The disclosure relates generally to arc welding torch systems and components used in arc welding torches. More specifically, the disclosure relates to a universal conduit assembly applicable to gas metal arc welding (GMAW) or metal inert gas (MIG) welding systems.
The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Gas metal arc welding (GMAW) or metal inert gas (MIG) welding utilize a metal wire to act as the electrode to produce an arc. The wire, which is shielded by an inert gas, acts a filler or raw material that forms the weld. Typically, the wire and gas are fed through a welding gun positioned proximate to the desired location for the weld. The wire is fed to the gun through a conduit coupled to both a powered wire feeder and a gas flow regulation system.
Traditionally, conduits consist of a coiled steel liner used to guide the welding wire and a brass connector that is crimped over the end of the conduit. The connector is designed to reversibly couple with the rear power plug of a torch or welding gun. The specific design of the connector is dependent upon the manufacturer of the welding gun because different manufacturers will differentiate their gun design from competitive products by using different plug geometries.
The different plug geometries utilized on different welding gun designs requires equipment distributors to stock a variety of conduits each having different end connectors in order to accommodate the various gun designs. For small distributors, the necessity of carrying a full line of conduits for each different welding gun is not economically feasible. In addition, end users of welding guns may use guns made by different manufacturers and are then limited to selecting a large distributor that can stock a full line of conduits for each welding gun or to use multiple distributors to service their equipment. In either case, the end-user is required to purchase and stock multiple conduit lines to service the various welding guns that they own.
The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.
The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the present disclosure or its application or uses. It should be understood that throughout the description and drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features. As used throughout the description and claims, the term “proximal” refers to a position that is located towards the torch or gun handle, while the term “distal” refers to a position that is located towards the electrical power supply.
The present disclosure generally provides a universal conduit assembly for a welding torch comprising a conduit liner defining a proximal end portion and a distal end portion; a conduit tip secured to the proximal end portion of the conduit liner; and an interchangeable conduit stop reversibly secured to the conduit tip. The interchangeable conduit stop is adapted for connection to a specific OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) power connector. For example, interchangeable conduit stops of the present disclosure are designed to resemble the conventional connector geometries used by different manufacturers, for example, as shown in
Referring to
A conduit liner 40 having a proximal end portion 45 and a distal end portion engages the internal shoulder 35 where the proximal end portion 45 of the conduit liner 40 abuts the second end 32 of the internal shoulder 35 and the chamfer 30. The presence of the chamfer 30 provides protection for the conduit liner 40 against the presence of any sharp edges existing at the distal end portion 20 of the conduit tip 10. The conduit tip 10 is sized in order for the internal shoulder 35 to accommodate the outer diameter of the conduit liner 40. The conduit liner 40 can be any type of conduit known to one skilled in the art of welding. The conduit liner 40 may include a polymer material 41, such as a shrink tubing material, disposed about a metal coiled conduit 42. The conduit tip 10 can be secured to the conduit liner 40 by any method known to one skilled in the art, including but not limited to crimping, press-fitting, and adhesive bonding.
The conduit tip 10 further defines an external attachment area 50, which may be threaded as shown in
Referring now to
Referring again to
Referring now to
The external shape of the conduit stop 65 is designed to substantially resemble a specific OEM power connector for use with a corresponding welding torch system. The conduit stop 65 comprises an external surface 87 that may engage the specific OEM power connector. The specific OEM power connector is preferably selected from the group consisting of BERNARD™, MILLER®, TREGASKISS™, and TWECO® connectors. When desired or necessitated by the OEM power connector design, the universal conduit assembly 60 may include a sealing element 90 disposed around an external surface 87 of the conduit stop 65. The conduit stop 65 may also optionally comprise a chamfer 95 at its distal end 75 in order to protect the welding wire from any sharp edges.
The conduit liner 40 may comprise a polymer material 41 disposed around a metal coil or braided conduit 42. The metal coil conduit 42 may be comprised of a metal, such as, for example, aluminum, steel, copper, or a metal alloy, such as, for example, brass. The polymer material 41 may include, but not be limited to, any polymer that can provide electrical insulation and exhibit high thermal stability. Such a polymer material 41 is preferably available as a form of shrink wrap tubing. Similarly, the conduit tip 15 and conduit stop 65 may be formed from a metal that exhibits good electrical conductivity. Examples of such metals include aluminum, brass, and copper.
The conduit tip 15, conduit liner 40, and conduit stop 65 are each sized to accommodate the diameter size of the desired welding wire electrode selected for use. A different conduit tip 15, conduit liner 40, and conduit stop 65 may be required for each different wire size that may be used.
Referring now to
Referring now to
The following specific examples are given to illustrate the invention and should not be construed to limit the scope of the invention.
Universal conduit assemblies 60 were prepared according to the teachings of the present disclosure to resemble the OEM power connectors manufactured by TREGASKISS™, BERNARD™, TWECO®, and MILLER®. These universal conduit assemblies 60 were connected to a corresponding welding torch and found to perform similarly to conventional OEM power connectors. A visual comparison between the universal adapter assemblies 60 and the corresponding OEM power connectors are provided in
This application claims the benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 61/588,592, filed on Jan. 19, 2012. The disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2727970 | Turbett | Dec 1955 | A |
3248515 | Gorman et al. | Apr 1966 | A |
3249734 | Meyer | May 1966 | A |
3261962 | Carkhuff et al. | Jul 1966 | A |
3272961 | Maier, Jr. et al. | Sep 1966 | A |
3281571 | Gilmore | Oct 1966 | A |
3283833 | Bodine, Jr. | Nov 1966 | A |
3444352 | Ogden et al. | May 1969 | A |
3783233 | dal Molin | Jan 1974 | A |
3891249 | Moore | Jun 1975 | A |
3980860 | Howell et al. | Sep 1976 | A |
3999033 | Willgohs et al. | Dec 1976 | A |
4105891 | Hill et al. | Aug 1978 | A |
4158763 | Moerke | Jun 1979 | A |
4206862 | DaCosta | Jun 1980 | A |
4282419 | Auer | Aug 1981 | A |
4284873 | Schluter | Aug 1981 | A |
4393298 | Frantzreb, Sr. | Jul 1983 | A |
4582979 | Moerke | Apr 1986 | A |
4600824 | Moerke | Jul 1986 | A |
4624410 | Rogers | Nov 1986 | A |
4687899 | Acheson | Aug 1987 | A |
4873419 | Acheson | Oct 1989 | A |
4879446 | Morgan et al. | Nov 1989 | A |
4892990 | Acheson | Jan 1990 | A |
4952769 | Acheson | Aug 1990 | A |
5384447 | Raloff et al. | Jan 1995 | A |
5521355 | Lorentzen | May 1996 | A |
5558268 | Acheson | Sep 1996 | A |
5595671 | David | Jan 1997 | A |
5728995 | Kensrue | Mar 1998 | A |
5782987 | Furman | Jul 1998 | A |
6054675 | Kurokawa et al. | Apr 2000 | A |
6062386 | Inoue et al. | May 2000 | A |
6066823 | Lageose | May 2000 | A |
6079243 | Inoue et al. | Jun 2000 | A |
6137076 | Esslinger et al. | Oct 2000 | A |
RE36997 | Kensrue | Dec 2000 | E |
6284995 | Esslinger et al. | Sep 2001 | B1 |
6337144 | Shimizu et al. | Jan 2002 | B1 |
6486438 | Esslinger | Nov 2002 | B1 |
6649858 | Wakeman | Nov 2003 | B2 |
6747248 | Hoffmann | Jun 2004 | B2 |
6786752 | Kerekes et al. | Sep 2004 | B1 |
7274001 | Cusick, III | Sep 2007 | B1 |
7309844 | Lajoie | Dec 2007 | B2 |
7381923 | Gordon et al. | Jun 2008 | B2 |
8106327 | Scaini et al. | Jan 2012 | B2 |
8389899 | Natta | Mar 2013 | B2 |
8552341 | Zamuner | Oct 2013 | B2 |
8686317 | Centner | Apr 2014 | B2 |
8907249 | Berger et al. | Dec 2014 | B2 |
20020005397 | Bong et al. | Jan 2002 | A1 |
20020158048 | Stricklen | Oct 2002 | A1 |
20030015511 | Kim et al. | Jan 2003 | A1 |
20030085211 | Ito et al. | May 2003 | A1 |
20050044687 | Matsuguchi et al. | Mar 2005 | A1 |
20050045699 | Konishi et al. | Mar 2005 | A1 |
20050072764 | Lajoie | Apr 2005 | A1 |
20050133486 | Baker et al. | Jun 2005 | A1 |
20050150883 | Tomiyasu et al. | Jul 2005 | A1 |
20050189333 | Nakagiri et al. | Sep 2005 | A1 |
20050211686 | Inoue et al. | Sep 2005 | A1 |
20050218132 | Wells | Oct 2005 | A1 |
20060000817 | Inoue et al. | Jan 2006 | A1 |
20070164008 | Koshiishi et al. | Jul 2007 | A1 |
20080056859 | Inoue et al. | Mar 2008 | A1 |
20080204072 | Sasao et al. | Aug 2008 | A1 |
20080236324 | Inoue et al. | Oct 2008 | A1 |
20080257868 | Sassatelli et al. | Oct 2008 | A1 |
20080314876 | Pinsonneault et al. | Dec 2008 | A1 |
20100032420 | Inoue et al. | Feb 2010 | A1 |
20100108656 | Natta | May 2010 | A1 |
20100276407 | Cooper | Nov 2010 | A1 |
20110024394 | Esslinger | Feb 2011 | A1 |
20120125904 | Lee et al. | May 2012 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
198 13 419 | Nov 1998 | DE |
202010007364 | Aug 2010 | DE |
WO 2010135752 | Dec 2010 | WO |
Entry |
---|
PCT Serial No. PCT/US2013/022509—International Search Report and the Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority, dated Apr. 26, 2013. |
Communication pursuant to Article 94(3) EPC for European Patent Application No. 13703938.4, dated Jul. 4, 2018, 5 pages. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20130240496 A1 | Sep 2013 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
61588592 | Jan 2012 | US |