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US 12,752,494 B2Granted
Energy welding device and method
OwnerAlex Spurgeoninventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present disclosure relates to a novel system and methods enabling welding of thermoplastic parts by computation and measured delivery of heat energy required as opposed to computation of power over time without consideration for heat build-up in the delivery system. One application is in plastic staking.
Claims4
A computer-controlled welding system for precision energy management in applying heat to thermoplastic materials by direct-contact resistive heating, comprising:
- a power source configured to supply electrical energy;
- a voltage sensor connected to the power source to measure voltage supplied to a welding circuit;
- a current sensor connected in the welding circuit to measure current flowing through the welding circuit;
- a relay operatively connected to the power source to control supply of electrical energy;
- a transformer connected to the relay and configured to deliver a low-voltage output to the welding circuit for resistive heating without generating an electrical arc;
- a heat applicator comprising leads connected to the welding circuit and a tip configured to contact thermoplastic material and generate heat by resistive conduction;
- a controller configured to receive inputs from the voltage sensor and the current sensor, and to control the relay based on the inputs;
- and
- a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by the controller, perform operations comprising:
- i) calculating an electrical energy output value for application to the thermoplastic material based on the measured voltage and current;
- ii) adjusting the supply of electrical energy through the relay based on the calculated electrical energy output value;
- and
- iii) monitoring a welding process to adjust the supply of electrical energy dynamically for precision welding of the thermoplastic materials, wherein the controller regulates application of electrical energy based on the measured voltage and current independent of temperature calculation or resistance-derived temperature estimation.
10 more elements
A computer-implemented method for precision welding of thermoplastic materials by resistive contact heating, using:
- a voltage sensor configured to measure voltage supplied to a welding circuit;
- a current sensor configured to measure current flowing through the welding circuit;
- a relay configured to control supply of electrical energy to the welding circuit;
- a transformer configured to provide a low-voltage output to the welding circuit for resistive heating without generation of an electrical arc;
- a heat applicator comprising leads and a tip configured to contact thermoplastic materials;
- and
- a controller configured to receive inputs from the voltage sensor and the current sensor and to control the relay;
- the method comprising:
- placing thermoplastic materials to be welded in a predetermined position;
- aligning the heat applicator with the thermoplastic materials;
- making contact between the tip of the heat applicator and the thermoplastic materials;
- energizing the welding circuit to apply a determined amount of electrical energy based on measured voltage and current to the thermoplastic materials;
- and
- adjusting supply of electrical energy during welding to maintain a desired applied-energy profile, wherein the controller regulates application of electrical energy based on the measured voltage and current independent of temperature calculation or resistance-derived temperature estimation.
11 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.