Abstract:
Interlocking bonding surfaces for use with bonding agents are disclosed having unique lock and key geometries that may be matched to each other in one or more ways. One part may have holes in a specific configuration while the matched part has protrusions or alternatively, one part may have both protrusions and holes that interlock with those of the other matching part. Such configurations provide a one way fit between parts in addition to providing authentication and control of specific components.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This non-provisional application claims benefit of the provisional application filed on Feb. 1, 2006 having U.S. application number 60/764,089. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    This invention relates to bonding surfaces together with bonding agents. More particularly this invention relates to bonding surfaces having unique geometries providing one way fit characteristics along with numerous possible configurations. The bonding surfaces of this invention provide a large number of combinations based on protrusion and space interlocking geometries. Numerous combinations are provided by the matching location of protrusions and spaces/holes on the individual bonding surfaces themselves. The large number of matched bonding surface combinations of this invention provides the benefit of part verification, authentication of origin, tamper evident constructions, and anti-counterfeit protection. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    There are numerous methods that may be employed to bond two surfaces together. 
         [0006]    These methods may employ one or more of the following basic principles. Mechanical interlocking, surface adhesion, and the welding. 
         [0007]    A good description of bonding can be found in the background portion of U.S. Pat. No. 6,692,813 titled “Multilayered Spherical Bonding Construction and awarded to Allen H Elder. 
         [0008]    This description provides a general summary of bonding and helps to illustrate bond strength advantages associated with mechanical interlocking. In particular, Allen Elder&#39;s invention employs bonding substrates having one or more layers of surface particulates that are part of the substrate itself and are in phase with the substrate. These substrates may be used to form strong interlocking bonds with bonding agents. 
         [0009]    Bonding agents are materials that may be used to afford a bond between two or more substrates. Bonding agents may be chosen from a wide variety of materials. Many bonding agents are applied as liquids that later harden into a solid mass. Liquid bonding agents serve to initially wet out bonding surfaces and later harden thereby holding the surfaces together. 
         [0010]    The following bonding mechanisms are described about in U.S. Pat. No. 6,692,813. 
         [0011]    1. Surface adhesion. 
         [0012]    2. Mechanical anchorage. 
         [0013]    3. welding 
         [0014]    Surface adhesion may rely on chemical bonding and molecular attraction between a bonding agent and substrate. The substrate surface to be bonded may form chemical bonds such as ionic and/or covalent to the bonding agent. Polar forces between substrate and bonding agent molecules may provide surface adhesion as well. These forces may include hydrogen bonding, polarities induced by electric charges and/or electronegative atoms. In summary, surface adhesion generally relies on molecular attractive forces between the bonding agent and substrate surface. Intermingling of substrate molecules and the molecules in the bonding agent may also occur. This intermingling of molecules is the basis of welding and may result in very strong bonds. It should be noted that in the case of welding metals that individual atoms may be involved in the bonding process. 
         [0015]    The process of welding intermingles the bonding agent (welding rod material or even the substrate material itself) and substrate (surface of the object to be welded). Since the material being welded is often similar or even identical to the substrate material, a good strong bond occurs. Metal bonding can generally be summarized as the mutual sharing of loose valence electrons between atoms such that they all may share these loose electrons and the loose valence electrons may freely travel from one atom to the next. Loose valence electrons found in many metals contribute metallic properties such as electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, metallic luster, and malleability. 
         [0016]    In the case of welding metals, mutually shared electrons form a continuous mass throughout the welded part. Welding therefore has characteristics of surface adhesion by way of chemical bonding and mechanical anchorage by way of commingling of weld and substrate. 
         [0017]    In the case of welding plastics, commingling may occur between the substrate and bonding agent. Like the welding of metals the bonding agent may be either added or come from the substrate itself. Solvents may be employed that dissolve the polymer or polymers making up the substrates to be joined and therefore allow the molecules of one substrate to dissolve into the solvent and commingle with the molecules in the solvent that dissolved molecules from the other substrate. In this way, entanglement of polymer chains may occur as well as molecular attraction between adjacent polymeric chains. The solvent may then evaporate if exposed to the air or alternatively migrate into the polymer mass to slowly evaporate later. 
         [0018]    The above described bonding mechanisms may not be exclusive of one another but rather may occur together to some extent at the same time. 
         [0019]    The above descriptions outline general bonding theory. Bonding mechanisms are well known art and therefore a detailed description need not be given here. 
         [0020]    The bonding of two substrates together with one or more bonding agents can be achieved in numerous ways. Aspects of bonding involving the controlled fit between two or more parts can be achieved by controlling the geometry of part substrates. In particular, it may be desirable to provide part geometries in bonding areas allowing for parts to be joined in only one possible configuration. Such part geometries may help to assure correct part placement prior to bonding them together with a bonding agent. It should be noted that some parts will only fit one way with each other anyway and in these instances modification of part design for one way assembly provides little if any benefit. 
         [0021]    Joining two or more parts together with a bonding agent involves not only the strength of the bond but may also depend on proper placement and alignment of parts. Interlocking parts provide a way of achieving a compact one way fit between two or more parts. Furthermore, many interlocking part geometries may be used with bonding agents to achieve this end. This may result in a strong compact bond having a one way fit. Examples of this include various joints used in woodworking such as dovetail and tongue and groove. 
         [0022]    As mentioned earlier, bonding agents may be employed to join two or more parts together. The strength of the bond depends on both the substrate and the bonding agent. Substrates employing interlocking surface geometries may benefit from improved bond strength afforded by mechanical anchorage. Furthermore, specific substrate bonding geometries may be employed to provide a secure one way fit between two or more parts. 
         [0023]    In addition to bonding substrates together, bonding agents may be used to seal various objects. When objects are placed within the volume of a sealant such as a bonding agent they may be said to be embedded. Embedding articles within bonding agents and/or other sealants may help to protect them from environmental stresses such as moisture, heat, and vibration. 
         [0024]    Certain articles may be embedded within other articles for various purposes such as identification, anti-theft, and anti-counterfeit protection. The use of anti-theft protection is becoming more widespread throughout the retail industry. Small circuits having a tuned frequency response may be placed into consumer goods located in retail stores. A powerful electromagnet may then be used at the point of sale to induce a strong current in the circuit to burn it out and thus render it inoperable. The burned out circuit can then pass through a sensor without setting off the alarm. If however a functioning circuit passes by the sensor, the alarm activates indicating possible theft. These embedded circuits can be made low enough in cost to provide an overall savings to the retailer by reducing theft. 
         [0025]    Counterfeit products are commonly sold to consumers. These counterfeit products may be labeled as originals and sold to unsuspecting consumers. This may result in reduced sales of legitimate products and may even add to product liability from the use of the inferior counterfeit product. 
         [0026]    Numerous methods may be employed to help prevent the counterfeiting and forgery of commercial items. For example, holographic images are being increasingly used to deter counterfeiting and forgery. Holographic stickers are often applied to credit cards to reduce counterfeiting and forgery. Holographic images are images having optical depth and/or refractive color properties resulting from small grooves producing diffraction effects with light. Since an optical copy of a holographic image does not refract light, it is easy to distinguish from the original. Holographic image stickers may be designed to fall apart if tampered with to prevent them from being transferred to other items. In addition it is common practice to place these stickers over the raised numbers of a credit card to further discourage their transfer. Unfortunately, holograms are plentiful and there are so many different credit cards out there, placing any hologram on a counterfeit credit card would fool many individuals. Furthermore, holograms can be copied by casting polymers over the original embossed image. 
         [0027]    One particularly interesting approach to employing holographic images for producing counterfeit resistant items is outlined in U.S. Pat. No. 5,624,076 awarded to Richard G, Miekka and others titled “Process for making embossed metallic leafing pigments” This particular patent outlines a process for preparing metal leafing pigments having surface embossment. The surface embossment may take the form of a diffraction image pattern such as a diffraction grating or hologram. The process involves expensive metallization equipment and therefore would be expensive to reproduce. The result is finely divided thin metal film particles having micro-embossment on at least one surface. 
         [0028]    These embossed leafing pigments have unique optical properties that are visible to the naked eye and can be further analyzed by optical magnification. 
         [0029]    One interesting property of these thin metallic embossed leafing pigments is the fact that the embossment remains on the pigment particles despite their exceedingly small thickness of only a few hundred angstroms. About 100 atoms thick for aluminum. 
         [0030]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,672,410 awarded to Richard G, Miekka and others titled “Embossed Metallic Leafing Pigments” gives a detailed description of the leafing pigments themselves. U.S. Pat. No. 6,068,691 awarded to Richard G, Miekka and others titled “Process for making machine readable images” employs embossed metallic leafing pigments having a machine readable pattern such as micro-embossed bar codes. Despite advancements in anti-counterfeit technologies, there is a growing need in the industry to control the proliferation of fraudulent items. In addition, there is a need in certain industries such as the vehicle industry to control interchangeability of parts. For example, many automotive companies are offering extended warranties. It would be desirable for these companies to keep track of accidents and/or other events that require replacement of parts. In addition it would be desirable for consumers to reduce the likelihood of vehicle theft. A significant portion of vehicle theft occurs because the thieves want the parts of the vehicles themselves. Often when a car is stolen it is taken to a “chop shop” (an illegal operation of dismantling stolen cars for their parts). This is often carried out for one or more of the following reasons: 
         [0031]    1. The value of the parts often exceeds the value of the car. 
         [0032]    2. Individual parts are smaller and therefore easier to conceal. 
         [0033]    3. Registration and vehicle identification numbers make stolen cars difficult to sell. 
         [0034]    In addition, certain aftermarket parts such as specialty wheels attract thieves. Modifications to a vehicle and custom fit of specialty components that will only fit on that individual vehicle may significantly reduce the temptation of thieves. 
         [0035]    The assembly of vehicles having parts that will only fit back on the original would significantly deter theft and may provide a way for vehicle manufacturing companies to avoid warranty fraud. 
         [0036]    Furthermore, is such parts are stolen, their unique geometry may be used as a sort of fingerprint for positive identification by investigating authorities. 
         [0037]    It is an object of this invention to provide bonding surfaces suitable for forming strong bonds with bonding agents. 
         [0038]    It is a further object of this invention to provide bonding surfaces that can be used to provide a one way fit. 
         [0039]    It is a further object of this invention to provide bonding surfaces suitable for part verification at a later date. 
         [0040]    It is a further object of this invention to provide a means of producing tamper evident constructions. 
         [0041]    It is a further object of this invention to provide a way of deterring theft. 
         [0042]    It is a further object of this invention to provide a way of controlling individual parts by individual manufacturers. 
         [0043]    Finally it is an object of this invention to provide anti-counterfeit protection to consumer articles and the like. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0044]    This invention therefore proposes bonding surfaces having unique geometries that may only be bonded to other matching surfaces. This method of bonding may employ matching holes and protrusions to provide a lock and key fit. A large number of unique lock and key combinations are possible based on binary math. 
         [0045]    Various methods may be employed to prepare these bonding surfaces including casting and molding operations, machining, and forming operations. 
         [0046]    The bonding substrates may be made from any number of materials including preformed composite components, metal parts and pieces, plastics, rubber, glass, and ceramics. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0047]      FIG. 1  shows a cross sectional view of two beaded surfaces facing each other with interposing surface bonding geometry having regular equal spacing. 
           [0048]      FIG. 2  shows a cross sectional view of two beaded surfaces interposed with a closed cell foam bonding agent. 
           [0049]      FIG. 3  shows a cross sectional view of one surface having protrusions facing another surface having matching holes at regular repeated intervals. 
           [0050]      FIG. 4  shows a cross sectional view of one beaded surface facing another surface having matching holes at regular repeated intervals bonded together with a bonding agent. 
           [0051]      FIG. 5  shows a cross sectional view of two matched surfaces having protrusions and holes spaced at regular intervals. 
           [0052]      FIG. 6  shows a cross sectional view of two matched surfaces having protrusions and holes spaced at regular intervals bonded together with a bonding agent. 
           [0053]      FIG. 7  shows a cross sectional view of two beaded surfaces having a lock and key pattern of protrusions facing each other. 
           [0054]      FIG. 8  shows a cross sectional view of two beaded surfaces having a lock and key pattern of protrusions bonded together with a bonding agent. 
           [0055]      FIG. 9  shows a cross sectional view of one bonding surface having a lock and key pattern of protrusions facing a bonding surface having matched holes. 
           [0056]      FIG. 10  shows a cross sectional view of one bonding surface having a lock and key pattern of protrusions bonded to a bonding surface having matched holes. 
           [0057]      FIG. 11  shows a cross sectional view of two matched bonding surfaces facing each other having a lock and key pattern of matched protrusions and holes. 
           [0058]      FIG. 12  shows a cross sectional view of two matched bonding surfaces having a lock and key pattern of matched protrusions and holes bonded together with a bonding agent. 
           [0059]      FIG. 13  shows a cross sectional view of one bonding surface having a lock and key pattern of protrusions facing a bonding surface having matched holes having interlocking properties. 
           [0060]      FIG. 14  shows a cross sectional view of one bonding surface having a lock and key pattern of protrusions bonded to a bonding surface having matched holes having interlocking properties. 
           [0061]      FIG. 15  shows the top surface of a bonding construction having protrusions suitable for lock and key registration and/or verification with a matching surface. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0062]      FIG. 1  shows two surfaces having protrusions facing each other with interposing surface bonding geometry. This particular geometry is suitable for numerous bonding applications. Top laminate portion  2  is shown having protrusions  4  extending in an outward direction from bottom surface portion  6  of top laminate portion  2 . Also shown is bottom laminate portion  8 . Bottom laminate  8  is shown having protrusions  10  extending in an outward direction from top portion  12  of bottom laminate  8 . 
         [0063]      FIG. 2  shows a sectional view of two surfaces having protrusions interposed with a bonding agent. Such bonding agents include polymers such as epoxy and polyester as well as other materials including closed cell foam. Bonded construction  14  is shown having top laminate portion  16  having protrusions  18  extending in an outward direction from bottom surface  20  of top beaded laminate portion  16 . Also shown is bottom laminate portion  22  having protrusions  24  extending in an outward direction from top surface  26  of bottom laminate portion  22 . Protrusions  18  of top laminate portion  16  are spaced equally with the same spacing as protrusions  24  of bottom laminate portion  22 . Bonding agent  28  is also shown and fills in space  30  between top laminate portion  16  and bottom laminate portion  22 . 
         [0064]      FIG. 3  shows a cross sectional view of one surface having protrusions facing another surface having matching holes at regular intervals. This particular geometry is suitable for surface bonding and may be used for other bonding applications as well. Top laminate construction  32  is shown having protrusions  34  extending in an outward direction from bottom surface portion  36  of top laminate construction  32 . Also shown is bottom laminate construction  38 . Bottom laminate construction  38  is shown having holes  40  in top portion  42  of bottom laminate construction  38 . 
         [0065]    The regular spacing of protrusions on top laminate construction  32  and of holes in bottom laminate construction  38  may be used to produce good bonding but may not offer the benefit of one way fit. Additionally such a regular repeating pattern may not provide benefits associated with part verification and anti-counterfeit protection. 
         [0066]      FIG. 4  shows a cross sectional view of one surface having protrusions facing another surface having matching holes at regular repeated intervals bonded together with a bonding agent. Bonded laminate construction  44  is shown having top laminate portion  46  having protrusions  48  extending in an outward direction from bottom surface  50  of top laminate portion  46  in a regular pattern. Also shown is bottom laminate portion  52  having holes  54  in matching configuration with protrusions  48  of top laminate portion  46 . Also shown is bonding agent  56 . Bonding agent  56  fills in space  58  between top laminate portion  46  and bottom laminate portion  52 . 
         [0067]      FIG. 5  shows a cross sectional view of two matched surfaces having protrusions and holes spaced at regular intervals. Top laminate construction  60  is shown having protrusions  62  extending in an outward direction from bottom surface  64  of top laminate construction  60 . Also shown is hole  68 . Hole  68  is a blind hole (does not go all of the way through) and originates on bottom surface  66  of top laminate construction  60 . Also shown is bottom laminate construction  70  having holes  72  drilled into top portion  74  and protrusion  76 . 
         [0068]      FIG. 6  shows a cross sectional view of two matched surfaces having protrusions and holes spaced at regular intervals bonded together with a bonding agent. Bonded laminate construction  78  is shown having top laminate portion  80  having protrusions  82  extending in an outward direction from bottom surface  84  of top laminate portion  80  in a regular pattern. Also shown is hole  86  in top laminate portion  80 . Bottom laminate portion  88  is shown having holes  90  in matching configuration with protrusions  82  of top laminate portion  80 . Protrusion  92  is also shown extending in an outward direction from top surface portion  94  of bottom laminate portion  88 . Also shown is bonding agent  96 . Bonding agent  96  fills in space  98  between top laminate portion  80  and bottom laminate portion  88 . 
         [0069]      FIG. 7  shows a cross sectional view of two surfaces having a matched pattern of protrusions that fit together like a lock and key. Matched construction  100  is shown having top portion  102  and bottom portion  104 . Also shown is the bottom surface  106  of top portion  102 . Top surface portion  108  of bottom portion  104  is also shown. protrusions  110  are shown extending in an outward direction from surface  106  in matching opposing geometry to protrusions  112  extending in an outward direction from surface  108 . 
         [0070]    The matched pattern of beads fixedly attached and/or part of the surface provides a matched lock and key mechanism that may be configured to fit one way and one way only. In addition such a matched lock and key configuration may have numerous possible combinations. This system may therefore be used for individual part verification. Specific lock and key matched surface geometries may be particularly useful for the parts of vehicles such as automobiles. 
         [0071]      FIG. 8  shows a sectional view of two bonded surfaces having a matched pattern that fit together like a lock and key. Bonded construction  114  is shown having top laminate portion  116  having protrusions  118  extending in an outward direction from bottom surface  120  of top laminate portion  116 . Bottom surface  120  of top laminate portion  116  may be considered to be a first bonding surface. Also shown is bottom laminate portion  122  having protrusions  124  extending in an outward direction from top surface  126  of bottom laminate portion  122 . Top surface  126  of bottom laminate portion  122  may be considered a second bonding surface. Protrusions  118  of top laminate portion  116  are spaced in a matching pattern to protrusions  124  of bottom laminate portion  122 . This matching pattern is provided by the spaces between protrusions  124  of bottom laminate portion  122  matching the pattern of protrusions  118  extending in an outward direction from bottom surface  120  of top laminate portion  116 . Bonding agent  128  is also shown and fills in space  130  between top laminate portion  116  and bottom laminate portion  122 . It should be noted that bonding agent  128  is shown interlocking with protrusions  118  and  124 . 
         [0072]      FIG. 9  shows a cross sectional view of one surface having protrusions facing another surface having matching holes in a lock and key pattern. This particular geometry is suitable for surface bonding and may be used for other bonding applications as well. Top laminate construction  132  is shown having protrusions  134  extending in an outward direction from bottom surface portion  136  of top laminate construction  132 . Also shown is bottom laminate construction  138 . Bottom laminate construction  138  is shown having holes  140  in top portion  142  of bottom laminate construction  138 . 
         [0073]      FIG. 10  shows a cross sectional view of one surface having protrusions facing another surface having matching holes in a lock and key pattern bonded together with a bonding agent. Bonded laminate construction  144  is shown having top laminate portion  146  having protrusions  148  extending in an outward direction from bottom surface  150  of top laminate portion  146  in a lock and key pattern. Also shown is bottom laminate portion  152  having holes  154  in matching configuration with protrusions  148  of top laminate portion  146 . Also shown is bonding agent  156 . Bonding agent  156  fills in space  158  between top laminate portion  146  and bottom laminate portion  152 . 
         [0074]      FIG. 11  shows a cross sectional view of two matched surfaces having protrusions and holes spaced in a lock and key pattern. Top laminate construction  160  is shown having protrusions  162  extending in an outward direction from bottom surface  164  of top laminate construction  160 . Also shown is hole  168 . Hole  168  is a blind hole (does not go all of the way through) and originates on bottom surface  166  of top laminate construction  160 . Also shown is bottom laminate construction  170  having holes  72  drilled into top portion  174  and protrusion  176 . 
         [0075]      FIG. 12  shows a cross sectional view of two matched surfaces having protrusions and holes spaced in a lock and key pattern bonded together with a bonding agent. Bonded laminate construction  178  is shown having top laminate portion  180  having protrusions  182  extending in an outward direction from bottom surface  184  of top laminate portion  180  in a lock and key pattern. Also shown is hole  186  in top laminate portion  180 . Bottom laminate portion  188  is shown having holes  190  in matching configuration protrusions  182  of top laminate portion  180 . Protrusion  192  is also shown attached extending in an outward direction from surface portion  194  of bottom laminate portion  188 . Also shown is bonding agent  196 . Bonding agent  196  fills in space  198  between top laminate portion  180  and bottom laminate portion  188 . 
         [0076]      FIG. 13  shows a cross sectional view of a surface having protrusions and a surface having holes that fit together like a lock and key. Matched protrusion and hole construction  200  is shown having top portion  202  having protrusions  210  along with matched hole portion  204 . Top portion  202  is shown having protrusions  210  extending in an outward direction from bottom surface portion  206  of top portion  202 . Bottom matched hole portion  204  is shown having holes  212  located into top surface portion  208 . It should be noted that holes  212  are shown as blind holes and therefore do not go all of the way through bottom portion  204 . 
         [0077]      FIG. 14  shows a cross sectional view of an interlocking bonding construction consisting of one surface having protrusions facing another surface having matching holes that fit together like a lock and key bonded together with a bonding agent. Bonded laminate construction  214  is shown having top laminate portion  216  having protrusions  218  extending in an outward direction from bottom surface  220  of top laminate portion  216  in a lock and key pattern. Bottom surface  220  of top laminate portion  216  may be considered to be a first bonding surface having a pattern of protrusions extending in an outward direction. 
         [0078]    Also shown is bottom laminate portion  222  having holes  224  in matching configuration with protrusions  218  extending in an outward direction from laminate portion  216 . Bottom laminate portion  222  having holes  224  may be considered to be a second bonding surface having holes arranged in a matching pattern to protrusions  218  to provide a one way fit between top laminate portion  216  and bottom laminate portion  222 . Also shown is bonding agent  226 . Bonding agent  226  fills in space  228  between top laminate portion  216  and bottom laminate portion  222 . It should be noted that protrusions  218  extending from bottom surface  220  of top laminate portion  216  extend into holes  224  of bottom laminate portion  222 . 
         [0079]      FIGS. 13 and 14  are shown having blind holes that are wider at the bottom than at the top. This may result in improved interlocking properties compared with straight wall holes. Interlocking may be particularly important in forming strong bonds with incompatible materials. 
         [0080]      FIG. 15  shows the top surface of a bonding construction having protrusions suitable for lock and key registration and/or verification with a matching surface. Construction  230  is shown with a pattern of protrusions  234  extending in an outward direction from top surface portion  232 . Construction  230  is shown as a 6×7 matrix of protrusions. Even with a small matrix of this size, the number of possible combinations are numerous. 
         [0081]    Those skilled in the art will understand that the preceding exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide foundation for numerous alternatives and modifications. These other modifications are also within the scope of the limiting technology of the present invention. Accordingly, the present invention is not limited to that precisely shown and described herein but only to that outlined in the appended claims.