WO2016037544A1

WO2016037544A1 - Auto-darkening welding mask having curved liquid crystal panel

Info

Publication number: WO2016037544A1
Application number: PCT/CN2015/088953
Authority: WO
Inventors: 吴子乾
Original assignee: 泰克曼(南京)电子有限公司
Priority date: 2014-09-09
Filing date: 2015-09-06
Publication date: 2016-03-17
Also published as: CN105455947A

Abstract

An auto-darkening welding mask, comprising a mask casing (70), a head belt structure (60) operatively connected to the mask casing (70), and an auto-darkening filter (ADF) (20) installed on the mask casing (70); and the ADF (20) comprises a curved liquid crystal panel (22) protruding outward on the mask casing (70).

Description

Automatic dimming welding mask with curved liquid crystal panel

Technical field

The present application generally relates to an automatic dimming welding mask having an arc changing liquid crystal panel.

Background technique

In the welding operation, in order to protect the operator from various harmful rays caused by spatter and arcing, the operator usually wears a welding mask.

Common welding masks are usually equipped with an automatic dimming filter (ADF). The automatic dimming filter is mainly a liquid crystal panel. Before the arcing is started, the liquid crystal panel is transparent, and the liquid crystal panel is turned into an opaque state at the moment of arcing, thereby providing protection for the operator's eyes. Usually, the automatic dimming filter is equipped with an adjustment knob or a button. Before using the welding mask, the operator can adjust the operating parameters such as sensitivity, delay time, shading number, and welding method of the automatic dimming filter. Then wear the top cover for the welding operation.

In such a conventional automatic dimming welding mask, the configured automatic dimming filter, especially the liquid crystal panel, is generally in the shape of a flat plate, and when the operator wears the mask, the flat automatic dimming filter is located in front of the human eye. Due to the structure of the mask housing itself, the horizontal auto-dimming filter cannot be made too large in the horizontal direction, resulting in a smaller horizontal field of view of the operator through the auto-dimming filter. In this case, in order to perform the welding work on a large workpiece area, the operator needs to shake the head left and right after the arcing to observe the welding area of the workpiece, which increases the difficulty of the operator's welding operation. In addition, when the operator looks out through the flat automatic dimming filter, the residual light of the human eye may be deformed when the object is observed through the edge of the automatic dimming filter, causing the operator to perform the welding operation. There may be a false positive.

Summary of the invention

The present application is directed to an improved automatic dimming welding mask that is more conventional than conventional The dynamic light welding mask has an observation field of view which is enlarged in the horizontal direction, and at the same time minimizes the possibility of deformation when the object is observed, which is convenient for the operator wearing the mask to observe more conveniently and accurately without shaking the head. The welding zone of the workpiece and the welding work is completed.

According to an aspect of the present application, an automatic dimming welding mask is provided, comprising:

Mask housing

a headgear structure operatively coupled to the mask housing;

An automatic dimming filter installed in the mask housing, the auto-dimming filter enclosing a curved liquid crystal panel and an arc-shaped transparent protective sheet for protecting the curved liquid crystal panel, the curved liquid crystal panel And the curved transparent protective sheet protrudes outward on the mask housing.

Optionally, the curved liquid crystal panel has a cylindrical arc shape, and after the operator wears the automatic dimming welding mask, the bus bar of the cylinder is substantially parallel or slightly smaller than the height direction of the operator's head. angle.

Optionally, the angle of the curved liquid crystal panel swept relative to the centroid of the welding mask is 60 degrees when viewed in a cross section perpendicular to the bus bar of the cylinder and taken through the cylinder. Between 180 degrees, preferably 120 degrees.

Optionally, the curved liquid crystal panel comprises two curved liquid crystal panel segments spaced apart from each other symmetrically, wherein each segment is opposite to one eye of an operator wearing a welding mask.

Optionally, a retaining assembly is further included, the curved liquid crystal panel being detachably mounted on the mask housing via the retaining assembly.

Optionally, an arcuate transparent protective sheet that provides protection for the curved liquid crystal panel is held on the holding assembly.

Optionally, as seen in the cross section, the arc center of the curved liquid crystal panel is located behind or in front of the centroid or substantially coincides.

Optionally, the protective sheet is the same as or different from the bending degree and/or the bending direction of the liquid crystal panel.

Optionally, the auto-dimming filter comprises a solar cell unit arranged in an arc.

Optionally, the horizontal direction of the curved liquid crystal panel is sized to provide the ability to observe a range of 180 degrees of view from the left and right without the head being fixed after the operator wears the welding mask.

DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other aspects of the present application will be more fully understood from the following description of the appended claims. It should be noted that the proportions of the various figures may be different for the purpose of clarity, but this does not affect the understanding of the present application. In the drawing:

Fig. 1a schematically shows an observation field of view of an operator wearing a conventional automatic dimming welding mask, wherein only the automatic dimming filter provided in the welding mask is illustrated for simplicity;

Figure 1 b schematically shows the operator viewing the field of view of the automatic dimming welding mask according to the present application, wherein for the sake of simplicity only the arcuate automatic dimming according to the idea of the present application provided in the welding mask is illustrated. filter;

2 is a schematic exploded view of an automatic dimming welding mask in accordance with one embodiment of the present application;

Figure 3 is a schematic cross-sectional perspective view of an automatic dimming welding mask in accordance with an embodiment of the present application;

Figure 4 is a schematic cross-sectional plan view of the automatic dimming welding mask according to Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a schematic view showing an automatic dimming filter of different arcs on the premise that the horizontal width of the arc is constant;

Figure 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a mask housing employing another embodiment of a curved auto-dimming filter according to the present application;

Fig. 7 schematically shows a horizontal cutaway view of a mask housing employing another embodiment of a curved auto-dimming filter according to the present application.

detailed description

In the drawings of the present application, structurally identical or functionally similar features are denoted by the same reference numerals.

The auto-dimmer welding mask generally includes a mask housing, a headgear structure coupled to the mask housing, and an auto-dimmer filter mounted on the mask housing. Other control circuits and/or components and headgear structure design associated with the auto-dimming filter to be noted are the same as in the prior art, and thus they are not within the scope of this specification.

When the operator wears the welding mask, the operator is transparent when the head is fixed. The horizontal field of view of the auto-dimming filter is mainly determined by two factors: 1. the horizontal width of the auto-dimming filter; and the maximum angle of the human eye to swing left and right. For the second factor, most people's left and right swing angles are not much different, and basically do not exceed 180 degrees. Therefore, how to design an automatic dimming filter with a larger horizontal width for the first point factor would be a means to effectively expand the viewing field of the welding mask wearer.

1a and 1b respectively illustrate the difference in the effect of the conventional flat automatic dimming filter in the welding mask and the automatic dimming filter equipped according to the idea of the present application on the visual field of the human eye. For the sake of clarity, other portions of the welding mask are omitted from the two figures except that the automatic dimming filter is retained.

As can be seen from Figure 1a, the visual field of the operator's eyes is limited in the horizontal direction by the horizontal width of the auto-dimmer filter 10 when wearing a welding mask equipped with a conventional flat auto-dimmer filter 10. In general, the horizontal width of the auto-dimming filter 10 is limited by the structure of the welding mask housing itself - it can only cover a portion of the front of the human eye 1 of the operator wearing the mask housing, and cannot be made wider. As shown, the angle of view of the operator looking outward through the mask, particularly through the flat auto-lighting filter 10 of the mask, is alpha.

It should be clear that in the context of the present application, the field of view angle refers to the maximum horizontal direction that can be observed by the automatic dimming filter head passing through the operator after wearing the welding mask, only by swinging the eyes left and right. Angle or range of angles.

The main design idea of the present application is to design the auto-dimming filter to have a circular arc shape, as in the arc-shaped auto-dimming filter 20 shown in Fig. 1b. The main component of the auto-dimming filter is a liquid crystal panel. That is, the curved auto-dimming filter 20 according to the present application mainly includes a curved and flexible liquid crystal panel. Such a curved auto-dimming filter 20 can cover a larger range of the left and right sides of the human eye 1 in the horizontal direction, such that the operator passes through the mask, in particular through the curved automatic variable-light filter of the mask. 20 The angle of view of the outward view is larger, which is β.

The mask housing of the welding mask has a certain curvature in a portion in front of the wearer's face, whereby the curved automatic dimming filter can be designed to conform to the curved structure of the front portion of the mask housing. Thereby having a larger area in the horizontal direction, ie It is mounted on the welding mask with a larger viewing angle β as shown in Figure 1b. β can be designed to be much larger than α.

In addition, when the human eye 1 observes the object outward through a portion near the edge of such a flat auto-dimming filter as shown in FIG. 1a, the light from the object is relative to the plane normal of the auto-dimming filter. Larger angle incidence causes deformation of the observed object due to aberrations. In some cases, it may even cause the operator to misjudge the welding area of the workpiece, causing serious problems such as welding errors and workpieces being discarded.

However, for the design according to the present application, as shown in FIG. 1b, at the edge of such an arc-shaped auto-dimming filter, the light of the external object can be at a more vertical angle (ie, the light is relative to The tangent plane normal of the curved auto-dimming filter is incident on the human eye 1 at a small angle so that the human eye 1 is more deformed by the portion observed near the edge of the curved auto-lightening filter. small. Therefore, the arc-shaped automatic dimming filter has the advantages of not only increasing the horizontal viewing angle of the wearer of the welding mask, but also reducing the possibility of misjudgment by the operator to the workpiece welding zone and improving the welding work efficiency.

2 through 4 schematically illustrate a welding mask configured with a curved auto-dimming filter in accordance with one embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 2, the welding mask primarily includes a mask housing 70 and a headgear structure 60 operatively coupled to the mask housing 70 for wearing on the operator's head. The mask housing 70 can for example be made of synthetic fibres, in particular of nylon. The shape of the mask housing 70 corresponds to the contour of the human head.

A viewing window 71 is provided at the front of the mask housing 70. An observation window is mounted at the observation window 71, and the observation window is generally composed of a protective sheet 30, an auto-dimmer filter 20, and a holding assembly. The protective sheet 30 may be made of a high-strength transparent material such as glass or plastic, and is in direct contact with various spatters during welding to prevent the auto-lighting filter 20 from being damaged. The retaining assembly is used to simultaneously releasably secure the protective sheet 30 and the auto-dimmer filter 20 to the mask housing 70, primarily including the retaining frame 40 and the locking member 50. The holding frame 40 can be made, for example, of plastic, on which a plurality of protrusions are provided for fixing the auto-dimming filter 20 and the protective sheet 30. After the auto-dimming filter 20 and the protective sheet 30 are fixed in place on the holding frame 40, the holding frame 40 can be detachably fixed to the inner side of the mask housing 70 via the locking member 50.

The solar cell unit 21 and the liquid crystal surface are disposed on the body of the auto-dimmer filter 20 Board 22. At the time of arcing, the liquid crystal panel 22 can be quickly changed from a transparent state to an opaque state according to the setting to provide protection to the operator's eyes. According to the present application, the liquid crystal panel 22 of the auto-dimming filter 20 has a circular arc shape. In addition, the automatic dimming filter can be the same as the existing design. In addition, the solar battery cells 21 may also be arranged in an arc shape in conformity with the liquid crystal panel 22.

3 and 4 show the state after the curved auto-dimming filter 20 is mounted on the mask housing 70. It can be seen that the curved liquid crystal panel 22 of the automatic light-reducing filter 20 protrudes outward at the position of the observation window 71, facilitating the observation of the operator's eyes in a wider field of view while swinging left and right.

It should be clear that in the context of the present application, the curved auto-dimming filter 20, in particular the curved liquid-crystal panel 22 of the curved auto-dimming filter 20, refers to a cylindrical curved design in which the cylinder of the cylinder After the operator wears the mask, it is generally parallel or slightly at a small angle to the height direction of the head, so as not to affect the human eye to view the object up and down. That is, from a human anatomical point of view, when the operator wears the mask, the busbar of the cylinder is substantially parallel or slightly at a slight angle to the sagittal or coronal plane of the operator's head. The protective sheet 30 can also be disposed in the same arc shape as the curved auto-dimming filter 20. For example, the degree of bending and/or the direction of bending of the protective sheet 30 may be disposed substantially the same as that of the liquid crystal panel 22. Of course, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the degree of bending and/or the direction of bending of the protective sheet 30 may also be different from that of the liquid crystal panel 22.

As seen in Figure 4, the arc of the arcuate auto-dimming filter 20, particularly the arc-shaped auto-dimming filter 20, is observed in a horizontal cross-section of the mask housing 70 (e.g., a horizontal cross-section substantially through the position of the human eye). The arc center (arc) of the liquid crystal panel 22 is O', and the shape center of the welding mask is O. From the front-rear direction of the operator wearing the welding mask, the center of the arc is O' after the center of the shape of the welding mask is O, which ensures that the shape of the arc does not excessively protrude outward from the mask housing 70. However, it should be clear that the bending radius of the arc can be changed accordingly as needed.

As can be seen from Figure 4, the front portion of the mask housing 70 is typically fabricated to be curved. That is to say, if the arc-shaped automatic dimming filter design of the present application is adopted in the mask housing 70, the automatic dimming filter 20 can be appropriately disposed under the premise that the structural strength of the mask housing is satisfactory. The horizontal width of the curved horizontal is increased to maximize the wearer's eyes. The coverage area of the side ensures that the wearer can see a wider field of view by swinging the eyes left and right while the head is still moving.

In addition, under the premise of maintaining the modular manufacture of the holding assembly of the auto-dimmer, it is possible to replace the existing flat auto-dimming filter and the protective sheet with the arc-shaped automatic dimming filter as the idea of the present application. And the protective sheet, and then the retaining assembly is mounted on the mask housing, so that the welding mask that improves the wearer's field of view can be conveniently mass-produced without reconfiguring the production line, thereby saving large-scale production costs.

In addition to increasing the horizontal horizontal width of the automatic dimming filter 20 to improve the horizontal viewing direction of the wearer, by changing the curvature of the auto-dimming filter 20, the wearer can be kept in the head without moving. The observation effect on the sides of the human eye.

Fig. 5 is a schematic view showing an automatic dimming filter of different arcs under the premise that the horizontal width of the arc is constant. For the sake of clarity, only the curved liquid crystal panel is illustrated, the mask housing is omitted and The other part of the automatic dimming filter. Reference numerals 20' and 20" respectively denote curved liquid crystal panels of different curvatures, and their circular arc centers are respectively illustrated by O' and O", and the centroid of the mask is illustrated by O. The curvature of the liquid crystal panel 20" is greater than the curvature of the liquid crystal panel 20', so that the arc center O" of the liquid crystal panel 20" is located before the centroid O, and the arc center O' of the liquid crystal panel 20' is located after the centroid O. It should be clear to the skilled person that the position of the arc center O' of the liquid crystal panel 20' with respect to the centroid O can be arbitrarily set as needed, for example, O' can also be located just before or coincident with the centroid O.

When the mask is worn, the right eye 1 of the wearer looks outward through the right edge of the liquid crystal panel 20' or 20" and the left eye 1 of the wearer passes through the liquid crystal to the left without moving the head. Looking outward at the left edge of the panel 20' or 20" determines the maximum field of view of the wearer in the horizontal direction. If the light is incident on the liquid crystal panel 20' or 20" at an angle with respect to the tangential plane, aberration occurs, and if the angle is smaller, the phase difference is more obvious. As seen from Fig. 5, in the liquid crystal panel 20' or 20" This angle of incidence at the edge with respect to the tangent plane is represented by θ. It can be seen that, in the case where the horizontal width of the arc is constant, the incident angle θ ₂ of the liquid crystal panel 20 ′ having a large curvature is significantly larger than the incident angle θ ₁ of the liquid crystal panel 20 ′ having a smaller curvature. In the case of the curved liquid crystal panel 20", the wearer's eyes are less distorted by the objects observed at the edges of the liquid crystal panel. On the contrary, the distortion is greater. It is conceivable that this phenomenon of aberration distortion is particularly noticeable in a flat liquid crystal panel.

Although increasing the curvature of the liquid crystal panel can improve the edge imaging distortion phenomenon, the curvature of the liquid crystal panel cannot be infinitely increased due to the limitation of strength, design, and manufacturing cost, so the circumferential width of the horizontal arc of the liquid crystal panel and the curvature of itself are Determining a suitable compromise between settings will facilitate the manufacture of a suitable curved auto-dimming filter that improves the wearer's field of view at a lower cost.

It should be understood that the mask housing of the welding mask of the present application is not limited to the specific shape as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4. Any mask housing in which an arc-shaped automatic dimming filter can be employed can be employed in the welding mask according to the present application.

For example, Figure 6 schematically illustrates a mask housing 80 of a welding mask in accordance with another embodiment of the present application. The front portion of the mask housing 80 is also generally arcuate in shape. Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of a mask housing 80 equipped with an auto-dimming filter, generally taken at a level corresponding to the wearer's eyes. In this embodiment, the arcuate auto-dimming filter 201 includes an integrated curved liquid crystal panel 221, a solar cell unit (not shown), and an arcuate protective sheet 301 spaced apart from the curved liquid crystal panel 221. The curved auto-dimming filter 201 is detachably fixed in the observation window of the mask housing 80 via the holding assembly 41 in a manner similar to that shown in FIGS. 2 to 4.

As explained above, the arcuate circumferential width of the curved auto-dimming filter 201 or its curved liquid crystal panel 221 needs to be selected in consideration of improving the wearer's horizontal field of view and the structural strength and processing feasibility of the mask housing. Therefore, according to the applicant's concept, if the centroid of the mask or its casing 80 is O, the angle ω of the curved auto-lighting filter 201 or its curved liquid crystal panel 221 is centered on the centroid O For example, it may be between 60 degrees and 180 degrees, preferably 120 degrees. It should be noted that the angle ω here is independent of the arc of the curved auto-lighting filter 201 or its curved liquid crystal panel 221 itself, and only represents the curved auto-dimming filter 201 or its curved liquid crystal panel 221 in horizontal cross section. The angle that the middle direction is swept relative to the mask housing 80 in the circumferential direction.

In general, the larger the curved area of the liquid crystal panel, the more the strength may be lowered or the manufacturing cost may be sharply increased. Therefore, in order to reduce the manufacturing cost while ensuring that the liquid crystal panel has sufficient structural strength, it is conceivable to separately manufacture and then assemble the integrated curved liquid crystal panel and/or the protective sheet as shown in FIG. 6 into two parts. FIG. 7 illustrates a curved auto-dimming filter 202 that can be combined with FIG. 6 in accordance with another exemplary embodiment. The illustrated mask housings 80 are assembled together. The curved auto-dimming filter 202 includes two discrete curved liquid crystal panels 222 and two separate protective sheets 302 that are secured via a retention assembly 42, each of which mates with a respective one of the protective sheets. The retaining assembly 42 differs from the retaining assembly 41 in that an additional support portion is provided at an intermediate location for providing support for the two discrete curved liquid crystal panels 222 and the two discrete protective sheets 302. The two separate curved liquid crystal panels 222 correspond to each of the eyes of the operator, respectively. Since the additional support portion is located substantially between the eyes of the wearer, the wearer's line of sight is not affected, and the single curved liquid crystal panel does not need to be manufactured to have a large area, which reduces the manufacturing cost and the LCD panel of a smaller area. The structural strength is also increased accordingly.

According to the technical solution of the present application, the welding mask adopts an arc-shaped automatic dimming filter to provide the wearer with a larger viewing field in the horizontal direction, while minimizing the possibility of deformation when the object is observed. It is convenient for the wearer to observe the welding zone of the workpiece and complete the welding work more conveniently and without shaking the head.

Although the specific embodiments of the present application are described in detail herein, they are given for the purpose of explanation and are not intended to limit the scope of the application. Various alternatives, modifications, and adaptations are conceivable without departing from the spirit and scope of the application.

Claims

An automatic dimming welding mask comprising:

Mask housing

a headgear structure operatively coupled to the mask housing;

An automatic dimming filter installed in the mask housing, the auto-dimming filter enclosing a curved liquid crystal panel and an arc-shaped transparent protective sheet for protecting the curved liquid crystal panel, the curved liquid crystal panel And the curved transparent protective sheet protrudes outward on the mask housing.
The automatic dimming welding mask according to claim 1, wherein the curved liquid crystal panel has a cylindrical arc shape, and after the operator wears the automatic dimming welding mask, the busbar of the cylinder is The operator's head height direction is generally parallel or slightly at a small angle.
The automatic dimming welding mask according to claim 2, wherein said curved liquid crystal panel is opposed to said welding as viewed in a cross section perpendicular to said bus bar of said cylinder and taken through said cylindrical surface The angle at which the centroid of the mask is swept is between 60 and 180 degrees, preferably 120 degrees.
An automatic dimming welding mask according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the curved liquid crystal panel comprises two curved liquid crystal panel sections spaced apart from each other symmetrically, wherein each section is worn with a welding mask The operator's one eye is opposite.
An automatic dimming welding mask according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a retaining assembly, the curved liquid crystal panel being detachably mounted on the mask housing via the retaining assembly.
The automatic dimming welding mask according to claim 5, wherein The curved transparent protective sheet that provides protection for the curved liquid crystal panel is held on the holding assembly.
The automatic dimming welding mask according to claim 3, wherein the arc center of the curved liquid crystal panel is located behind or in front of the centroid or substantially coincident as viewed in the cross section.
The automatic dimming welding mask according to claim 7, wherein the protective sheet is the same as or different from a bending degree and/or a bending direction of the liquid crystal panel.
An automatic dimming welding mask according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the auto-dimming filter comprises a solar cell arranged in an arc.
The automatic dimming welding mask according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the horizontal direction of the curved liquid crystal panel is set to be provided in the case where the operator does not move after the operator wears the welding mask The ability to observe the 180 degree field of view from left to right.