Compact Ultrasonic Welding Horn Orthogonal Sheet Movement

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing welding techniques face challenges in uniformly applying ultrasonic vibration over wide areas, leading to misalignment or breakage of sheet-like members due to increased frictional forces when using a large pressing body, and compact pressing bodies struggle to maintain pressure without causing misalignment or breakage when moving orthogonally.

Innovation Solution

A compact welding apparatus with a pressing surface smaller than the welding range, utilizing low-frequency vibration to repeatedly pressure sheet-like members during ultrasonic vibration, allowing for orthogonal movement by adjusting movement speed and vibration period to manage frictional forces effectively.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Area of stationary object

If a large pressing body with a wide pressing surface is used to weld sheet-like members over a wide area in one stroke, then the welding coverage area is improved, but the apparatus size and driving force requirements increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepressing surface areaVSAvoidapparatus size
Core Design Contradiction:
Area of stationary objectVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The pressing body is divided into multiple independent pressing units that can be selectively activated. Each pressing unit has its own pressing surface, allowing the system to cover a wide welding area without requiring a single large pressing body. This segmentation enables compact apparatus design while maintaining wide welding coverage capability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system transitions from a single large pressing surface to multiple distributed pressing surfaces arranged in a spatial pattern. By utilizing the spatial arrangement of multiple pressing units across different positions, the system achieves wide area coverage without increasing the overall apparatus footprint, effectively solving the contradiction between pressing surface area and apparatus size.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Area of stationary object

If a large pressing body is used to apply uniform pressure over a wide area, then the welding coverage is improved, but the amplitude uniformity and phase consistency deteriorate due to the large size of the pressing surface

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepressing surface areaVSAvoidamplitude uniformity
Core Design Contradiction:
Area of stationary objectVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

By segmenting the pressing body into multiple smaller pressing units, each unit maintains consistent amplitude and phase characteristics during ultrasonic vibration. The smaller size of individual pressing units ensures uniform vibration transmission to the sheet-like members, avoiding the amplitude variation and phase inconsistency that occur with large pressing surfaces.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Each pressing unit is designed with optimized local characteristics to ensure uniform amplitude distribution across its pressing surface. The segmented structure allows each unit to independently maintain precise vibration characteristics, improving the overall manufacturing precision of the welding process while still covering a wide area through the collective arrangement of multiple units.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

3Stress or pressure

If high pressure is applied by the pressing surface to weld certain sheet-like members, then the welding quality is improved, but the frictional force increases making it difficult to move the sheet-like members in the orthogonal direction

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepressing pressureVSAvoidmovement capability
Core Design Contradiction:
Stress or pressureVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The pressing function is segmented into multiple independent pressing units that can be activated selectively. This allows high pressure to be applied only to specific areas where welding is required, while other areas remain accessible for movement operations. The segmented structure enables localized high-pressure welding without creating system-wide friction that would prevent orthogonal movement.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically controls the activation and deactivation of individual pressing units based on the welding requirements. By selectively engaging pressing units only when and where high pressure is needed for welding, the system maintains ease of movement during positioning and setup phases while achieving high welding quality during the welding operation itself.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

Enables high-speed welding with reduced risk of misalignment or breakage by maintaining consistent pressure and controlled movement of sheet-like members, effectively using a compact pressing body to cover the entire welding range.

Implementation Method 1

ultrasonic vibration is induced in a horn which applies the ultrasonic vibration to the sheet-like members

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectUltrasonic vibration: Ultrasonic Vibration

Implementation Method 2

the pressuring part drives the pressing body to repeatedly pressure the sheet-like members during a predetermined pressuring time in one cycle of a low-frequency vibration period while maintaining the pressing body in the low-frequency vibration

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectLow-frequency vibration: Vibration

Implementation Method 3

Frictional force increases with the increase in the pressure and hence, it is difficult to move the plural sheet-like members clamped and pressured between the backup surface and the pressing surface

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectFriction: Friction

Data Source

PatentEP2985111B1Welding device and welding method
Publication Date: 2019.07.10 ADWELDS CORP
  • EP2985111B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2985111B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2985111B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4

AI summary

To provide a technique wherein a compact pressing body with a pressing surface smaller in the area than a welding range can weld together sheet-like members over the whole area of the welding range by pressing the sheet-like members being reliably moved in a direction substantially orthogonal to a pressing direction of the pressing body. In a state where sheet-like members (S) are pressured by a pressing surface (35a) pressing the sheet-like members in a pressing direction (Z), the sheet-like members (S) are repeatedly pressured by a horn (35) during a predetermined pressuring time in one cycle of a preset low-frequency vibration period by maintaining the horn (35) in low-frequency vibration with the low-frequency vibration period. Therefore, the sheet-like members (S) being reliably moved in the direction substantially orthogonal to the pressing direction (Z) can be welded together over the whole area of the welding range by pressing with the compact horn (35) including the pressing surface (35a) smaller in the area than the welding range.