Ultrasonic energy for adhesive bonding
AssigneeDow Global Technologies LLC
InventorsSaeed J. Siavoshani, Syed Z. Mahdi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An adhesive is contacted with a surface of a substrate and ultrasonic energy is applied to the adhesive to enhance the bonding of the adhesive to the surface of the substrate. The ultrasonic energy, particularly ultrasonic vibrations, can assist the adhesive in wetting the substrate surface, curing, polymerization or the like to enhance bonding.
Claims18
A method of bonding an adhesive to a surface of an article of manufacture during formation of the article, the method comprising:
- contacting, during the formation of the article of manufacture, an adhesive with a surface of a first substrate, wherein:
- i. the adhesive is a latent adhesive and includes a plurality of encapsulations which are dispersed throughout the adhesive, wherein the plurality of encapsulations encapsulate a curing agent or other reactive compound;
- ii. the adhesive includes at least one of an epoxy, a polyurethane, a polyurea, a polyester, a vinyl ester, or a silyl terminated polymer type adhesive, or a phenolic;
- and
- iii. the article of manufacture is furniture, a transportation vehicle, a household appliance, a toy or an electronic device;
- and
- applying ultrasonic energy at a frequency of about 10 to about 50 KHz to the first substrate to assist in rupturing the plurality of the encapsulations, thus releasing the curing agent or other reactive compound and bonding the adhesive to the surface of the first substrate without the use of added heat to an environment surrounding the adhesive, wherein the ultrasonic energy is used to provide a first degree of bonding and the adhesive undergoes a second degree of bonding at a later time.
A method of bonding an adhesive to a surface of an article of manufacture during formation of the article, the method comprising:
- contacting, during the formation of the article of manufacture, an adhesive with a surface of a first substrate, wherein:
- iv. the adhesive is a latent adhesive and includes a plurality of encapsulations which are dispersed throughout the adhesive, wherein the plurality of encapsulations encapsulate a curing agent or other reactive compound;
- v. the adhesive includes at least one of an epoxy, a polyurethane, a polyurea, a polyester, a vinyl ester or a phenolic;
- and
- vi. the article of manufacture is furniture, a transportation vehicle, a household appliance, a toy or an electronic device;
- and
- applying ultrasonic energy at a frequency of about 10 to about 50 KHz to the first substrate to assist in rupturing the plurality of the encapsulations, thus releasing the curing agent or other reactive compound and bonding the adhesive to the surface of the first substrate without the use of added heat to an environment surrounding the adhesive;
- wherein the ultrasonic energy is applied intermittently and repetitively.
A method of bonding an adhesive to a surface of an article of manufacture during formation of the article, the method comprising:
- contacting, during the formation of the article of manufacture, an adhesive with a surface of a first substrate, wherein:
- vii. the adhesive is a latent adhesive and includes a plurality of encapsulations which are dispersed throughout the adhesive, wherein the plurality of encapsulations encapsulate a curing agent or other reactive compound;
- viii. the adhesive includes at least one of an epoxy, a polyurethane, a polyurea, a polyester, a vinyl ester or a phenolic;
- and
- ix. the article of manufacture is furniture, a transportation vehicle, a household appliance, a toy or an electronic device;
- and
- applying ultrasonic energy at a frequency of about 10 to about 50 KHz to the first substrate to assist in rupturing the plurality of the encapsulations, thus releasing the curing agent or other reactive compound and bonding the adhesive to the surface of the first substrate without the use of added heat to an environment surrounding the adhesive;
- wherein different levels of ultrasonic energy are applied progressively.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.