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US 6,359,249 B1Granted
No wat welding system
AssigneeDCT, Inc.
InventorsRonald C. Brown, Steven D. Tracey, Joseph L. Miller
Life of this patent
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AssigneeDCT, Inc.
InventorsRonald C. Brown, Steven D. Tracey, Joseph L. Miller
Estimating the term…
The present invention relates to an improved resistance weld-based gun assembly for use in an electric welding system without a need for plant-provided air and water-cooling circulation systems. In one aspect of the invention, a resistance-based force controller measures the resistance of a secondary circuit of the weld gun, the combined resistance of the secondary circuit in parallel with the circuit formed by the workpieces and opposing electrodes when sandwiched between the electrodes, and calculates the resistance of the workpieces. The measured resistance is compared to a predetermined resistance and the sandwiching force of the electrodes incrementally adjusted until the resistance of the workpieces is acceptable. The invention also relates to a closed loop coolant system having a coolant line, a coolant contained within the coolant line, a heat exchanger, and a mechanical coolant pump. One possible pump comprises an elastic bladder dependent upon the state change of the coolant. A second possible pump comprises a reciprocating extractor mechanically connected to the weld gun actuator. In yet another aspect of the invention, the welding system relies solely on electrode arm material for heat dissipation, the heat being conducted through the electrode arm material to an outer surface of the arm where the heat is dissipated through natural convection. To promote natural convection, a plurality of ribs with channels defined therebetween or openings extending through the arm itself increase the surface area and the rate of convection.
An improved weld gun assembly for use in an electric welding system having a closed loop coolant system comprising:
An improved weld gun assembly comprising:
An improved weld gun assembly as recited in 16, claim wherein said mass of each arm is maximized adjacent receptacles adapted to retain electrodes.
An improved weld gun assembly comprising opposing electrode arms, each of said arms including a plurality of generally vertically extending ribs along an outer surface defining channels therebetween to improve heat dissipation through natural convection, and wherein each of said electrode arms have generally equal masses to provide thermal balancing, said mass outer surface area being maximized adjacent receptacles adapted to retain mating electrodes.
An improved weld gun assembly relying solely on electrode arm material conduction and natural convection from an outer surface of said electrode arm to cool said gun assembly, said gun assembly maximizing electrode arm mass and outer surface area in a region adjacent receptacles adapted to retain mating electrodes.
An improved weld gun assembly for use in an electric welding system having a closed loop coolant system comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.