Pushbutton wire guide holder for a welding wire feeder

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9102000-B2
Application number	US-201113314997-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 8, 2011
Priority date	Dec 16, 2010
Publication date	Aug 11, 2015
Grant date	Aug 11, 2015

Abstract

Embodiments of a welding wire feeder including a pushbutton wire guide holder are provided. The wire guide holder may allow for the insertion and removal of a welding wire guide by depression of a spring-biased pushbutton and hold the wire guide with force applied by a spring. The pushbutton is disposed in a body, and a stop placed in contact with the pushbutton may prevent the pushbutton from being forced out of the body by the spring force. Some embodiments are directed toward holding inlet wire guides or intermediate wire guides, and therefore include different configurations of the body, pushbutton, spring, and stop.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A welding device comprising:
a body configured to receive a wire guide of a wire feeding assembly wherein a welding wire passes through the welding guide during an operation of the welding device;
a pushbutton disposed in the body, the pushbutton having a recess formed therethrough for receiving and contacting the wire guide of the wire feeding assembly, and the pushbutton configured to be pushed by a user for insertion or removal of the wire guide of the wire feeding assembly;
a spring configured to urge the pushbutton towards a non-depressed position wherein the pushbutton captures the wire guide of the wire feeding assembly in the body; and
a stop configured to prevent escape of the pushbutton from the body.

2. The welding device of claim 1 , wherein the pushbutton comprises a contact surface configured to be pushed by a user for insertion or removal of the wire guide of the wire feeding assembly.

3. The welding device of claim 1 , wherein the spring is disposed in the body, and contacts an abutment surface of the body and a spring contact surface of the pushbutton.

4. The welding device of claim 1 , wherein the pushbutton comprises a stop surface, and the stop comprises a pin disposed in the body and configured to contact the stop surface of the pushbutton.

5. The welding device of claim 4 , wherein the pin is disposed generally parallel to the recess.

6. The welding device of claim 4 , wherein the pin is disposed generally perpendicular to the recess.

7. The welding device of claim 1 , wherein the stop comprises a retaining ring disposed on the pushbutton.

8. The welding device of claim 1 , wherein the recess comprises an aperture formed through the pushbutton.

9. A welding device comprising:
a wire drive assembly configured to drive welding wire from a spool towards a welding torch; and
an element holder having a spring-biased pushbutton assembly configured to permit insertion or removal of a wire guide of the wire drive assembly, and to hold the wire guide of the wire drive assembly by force applied by a spring wherein the welding wire passes through the welding guide during an operation of the welding device.

10. The welding device of claim 9 , wherein the element holder is disposed in a body coupled to the wire drive assembly.

11. The welding device of claim 9 , wherein the element holder is disposed in the wire drive assembly.

12. The welding device of claim 9 , wherein the spring contacts a spring contact surface of the element holder and the force applied by the spring urges the element holder into contact with the element of the wire drive assembly.

13. The welding device of claim 9 , wherein the pushbutton assembly comprises a stop configured to halt movement of the element holder caused by the force applied by the spring.

14. The welding device of claim 9 , wherein the element holder is configured to hold the wire guide of the wire drive assembly generally perpendicular to the spring.

15. The welding device of claim 9 , wherein the wire guide of the wire drive assembly is received and contacted by an aperture formed through the element holder.

16. The welding device of claim 9 , wherein the element holder is configured to allow insertion or removal of the wire guide of the wire drive assembly only when the pushbutton is depressed.

17. A welding device comprising:
an element holder having a spring-biased pushbutton assembly configured to permit insertion or removal of a wire guide of a wire feeding assembly by depression of a spring-biased pushbutton, the pushbutton holding the wire guide of the wire feeding assembly by force applied by a spring wherein a welding wire passes through the welding guide during an operation of the welding device.

18. The welding device of claim 17 , wherein the pushbutton is configured to receive the inserted wire guide of the wire feeding assembly into an aperture formed through the pushbutton.

19. The welding device of claim 17 , wherein the spring applies force to the pushbutton at a spring contact surface of the pushbutton.

20. The welding device of claim 17 , wherein the pushbutton assembly comprises a stop configured to prevent the pushbutton from being forced out of contact with the spring.

Assignees

• Matiash Nicholas Alexander
• Christopher Mark R
• Illinois Tool Works

Inventors

• Matiash Nicholas Alexander
• Christopher Mark R

Classifications

• B23K9/1336 Primary

  Driving means · CPC title

• B23K9/32

  Accessories · CPC title

• B65H57/12

  Tubes · CPC title

• B65H51/10

  with opposed coacting surfaces, e.g. providing nips · CPC title