AUTOMATED WELDING ASSEMBLY AND METHOD OF USING SAME

Abstract

An automated welding assembly includes an anvil table, a robot and a cut slide assembly. The robot has a robot arm configured whereby an end of arm tooling is engageable with the anvil table. The end of arm tooling includes an ultrasonic rotary horn welder. The welder includes a rotatable housing, an electrical slip ring, a converter, a booster and a welding horn. The welder is operably attached to a power supply. The electrical slip ring is operably connected to the power supply and is mounted in the rotatable housing. The converter is operably connected to the electrical slip ring. The converter is for producing ultrasonic vibrations from the power supply. The booster is operably connected to the converter and is for amplifying the ultrasonic vibrations. The welding horn is operably connected to the booster. The welding horn is for transmitting the ultrasonic vibrations to a workpiece.

Claims

1. An isolation gown comprising: a front gown panel having a front body portion, a front left arm portion, a front right arm portion, a front neck edge, a front top edge, a front right side edge along the front body portion and the front right arm portion and a front left side edge along the front body portion and the front left arm portion; a left back gown panel having a back left body portion, a back left arm portion, a back left top edge, a back left neck edge and a back left side edge along the back left body portion and the back left arm portion; a right back gown panel having a back right body portion, a back right arm body portion, a back right top edge and a back right neck edge and a back right side edge along the back right body portion and back right arm portion; a top left side seam and a left side seam connecting the front gown panel and the left back gown panel; and a top right side seam and a right side seam connecting the front gown panel and the right back gown panel; wherein the top left side seam, the left side seam, the top left seam and the right side seam are each triple weld seams.

2. The isolation gown as claimed in claim 1 wherein each triple weld seam is a continuous weld.

3. The isolation gown as claimed in claim 2 wherein the continuous weld is proximate to the front top edge, the front right side edge and the front left side edge.

4. The isolation gown as claimed in claim 2 wherein the front left arm portion and the front right arm portion are an integral portion of the front gown panel, the back left arm portion is an integral portion of the left back gown panel and the back right arm portion is integral portion of the right back gown panel.

5. The isolation gown as claimed in claim 2 further including a pair of neck ties integrally attached to the right back gown panel and left back gown panel respectively.

6. The isolation gown as claimed in claim 2 further including a pair of waist ties integrally attached to the right back gown panel and left back gown panel respectively.

7. The isolation gown as claimed in claim 1 further including one of a thumb hole, a thumb loop, a thumb slit and an elastic cuff formed in each of a left arm and a right arm respectively.

8. A process for manufacturing an isolation gown comprising the steps of: providing gown material; holding two layers of the gown material in place; welding a front gown panel to a back gown panel along a top edge, a right side edge and a left side edge to create a top right seam, a top left seam, a right side seam and a left side seam respectively; and cutting the two layers of the gown material into a gown having the front gown panel and the back gown panel; cutting the back gown panel into a left back gown panel and a right back gown panel to create the isolation gown.

9. The process for manufacturing an isolation gown as claimed in claim 8 wherein the welding step and the cutting steps are done generally concurrently.

10. The process for manufacturing an isolation gown as claimed in claim 8 wherein the welding includes a plurality of welds.

11. The process for manufacturing an isolation gown as claimed in claim 8 wherein the welding includes a triple weld.

12. The process for manufacturing an isolation gown as claimed in claim 8 further including the step of cutting a pair of neck ties into the back left panel and the right back panel respectively.

13. The process for manufacturing an isolation gown as claimed in claim 12 further including the step of cutting a pair of waist ties into the back left panel and the right back panel respectively.

14. The process for manufacturing an isolation gown as claimed in claim 8 further including the step of providing a cuff treatment being one of cutting a thumb hole, cutting a thumb loop, cutting a thumb slit and providing an elastic cuff formed in each of a left arm and a right arm respectively.

15. The process for manufacturing an isolation gown as claimed in claim 8 including the step of removing the isolation gown and indexing the gown material and repeating the steps to create another isolation gown.

16. An ultrasonic rotary horn welder, the ultrasonic rotary welder being operably attached to a power supply, and comprising; a rotatable housing; an electrical slip ring operably connected to the power supply and mounted in the rotatable housing; a converter operably connected to the electrical slip ring, the converter being for producing ultrasonic vibrations from the power supply; a booster operably connected to the converter for amplifying the ultrasonic vibrations; and a welding horn operably connected to the booster, the welding horn being for transmitting the ultrasonic vibrations to a workpiece.

17. The ultrasonic rotary horn welder as claimed in claim 16 wherein the rotatable housing includes an outer bearing housing, an inner bearing cylinder and bearings therebetween.

18. The ultrasonic rotary horn welder as claimed in claim 17 wherein the rotatable housing further includes an air-cooling slip ring.

19. The ultrasonic rotary horn welder as claimed in claim 16 wherein the welding horn includes a connector portion and a bell portion extending outwardly therefrom, the bell portion having a circular rim.

20. The ultrasonic rotary horn welder as claimed in claim 19 wherein the circular rim has three ridges formed therein to produce a triple weld seam.

21. The ultrasonic rotary horn welder as claimed in claim 19 wherein the bell portion having an inner profile that extends inwardly with a bell shaped curve.

22. The ultrasonic rotary horn welder as claimed in claim 21 wherein the inner profile further includes a cylindrical portion extending inwardly at a center portion of the bell shaped curve and the cylindrical portion ending in a point.

23. The ultrasonic rotary horn welder as claimed in claim 21 wherein the bell portion has an outer profile that curves inwardly and then curves outwardly to connect with the connector portion.

24. An ultrasonic rotary horn welder assembly comprising the ultrasonic rotary horn welder of claim 16 and further including a laser cutter.

25. The ultrasonic rotary horn welder assembly as claimed in claim 24 wherein the laser cutter is activatable separately from the ultrasonic rotary horn welder.

26. The ultrasonic rotary horn welder assembly as claimed in claim 24 further including mechanical grippers.

27. A cut slide assembly for use with a cutting table and a robotic cutter comprising: a cut slide support; a retractable plate operably connected to the cut slide support, the retractable plate being moveable between an advanced position and a retracted position over the cutting table; and an actuator operably connected to the retractable plate for moving the plate from the advanced position to the retracted position.

28. The cut slide assembly as claimed in claim 27 wherein the cut slide support includes a stand connected to a carriage arm, the carriage arm having linear rails and a guide fixture operably attached thereto wherein the retractable plate moves from the advanced position to the retracted position within the guide fixture.

29. The cut slide assembly as claimed in claim 28 wherein the cut slide support further includes a shock absorber operably attached to the carriage arm.

30. The cut slide assembly as claimed in claim 27 wherein the actuator is a pneumatic actuator.

31. An automated welding assembly comprising: an anvil table; a robot positioned proximate to the anvil table having a robot arm configured whereby an end of arm tooling is engageable with the anvil table; and a cut slide assembly being positioned proximate to the anvil table.

32. The automated welding assembly as claimed in claim 31 wherein the cut slide assembly comprises a cut slide support; a retractable plate operably connected to the cut slide support, the retractable plate being moveable between an advanced position and a retracted position over the cutting table; and an actuator operably connected to the retractable plate for moving the plate from the advanced position to the retracted position.

33. The automated welding assembly as claimed in claim 32 wherein the anvil table is a vacuum anvil table.

34. The automated welding assembly as claimed in claim 33 wherein the end of arm tooling is the ultrasonic rotary horn welder assembly comprises; a rotatable housing; an electrical slip ring operably connected to the power supply and mounted in the rotatable housing; a converter operably connected to the electrical slip ring, the converter being for producing ultrasonic vibrations from the power supply; a booster operably connected to the converter for amplifying the ultrasonic vibrations; and a welding horn operably connected to the booster, the welding horn being for transmitting the ultrasonic vibrations to a workpiece and further including a laser cutter.

35. The automated welding assembly as claimed in claim 34 wherein the laser cutter is activatable separately from the ultrasonic rotary horn welder.

36. The automated welding assembly as claimed in claim 33 further including a roller fixture operably attached to the anvil table.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] Embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the drawings, in which:

[0031] FIG. 1A is a perspective view of an automated welding assembly of an embodiment of the present disclosure, shown in an advanced position;

[0032] FIG. 1B is a perspective view of an automated welding assembly similar to that shown in FIG. 1A but shown in a retracted position;

[0033] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an ultrasonic rotary horn welder assembly of the automated welding assembly shown in FIG. 1A;

[0034] FIG. 3 is a side view of the ultrasonic rotary horn welder assembly of FIG. 2;

[0035] FIG. 4 is an end view of the ultrasonic rotary horn welder assembly of FIG. 2;

[0036] FIG. 5 is a top view of the ultrasonic rotary horn welder assembly of FIG. 2;

[0037] FIG. 6 is a side view of the ultrasonic rotary horn welder of the ultrasonic rotary horn welder assembly of FIG. 3;

[0038] FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the ultrasonic rotary horn welder of FIG. 6;

[0039] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the bell portion of the ultrasonic rotary horn welder of FIG. 6;

[0040] FIG. 9 is a side view of the bell portion of the ultrasonic rotary horn welder shown FIG. 8;

[0041] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the bell portion of the ultrasonic horn welder shown in FIG. 9;

[0042] FIG. 11 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the rim of the bell portion of the ultrasonic horn welder shown in FIG. 10;

[0043] FIG. 12 is a perspective view of an ultrasonic rotary horn welder assembly of the automated welding assembly similar to that shown in FIG. 2 but also including a gripping mechanism;

[0044] FIG. 13 is a side view of the ultrasonic rotary horn welder assembly of FIG. 12;

[0045] FIG. 14 is an end view of the ultrasonic rotary horn welder assembly of FIG. 12;

[0046] FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a cut slide assembly of the automated welding assembly shown in FIG. 1A;

[0047] FIG. 16 is a flow chart of a process for producing an isolation gown;

[0048] FIG. 17 is a front view of an isolation gown of an embodiment of the present disclosure and showing a thumb loop;

[0049] FIG. 18 is a back view of the isolation gown of FIG. 17;

[0050] FIG. 19 is a front view of the isolation gown of similar to that shown in FIG. 17 but showing a thumb hole and showing the isolation gown in use;

[0051] FIG. 20 is a back view the isolation gown of FIG. 19 in use;

[0052] FIG. 21 is a front view of an isolation gown similar to that shown in FIG. 17 but showing a thumb slit; and

[0053] FIG. 22 is a front view of an isolation gown similar to that shown in FIG. 17 but showing and elastic cuff.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0054] Various embodiments and aspects of the disclosure will be described with reference to details discussed below. The following description and drawings are illustrative of the disclosure and are not to be construed as limiting the disclosure. Numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments of the present disclosure. However, in certain instances, well-known or conventional details are not described in order to provide a concise discussion of embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0055] As used herein, the terms comprises and comprising are to be construed as being inclusive and open ended, and not exclusive. Specifically, when used in the specification and claims, the terms comprises and comprising and variations thereof mean the specified features, steps or components are included. These terms are not to be interpreted to exclude the presence of other features, steps or components.

[0056] As used herein the operably connected or operably attached means that the two elements are connected or attached either directly or indirectly. Accordingly, the items need not be directly connected or attached but may have other items connected or attached therebetween.

[0057] It is to be noted that the specification and claims of the application and the terms first, second and the like in the drawings are used to distinguish similar objects, and do not need to describe a specific sequence or a precedence order. It will be appreciated that data used in such a way may be exchanged under appropriate conditions, in order that the embodiments of the application described here can be implemented in a sequence other than sequences graphically shown or described here. In addition, terms include and have and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, it is not limited for processes, methods, systems, products or devices containing a series of steps or modules or units to clearly list those steps or modules or units, and other steps or modules or units which are not clearly listed or are inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices may be included instead.

[0058] The following examples are presented to enable those skilled in the art to understand and to practice embodiments of the present disclosure. They should not be considered as a limitation on the scope of the disclosure, but merely as being illustrative and representative thereof.

[0059] Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, an automated welding assembly is shown generally at 10. The automated welding assembly 10 includes an anvil table 12, a robot 14 and a cut slide assembly 16. The robot 14 is positioned proximate to the anvil table 12. The robot 14 has a robot arm 18 configured whereby an end of arm tooling is engageable with the anvil table 12. The cut slide assembly 16 is positioned proximate to the anvil table 12.

[0060] The anvil table 12 is a vacuum anvil table. A vacuum plenum 22 and a blower 24 are operably connected to the anvil table 12 thereby providing a vacuum anvil table. The vacuum anvil table 12 helps to keep the material 26 in place during the cutting and welding steps.

[0061] The end of arm tooling is an ultrasonic rotary horn welder assembly 20.

[0062] A roller fixture 28 is operably attached to the anvil table 12. A pair of spaced apart clamp bars 30 are operably connected to the anvil table 12. The spaced apart clamp bars 30 help to hold the material 26 in place.

[0063] In the embodiment shown herein the automated welding assembly 10 is used to make an isolation gown. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the automated welding assembly may be used to make a wide variety of items that are cut and welded.

[0064] In the example herein material 26 is pulled from two rolls forming a two-ply layup of stack of material. The two-ply layup is used for the front and back body and sleeves of the isolation gown. The body and sleeves are welded using the ultrasonic rotary horn welder assembly 20. Once the cutting process is done a pneumatic pick and place with gripper will pick up the cut-out and place it on the exit conveyor (not shown). The exit conveyor may carry the gown out of the cell.

[0065] The automated welding assembly 10 is flexible such that it is reconfigurable and it can be reconfigured such that it has the ability for example to manufacture S, M, L, XL, XXL gown sizes, depending on incoming material sizes.

[0066] Referring to FIGS. 2 to 5, the ultrasonic rotary horn welder assembly 20 includes the ultrasonic rotary horn welder 40 and a laser cutter system 42. The laser cutter system 42 is activatable separately from the ultrasonic rotary horn welder 40. The ultrasonic rotary horn welder assembly may further include mechanical grippers.

[0067] The laser cutter system 42 includes a laser 44 operably connected to a laser beam expander 46 operably connected to a laser optic head 48. The laser cutter system may be a CO.sub.2 laser system or a ULR-70 laser system.

[0068] The ultrasonic rotary horn welder assembly 20 includes an attachment fixture 50 for attaching it to the robotic arm 18. The ultrasonic rotary horn welder assembly 20 can be arranged such that ultrasonic rotary horn welder 40 and the laser cutter system 42 are moveable relative to each other so that they can engage the work piece independently or generally concurrently. The ultrasonic rotary horn welder assembly 20 includes a sliding carriage 52 operably connected to ultrasonic rotary horn welder 40. The sliding carriage 52 is operably connected to a vertical contact dampener 54 and a floating joint 56 as best seen in FIG. 14.

[0069] An alternate ultrasonic rotary horn welder assembly 20 is shown in FIGS. 12 to 14 which further includes a gripper mechanism 60. The gripper mechanism 60 includes a pair of grippers 62 operably connected to a sliding actuator 64.

[0070] Referring to FIGS. 6 to 11, the ultrasonic rotary horn welder 40 includes a rotatable housing 70, an electrical slip ring 72, a converter 74, a booster 76 and a welding horn 78. The ultrasonic rotary welder is operably attached to a power supply. The electrical slip ring 72 is operably connected to the power supply and is mounted in the rotatable housing 70. The converter 74 is operably connected to the electrical slip ring 72. The converter 74 is for producing ultrasonic vibrations from the power supply. The booster 76 is operably connected to the converter and is for amplifying the ultrasonic vibrations. The welding horn 78 is operably connected to the booster 76. The welding horn 78 is for transmitting the ultrasonic vibrations to a workpiece.

[0071] The rotatable housing 70 includes an outer bearing housing 80, an inner bearing cylinder 82 and bearings 84 therebetween. The rotatable housing 70 includes an air-cooling slip ring 86 around the outside thereof.

[0072] The welding horn 78 has a connector portion 90 and a bell portion 92 extending outwardly therefrom. The bell portion 92 has a circular rim 94.

[0073] The circular rim 94 may have a plurality of ridges 96 formed therein to produce a seam having multiple welds. Each weld corresponds to a ridge 96.

[0074] The bell portion 92 has an inner profile 97 that extends inwardly with a bell shaped curve. The inner profile 97 may further include a cylindrical portion 98 extending inwardly at the center portion of the bell shaped curve and the cylindrical portion ending in a point. The bell portion 92 may have an outer profile that curves inwardly and then curves outwardly to connect with the connector portion.

[0075] The cut slide assembly 16 is for use with a cutting table 12 and a robot 14 used for cutting. The cut slide assembly 16 includes a cut slide support 100, a retractable plate 102 and an actuator 104. Referring to FIG. 15, the retractable plate 102 is operably connected to the cut slide support 100. The retractable plate 102 is moveable between an advanced position (shown in FIG. 1A) and a retracted position over the cutting table (shown in FIG. 1B). The actuator 104 is operably connected to the retractable plate 102 for moving the plate from the advanced position to the retracted position.

[0076] The cut slide support 100 includes a stand 106 connected to a carriage arm 108. The carriage arm 108 has linear rails 110 and a guide fixture 112 operably attached thereto. The retractable plate 102 moves from the advanced position to the retracted position within the guide fixture 112. The cut slide support 100 may further include a shock absorber 114 operably attached to the carriage arm 108. The actuator may be a pneumatic actuator.

[0077] The cut slide assembly 16 is deployed when the user wants cut through only one layer of fabric. When a user wants to cut through only one layer of the retractable plate 102 is moved from the retracted position to the advanced position. In the advanced position the retractable plate is deployed with the material to be cut on top of the plate and the material not to be cut is under the retractable plate 102.

[0078] The process for manufacturing an isolation gown is shown generally at 200 in FIG. 16. The process includes the steps of: providing gown material 202; holding two layers of the gown material in place 204; welding 206 the front gown panel to the back gown panel along a top edge, a right side edge and a left side edge to create a top right seam, a top left seam, a right side seam and a left side seam respectively; cutting the two layers of the gown material into a gown having a front gown panel and a back gown panel; and cutting 208 the back gown panel into a left back gown panel and a right back gown panel to create the isolation gown.

[0079] The welding step 206 and the cutting steps 208 may be done generally concurrently.

[0080] The process may further include the step of cutting a pair of neck ties into the back left panel and the right back panel respectively 210. The process may further include the step of cutting a pair of waist ties into the back left panel and the right back panel respectively 212.

[0081] The process may further include the step of providing a cuff treatment 214 being one of cutting a thumb hole, cutting a thumb loop, cutting a thumb slit and providing an elastic cuff formed in each of a left arm and a right arm respectively.

[0082] The process may further include the step of removing 216 the isolation gown and indexing 218 the gown material and repeating the steps to create another isolation gown.

[0083] Referring to FIGS. 17 to 22 an isolation gown is shown at 400 by way of example. The isolation gown 400 includes a front gown panel 402, a left back gown panel 404 and a right back gown panel 406. The front gown panel 402 has a front body portion 408, a front left arm portion 410, a front right arm portion 412, a front neck edge 414, a front top edge 416, a front right side edge 418 along the front body portion and the front right arm portion and a front left side edge 420 along the front body portion and the front left arm portion. The left back gown panel 404 has a back left body portion 422, a back left arm portion 424, a back left top edge 426, a back left neck edge 428 and a back left side edge 430 along the back left body portion and the back left arm portion. The right back gown panel 406 has a back right body portion 432, a back right arm portion 434, a back right top edge 436 and a back right neck edge 438 and a back right side edge 440 along the back right body portion and back right arm portion. A top left side seam and a left side seam connect the front gown panel and the left back gown panel. A top right side seam and a right side seam connecting the front gown panel and the right back gown panel. The top left side seam, the left side seam, the top left seam and the right side seam are each triple weld seams.

[0084] Each triple weld seam is a continuous weld.

[0085] The continuous weld is proximate to the front top edge, the front right side edge and the front left side edge.

[0086] The front left arm portion 410 and the front right arm portion 412 is an integral portion of the front gown panel 402, the back left arm portion 424 is an integral portion of the left back gown panel 404 and the back right arm portion 434 is an integral portion of the right back gown panel 406.

[0087] A pair of neck ties 442 are integrally attached to the right back gown panel 406 and left back gown panel 404 respectively. A pair of waist ties 444 may be integrally attached to the right back gown panel and left back gown panel respectively.

[0088] The isolation gown may include one of a thumb hole 446, a thumb loop 448, a thumb slit 450 and an elastic cuff 452 formed in each of left arm and a right arm respectively.

[0089] The specific embodiments described above have been shown by way of example, and it should be understood that these embodiments may be susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms. It should be further understood that the claims are not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed, but rather to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of this disclosure.