Welding system
First Claim
1. A welding system for automatically welding two workpieces together at a joint, said system comprising:
- (a) a welding box having a fusing element for welding said workpieces together;
(b) a camera assembly for viewing selected regions of said workpieces; and
(c) a control system connected to said camera assembly and said welding box for locating the centerline of said joint with respect to the centerline said fusing element and providing an output signal representative of the difference of their relative positions.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A welding system for automatically welding two workpieces together at a joint. The system includes a welding box having an electrode for welding the workpieces together; a camera assembly for viewing selected regions of the workpieces including a first edge and a second edge of the joint; and a controller connected to the camera assembly and the welding box for receiving the location of the first edge and the second edge of the joint and calculating the centerline of the joint and providing an output signal representative of the difference of the relative position of the centerline of the joint and the centerline of the fusing element. In the preferred embodiment, a 2-axis light source illuminates the surface of the workpieces to better locate the centerline of the joint.
54 Citations
41 Claims
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1. A welding system for automatically welding two workpieces together at a joint, said system comprising:
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(a) a welding box having a fusing element for welding said workpieces together; (b) a camera assembly for viewing selected regions of said workpieces; and (c) a control system connected to said camera assembly and said welding box for locating the centerline of said joint with respect to the centerline said fusing element and providing an output signal representative of the difference of their relative positions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A control system for a welding box including a fusing element for welding two workpieces together at a joint, said system comprising:
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(a) a camera assembly for viewing selected regions of said workpieces including a first edge and a second edge of said joint; and (b) a controller connected to said camera assembly and said welding box for receiving the location of said first edge and said second edge of said joint and calculating the centerline of said joint and providing an output signal representative of the difference of the relative position of the centerline of said joint and the centerline of said fusing element. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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21. A welding system for automatically welding two workpieces together at a joint, said system comprising:
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(a) a welding box having a fusing element for welding said workpieces together; (b) a camera assembly for viewing selected regions of said workpieces including a first edge and a second edge of said joint; (c) a controller connected to said camera assembly and said welding box for receiving the location of said first edge and said second edge of said joint and calculating the centerline of said joint and providing an output signal representative of the difference of the relative position of the centerline of said joint and the centerline of said fusing element; and (d) a 2-axis light source for illuminating the surface of said workpieces to locate said centerline of said joint. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A method for automatically welding two workpieces together at a joint using a fusing element, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) viewing selected regions of said workpieces using a camera; (b) locating the centerline of said joint with respect to the centerline of said fusing element and providing an output signal representative of the difference of their relative positions using a control system connected to said camera; (c) using said output signal to control the position of said fusing element; and (d) welding said workpieces together.
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40. A method for controlling the position of a fusing element for welding two workpieces together at a joint, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) viewing selected regions of said workpieces including a first edge and a second edge of said joint using a camera; and (b) receiving the location of said first edge and said second edge of said joint and calculating the centerline of said joint and providing an output signal representative of the difference of the relative position of the centerline of said joint and the centerline of said fusing element.
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41. A method for automatically welding two workpieces together at a joint using a fusing element, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) illuminating the surface of said workpieces to locate said centerline of said joint using a 2-axis light source; (b) viewing selected regions of said workpieces including a first edge and a second edge of said joint using a camera; (c) receiving the location of said first edge and said second edge of said joint and calculating the centerline of said joint and providing an output signal representative of the difference of the relative position of the centerline of said joint and the centerline of said fusing element using a control system connected to said camera; (d) using said output signal to control the position of said fusing element; and (e) welding said workpieces together.
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Specification