Illinois Tool Works Inc.

Richard Mark Achtner

Anthony Van Bergen Salsich

Jeffery J Gadamus

James J Cigelske, Jr

Joseph Robert Ryan

James Andrew Byrne

Kyle Andrew Pfeifer

Brian James Bornemann

Bruce Patrick Albrecht

Dennis Roland Sigl

Michael Allen Sammons

Galen J White

LeRoy H Lauer, Jr

Anthony Van Salsich

Methods and apparatus to communicate via a weld cable are disclosed. An example welding accessory includes a first port to receive input power via a first weld cable, a power converter to convert the input power to output power, a second port to output the input power via a second weld cable, and one or more output switches to selectively divert the input power from the power converter to the second port.

Methods and apparatus to switch a weld power output

Welding systems including welding torch assemblies are provided. The welding torch assembly may include a welding torch adapted to be utilized in a welding operation to establish a welding arc between the welding torch and a workpiece. Shielding gas may be supplied to the welding torch for establishment of a gas shielding area around a weld pool. The welding torch assembly may also include a temperature sensing system having a non-contact temperature sensor coupled to the welding torch and adapted to sense a temperature of the workpiece at a location outside of the molten weld pool.

Welding systems having non-contact temperature measurement systems

A welding implement and a method of extracting heat from a welding implement are disclosed. The welding implement includes one or more heat pipes which transfer thermal energy away from the torch head. A fluid, such as a shielding gas, may then convectively transfer the thermal energy away from the welding implement. The present invention thus provides a handheld welding implement that is compact, such that it can be used in confined spaces, and operated for longer periods of time, since the improved heat dissipation helps to maintain the welding implement at a temperature that an operator may hold.

Cooling of a welding implement

A welding apparatus having a system to facilitate its assembly. The apparatus is assembled by affixing a pair of molded end panels to a molded base and each of the end panels has a specially constructed receptacle area that is adapted to receive an end of the base. Each end of the base has a pair of snaps that extend outwardly and which engage with a correspondingly located pair of ramps formed in the receptacle area of each of the end panels. Thus the assembly is easily carried out by simply inserting the base ends into the receptacle areas where the snaps ride up the ramps and engage the vertical walls on the inner side of those ramps to securely affix the end panels to the base. Preferably the snaps are U-shaped in configuration with the distal end of the snaps being the closed ends of the U-shaped snaps.

System for assembling welding apparatus

The invention provides a welding arrangement designed to respond to the need of an improved welding system that aids in supplying filler material to a weld location. Provided is a welding system including a welding gun and a welding wire feed directly coupled to the welding gun. The welding gun includes a filler material housing, a filler material positioning extension, and a manual advancement device configured to advance a filler material through the welding wire feed. Further provided is a method of operating a welding gun. The method includes passing a current between an electrode and a work piece at a weld location, and advancing a filler material toward the weld location via a channel of a positioning extension in response to engagement of a manual advancement device.

TIG welding system and method

An adapter for connecting a welding-type power source to various different input voltage signals is disclosed. The adapter comprises a body with a receptacle at one end which is connectable to a power cord of a welding-type power source and a plug at another end which is connectable with a number of different electrical outlet configurations. The body of the adapter is shaped to allow both the plug and a grounding prong of a connected power cord to engage the same outlet.

Power plug adapter

A welding apparatus having a specially designed receptacle that is formed on the rear molded plastic panel that is affixed to an enclosure in assembling the welding apparatus. A gas valve having a hexagonal body fits snugly into a mating hexagonal shaped of the receptacle. A pair of fingers extend outwardly from the rear panel and have distal ends with barbs formed thereon. In the assembly of the welding apparatus, therefore, the gas valve is simply inserted into the complementary shaped receptacle formed in the rear panel and the barbs snap over the external surface of the gas valve to retain the gas in the desired position affixed to the rear panel while automatically aligning a gas inlet port of the gas valve with an opening in the rear panel to allow accessibility of the gas inlet to an external source of gas.

Mounting receptacle for welding apparatus component

A power cord assembly for a welding-type power supply includes a power cord and a plurality of adaptors. The power cord is adapted for attachment to the welding-type power supply and is capable of providing any of a plurality of input voltage signals to the welding-type power supply via the plurality of adaptors.

Power cord for a welding-type power supply

A welding apparatus having a metal enclosure and a pair of plastic end panels affixed to the enclosure to contain therein the various components of the welding apparatus. A conductive grounding tab is affixed in a receptacle formed in each of the plastic panels and the grounding tab has a friction terminal for easy connection to a standard electrical connector of a grounding wire. The grounding tab has a pair of prongs having angled distal ends that forcefully engage the enclosure when the end panels are assembled to the enclosure to provide a good conductive path to ground from the metal enclosure through that ground wire and ultimately to a ground wire of a supply cable. A second grounding connection between the enclosure and the grounding tab is created by a screw that passes through the enclosure and is threaded into a threaded hole in the grounding tab.

Grounding tab for a welding apparatus

A snap-in heat sink assembly that has an injection molded one piece frame having a plurality of spring members extending outwardly with protrusions at the free ends thereof. The assembly has a spring located against the frame and an electronic component is located atop of the spring. A heat sink has lateral surfaces with elongated grooves formed along those lateral surfaces. The sink is affixed to the frame by a simple step of inserting the heat sink into the space between the spring members such that the protrusions of the spring members snap into the grooves when the heat sink is in the desired location. By sandwiching the spring between the frame and the electronic component, the spring creates a bias to force the electronic component against the heat sink to assure good conductivity of heat from the electronic component through the heat sink.

Growing community of inventors

Neenah, WI, United States of America

Richard Mark Achtner