Plasma welding or cutting torch
AssigneeL'Air Liquide, Societe Anonyme pour l'Etude et l'Exploitation des Procedes Georges Claude
InventorsGerard Marhic, Eric Dufour
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The plasma torch comprises a hollow torch body whose interior is connected to a source of plasma-producing gas, a hollow electrode lodged inside this body and electrically connected to an electric supply conductor, and a nozzle provided with an orifice for the outlet of the plasma. The feature of the invention is that the torch comprises a detachable annular skirt (4) which is assembled by a screwed connection with the torch body (1) and has two axially spaced-apart seats (17c,18b) respectively for the electrode (2) and the nozzle (3), and the electrode and the nozzle are freely slidably mounted in the skirt (4) and applied against their respective seats (17c,18b) solely under the action of the pressure of the plasma-producing gas.
Claims11
A plasma-welding or cutting torch comprising:
- (a) a torch body formed from insulating material and comprising a supply conductor extending through said body, said supply conductor comprising supply means for a plasma gas, said body further comprising a metal part for establishing electrical connection with said supply conductor;
- (b) an annular skirt having a central annular casing of insulating material, first and second annular metal sleeves housed within said central annular casing of insulating material, and disposed in spaced axial relation thereto, said first metal sleeve being connectable to said hollow torch body;
- a nozzle designed to be inserted in said first metal sleeve and to abut against a front axial seat formed from said second metal sleeve;
- an axial electrode designed to be inserted into said first metal sleeve and to abut against a rear annular seat formed from said first metal sleeve;
- said annular skirt, first and second metal sleeves, axial electrode, and nozzle forming an assembly so designed that said nozzle is freely slidable within said assembly, being delimited at one extreme by said second metal casing and at the other extreme by said axial electrode, said first metal sleeve comprising connecting means for connecting said assembly to said torch body and establishing electrical connection between said supply conductor, said metal part of said body, said first metal casing, and said electrode, whereby the freely-slidable nozzle is capable of coming into contact with the front extremity of said electrode in position on its seat, said nozzle being submitted at least during welding or cutting operation to an elastic force for applying the nozzle against its seat.
A plasma welding or cutting torch comprising a hollow torch body having an interior for connection to a source of plasma-producing gas, said torch body comprising a bell-shaped portion, a tubular extension portion terminating in a connector composed of an electrically insulating material, a flexible and electrically insulating pipe for supplying plasma-producing gas fitted to the connector, an electric supply conductor disposed within the pipe, the tubular extension portion defining a conduit, a tube composed of an electrically conductive material extending through the conduit and opening into the flexible pipe and connected, in the region of the pipe, to the end of the electric supply conductor, the bell-shaped portion of the torch body having a central cavity which is closed in an upper part and open in a lower part thereof;
- a hollow electrode;
- means for electrically connecting the electrode to the supply conductor comprising an electrically conductive element mounted within said interior of the torch body, said means for connecting the electrode to the supply conductor further comprising a metal cap disposed in the cavity and having a cylindrical lateral wall in which lateral wall is provided an opening, an inner end portion of the conductive tube being fixed in said opening of the cap and the cylindrical lateral wall of the cap having a lower end portion which extends below said opening in the cap and terminates at a distance from a lower end of the bell-shaped portion, said lower end portion of the cap defining a tapped hole;
- a nozzle disposed in facing and spaced relation to the electrode and provided with a passage for the outlet of the plasma;
- an annular skirt unit detachably connected to the torch body and defining at least one seat for the nozzle, which nozzle is mounted in the skirt unit to be freely axially slidable against and away from said seat, said skirt unit further comprising a case which is composed of an electrically insulating material and has a first end portion adjacent to the torch body and a second portion remote from the torch body, a first electrically conductive sleeve screw threadedly engaged in the conductive element, rigid with said first end portion of the case and defining an inner surface having a shoulder constituting said seat for the electrode, and a second lower metal sleeve which is rigid with said second end portion of the case and in which the nozzle is slidably mounted, said second sleeve defining said seat for the nozzle, the case defining an axial passage putting the first and second sleeves into communication with each other;
- and means for producing an elastic force for applying the nozzle against said seat.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.