JP6009229B2 - Welding machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a welding machine capable of operating commands by voice.

  Semi-automatic arc welding machines are equipped with various operation switches on the welding torch supported by the worker, and the specification is such that the welding conditions can be changed by the operator operating the operation switch during welding. is there. However, if the operator operates the operation switch of the torch during welding, the support posture of the torch changes and the state of the arc is changed, which may affect the welding finish.

  Therefore, for example, as in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, in addition to the microphone that acquires the operator's voice with respect to the protective mask that is used by being attached to the operator's head during welding, from the operation command by the acquired voice By providing a processing circuit that converts the signal into a command signal that can be processed by the control circuit, the command can be issued while the operation switch of the torch is unnecessary.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-237872

  By the way, in the technique of Patent Document 1, a transmitter is provided on the protective mask side having a microphone, and a receiver is provided on the welding power source side having a control circuit. It is configured to wirelessly transmit to the control circuit.

  Originally, in a consumable electrode type welding machine between a welding power supply and a torch, a microphone is connected to the power supply separately from the connection cable laid to connect the power supply, wire electrode feeding device and torch. It is necessary to route the wire separately. When welding large and long structures, which can cause the welding power supply device and the torch to be separated from each other, a long microphone connection line is required in addition to the original connection cable. It becomes complicated. Therefore, as in Patent Document 1, it is reasonable to wirelessly transmit between the power supply device and the torch.

  However, since there is a problem of noise in wireless transmission and reliability is a concern, it is desirable to wire in welding machines that pursue high reliability. However, as described above, the length of the connection line of the microphone and the laying work thereof are limited. It is a place to be worried about.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems. The object of the present invention is to shorten the length of the connection line of the microphone as much as possible while improving the reliability by making the transmission path of the voice operation command wired. An object of the present invention is to provide a welding machine capable of facilitating the installation work.

In order to solve the above-described problem, the invention according to claim 1 is directed to a welding torch that supports a wire electrode that generates an arc by receiving power supply, and the wire electrode to the welding torch according to the consumption due to the arc. An arc generated from the wire electrode by gripping and operation by an operator of the welding torch, comprising a feeding device for feeding and a welding power source device having a control circuit for performing welding control including power generation suitable for welding. A welding machine capable of performing the welding control by a voice operation command acquired by a microphone, wherein the welding power source device, the feeding device, and the welding torch are: A connection cable is used for electrical connection, and a microphone connection portion to which the connection line of the microphone can be connected is provided on at least one of the welding torch and the feeding device. The operation command by voice acquired in microphone is configured to be transmitted to the control circuit of the welding power supply device through the connecting line and the connecting cable, to trigger a connection to the microphone connection part of the connection line of the microphone, Mode switching means for switching to the voice operation command mode using the microphone is provided, and in the voice operation command mode, among the operation command from the operation switch of the welding torch and the operation command by voice acquired by the microphone, The welding control can be performed by the operation command generated earlier, and the operation command generated later is canceled .

According to the present invention, a connection line of a microphone for obtaining a voice operation command from an operator or the like can be connected to a microphone connection portion provided on at least one of the welding torch and the feeding device, and the operation command using the microphone is transmitted to the microphone. Are transmitted to the control circuit of the welding power source device by wired transmission via the connection line and the connection cable. In other words, the connection line of the microphone can be connected to the welding torch or the feeding device arranged near the worker who uses the microphone rather than the power supply device while making the transmission path wired for the purpose of improving the reliability of the operation command. As a result, the connection line of the microphone can be shortened. Further, since the connection to the microphone connection portion of the microphone connection line is automatically switched to the voice operation command mode, the mode can be easily switched.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the welding machine according to the first aspect, the conversion processing circuit that converts the audio signal acquired by the microphone into a command signal that can be processed by the control circuit is connected to the microphone. It is provided in the welding torch or the feeding device to which a wire can be connected.

  In this invention, since the conversion processing circuit for converting the audio signal (analog signal) from the microphone into the command signal (digital signal) is provided in the welding torch or feeding device to which the connection line of the microphone can be connected, the power supply device When transmitting to the control circuit, since it is transmitted as a digital signal, it is resistant to noise and can contribute to reducing malfunction of the welding machine.

  According to the present invention, a welding machine capable of facilitating the installation work by shortening the length of the connection line of the microphone as much as possible while improving the reliability by making the transmission path of the voice operation command wired. Can be provided.

The schematic block diagram of the welding machine in one Embodiment. The block diagram which shows the connection aspect of a welding power supply, a welding torch, and a microphone.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the welding machine 10 of this embodiment is a consumable electrode type semi-automatic arc welding machine. The welding power source device 11 generates DC output power suitable for arc welding from a three-phase AC commercial power source or the like. The power supply device 11 includes a control circuit 12 that performs integrated control of arc welding including generation of the output power. One output terminal of the power supply device 11 is connected to a feeding device 14 via a connection cable 13 including a power line and a communication line, and the feeding device 14 is also welded via a connection cable 13 including a power line and a communication line. Connected to the torch 15. The other output terminal of the power supply device 11 is connected to a welding object (base material) 17 via a grounding cable 16.

  The feeding device 14 feeds the wire electrode 18 to the welding torch 15 (the wire electrode between the feeding device 14 and the welding torch 15 is not shown). That is, the wire electrode 18 is supported by the welding torch 15 and an arc is generated from the tip of the wire electrode 18 to the welding object 17 based on the supply of output power from the power supply device 11 during welding. The electrode 18 is consumed. Based on the control of the control circuit 12 of the power supply device 11, the feeding device 14 performs the feeding operation of the wire electrode 18 at a feeding speed corresponding to the consumption state of the wire electrode 18. The feed speed of the wire electrode 18 is set to an appropriate value each time by the control circuit 12.

  In the welding torch 15, as the arc is generated from the wire electrode 18, the shielding gas is injected around the arc (around the electrode 18). That is, the shielding gas stored in the gas storage device 19 can be supplied to the torch 15 between the gas storage device 19 and the feeding device 14 and between the feeding device 14 and the welding torch 15. Each is connected by a feeding hose 20. The gas storage device 19 includes a gas regulator 21 that adjusts the gas supply amount. The regulator 21 controls the gas supply amount (from the torch 15 to the welding torch 15) based on the control of the control circuit 12. Adjust the injection amount. The gas supply amount from the regulator 21 is set to an appropriate value by the control circuit 12 each time.

  The welding torch 15 is provided with an operation switch 22 that can be manually operated by an operator. The operation switch 22 is capable of various operation commands related to welding such as arc welding start / stop (on / off), parameter adjustment such as output current / voltage, arc mode change such as continuous arc and pulse arc, etc. The signal is transmitted to the control circuit 12 via the connection cable 13.

  Further, the welding torch 15 is provided with a microphone connection portion 15a to which a connection line 23a extending from the microphone 23 can be connected. In the present embodiment, the microphone 23 is, for example, an ear hook type microphone, and acquires sound from the worker X or the like who wears it. Note that the microphone 23 is a hook-type microphone, so that it is independent of the protective mask 24 that the operator X wears on the head during welding work. The audio signal acquired by the microphone 23 is input to the welding torch 15.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the welding torch 15 includes a conversion processing circuit 25 to which an audio signal acquired by a microphone 23 connected to the connection portion 15 a is input. The conversion processing circuit 25 can process various audio signals by the control circuit 12 when the input audio signal, in this case, a word or the like corresponding to a part or all of various operations by the operation switch 22 is uttered. It is converted into a command signal similar to the signal from the operation switch 22. Further, the welding torch 15 has a signal output circuit 26 for transmitting each command signal of a command signal from the original operation switch 22 and a command signal from the sound signal of the microphone 23 via the conversion processing circuit 25 to the control circuit 12. Is provided.

  When the microphone 23 is not connected to the microphone connection unit 15a, the signal output circuit 26 outputs the command signal from the operation switch 22 to the control circuit 12 through the connection cable 13 as it is. On the other hand, when the microphone 23 is connected to the microphone connection unit 15a, the signal output circuit 26 receives both the command signal from the operation switch 22 and the command signal from the sound signal of the microphone 23 via the conversion processing circuit 25. (Only one of them at that time) is output to the control circuit 12. In the situation where the command signals from the operation switch 22 and the conversion processing circuit 25 overlap, the signal output circuit 26 outputs the command signal generated earlier and cancels the command signal generated later. The signal output circuit 26 and the control circuit 12 use the microphone 23 from the normal operation command mode with only the operation command of the operation switch 22 (operation switch) when the connection line 23a of the microphone 23 is connected to the microphone connection unit 15a. 22 can also be automatically switched to the voice operation command mode.

  And about the operation | movement (action) of the welding machine 10 of such a structure, when the command signal from the welding torch 15 based on the manual operation of the operation switch 22 or the pronunciation of the operation phrase from the microphone 23 is input to the power supply device 11. The control circuit 12 controls the welding operation of the welding machine 10 based on the command signal. For example, in the present embodiment, arc welding is started and stopped including injection of shield gas, parameter adjustment such as output current and voltage for adjustment of arc output, and arc mode change such as continuous arc and pulse arc is manually performed. Operation or voice operation is possible. And by the holding | grip and operation of the welding torch 15 by the operator X, welding of the welding target object 17 is implemented with the arc produced from the front-end | tip of the electrode 18 of the torch 15, and various adjustments during welding operation are performed by voice operation. Is also possible.

  At this time, the microphone 23 used during voice operation is usually used by being attached to the worker X who performs welding. The microphone 23 connects the connection line 23a of the microphone 23 to the welding torch 15 held by the worker X. A connecting portion 15a is provided. In other words, it is possible to contribute to the improvement of reliability by making the operation command by voice using the microphone 23 wired to the power supply device 11 (control circuit 12) through the connection line 23a and the existing connection cable 13. In addition, the length of the connection line 23a of the microphone 23 is sufficient up to the welding torch 15, and even if the welding object 17 is a large / long structure, the welding torch 15 and the power supply device 11 (control circuit 12). However, since the distance between the worker X and the welding torch 15 does not change so much, the connection line 23a of the microphone 23 can be relatively short, and the laying is easy.

Next, characteristic effects of the present embodiment will be described.
(1) The connection line 23a of the microphone 23 for obtaining the voice operation command of the worker X or the like can be connected to the microphone connection part 15a of the welding torch 15, and the operation command using the microphone 23 is connected to the connection line 23a of the microphone 23 and It was made to transmit to the control circuit 12 of the welding power supply device 11 by wired transmission via the existing connection cable 13. That is, the connection line 23a of the microphone 23 is connected to the welding torch 15 disposed near the worker X who uses the microphone 23 rather than the power supply device 11, while the transmission path is wired for the purpose of improving the reliability of the operation command. Since the connection is possible, the connection line 23a of the microphone 23 can be shortened, and the installation work can be facilitated.

  (2) Since a conversion processing circuit 25 that converts a sound signal (analog signal) from the microphone 23 into a command signal (digital signal) is provided in the welding torch 15, at the time of transmission to the control circuit 12 of the power supply device 11, Since transmission is performed using a digital signal, it is resistant to noise and can contribute to reducing malfunction of the welding machine 10.

  (3) Since the signal output circuit 26 and the control circuit 12 are automatically switched to the voice operation command mode when the connection line 23a of the microphone 23 is connected to the microphone connection portion 15a, the mode can be easily switched.

  (4) Since the microphone 23 is configured separately from the protective mask 24, it is not necessary to produce a microphone-integrated protective mask, and an existing protective mask can be used. A general-purpose microphone can also be used. Also, since the microphone 23 can be used by anyone other than the gripping operator of the torch 15, it is possible to perform cooperative welding between those performing similar welding work at a plurality of locations, or experience under the voice operation command of a skilled worker. It is also possible to expect effects such as educating welding work for shallow workers.

  (5) The voice operation command is transmitted from the welding torch 15 to the control circuit 12 by the microphone 23 by using the signal line of the existing connection cable 13 so that it is not necessary to separately prepare a signal line for the voice operation command.

(6) By restricting the voice operation command by the microphone 23 to specialized words related to welding, it is possible to contribute to reducing malfunction of the welding machine 10.
In addition, you may change embodiment of this invention as follows.

  Although the welding torch 15 is provided with the conversion processing circuit 25 for converting the audio signal (analog signal) from the microphone 23 into the command signal (digital signal), it may be provided on the control circuit 12 side as shown in FIG. The conversion processing circuit 25 of the welding torch 15 is omitted). In this case, the audio signal itself is transmitted from the welding torch 15 to the control circuit 12. In this way, the inside of the welding torch 15 can be simply configured, and an effect such as prevention of a failure of the welding torch 15 that is handled relatively poorly can be expected.

  Although the microphone connecting portion 15a to which the connection line 23a of the microphone 23 can be connected is provided in the welding torch 15, as shown in FIG. 1, the feeding device that can be disposed in the vicinity of the worker X as in the welding torch 15. 14 may be provided with a microphone connection portion 14a to which the connection line 23a of the microphone 23 can be connected. In this case, you may provide a microphone connection part in either the welding torch 15, the feeding apparatus 14, or both. When the microphone 23 can be connected to the feeding device 14, it is necessary to provide the conversion processing circuit 25 and the like in the feeding device 14 and the control circuit 12.

  -It is good also as a structure which receives the audio | voice operation command by the microphone 23 only during operation of the switch corresponding to welding start / stop in the operation switch 22 of the welding torch 15 (only during welding operation).

  In the voice operation command mode using the microphone 23, both the voice operation command by the microphone 23 and the manual operation command of the operation switch 22 are allowed. However, in the voice operation command mode, only the voice operation command by the microphone 23 is used. A part or all of the 22 manual operation commands may be canceled.

The enumeration of the voice operation command by the microphone 23 in the above embodiment is an example, and may be changed as appropriate.
Although the connection to the microphone connection portion 15a of the connection line 23a of the microphone 23 is automatically switched to the voice operation command mode, the switch for mode switching may be switched manually.

Although the microphone 23 is an ear hook type, a microphone having a mounting means other than the ear hook type may be used separately from the protective mask 24. A microphone-integrated protective mask may be used.
-Although the signal line of the existing connection cable 13 was used for transmission of the voice operation command to the control circuit 12 by the microphone 23, the signal line may be separately routed integrally with the existing connection cable 13.

Next, a technical idea that can be grasped from the above embodiment and another example will be added below.
(B) pre-Symbol microphone, welder, characterized in that the operator has configured separately from the protective mask to be used during welding.

In this configuration, it is not necessary to produce a microphone-integrated protective mask, an existing protective mask can be used, and a general-purpose microphone can be used.
(B) before SL transmitted to the control circuit of the operation command by voice acquired in microphone, the welding power supply device, a signal line of the existing connection cable establishing electrical connection of the feeder and the welding torch A welding machine configured to be used.

  In this configuration, it is not necessary to separately prepare a signal line related to the voice operation command.

X worker 10 welding machine 11 welding power source 12 control circuit (including mode switching means)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 13 Connection cable 14 Feeding device 14a, 15a Microphone connection part 15 Welding torch 17 Welding object 18 Wire electrode 23 Microphone 23a Connection line 25 Conversion processing circuit 26 Signal output circuit (including mode switching means)

Claims (2)

A welding torch for supporting a wire electrode that generates an arc upon receipt of power supply, a feeding device that feeds the wire electrode to the welding torch in response to consumption by the arc, and power generation suitable for welding A welding power source device having a control circuit for performing welding control, and acquired by a microphone in a welding machine for welding an object to be welded by an arc generated from the wire electrode by gripping and operation by an operator of the welding torch A welding machine capable of controlling the welding with a voice operation command,
The welding power supply device, the feeding device, and the welding torch are intended to be electrically connected by a connection cable,
A microphone connection part to which the connection line of the microphone can be connected is provided on at least one of the welding torch and the feeding device, and an operation command by voice acquired by the microphone is transmitted through the connection line and the connection cable. Configured to transmit to the control circuit of the power supply ,
Mode switching means for switching to a voice operation command mode using the microphone is provided when the connection line of the microphone is connected to the microphone connection section.
In the voice operation command mode, the welding control can be performed by an operation command that has occurred first, among operation commands from the operation switch of the welding torch and voice commands acquired by the microphone. A welding machine characterized in that the operation command is canceled . The welding machine according to claim 1,
A conversion processing circuit that converts an audio signal acquired by the microphone into a command signal that can be processed by the control circuit is provided in the welding torch or the feeding device to which a connection line of the microphone can be connected. Features welding machine.