Illinois Tool Works Inc.

Miller Electric Manufacturing Company

Miller Electric Mfg. Co.

Ronald W Colling

Kenneth C Altekruse

Michael Allen Sammons

Kenneth F Herres

Richard A Duba

Edwin Bogner

A drawer or other movable storage compartment disposed inside of a welding-type power supply for storing accessories used in welding, plasma cutting and induction heating applications is disclosed.

Storage compartment for storing welding-type accessories

A MIG welding gun contact tip has a cylindrical section with a predetermined outer diameter adjacent one end, and frusto-conical surface adjacent the other end. Threads are rolled from the cylindrical section outer diameter between the cylindrical section and the frusto-conical surface. The threads major diameter is larger than the cylindrical section outer diameter, and the threads minor diameter is less than the cylindrical section outer diameter. In a preferred embodiment, the cylindrical section outer diameter is approximately 0.350 inches, the threads have a major diameter of approximately 0.375 inches, and the threads are stub acme threads with a pitch of 14 threads per inch. The contact tip is assembled to a diffuser having mating threads and a frusto-conical surface that engages the contact tip frusto-conical surface when the contact tip has been turned a single turn into the diffuser.

Welding contact tip with rolled threads

An insulative grip for a TIG torch is held in a person's fingers like a pen or pencil. The grip has an external contour that has multiple gripping areas. The size and shape of the gripping areas conform to the person's thumb and first two fingers when he holds the grip. The gripping areas reduce the tendency for the torch to move in the person's hand. The gripping areas also provide an indication of the orientation in space of the torch electrode when the person holds the torch. The torch may be either water-cooled or air-cooled.

Ergonomic TIG torch

A spark gap assembly for a welding power supply includes at least one pair of spark gap points and a housing base including at least one base groove for axially aligning the spark gap points. Point stops are disposed to retain some of the spark gap points in the spark gap assembly. Insulating walls and insulating channels are disposed to reduce the possibility of shorts occurring between various spark gap assembly components or between spark gap assembly components and other power supply components.

Spark gap assembly for a welding power supply

A welding machine foot control has exceptional convenience for routing the control cable to the welding machine and stability against tipping over. The foot control enclosure has openings for the control cable on multiple walls such that the cable can emerge from a desired side of the enclosure for routing convenience. A stabilizer on the bottom of the enclosure adds weight at a low center of gravity. The base has a top flange that mounts over a bottom cover of the foot control enclosure. Multiple walls diverge from the top flange toward a bottom flange. There is a slot through the top flange and adjacent portion of each wall. The cable standing end passes through a notch in a base top flange and associated wall and lies alongside the bottom cover. The cable running end is arranged to emerge from a selected wall of the base through the associated slot. A cable strain relief is formed by an arm in the base.

Base for foot control

A heat exchange system for cooling a coolant is provided having a pump coupled to the motor to pump coolant, a radiator for cooling the coolant, and a resilient hollow reservoir for holding coolant in the form of a planar base portion and an annular portion integrally coupled to and extending upwards from the base portion.

Self-contained heat exchange apparatus

A quick release mig gun tip comprises a contact tip having an exterior frusto-conical surface and external threads, and a gas diffuser having an internal frusto-conical surface and internal threads. The threads are preferably stub acme threads. The contact tip is assembled to the gas diffuser by engaging their threads until the frusto-conical surfaces mate. Large currents can be conducted through the frusto-conical surfaces and the threads without causing excessive resistance heating. The contact tip threads are designed so that assembly and release of the contact tip requires only one turn relative to the gas diffuser.

Enhanced contact area quick release MIG gun tip

A foot control for a TIG welding machine utilizes a timing belt that is tensioned between a pedal and an enclosure. The timing belt meshes with a timing gear that is fixed to a rotatable shaft. Pivoting the pedal on the enclosure causes the timing belt to travel past and rotate the gear and shaft. A potentiometer on the shaft also rotates to control the power output of the welding machine. The belt is tensioned by a relatively weak spring in a manner that biases the pedal in one direction on the enclosure. A stronger spring biases the pedal in the opposite direction. The pedal is hinged to the enclosure by resilient tabs on the enclosure having bosses that engage holes in the pedal. The tab bosses can be depressed to disengage the pedal holes and enable the pedal to be removed from the enclosure. A heavy base joined to the enclosure has plates that lie alongside the enclosure tabs such that the tab bosses cannot be depressed out of engagement with the pedal holes when the base is joined to the enclosure.

Remote foot control for TIG welding

Enhanced contact area quick release mig gun tip

A welding nozzle retaining ring has a polygon configuration with alternating peaks and straight segments. One segment is cut. The retaining ring is sized such that the peaks lie along a circle having a diameter that is slightly greater than the inner diameter of a welding gun nozzle or similar tubular component. The midpoints of the inner surfaces of the retaining ring segments lie along a second circle having a diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of a groove in a welding gun adapter or similar cylindrical component. With the retaining ring in the adapter groove, the welding nozzle is pushed over the adapter and the retaining ring. The nozzle inner diameter contacts and depresses the peaks of the retaining ring and simultaneously causes the segments to bend around the adapter groove. The retaining ring acts as a circumferential spring that provides a rigid radial connection between the nozzle and the adapter while enabling the nozzle to slide against friction along the adapter. The polygon design of the welding nozzle retaining ring enables the nozzle and adapter to be manufactured with increased tolerances while providing improved performance.

Welding nozzle retaining ring

An adjustable slip-fit welding nozzle enables very fine adjustments to be made to the dimensional relationship between a nozzle orifice and a welding contact tip of a wire welding gun. The welding contact tip is screwed into a tubular adapter that is stationarily joined to the welding gun. The adapter has a stop that extends radially therefrom. The nozzle is part of an extension assembly that is rotatable on the adapter. The extension assembly includes an insert with an end that is at an oblique angle to the adapter longitudinal axis. By rotating the extension assembly on the adapter while holding the insert angled end against the stop, the extension assembly and thus the nozzle orifice reciprocate relative to the welding contact tip. The extension assembly is rotated on the adapter until the nozzle orifice is at a desired dimensional relationship with the welding contact tip. The extension assembly is comprised of a tubular sleeve, insulator, and insert. The three components are assembled together into a unitary extension assembly by radially swaging the sleeve to the insulator and the insulator to the insert.

Growing community of inventors

Appleton, WI, United States of America

Ronald W Colling