Laminating device for composite materials

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10052855-B2
Application number	US-201514981207-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 28, 2015
Priority date	Dec 1, 2015
Publication date	Aug 21, 2018
Grant date	Aug 21, 2018

Abstract

A laminating device for composite material includes a laser device, a hot roller assembly which has a first hot roller and a second hot roller, a cool roller assembly which has a first cool roller and a second cool roller, an axial roller-driving unit and a spring force-adjusting unit. The laser device provides a laser beam onto laminating surfaces of two separate composite materials prior to the hot roller assembly. The axial roller-driving unit drives the first hot roller and the second hot roller, and the first cool roller and the second cool roller, to undergo relative movement in a first direction. The spring force-adjusting unit provides spring forcing to the first hot roller and the second hot roller, and the first cool roller and the second cool roller, to ensure further the lamination of the two composite materials.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A laminating device for composite materials, applicable to laminate two separate composite materials, comprising:
a laser unit for providing a laser beam;
a hot roller assembly, including a first hot roller and a second hot roller, for thermo-compression boding of the two separate composite materials, wherein, before the two separate composite materials enter a spacing between the first hot roller and the second hot roller, the laser beam irradiates laminating surfaces of the two separate composite materials;
a cool roller assembly, including a first cool roller and a second cool roller, for cold-compression bonding between the first cool roller and the second cool roller of the composite materials after the thermo-compression bonding;
an axial roller-driving unit, for driving the first hot roller and the second hot roller to undergo a relative axial motion in a first direction and also for driving the first cool roller and the second cool roller to undergo another relative axial motion in the first direction; and
a spring force-adjusting unit, for providing elastic contact of the two composite materials between the first hot roller and the second hot roller, and also for providing elastic contact of the composite material between the first cool roller and the second cool roller.

2. The laminating device for composite materials of claim 1 , wherein the laser unit further includes:
a laser source for providing the laser beam; and
an optical lens for providing the laser beam to pass through and to deflect the laser beam to the laminating surfaces of the two separate composite materials.

3. The laminating device for composite materials of claim 2 , wherein the laser source is one of a carbon dioxide laser, a diode laser and a fiber laser.

4. The laminating device for composite materials of claim 2 , wherein the laser beam has a wavelength of 300-1500 nm.

5. The laminating device for composite materials of claim 1 , wherein each of the first hot roller and the second hot roller has a first temperature, each of the first cool roller and the second cool roller has a second temperature, and the second temperature is smaller than the first temperature.

6. The laminating device for composite materials of claim 5 , wherein the hot roller assembly adopts one of an electric heating means and a hot-fluid heating means to heat up the first hot roller and the second hot roller to achieve the first temperature.

7. The laminating device for composite materials of claim 5 , wherein the cool roller assembly adopts one of a fluid-cooling means and an air-cooling means to cool down the first cool roller and the second cool roller to achieve the second temperature.

8. The laminating device for composite materials of claim 1 , wherein the axial roller-driving unit further includes:
a first driving assembly, including:
a first plate structure for loading the first hot roller and the first cool roller; and
a second plate structure, connected to the spring force-adjusting unit, a sliding rack structure being located between the first plate structure and the second plate structure to enable the first plate structure and the second plate structure to perform a relative sliding motion in the first direction, the spring force-adjusting unit simultaneously providing a first spring force to the second plate structure, the first plate structure, the first hot roller and the first cool roller; and

a second driving assembly, including:
a third plate structure for loading the second hot roller and the second cool roller; and
a fourth plate structure, connected to the spring force-adjusting unit, another sliding rack structure being located between the third plate structure and the fourth plate structure to enable the third plate structure and the fourth plate structure to perform another relative sliding motion in the first direction, the spring force-adjusting unit simultaneously providing a second spring force to the fourth plate structure, the third plate structure, the second hot roller and the second cool roller.

9. The laminating device for composite materials of claim 8 , wherein the spring force-adjusting unit includes:
a plurality of first spring assemblies, mounted at a first supportive plate and connected to the second plate structure, each of the first spring assemblies including:
a first spring member for providing the first spring force to the second plate structure;
a first constraint member, located between the first supportive plate and the first spring member; and
a first adjusting node, mounted at the first supportive plate, for adjusting a distance between the first constraint member and the second plate structure so as to vary a spring force of the first spring member exerting on the second plate structure; and

a plurality of second spring assemblies, mounted at a second supportive plate and connected to the fourth plate structure, each of the second spring assemblies including:
a second spring member for providing a second spring force to the fourth plate structure;
a second constraint member, located between the second supportive plate and the second spring member; and
a second adjusting node, mounted at the second supportive plate, for adjusting a distance between the second constraint member and the fourth plate structure so as to vary a spring force of the second spring member exerting on the fourth plate structure.

10. The laminating device for composite materials of claim 1 , wherein the first hot roller, the second hot roller, the first cool roller and the second cool roller are all axially aligned in the first direction.

11. The laminating device for composite materials of claim 1 , wherein each of the two composite materials are one of a thermoplastic carbon-fiber composite material and a thermosetting carbon-fiber composite material.

Assignees

• Ind Tech Res Inst

Inventors

• Wang Teng-Yen
• Chang Lung-Wu
• Li Chang-Chou
• Lin Yang-Cheng

Classifications

• B32B37/0053 Primary

  Constructional details of laminating machines comprising rollers; Constructional features of the rollers · CPC title

• B32B37/06

  characterised by the heating method · CPC title

• B32B37/08

  characterised by the cooling method · CPC title

• B32B37/0007

  involving treatment or provisions in order to avoid deformation or air inclusion, e.g. to improve surface quality · CPC title

• B32B37/04

  characterised by the partial melting of at least one layer · CPC title