WO2005046924A1

WO2005046924A1 - Co2 welding torch for air cooling

Info

Publication number: WO2005046924A1
Application number: PCT/KR2004/001438
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gun Kook Lee
Original assignee: ILHUNG MANUFACTURING Co Ltd
Current assignee: ILHUNG MANUFACTURING Co Ltd
Priority date: 2003-11-12
Filing date: 2004-06-16
Publication date: 2005-05-26
Anticipated expiration: 2006-05-12
Also published as: KR20050045538A; KR100680240B1

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a C02 welding torch. The torch is constructed so that an end of the torch is formed to allow compressed air or blown air to enter the torch, from separate resources and a power cable includes at a center thereof a gas pipe to feed C02 gas, a conductor and a control wire that supply electricity and cover the gas pipe, a hollow layer for air passage, and an outer coverage to cover a braid layer. Further, a cooling nozzle is constructed to allow air fed through the hollow layer of the power cable to be exhausted through an air guide pipe of the nozzle. Thus, when welding is performed, air passes through the power cable to cool the power cable, and passes through the air guide pipe to cool the front portion of the torch.

Description

CQ_? WELDING TORCH FOR AIR COOLING

Technical Field

The present invention relates, in general, to C0₂ welding torches constructed so that a power cable and a front portion of a torch are cooled using air. More particularly, the present invention relates to a C0₂ welding torch, which is constructed so that an end of the welding torch is formed to allow compressed air or blown air from separate resources to enter the torch, apart from a gas pipe to feed C0₂ gas, and a power cable includes at a center thereof the gas pipe to feed C0₂ gas, a conductor and a control wire that supply electricity and are placed around the gas pipe after the conductor and the control wire are stranded, a hollow layer for air passage, and an outer cover to cover a braid layer. Further, a cooling nozzle is constructed to allow air fed through the hollow layer of the power cable to flow into and out of the nozzle. Thus, when the torch executes its original function of welding, air is fed through the power cable to an end of the cooling nozzle.

Background Art

Generally, C0₂ welding is continuously carried out using a wire which is semi-automatically or automatically delivered by a wire feeder, thus being very efficient, different from shielded metal arc welding that is non- continuously executed using an electrode. However, as wire feeding speed is increased, welding current is increased. When the welding is executed for a lengthy period of time using the increased large current, the power cable of the C0₂ welding torch may overheat. Moreover, when the power cable excessively overheats, it may be damaged and fire may break out in worst case. Further, the nozzle and an insulator of the torch are easily worn out due to high temperature, so the life-span of the torch may be shortened, and work efficiency may be lowered. Furthermore, a welder may get burnt because of high heat generated in a grip during the welding operation. In order to solve the problems encountered in the conventional C0₂ welding torch, several approaches have been addressed. The C0₂ welding torch may be prevented from overheating by increasing the sectional area of the power cable. Otherwise, the C0₂ welding torch may be cooled by employing a water-cooling system, which is constructed so that a water-cooling device is coupled to the power cable having a cooling water supply and drain hose, and cooling water circulates to cool a front end of the torch. However, the former approach is problematic in that the sectional area of the power cable is excessively increased, so that manufacturing costs of the torch are increased and the torch is excessively heavy in weight, thereby work efficiency is lowered. Further, the latter approach is problematic in that the expensive water-cooling device is additionally required, and water leakage may be caused by an inaccurately machined front end of the torch not having a watertight seal, thus resulting in a defective welding.

Disclosure of the Invention

Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a C0₂ welding torch, constructed so that a power cable and a front portion of a torch are cooled using air. According to the present invention, an end of the C0₂ welding torch is formed to allow compressed air or blown air from separate resources to enter the torch, apart from a gas pipe to feed C0₂ gas, and a power cable includes at a center thereof the gas pipe to feed C0₂ gas, a conductor and a control wire that supply electricity and are placed around the gas pipe after the conductor and the control wire are stranded, a hollow layer for air passage, and an outer cover to cover a braid layer. Further, a cooling nozzle is constructed to allow air fed through the hollow layer of the power cable to flow into and out of the nozzle. Thus, when the torch executes its original function of welding, air is fed through the power cable to an end of the cooling nozzle. Therefore, although welding is executed for a lengthy period of time using large current, a conductor of the power cable, a grip, and a front portion of the torch are cooled by air moving at a predetermined speed. In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a C0₂ welding torch, which is constructed so that an end of the welding torch is formed to allow compressed air or blown air to enter the torch, apart from a gas pipe to feed C0₂ gas, and a power cable includes at a center thereof the gas pipe to feed C0₂ gas, a conductor and a control wire that supply electricity and are placed around the gas pipe to cover the gas pipe after the conductor and the control wire are stranded, a hollow layer to define an air passage, and an outer cover to cover a braid layer, and a cooling nozzle is provided to allow air fed through the hollow layer of the power cable to flow into and out of the nozzle.

Brief Description of the Drawings

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a cooling power cable, according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is a plan view of a C0₂ welding torch, according to the present invention; FIG. 3 is a plan view of a grip of the C0₂ welding torch, according to the present invention; and FIG. 4 is a plan view of a cooling nozzle of the C0₂ welding torch, according to the present invention.

^Description of reference characters of important parts* I . gas pipe 2. conductor 3. control wire 4. power cable covered layer 5. braid layer β . outer cover 7. hollow layer 8. air inlet pipe 9. rubber packing 10. power cable II. grip 12. cooling nozzle 13. grip rubber packing 14. torch body 15. air guide hose 16. air guide pipe 17. guide plate 18. interior of air guide hose 19. exterior of air guide hose

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

The present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a cooling power cable, according to the present invention. The power cable has at a center thereof a gas pipe 1 into which C0₂ gas is fed. A conductor 2 and a control wire 3 to supply electricity are stranded, and then cover the gas pipe 1. A hollow layer 7 is formed for air passage. Thereafter, an outer cover 6 is formed to cover a braid layer 5, thus allowing the power cable to maintain a circular shape, therefore preventing a covered layer from being damaged, and preventing the gas pipe from being distorted. Further, such a construction prevents the air passage from being blocked due to a close contact between the outer cover 6 and the covered layer of the power cable. FIG. 2 is a plan view of a C0₂ welding torch, according to the present invention. An air inlet pipe 8 is installed at an end of the C0₂ welding torch to allow compressed air or blown air to enter the torch, apart from the gas pipe 1 to feed C0₂ gas. A rubber packing 9 is installed at an end of the air inlet pipe 8 adjacent to an end of the torch to prevent air from flowing backward. As soon as the welding operation is executed, air is fed into the torch through the air inlet pipe 8. The fed air travels at a predetermined speed along the hollow layer 7 which is formed in a lengthwise direction of the power cable, thus cooling the power cable 10. After the air passes through a grip 11, the air reaches a cooling nozzle 12. Thereafter, the air is exhausted out of the torch in a predetermined direction. As shown in FIG. 3, the grip 11 has a separable structure for easy assembly and disassembly. Further, in order to make an airtight seal, rubber packings 13 are installed at both ends of the grip 11 and joints. A torch body 14 may comprise an angle adjusting structure or an angle-fixed structure. Regardless of the structure of the torch body 14, the torch body 14 must be constructed so that a gas diffuser and the cooling nozzle 12 are coupled to an end of the torch body 14. An air guide hose 15, having the hollow layer 7 for air passage, is coupled to a predetermined portion of the torch body 14. Further, an air guide pipe 16 is fitted over the air guide hose 15 to be in close contact with an outer surface of the air guide hose 15. As shown in the drawing, a guide plate 17 is provided at a predetermined position of the air guide pipe 16 to guide air above the cooling nozzle 12 when air flows into and is exhausted out of the cooling nozzle 12, thus preventing a welding quality from being deteriorated. A lower portion of the air guide pipe 16 has a sealed structure, thus preventing air from swirling at a weld area due to the scatter of air. FIG. 4 shows the construction of the cooling nozzle 12. A predetermined portion of the cooling nozzle 12 is coupled to the torch body 14, thus allowing air to flow into an interior 18 of the air guide hose 15, and allowing the air to be exhausted through an exterior 19 of the air guide hose 15. Industrial Applicability

As described above, the present invention provides a C0₂ welding torch, which is constructed to completely cool a power cable and a front portion of the torch using air moving at a predetermined speed, thus preventing the power cable from being damaged due to the power cable overheating, and preventing a nozzle and an insulator from being worn out due to high temperature, even if a welding operation is executed using a large current for a lengthy period of time. Further, high heat generated in a grip is prevented, thus being economical and safe, in addition to enhancing work efficiency. Furthermore, the present invention can be applied to all products using a large current, including C0₂ connection cables, C0₂ extension cables, argon cables, weld lines, etc.

Claims

1. A C0₂ welding torch, comprising a grip, a power cable extending from a first side of the grip and including a conductor and a control wire to surround an outer surface of a gas pipe to feed C0₂ gas, and a torch body extending from a second side of the grip, the C0₂ welding torch covered with an outer cover and further comprising: a braid layer to be provided inside the outer cover; a hollow layer to be provided between the power cable and the outer cover; a T-shaped air inlet pipe to be coupled to a compressor or a blower, thus feeding air into the hollow layer; a rubber packing to seal a predetermined portion of the air inlet, pipe, except an air inlet; an air guide hose to surround an outer surface of the torch body while defining a space between the air guide hose and the torch body; and a cooling nozzle, comprising a support part to support an end of the air guide hose, a fastening end to be fastened to a predetermined portion of the torch body through a screw fastening method, and an opening to exhaust the air from the cooling nozzle.

2. The C0₂ welding torch according to claim 1, wherein the conductor of the power cable, the grip, and the torch body are cooled by moving the air through the 'hollow layer at a predetermined speed.

3. The C0₂ welding torch according to claim 1, wherein the air is fed in the same direction as the C0₂ gas fed through the gas pipe, and is exhausted from the torch in a direction opposite the air feeding direction.

4. The C0₂ welding torch according to claim 3, further comprising: a ring-shaped scatter preventing unit to prevent the exhausted air from being scattered toward a user.

5. The C0₂ welding torch according to claim 3, wherein a predetermined portion of the scatter preventing unit is fitted into the cooling nozzle to close the opening of the cooling nozzle, with a guide plate being provided at a predetermined portion of the scatter preventing unit to guide the exhausted air in a predetermined direction.