WELDING DEVICE AND METHOD FOR WELDING AT LEAST TWO COMPONENTS

Abstract

A welding device and a method for welding at least two components. The welding device includes an ultrasonic welding device and a laser welding device and is configured to weld the two components together by ultrasonic welding in a first area with the aid of the ultrasonic welding device and, during the ultrasonic welding process, to weld the two components together by laser welding in a second area which is smaller than the first area and is arranged within and/or bordering an outer periphery of the first area, with the aid of the laser welding device. The ultrasonic welding device may have an ultrasonic sonotrode and/or an anvil which have a through opening within the first area, and the laser welding device may be configured to direct the laser beam through the through opening onto the second area on the two components.

Claims

1-15. (canceled)

16. A welding device, comprising: an ultrasonic welding device, and a laser welding device, wherein the welding device is configured to weld at least two components together by ultrasonic welding in a first area with the aid of the ultrasonic welding device and, during the ultrasonic welding process, to weld the two components together by laser welding in a second area which is smaller than the first area and at least partially lies within an outer periphery of the first area and/or is arranged bordering the outer periphery of the first area, with the aid of the laser welding device.

17. A welding device, comprising: an ultrasonic welding device, and a laser welding device, wherein the ultrasonic welding device has an ultrasonic sonotrode and an anvil, wherein the ultrasonic sonotrode and the anvil are arranged opposite to and spaced from one another and enclose an operational volume between them in which at least two components to be welded are to be arranged during an ultrasonic welding process, wherein the laser welding device has a laser for emitting a laser beam, wherein the ultrasonic sonotrode and/or the anvil have a through opening within a first area, wherein the ultrasonic sonotrode and the anvil are configured to contact the two components in the first area, during the ultrasonic welding process, from opposite sides at contact surfaces and to weld the two components together by ultrasonic welding, and wherein the laser welding device is configured to direct the laser beam through the through opening onto a second area on the two components in order to weld the two components together additionally by laser welding.

18. The welding device according to claim 17, wherein the welding device also has a control device for controlling a synchronized operation of the ultrasonic welding device and the laser welding device.

19. The welding device according to claim 18, wherein the control device is configured to carry out the laser welding by controlling the laser welding device, while the ultrasonic welding is carried out by controlling the ultrasonic welding device.

20. The welding device according to claim 17, wherein the laser welding device is configured to direct the laser beam onto the second area obliquely inclined to the contact surface.

21. The welding device according to claim 17, wherein the through opening is oriented obliquely inclined to the contact surface.

22. The welding device according to claim 17, wherein the ultrasonic sonotrode and/or the anvil have a plurality of through openings (19′, 19″) within the first area, and wherein the laser welding device is configured to direct laser beams (17′, 17″) through each of the through openings (19′, 19″) onto a plurality of second areas on the two components in order to weld the two components together additionally by laser welding.

23. The welding device according to claim 16, wherein the laser welding device is configured to emit the laser beam for laser welding with laser light having a wavelength of less than 600 nm, preferably less than 500 nm.

24. The welding device according to claim 17, wherein the laser welding device is configured to emit the laser beam for laser welding with laser light having a wavelength of less than 600 nm, preferably less than 500 nm.

25. The welding device according to one of the preceding claim 16, wherein the laser welding device is configured, for laser welding, to emit laser light with a power of less than 3 kW.

26. The welding device according to one of the preceding claim 17, wherein the laser welding device is configured, for laser welding, to emit laser light with a power of less than 3 kW.

27. A method for welding at least two components, wherein the two components are welded together in a first area by ultrasonic welding and during the ultrasonic welding process, the two components are welded together by laser welding in a second area which is smaller than the first area and is arranged within an outer periphery of the first area.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein the components to be welded are a plurality of metal films.

29. The method according to claim 27, wherein the components to be welded are at least one metal film and at least one metal sheet.

30. The method according to claim 27, wherein at least one metal film and/or at least one metal sheet consist predominantly of copper.

31. The method according to claim 29, wherein for laser welding, laser light having a wavelength of less than 600 nm, preferably less than 500 nm, is used.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0069] Advantageous embodiments of the invention are described below in greater detail making reference to the attached drawings, although neither the drawings nor the description should be regarded in any way as limiting.

[0070] FIG. 1 shows a highly schematic view of a welding device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0071] FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of a sonotrode and an anvil of an ultrasonic welding device of a welding device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0072] FIG. 3 shows a sectional view of a sonotrode and an anvil of an ultrasonic welding device of a welding device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0073] FIG. 4 shows a plan view of film-like components that have been welded together with a welding method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0074] FIG. 5 shows a sectional view through a sonotrode and an anvil of an ultrasonic welding device of a welding device according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention.

[0075] FIG. 6 shows a plan view of film-like components that have been welded together with a welding method according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention.

[0076] The drawings are in general schematic and not to scale. Same reference signs in the different drawings relate to the same or similarly acting features.

DESCRIPTION OF ADVANTAGEOUS EMBODIMENTS

[0077] FIG. 1 shows a welding device 1 according to an embodiment of the invention. The welding device 1 comprises an ultrasonic welding device 3 and a laser welding device 5. An operation of the ultrasonic welding device 3 and an operation of the laser welding device 5 may therein each be controlled by a control device 25.

[0078] The welding device 1 is therein configured to accommodate at least two components 7 to be welded in an operational volume 13 and to weld them together simultaneously both in a first area 21 by ultrasonic welding and also in a second area 23 by laser welding.

[0079] As FIG. 2 shows additionally and in greater detail, the ultrasonic welding device 3 has an ultrasonic sonotrode 9 and an anvil 11 which are arranged at mutually opposing sides of the operational volume 13. Furthermore, the ultrasonic welding device 3 has an ultrasonic generator 33 in which ultrasonic oscillations may be generated at typical frequencies of between 20 kHz and 50 kHz. The ultrasonic oscillations may then be transferred by a converter 31 and a booster 27 as mechanical oscillations to the ultrasonic sonotrode 9. With the aid of an actuator 29, the booster 27 and the ultrasonic sonotrode 9 mechanically coupled thereto may be moved to the operational volume 13. In this way, a textured contact surface 35 on the ultrasonic sonotrode 9 may be pressed against a surface, facing said sonotrode, of one of the components 7 to be welded (component not shown in FIG. 2 for the sake of clarity). In this way, the components 7 to be welded may be clamped between the contact surface 35 of the ultrasonic sonotrode 9 and the anvil 11.

[0080] The ultrasonic welding device 3 described here differs from conventional ultrasonic welding devices, in particular, in that a through opening 19 is provided in its ultrasonic sonotrode 9 and/or its anvil 11, through which opening a laser beam 17 emitted by a laser 15 of the laser welding device 5 may be directed into the operational volume 13 and thus onto the components 7 accommodated there.

[0081] In the example shown, the through opening 19 is formed in the ultrasonic sonotrode 9. The through opening 19 therein extends transversely to the contact surface 35 through an entire sonotrode head 10. Accordingly, in the example described, the laser 15 arranged above the ultrasonic sonotrode 9 may direct its laser beam 17 through the through opening 19 onto the second area 23 on the upwardly facing surface of the upper components 7 to be welded.

[0082] FIG. 3 shows a sectional view through the ultrasonic sonotrode 9 and the anvil 11 of an ultrasonic welding device 3. In the operational volume 13, components 7 to be welded in the form of a plurality of thin metal films 37 may be accommodated. For reasons of clarity, only four metal films 37 are shown, whereas in practice, there may be significantly more such metal films 37 to be welded together.

[0083] FIG. 4 shows a plan view of the components 7 to be welded.

[0084] During a welding process, the metal films 37 are pressed by the textured contact surface 35 of the ultrasonic sonotrode 9 against an opposite contact surface of the anvil 11 and are thus brought into abutment with one another. Therein, the ultrasonic sonotrode 9 conducts mechanical ultrasonic oscillations via the textured contact surface 35 into the stack of metal films 37, so that they are connected together by means of ultrasonic welding.

[0085] During the ultrasonic welding, the laser beam 17 is additionally directed through the through opening 19 in the ultrasonic sonotrode 9. In this way, a weld site 39 connecting the components 7 is created by laser welding simultaneously with the ultrasonic welding.

[0086] As a result of the through opening 19 provided in the ultrasonic sonotrode 9, the contact surface 35 of the ultrasonic sonotrode 9 is not over the whole area, but has a cut-out in its centre provided by the through opening 19. During the welding process, the ultrasonic sonotrode 9 may thus contact a large first area 21 on the components 7 with its ring-shaped contact surface 35 and may connect the components 7 there by means of ultrasonic welding. In the region of the cut-out, the laser beam 17 reaches a second area 23 and may create the approximately punctiform weld site 39 there by laser welding. The second area 23 is herein significantly smaller than the first area 21 and is situated within the first area 21, that is, it is surrounded by the first area 21 in an annular manner.

[0087] FIGS. 5 and 6 show a sectional view of an alternatively configured ultrasonic sonotrode 9 of an ultrasonic welding device 3 and a plan view of components 7 welded therewith.

[0088] In this case, the components 7 to be welded are a plurality of metal films 37 and a metal sheet 43 which is significantly thicker than the metal films 37. The metal films 37 and the metal sheet 43 may therein consist of different materials. In particular, the metal films 37 may consist, for example, of aluminium, whereas the metal sheet 43 may consist of copper or a copper alloy.

[0089] In this example, the ultrasonic sonotrode 9 has a plurality of through openings 19′, 19″. In the example shown, the laser beam 17 is subdivided with the aid of a beamsplitter 41 into a plurality of separate laser beams 17′, 17″. Each of the laser beams 17′, 17″ is directed through one of the through openings 19′, 19″ onto one of the plurality of second areas 23 in order to generate a plurality of weld sites 39 there by laser welding.

[0090] Finally, it should be pointed out that expressions such as “having”, “comprising”, etc. do not exclude any other elements or steps, and expressions such as “a” or “an” do not exclude a plurality. Furthermore, it should be pointed out that features or steps which have been described making reference to one of the above exemplary embodiments may also be used in combination with other features or steps of other exemplary embodiments described above. Reference characters in the claims are not to be interpreted as a restriction.

REFERENCE SIGNS

[0091] 1 Welding device [0092] 3 Ultrasonic welding device [0093] 5 Laser welding device [0094] 7 Components to be welded [0095] 9 Ultrasonic sonotrode [0096] 10 Sonotrode head [0097] 11 Anvil [0098] 13 Operational volume [0099] 15 Laser [0100] 17 Laser beam [0101] 19 Through opening [0102] 21 First area [0103] 23 Second area [0104] 25 Control device [0105] 27 Booster [0106] 29 Actuator [0107] 31 Converter [0108] 33 Ultrasonic generator [0109] 35 Textured contact surface [0110] 37 Metal films [0111] 39 Weld site [0112] 41 Beamsplitter [0113] 43 Metal sheet