JPH0337817Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] This invention is an arc torch that can be used as desired by using the same power source by simple switching operations while connecting multiple arc torches to energizing cables, operation switch cables, gas hoses, cooling water hoses, etc. The present invention relates to a torch switching device.

For example, if you are cutting and welding materials in the same location, you can use a plasma arc cutting torch and a plasma arc cutting torch on the same power source.
It would be convenient if you could switch between TIG welding torches. However, in general, the power supply device for arc torch is 1
It is configured so that only different types of torches can be connected and used, and it is necessary to replace the torch each time a different type of torch is used. The aforementioned plasma arc cutting totes and TIG welding torches come with a power supply cable, a hose for flowing water and gas, and an operation switch cable for starting and stopping the arc, so replace the torch each time. is cumbersome and impractical.

Conventionally, in order to switch between multiple arc torches connected to cables and hoses using the same power source, a solenoid valve was used inside the power supply to switch between the cooling water system and the gas system. Methods of switching the switch circuit using electromagnetic switches, knife switches, etc. were considered, but
In addition to using a large number of expensive control devices, this method requires wiring from the primary side of the power supply as an operating power source, making the wiring complicated and expensive, making it difficult to put it into practical use. Although it can be applied to newly manufactured equipment, it is difficult to modify existing power supply equipment.

This invention was developed in consideration of the above points, and uses a simple manual switching valve to switch between the cooling water system and the gas system, and each manual switching valve for the cooling water system and gas system can be operated with a single knob. The operating switch circuit is switched by a changeover switch operated in conjunction with the rotating shaft, and the connection of the energized cable is switched using a cable connector. Simple and inexpensive, all switching operations necessary to use the same power source can be performed with a simple manual operation while the arc torch is connected to each energizing cable, operation switch cable, gas hose, and cooling water hose. The present invention provides an arc torch switching device.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, the overall configuration will be explained using Figure 1.
Reference numeral 1 denotes a power supply device, which has the function of supplying and stopping electric power, gas, and cooling water necessary for operating the arc torch, and includes built-in power supply equipment and control equipment for this purpose. Reference numeral 2 denotes an arc torch switching device (simply referred to as a switching device in the following description) according to the present invention, which is configured separately from the power supply device 1. Reference numerals 3a and 3b are arc torches that are used alternately, and in this example, the explanation will be given for the case where 3a is a plasma arc cutting torch and 3b is a TIG welding torch.

Between the power supply device 1 and the switching device 2,
Power supply side gas hose 4, power supply side cooling water hose (water supply side) 5, power supply side energizing cable (
side) 6a, power supply side energizing cable (side) 7,
A power supply side operation switch cable 8 and a power supply side cooling water hose (drainage side) 9 are wired and piped, and the cooling water hose 9 is connected to the power supply side energizing cable terminal so that water can be drained. Side energizing cable terminal of power supply device 1 and base material 1
0 is connected by the current-carrying cable 6b without using the switching device 2.

Inside the switching device 2, first and second manual switching valves 11, 11' and cable connectors 12a, 1 are provided.
2b, 12c and the changeover switch 13 are housed, and the manual changeover valves 11, 11' and the changeover switch 13 are housed.
As will be described later, these are operated in conjunction with a single knob.

The manual switching valves 11 and 11' are three-way switching valves having one inlet and two outflow ports.The power supply side gas hose 4 is connected to the inlet of the first manual switching valve 17, and the two outflow ports, are torch-side gas hoses 4a and 4a leading to arc torches 3a and 3b, respectively.
4b, and the second manual switching valve 11'
The power supply side cooling water hose 5 is connected to the inlet of the torch side cooling water hose 5, and the two outlet ports are the torch side cooling water hoses 5a and 5, respectively, which reach the arc toes S3a and 3b.
5b. Torch side cooling water hose 5
a is arc torch (plasma arc switching torch)
It also serves as an energizing cable for generating a pilot arc for starting inside the switching device 3a, and its energizing terminal is connected to the power supply side energizing cable (side) 6b via a resistor 15 built into the switching device 2.

The manual switching valves 11 and 11' switch the flow paths by rotating the respective valve stem shafts left and right, and as shown in FIG. , the flow path switches from when rotated to the left to the arc torch 3
The supply of working gas and cooling water to a and 3b can be switched.

In order to switch and connect the power supply side energizing cable (side) 7 to the torch side energizing cable (side) 7a, 7b, the power supply side energizing cable 7 is equipped with a cable connector (male side) 12a whose charging part is insulated.
is attached, and the torch side energizing cables 7a, 7b
Cable connectors (female side) 12b and 12c, each of which has a charging portion coated with insulation, are respectively attached to the connectors. This cable connector is a one-touch type that can be fixed by simply inserting the male connector into the female connector and turning it, and is an inexpensive commercially available product. Torch side energizing cable 7
Numerals a and 7b are coaxial cables that also serve as cooling water hoses (drainage side), and a power supply side cooling water hose (drainage side) 9 is branched and connected to the energizing terminals that also serve as cooling water flow paths.

The power supply side operation switch cable 8 is connected to a changeover switch 13 so that one line is a common line and the other line can be switched and connected to the torch side operation switch cables 8a and 8b. Changeover switch 1
The wires coming out from 3 are connected together with the common line to metal outlets 14, 14', respectively, and are connected to torch-side operation switch cables 8a, 8b via the respective metal outlets 14, 14'.

Next, the manner in which the switching device 2 switches the flow paths of the working gas and cooling water and switches the energization to each torch will be described. First, when using the plasma arc cutting torch 3a, if the manual switching valves 11 and 11' are switched to form a flow path from to the torch side gas hose 4a as described above,
The working gas supplied through the torch is discharged from the torch 3a, and the cooling water supplied through the torch-side cooling water hose 5a cools the torch 3a, and then connected to the torch-side energizing cable 7a, which also serves as a cooling water hose. The water is discharged through the cooling water hose 9 on the power supply side. The power supply side energizing cable 6a is connected to the torch 3 via a torch side cooling water hose 5a which also serves as an energizing cable.
It is connected to a nozzle (not shown) in a. Further, the power supply side energizing cable 7 is connected to an electrode (not shown) in the torch 3 via the torch side energizing cable 7a by connecting the cable connector 12a and the cable connector 12b, and the current is passed through the power supply side energizing cable. The pilot arc current flowing from (side) 6a to the power supply side energizing cable (side) 7 and the power supply side energizing cable (
side) 6b to power supply side energizing cable (side) 7
The plasma arc current flows to the plasma arc current. Power supply device side energizing cable 6b connected to base material 10
is common to each torch, so there is no need to switch.

In this case, power supply side operation switch cable 8
is connected to the torch-side operation switch cable 8a via the changeover switch 13, so it can be opened and closed by an operation switch (not shown) attached to the torch 3a. The signal starts and stops the arc.

When using the TIG welding torch 3b, by switching the manual switching valves 11 and 11' so that a flow path is formed from The water is supplied to the torch 3b through the water hose 5b, and the torch 3
The cooling water coming out from b is connected to the torch side energizing cable 7b which also serves as a cooling water hose and the power supply side cooling water hose 9.
is discharged through. Power supply side energizing cable 7
is connected to an electrode (not shown) in the torch 3b via the torch side energizing cable 7b by connecting the cable connector 12a and the cable connector 12c, and the power supply side energizing cable (
side) 6b to power supply side energizing cable (side) 7
Arc current flows to the

In this case, power supply side operation switch cable 8
is connected to the torch side operation switch cable 8b via the changeover switch 13, so the torch 3
The arc is started and stopped by a signal generated by opening and closing an operation switch (not shown) attached to b.

In this way, in this embodiment, the manual switching valves 11, 1
1' to switch the working gas and cooling water flow paths,
By switching the connection of the energized cable (side) using the cable connectors 12a and 12c and switching the connection of the operation switch cable using the changeover switch 13,
A plasma arc cutting torch and a TIG welding torch can be switched and used with the same power source.

The device shown in this example can be used for other applications such as TIG
When using two welding torches in a switched manner, the power supply device side energizing cable 6a may be removed, so that it can be used for other purposes by changing some wiring and piping.

3 to 5 show an example of a switching operation mechanism for the manual switching valves 11, 11' and the switching switch 13.

The switching operation mechanism, together with the manual switching valves 11, 11' and the switching switch 13, is attached to the case front plate 16 of the switching device 2 via a mounting seat 17. A first manual switching valve 11 connected to the power supply side gas hose 4 and the torch side gas hoses 4a and 4b.
and a second manual switching valve 11' connected to the power supply side cooling water hose 5 and the torch side cooling water hoses 5a and 5b are stacked vertically and fixed to the mounting seat 17 with a holding plate 18 and bolts 19. There is. A rotating shaft 21 is screwed into a valve stem shaft 20' extending from the lower manual switching valve 11', and a gear 22' is mounted on this rotating shaft. D to prevent gear 22' from spinning idly.
A cutout groove is provided in the portion, and a retaining plate 23' is provided to prevent the retaining member from coming off. The rotating shaft 21 is rotatably supported by a bearing collar 24 of the mounting seat 17, and a knob 25 is attached to the shaft end protruding from the bearing collar 24. Also on the valve stem shaft (not shown) of the upper manual switching valve 11,
Similarly, the gear 22 is attached by a fixed shaft 26 provided with a notched groove and a retaining plate 23 to prevent it from spinning idly. The meshing of both gears 22, 22' is achieved by a spacer 2 inserted between the upper and lower manual switching valves 11, 11'.
7. Therefore, knob 25
When the rotating shaft 21 is rotated in either the left or right direction, the two manual switching valves 11, 11' are operated in conjunction with each other via the gears 22, 22', and the flow paths shown in FIG. 2 A or B are switched. can.

The changeover switch 13 is a commercially available micro switch having an a contact and a b contact.
3' is mounted on the mounting seat 17 on the side of the rotating shaft 21 so as to be pressed by the half-split notch surface F of the rotating shaft 21. In addition, the mounting seat 17 has a rotating shaft 2.
A stopper 28 is provided at one end of the cutout surface F of the rotary shaft 21 to limit the rotation angle of the rotary shaft 21.

Next, the mode of the switching operation will be explained with reference to FIG. In this figure, the rotating shaft 21 rotates in the direction of arrow L,
It shows a state where it hits the stopper 28 and stops. At this time, the manual switching valves 11 and 11' are both arranged as shown in FIG. 2A. In this state, the working gas and cooling water are supplied to the arc torch 3a of FIG. 1, as described above. On the other hand, the changeover switch 13 is set so that the lever with roller 13' is in the fifth position.
It enters the half-split part of the rotating shaft 21 shown in the figure and is released.
The operating switch circuit of the arc torch 3a is made operable.

When the rotary shaft 21 is rotated in the R direction, the lever with roller 13' is pressed by the cutout surface F of the rotary shaft 21, so the changeover switch 13 operates in reverse, and the operation switch circuit of the arc torch 3b in FIG. It becomes operational. At the same time, manual switching valve 11,1
The flow path 1' is also switched to the state shown in FIG. 2B, and the working gas and cooling water are supplied to the arc torch 3b.

The switching device 2 is constructed to be small and lightweight by housing the above-mentioned switching element parts in one box, and can be easily attached to the side of the power supply device 1 for use.

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) The working gas and cooling water flow paths are switched using manual switching valves without using expensive solenoid valves, and plug-in cable connectors are used to change the connection of energized cables, and operation switches are used. A changeover switch that is operated in conjunction with a manual changeover valve is used to change the cable connection, and does not use electromagnetic switches or knife switches that are expensive and make the device bulky, making the changeover device smaller and cheaper. It can be configured as follows.

(2) The switching device only needs to be connected to the secondary output side of the power supply and does not require operation wiring from the primary side, unlike when using a solenoid valve or solenoid switch, so it can be used with existing power supplies. It can also be easily applied to equipment.

(3) The manual switching valve for water and gas and the switching switch for the operation switch circuit are operated in conjunction with a single knob, and the cable connector for the energized cable can be switched with a single touch, making it easy to operate and not to be used. It is possible to provide a simple arc torch switching device that is safe because the torch is not energized and can switch between a plurality of arc torches using the same power source.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of the arc torch switching device according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the flow path form of the manual switching valve, Fig. 3 is a cutaway front view of the main parts of the switching device, and Fig. 4 is the A cross-sectional view along the - line in Figure 3,
FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view of the rotating shaft. 1: Power supply device, 2: Arc torch switching device, 3
a, 3b: Arc torch, 4: Power supply side gas hose, 4a, 4b: Torch side gas hose, 5: Power supply side cooling water hose, 5a, 5b: Torch side cooling water hose, 7: Power supply side energizing cable, 7
a, 7b: Torch side energizing cable, 8: Power supply side operation switch cable, 8a, 8b: Torch side operation switch cable, 11, 11': Manual switching valve, 12a, 12b, 12c: Cable connector, 13: Switching switch , 21: Rotation axis, 22,
22': Interlocking gear, 25: Knob, F: Notch surface of the rotating shaft 21 for pressing the changeover switch 13.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] On the primary side, there are gas hoses, water supply hoses, energizing cables, and operation switch cables for connecting to the power supply, and on the secondary side, there are multiple gas hoses, water supply hoses, energizing cables, and operation switch cables for connecting multiple torches. A switch cable is provided, and a changeover valve is provided to connect the primary and secondary gas hoses and water supply hoses, respectively, and a changeover switch is provided to connect the primary and secondary operation switch cables. An arc torch switching device characterized in that cable connectors that can be connected to and removed from each other are provided at the terminals of the side energizing cables.