GB2323431A

GB2323431A - Control mechanism for a gas fuelled soldering iron

Info

Publication number: GB2323431A
Application number: GB9726937A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Arlo Hwai-Tay Lin
Original assignee: LIN ARLO HWAI TAY
Current assignee: LIN ARLO HWAI TAY
Priority date: 1997-03-18
Filing date: 1997-12-19
Publication date: 1998-09-23
Anticipated expiration: 2017-12-19
Also published as: GB9726937D0; GB2323431B

Abstract

A gas soldering iron comprising a soldering head 10 mounted to a liquid fuel tank 40, a slidable control switch 30 being provided on a control section 20 between the soldering head 10 and the fuel tank 40, the control switch 30 providing simultaneous operation of a gas control valve and a piezo-electric ignition device.

Description

TITLE: CONTROL MECHANISM FOR GAS WELDING GUNS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of the Invention: The present invention relates to a control mechanism for gas welding guns, and more particularly to a control mechanism whereby simultaneous ignition and a controlled flow of gas to achieve a steady flame may be achieved by upward pushing of a control cover.

(b) Description of the Prior Art: As pen type gas welding guns are convenient to carry and no longer restricted by wires or electrical connection in use, they are becoming more popular. The structure of a conventional pen type welding gun essentially comprises a gas tank and a piezo-electric element. When gas is released and the piezo-electric element is pressed, sparks are generated and a flame is ignited.

In use, it is often necessary to control the gas flow to achieve a steady flame. And with conventional welding guns, a number of control steps have to be carried out after ignition in order to achieve a controlled flow of gas, which is inconvenient.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to a primary aspect of the present invention, a control mechanism for welding guns essentially comprises a control cover disposed on the surface of a control chamber defined by two hollow facing shell halves. The control cover may be synchronously linked up with a gas release lever and a piezo-electric element. And due to the arrangement of bosses on the opposing walls of the control chamber and a base and side hooks of a clamp plate, when the control cover is pushed upwardly, simultaneous ignition and a controlled flow of gas to achieve a steady flame may be accomplished.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing and other features and advantages the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings, in which, Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is an exploded view of Fig. 1, showing the main elements; Fig. 3 is a sectional view of Fig. 1, showing the structure prior to operation; Fig. 4 is a schematic elevational view of the inner side of the control cover; Fig. 5 is a partially enlarged view of Fig. 3, showing the position of the control cover before it is pushed upward; Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of Fig. 3, showing the control cover having been pushed to a predetermined position; Fig. 7 is a sectional view of Fig. 3, showing the control cover having been pushed upwardly; Fig. 8 is a front view of Fig. 1, showing the control cover before it is pushed upward; and Fig. 9 is a side view of Fig. 8, showing the control cover having been pushed upward.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference to Fig. 1, the pen-like gas welding gun according to the present invention essentially comprises a solder heat 10, a control chamber 20 located below the solder heat 10, a control cover 30 coupled with the surface of the control chamber 10, and a gas tank 40 located below the control chamber 20.

Referring to Fig. 2, the control chamber 20 is comprised of two facing hollow shell halves 50 and 60.

A top end of the gas tank 40 is provided with a connecting seat 41 and a gas flow adjusting disk 42, and gas may reach the solder head 10 from the connecting seat 41 by use of a flexible connecting tube 43.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the shell halves 50 and 60 together define a hollow compartment for passage of the connecting tube 43. Besides, pre-disposed facing upper and lower partition plates 61 and 62 are provided for insertion of a piezo-electric element 70. At the same time, two facing semi-circular slots 63 are disposed near the lower portions for positioning the connecting seat 41. The adjusting disk 42 has a rotary knob 44 may be exposed on the outside through two facing peripheral slots 54 and 64 of the shell halves 50 and 60. Two facing external threaded sections 55 and 65 are disposed near the upper portion for screwably connecting the solder head 10. The shell halves 50 and 60 are further provided with respective notches 56 and 66 near the central portion, the notches facing each other for commonly defining a window opening. Two shallow depressions 57 and 67 are formed near the outer surface of the window opening for assembly the control cover 30.

The respective notches 56 and 66 are respectively provided with facing bosses 58 and 68 at the wall near the central point.

Referring now to Figs. 2 and 4, the control cover 30 is provided with a relatively projecting lever portion 31 near the top end thereof, and thin clamp plate 32 is integrally disposed at its inner surface.

The clamp plate 32 is located above a curved groove 33 formed at the inner side of the control cover 30, and a relatively small base 34 is used to connect integrally with the curved groove 33. The base 34 is provided with two elastic hooks 35 and 36, one on each side thereof.

The clamp plate 32 is provided with a support plate 37 near the lower end, and a base block 38 is disposed at the center of the bottom side of the support plate 37.

The base block 38 has a through hole for assembly one end of a metal elastic plate 45. The elastic plate 45, as shown in Fig. 3, is attached to the lower side of a release lever 46. The other end of the elastic plate 45 is bent to lie against the surface of the adjusting disk 42. The entire control cover 30 may lie in the shallow depressions 57 and 67 formed by the shell halves 50 and 60, and through the clamp plate 32 and the lateral clamp grooves formed at the inner side thereof, the control cover may be clamped in the window opening formed by the notches 56 and 66.

As shown in Fig. 3, prior to operation, the control cower 30 thus assembled is located below the depressions 57 and 67, and a tag 37 thereof is supported below a push button 71 of the piezo-electric element 70. At the same time, the base block 38 has not pulled up the elastic plate 45. Referring to Fig. 7, when the control cover 30 is pushed upwardly, the elastic plate 45 and the base block 38, which are connected at one end, will be pulled upwardly therewith at that end, so that the release lever 46 is synchronously lifted to release the gas. At the same time, the push button 71 of the piezoelectric element 70 causes the generation of sparks due to linking-up with the support plate 37, thus igniting the welding gun.

During the process when the control cover 30 is pulled upwardly, referring to Fig. 5, the two hooks 35 and 36 at both sides of the base 34 will firstly pass through the the opposing bosses 58 and 68 formed on the walls of the window opening of the shell halves 50 and 60 so that the hooks 35 and 36 are forced to slightly retract under an external force. And after they have completely passed through the bosses 58 and 68, referring to Fig. 6, due to the resilience of the hooks 35 and 36 themselves, the entire control cover is properly positioned to achieve a steady flame.

Certainly, the hooks 35 and 36 may be caused to retract when the control cover 30 is passed, so that the elastic plate 45 is no longer subj eZeeA to the external force and resets to its original close position. In another preferred embodiment, referring to Figs. 8 and 9, the control cover 30 may, after ignition, be pushed through a cap 90 so that it retracts. The cap 90 may be provided with a clamp piece 91 which droops downwardly to a certain length. When the entire cap 90 closes upon the solder head 10, the dropping clamp plate 91 may synchronously press the lever portion 31 of the control cover 30 to push the control cover 30 back to its original close position, thus ensuring positive closure of the welding gun after use.

According to the present invention, after the control cover has been pushed upwardly, simultaneous ignition and steady release of gas may be achieved, without the need for various control actions as required in the prior art.

Although the present invention has been illustrated and described with reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, it should be understood that it is in no way limited to the details of such embodiment but is capable of numerous modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A control mechanism for gas welding guns, comprising a control chamber provided between a solder heat at an upper side and a gas tank at a lower side for screwably connecting said solder head and assembling to a connecting seat and a gas flow adjusting disk at an upper end of said gas tank, a control cover being assembled to said control chamber and slidably coupled to a window opening defined by said control chamber and on a plurality of shallow depressions on the outer surface of said control chamber, said control cover having a thin clamp plate integrally formed at an inner side thereof, said clamp plate being integrally provided with a base with two side hooks, two opposing walls of said window opening of said control chamber being provided with respective bosses, a bottom end of said control cover being connected to a metal elastic plate for linking-up with a gas release lever, by means of a support plate disposed near a bottom end of said clamp plate for linking-up with a piezo-electric element within said control chamber, simultaneous ignition and a steady flame may be achieved with the upward pushing of said control cover.

2. A control mechanism as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said control chamber is comprised of two facing hollow shell halves defining a hollow compartment therebetween, with opposing upper and lower partition plates provided therein for insertion of said piezo-electric element, two facing threaded sections being provided at an upper end of said shell halves for screwably mounting said solder head, and two facing slots being disposed near a lower end for fitting said connecting seat of said gas tank such that an adjusting knob of said adjusting disk above said connecting seat may be exposed from two peripheral slots.

3. A control mechanism as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein said support plate of said control cover is disposed at the inner side of said control cover near the bottom end for urging against said piezo-electric element, said support plate being provided with a base block for assembling one end of said metal elastic plate.

4. A control mechanism as claimed in any preceding Claim, wherein said solder head is fitted with a cap which is provided with a drooping clamp plate of a suitable length such that said dropping clamp plate may urge against said control cover.

5. A control mechanism as claimed in any preceding Claim, wherein said metal elastic plate is attached below said release lever with the other end pressing against the surface of said adjusting disk of said gas tank.

6. A control mechanism for gas welding guns, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.