# US 2014/0270922 A1 · Welded blank assembly and method > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2014/0270922 A1 - Document ID: US20140270922A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 14/211,924 - Filed: 2014-03-14 - Published: 2014-09-18 - Earliest claimed: 2013-03-14 - Assignees: Shiloh Industries, Inc. - Applicants: Shiloh Industries, Inc. - Inventors: James J. Evangelista; Michael Telenko; Jason E. Harfoot; Jack A. Atkinson; James W. Walther; Anthony M. Parente - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140270922A1 ## CPC - B23K 9/0026: {specially adapted for particular articles or work} - B23K 1/0008: {specially adapted for particular articles or work} - B23K 26/0006: {taking account of the properties of the material involved (B23K26/32, B23K26/40 take precedence)} - B23K 26/361: for deburring or mechanical trimming (B23K26/351 takes precedence) - B23K 26/60: Preliminary treatment - B23K 33/004: {Filling of continuous seams} - B23K 2101/34: Coated articles {; Surface treated articles} - B23K 2103/08: Non-ferrous metals or alloys - B23K 2103/16: Composite materials - B23K 2103/172: {wherein at least one of the layers is non-metallic} - Y10T 403/477: Fusion bond, e.g., weld, etc. - B23K: SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM - Y10T: TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION ## Abstract A welded blank assembly includes a capping material in a weld region of the assembly. The capping material can help protect a weld joint joining first and second sheet metal pieces together. At least one of the sheet metal pieces has a coating material layer that is removed prior to forming the weld joint so that the coating material does not contaminate the weld joint. The removed coating material can be collected before the weld joint is formed and reapplied as part of the capping material after the weld joint is formed, effectively changing the coating material from a potential weld contaminant to a weld joint protectant. The capping material may also include additional material from a source other than the coating material layer. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A welded blank assembly, comprising: first and second sheet metal pieces, at least one of the sheet metal pieces having a base material layer, a coating material layer, and an edge region with a weld notch where at least a portion of the coating material layer has been removed; a weld joint joining the first and second sheet metal pieces together at the edge region, the weld joint includes material from the base material layer but is substantially free of material from the coating material layer; and capping material filling at least a portion of the weld notch, wherein the capping material is in direct contact with the weld joint and becomes a permanent addition to the welded blank assembly. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The welded blank assembly of claim 1, wherein the capping material includes reapplied material from the coating material layer, the reapplied material is initially removed from the weld notch, deposited alongside the weld notch, and is then displaced towards the weld joint so that it refills at least a portion of the weld notch. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The welded blank assembly of claim 1, wherein the capping material includes additional material with a different material composition than that of the coating material layer. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The welded blank assembly of claim 3, wherein the additional material has a composition that includes aluminum or an aluminum alloy. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The welded blank assembly of claim 1, wherein the capping material fills at least a portion of the weld notch so that the capping material is in direct contact with both the base material layer and the weld joint. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The welded blank assembly of claim 1, wherein the weld joint is located in a weld region of the welded blank assembly, and the capping material covers the weld region so that neither the weld joint nor the base material layer is exposed along at least a portion of the length of the weld region. ### Claim 7 A welded blank assembly, comprising: first and second sheet metal pieces joined together, at least one of the sheet metal pieces having a base material layer and a coating material layer; a weld joint joining the first and second sheet metal pieces together along a weld region, the weld joint includes material from the base material layer but is substantially free of material from the coating material layer; and capping material overlying at least a portion of the weld joint, wherein the capping material includes material that was removed from the coating material layer before formation of the weld joint and was reapplied over the weld joint after formation of the weld joint. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The welded blank assembly of claim 7, wherein the at least one sheet metal piece includes a weld notch in an edge region where at least a portion of the coating material layer has been removed, and the capping material fills in at least a portion of the weld notch. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The welded blank assembly of claim 7, wherein the capping material includes additional material with a different material composition than that of the coating material layer. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The welded blank assembly of claim 9, wherein the additional material has a composition that includes aluminum or an aluminum alloy. ### Claim 11 (depends on 7) The welded blank assembly of claim 7, wherein the capping material fills at least a portion of a weld notch so that the capping material is in direct contact with both the base material layer and the weld joint. ### Claim 12 A method of making a welded blank assembly, comprising the steps of: (a) removing coating material from a region of a coated sheet metal piece; (b) welding the sheet metal piece to another sheet metal piece so that a weld joint is formed in the region of the coated sheet metal piece, the weld joint includes base material from the sheet metal pieces but is substantially free of coating material; and (c) applying capping material to the region of the coated sheet metal piece so that it covers at least a portion of the weld joint. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The method of claim 12, wherein step (a) further comprises removing coating material with a laser ablation process that uses thermal energy from a laser beam to remove coating material from the region of the coated sheet metal piece. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13, wherein step (a) further comprises collecting removed coating material with a collection tool, a portion of the removed coating material is expulsed from the coated sheet metal piece during the laser ablation process and is collected by the collection tool. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The method of claim 14, wherein step (a) further comprises depositing collected coating material with the collection tool, a portion of the collected coating material is deposited alongside the region of the coated sheet metal piece in the form of a bead so that it can be subsequently reapplied in step (c). ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) The method of claim 14, wherein the collection tool includes a shield that is located adjacent the region of the coated sheet metal piece and has a profile configured to interrupt a normal trajectory of the expulsed material. ### Claim 17 (depends on 14) The method of claim 14, wherein the collection tool includes a gas nozzle that is located adjacent the region of the coated sheet metal piece and directs pressurized gas to guide the expulsed material to a desired location. ### Claim 18 (depends on 12) The method of claim 12, wherein step (b) further comprises welding the sheet metal piece to another sheet metal piece with a laser welding process that uses thermal energy from a laser beam to form the weld joint. ### Claim 19 (depends on 12) The method of claim 12, wherein step (c) further comprises applying capping material with a reapplication tool, the capping material includes previously removed coating material deposited alongside the region of the coated sheet metal piece and the reapplication tool displaces the previously removed coating material towards the weld joint. ### Claim 20 (depends on 12) The method of claim 12, wherein step (c) further comprises applying capping material with an application tool, the capping material includes additional material from a source other than the coating material and the application tool introduces the additional material to the region of the coated sheet metal piece so that it covers at least a portion of the weld joint. ### Claim 21 (depends on 20) The method of claim 20, wherein the additional material has a composition that includes aluminum or an aluminum alloy and becomes a permanent addition to the welded blank assembly. ### Claim 22 (depends on 12) The method of claim 12, wherein step (c) further comprises providing heat as the capping material is applied to the region of the sheet metal piece, the provided heat causes the capping material to at least partially melt and flow to the region of the sheet metal piece so that it covers at least a portion of the weld joint. ### Claim 23 (depends on 12) The method of claim 12, wherein step (c) further comprises applying capping material to the region of the sheet metal sheet and covering the weld joint so that neither the weld joint nor a base material layer of the sheet metal piece is exposed. ### Claim 24 (depends on 12) The method of claim 12, wherein step (c) further comprises applying capping material with the same material composition as the coating material to the region of the sheet metal piece so that it covers the weld joint, a coating material layer with a uniform material composition extends from the coated sheet metal piece across the weld joint.