WO1990009540A1 - Welding gun connector - Google Patents

Welding gun connector Download PDF

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Publication number
WO1990009540A1
WO1990009540A1 PCT/CA1990/000038 CA9000038W WO9009540A1 WO 1990009540 A1 WO1990009540 A1 WO 1990009540A1 CA 9000038 W CA9000038 W CA 9000038W WO 9009540 A1 WO9009540 A1 WO 9009540A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
welding gun
bellows
connection means
conduit
individual
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/CA1990/000038
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Robert N. Mann
Original Assignee
Mann Robert N
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Mann Robert N filed Critical Mann Robert N
Publication of WO1990009540A1 publication Critical patent/WO1990009540A1/en

Links

Classifications

    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16L—PIPES; JOINTS OR FITTINGS FOR PIPES; SUPPORTS FOR PIPES, CABLES OR PROTECTIVE TUBING; MEANS FOR THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16L27/00—Adjustable joints, Joints allowing movement
    • F16L27/10—Adjustable joints, Joints allowing movement comprising a flexible connection only, e.g. for damping vibrations
    • F16L27/107—Adjustable joints, Joints allowing movement comprising a flexible connection only, e.g. for damping vibrations the ends of the pipe being interconnected by a flexible sleeve
    • F16L27/11—Adjustable joints, Joints allowing movement comprising a flexible connection only, e.g. for damping vibrations the ends of the pipe being interconnected by a flexible sleeve the sleeve having the form of a bellows with multiple corrugations
    • F16L27/111—Adjustable joints, Joints allowing movement comprising a flexible connection only, e.g. for damping vibrations the ends of the pipe being interconnected by a flexible sleeve the sleeve having the form of a bellows with multiple corrugations the bellows being reinforced
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
    • B23K9/00—Arc welding or cutting
    • B23K9/32—Accessories

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to welding guns.
  • Welding guns for application of a weld to a desired site generally are provided at the remote end of a conduit in which is located a continuous weld wire extending from a wire source and a pow-ir cable extending i I from a power source.
  • welding guns are of the vacuum type which permit undesirable fumes to be removed from the welding site through the conduit.
  • this conduit has been of corrugated construction along the whole length thereof, but such structure provides no support for the weld wire pr pojwer cable and can wear through to expose the electrical power cable.
  • my U.S. Patent No. 4,496,823 there is described a novel multipassage flexible smooth-surfaped conduit which overcomes the problems of the prior art.
  • conduit of my U.S. Patent No. 4,496,823 is not sufficiently flexible to permit the ideal manoeuvrability of the welding, gun head to make welds, particularly in hard-to-get-at locations.
  • FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a welding gun arrangement in accordance with one embodiment of the invention
  • Figure 2 is a perspective view of the connector used in the welding gun arrangement of Figure 1;
  • Figure 3 is a sectional view of the connector of Figure 2.
  • Figure 4 is a perspective view of the connector illustrating flexure thereof.
  • the welding gun arrangement 10 comprises a conduit 12, a welding gun head 14 and a bellows connector 16 connecting the downstream end of the conduit 12 to the upstream end of the welding head 14.
  • the conduit 12 is a smooth-surfaced tube for conveying power and welding rod from a remote location to the welding gun head 14.
  • the conduit 12 preferably takes the form described in my U.S. Patent No. 4,496,812, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, for a fume-extruding welding gun head 14.
  • the welding gun head 14 may be any convenient welding gun head to effect welding at a site.
  • the welding gun head 14 is of the fume- extracting type and preferably takes the form described in my U.S. Patent No. 4,727,238, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
  • the bellows connector 16 comprises a plurality of individual bellows elements 18 which are integrally joined to each other so as to be resiliently flexible and permit universal movement of the welding gun head 14 with respect to the conduit 12.
  • a series of resilient rings 19 is provided spaced apart substantially equally along the length of the connector 16.
  • the rings are located in the apices of individual ones of the bellows elements 18.
  • the connector 16 is joined to the conduit 12 and the welding gun head 14 in any convenient manner. As illustrated, the downstream end of the conduit 12 and the upstream end of the welding gun head 14 extend snugly respectively into tubular extensions 20 of the bellows connector 16 and clamps 22 surround and are tightened onto the extensions 20 to grip the conduit 12 and welding gun head 14 respectively.
  • the present invention provides a novel welding gun arrangement, which has clear industrial applicability, permits, through the use of a bellows connector, more flexibility of location of a welding gun head when a smooth-surfaced relatively inflexible con&uit is employed while resistance to inadvertent crushing is achieved using resilient rings. Modifications are possible within the scope of this invention.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Plasma & Fusion (AREA)
  • Resistance Welding (AREA)

Abstract

A bellows-like connector is used to join the downstream end of a smooth-surfaced welding gun conduit and the upstream end of a welding gun head to permit the welding gun head to be moved universally relative to the conduit. Resilient rings are located internally of the bellows to resist radially-inward deformation.

Description

TITLE OF INVENTION WELDING GDN CONNECTOR t TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to welding guns.
BACKGROUND ART
Welding guns for application of a weld to a desired site generally are provided at the remote end of a conduit in which is located a continuous weld wire extending from a wire source and a pow-ir cable extending i I from a power source. Often such welding guns are of the vacuum type which permit undesirable fumes to be removed from the welding site through the conduit. Traditionally, this conduit has been of corrugated construction along the whole length thereof, but such structure provides no support for the weld wire pr pojwer cable and can wear through to expose the electrical power cable. In my U.S. Patent No. 4,496,823, there is described a novel multipassage flexible smooth-surfaped conduit which overcomes the problems of the prior art.
In some instances, however, the conduit of my U.S. Patent No. 4,496,823 is not sufficiently flexible to permit the ideal manoeuvrability of the welding, gun head to make welds, particularly in hard-to-get-at locations.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, ;here is provided a novel welding gun arrangement in which a smooth-surfaced flexible conduit is joined to a welding gun head through a bellows-like flexible connector to permit the welding gun to be turned almost universally with respect to the conduit. Such bellows-like connector is provided with resilient , rings located integrally of the device, so that radially-inward deformation under the influence of inwardly-directed pressure is resisted. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a perspective view of a welding gun arrangement in accordance with one embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the connector used in the welding gun arrangement of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a sectional view of the connector of Figure 2; and
Figure 4 is a perspective view of the connector illustrating flexure thereof.
BEST METHOD OF CARRYING OUT INVENTION Referring to the drawings, there is shown therein a welding gun arrangement 10 in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. The welding gun arrangement 10 comprises a conduit 12, a welding gun head 14 and a bellows connector 16 connecting the downstream end of the conduit 12 to the upstream end of the welding head 14.
The conduit 12 is a smooth-surfaced tube for conveying power and welding rod from a remote location to the welding gun head 14. The conduit 12 preferably takes the form described in my U.S. Patent No. 4,496,812, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, for a fume-extruding welding gun head 14.
The welding gun head 14 may be any convenient welding gun head to effect welding at a site. Preferably, the welding gun head 14 is of the fume- extracting type and preferably takes the form described in my U.S. Patent No. 4,727,238, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The bellows connector 16 comprises a plurality of individual bellows elements 18 which are integrally joined to each other so as to be resiliently flexible and permit universal movement of the welding gun head 14 with respect to the conduit 12. By providing for universal movement of the connector 16 by means of the bellows 18, an extreme flexibility of positioning of the welding gun head 14 relative to the conduit 12 results, providing to the welder, not only the advantages of the smooth-surfaced conduit 12 but also the advantage of flexibility of location of welding gun head 14 at the welding site.
To prevent inadvertent crushing and collapse of the bellows 16 in use, such as may occur when the welding gun is gripped at the connector, a series of resilient rings 19 is provided spaced apart substantially equally along the length of the connector 16. The rings are located in the apices of individual ones of the bellows elements 18. The connector 16 is joined to the conduit 12 and the welding gun head 14 in any convenient manner. As illustrated, the downstream end of the conduit 12 and the upstream end of the welding gun head 14 extend snugly respectively into tubular extensions 20 of the bellows connector 16 and clamps 22 surround and are tightened onto the extensions 20 to grip the conduit 12 and welding gun head 14 respectively.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention provides a novel welding gun arrangement, which has clear industrial applicability, permits, through the use of a bellows connector, more flexibility of location of a welding gun head when a smooth-surfaced relatively inflexible con&uit is employed while resistance to inadvertent crushing is achieved using resilient rings. Modifications are possible within the scope of this invention.

Claims

CLAIMS What I claim is:
1. A welding gun, comprising: a welding gun head for applying a weld to a site, a conduit for an electrical power cable to said welding gun head, flexible bellows connection means connecting said welding gun head to said conduit to permit said welding gun head to be moved universally relative to said conduit, and a plurality of resilient rings disposed integrally and at longitudinally-spaced locations along the length of said bellows connection means to resist deformation of said bellows connection means upon the external application of radially-inward pressure thereto.
2. The welding gun of claim 1 wherein said flexible bellows connection means is of generally cylindrical shape and comprising a plurality of individual bellows members integrally joined one to another to be resiliently flexible.
3. The welding gun of claim 2 wherein said resilient rings are located at the radially-inward apex of individual ones of said individual bellows members.
4. The welding gun of claim 3 wherein there is a lesser plurality of said resilient rings than of said individual bellows means and said resilient rings are substantially equally spaced apart along the length of said bellows connection and located in said apices.
5. The welding gun of claim 4 wherein said flexible bellows connection means includes elongate smooth surfaced tubular portions at each longitudinal end thereof to effect connection to said welding gun head and said conduit.
6. The welding gun of claim 5 wherein the downstream end of said conduit extends snugly into one of said tubular portions and the upstream end of said welding gun head extends snugly into the other of said tubular portions and clamps surround and are tightened to said tubular portion to effect a secure connection.
7. A flexible bellows connection means, comprising a generally cylindrical shape, a plurality of individual bellows members integrally joined one to another to be resiliently flexible and elongate smooth-surfaced tubular portions extending from each end thereof, and having a plurality of resilient rings disposed integrally and at longitudinally-spaced locations along the length of said bellows connection means to resist inward deformation of said bellows connection means upon the external application of radially-inward pressure thereto.
8. The bellows connection means of claim 6 wherein there is a lesser plurality of said resilient rings than of said individual bellows means and said resilient rings are substantially equally spaced apart along the length of said bellows connection means and located in the apices of individual ones of said individual bellows members.
PCT/CA1990/000038 1989-02-08 1990-02-06 Welding gun connector WO1990009540A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA590,464 1989-02-08
CA000590464A CA1312639C (en) 1989-02-08 1989-02-08 Welding gun connector

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO1990009540A1 true WO1990009540A1 (en) 1990-08-23

Family

ID=4139591

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/CA1990/000038 WO1990009540A1 (en) 1989-02-08 1990-02-06 Welding gun connector

Country Status (2)

Country Link
CA (1) CA1312639C (en)
WO (1) WO1990009540A1 (en)

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR1209797A (en) * 1958-09-15 1960-03-03 Vve G Boinet Et Ses Fils Flexible sleeve, in particular for connection of a ventilation nozzle
DE2428135A1 (en) * 1973-06-13 1975-01-09 Andersson H Vaerme Ab WELDING HANDLE
DE8426279U1 (en) * 1984-09-06 1984-12-13 Latzel, Peter H., Dipl.-Kaufm., 5000 Köln Flexible connection line
WO1986004660A1 (en) * 1985-02-04 1986-08-14 Witzenmann Gmbh Metallschlauch-Fabrik Pforzheim Flexible hose with ring-shaped parallel waves with axial support

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR1209797A (en) * 1958-09-15 1960-03-03 Vve G Boinet Et Ses Fils Flexible sleeve, in particular for connection of a ventilation nozzle
DE2428135A1 (en) * 1973-06-13 1975-01-09 Andersson H Vaerme Ab WELDING HANDLE
DE8426279U1 (en) * 1984-09-06 1984-12-13 Latzel, Peter H., Dipl.-Kaufm., 5000 Köln Flexible connection line
WO1986004660A1 (en) * 1985-02-04 1986-08-14 Witzenmann Gmbh Metallschlauch-Fabrik Pforzheim Flexible hose with ring-shaped parallel waves with axial support

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
CA1312639C (en) 1993-01-12

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