Tool based welding technique monitoring systems with tool tip position calibrations
AssigneeIllinois Tool Works Inc.
InventorWilliam Joshua Becker
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Described herein are examples of tool based welding technique monitoring systems that provide an inexpensive, intuitive, and relatively robust way of tracking an orientation of a welding-type tool, and providing welding technique feedback based on the orientation. The system requires no sensors apart from a simple and/or relatively inexpensive sensor module that can travel with the welding-type tool, which makes the system highly portable. The system can also provide some feedback with minimal calibration, which can be valuable in situations where an operator forgets, or is unwilling, to take the time to fully calibrate the system. Additionally, full calibration of the system can be accomplished with a fast, simple, intuitive calibration technique.
Claims20
A method, comprising:
- tracking, via processing circuitry, positions of a tip of a welding-type tool during a first time period, and a tool orientation of the welding-type tool during the first time period, using first sensor data detected during the first time period by a sensor system attached to, or integrated with, a welding-type tool;
- determining, via the processing circuitry, a first joint characteristic vector based on the positions of the tip of the welding-type tool during the first time period;
- and
- identifying, via the processing circuitry, a first welding technique parameter value based on the first joint characteristic vector and the tool orientation of the welding-type tool during the first time period or a second time period.
A method, comprising:
- tracking, via processing circuitry, positions of a tip of a welding-type tool during a first time period using first sensor data detected during the first time period by a sensor system attached to, or integrated with, a welding-type tool;
- determining, via the processing circuitry, a first joint characteristic vector based on the positions of the tip of the welding-type tool during the first time period;
- tracking, via processing circuitry, the tool orientation of the welding-type tool during a second time period using second sensor data detected during the second time period by the sensor system;
- and
- identifying, via the processing circuitry, a first welding technique parameter value based on the first joint characteristic vector and the tool orientation of the welding-type tool during the second time period.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.