1. A method of laser welding aluminum or magnesium members, said method comprising:
positioning said members together in contact between facing surfaces thereof to expose a first outer surface of at least one of said members to laser irradiation;
directing a welding laser beam at said members so as to form a molten weld pool to fuse said members together;
moving said welding laser beam relative to said members; and
heating a zone of said members so as to increase the temperature thereof and widen a heat-affected zone to slow the rate of solidification of said molten weld pool, thereby enabling formation of a substantially porosity-free weld bead joining said members.
2. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said heating step includes widening a temperature distribution in said members around said molten weld pool by at least 25%.
3. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said heating step includes positioning a heat source at a second outer surface of at least one of said members that is substantially opposite of said first outer surface.
4. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said heating step includes positioning a heat source at said first outer surface.
5. A method as claimed in claim 4, wherein said heating step includes said heat source being a heating laser beam that is fractionated from said welding laser beam.
6. A method of forming a linear weld between upper and lower members composed of aluminum or magnesium, said method comprising:
positioning said upper and lower members together in contact between facing surfaces thereof to expose a first outer surface of said upper member to laser irradiation;
moving a welding laser beam in a path over said first outer surface, said welding laser beam having an energy and width to progressively melt a trough of molten metal to a depth through said upper member and into said lower member, said molten metal in said trough having a void filled with gas, and said molten metal re-solidifying into re- solidified metal after the passage of said welding laser beam; and
heating in and around said trough to slow the rate of solidification of said molten metal into said re-solidified metal, thereby preventing entrainment of said gas within said re-solidified metal.
7. A method as claimed in claim 6, wherein said moving step includes the depth of said trough being greater than its width.
8. A method as claimed in claim 6 wherein said heating step includes widening a temperature distribution in said members around said molten weld trough by at least 25%.
9. A method as claimed in claim 6 wherein said heating step includes positioning a heat source at a second outer surface of at least one of said members that is substantially opposite of said first outer surface.
10. A method as claimed in claim 6 wherein said heating step includes positioning a heat source at said first outer surface.
11. A method as claimed in claim 10, wherein said heating step includes said heat source being a heating laser beam that is fractionated from said welding laser beam.
12. A method of improving the quality of a laser weld joining an assembly of members, said method comprising:
moving a welding laser beam in a path over said assembly, said welding laser beam having an energy and width to progressively melt a trough of molten metal to a depth through said upper member and into said lower member, said molten metal in said trough having a void filled with gas, and said molten metal re-solidifying into re-solidified metal after the passage of said welding laser beam; and
directing heat from a heating source toward said trough of molten metal and in accordance with said path so as to widen a heat-affected zone around said trough for slowing the rate of solidification of said molten metal into said re-solidified metal, thereby preventing entrainment of said gas within said re-solidified metal.
13. A method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the depth of said trough is greater than its width.
14. A method as claimed in claim 12 wherein said directing step includes widening a temperature distribution in said assembly around said molten weld trough by at least 25%.
15. A method as claimed in claim 12 wherein said directing step includes positioning a heat source on an opposite side of said assembly from said welding laser beam.
16. A method as claimed in claim 12 wherein said directing step includes positioning a heat source on a same side of said assembly as said welding laser beam.
17. A method as claimed in claim 16, wherein said directing step includes said heat source being a heating laser beam that is fractionated from said welding laser beam.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A data transmission control apparatus controlling data transmissions between a first wireless network and a second wireless network, the data transmission control apparatus comprising:
a wireless communication device adapted to use an identifier for identifying and establishing communications with one of the first wireless network and the second wireless network; and
a device driver in communication with the wireless communication device, the device driver to alternate the identifier, used by the wireless communication device, between a first identifier for identifying the first wireless network and a second identifier for identifying the second wireless network.
2. The data transmission control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
a firewall program in communication with the device driver, the firewall program to determine validity of a packet received from the first wireless network by the wireless communication device.
3. The data transmission control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first wireless network includes a first access point connected to a first network, and the second wireless network includes a second access point connected to a second network.
4. The data transmission control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the first identifier, being a first Service Set Identification (SSID), is assigned to the first access point, and the second identifier, being a second Service Set Identification (SSID), is assigned to the second access point.
5. The data transmission control apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the device driver includes a first transfer unit adapted for communication with the first access point, a second transfer unit adapted for communication with the second access point, and a switching unit coupled to both the first transfer unit and the second transfer unit.
6. The data transmission control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the firewall program to determine validity of the packet based on address information that is included in the packet.
7. The data transmission control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wireless communication device is a wireless local area network (WLAN) card.
8. A method for controlling data transmissions between a first wireless network and a second wireless network, the method comprising:
alternatively switching an identifier used by a wireless communication device between a first value to enable communications with the first wireless network and a second value to enable communications with the second wireless network; and
transmitting a packet received from the first wireless network to the second wireless network using the wireless communication device.
9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the transmitting includes:
determining validity of the packet that is received from the first wireless network by the wireless communication device; and
transmitting, when the validity of the packet is determined, the packet to the second wireless network using the wireless communication device.
10. The method according to claim 8, wherein the first wireless network includes a first access point of a first network, and the second wireless network includes a second access point of a second network.
11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the first value is a service set identification assigned to the first access point, and the second identifier is a service set identification assigned to the second access point.
12. The method according to claim 8, wherein the switching of the identifier includes alternately assigning the first value and the second value to the wireless communication device on a packet-by-packet basis.
13. The method according to claim 9, wherein the determining the validity of the packet includes determining the validity of the packet based on address information included in the packet.
14. The method according to claim 9, wherein the determining the validity of the packet includes determining the validity of the packet based on a communication protocol corresponding to the packet.
15. A software embodied in a storage medium for execution within an electronic device, the software comprising:
a first software module to verify validity of an incoming packet from a first wireless network; and
a second software module to alter an identifier of a wireless communication device from a first value to a second value upon verification of the validity of the incoming packet, the wireless communication device adapted for communication with the first wireless network when assigned the first value and adapted for communication with a second wireless network when assigned the second value.
16. The software according to claim 15, wherein the first software module is a firewall program to determine validity of the incoming packet based on address information within the incoming packet.
17. The software according to claim 15, wherein the first software module discards the incoming packet if validity of the incoming packet is not verified.
18. The software according to claim 15, wherein the second software module is a device driver in control of the wireless communication device and in communication with the first software module via an operating system of the electronic device.
19. The software according to claim 15, wherein the second software module causes the wireless communication device to alternate between (i) the first value, being a service set identification of a first access point of the first wireless network, and (ii) the second value, being a service set identification of a second access point of the second wireless network.
20. The software according to claim 19, wherein the second software module automatically alternating between the first value and the second value at predetermined time intervals.