Patent Application
20170259089
This disclosure relates to a helmet and, in particular to, a helmet including an air circulation system.
A welding gun in operation can generate intensive heat and toxic fumes which may include gas, smoke and vapor harmful to the operator's health. The operator (i.e., the person who operates the welding gun) may wear a welding helmet to protect the operator from direct exposure to the heat and sparks generated during the welding process. The generated fumes, however, may find their way to enter the interior of the welding helmet and be trapped in the space between operator's face and the inner surface of the welding helmet.
The disclosure is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings.
An air circulation system is needed to expel the toxic fumes from the space inside the welding helmet during a welding operation. Implementations of the disclosure may include a helmet (e.g., a welding helmet) that includes an air circulation system to provide a constant air flow inside and outside of the helmet and to expel toxic fumes generated in a proximity of the helmet (e.g., by a welding gun operated near the helmet). The constant air flow may provide a cooling effect to the helmet wearer's face, help maintain cleaner lenses mounted on the helmet, and provide a cleaner air for the helmet wearer to breath.
In one implementation, the air circulation system may include an air blower and a processing device to control the operations of the air blower. The operations of the air blower may include a start operation, a stop operation, and a change speed operation. The air blower may be powered by rechargeable batteries. The processing device may include a programmable processor (e.g., a micro controller) and an interface to receive data from different sensors, where these sensors can be part of the helmet or accessory devices to the helmet. The processing device may receive data from these sensors via the interface and generate control instructions to the air blower. The control instructions may control the operation of the air blower, where execution of the control instructions may cause the air blower to start or to stop, or change the air exchange rate of the air blower. The air circulation system may further include at least one intake port and at least one exhaust port, flexible tubes coupled to the intake port and the exhaust port.
In one implementation, air circulation system 114 may include a casing (not shown), an air blower (e.g., a fan) 106, and a power source (not shown) (e.g., a rechargeable battery or a lithium battery). The air blower 106 may be electrically connected to the power source via a switch device. The casing may be made of solid materials (e.g., metals or plastics). The casing may enclose the air blower and include an input outlet 118 and an exhaust outlet 120. A first end of flexible tube 108 is coupled to the casing of air blower 106 via the exhaust outlet 120, and a second end of flexible tube 108 is extended to outside of the helmet. For example, the second end of flexible tube 108 may be extended from the back of the user's head to the front.
In one implementation, flexible tube 108 may be perforated with holes 116. The holes 116 may be located at different positions on tube 108. The positions of holes 116 are designed to facilitate the air flow. For example, holes 116 may be placed along the side of helmet 100 near the nose and mouth of the operator. When the air blower 106 is turned on, the air trapped in the helmet may be pulled by the air blower 106 into the casing via the input outlet. Air circulation system 114 may include an air filter (not shown) for purifying the air drawn into the air circulation system 114. The purified air may then be pushed out into the flexible tube through the exhaust port. A portion of the purified air may be pushed outside helmet 100, and a small portion of the purified air may be pushed through holes 116 back into inside of helmet 100 for operator to breath. Thus, the air (including harmful fumes) trapped in the helmet 100 may be circulated in exchange for purified air.
Processing device 110 may include a number of hardware components electronically connected for controlling the operation of the air blower 106.
Interface device 204 may include ports to receive different types of input signal. For example, a first port may be designated to receive the input signal from sensor 208; a second port may be designated to receive the input signal from sensor 210; a third port may be designated to receive the input signal from sensor 212. These ports can be a 5-volt type of ports such as, for example, a Universal Serial Port (USB) port, or a MICRO port. In one implementation, interface device 204 may include an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) that may convert analog signals received from sensors 208, 210, 212 into digital signals (e.g., binary data) that can be processed by a digital controller (e.g., a digital signal processor (DSP)). Control program 214 may process the input signals and generate control instructions for air blower 106. The control instructions may control the operations of air blower 106, including a start instruction to start the air blower, a stop instruction to stop the air blower, and a speed instruction to control the speed of a fan in the air blower.
In one implementation, interface device 204 may provide one or more 5-volt connectors 224 for connecting processing device 110 with electronic accessory devices. For example, processing device 110 may provide 5-volt electrical supply to at least one of a flash light or a speaker. The flash light may be used to illuminate the working area of the operator, and the speaker may be used by the operator to communicate with other persons (e.g., co-workers).
In one implementation, processing device 110 may optionally include a storage device 206 to store programming code and data. Storage device 206 can be register devices and/or memory device (e.g., random access memory (RAM)). For example, storage device 206 may store the executable code and associated parameters of control program 214 and may also store data collected by sensors 208, 210, 212.
In one implementation, interface device 204 may be communicatively connected to a photo sensor 208. Photo sensor 208 is a photo-electronic device that detects the intensity of light shining on a sensing element of the photo sensor 208. The light can be visible light, infrared light, and ultraviolet light. Responsive to detecting the light shined on photo sensor 208, photo sensor 208 may generate an electronic signal with a power (as a function of amplitude of the light wave) corresponding to the intensity of the light. Interface device 204 may capture the electronic signal representing the light shined on phone sensor 208 and convert the electronic signal into digital signals for controller 202 to further process.
Responsive to receiving the electronic signal representing the light intensity changes over time detected by photo sensor 208, controller 202 may execute control program 214 to analyze the light intensity changes and detect certain trigger events.
Control program 214 may identify a pattern in the light intensity change representing the ignition of a welding gun. In one implementation, control program 214 may detect a sharp light intensity change representing from a dim light to a very bright light (e.g., the jump in the light intensity is greater than a threshold value), where the event may represent the lightening up of the welding gun triggered by the operator. Responsive to detecting the event representing the lighting up of the welding gun, control program 214 may generate a start instruction to air blower 106 to start the air circulation system 100. In one implementation, control program 214 may issue the start instruction to air blower 106 immediately responsive to detecting that the welding gun has started. In another implementation, control program 214 may delay (e.g., five seconds after the detection of welding gun ignition) the issuance of the start instruction to the air blower 106.
In another implementation, control program 214 may detect a sharp light intensity change representing from a very bright light to a dim light, where the event may represent a shutdown of the welding gun. Responsive to detecting the event representing the shutdown of the welding gun, control program 214 may generate a stop instruction to air blower 106 to stop the air circulation system 100. In one implementation, control program 214 may issue the stop instruction to air blower 106 immediately after detecting that the welding gun has stopped. In another implementation, control program 214 may delay (e.g., five seconds after the detection of welding gun ignition) the issuance of the stop instruction to the air blower 106 to give air blower 106 extra time to exhaust residual fumes in the welding helmet. In one implementation, the amount of delay before starting (or stopping) the air blower 106 after the detection of an event can be set by the operator through interface device 204. For example, interface device 204 may include a number of choices (e.g., one second, two seconds, and five seconds) for the operator to choose. Interface device 204 may include elements (e.g., buttons) corresponding to these choices for the operator to select.
In one implementation, interface device 204 may be communicatively connected to a camera 210 that is mounted on the head of the user. Camera 210 may include a photo sensor (as photo sensor 208) that may detect events representing the start and/or stop of the welding gun. Additionally, camera 210 may be mounted with its lens towards the welding gun to record the process of welding. Alternatively, interface device 204 may include a wired and/or wireless communication link (e.g., a Bluetooth® link) to transmit the recoding to a remote storage device. The recording may be stored in storage device 206 associated with processing device 110. In one implementation, the detection of the welding gun start may trigger the start of the video recording, and the detection of the welding gun stop may cause the stop of the video recording. The recorded video may be used for later quality control and training purpose.
In one implementation, interface device 204 may be communicatively connected to other types of sensors (e.g., one or more sensors 212) that may measure different aspects of the welding environment. For example, sensors 212 may include different types of environmental sensors that measure an environmental quantity, where the environmental quantity is a value representing a physical aspect of the working environment. In one implementation, sensors 212 may include a temperature sensor that records the temperatures during the welding and an air quality sensor to measure an air quality quantity (e.g., a particle density). Sensors 212 may also include chemical sensors that may monitor chemical elements (e.g., chromium, nickel, arsenic, manganese etc.) in the air through the welding process. The temperature sensor and the chemical sensors may transmit the physical and chemical quantities they measure to interface device 204 which may convert these quantities to electronic signals for controller 202. Controller 202 may execute control program 214 to record these environmental quantities in storage device 206 and analyze these quantities to determine whether the welding environment meets pre-defined safety rules 216 stored in storage device 206. For example, in one implementation, storage device 206 may store a set of rules 216 that are prescribed according to safety regulations mandated by the government or the company. The safety regulations may specify the duration and/or the amount harmful chemicals to which an operator can expose. Control program 214 may continuously receive measured quantities from the interface device 204 and compare the measured quantities with the rules 216 to determine whether the welding environment violates one or more safety regulations.
In one implementation, responsive to detecting a violation of the safety regulations based on the measured quantities and rules 216, controller 202 may cause to generate a warning signal to the user. The warning signal may inform the operator about the detected violation. The warning signal can be an audio warning (e.g., a buzz sound) or a visual warning (e.g., a red indicator connected to the processing device 110). In one implementation, the detection of a certain violation may cause the controller 202 to issue a speed instruction to the air blower 106 that may increase the air blower speed and increase the volume of air circulation.
Sensors 212 may also include an acoustic sensor (e.g., a microphone) that may receive the audio during the welding. The operator may talk to the microphone and record audio clips as annotations of the welding operation.
In one implementation, processing device 110 may be powered by a rechargeable battery pack 218. Battery pack 218 may provide, via interface device 204, the power supply to processing device 110. In one implementation, one or more solar panels 220 may be electronically connected to rechargeable battery pack 218. The one or more solar panels 220 may charge the rechargeable battery pack 218 during daylight. In one implementation, processing device 110 may include an ON/OFF switch 222 coupled between batteries 218 and interface device 204. Operator may use switch 222 to manually turn on or off the air circulation system 114. In one implementation, switch 222 may be implemented with a large button (e.g., approximately, an inch by an inch) to allow the operator manually turn on or off air circulation system even when the operator wears heavy gloves.
In one implementation, the processing device 110 and air blower 106 are compact devices that can be mounted on the helmet 100.
Air circulation system 301 may be mounted on a flap 302 that is clamped to the rear of the helmet. As shown in
In one implementation, the air duct 307 may include a hook to receive an air filter. Air duct 307 may include a female track to a hook of the air filter through which the air filter may be mounted onto the air duct 307.
Referring to
In one implementation, the air circulation system may be a separate unit that can be mounted onto different positions (e.g., the inner top section, the inner bottom section).
For simplicity of explanation, the methods of this disclosure are depicted and described as a series of acts. However, acts in accordance with this disclosure can occur in various orders and/or concurrently, and with other acts not presented and described herein. Furthermore, not all illustrated acts may be needed to implement the methods in accordance with the disclosed subject matter. In addition, those skilled in the art will understand and appreciate that the methods could alternatively be represented as a series of interrelated states via a state diagram or events. Additionally, it should be appreciated that the methods disclosed in this specification are capable of being stored on an article of manufacture to facilitate transporting and transferring such methods to computing devices. The term “article of manufacture,” as used herein, is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device or storage media. In one implementation, method 500 may be performed by controller 202 as shown in
As shown in
At 504, the controller may determine ignition of a welding gun in view of the first signal.
At 506, the controller may issue a first instruction to start an operation of an air blower that is to circulate air in a welding helmet in response to determining the ignition of the welding gun.
In the foregoing description, numerous details are set forth. It will be apparent, however, to one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure, that the disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form, rather than in detail, in order to avoid obscuring the disclosure.
The words “example” or “exemplary” are used herein to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any aspect or design described herein as “example’ or “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs. Rather, use of the words “example” or “exemplary” is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion. As used in this application, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or”. That is, unless specified otherwise, or clear from context, “X includes A or B” is intended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, if X includes A; X includes B; or X includes both A and B, then “X includes A or B” is satisfied under any of the foregoing instances. In addition, the articles “a” and “an” as used in this application and the appended claims should generally be construed to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singular form. Moreover, use of the term “an implementation” or “one implementation” or “an implementation” or “one implementation” throughout is not intended to mean the same implementation or implementation unless described as such.
Reference throughout this specification to “one implementation” or “an implementation” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the implementation is included in at least one implementation. Thus, the appearances of the phrase “in one implementation” or “in an implementation” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same implementation. In addition, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or.”
It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. Many other implementations will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading and understanding the above description. The scope of the disclosure should, therefore, be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
The present application claims benefit from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/389,836, entitled “Air Flow Fan System,” filed on Mar. 11, 2016, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62389836 | Mar 2016 | US |
