Patent ID: 8884189

Claim:
A welding system, comprising: a welding power source that, in operation, produces a weld power output for the generation of a welding arc having an arc potential; an auxiliary power conversion device that, in operation, provides an auxiliary power output to an auxiliary load, wherein the auxiliary power conversion device comprises: an input power converter that, in operation, derives power from the arc potential and converts the derived power to a first AC output; an input-to-output isolation circuit that, in operation receives the first AC output, maintains the auxiliary load at a different potential than the welding power source, and transforms the first AC output to a second AC output; and an output power converter that, in operation, converts a frequency of the second AC output to a desired frequency and a desired waveform for the auxiliary load; and a controller that, in operation, receives a first input corresponding to a power demand at the welding arc, receives a second input corresponding to a power requirement at the auxiliary load, and controls the welding power source to produce the weld power output at a level suitable for meeting the power demand of the welding arc and the power requirement at the auxiliary load.