Method and apparatus for monitoring arc welding
AssigneeWestinghouse Electric Corp.
InventorsJames W. H. Justice, Paul G. Kennedy, Robert C. Miller
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method and apparatus for lowering the contrast range between a welding arc and its surroundings for remote viewing of an arc welding process. A monochromatic light source (10) is used to illuminate the area surrounding the welding arc (18) and a narrow band interference filter (22) tuned to the wavelength of the monochromatic light (10), is placed in front of a viewing camera (24). The monochromatic light enhances the arc background while the filter (22) attenuates the arc illumination that reaches the camera for a more desirable contrast ratio so that the arc, weld puddle and surrounding area can be visible with a high degree of definition on the monitor.
Claims6
An arc welding viewing system comprising:
- an external light source operable to generate a given intensity of light substantially within a preselected band within the visual spectrum, which is operable to be directed to illuminate the portion of the workpiece being welded;
- and
- means for viewing the portion of the workpiece being welded, including means for filtering the light reflected from the portion of the workpiece being welded to pass only the preselected band through the viewing means, wherein the preselected band is substantially narrower than the light spectrum generated by the welding arc.
A method of viewing the weld generated by an arc welding system comprising the steps of:
- illuminating the portion of the workpiece being welded with a given intensity of light substantially within a preselected band within the visual spectrum, which is generated from an external source;
- and
- filtering the light reflected from the portion of the workpiece being welded to the area from which the weld is to be viewed to pass only the preselected band, wherein the preselected band is substantially narrower than the light spectrum generated by the welding arc.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.