Abstract:
Exemplary embodiments of welding track clamps are disclosed herein. These track clamps provide several new features including, without limitation, alternate methods and apparatuses for adjusting clamping force and assemblies that provide for increased clamping force for rigidity and stability of welding tracks. The invention further provides ease of use and assembly/dissassembly.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates generally to tracks used by robotic or automatic welding devices or welders to traverse any objects to be welded, such as pipes or parts of a windmill blade. The welding device grips or is mounted on the track and is driven usually by a motor along the track while performing a welding operation. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Tracks are comprised of separate segments that are connected together to form a path for an automatic or robotic welder. The type of welder that traverses a track while performing a welding operation is sometimes called an orbital welder or a welding “bug.” A complete track may be in the shape of a circle. Such a circle can be used to weld two pieces of pipe together. Complete tracks can also be in shapes other than circles and can be in a straight line. A single complete track, for example a ring for welding pipe segments together, must often be separated into pieces or segments in order to mount the track or remove the track from the pipe. Accordingly, attaching and detaching track segments can be laborious and time-consuming. In addition, any reduction of time in attaching or reattaching track segments will result in a welding operation that has increased productivity and efficiency. Further, it is advantageous to mount a welding track on an object to be welded with sufficient rigidity so that the track does not wobble or become misaligned on the object to be welded. Thus, minimal movement in the track or by the track segments during a welding operation is desirable. 
     SUMMARY 
     Exemplary embodiments of welding track clamps are disclosed herein. These track clamps provide several new features including, without limitation, alternate methods and apparatuses for adjusting clamping force and assemblies that provide for increased clamping force for rigidity and stability of welding tracks. The invention further provides ease of use and assembly/disassembly. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description and accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIGS. 1A and 1B  are perspective views of an exemplary embodiment of a clamp assembly of the present application; 
         FIG. 1C  is a perspective view of the clamping assembly of  FIGS. 1A and 1B  un-mounted; 
         FIG. 2A  is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a clamping assembly of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2B  is a top view of the exemplary embodiment depicted in  FIG. 2A ; 
         FIGS. 2C ,  2 D and  2 E are section drawings of the exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 2A  through Line A of  FIG. 2B ; 
         FIG. 3A  is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a clamping assembly of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3B  is a top view of the exemplary embodiment depicted in  FIG. 3A ; 
         FIGS. 3C ,  3 D and  3 E are section drawings of the exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 3A  through Line A of  FIG. 3B ; 
         FIG. 4A  is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a clamping assembly of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4B  is a top view of the exemplary embodiment depicted in  FIG. 4A ; 
         FIGS. 4C and 4D  are section drawings of the exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 4B  through Line A of  FIG. 4B ; 
         FIG. 5A  is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a clamping assembly of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5B  is a top view of the exemplary embodiment depicted in  FIG. 5A ; 
         FIGS. 5C ,  5 D and  5 E are section drawings of the exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 5B  through Line A of  FIG. 5B ; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a clamping assembly of the present invention un-mounted; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a clamping assembly of the present invention; 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a clamping assembly of the present invention; 
         FIG. 9  is a section drawing of an exemplary embodiment of a clamping assembly of the present invention along a Line A of the same type of Line A as shown in  FIG. 4B ; and 
         FIG. 10  is a section drawing of an exemplary embodiment of a clamping assembly of the present invention along a Line A of the same type of Line A as shown of  FIG. 5B . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     This Detailed Description merely describes exemplary embodiments and is not intended to limit the scope of the claims in any way. Indeed, the invention as claimed is broader than and unlimited by the exemplary embodiments, and the terms used in the claims have their full ordinary meaning. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 1A and 1B , a two-segment track  10  in a ring shape is shown. Although this embodiment is shown as having only two track segments  13 ,  15  and is in the shape of a ring for illustrative purposes only, the invention is not limited to any set number of track segments or track shapes. Indeed, the complete track assembly can have any number of shapes including, without limitation, oval, square, rectangle, etc., and can also be in a straight line. As can be seen, each track segment  13 ,  15  has two ends  12 ,  14  and two sides  16 ,  18 , respectively. There are also two latch assemblies  20 ,  22  mounted at one end  12 ,  14  of each track segment  13 ,  15 . This is where the ends of the two track segments are clamped or attached together to form the ring shape. While this embodiment shows two latch assemblies at one end of each of the track segments and at each interface of the two track segments, a single latch assembly or more than two latch assemblies could be mounted and used at the interface of the two track segments. 
     Each latch assembly  20 ,  22  includes a handle  24  and a latch member  26 . The handle  24  of each latch assembly can be used to move its respective latch member  26 . As can be seen, the latch members  26  shown in  FIGS. 1A through 1C  are hook-shaped, or J-shaped. The latch assemblies and housing described herein are manufactured from any metal, such as steel, stainless steel, titanium, aluminum or alloys of any metals. The choice of metal used may depend upon the environment or applications in which the clamps are used and the properties that are desired for such environments or applications; for example, corrosion resistance, high strength, light-weight, etc. 
     Each track segment also includes a housing  28  mounted at one end of the track segment  12 ,  14  that is opposite the end of the track segment  12 ,  14  to which the latch assemblies  20 ,  22  are mounted. Each housing  28  includes a steel pin  30  (not shown in  FIGS. 1A-1C ) that engages with the latch members  26  when the latch is operated to a closed position to clamp or hold track segments  13 ,  15  together. Pin housings  28  and latch assemblies are fixed to track segments  13 ,  15  by welding but could be attached by any other known means including using fasteners or by simply machining the housing or assemblies as part of the track itself.  FIG. 1C  depicts a latch assembly  20 ,  22  and housing  28  in space or not mounted to a track segment for illustration purposes. 
     In the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1A through 1C , each track segment may also include a guide pin  32  and a guide-pin hole or opening  34 . The guide pin  32  and the guide-pin opening  34  are used to properly align the latch assemblies  20 ,  22  with the pin  30  in housing  28  to allow alignment and rigidity of the track assembly when the track is clamped around two pipe sections or pieces for welding. The guide pin opening or hole  34  could be located within the track segment  13 ,  15  itself or located within housing  28 . 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 2A ,  2 B,  2 C,  2 D and  2 E, another exemplary embodiment of the invention is shown. In this embodiment, a spring  35  is added to each latch assembly  20 ,  22 . The operation of latch assemblies  20 ,  22  is shown in  FIGS. 2C through 2E , which depict a section of latch assembly  22  through section line A. For each latch assembly  20 ,  22 , latch member  26  is mounted to latch handle  24  on a pivot pin  40 . In turn, latch handle  24  is mounted and rotates on another pivot pin  42 , which is formed in or mounted in each of the bodies of latch assemblies  20 ,  22 . As can be seen in  FIG. 2C , spring or resilient member  35  urges the handle  24  upward and to rotate around pivot pin  42  in the direction of the arrow in  FIG. 2C . The resilient force acts between the handle  24  and a body in the latch housing. This allows easy grasping and use of handle  24 . Spring  35  is shown in the drawings as a coil spring wound around pivot pin  42  but could be replaced by any resilient member or spring, including an elastomer or rubber body or spring. 
     In operation, as can be seen in  FIGS. 2C ,  2 D and  2 E, the handle  24  is grasped by the user and rotated around pivot pin  42  until latch member  26  is placed in engagement with pin  30  on housing  28 . At this point, the track segments are placed around the pipe sections to be welded. The unlatched state of latch assembly  22  is shown in  FIG. 2C , and the “hooked” or partially engaged condition is shown in  FIG. 2D . Then, the handle  24  is pressed or pulled by the user in a direction shown by the arrow in  FIG. 2D  until the fully-latched or clamped position is reached in  FIG. 2E . In this position, the two track segments are firmly and rigidly clamped around the pipe or pipe segments to be welded. Further, the alignment pin  32  and opening  34  are engaged to assure complete alignment of the welding track. To disengage the latch assembly  22 , the handle is simply pulled upward away from the track segment in the direction of the arrow shown in  FIG. 2E . 
     In another embodiment depicted in  FIGS. 3A ,  3 B,  3 C,  3 D and  3 E, housing  28  is shown including an opening, slit or groove  50  formed within it. The groove  50  is only formed partially through the housing  50  and does not divide it completely into two separate pieces, but does divide it into two connected portions  54  and  56 . The groove  50  causes there to be some resilient movement between portions  54  and  56  of housing  28 . This movement upon clamping or latching shown in  FIG. 3E  allows pin  30  to move a slight amount. This slight movement allows the housing portion  56  and pin  30  to move with respect to track ring segment  13 ,  15  upon which they are mounted so that any variation in parts due to manufacturing tolerances or wear and tear that could cause over-tightness or over-clamping can be accounted for by the resilient action resulting from the groove  50  in the housing  28 . In addition, the placement and the size of groove  50  in housing  28  can be tailored or adjusted to only allow specific and maximum clamping forces to be applied between clamping mechanism  20 ,  22  and housing  28 . The opening  50  can also be of a shape other than a groove. 
     In another exemplary embodiment depicted in  FIGS. 4A ,  4 B,  4 C and  4 D, the housing  28  may also include an opening or groove  50  as shown in  FIGS. 3A through 3E , but in addition include a threaded opening  60  for a set screw  62  or any other threaded fastener. Set screw  62  can then be used to adjust the actual length of housing  50  by exerting force between parts  54  and  56 . This adjustment or variation in length of housing  50  allows the clamping force of the latch mechanism to be adjusted, and therefore, the clamping force used to hold together two track segments to be adjusted. The adjustment is effected by rotating set screw  62  toward or away from and against portion  54  of the housing  50  in  FIG. 4C . As set screw  62  of presses against portion  54 , it moves portion  56  with pin  30  further away from latch assembly  20 , thus increasing the clamping force of latch assembly  20 . The clamping force can be reduced by rotating set screw  62  the other way.  FIG. 4D  depicts another embodiment in which the portion  54  includes a threaded opening  60  and a set screw  62 . This embodiment operates in the same manner as the assembly shown in  FIG. 4C  except that the set screw is in portion  54  and is adjusted against portion  56  to again move portion  56  toward or away from latch assembly  20 . In either of these exemplary embodiments, a conventional screw (other than a set screw which is below the outside surface of either of portions  54  or  56 ) or any other threaded fastener could also be used with a head that protrudes out above the outside surfaces of portions  54  or  56 . This is depicted in  FIG. 9  with screw  90 . 
     In yet another exemplary embodiment depicted in  FIGS. 5A ,  5 B,  5 C,  5 D and  5 E, the hook shape, or J-shape, of the latch member is replaced with a latch member having a pin  70  mounted therein resulting in a T-shaped latch member. The pin can be formed or machined into latch members  26  or have a separate pin mounted in a hole in the latch member  26 . The pin  70  is substantially perpendicular to the elongated sides of the latch members  26 , as shown in  FIGS. 5A and 5B . The pins  70  fit into complimentary depressions or pockets  72  formed in housing  28  (instead of pins as shown in  FIGS. 1A through 1C ). Thus, to engage the latch, the handle  24  of the latch assembly  20  is again rotated in the direction of the arrow shown in  FIG. 5C , and the pins  70  are then placed into depressions  72 . Then, the handle  24  is rotated in the direction of the arrow shown in  FIG. 5D  until the latch assembly is clamped or latched as shown in  FIG. 5E . In this exemplary embodiment, the pin  70  could be replaced with any protrusion on the end of latch members  26 . This protrusion may be generally perpendicular to the latch members  26 . For example, a ball-shaped protrusion could be used in place of pin  70 .  FIG. 6  depicts the latch assemblies  20 ,  22  and housing  28  of this embodiment in space without being attached to track segments. The T-shape of the latch member shown in  FIGS. 5A through 5E  can normally be used with and withstand greater clamping forces than a J-shaped or hook-shaped latch member. 
     Any of these embodiments and features of the embodiments can be combined or modified to create additional embodiments and are still within the spirit and scope of this invention. For example, a T-shaped latch member may be used with a grooved housing and/or a housing having an adjustable set screw feature as shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8 . In addition, in any of the exemplary embodiments in which a J-shaped latch member  26  is used, the pin  30  and housing  28  could be replaced by a housing  28  that has a protrusion  95  for catching the hooked member  26 , which is shown by way of example in  FIG. 10 . 
     The latch assemblies described herein and their substantially parallel arrangement with the track segments and their placement within the sides  16 ,  18  or envelope of the track provide maximum clamping force, ease of use and eliminate wasted space of clamps that are mounted outside the sides of the track or outside the track envelope. 
     While the present invention has been illustrated by the description of embodiments thereof and while the embodiments have been described in considerable detail, it is not the intention of the applicants to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. Moreover, elements described with one embodiment may be readily adapted for use with other embodiments. Therefore, the invention, in its broader aspects, is not limited to the specific details, the representative apparatus and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of the applicants&#39; general inventive concept.