Patent Application
20240190084
The present disclosure relates to contained welding.
This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
It is common in many industries to require sterile components and devices to be packaged and shipped in a sterile container. When complex manufacturing is required, the components and devices are commonly manufactured in one location and shipped to another location for sterilization and packaging. The manufacturing process can sometimes include welding, machining, stamping and other assembly processes.
This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.
The present disclosure provides a laser welding process and an ultrasonic welding process that is performed on a work piece or work pieces that are inserted in a sealed container while maintaining an isolated environment within the container.
According to an aspect of the present disclosure, an isolated environment may be a sterilized one.
According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, an isolated environment may be a hazardous one.
According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, a welding process includes inserting two work pieces inside a sealable container. The container is placed into a welding device and the two work pieces are welded together while inside the container.
According to a further aspect, the welding process includes sterilizing the two work pieces prior to inserting the two work pieces inside the container.
According to a further aspect, the sterilizing the two work pieces and inserting the two work pieces inside the container happens at a first location and welding the two work pieces together happens at a second location different than the first location.
According to a further aspect, the welded two work pieces are transported to a third location within the sealable container.
According to a further aspect, the sealable container is a bag.
According to a further aspect, the sealable container is plastic wrap.
According to a further aspect, the sealable container is flexible.
According to a further aspect, the inserting two work pieces inside a sealable container is performed in a clean environment.
According to a further aspect, the inserting two work pieces inside a sealable container is performed in a hazardous environment.
According to a further aspect, the welding device is an ultrasonic welder. According to a further aspect, the welding device is a laser welder.
According to a further aspect, the laser welder performs one of a scan, trace, roller ball and simultaneous laser welding.
According to a further aspect, the welding device is one of an ultrasonic, vibration, spin, and thermal welding device.
According to a further aspect, the container includes one of a clear and laser transmissive flexible bag, sealed plastic wrap and rigid box.
According to another aspect, a welding process includes inserting at least one work piece inside a sealable container; placing the container with the at least one work piece inside into a welding device; performing one of an ultrasonic or a laser weld on the at least one work piece while the at least one work piece is inside the container.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to
As shown in
A welding operation is performed on the work piece(s) 10 through the sealed container 12. Once the welding operation is performed on the work piece(s) 10, the welded work piece(s) 10 can then be transported within the sealed container 12 to another process, back into an isolated environment, or to a final destination.
With reference to
Power supply 104 is controlled by the controller 114 that includes memory 116. It should be understood that controller 114 can be included in power supply 104 or separate from power supply 104.
Ultrasonic system 14 will often include an anvil 122 on which work piece(s) 10 to be processed will be supported and contacted by ultrasonic horn when it is being processed. For example, if two plastic work pieces 10 are being welded together, they are supported on anvil 122 and pressed together by the ultrasonic horn during the weld process as actuator 120 moves ultrasonic stack 102 relative to the two parts 124 where the horn also ultrasonically vibrates against one of the parts to ultrasonically weld the two work piece(s) 10 together. Actuator 120 is controlled by a controller 126 which may be a separate controller from controller 114 of ultrasonic power supply 104 or controller 114 of ultrasonic power supply 104 may control actuator 120.
With reference to
It should be understood that other optional fixtures 18 can be inserted into the container 12 along with the workpiece(s) 10. The fixtures 18 can secure the workpiece(s) 10 in a desired position relative to one another. In addition, in the case of laser welding, a panel 20 can be inserted into the sealed container 12 along with the workpiece(s) and serve to further isolate the generated heat from the container 12. This panel may be rigid or flexible. A desiccant can be inserted in the container to absorb any moisture generated by the welding process.
Examples of expected typical containers are depicted in
The workpieces 10 can be inserted into the sealable container 12 in an isolated environment that can include one of a sterilized environment or a hazardous environment.
Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected, or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer, or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer, or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer, or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments.
Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.
