Welder for laminates with dissimilar welding surfaces

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11207843-B2
Application number	US-202016893352-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 4, 2020
Priority date	Dec 20, 2019
Publication date	Dec 28, 2021
Grant date	Dec 28, 2021

Abstract

A welder for joining two polymeric sheets together using a wedged heating element allows for a heating profile on opposite faces of the heating element to be varied by controlling where each of the polymeric sheets contacts the corresponding face.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A welder for joining a first polymeric sheet and a second polymeric sheet together by thermal bonding, the welder comprising:
a heating element having a first face defining a first heating length and a second face defining a second heating length, the first heating length equal to the second heating length; and
a guide plate for conveying the first polymeric sheet to the first face and the second polymeric sheet to the second face,
wherein a portion of the guide plate covers a portion of the first face to reduce the first heating length to less than the second heating length.

2. The welder of claim 1 , wherein the first polymeric sheet has a lower surface formed of a first material,
wherein the second polymeric sheet has an upper surface formed of a second material, and
wherein the first material and the second material are different.

3. The welder of claim 1 , wherein the first polymeric sheet and the second polymeric sheet have the same construction.

4. The welder of claim 1 , wherein the first polymeric sheet and the second polymeric sheet are geomembranes.

5. The welder of claim 1 , wherein the first polymeric sheet comprises a plurality of layers, and
wherein the second polymeric sheet comprises a plurality of layers.

6. The welder of claim 5 , wherein the first polymeric sheet comprises four layers, and
wherein the second polymeric sheet comprises four layers.

7. The welder of claim 1 , wherein the heating element is a wedge-shaped member, such that a distance between the first face of the heating element and the second face of the heating element varies over a length of the heating element.

8. The welder of claim 1 , wherein the welder is portable and includes a handle for carrying the welder.

9. The welder of claim 1 , wherein the heating element heats the upper face and the lower face to a welding temperature, and
wherein the welding temperature is in the range of 315° C. to 460° C.

10. The welder of claim 9 , wherein the welding temperature is in the range of 350° C. to 400° C.

11. The welder of claim 1 , wherein the guide plate is metal.

12. The welder of claim 11 , wherein the metal is stainless steel.

13. The welder of claim 1 , wherein a width of the guide plate is in the range of 3.0 inches to 3.5 inches.

14. The welder of claim 1 , wherein a length of the guide plate is in the range of 5.0 inches to 7.5 inches.

15. The welder of claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the guide plate is in the range of 0.5 inches to 0.7 inches.

16. The welder of claim 1 , wherein the guide plate is fixed relative to the heating element.

17. The welder of claim 1 , wherein the guide plate is adjustable relative to the heating element.

18. The welder of claim 1 , wherein the portion of the guide plate covers between 5% to 95% of the first face of the heating element.

19. The welder of claim 1 , wherein the portion of the guide plate covers between 45% to 55% of the first face of the heating element.

20. The welder of claim 1 , wherein the guide plate does not cover a portion of the second face.

Assignees

• Owens Corning Intellectual Capital Llc

Inventors

• Qi Weigang

Classifications

• E02D31/004

  Sealing liners · CPC title

• B29C66/723

  being multi-layered (B29C66/7292, B29C66/72941 take precedence) · CPC title

• B29C66/9161

  by controlling or regulating the heat or the thermal flux, i.e. the heat flux · CPC title

• B29C66/73187 Primary

  to liquids · CPC title

• B29C65/18 Primary

  using heated tools · CPC title