Contactor for welding wire feeder
First Claim
1. A portable welding wire feeding apparatus, for providing welding wire and electrical power to a welding torch, said wire feeding apparatus comprising:
- a contactor including;
a first electrical terminal coupled to a power source cable, said first terminal comprising a first stud made from a copper material substantially free of zinc;
a second electrical terminal comprising a second stud made from a copper material substantially free of zinc;
a conductive bridge member movable between a first position in which said bridge member electrically couples said first electrical terminal to said second electrical terminal and a second position in which said bridge member is separated from at least one of said first and second electrical terminals to electrically isolate said terminals from one another; and
an actuator operable according to a contactor control signal to selectively move said bridge member between said first and second positions, said control signal having a first state in which said actuator moves said bridge member to said first position and a second state in which said actuator moves said bridge member to said second position;
an output coupled to said second contactor terminal to provide electrical power and welding wire to a torch cable; and
a motorized wire feeding system including a motor and a feed roll driven by said motor to direct a welding wire from a wire supply to said output for provision of said welding wire to a welding operation through said torch cable.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Portable welding wire feeders for providing welding wire and power to a welding torch, including a contactor with first and second copper or tellurium copper terminal studs, a conductive bridge member movable to electrically connect or isolate the terminals, and an actuator to control movement of the bridge according to a control signal. The contactor may also include a thermal sensor and the wire feeding apparatus may include a control circuit to provide the contactor control signal according to a temperature signal from the thermal sensor and according to a trigger signal from a welding torch.
34 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A portable welding wire feeding apparatus, for providing welding wire and electrical power to a welding torch, said wire feeding apparatus comprising:
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a contactor including;
a first electrical terminal coupled to a power source cable, said first terminal comprising a first stud made from a copper material substantially free of zinc;
a second electrical terminal comprising a second stud made from a copper material substantially free of zinc;
a conductive bridge member movable between a first position in which said bridge member electrically couples said first electrical terminal to said second electrical terminal and a second position in which said bridge member is separated from at least one of said first and second electrical terminals to electrically isolate said terminals from one another; and
an actuator operable according to a contactor control signal to selectively move said bridge member between said first and second positions, said control signal having a first state in which said actuator moves said bridge member to said first position and a second state in which said actuator moves said bridge member to said second position;
an output coupled to said second contactor terminal to provide electrical power and welding wire to a torch cable; and
a motorized wire feeding system including a motor and a feed roll driven by said motor to direct a welding wire from a wire supply to said output for provision of said welding wire to a welding operation through said torch cable. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A contactor for a portable welding wire feeding apparatus, said contactor comprising:
- a first electrical terminal coupled to a power source cable, said first terminal comprising a first stud made from a substantially zinc free copper material;
a second electrical terminal comprising a second stud made from a substantially zinc free copper material;
a conductive bridge member movable between a first position in which said bridge member electrically couples said first electrical terminal to said second electrical terminal and a second position in which said bridge member is separated from at least one of said first and second electrical terminals to electrically isolate said terminals from one another; and
an actuator operable according to a contactor control signal to selectively move said bridge member between said first and second positions, said control signal having a first state in which said actuator moves said bridge member to said first position and a second state in which said actuator moves said bridge member to said second position. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
- a first electrical terminal coupled to a power source cable, said first terminal comprising a first stud made from a substantially zinc free copper material;
Specification