Patent ID: 8591693

Claim:
A method for joining at least two components, wherein at least one first component of said at least two components is composed at least partially of thermoplastic material and includes at least one region that is at least partially transparent to laser radiation, at least one additional component of said at least two components is composed at least partially of thermoplastic material, and at least one of said at least one first component and said at least one additional component is reinforced or coated with long fibers which are at least 1 mm in length, by the steps of: positioning regions of said at least one first component and said at least one additional component to form at least one joining zone; introducing laser radiation into said joining zone through said at least one partially transparent region of said at least one first component, wherein said laser radiation passes through said at least one partially transparent region of said at least one first component and is at least partially absorbed by said long fibers so as to generate sufficient heat within said at least one joining zone to at least partially melt said thermoplastic material of said at least one first component and thermoplastic material of said at least one additional component; and forming a weld seam between said thermoplastic material of said at least one first component and said thermoplastic material of said at least one additional component.