Patent Application
20210129258
The present disclosure relates to cutting and welding systems, and more particularly to apparatus and methods for directing gas flow through a body of a cutting or welding torch.
The provision of gas flow through a body of a cutting or welding torch has traditionally occurred through conduits located inside the body at distances away from the inner walls of the body. Such configurations limit the available space inside the body for the placement of additional electronics and/or additional gas conduits. Further developments of cutting and welding torches are hence restricted by the space constraint imposed by the traditional method of routing gas conduits through such devices.
To solve the aforementioned problem, cutting and welding torches are provided that include one or more gas conduits located against an inner surface of a wall that forms the body of the torches, and/or one or more gas conduits formed in part by an inner surface of the torch body wall and/or one or more gas conduits located entirely inside the torch body wall. According to some implementations, the torch bodies have a handle portion that is configured to be gripped by a hand of a human user and the one or more gas conduits are located inside the handle portion. As expressed above, the one or more gas conduits can be formed separately from the torch body and installed against an inner wall of the torch body or can be formed integrally with the torch body being located inside the wall of the torch body. According to some implementations, the one or more gas conduits are partially or fully defined by a portion of the torch body, as this provides the greatest benefit in terms of space reduction. However, according to some implementations, the gas conduits are defined entirely by structures coupled to an inner surface of the torch body.
A torch body implementing these concept may include one conduit on one side of the torch body or may include multiple gas conduits spaced apart from one another around an inner circumference of the torch body. The gas conduits can be used to transfer process gas (during plasma cutting), coolant gas (for cutting or welding), shield gas (for cutting or welding), or any other type of gas or combination of gases to the torch head.
According to one example, when these concepts are incorporated into a plasma torch, a first conduit on a first side of the plasma torch body can pass process gas (i.e., plasma gas) to the torch head (e.g., a cartridge of consumables) and a second conduit on a second side of the plasma torch body can pass shield gas to the torch head. To ensure gas does not leak between the handle and the components of the torch head, the torch body may comprise two halves (e.g. clam shell halves) that are clamped about a portion of the torch head. The inner circumference ends of these clamshell halves may also include a gasket to prevent leaks between the torch head and the torch body. However, it is also possible to couple the torch head to a torch body that includes gas channels in a number of other ways.
According to some implementations, the proximal end of the one or more gas conduits may be coupled to one or more gas conduits located inside a cable hose connected to one or more gas supplies by use of one or more quick connect/disconnect fittings.
As mentioned above, passing the gas in or adjacent the body of the handle frees up more space inside the handle. For example, these conduits can replace gas hoses extending through a central part of the torch body. Traditionally, these gas hoses have an outer diameter of up to or greater than ΒΌ inch. By virtue of the types of gas conduits provided herein, the space traditionally occupied by gas conduits is free for the placement of electronics, electrical connections, new/additional components, etc. Alternatively, this space may be eliminated to allow the overall size of the torch body to be decreased.
Additionally or alternatively, the torch body gas conduits can be used to introduce additional gas flows to the torch head and (a) allow a torch to use new features, such as shielding gas for a single gas torch, and/or (b) allow the torch to use different compositions of gas as compared to traditional operations. That is, the gas conduits may supplement traditional gas delivery elements, such as gas hoses that transfer gas from a cable hose (which connects the torch to a power supply) to the torch head, instead of replacing them.
These and other advantages and features will become evident in view of the drawings and detailed description.
For discussion purposes, the disclosure that follows is primarily directed to plasma cutting torches, but is nonetheless applicable to welding torches and to other types of cutting torches in which one or more gas conduits are used to deliver gas through a handle portion of a body of the torches.
Various implementations of routing gas through a handle of a cutting torch or welding torch are disclosed.
Cable hose 13, cable hose 14, and/or working lead 15 may each include various conductors so that they may transmit data, electricity, signals, etc. between components of the cutting system 10 (e.g., between the power supply 11 and the torch assembly 20) and, as is illustrated, cable hose 13, cable hose 14, and/or working lead 15 may each be any length. In order to connect the aforementioned components of the cutting system 10, the opposing ends of cable hose 13, cable hose 14, and/or working lead 15 may each be coupled to the gas supply 12, power supply 11, torch assembly 20, or clamp 16 in any manner now known or developed hereafter (e.g., a releasable connection). The cable hose 14 may include a first connector 17 that releasably couples a first end of the cable hose 14 to a port of the power supply 11 and may also include a second connector 18 that releasably couples a second end of the cable hose 14 to a proximal end of the torch body 21. Thus, the torch body 21 may be releasably coupled to the power supply 11 via a releasable connection formed between the cable hose 14 and the power supply 11 and/or via a releasable connection formed between the cable hose 14 and the torch body 21.
According to one implementation, after the electrode 23 and nozzle 24 are installed, the shield cup 25 is installed around an installation flange 27 of the nozzle 24 in order to secure the nozzle 24 and electrode 23 in place in axial alignment. Additionally or alternatively, the nozzle 24 and/or electrode 23 can be secured or affixed to the torch body 21 in any desirable manner, such as by mating threaded sections included on the torch body 21 with corresponding threads included on the components. For example, in some implementations, the electrode 23, nozzle 24, shield cup 25, gas distributor 26, as well as any other components (e.g., a lock ring, spacer, secondary cap, etc.) may be assembled together in a cartridge that may can be selectively coupled to the torch body 21. For example, the various components may be coupled to a cartridge body or coupled to each other to form a cartridge.
In use, the plasma torch assembly 20 is configured to emit a plasma arc between the electrode 23 and a workpiece to which the grounding clamp 16 is attached. As shown in
According to some implementations, when the plasma torch is equipped with the shield cap 25, a shield gas channel 32 is provided between the shield cap 25 and the outside of the nozzle 24 and is used to provide shielding gas at the cutting area of the workpiece to protect the cutting area from contaminates.
In traditional plasma cutting torches there is a space enclosed by the body of the torch preceding (located proximal to) the consumable parts that is typically densely populated with one or more conduits that direct process gas and shield gas respectively into channels 30 and 32. An additional conduit to deliver a cooling gas to cool a cooling surface 23a of the electrode 23 is sometimes also located in the space. These conduits have traditionally been spaced a distance away from an inner surface of the torch body 21. The space is furthermore occupied with electronics and electrical connectors (e.g. power and signal connectors) that are used to control current flow to the electrode 23 and to provide other functions (e.g. processing functions to control current and gas flows and indication functions to communicate to a user statuses associated with the torch assembly 20, the power supply 11, gas supply 12, etc.). The space is also typically occupied with mechanical elements, such as, for example, trigger components and internal supports to which the various aforestated items are secured.
To alleviate an overcrowding of components located in the space to make room for additional electronics and/or additional gas tubing inside the handle portion 40 of the torch body 21, disclosed herein are various implementations wherein one or more conduits for transporting gas are at least in part formed by a portion of the torch body 21. As will be discussed in more detail below, according to some implementations, an inner surface of a wall of the torch body 21 delimits an inner wall of the gas conduit, while in other implementations the entirety of the gas conduit is located inside a wall of the torch body 21. That is, the gas passage of the gas conduit is wholly integrated within the wall of the torch body 21 such that the resultant gas conduit and body 21 are singularly constructed (i.e. made from a single piece of material). In the latter case, the gas conduits may be formed in the course of a molding of the torch body 21.
According to some implementations, the one or more gas conduits are formed at least in part by the torch body 21 wall have a length that extends at least 25% of the length L of the torch body 21. According to other implementations, the one or more gas conduits have a length that extends at least 50% of the length L of the torch body 21.
In the example of
In the foregoing implementation each of the first and second parts 21a and 21b respectively includes attached to an inner surface thereof a gas conduit member 50a and 50b that transports gas along a length of the torch body. However, according to some implementations a single gas conduit member is provided attached to one of the first and second parts 21a and 21b of the torch body. According to other implementations, one or both of the first and second parts 21a and 21b of the torch body each includes two or more gas conduit members secured to their inner surfaces 48a and 48b.
According to some implementations, each of the first and second gas conduit members 50a and 50b is unitarily constructed (i.e. made from a single piece of material). According to some implementations, each of the gas conduit members 50a and 50b comprises a polymer that is shaped using an injection molding process. Upon the gas conduit members being molded, they are thereafter attached to one or more inner surfaces of the torch body. According to other implementations, the gas conduit members 50a and 50b are constructed of metal by means of casting and/or machining processes.
In use, the gas conduits 50a and 50b are used to transport gases from a gas supply via cable hose 14 to one or both of process gas and shield gas channels 30 and 32 located in the head 42 of the torch 20.
According to one implementation, as shown in
In the foregoing discussion, a cross-section of the gas passages of conduits 150a and 150b are disclosed to comprise a circular shape. However, according to other implementations the shape of the gas passages may comprise other shapes, such as, for example, semi-circular shapes, oval shapes, rectangular shapes, etc.
As shown in
In use, the gas conduits 150a and 150b are used to transport gases from a gas supply via cable hose 14 to one or both of process gas and shield gas channels 30 and 32 located in the head 42 of the torch 20.
As shown in
According to some implementations, the torch body 21 includes a single gas conduit encased within it. According to other implementations, the torch body 21 includes greater than two gas conduits encased within it.
In regard to each of the implementations disclosed and contemplated above, an additional advantage of the placement of the gas conduits is that they are well situated to cause a cooling of the torch handle as gas is passed through them. According to some implementations, in order to increase the effective cooling area, one or more of the gas conduits are formed to run along a length of the torch body handle in an undulating or spiral fashion. In addition, in instances in which multiple gas conduits are used, the gas conduits may be connected to a common supply source (e.g. a gas tube extending through cable hose 14) via a splitter.
The previous examples are not suggested to limit other variations. The present disclosure is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the spirit of the disclosure are intended to be within the scope of the present disclosure.
