Back to results
US 2010/0301022 A1Published application
Method of laser-welding using thermal transfer deposition of a laser-absorbing dye
AssigneeGentex Corporation
InventorsMartin Rickwood, William H. Cawley
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Using a thermal transfer technique to transfer a laser-absorbing dye from a transfer medium to a receiving substrate, then activating the dye by exposure to a laser source to affect a weld between the receiving substrate and an adjacent second substrate at a desired joint region. The same laser may optionally be used to both transfer the laser-absorbing dye to a receiving substrate and weld the receiving substrate and the second substrate.
Claims20
A method comprising:
- transferring a first portion of a layer of absorber material from a first surface of a transfer medium to a first portion of a first substrate by exposing the first portion of the layer of absorber material to a thermal energy source while the first portion of the layer of absorber material is in contact with the first portion of the first substrate, the absorber material being in solid phase immediately prior to the transferring step;
- and
- welding the first portion of the first substrate to a second substrate by exposing the first portion of the layer of absorber material to a laser while the first portion of the first substrate is in contact with the second substrate.
A method comprising:
- transferring a first portion of a layer of absorber material from a first surface of a transfer medium to a first portion of a first substrate by exposing the first portion of the layer of absorber material to a laser while the first portion of the layer of absorber material is in contact with the first portion of the first substrate, the absorber material being in solid phase immediately prior to the transferring step and the laser being operated in a deposition mode during the transferring step;
- and
- welding the first portion of the first substrate to a second substrate by exposing the first portion of the layer of absorber material to the laser while the first portion of the first substrate in contact with the second substrate, the laser being operated in a welding mode, the welding mode having a greater energy density than the deposition mode.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.