Adhesive bonding is employed in numerous applications. For example, surfaces of members of articles of manufacture such as automotive vehicles (e.g., cars, busses etc.) and aerospace vehicles (e.g., airplanes) are often adhesively bonded together in the assembly and manufacture of those vehicles. Moreover, surfaces of various different materials such as metal, glass, polymeric materials or the like are adhesively bonded to each other in the assembly and manufacture of vehicles such as those just mentioned or in the assembly and manufacture of various other articles. Examples of adhesive bonding are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,128,373; 6,997,515; 6,984,287; 6,739,673; 6,739,302; 6,688,700; 6,543,404; 6,491,346, all of which are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
While adhesive bonding has been employed for many years, current techniques of adhesive bonding still present many drawbacks. As one example, curing times for many adhesive may be undesirably slow. As another example, the desired timing for curing of an adhesive during the assembly or manufacture of an article of manufacture may not coincide with the desired timing for application of the adhesive. As yet another example, the ability of an adhesive to securely bond to a surface can be limited. As still another example, conventional sources of heat and or energy needed for curing adhesives can be undesirable and/or inconvenient in a variety of manufacturing environments.
Accordingly, there is a need in the industry for methods and techniques, which overcome one or more of the aforementioned drawbacks of adhesive bonding or other drawbacks as will become apparent for the description of the invention.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds