Orbital welding device with simpler handling of the measurement of residual oxygen

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12304012-B2
Application number	US-201917291066-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 1, 2019
Priority date	Nov 9, 2018
Publication date	May 20, 2025
Grant date	May 20, 2025

Abstract

An orbital welding device ( 1 ) for welding two pieces of pipe, the orbital welding device ( 1 ) having a welding current source ( 10 ) in a welding current source housing ( 11 ) and an orbital welding head ( 20 ), which is separate from the welding current source housing ( 11 ) and is connected to the welding current source ( 10 ) by a cable ( 2 ), the orbital welding head ( 20 ) having a chamber ( 50 ) for the use of shielding gas ( 50 ) and/or the orbital welding device ( 1 ) having a purging device ( 90 ) for the use of shielding gas, preferably back-up shielding gas or purge gas, the orbital welding device ( 1 ) having an oxygen sensor ( 40 ), wherein the oxygen sensor ( 40 ) is arranged in or on the welding current source housing ( 11 ).

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An orbital welding device for welding two pieces of pipe, the orbital welding device comprising:
a welding current source in a welding current source housing;
an orbital welding head, which is separate from the welding current source housing and is connected to the welding current source by means of a cable, the orbital welding head having a chamber for the use of shielding gas and/or the orbital welding device having a purging device for the use of shielding gas, preferably back-up shielding gas or purge gas;
an oxygen sensor arranged in or on the welding current source housing; and
a switching device configured to switch over between a first state and at least one further state, wherein in the first state the oxygen sensor is configured to measure the oxygen concentration in the shielding gas before the shielding gas has been introduced into the chamber or at least one of the pieces of pipe to be welded to the connecting point of the pieces of pipe, and in the at least one further state the oxygen sensor is configured to measure the oxygen concentration in the chamber or in the interior of at least one of the pieces of pipe to be welded.

2. The orbital welding device as claimed in claim 1 , the orbital welding device being configured to measure, via the oxygen sensor, an oxygen concentration in the chamber.

3. The orbital welding device as claimed in claim 1 , the orbital welding device being designed to measure by means of the oxygen sensor an oxygen concentration in the interior of at least one of the pieces of pipe to be welded.

4. The orbital welding device as claimed in claim 3 ,
further comprising a suction intake device configured to intake a sample of the shielding gas from the chamber or from the interior of the at least one of the pieces of pipe to be welded, and conduct the sample to the oxygen sensor, wherein the oxygen sensor is configured to measure the oxygen concentration in the sample.

5. The orbital welding device as claimed in claim 1 ,
the orbital welding device being designed to measure by means of the oxygen sensor an oxygen concentration at various locations simultaneously.

6. The orbital welding device as claimed in claim 1 , the orbital welding device being configured to perform the following automatically as part of a welding and measuring program carried out by an electronic computer:
switch the switching device into the first state and to measure the oxygen concentration in the shielding gas before the shielding gas has been introduced into the chamber or into at least one of the pieces of pipe to be welded to the connecting point of the pieces of pipe, and
after a certain time, switch the switching device into the at least one further state and to measure the oxygen concentration in the chamber or in the interior of at least one of the pieces of pipe to be welded.

7. The orbital welding device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein:
the orbital welding device comprises a further oxygen sensor configured to measure the oxygen concentration in the chamber or in the interior of at least one of the pieces of pipe to be welded.

8. The orbital welding device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the orbital welding device comprises a memory device and is configured to log, in the memory device, measured residual oxygen measured values of at least one of:
the shielding gas before the shielding gas has been introduced into the chamber ( 50 ) or via the purging device ( 90 ) into at least one of the pieces of pipe to be welded to the connecting point of the pieces of pipe, and/or
the shielding gas in the chamber or in the interior of at least one of the pieces of pipe to be welded.

9. The orbital welding device as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the oxygen sensor is an optical oxygen sensor and the orbital welding device comprises an optical coupling configured to optically couple the oxygen sensor to at least one of an interior space of the chamber or an interior space of the at least one of the pieces of pipe to be welded, so that the oxygen concentration in the corresponding interior space can be measured via the optical coupling.

10. An orbital welding device for welding two pieces of pipe, the orbital welding device comprising:
a welding current source in a welding current source housing;
an orbital welding head, which is separate from the welding current source housing and is connected to the welding current source via a cable, wherein at least one of:
the orbital welding head having a chamber for the use of shielding gas; or
the orbital welding device having a purging device for the use of shielding gas;

an oxygen sensor integrated in a component of the orbital welding device, wherein the oxygen sensor is designed to measure an oxygen concentration in the shielding gas before the shielding gas has been introduced into the chamber or to the connecting point of the pieces of pipe; and
a switching device configured to switch over between a first state and at least one further state, wherein in the first state the oxygen sensor is configured to measure the oxygen concentration in the shielding gas before the shielding gas has been introduced into the chamber or at least one of the pieces of pipe to be welded to the connecting point of the pieces of pipe, and in the at least one further state the oxygen sensor is configured to measure the oxygen concentration in the chamber or in the interior of at least one of the pieces of pipe to be welded.

Assignees

• Illinois Tool Works

Inventors

• Tamm Markus
• Foh Marcel

Classifications

• B23K37/0276

  for working on or in tubes (B23K37/0211 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B23K37/027

  for making circular cuts or welds · CPC title

• B23K9/326

  Purge gas rings, i.e. devices for supplying or evacuating shielding gas inside of hollow or tubular articles, e.g. pipes, vessels · CPC title

• B23K9/16

  making use of shielding gas · CPC title

• B23K9/0956

  using sensing means, e.g. optical · CPC title