Ultrasonic welding system with a positive locking connection

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11938556-B2
Application number	US-201917414435-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 12, 2019
Priority date	Dec 19, 2018
Publication date	Mar 26, 2024
Grant date	Mar 26, 2024

Abstract

The present invention concerns an ultrasonic welding installation comprising an ultrasonic vibration unit having a sonotrode and a converter, wherein the sonotrode and the converter are arranged in mutually adjacent relationship along a longitudinal axis and the ultrasonic vibration unit can be caused to resonate with an ultrasonic vibration in the direction of the longitudinal axis with a wavelength λ/2, wherein there is provided a holder for holding the ultrasonic vibration unit. To provide an ultrasonic welding installation which allows simple and quick highly precise adjustment of the sealing surfaces of the sonotrode relative to the anvil it is proposed according to the invention that the holder has an angle positioning device, wherein the angle positioning device and the ultrasonic vibration unit are of such a configuration that they can be connected together in positively locking relationship so that a rotation of the ultrasonic vibration unit about the longitudinal axis is prevented by the positively locking connection and a relative movement between the ultrasonic vibration unit and the holder in the direction of the longitudinal axis is not prevented.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An ultrasonic welding installation comprising an ultrasonic vibration unit having a sonotrode and a converter,
wherein the sonotrode ( 1 ) and the converter ( 3 ) are arranged in mutually adjacent relationship along a longitudinal axis having a direction and the ultrasonic vibration unit can be caused to resonate with an ultrasonic vibration in the direction of the longitudinal axis with a wavelength λ/2,
wherein there is provided a holder ( 5 ) for holding the ultrasonic vibration unit, characterised in that the holder ( 5 ) has an angle positioning device,
wherein the angle positioning device and the ultrasonic vibration unit are of such a configuration that they can be connected together in a positively locking relationship so that rotation of the ultrasonic vibration unit about the longitudinal axis is prevented by the positively locking connection and a relative movement between the ultrasonic vibration unit and the holder in the direction of the longitudinal axis is not prevented, and
wherein the ultrasonic vibration unit has an outer bead ( 37 ) with at least one recess ( 21 ), wherein the angle positioning device has at least one projection ( 27 ) which corresponds to the at least one recess ( 21 ) and which can engage into the at least one recess ( 21 ) and thus provide the positive locking connection.

2. The ultrasonic welding installation according to claim 1 characterised in that the outer bead has a plurality of recesses ( 21 ).

3. The ultrasonic welding installation according to claim 1 characterised in that the at least one projection ( 27 ) of the angle positioning device extends in the direction of the longitudinal axis.

4. The ultrasonic welding installation according to claim 1 characterised in that the at least one recess ( 21 ) of the outer bead ( 37 ) and the at least one projection ( 27 ) of the angle positioning device have mutually corresponding contact surfaces ( 38 , 39 ) which when the ultrasonic vibration unit is fitted into the angle positioning device come into contact with each other upon rotation of the ultrasonic vibration unit about the longitudinal axis.

5. The ultrasonic welding installation according to claim 1 characterised in that the angle positioning device has a fixing element ( 9 ) for fixing the angle positioning device to a machine stand and has a coupling element ( 8 ) which is reciprocable between two positions in the direction of the longitudinal axis relative to the fixing element ( 9 ), wherein the positively locking connection can be produced between the coupling element ( 8 ) and the ultrasonic vibration unit.

6. The ultrasonic welding installation according to claim 5 characterised in that the coupling element ( 8 ) is elastically prestressed into one of the two positions.

7. The ultrasonic welding installation according to claim 5 characterised in that there is provided a fine adjustment device which is connected to the coupling element ( 8 ).

8. The ultrasonic welding installation according to claim 1 characterised in that the outer bead is arranged on the sonotrode ( 1 ) or an amplitude transformer ( 4 ) arranged between the sonotrode ( 1 ) and the converter ( 3 ).

9. The ultrasonic welding installation according to claim 1 characterised in that there is provided a support element ( 7 ) for supporting a force applied to the sonotrode ( 1 ) perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis, wherein the sonotrode ( 1 ) and the support element ( 7 ) have mutually corresponding support surfaces which, when the force is applied to the sonotrode ( 1 ) perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis, come into contact with each other,
wherein the corresponding support surfaces are of such a configuration that when they are in contact with each other they prevent a relative movement of the sonotrode ( 1 ) with respect to the support element ( 7 ) in the direction of the longitudinal axis and allow rotation of the sonotrode ( 1 ) about the longitudinal axis.

10. The ultrasonic welding installation according to claim 9 characterised in that either the sonotrode ( 1 ) has a rib ( 6 ) and the support element has a groove or the sonotrode ( 1 ) has a groove and the support element has a rib, the rib and the groove having the corresponding support surfaces.

11. The ultrasonic welding installation according to claim 9 characterised in that there is provided a counterpart tool, wherein the sonotrode ( 1 ) and the counterpart tool are moveable relative to each other in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis and the support element ( 7 ) is so positioned that a force exerted on the sonotrode ( 1 ) by way of a material positioned between the sonotrode ( 1 ) and the counterpart tool is transmitted to the support element.

12. The ultrasonic welding installation according to claim 1 characterised in that there is provided an amplitude transformer ( 4 ) arranged between the sonotrode ( 1 ) and the converter ( 3 ), wherein the amplitude transformer ( 4 ) is connected to the converter ( 3 ) and/or the sonotrode ( 1 ) by way of the positively locking connection which provides a positive locking relationship in all directions of the plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis.

13. The ultrasonic welding installation according to claim 12 characterised in that the positively locking connection between the amplitude transformer ( 4 ) and the converter ( 3 ) or between the amplitude transformer ( 4 ) and the sonotrode ( 1 ) comprises a pin and a corresponding opening ( 26 ).

14. The ultrasonic welding installation according to claim 13 characterised in that the pin ( 22 ) and the corresponding opening ( 26 ) are not of a rotationally symmetrical configuration relative to the longitudinal axis,
wherein the pin ( 22 ) and the corresponding opening ( 26 ) are of a rotary symmetrical configuration about the longitudinal axis with an n-fold axis of rotation, wherein n is a natural number greater than one.

15. The ultrasonic welding installation according to claim 1 characterised in that the holder ( 5 ) has a clamping device ( 40 ) reciprocable between an opened position in which the ultrasonic vibration unit can be removed from the holder ( 5 ) and a closed position in which the clamping device comes into contact with the ultrasonic vibration unit at at least two holding points ( 41 ) and exerts a force on the ultrasonic vibration unit so that the ultrasonic vibration unit is held.

16. The ultrasonic welding installation according to claim 15 characterised in that the at least two holding points are arranged on the outer bead ( 37 ) of the ultrasonic vibration unit.

17. The ultrasonic welding installation according to claim 2 wherein the angle positioning device has a plurality of the projections ( 27 ) corresponding to the plurality of recesses ( 21 ).

18. The ultrasonic welding installation according to claim 17 wherein the ultrasonic vibration unit can be connected in the positively locking relationship to the angle positioning device in a plurality of positions rotated relative to each other about the longitudinal axis.

Assignees

• Herrmann Ultraschalltechnik Gmbh & Co Kg

Inventors

• Mancini Raffaele
• Pohl Johannes
• Vogler Ulrich
• Zendler Stefan

Classifications

• B23K20/106 Primary

  Features related to sonotrodes · CPC title

• B06B3/00 Primary

  Methods or apparatus specially adapted for transmitting mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic, or ultrasonic frequency · CPC title

• B06B2201/72

  Welding, joining, soldering · CPC title