Data storage and analysis for a welding training system

• US 9,728,103 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Issued: 08/08/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Illinois Tool Works Inc.
• Original Assignee: Illinois Tool Works Inc.
• Inventors: Becker, William J., Darisipudi, Ashok
• Primary Examiner(s): Utama, Robert J
• Application Number:
  US13/838,301
• Publication Number:
  US 20140272838A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,607 Days
• Field of Search: 434219, 434234
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 37/04 for holding or positioning work
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 9/10 Other electric circuits therefor; Protective circuits; Remote controls
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 9/32 Accessories earthing connections H01R
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/003 Repetitive work cycles; Sequence of movements
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/24 Use of tools
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 9/00 Simulators for teaching or training purposes for the use of weapons F41; computing aspects G06; protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality H04L67/131

Abstract

A welding training system includes a camera configured to capture video data corresponding to a welding training operation. The welding training system also includes a storage device configured to store the video data, and to store welding parameter data corresponding to the welding training operation. The welding training system includes a welding training software configured to retrieve the video data from the storage device, to retrieve the welding parameter data from the storage device, to synchronize the video data with the welding parameter data, and to provide the synchronized video and welding parameter data to a display device.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a data storage device configured to store data corresponding to a welding training certification of a welding operator, wherein the data comprises a first welding process certification status, a second welding process certification status, a first welding device certification status, a second welding device certification status, or some combination thereof; and

control circuitry configured to receive a request for the first welding process certification status, the second welding process certification status, the first welding device certification status, the second welding device certification status, or some combination thereof, of the welding operator, wherein the control circuitry is configured to provide a response to the request, and wherein the response comprises the first welding process certification status, the second welding process certification status, the first welding device certification status, the second welding device certification status, or some combination thereof, of the welding operator;

wherein the welding operator is authorized to use a first welding process, a second welding process, a first welding device, a second welding device, or some combination thereof, based at least partly on the response, the control circuitry is configured to enable use of one or more welding process, one or more welding devices, or some combination thereof for which the welding operator is authorized, and the control circuitry is configured to disable the use of one or more welding processes, one or more welding devices, or some combination thereof for which the welding operator is not authorized.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the data comprises welding training data of the welding operator.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the data comprises a quantity of one or more welds performed by the welding operator, a type of welds performed by the welding operator, a timestamp for one or more welds performed by the welding operator, welding parameter data for one or more welds performed by the welding operator, or some combination thereof.

4. A welding training system comprising:

a camera configured to capture video data corresponding to a live arc welding training operation;

a storage device configured to store the video data, to store welding parameter data corresponding to the live arc welding training operation, and to store instructions for a welding training software; and

a processor configured to execute the instructions for the welding training software, wherein the welding training software is configured to retrieve the video data from the storage device, to retrieve the welding parameter data from the storage device, to receive a selected time of the video data, to synchronize the video data with the welding parameter data at the selected time, and to provide the synchronized video data and welding parameter data for the selected time to a display device.

5. The welding training system of claim 4, wherein the welding parameter data comprises a welding torch orientation, a welding torch travel speed, a welding torch position, a contact tip to workpiece distance, a proximity of a welding torch in relation to a workpiece, an aim of the welding torch, a welding voltage, a welding current, or some combination thereof.

6. The welding training system of claim 4, wherein the welding training software is configured to recreate welding training data based at least partly on the welding parameter data, to synchronize the video data with the recreated welding training data, and to provide the synchronized video data and recreated welding training data to the display device.

7. The welding training system of claim 6, wherein the recreated welding training data comprises weld puddle data.

8. The welding training system of claim 4, wherein the camera comprises a high dynamic range camera.

9. A system comprising:

a data storage device configured to store a first data set corresponding to a plurality of training welds performed by a welding operator, and to store a second data set corresponding to a plurality of live arc non-training welds performed by the welding operator; and

control circuitry comprising a processor, wherein the processor is configured to retrieve at least part of the first data set from the data storage device, to retrieve at least part of the second data set from the data storage device, to synchronize the at least part of the first data set with the at least part of the second data set, and to provide the synchronized at least part of the first data set and at least part of the second data set to a display device for display to a human operator.

10. A welding training system comprising:

a data storage device configured to store instructions for the welding training system, wherein the instructions comprise welding training software;

a processor configured to execute the instructions for the welding training software, wherein the welding training software is configured to provide training simulations for a plurality of welding configurations, wherein the plurality of welding configurations comprises a metal inert gas (MIG) welding process, a tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding process, a stick welding process, a live-arc welding mode, a simulation welding mode, a virtual reality welding mode, an augmented reality welding mode, or some combination thereof;

wherein the welding training software is configured to;

enable a welding instructor to select one or more welding configurations of the plurality of welding configurations; and

restrict training on the welding training system to the one or more welding configurations selected by the welding instructor, wherein the processor executes instructions of the welding training software to disable a welding operator from using restricted welding configurations of the plurality of welding configurations, and the plurality of welding configurations consists of the selected one or more welding configurations and the restricted welding configurations.

11. The welding training system of claim 10, wherein the welding training software is configured to enable the welding instructor to assign selected training assignments to the welding operator.

12. The welding training system of claim 10, wherein the welding training software is configured to enable the welding instructor to assign selected training assignments to a selected portion of a class of welding operators.

13. The welding training system of claim 10, wherein the welding training software is configured to enable the welding instructor to assign selected training assignments to a class of welding operators.

14. The welding training system of claim 10, wherein the welding training software is configured to enable the welding instructor to assign the welding operator a plurality of training assignments, and wherein the welding training software is configured to enable the welding operator to automatically advance from a first training assignment of the plurality of training assignments to a second training assignment of the plurality of training assignments.

15. The welding training system of claim 14, wherein the welding training software is configured to automatically advance the welding operator from the first training assignment to the second training assignment based at least partly on a quality of performing the first training assignment.

16. A welding training system comprising:

a welding torch;

a data storage device configured to store instructions for the welding training system, wherein the instructions comprise welding training software; and

a processor configured to execute instructions for the welding training software, wherein the welding training software comprises;

an augmented reality welding mode configured to receive a position of the welding torch, to integrate a virtual welding environment with the position of the welding torch, and to provide the integrated virtual welding environment to a display device; and

a live-arc welding mode;

wherein the welding training software is configured to enable a welding operator to practice a weld in the augmented reality welding mode to generate a weld bead in the virtual welding environment, to erase at least a portion of the weld bead of the virtual welding environment from the practice weld, and to perform a live weld in the live-arc welding mode.

17. The welding training system of claim 16, wherein the at least a portion of the virtual welding environment comprises a weld bead.

18. The welding training system of claim 16, wherein the welding training software is configured to enable the welding operator to practice the weld in the augmented reality welding mode a plurality of times.