Rapid response soldering station
AssigneeCooper Industries, Inc.
InventorPaul L. Urban
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A soldering tip is provided with a sensor to sense soldering tip temperature during a soldering cycle. The sensor is embedded in the soldering tip and positioned immediately adjacent to the tip's working surface. The sensor location provides rapid response to changing conditions at the tip's working surface. A microprocessor, responsive to the sensor, is provided to process the tip temperature data to control the power delivered to the heater which provides heat to the soldering tip. A visual and/or audio display also can be coupled to the processor. The microprocessor can be coupled to a further processor having long-term memory so that the collected data may be subsequently retrieved and displayed.
Claims36
A soldering tip for conducting heat from a heat source external to said soldering tip to an application site, comprising:
- a heat receiving end including means for coupling the soldering tip to an external heat source;
- a heat emitting end forming a working surface for contacting an application site and conducting heat thereto;
- and
- a sensor for sensing local temperature embedded within the soldering tip immediately adjacent said working surface.
A soldering tip for conducting heat from a heat source external to said soldering tip to an application site, comprising:
- a heat receiving end including means for coupling the soldering tip to an external heat source;
- a heat emitting end forming a working surface for contacting an application site and conducting heat thereto;
- and
- a thermocouple embedded with the soldering tip and spaced from said working surface a distance of about 0 to 2.5 mm therefrom, said soldering tip having an outside diameter of less than 0.25".
A soldering tip assembly for conducting heat from an external heat source to an application site, comprising:
- a soldering tip having a heat receiving end including means for coupling the soldering tip to an external heat source, a heat emitting end forming a working surface for contacting an application site and conducting heat thereto, and a sensor for sensing temperature, said sensor being embedded within the soldering tip immediately adjacent said working surface and having leads extending therefrom;
- and
- first and second contacts being spaced from said soldering tip, one of said leads being coupled to said first contact and another one of said leads being coupled to said second contact.
A soldering system comprising:
- a soldering tip assembly including a soldering tip having an outside diameter of less than 0.25" and having end, a heat emitting end forming a working surface for contacting an application site and conducting heat thereto, and a sensor for sensing local information, said sensor being embedded within the soldering tip immediately adjacent to said working surface;
- and
- a processor, coupled to said soldering tip assembly and responsive to said sensor, that processes said local information.
A soldering system comprising:
- a plurality of soldering tip assemblies, each assembly including a soldering tip having an outside diameter of less than 0.25" and having end, a heat emitting end forming a working surface for contacting an application site and conducting heat thereto, and a sensor for sensing local information, wherein said sensor is embedded within the soldering tip immediately adjacent to said working surface;
- a plurality of microprocessors, each microprocessor being coupled to a respective soldering tip assembly and responsive to a respective sensor, wherein said processor processes said local information;
- and
- a central processor coupled to said plurality of processors, wherein said central processor formats and puts said local information in long-term memory.
A soldering tip assembly for a soldering iron having a soldering tip heater external to the soldering tip, comprising:
- a. a soldering tip having an outside diameter less than 0.25" and having
- i. a heat receiving end having an exterior surface to which the external tip heater can be coupled,
- ii. a heat emitting end forming a working surface to contact an application site and to conduct heat thereto,
- iii. a passage extending axially through said heat receiving end and said heat emitting end, having a closed axially outer end less than 2.5 mm from said working surface, and having an open axially inner end in said heat receiving end, and
- iv. a thermocouple disposed within said passage and fixed to said axially outer end of said passage and having leads extending therefrom and through said axially inner end of said passage;
- b. a tubular spacer connected to said soldering tip;
- c. a tubular insulating member supported on said tubular spacer;
- and
- d. first and second contacts, one of said leads being coupled to said first contact and another one of said leads being coupled to said second contact, said contact being supported on said insulating member.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.