Abstract:
A welding system includes a lift eye having a plurality of slotted paths that are both vertically and horizontally offset from each other. Each of the plurality of slotted paths are configured to receive a cylindrical bearing, and enable two resting positions and a lifting position of the lift eye via interaction with the respective cylindrical bearing. In addition, each slotted path of the plurality of slotted paths includes a first substantially vertical slot portion, a smaller second substantially vertical slot portion that is horizontally offset from the first substantially vertical slot portion, and an angled portion connecting bottom ends of the vertical slot portions.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority from and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/697,998, entitled “WELDING SYSTEM WITH ERGONOMICALLY INTEGRATED RECESSED HANDLE,” filed Sep. 7, 2012, U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/698,020, entitled “WELDING SYSTEM PANELS,” filed Sep. 7, 2012, U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 61/698,027, entitled “WELDING SYSTEM WITH MULTI-POINT CONTACT LIFT EYE,” filed Sep. 7, 2012, U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/698,060, entitled “WELDING SYSTEM WITH TERMINAL COVER PIECE,” filed Sep. 7, 2012, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The present invention relates generally to the field of welding systems, and more particularly to a welding system having a multi-position lifting mechanism, integrated recessed handles, a louvered front panel with a sliding cover piece, an enclosure formed from multiple panels, or some combination of these. 
         [0003]    Welding systems often need to be moved or relocated. As such, a welding system should incorporate a mechanism that facilitates lifting of the welding system. Current welding systems may include only a single lifting mechanism with limited functionality. This single lifting mechanism is also insufficient for instances when it may be desirable to move a welding system without having to lift it off the ground. For example, when an operator wants to slide or slightly readjust the position of the welding system, current welding systems have no ergonomic (e.g., easy to grab) grip locations. Being unable to securely grip the welding system may result in damage to the welding system and/or the operator. 
         [0004]    Additionally, most welding system enclosures have exceedingly simple designs. Welding system enclosures generally incorporate a cover piece for the weld output terminals and exposed edges and/or seams between the panels used to form the enclosure. Particularly, the seams may have gaps between panels or overlapping panels and the cover piece may be fragile and may create an obstruction (e.g., get in the way) when not in place over the output connections. Additionally, the cover piece and the gaps/overlaps may detract from the aesthetics of the welding system. 
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    Certain embodiments commensurate in scope with the originally claimed invention are summarized below. These embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention, but rather these embodiments are intended only to provide a brief summary of possible forms of the invention. Indeed, the invention may encompass a variety of forms that may be similar to or different from the embodiments set forth below. 
         [0006]    In a first embodiment, a welding system includes a housing having a recess extending into a top side of the housing. The welding system also includes a lift eye disposed within the recess. The lift eye includes a slotted path configured to receive a cylindrical bearing, and enable two resting positions and a lifting position of the lift eye via interaction with the cylindrical bearing. 
         [0007]    In a second embodiment, a welding system includes an enclosure, and a lifting mechanism having at least three selectable positions including a lifting position that facilitates lifting of the enclosure, an alignment position that facilitates alignment of an external welding component with the enclosure, and a retracted position. 
         [0008]    In a third embodiment, a welding system includes a lift eye having a plurality of slotted paths that are both vertically and horizontally offset from each other. Each of the plurality of slotted paths are configured to receive a cylindrical bearing, and enable two resting positions and a lifting position of the lift eye via interaction with the respective cylindrical bearing. In addition, each slotted path of the plurality of slotted paths includes a first substantially vertical slot portion, a smaller second substantially vertical slot portion that is horizontally offset from the first substantially vertical slot portion, and an angled portion connecting bottom ends of the vertical slot portions. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein: 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of a welding system having a lifting mechanism and a welding system enclosure; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an embodiment of a welding system having the lifting mechanism of  FIG. 1  in which the lifting mechanism is in a hidden position for use during operation of the welding system; 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is an exploded view of an embodiment of a lifting mechanism; 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional side view of an embodiment of a lift eye that may be part of the lifting mechanism of  FIGS. 1-3 ; 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is an exploded view of certain components of an embodiment of a front panel assembly of the welding system of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  is a top and/or bottom view of an embodiment of recessed handles; 
           [0016]      FIG. 7  is a side view of the recessed handle of  FIG. 6 ; 
           [0017]      FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view of the recessed handle along line  8 - 8  of 
           [0018]      FIG. 7 ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 9  is a detail view of an embodiment of a welding system having a sliding track; 
           [0020]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the embodiment of the welding system of  FIG. 9 ; 
           [0021]      FIG. 11  is a top view and a front view of an embodiment of a cover piece that may slide on the sliding tracks of  FIG. 9  and  FIG. 10 ; 
           [0022]      FIG. 12  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the front panel assembly, illustrating a detent of one of the louvers; 
           [0023]      FIG. 13  is a cutaway side view of the embodiment of the front panel assembly of  FIG. 12  taken along line  13 - 13 , illustrating the detent in one of the louvers, and a mating indention in the cover piece; and 
           [0024]      FIG. 14  is a perspective view of an embodiment of an enclosure having multiple sheet metal panels. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0025]    One or more specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below. In an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, all features of an actual implementation may not be described in the specification. It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers&#39; specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure. 
         [0026]    When introducing elements of various embodiments of the present invention, the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements. 
         [0027]    The embodiments described herein include improvements in the form of a welding system lifting mechanism (e.g., lift eye), and welding system enclosure. These improvements include a lift eye that may be disposed within a recess, and a welding system enclosure that includes ergonomic handles, sliding track, and side panels. Such improvements may, for example, enable operators to arrange the lift eye in multiple positions and/or relocate/reposition the welding systems via sliding. The embodiments described herein simplify the use of the welding system and decrease the possibility of damaging the welding system and/or the operator. Other benefits of the disclosed embodiments include protection for the internal components, the cover plate, and the electrical connections of the welding system. The improvements may increase the operability, durability, portability, accessibility, and aesthetics of the welding system as a whole. 
         [0028]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of a welding system  10  having a lifting mechanism and a welding system enclosure. The welding system  10  may be used in any suitable welding configuration such as gas metal arc welding (GMAW), flux cored arc welding (FCAW), gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW), submerged arc welding (SAW), shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), carbon arc cutting-air (CAC-A), or similar arc welding processes. The welding system  10  is configured to provide welding power during performance of the welding processes. The welding system  10  includes a housing  12  that may incorporate a lifting mechanism  14  that may be used to connect the welding system  10  to a lifting machine such as a jack or hydraulic lift. The welding system  10  also includes a front panel assembly  16  that includes one or more handles  18  that may be ergonomically designed to allow comfortable repositioning of the welding system  10  by an operator. The front panel assembly  16  also includes a cover piece  20  that may be configured to aesthetically and durably protect the weld output connections (and other electrical connections) and other interior components of the weld system  10 . The welding system  10  also includes side panels  22  that may be used to cover the exterior of the welding system  10 , preventing foreign matter from contaminating the welding system  10 , and protecting an operator of the welding system  10 . 
         [0029]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the welding system  10  having the lifting mechanism  14  of  FIG. 1  in which the lifting mechanism  14  is in a hidden (e.g., fully retracted) position for use during operation of the welding system  10 . The lifting mechanism  14  may include a lift eye  24  that may be incorporated within the housing  12  of the welding system  10  to provide an access point for machinery to lift the welding system  10  and relocate the welding system  10  as necessary. Further, the lift eye  24  may act as a positioning feature for the welding system  10  when additional components are placed on top of the welding system  10 . For example, a welding wire feeder (not shown) may be placed on top of the welding system  10  and may use the lift eye  24  as a positioning reference. More specifically, a mating feature in the bottom of the welding wire feeder may align and mate with the lift eye  24  when it extends from the housing  12  of the welding system  10  (e.g., as illustrated in  FIG. 1 ). 
         [0030]      FIG. 3  is an exploded view of an embodiment of the lifting mechanism  14 . When in use, a portion of the lift eye  24  may extend beyond the housing  12  of the welding system  10 . The exposed portion  26  may contain a hole  28  (e.g., eye, see  FIG. 1 ) for connecting the lift eye  24  to lifting machinery. The unexposed portion  30  (e.g., that does not extend outwardly from the housing  12 ) may contain a series of slots  32  to enable translation of the lift eye  24 . When not in use, a majority of the lift eye  24  may reside in a recess  34  within the housing  12 , such that it is not unnecessarily exposed or in the way of other components. 
         [0031]    The lift eye  24  may have at least three possible positions, two resting positions and one lifting position. One resting position  50  (e.g., an alignment position) may include the lift eye  24  being slightly exposed, and the other resting position  40  (e.g., when there is a height restriction or for more desired aesthetics) may have the lift eye  24  retracted within the recess of the housing  12 , wherein substantially all (e.g., approximately 95%, approximately 99%, or more) of the lift eye  24  is disposed within the housing  12  (see  FIG. 2 ). The lifting position  60  may have the lift eye  24  fully extended outwardly from the recess  34 . From either resting position ( 40 ,  50 ), an upward force  36  applied to the lift eye  24  may place the lift eye  24  in the lifting position  60 . The upward force  36  may be evenly distributed within the lift eye  24  structure through the use of at least two slots  32  in combination with multiple cylindrical bearings  38  (see  FIGS. 3 and 4 ). It is noted in  FIG. 3  that two of four cylindrical bearings  38  are configured to fit within the slots  32 , whereas all of the cylindrical bearings  38  are configured with respective screws  55  and associated nuts  56 , which function to hold first and second interior mounting portions  57 ,  58  together about the lift eye  24 . It will be appreciated that the first and second interior mounting portions  57 ,  58  are used to mount the lifting mechanism  14  within the housing  12  of the welding system  10 . 
         [0032]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional side view of an embodiment of the lift eye  24  that may be part of the lifting mechanism  14  of  FIGS. 1-3 . The lift eye  24  may be in the retracted resting position  40  when the cylindrical bearings  38  are located at the top  41  of the slots  32 . When an upward force  36  is applied, the lift eye  24  may be forced along the path formed by the slots  32  and the cylindrical bearings  38 . The cylindrical bearings  38  may remain fixed while the lift eye  24  translates around the cylindrical bearings  38  in a vertical direction  42  and in a horizontal direction  44 . The top portion  41  of the slots  32  (e.g., long vertical portion of the slot  32 ) may apply vertical translation, and the angled portion  46  of the slots  32  may additionally apply horizontal translation. In certain embodiments, the angled portion  46  of the slots  32  may be disposed at approximately 133° from the vertical axis  42 , however, any angle  48  between approximately 90° and approximately 180° may be used (e.g., a range between approximately 125° and approximately 145° in certain embodiments). Small vertical slot portions  51  at the end of the angled portions  46  may be used to retain the lift eye  24  in the exposed resting position  50 . This may provide a stable position to be used as a positioning reference for additional components (e.g., welding wire feeders, and other components) placed on top of the the welding system  10 . In certain embodiments, a third, shorter, side slot  52  may be used to ensure parallel orientation between the lift eye  24  and its recess  34  within the housing  12  of the welding system  10 . 
         [0033]    In order to enable both vertical  42  and horizontal  44  translation, the recess  34  in the housing  12  may be slightly larger than the lift eye  24 . In certain embodiments, to prevent contaminants from entering the welding system  10  through the recess  34 , a sliding seal  54  may be included adjacent the recess  34  (see  FIG. 3 ). The seal  54  may be formed of a low-friction material and may fit tightly between the surface of the lift eye  24  and the surface of the recess  34 . Further, in certain embodiments, at least one drain channel  59  may be included below the lift eye  24  to remove any liquid that may enter through the recess  34 . 
         [0034]      FIG. 5  is an exploded view of certain components of an embodiment of the front panel assembly  16  of the welding system  10  of  FIG. 1 . The front panel assembly  16  includes a top frame member  62 , a front panel  64 , the recessed handles  18 , and side frame members  66  of the welding system  10 . Each component of the front panel assembly  16  may comprise more than one piece, or the separate pieces shown in  FIG. 5  may be combined. For example, in certain embodiments, the top frame member  62  and the front panel  64  may be constructed as a single manufactured item. In other embodiments, the recessed handles  18  and the side frame members  66  may be constructed as a single manufactured item. In the illustrated embodiment, the recessed handles  18  are located between the top frame member  62  and the side frame members  66  and may enable an operator to relocate/reposition the welding system  10  with or without using machinery to lift the welding system  10 . As such, the recessed handles  18  may provide a location for the operator to ergonomically grip the welding system  10 . The recessed handles  18  may be incorporated into the housing  12  of the welding system  10  and may be recessed into the welding system  10 . 
         [0035]      FIG. 6  is a top and/or bottom view of the recessed handles  18 . The recessed handles  18  include a side face  68  and an aesthetically pleasing angled face  70 . Each face ( 68 ,  70 ) may match up with corresponding faces ( 72 ,  74 ) on the side frame members  66 . Matching the recessed handles  18  with the side frame members  66  gives the welding system  10  a design that is pleasing to the eye and that integrates the design of the welding system  10 . The recessed handles  18  also include internal tabs  76  that support and strengthen the recessed handles  18 . For example, the recessed handles  18  may include between approximately two and approximately twenty internal tabs  76 . The internal tabs  76  may secure the recessed handles  18  to the side frame members  66 , the top frame member  62 , the front panel  64 , the housing  12 , or a combination thereof. The internal tabs  76  also align the recessed handles  18  with the other components of the front panel assembly  16  and the welding system  10 . In addition to providing rigidity for gripping, the internal tabs  76  may simplify the assembly of the recessed handles  18  onto the welding system  10 . 
         [0036]      FIG. 7  is a side view of the recessed handles  18  of  FIG. 6 . As illustrated, the recessed handles  18  may be generally symmetrical about line A-A. Symmetrical construction enables the recessed handles  18  to be constructed from a single part that may be installed on either side of the welding system  10 . In certain embodiments, the recessed handles  18  may be coupled to the welding system  10  by fasteners  77  (e.g., nails, bolts, screws, pins, etc.). That is, referring back to  FIG. 1 , a recessed handle  18  may be installed on a left side  78  of the welding system  10  (facing out from the welding system  10 ) in the configuration shown in  FIG. 7 . Or, the same recessed handle  18  may be rotated 180° around the line A-A and installed on a right side  80  of the welding system  10 , with the recessed handle  18  again toward the interior of the welding system  10 . The recessed handle  18  includes a recess  82  which is configured to ergonomically fit to an operators hand while positioning or adjusting the welding system  10 . 
         [0037]      FIG. 8  is a cross-section view of the recessed handles  18  along line  8 - 8  of  FIG. 7 . To provide an ergonomic grip while remaining recessed in the welding system, the recess  82  of the recessed handles  18  may be angled such that the operator&#39;s fingers may firmly grip a recessed angled portion  84 . To ensure a comfortable grip, the angled portion  84  (e.g., inner wall) may be disposed at an angle  86  of approximately 70 degrees (see  FIG. 3 ) from the side face  68  of the recessed handle  18 , however, any other suitable angle  86  between approximately 60 degrees and approximately 80 degrees may be used. In some embodiments, the recessed handles  18  may be formed of plastic by a casting procedure. The casting procedure may enable the recessed handles  18 , with the internal tabs  76 , to be formed in a single step. 
         [0038]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the welding system  10  having a front cover piece  20 . The cover piece  20  may slide within substantially parallel sliding tracks  94  in the front panel assembly  16  of the welding system  10 . Referring back to  FIG. 1 , the cover piece  20  is located in a lowered (e.g., closed) position  96 . In the lowered position  96 , the cover piece  20  substantially covers the electrical connections  92  (e.g., weld output connections, and other electrical connections, such as feedback connections, and so forth) of the welding system  10 . As such, the cover piece  20  may protect the operator from accidentally contacting the electrical connections  92 . To reveal (e.g., entirely expose) the electrical connections  92 , the cover piece  20  may slide upward  98  within the sliding tracks  94  in the front panel assembly  16 . By sliding up  98  and down  100  within the tracks  94 , the cover piece  20  remains securely coupled to the welding system  10  and does not create an obstruction for the operator using the welding system  10 . 
         [0039]      FIG. 10  is a detail view of the embodiment of the welding system  10  of  FIG. 9 . To facilitate the sliding motion of the cover piece  20 , the cover piece  20  may include a set of side tabs  102 ,  106 ,  108  on each side. The tabs  102 ,  106 ,  108  may fit within the sliding tracks  94  in the front panel assembly  16  of the welding system  10 . Additionally, the tabs  102 ,  106 ,  108  may provide a snap-fit within the sliding tracks  94  to securely retain the cover piece  20  within the tracks  94  and prevent the cover piece  20  from being accidentally removed from the welding system  10 . Once slid into the open position  104  (e.g., “up” position as illustrated in  FIG. 9 ), a detent  138  protruding from one of the louvers  114  of the front panel assembly  16  may mate with a complementary indention  140  in a back wall  142  of the cover piece  20 , thereby locking the cover piece  20  in the open position  104 .  FIG. 12  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the front panel assembly  16 , illustrating the detent  138  of one of the louvers  114 , and  FIG. 13  is a cutaway side view of the embodiment of the front panel assembly  16  of  FIG. 12  taken along line  13 - 13 , illustrating the detent  138  in one of the louvers  114 , and the mating indention  140  in the cover piece  20 . Subsequently, as illustrated in  FIG. 9 , slight downward  100  pressure may unseat the detent  138  from the complementary indention  140 , thereby facilitating sliding the cover piece  20  into the closed position  96  (as illustrated in  FIG. 1 ). 
         [0040]      FIG. 11  is a top view and a front view of an embodiment of a cover piece  20  that may slide on the sliding tracks  94  of  FIG. 9  and  FIG. 10 . The cover piece  20  includes the side tabs  102 , top tabs  106  and bottom tabs  108 . Furthermore, as shown in  FIG. 11  the cover piece  20  may be contoured to prevent interference between the cover piece  20  and the welding system  10 . Contour points  110  show the angle  112  of the contour that the cover piece  20  takes in order to provide a separation distance  115  between the cover piece  20  and the welding system  10 . The cover piece  20  also provides aesthetic appeal to the welding system  10 . In some embodiments, the front panel assembly  16  may be louvered (e.g., include a plurality of fan louvers  114  as illustrated in  FIG. 1 ). The cover piece  20  may incorporate a complementary geometry. For example, the angle  112  of the contour of the cover piece  20  may be constructed to substantially match the contour of the louvers  114  of the front panel assembly  16 . In addition, the cover piece  20  may include arched openings  116  that correspond to the electrical connections  92  through which weld cables (and other electrical cables) connected to the electrical connections  92  may be disposed when the cover piece  20  is slid into the closed position  96  (see  FIG. 1 ). Further, the contours of the arched openings  116  may increase the aesthetic appeal of the welding system  10 . 
         [0041]      FIG. 14  is a perspective view of an embodiment of an enclosure having multiple sheet metal panels. The housing  12  of the welding system  10  may be formed from multiple sheet metal panels  118 . For example, sheet metal panels  118  may be used to form side panels  120 , a rear panel, and a top panel for the welding system enclosure. Each of the panels  118  may include tabs  122 , depressions  124  (e.g., countersinks, counterbores, holes, tapped holes, etc.), slots  126 , and/or other features to facilitate coupling the panels  118  to other components of the housing  12  (e.g., frame, front face, etc.). In certain embodiments, each side panel  120  may incorporate a tab  122  along its bottom edge (see  FIG. 1 ). The tab  122  may mate with a complementary geometry in the frame of the housing  12  (e.g., an elongated slot  123 ) and may enable the side panel  120  to be coupled to the frame housing  12 . Such tab/slot geometry may create even seams (e.g., smooth transitions and flush interfaces) between enclosure components, and may be utilized on any combination of panels  118  in the welding system enclosure. In other words, once the panels  118  are secured to the welding system enclosure, there are no protrusions extending from or indentions extending into the welding system enclosure at the seams. 
         [0042]    The panels  118  may also contain depressions  124 , such as countersinks, counterbores, and holes, to accommodate fasteners  128 . The fasteners  128  may be used to attach the panels  118  to the housing  12  of the welding system  10 . The depressions  124  may enable secure attachment of the panels  118  without warping or otherwise deforming or deflecting the panels  118 . Further, the use of depressions  124  with fasteners  128  may also improve the seam quality of the enclosure. Improved seam quality may increase the aesthetic appeal of the welding system  10 , and may prevent foreign particles from entering the housing  12 . 
         [0043]    The panels  118 , particularly the side panels  120 , may also include inwardly angled flanges  130  extending from an edge (e.g., a top edge) of the panels  118 . Such flanges  130  may be overlapped by another panel of the housing  12 . The overlapped flange  130  may form a gap-free seam  132  that provides a seal against foreign contaminants As such, the internal components of the welding system  10  may be protected against particulates, thereby improving the reliability of the welding system  10 . Further, the welding system  10  may have increased aesthetic appeal due to minimized gaps and overlapping between panels  118 . The use of edge flanges  130  may also result in reinforced edges and seams, improving the durability of the enclosure. Such a flange  130  may be incorporated on any edge, or combination of edges, on a panel or multiple panels  118 . 
         [0044]    Forming the housing  12  of the welding system  10  from individual panels  118  may also simplify the assembly process of the housing  12 . For example, operators may use simple/standard tools to assemble the housing  12 . The use of simple tools may result in time savings, cost savings, and reduced operator training For example, the use of the tab/slot geometry may enable the side panels  120  to be simply rotated into place and secured with fasteners  128 . In one embodiment, the assembly method may include: coupling a rear panel to the frame, placing a tab  122  of each side panel  120  into a slot in the frame, rotating each side panel  120  inward (e.g., as illustrated by arrow  134 ) until it abuts the rear panel, sliding each side panel  120  horizontally toward the front of the housing  12  (e.g., as illustrated by arrow  136 ) until it abuts the front panel assembly  16  of the housing  12 , placing a top panel to complete the enclosure, and securing the panels  120  with fasteners  128 . A fully assembled welding system enclosure is shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0045]    While only certain features of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention.