Patent ID: 7230203

Claim:
A protective cap for at least one contact tube ( 40 , 41 ) of a welding torch ( 10 ) each provided with a bore for guiding and contacting a respectively fed welding wire, which protective cap includes a housing ( 33 ) made of, or coated with, a poorly electrically conductive material and adapted to receive said contact tube ( 40 , 41 ), and a bore ( 31 , 32 ) provided therein to allow the exit of the welding wire ( 13 ), wherein at least one opening ( 29 , 30 ) for receiving at least one contact tube ( 40 , 41 ) is provided in the housing ( 33 ) and each opening ( 29 , 30 ) is connected with a respective bore ( 31 , 32 ) provided in the housing ( 33 ), and each bore ( 31 , 32 ) is arranged in a manner corresponding with the course of the welding wire ( 13 ) within the contact tube ( 40 , 41 ) in the installed state of the protective cap ( 27 ), so as to enable a respectively fed welding wire ( 13 ) to exit to a welding site through the bore of each contact tube ( 40 , 41 ) and each bore ( 31 , 32 ) of the protective cap ( 27 ), wherein at least two openings ( 29 , 30 ) for receiving at least two contact tubes ( 40 , 41 ) fastened therein are provided in the housing ( 33 ), and that fastening elements ( 35 ) are arranged on an outer surface ( 34 ) of the housing ( 33 ) to enable the establishment of a connection with a gas nozzle ( 28 ) of the welding torch ( 10 ), thus causing all conductive elements of the welding torch ( 10 ) to be covered by the protective cap ( 27 ) in the region of the gas nozzle ( 28 ) and wherein bores ( 38 ) are provided on the housing ( 33 ) to allow a gas ( 8 ) fed by the welding torch ( 10 ) to exit into the region between the gas nozzle ( 28 ) and the protective cap ( 27 ).