UV-Curable Adhesive Bonding with Thin-Walled Cavity Bottom
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bonding arrangements using UV-curable adhesives face limitations due to the need for UV light access, restricting design freedom for position-sensitive elements and receiving bodies, as they require UV light to cure the adhesive, which can hinder the alignment process, especially when the position-sensitive element covers the opening side of the cavity.
Innovation Solution
A bonding arrangement featuring a cavity with a thin-walled bottom section that is transparent to UV light, allowing irradiation from the opposite side, enabling the use of UV-curable adhesive for temporary fixing and a structural adhesive for long-term bonding, with the option to place the structural adhesive before or after UV curing, and the cavity can be on either the position-sensitive element or the receiving body.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If UV light is required to access the UV-curable adhesive for curing, then the adhesive can be cured effectively, but the design freedom of the position-sensitive element and receiving body is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dimensionality change by enabling UV light to access the adhesive from multiple directions, specifically through the bottom section of the cavity in addition to the opening side. This multi-directional UV access resolves the contradiction by maintaining reliable curing (original requirement) while eliminating the restriction that UV light must only access from one direction, thereby freeing the design of position-sensitive elements and receiving bodies.
Solution Approach 2:
The thin-walled bottom section acts as an intermediary that allows UV light to pass through it to reach the adhesive. This intermediary structure enables UV curing from the bottom direction without requiring the position-sensitive element or receiving body to have specific designs that would facilitate top-down UV access only, thus resolving the contradiction between curing effectiveness and design freedom.
2Manufacturing precision
If the position-sensitive element covers the opening side of the cavity, then the alignment can be protected, but the UV light cannot access the UV-curable adhesive for curing
Solution Approach 1:
When the position-sensitive element covers the opening side of the cavity for alignment protection, the patent enables UV light to access the adhesive from the bottom section instead. This dimensionality change in UV light access path resolves the contradiction by maintaining alignment precision (through coverage of the opening side) while ensuring adhesive curing (through bottom section UV transmission).
Solution Approach 2:
The patent inverts the conventional UV access direction by enabling curing from the bottom section rather than requiring access from the opening side. This inversion resolves the contradiction by allowing the position-sensitive element to cover the opening side for alignment protection while UV light accesses the adhesive from the opposite direction (through the bottom section) for curing.
3Strength
If a structural adhesive is used for long-term bonding, then the bonding strength is improved, but the curing time increases compared to UV-curable adhesive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges two adhesive systems with different curing characteristics: UV-curable adhesive for rapid initial bonding and structural adhesive for long-term strength. This combination resolves the contradiction by utilizing the fast-curing property of UV-adhesive to provide immediate bonding strength, while the structural adhesive provides sustained long-term strength, effectively combining the advantages of both adhesive types.
Solution Approach 2:
The UV-curable adhesive performs preliminary bonding action rapidly to secure the alignment, allowing the position-sensitive element to be fixed in its precise position immediately. The structural adhesive then provides long-term bonding strength over time. This preliminary action by UV-adhesive resolves the contradiction by providing immediate positioning stability while the structural adhesive develops its full strength over time.
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
This solution provides increased design freedom and efficient UV light management, allowing for precise alignment and rapid curing of the UV-curable adhesive, while the structural adhesive cures independently, maintaining the position of the elements without distortion, even after the UV-curable adhesive has set.
Implementation Method 1
The cavity has a bottom section that is designed to be sufficiently thin-walled that the adhesive can be cured with UV light that can be radiated through the bottom section
Data Source
AI summary
A bonding arrangement and a method for the adhesive bonding of a position-sensitive element to a receiving body, in particular of an optical element, such as a semiconductor light source, a reflector, or the like, wherein a UV-curable adhesive is arranged between the position-sensitive element and the receiving body. Provision is made that the bond between the position-sensitive element and the receiving body has at least one cavity for accommodating the UV-curable adhesive and at least one retaining element that extends into the cavity and projects into the UV-curable adhesive. The cavity has a bottom section that is designed to be sufficiently thin-walled that the adhesive can be cured with UV light that can be radiated through the bottom section.