US5637175A — Apparatus for forming an integral object from lam…

Claim 1

Independent Claim 136 words

A method of converting sheet material into a three-dimensional object comprised of a plurality of slices, including the steps of: positioning a layer of said sheet material over a work station; bonding said layer to an adjacent layer of sheet material to result in a bonded layer using a bonding tool movably mounted over the work station; forming a slice in said layer using a forming tool movably mounted over the work station, portions of said layer not defining part of said slice being unwanted; and forming lines in said unwanted portions with said forming tool to facilitate removal of said unwanted portions after said three-dimensional object is formed, said lines in said unwanted portions closer to the edges of said slice being spaced closer together than the lines farther from the edges of said slice.

Claim 2

Independent Claim 136 words

A method of converting sheet material into a three-dimensional object comprised of a plurality of slices, including the steps of: positioning a layer of said sheet material over a work station; bonding said layer to an adjacent layer of sheet material to result in a bonded layer using a bonding tool movably mounted over the work station; forming a slice in said layer using a forming tool movably mounted over the work station, portions of said layer not defining part of said slice being unwanted; and forming lines in said unwanted portions with said forming tool to facilitate removal of said unwanted portions after said three-dimensional object is formed, said lines in said unwanted portions closer to the edges of said slice being spaced closer together than the lines farther from the edges of said slice.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 33 words

The method of claim 1, wherein said step of forming said lines in said unwanted portions comprises forming a cross-hatched pattern in said unwanted portions with at least some of said lines intersecting.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 39 words

The method of claim 2, wherein said step of forming the cross-hatched pattern comprises forming the pattern to be more dense closer to the edges of said slice than the cross-hatched pattern farther from the edges of said slice.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 39 words

The method of claim 2, wherein said step of forming said slice comprises defining an inner edge of said slice surrounding an interior unwanted portion and defining an outer edge of said slice surrounded by an exterior unwanted portion.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 25 words

The method of claim 4, wherein said step of forming said cross-hatched pattern comprises forming said pattern in both said interior and exterior unwanted portions.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 47 words

The method of claim 4, wherein said step of forming said cross-hatched pattern comprises forming said pattern in only said exterior unwanted portion, and the method further comprises removing said interior unwanted portion prior to positioning a subsequent layer of said sheet material over the work station.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 31 words

The method of claim 6, wherein said forming tool is a laser and said step of removing said interior unwanted portion comprises burning away said interior unwanted portion with said laser.

Claim 9

Independent Claim 130 words

A method of converting layers of material into a three-dimensional object comprised of a plurality of slices of said material, including the steps of: positioning a layer of said sheet material over a work station on which a plurality of layers have been previously positioned and bonded together to form a stack; bonding said layer to said stack; defining edges of a slice in said layer bonded to said stack using a forming tool movably mounted over the work station, portions of said layer not defining part of said slice being unwanted; and heating only said unwanted portions of said layer sufficiently to weaken the bonds between the unwanted portions and an adjacent layer in said stack to facilitate removal of said unwanted portions after said three-dimensional object is formed.

Claim 10

Independent Claim 130 words

A method of converting layers of material into a three-dimensional object comprised of a plurality of slices of said material, including the steps of: positioning a layer of said sheet material over a work station on which a plurality of layers have been previously positioned and bonded together to form a stack; bonding said layer to said stack; defining edges of a slice in said layer bonded to said stack using a forming tool movably mounted over the work station, portions of said layer not defining part of said slice being unwanted; and heating only said unwanted portions of said layer sufficiently to weaken the bonds between the unwanted portions and an adjacent layer in said stack to facilitate removal of said unwanted portions after said three-dimensional object is formed.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 50 words

The method of claim 8, further including the step of: forming a cross-hatched pattern in said unwanted portions with said forming tool so that at least some of said lines intersect other lines in said unwanted portions to facilitate removal of said unwanted portions after said three-dimensional object is formed.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 22 words

The method of claim 8, wherein said step of heating is performed by said forming tool which applies energy to said layer.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 32 words

The method of claim 10, wherein said step of bonding is performed by a forming tool which applies energy to activate heat-sensitive adhesive on said layer to bond it to said stack.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 38 words

The method of claim 10, wherein said step of bonding is performed by a bonding tool which moves relative to said work station and applies force to said stack to bond adjacent layers of material to each other.

Claim 15

Independent Claim 113 words

A method of converting layers of material into a three-dimensional object comprised of a plurality of slices of said material, including the steps of: positioning a layer of said sheet material over a work station on which a plurality of layers have been previously positioned and bonded together to form a stack; bonding said layer to said stack; defining edges of a slice in said layer bonded to said stack using a forming tool movably mounted over the work station, portions of said layer not defining part of said slice being unwanted; and burning said unwanted portions to form an indentation and prevent unwanted portions in subsequent layers from bonding to said stack.

Claim 16

Independent Claim 113 words

A method of converting layers of material into a three-dimensional object comprised of a plurality of slices of said material, including the steps of: positioning a layer of said sheet material over a work station on which a plurality of layers have been previously positioned and bonded together to form a stack; bonding said layer to said stack; defining edges of a slice in said layer bonded to said stack using a forming tool movably mounted over the work station, portions of said layer not defining part of said slice being unwanted; and burning said unwanted portions to form an indentation and prevent unwanted portions in subsequent layers from bonding to said stack.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 22 words

The method of claim 13, wherein said step of burning is performed by said forming tool which applies energy to said layer.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 32 words

The method of claim 14, wherein said step of bonding is performed by said forming tool which applies energy to activate heat-sensitive adhesive on said layer to bond it to said stack.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 35 words

The method of claim 14, wherein said step of bonding is performed by a bonding tool which moves relative to said work stage and applies force to bond adjacent layers of material to each other.

Claim 20

Independent Claim 129 words

A method of converting layers of sheet material into a three-dimensional object comprised of a plurality of slices of said material, including the steps of: defining a slice in a layer of said sheet material; positioning said layer of said sheet material over a work station on which a plurality of layers have been previously positioned and bonded together to form a stack; weakly bonding said layer to said stack; strongly bonding regions of said layer of said sheet material forming said slice to said stack using a forming tool movably mounted over said work station, without strongly bonding portions of said layer not defining part of said slice to said stack to facilitate removal of said portions; and disconnecting said slice from said layer using said forming tool.

Claim 21

Independent Claim 129 words

A method of converting layers of sheet material into a three-dimensional object comprised of a plurality of slices of said material, including the steps of: defining a slice in a layer of said sheet material; positioning said layer of said sheet material over a work station on which a plurality of layers have been previously positioned and bonded together to form a stack; weakly bonding said layer to said stack; strongly bonding regions of said layer of said sheet material forming said slice to said stack using a forming tool movably mounted over said work station, without strongly bonding portions of said layer not defining part of said slice to said stack to facilitate removal of said portions; and disconnecting said slice from said layer using said forming tool.

Claim 22

Dependent Claim 35 words

The method of claim 17, wherein said step of weakly bonding is performed by a roller which moves relative to said work stage and applies force to bond adjacent layers of material to each other.

Claim 23

Dependent Claim 23 words

The method of claim 18, wherein said step of strongly bonding is performed by said forming tool which applies energy to said layer.

Claim 24

Dependent Claim 23 words

The method of claim 19, wherein said step of disconnecting is performed by said forming tool which applies focussed energy to said layer.

Claim 25

Dependent Claim 128 words

A laminated object manufacturing system for forming material into a three-dimensional object comprised of a plurality of layers of said material, comprising: a handling mechanism for supplying the material to a work stage, the work stage adapted to position said material; a forming tool mounted to move relative to said work stage to form said layers from the material; a bonding tool mounted to move relative to said work stage to apply force and bond adjacent layers of material to each other, a sensor mounted to sense the force applied by said bonding tool to the material during bonding of said adjacent layers; and a controller which regulates the relative position of said bonding tool and said work stage in accordance with the force sensed by said sensor.

Claim 26

Dependent Claim 128 words

A laminated object manufacturing system for forming material into a three-dimensional object comprised of a plurality of layers of said material, comprising: a handling mechanism for supplying the material to a work stage, the work stage adapted to position said material; a forming tool mounted to move relative to said work stage to form said layers from the material; a bonding tool mounted to move relative to said work stage to apply force and bond adjacent layers of material to each other, a sensor mounted to sense the force applied by said bonding tool to the material during bonding of said adjacent layers; and a controller which regulates the relative position of said bonding tool and said work stage in accordance with the force sensed by said sensor.

Claim 27

Dependent Claim 26 words

The system of claim 21, wherein said work stage defines a work surface, and said bonding tool is a roller mounted to move across said surface.

Claim 28

Dependent Claim 44 words

The system of claim 22, wherein said work surface is generally flat, and said one of said roller and said work stage is movable with respect to the other so as to displace said roller in a first direction parallel to said work surface.

Claim 29

Dependent Claim 45 words

The system of claim 23, wherein said work stage is positionable in a second direction generally perpendicular to said work surface, wherein said controller regulates the relative positions of said roller and said work stage in the second direction thereby regulating said bonding force therebetween.

Claim 30

Dependent Claim 14 words

The system of claim 22, wherein said material is a sheet pre-coated with adhesive.

Claim 31

Dependent Claim 20 words

The system of claim 25, wherein said material is a sheet pre-coated with heat-sensitive adhesive and said roller is heated.

Claim 32

Dependent Claim 41 words

The system of claim 21, wherein said material is a sheet and said handling mechanism comprises a supply roller and a receiving roller disposed on opposite sides of said work stage and adapted to deliver said sheet across said work stage.

Claim 33

Dependent Claim 38 words

The system of claim 21, wherein said material is powder and said handling mechanism comprises a container for said powder and a movable carriage supporting said work stage and adapted to position said work stage under said container.

Claim 34

Dependent Claim 29 words

The system of claim 21, wherein said forming tool is a laser mounted above said work stage to apply a laser beam to said material to form said layers.

Claim 35

Dependent Claim 143 words

A laminated object manufacturing system for forming material into a three-dimensional object comprised of a stack of slices of the material, comprising: a work stage adapted to position said stack; a handling mechanism for supplying incremental layers of material to the work stage; a forming tool mounted to move relative to said work stage to shape said slices from said incremental layers of material; a sensor mounted to sense the height of said stack on said work stage; and a controller which receives input from said sensor and divides the height of the stack by the number of layers previously placed on said stack to obtain an average layer height and predict the height of the next layer, and outputs information to said forming tool regarding the shape of the next slice based on the stack height and a predicted next layer height.

Claim 36

Dependent Claim 143 words

A laminated object manufacturing system for forming material into a three-dimensional object comprised of a stack of slices of the material, comprising: a work stage adapted to position said stack; a handling mechanism for supplying incremental layers of material to the work stage; a forming tool mounted to move relative to said work stage to shape said slices from said incremental layers of material; a sensor mounted to sense the height of said stack on said work stage; and a controller which receives input from said sensor and divides the height of the stack by the number of layers previously placed on said stack to obtain an average layer height and predict the height of the next layer, and outputs information to said forming tool regarding the shape of the next slice based on the stack height and a predicted next layer height.

Claim 37

Dependent Claim 65 words

The system of claim 30, wherein said material is a sheet and said handling mechanism comprises a supply roller and a receiving roller disposed on opposite sides of said work stage and adapted to deliver said sheet across said work stage, and said forming tool is a laser mounted above said work stage to apply a laser beam to said sheet to form said slices.

Claim 38

Dependent Claim 29 words

The system of claim 30, including a bonding tool mounted to move relative to said work stage to apply force and bond adjacent layers of material to each other.

Claim 39

Dependent Claim 42 words

The system of claim 32, wherein said sensor is a force sensor mounted to support said bonding tool so as to sense a load between said bonding tool and said stack, said controller receiving said load and calculating the stack height therefrom.

Claim 40

Dependent Claim 47 words

The system of claim 32, wherein said work stage is adapted to position said stack relative to said bonding tool and said controller is connected to adjust the relative height between said stack and said bonding tool to ensure proper bonding based on the stack height measurement.

Claim 41

Dependent Claim 18 words

The system of claim 32, wherein said bonding tool and said sensor are mounted on a common frame.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	2000-06-09	2000-12-09	2001-06-10	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	2004-06-09	2004-12-09	2005-06-10	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2008-06-09	2008-12-09	2009-06-10	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Apparatus for forming an integral object from laminations

Abstract

Inventors

Bibliographic Details

Claims Analysis

References Cited (Backward Citations)

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Assigned Categories & Tags

Assign Category Tag