Patent ID: 7982162
Filing Date: 2011-07-19
Classification: B23K,C03B,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A method of separating a sheet of brittle material comprising: providing a sheet of brittle material, the sheet of brittle material comprising a thickness; forming an elongated radiation zone on the sheet of brittle material; forming a cooling zone on the sheet of brittle material by impinging a coolant fluid onto the sheet of brittle material, wherein the cooling zone intersects the radiation zone such that the elongated radiation zone simultaneously forms a scoring portion and a separating portion; producing relative motion between the sheet of brittle material and the intersecting radiation and cooling zones, thereby heating the sheet of brittle material with the scoring portion and cooling the heated sheet of brittle material with the cooling zone to form a crack that only partially traverses the thickness of the sheet of brittle material; reheating the cooled sheet of brittle material with the separating portion of the radiation zone; and wherein the reheating with the separating portion of the radiation zone causes the crack to extend completely through the thickness of the sheet of brittle material, thereby separating the sheet of brittle material.