Cooling system for a material surface treatment system
AssigneeIllinois Tool Works Inc.
InventorRobert Kleinschmidt
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present disclosure describes systems and methods to provide electrode cooling for material surface treatment systems. A cooling fluid is employed to cool electrodes with a high voltage applied. For example, a conduit conveys a cooling fluid through the electrode, as the conduit also provides electrification for the electrode by being connected to an electrical power source. Further, cooling is implemented by use of a voltage isolator disposed between the conduit and a reservoir, with the voltage isolator providing a pathway to a reference voltage for residual electric charge from the cooling fluid passing through the voltage isolator.
Claims18
A cooling system for a material surface treatment system, the cooling system comprising:
- a plurality of conduits to convey a cooling fluid through an electrode, each conduit being connected to another conduit at one or more ends, wherein each conduit spans the length of a respective electrode, and a conduit of the plurality of conduits is connected to an electrical power source;
- a voltage isolator disposed between the conduit and a reservoir, the voltage isolator configured to provide a pathway to a reference voltage for residual electric charge from the cooling fluid passing through the voltage isolator, wherein the voltage isolator comprises two or more tubes to convey the cooling fluid between the plurality of conduits and the reservoir;
- a first port for introducing the cooling fluid into the two or more tubes;
- and
- a second port for withdrawing the cooling fluid from the two or more tubes, wherein the first port is disposed in a first end of the plurality of conduits and the second port is disposed in a second end of the plurality of conduits, the cooling fluid to be conveyed through the length of the electrode.
A cooling system for a material surface treatment system, the cooling system comprising:
- a conduit to convey a cooling fluid through an electrode, the conduit being connected to an electrical power source;
- a voltage isolator disposed between the conduit and a reservoir, the voltage isolator configured to provide a pathway to a reference voltage for residual electric charge from the cooling fluid passing through the voltage isolator;
- and
- an electrically conductive manifold, wherein the cooling fluid flows through the conduit from a first connector at a first end of the conduit to a second connector at a second end of the conduit, the second connector being connected to a second conduit to convey the cooling fluid back to the electrically conductive manifold, such that a single electrically conductive manifold provides inflow and outflow of the cooling fluid through the electrode.
A material surface treatment system comprising:
- an electrode to generate an electric discharge to treat a material;
- and
- a cooling system comprising:
- a conduit to convey a cooling fluid through the electrode;
- and
- a voltage isolator disposed between the conduit and a reservoir, the voltage isolator configured to provide a pathway to a reference voltage for residual electric charge from the cooling fluid passing through the voltage isolator;
- and
- an electrically conductive manifold, wherein the cooling fluid flows through the conduit from a first connector at a first end of the conduit to a second connector at a second end of the conduit, the second connector being connected to a second conduit to convey the cooling fluid back to the electrically conductive manifold, such that a single electrically conductive manifold provides inflow and outflow of the cooling fluid through the electrode.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.