pressure, and a sub-pressure-non-requiring position where the sub pressure unit is located away from the workpiece. Spot welding is performed by applying current between the electrodes while holding the workpiece between the fixed electrode together with the sub pressure unit located in the sub pressure position and the movable electrode. Spot welding is also performed by applying current between the electrodes while holding the sub pressure unit in the sub-pressure-non-requiring position and holding the workpiece between the electrodes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 10, 2012
    Publication date: March 28, 2013
    Applicant: Fuji Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Kensuke SAKAI
  • Publication number: 20130056451
    Abstract: A one-side spot welding method for causing an electrode to contact a welding portion of a work-piece only from one side of the work-piece to weld the work-piece, the method includes a nugget forming process of applying welding pressure to the work-piece through the electrode, and causing the work-piece to be fully electrically conducted at a predetermined current value, and a slow-cooling process of applying welding pressure to the work-piece through the electrode from the one side, and causing the work-piece to be electrically conducted at a current value lower than the predetermined current value after the nugget forming process.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 4, 2012
    Publication date: March 7, 2013
    Applicant: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Eisaku Hasegawa, Sumitomo Watanabe, Masahito Mutou
  • Publication number: 20130037529
    Abstract: A flange section 12b protruding in a radial direction of a ball screw shaft 6a is formed at a lower end portion of the ball screw shaft 6a, and a protrusion stopper 12a which abuts on the flange section 12b to prevent the ball screw shaft 6a from protruding out of the rod 7 is formed in a hollow section of the rod 7. On the lower side of the hollow section of the rod 7, there is formed a retraction stopper 13a which abuts on a lower end portion 13b of the ball screw shaft 6a to limit the refraction of the rod 7.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 11, 2011
    Publication date: February 14, 2013
    Applicant: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Koichi Matsumoto, Teruaki Kobayashi, Hiroshi Miwa
  • Publication number: 20130037528
    Abstract: There is provided a spot welding apparatus. The spot welding apparatus includes a fixed electrode and a movable electrode that clamp and press a workpiece formed of stacked plates of different rigidities, and a control pressing force applicator that causes a control pressing force applying actuator to bring a receiving unit provided at a distal end of a control pressing force applying arm into contact with the workpiece so as to apply a control pressing force to the workpiece. The control pressing force applying arm is made of a non-magnetic material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 19, 2012
    Publication date: February 14, 2013
    Applicant: Fuji Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Noriaki Ogake
  • Publication number: 20120312794
    Abstract: A welding device for a stretch bender is disclosed. The welding device for the stretch bender may include: an operating unit adapted to move forward toward or rearward from a bending die for shaping a shaped beam and mounted in front of the bending die; and a welding unit mounted at the operating unit and welding flange portions of the shaped beam that is completely formed by the bending die so as to prevent the flange portions from being overlapped with each other when extracting the shaped beam, the welding unit being movable forward or rearward against the operating unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 7, 2012
    Publication date: December 13, 2012
    Applicant: SUNGWOO HITECH CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Mun Yong LEE, Kuk-Rae CHO
  • Publication number: 20120261951
    Abstract: A bearing structure arrangement of a motor vehicle body is provided with a side panel structure adjoining a bulkhead, and a linking component secured thereto for accommodating a frame rail section located upstream from the side panel structure in the traveling direction. The linking component facing the frame carrier section includes, but is not limited to an attachment profile corresponding with the profile cross section of the frame rail section.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 16, 2012
    Publication date: October 18, 2012
    Applicant: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC
    Inventors: Udo MILDNER, Lothar TESKE
  • Patent number: 8283601
    Abstract: A bonding apparatus of metal plates includes an upper mold having a first guide pathway formed vertically inside thereof; a middle mold having a second guide pathway formed vertically inside thereof, where the middle mold is disposed under the upper mold; a lower mold having a metal removing pathway formed vertically inside thereof, where the lower mold is disposed under the middle mold; a heating unit for heating the metal plates and a metal tape; a punch for applying a bonding load to the metal plates; a clamping unit that applies a clamping load for clamping the metal plates to the upper mold; and a bonding unit that applies the bonding load to the punch for bonding the metal plates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2012
    Assignees: Sungwoo Hitech Co., Ltd., Pukyong National University Business Incubator Center
    Inventor: In Tai Jin
  • Publication number: 20120074113
    Abstract: A spot welding method and a spot welding apparatus are provided. A stacked assembly of at least three workpieces is gripped between first and second welding tips. An inner workpiece positioned inside of the stacked assembly, of two of the workpieces that exhibit a maximum contact resistance in the stacked assembly, is electrically connected to a ground electrode, or to an electrode having the same polarity as the second welding tip near an outer workpiece positioned adjacent to the inner workpiece and facing outwardly from the stacked assembly, of the two workpieces. Then, electric current is applied from the first welding tip toward the second welding tip. In this case, first, the stacked assembly is pressed under a first pressing force, and then, the stacked assembly is pressed under a second pressing force which is greater than the first pressing force.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 16, 2011
    Publication date: March 29, 2012
    Applicant: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Eisaku HASEGAWA, Sumitomo WATANABE, Masahito MUTOU
  • Publication number: 20120055910
    Abstract: When spot-welding a workpiece including a thin plate, a first thick plate, and a second thick plate, the workpiece is clamped by a fixed electrode in contact with the second thick plate, a movable electrode in contact with the thin plate, and control-pressure applying unit set adjacent to the movable electrode and in contact with the thin plate. Pressure is applied to the second thick plate by the fixed electrode, and pressure and control pressure are respectively applied by the movable electrode and the control-pressure applying unit to the thin plate. The pressure from the fixed electrode is controlled to be smaller than the pressure from the movable electrode. The current density between the thin plate and the first thick plate increases.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 29, 2011
    Publication date: March 8, 2012
    Applicant: Fuji Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kensuke Sakai, Keigo Kimura
  • Publication number: 20120046587
    Abstract: Embodiments of the invention relate to a wound covering having a first strip-like element forming a first periphery and a second strip-like element that faces away from the first periphery, runs approximately parallel thereto, forming a second periphery, and is joined to the first strip-like element, there being formed between the first inner periphery of the strip-like element, facing away from the first periphery, and a second inner periphery of the second strip-like element, facing away from the second periphery, a drainage chamber, the depth of which in a depth direction extending at right angles to the periphery ensures a capillary action on bodily fluids received in the drainage chamber, in particular exudates.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 27, 2010
    Publication date: February 23, 2012
    Applicant: LOHMANN & RAUSCHER GMBH
    Inventors: Thomas Wild, Georg Wagner, Christian Rohrer, Erik Steinlechner
  • Publication number: 20120031884
    Abstract: An electric spot welding gun (10) includes: a servo motor (40); a push rod (50) that advances and retracts in response to rotation of a rotor (43) of the servo motor; a drive-side electrode tip (71) that is mounted to a drive-side arm (70) fixed to a leading end of the push rod; and an encoder (60) that detects the rotation angle of the rotor of the servo motor, the position of the electrode tip being offset relative to the push rod, in which the rotor and the encoder are disposed in parallel to each other in an offset plane on which the electrode tip is offset relative to the push rod, at an attitude in which a trailing end (44) of the rotor on a side opposite to a push rod side thereof and an input end (64) of the encoder are facing in the same direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 3, 2011
    Publication date: February 9, 2012
    Applicant: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Koichi MATSUMOTO, Hiroshi MIWA
  • Publication number: 20120021240
    Abstract: Provided is a joint product of a steel product and an aluminum material, the joint product being formed by joining the steel product having a sheet thickness t1 of 0.3 to 3.0 mm with the aluminum material having a sheet thickness t2 of 0.5 to 4.0 mm by spot welding, wherein a nugget area in a joint part is from 20×t20.5 to 100×t20.5 mm2, an area of a portion where a thickness of an interface reaction layer is from 0.5 to 3 ?m is 10×t20.5 mm2 or more, and a difference between the thickness of the interface reaction layer at a joint part center and the thickness of the interface reaction layer at a point distant from the joint part center by a distance of one-fourth of a joint diameter is 5 ?m or less, and wherein the aluminum material is pure aluminum or an aluminum alloy material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 27, 2011
    Publication date: January 26, 2012
    Applicant: Kabushiki Kaisha Kobe Seiko Sho (Kobe Steel, Ltd.)
    Inventors: Wataru Urushihara, Mikako Takeda, Katsushi Matsumoto, Jun Katoh
  • Publication number: 20080131765
    Abstract: In a battery pack in which multiple battery cells are arranged in one or multiple rows in an electrically insulating case and an electrode of each battery cell is coupled to an electrode of another battery cell through a connecting metallic plate, the connecting metallic plate made of copper is disposed on a positive electrode of each battery cell and on a negative electrode of another battery cell to form a lap joint, and a weld is formed in each of one predetermined position on the connecting metallic plate 3 above the positive electrode and another predetermined position on the connecting metallic plate above the negative electrode by applying arc spot welding. The depth h of weld penetration in the weld is greater than the thickness T1 of the connecting metallic plate and smaller than the thickness T1 plus the thickness T2 of the positive electrode or the negative electrode, that is, T1<h?(T1+T2×4/5).
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 9, 2007
    Publication date: June 5, 2008
    Inventors: Shoji Imanaga, Kinya Aota, Yoshihisa Tsurumi, Masuhiro Onishi
  • Patent number: 7371994
    Abstract: Buried arc welding is employed to fuse together a first component, a second component, and a third component or an underlying portion of the second component, the first and second components in butting relationship along a butting joint and the third component or underlying portion of the second component lying beneath the butting joint.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2008
    Assignee: Alcoa Inc.
    Inventor: Israel Stol
  • Patent number: 7341176
    Abstract: Method of tying two or more components together using a fastener. Each component is provided with a hole and the components are placed so that the holes overlap one another in order to receive the fastener in the holes. The fastener is placed in the holes and mechanically pressure-loaded and heated in order to deform the fastener to tie the components together. The fastener is heated essentially only during the fastener deformation phase in order to minimize the heat transfer from the fastener to the components being tied.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 11, 2008
    Assignee: Volvo Aero Corporation
    Inventors: Dennis Lundström, Joachim Lindqvist
  • Patent number: 7256368
    Abstract: The invention relates to a welding method involving the use of a non-fusing electrode (12) according to which the electrode (12) is provided with power from a power source once the arc (11) between the electrode (12) and the workpieces (13, 14) to be joined has been ignited. The invention also relates to a tack welding method. The aim of the invention is to improve the quality of the weld seam in the starting phase of the welding process. To this end, the invention provides that before the actual welding process, a start program (22) is performed without the introduction of a filler material during which the electrode (12) is supplied with pulsed power in the form of current or voltage pulses over a presettable length of time (23) whereby causing the liquid molten bath to oscillate or vibrate, and that after the execution of the start program (22), the actual welding process is carried out during which the electrode (12) is preferably supplied with constant power.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2007
    Assignee: Fronius International GmbH
    Inventors: Josef Artelsmair, Bernhard Mörtendorfer
  • Patent number: 6828526
    Abstract: A method of welding continuous or intermittent lap-penetration joints using a gas metal buried arc (GMBA) welding process. A first component is GMBA welded to an underlying second metal component, by forming an arc between a consumable metal electrode and a surface of the first component, depositing metal from the electrode to the first component and producing a pool of molten metal which extends through the first component and into the second component. The molten pool metal solidifies into a weld that extends into the second component wherein the weld width at the interface between the components is at least equal to the thickness of the thinner of the first component and the second component. The arc is at least partially buried within the thickness of the first component and is moved in the direction of the desired joint location to produce a joint.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2003
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2004
    Assignee: Alcoa Inc.
    Inventors: Israel Stol, Kyle L. Williams
  • Publication number: 20040164063
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for welding includes one or more of a welding type power source, a feedback circuit, a wire feeder and a controller. The controller preferably has an eta control circuit responsive to the feedback. It also has a control loop having a response time responsive to the eta output. The controller detects whether or not the process is a fast-tack process, and controls the supply of power according to a first control scheme is the process is a fast-tack process, and according to a second control scheme if the process is not a fast-tack process. The controller sets the run-in wire feed speed as a percentage of weld wire feed speed, preferably obtaining the percentage from the weld wire feed speed potentiometer at start up. The controller enters a calibration mode at start up if a calibration pendant is attached and on. In the calibration mode calibration receiving values from the front panel potentiometers.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 27, 2004
    Publication date: August 26, 2004
    Applicant: Illinois Tool Works Inc.
    Inventors: Jody K. Rice, Richard M. Hutchison, Galen J. White
  • Publication number: 20040144763
    Abstract: An arc welding method for welding first and second sheet welding members (1, 2) requires a power supply (5) including two electrodes (3, 4). Welding points (13) on the first welding member are determined. An extrusion (132) is formed on the first welding member at each welding point. The extrusions contact the second welding member. The second welding member is attached to an electrode. One of the extrusions of the first welding member is connected with the other electrode. The power supply is turned on. Electric current flows from the extrusion to the second welding member, and much of air is ionized around the extrusion. Thus the extrusion is welded on the second welding member. Once all the welding points are welded on the second welding member, the first and second welding members are securely welded together.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 19, 2003
    Publication date: July 29, 2004
    Inventors: Weihua Pan, Xiaoping Li
  • Patent number: 6717092
    Abstract: A treatment instrument includes a first coil and a second coil that is different from said first coil. The first and second coils are connected to each other. An operation wire is inserted in the first and second coils, and a tip end of the wire is connected to a treatment device. Upon movement of the wire, the treatment device operates. A method of manufacturing such a treatment instrument includes inserting one end of the first coil and one end of the second coil in a connection pipe from opposite ends thereof, exposing both ends of the connection pipe and corresponding portions of the first and second coils. The portions exposed to the arc columns are melted and connected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2004
    Assignee: PENTAX Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshihiro Obata, Kikuo Iwasaka, Shinichi Matsuno, Hajime Yoshino, Akira Sugiyama, Hidehito Kurosawa, Shigeru Ogawa, Hideo Nanba
  • Publication number: 20040050832
    Abstract: The invention describes a method of brazing workpieces (16) with a torch (10), in particular a plasma or welding torch, having an electrode (28), in which a transmitted and/or non-transmitted working arc supplied with power from a power source or a current source (2) is produced in order to generate a plasma beam from a delivered plasma gas, whereby at least one filler material (38) is fed to the seam region of the workpieces (16) to be joined. The filler material (38) is connected to the or to another power source or current source (39). To this end, one potential (40) of the power source or current source (39) is applied to the filler material (38) and the other potential (35, 41) to the workpieces (16). The power source or current source (39) is regulated in such a way that when the filler material (38) is lifted off the workpiece (16) an arc is prevented from being generated.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 25, 2003
    Publication date: March 18, 2004
    Inventors: Bernhard Mortendorfer, Martin Gatterbauer
  • Patent number: 6707002
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for welding includes one or more of a welding type power source, a feedback circuit, a wire feeder and a controller. The controller preferably has an eta control circuit responsive to the feedback. It also has a control loop having a response time responsive to the eta output. The controller detects whether or not the process is a fast-tack process, and controls the supply of power according to a first control scheme is the process is a fast-tack process, and according to a second control scheme if the process is not a fast-tack process. The controller sets the run-in wire feed speed as a percentage of weld wire feed speed, preferably obtaining the percentage from the weld wire feed speed potentiometer at start up. The controller enters a calibration mode at start up if a calibration pendant is attached and on. In the calibration mode calibration receiving values from the front panel potentiometers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2004
    Assignee: Illinois Tool Works Inc.
    Inventors: Jody K. Rice, Richard M. Hutchison, Galen J. White
  • Patent number: 6685076
    Abstract: A roller including an inner tubing and an outer tubing which is fixed relative to the inner tubing by welding the outer tubing to the inner tubing. The roller with weldments is particularly suitably for a nipped application.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2004
    Assignee: Componex Corporation
    Inventor: Cal Couillard
  • Publication number: 20020175150
    Abstract: A welding apparatus spot welds two or more overlapping sheets having a coating, such as zinc coated steel or aluminum alloy with an oxide coating. A hole is formed in the upper sheet at the desired point of spot welding. A clamping cup of a plasma arc passes surrounds the hole and contacts the upper surface of the upper sheet. The torch heats the sheet, allowing entrapped vapors in the coating on the lower sheet to vent freely. Filler wire is added to fill the hole and to secure the overlapping sheets together. If the overlapping sheets are zinc coated steel, preferably the filler wire is copper based.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 12, 2002
    Publication date: November 28, 2002
    Inventor: Russell Vernon Hughes