Coded welding consumable

• US 7,032,814 B2
• Filed: 06/25/2003
• Issued: 04/25/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Lincoln Global Incorporated (Lincoln Electric Holdings Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Lincoln Global Incorporated (Lincoln Electric Holdings Incorporated)
• Inventors: Blankenship, George D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Ahshik
• Application Number:
  US10/603,563
• Publication Number:
  US 20040004113A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,035 Days
• Field of Search: 235/375, 235/493, 235/494, 235/462.13, 235/487, 219/54, 219/130.5, 219/60.R, 219/69.1
• US Class Current: 235/375
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 35/40 Making wire or rods for soldering or welding processes involving a single technical art, see the relevant subclasses, e.g. B05D, B21C
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 9/1062 with computing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 1/125 by magnetic means
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07749 the record carrier being capable of non-contact communication, e.g. constructional details of the antenna of a non-contact smart card
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07758 arrangements for adhering the record carrier to further objects or living beings, functioning as an identification tag
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2019/06253 for a specific application
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/084 sensing magnetic material by relative movement detecting flux changes without altering its magnetised state

Abstract

Information pertaining to characteristics of consumables such as metal welding electrode wire and shielding gas and which characteristics are useful in connection with adjusting welding parameters in an arc welding process and/or selecting between operating modes in a welding system are encoded on welding wire and/or on other memory components such as bar code labels and tags, RFID cards and tags, IC cards, and Touch Memory buttons, and the memory device is scanned prior to and/or at the point of use of the welding wire or shielding gas for enabling tracking of product distribution, manual and/or automatic selection of an operating mode for the welding system, manual and/or automatic adjustment of welding parameters in a given operating mode, consumables inventory, and the like.

Claims

1. A method of encoding data on a metal welding wire including the steps of:

a) moving a consumable welding wire along a path;

b) providing coded information;

c) providing an encoding mechanism along said path to impart the coded information on said welding wire; and

,

d) activating said encoding mechanism to impart said coded information on said welding wire as said welding wire moves past said encoding mechanism, said coded information includes a magnetic code or magnetic pulse.

2. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein said coded information includes at least one code segment of one of a pulse count, a pulse width, a pulse frequency, a magnetically encoded program, a binary value, and combinations thereof.

3. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein said coded information includes a magnetic code having a plurality of code segments at least partially in the direction of said path.

4. The method as defined in claim 2, wherein said coded information includes at least one code segment of one of a pulse count, a pulse width, a pulse frequency, a binary value, and combinations thereof.

5. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein each of the code segments includes at least one magnetic pulse having a given pulse width in the direction of said path.

6. The method as defined in claim 4, wherein each of the code segments includes at least one magnetic pulse having a given pulse width in the direction of said path.

7. The method as defined in claim 5, wherein said coded information includes a plurality of magnetic pulses having different pulse widths in the direction of said path.

8. The method as defined in claim 6, wherein said coded information includes a plurality of magnetic pulses having different pulse widths in the direction of said path.

9. The method as defined in claim 1 ,wherein said coded information includes at least one magnetic pulse having a given frequency.

10. The method as defined in claim 4, wherein said coded information includes at least one magnetic pulse having a given frequency.

11. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein said coded information includes at least one binary code.

12. The method as defined in claim 4, wherein said coded information includes at least one binary code.

13. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein said coded information comprises a first code segment having at least one magnetic pulse in the direction of said path and a second code segment spaced from said first code segment in said direction and having a different number of pulses than said first code segment.

14. The method as defined in claim 6, wherein said coded information comprises a first code segment having at least one magnetic pulse in the direction of said path and a second code segment spaced from said first code segment in said direction and having a different number of pulses than said first code segment.

15. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein said coded information comprises a first code segment having a magnetic pulse having a first pulse width in the direction of said path and a second code segment spaced from said first code segment in said direction and having a magnetic pulse having a second pulse width different from said first pulse width.

16. The method as defined in claim 8, wherein said coded information comprises a first code segment having a magnetic pulse having a first pulse width in the direction of said path and a second code segment spaced from said first code segment in said direction and having a magnetic pulse having a second pulse width different from said first pulse width.

17. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein said coded information comprises a first code segment having a magnetic pulse having a first frequency and a second code segment spaced from said first code segment in the direction of said path and having a magnetic pulse having a second frequency different from said first frequency.

18. The method as defined in claim 10, wherein said coded information comprises a first code segment having a magnetic pulse having a first frequency and a second code segment spaced from said first code segment in the direction of said path and having a magnetic pulse having a second frequency different from said first frequency.

19. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein said coded information comprises first and second binary code segments spaced apart in the direction of said path and having different binary values with respect to one another.

20. The method as defined in claim 12, wherein said coded information comprises first and second binary code segments spaced apart in the direction of said path and having different binary values with respect to one another.

21. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein said coded information includes a magnetically encoded program.

22. The method as defined in claim 4, wherein said coded information includes a magnetically encoded program.

23. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein said coded information includes welding parameter information, welding wire information, and combinations thereof.

24. The method as defined in claim 2, wherein said coded information includes welding parameter information, welding wire information, and combinations thereof.

25. The method as defined in claim 4, wherein said coded information includes welding parameter information, welding wire information, and combinations thereof.

26. The method as defined in claim 7, wherein said coded information includes welding parameter information, welding wire information, and combinations thereof.

27. The method as defined in claim 18, wherein said coded information includes welding parameter information, welding wire information, and combinations thereof.

28. The method as defined in claim 20, wherein said coded information includes welding parameter information, welding wire information, and combinations thereof.

29. The method as defined in claim 16, wherein said coded information includes welding parameter information, welding wire information, and combinations thereof.

30. The method as defined in claim 23, wherein said welding wire information includes variations in cross-sectional size of the wire, surface conditions of the wire, breaks in the wire, changes in wire composition, twists in the wire, natural curvature of the wire, end of wire indicator, amount of wire remaining on reel or in canister, wire manufacturer'"'"'s name, wire manufacturer'"'"'s location, wire designation, specified wire cross-section shape, specified wire size, wire composition, designated wire feed rate, flux composition in wire, type of wire reel or wire container, date of wire manufacture, at least one welding parameter, type of welder, and combinations thereof.

31. The method as defined in claim 24, wherein said welding wire information includes variations in cross-sectional size of the wire, surface conditions of the wire, breaks in the wire, changes in wire composition, twists in the wire, natural curvature of the wire, end of wire indicator, amount of wire remaining on reel or in canister, wire manufacturer'"'"'s name, wire manufacturer'"'"'s location, wire designation, specified wire cross-section shape, specified wire size, wire composition, designated wire feed rate, flux composition in wire, type of wire reel or wire container, date of wire manufacture, at least one welding parameter, type of welder, and combinations thereof.

32. The method as defined in claim 29, wherein said welding wire information includes variations in cross-sectional size of the wire, surface conditions of the wire, breaks in the wire, changes in wire composition, twists in the wire, natural curvature of the wire, end of wire indicator, amount of wire remaining on reel or in canister, wire manufacturer'"'"'s name, wire manufacturer'"'"'s location, wire designation, specified wire cross-section shape, specified wire size, wire composition, designated wire feed rate, flux composition in wire, type of wire reel or wire container, date of wire manufacture, at least one welding parameter, type of welder, and combinations thereof.

33. The method as defined in claim 25, wherein said welding wire information includes variations in cross-sectional size of the wire, surface conditions of the wire, breaks in the wire, changes in wire composition, twists in the wire, natural curvature of the wire, end of wire indicator, amount of wire remaining on reel or in canister, wire manufacturer'"'"'s name, wire manufacturer'"'"'s location, wire designation, specified wire cross-section shape, specified wire size, wire composition, designated wire feed rate, flux composition in wire, type of wire reel or wire container, date of wire manufacture, at least one welding parameter, type of welder, and combinations thereof.

34. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein said coded information is correlated to an area of or position on said welding wire.

35. The method as defined in claim 4, wherein said coded information is correlated to an area of or position on said welding wire.

36. The method as defined in claim 2, wherein said coded information is correlated to an area of or position on said welding wire.

37. The method as defined in claim 31, wherein said coded information is correlated to an area of or position on said welding wire.

38. The method as defined in claim 32, wherein said coded information is correlated to an area of or position on said welding wire.

39. The method as defined in claim 33, wherein said coded information is correlated to an area of or position on said welding wire.

40. A method of controlling an electric arc welding process having a plurality of operating conditions and wherein a welding wire is advanced toward a workpiece and a welding arc is established between the advancing welding wire and the workpiece, including the steps of:

a) scanning a welding accessory for coded information on said welding accessory, said welding accessory including said welding wire, a wire reel, a shielding gas, a shielding gas container, and combinations thereof, said coded information including a code segment at least partially in the form of a pulse count on said welding wire, a code segment at least partially in the form of a pulse width on said welding wire, a code segment at least partially in the form of a pulse frequency on said welding wire, a code segment at least partially in the form of a program on said welding wire, a code segment at least partially in the form of a binary value on said welding wire, a code segment at least partially in the form of a bar code on said welding wire, a code segment at least partially in the form of a visual marker on said welding wire, a code segment at least partially in the form of a RFID component on said wire reel, a code segment at least partially in the form of a RFID component on said shielding gas container, a code segment at least partially in the form of an IC component on said wire reel, a code segment at least partially in the form of an IC component on said shielding gas container, a code segment at least partially in the form of a Touch Memory component on said wire reel, a code segment at least partially in the form of a Touch Memory component on said shielding gas container, and combinations thereof; and

,

b) monitoring, controlling and/or selecting at least one of the plurality of operating conditions in response to said coded information obtained from said welding accessory.

41. The method as defined in claim 40, wherein said coded information includes variations in cross-sectional size of the wire, surface conditions of the wire, breaks in the wire, changes in wire composition, twists in the wire, natural curvature of the wire, end of wire indicator, amount of wire remaining on reel or in canister, wire manufacturer'"'"'s name, wire manufacturer'"'"'s location, wire designation, specified wire cross-section shape, specified wire size, wire composition, designated wire feed rate, flux composition in wire, type of wire reel or wire container, at least one welding parameter, type of welder, date of wire manufacture, gas type, gas pressure, designated gas flow rate, gas manufacturer, canister filling date, canister filling location, canister volume, canister type, gas volume, at least one welding parameter, type of welder, low gas indication threshold, and combinations thereof.

42. The method as defined in claim 40, including the step of imparting said coded information on said welding wire.

43. The method as defined in claim 41, including the step of imparting said coded information on said welding wire.

44. The method as defined in claim 42, wherein said coded information is at least partially magnetically imparted on the welding wire.

45. The method as defined in claim 43, wherein said coded information is at least partially magnetically imparted on the welding wire.

46. The method as defined in claim 40, including the further steps of comparing the obtained information with preselected information;

and, selecting, monitoring, and/or controlling said at least one operating condition based on said comparison.

47. The method as defined in claim 45, including the further steps of comparing the obtained information with preselected information;

and, selecting, monitoring, and/or controlling said at least one operating condition based on said comparison.

48. The method as defined in claim 40, wherein said coded information is at least partially on a component positioned on a container for said welding wire;

and, scanning the component on said container to obtain information therefrom pertaining to said welding wire.

49. The method as defined in claim 45, wherein said coded information is at least partially on a component positioned on a container for said welding wire;

and, scanning the component on said container to obtain information therefrom pertaining to said welding wire.

50. The method as defined in claim 47, wherein said coded information is at least partially on a component positioned on a container for said welding wire;

and, scanning the component on said container to obtain information therefrom pertaining to said welding wire.

51. The method as defined in claim 40, wherein said coded information is at least partially on a component positioned on a container for said shielding gas;

and, scanning the component on said container to obtain information therefrom pertaining to said shielding gas.

52. The method as defined in claim 45, wherein said coded information is at least partially on a component positioned on a container for said shielding gas;

and, scanning the component on said container to obtain information therefrom pertaining to said shielding gas.

53. The method as defined in claim 45, wherein said coded information is at least partially on a component positioned on a container for said shielding gas;

and, scanning the component on said container to obtain information therefrom pertaining to said shielding gas.

54. The method as defined in claim 50, wherein said coded information is at least partially on a component positioned on a container for said shielding gas;

and, scanning the component on said container to obtain information therefrom pertaining to said shielding gas.

55. A system for controlling an electric arc welding process wherein a welding wire is advanced toward a workpiece and a welding arc is established between the advancing wire and the workpiece comprising a stored source of coded information on a welding accessory, a scanner to scan the coded information and output a signal indicative of said coded information, and a control mechanism to monitor, select and/or control the operation of the welding process in accordance with said signal, said welding accessory including said welding wire, a wire reel, a shielding gas, a shielding gas container, and combinations thereof, said coded information including a code segment at least partially in the form of a pulse count on said welding wire, a code segment at least partially in the form of a pulse width on said welding wire, a code segment at least partially in the form of a pulse frequency on said welding wire, a code segment at least partially in the form of a program on said welding wire, a code segment at least partially in the form of a binary value on said welding wire, a code segment at least partially in the form of a bar code on said welding wire, a code segment at least partially in the form of a visual marker on said welding wire, a code segment at least partially in the form of a RFID component on said wire reel, a code segment at least partially in the form of a RFID component on said shielding gas container, a code segment at least partially in the form of an IC component on said wire reel, a code segment at least partially in the form of an IC component on said shielding gas container, a code segment at least partially in the form of a Touch Memory component on said wire reel, a code segment at least partially in the form of a Touch Memory component on said shielding gas container, and combinations thereof.

56. The system as defined in claim 55, wherein said coded information includes variations in cross-sectional size of the wire, surface conditions of the wire, breaks in the wire, changes in wire composition, twists in the wire, natural curvature of the wire, end of wire indicator, amount of wire remaining on a reel or in a canister, wire manufacturer'"'"'s name, wire manufacturer'"'"'s location, wire designation, specified wire cross-section shape, specified wire size, wire composition, designated wire feed rate, flux composition in wire, type of wire reel or wire container, at least one welding parameter, type of welder, date of wire manufacture, gas type, gas pressure, designated gas flow rate, gas manufacturer, canister filling date, canister filling location, canister volume, canister type, gas volume, at least one welding parameter, type of welder, low gas indication threshold, and combinations thereof.

57. The system as defined in claim 55, wherein said coded information includes code segments and the outputted signal is representative of at least one code segment, and a decoder to receive and decode at least one code segment.

58. The system as defined in claim 56, wherein said coded information includes code segments and the outputted signal is representative of at least one code segment, and a decoder to receive and decode at least one code segment.

59. The system as defined in claim 57, wherein said welding apparatus has a plurality of operating parameters, said at least one code segment including information pertaining to at least one of said parameters, said decoder outputting a control signal to said control mechanism indicative of said information pertaining to said at least one parameter.

60. The system as defined in claim 58, wherein said welding apparatus has a plurality of operating parameters, said at least one code segment including information pertaining to at least one of said parameters, said decoder outputting a control signal to said control mechanism indicative of said information pertaining to said at least one parameter.

61. A welder for performing a welding process, said welder comprising a feeder for directing welding wire toward a workpiece from a supply of welding wire in a container, said welding wire including coded information related to the end of the wire in the container, a code reader to detect said coded information, and an indicator that indicates that said container is nearly empty of said wire.

62. The welder as defined in claim 61, wherein said indicator is a visual indicator or an audible indicator.

63. The welder as defined in claim 61, wherein said indicator upon detecting said coded information causes said welder to terminate operation.

64. The welder as defined in claim 62, wherein said indicator upon detecting said coded information causes said welder to terminate operation.

65. A method of encoding data on a metal welding wire including the steps of:

a) moving a welding wire along a path;

b) providing coded information, said coded information including information regarding variations in cross-sectional size of the wire, surface conditions of the wire, breaks in the wire, changes in wire composition, twists in the wire, natural curvature of the wire, end of wire indicator, amount of wire remaining on reel or in canister, wire manufacturer'"'"'s name, wire manufacturer'"'"'s location, wire designation, specified wire cross-section shape, specified wire size, wire composition, designated wire feed rate, flux composition in wire, type of wire reel or wire container, at least one welding parameter, type of welder, date of wire manufacture, gas type, gas pressure, designated gas flow rate, gas manufacturer, canister filling date, canister filling location, canister volume, canister type, gas volume, at least one welding parameter, type of welder, low gas indication threshold, and combinations thereof;

c) providing an encoding mechanism along said path to impart the coded information on said welding wire; and

,

d) activating said encoding mechanism to impart said coded information on said welding wire as said welding wire moves past said encoding mechanism, said coded information including a visual marking other than a bar code.