Did You Know...
...that the inventor of the electric motor was a blacksmith named Thomas Davenport? Described as "a brilliantly unsuccessful inventor", Davenport invented the first rotary electric motor. In 1836 he headed out -- on foot -- from his Vermont home to file a patent application at the Patent Office in Washington, D.C. By the time he got there, he had squandered away his money and couldn't afford the $30 filing fee so he turned around and went home. When he later mailed in his application with money he'd raised, the Patent office was destroyed in a fire. He did finally get credit for his invention on Feb. 5, 1837.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7301118 | Welding gun with controller and method for using same A welding gun assembly including a housing that defines a first chamber and a second chamber. The assembly also includes a first piston moveably disposed in the first chamber and a second piston moveably disposed in the second chamber. The assembly includes an inten... | 11/27/2007 |
| 7265312 | Battery pack and method for constructing same An improved battery pack is proposed. The battery pack includes a housing, and first and second cells disposed in the housing, the first cell having a radius and a periphery. In addition, the battery pack includes a metal strap connecting the first and second cells,... | 09/04/2007 |
| 7257872 | Electrode tip dresser An electrode tip dresser is disclosed which can dress a pair of electrode tips to a usable state while achieving a desired accuracy of a tip surface of each electrode tip including an angular portion at a peripheral edge of the tip surface, without separating each e... | 08/21/2007 |
| 7078644 | Resistance welding method, resistance welding apparatus, and method for manufacturing electronic component In a resistance welding method and a resistance welding apparatus which prevent a decrease in bonding strength between a lead wire and a metal member due to a partially formed current flow path and which immediately removes a defective component from a manufacturing... | 07/18/2006 |
| 7021157 | System and method for testing a clamping force A system for testing a clamping force includes a lever, a base, and a sensor, The lever is coupled to a pivot and moves about the pivot. The lever includes a first end and a second end on opposites sides of the pivot. The base receives a first tip of a clamp and mai... | 04/04/2006 |
| 6941826 | Method and device for detecting abrasions of electrodes in stationary welding gun A method for detecting abrasion of both a moving side electrode (2) and a fixing side electrode (3) of a stationary type welding gun in which the moving side electrode (2) and the fixing side electrode (3) opposed to the moving side elect... | 09/13/2005 |
| 6911615 | Welding head A welding head for connecting weld members by resistance welding includes an infeed cylinder having a piston rod, an electrode movable via the cylinder; and a sensor arranged between the piston rod of the infeed cylinder and a readjusting spring for the rapid readju... | 06/28/2005 |
| 6888089 | Method of and device for setting reference position for servo spot welding gun A method of and device for automatically setting and updating a reference position of a welding tip of a servo spot welding gun to automatically compensate displacement of a distal end of a welding tip by abrasion thereof. A movable welding tip is moved towards a st... | 05/03/2005 |
| 6696660 | Method and system for weld process monitoring A weld tip testing head is presented. An alignment member has an aperture disposed therein and is coupled to a spring element. The spring element is further coupled to a mounting. The aperture is operable to removably receive a weld tip and the alignment ... | 02/24/2004 |
| 6515251 | Welding system and method A method of resistance spot welding is disclosed. The method includes providing a first metallic workpiece having a primary surface and a second metallic workpiece having a secondary surface. The method also includes positioning the primary surface into p... | 02/04/2003 |
| 6303893 | Resistance projection welder and method therefor A resistance projection welder for welding first and second work pieces to each other. The first work piece having a body with opposing sides with at least one projection extending from one of the opposing sides and contacting the second work piece to spa... | 10/16/2001 |
| 6303894 | Resistance welding with an electrochemical capacitor as the current power source A resistance type pulse welding apparatus for workpieces, including a handpiece, a pair of electrodes mounted at the tip of the handpiece adapted for delivering weld current pulses to a workpiece to be welded, an electrochemical capacitor providing a high... | 10/16/2001 |
| 6294752 | Method of flash-butt welding A method of flash-butt welding in which the travel speed (Vt) of the machine mobile plate and the welding voltage (U2) are changed (by preset programs) and the travel speed is controlled through negative feedback by welding current, ... | 09/25/2001 |
| 6236011 | Method and apparatus for detecting an abnormal load on a servo gun shaft A method of and apparatus for detecting an abnormal load on a servo gun axis, capable of quickly detecting sticking of a welding tip to an object of welding before movement of a robot, without adversely affecting the object. A load applied to a servomotor... | 05/22/2001 |
| 6184487 | Electrode inspection system An improved inspection system for verifying that resistance welding electrodes have been properly dressed; that associated pairs of the electrodes are aligned with each other within predetermined tolerances; and that the pressure applied by a weld gun to ... | 02/06/2001 |
| 6087612 | Process for marking industrial products or parts In a process for marking industrial products or parts, a plurality of spot welds serve as carriers of characterizing information, especially in encoded information. Information is encoded in said spot welds by varying the position of each weld relative to... | 07/11/2000 |
| 6043449 | Spot welding system and spot welding method and nugget diameter estimation system and nugget diameter estimation method A welding spot is held between electrodes either biased with a controlled pressure, having a controlled voltage applied thereacross, and variations of an inter-electrode distance are detected for a welding quality control, in which the distance variations... | 03/28/2000 |
| 5981898 | Method of controlling electrode pressure application force in an electric gun There is provided a method of controlling an electrode pressure application force in an electric gun provided with the electrode at the tip end of a movable arm which is driven by an electric motor comprising steps of setting a limit torque of the electri... | 11/09/1999 |
| 5977508 | Resistance welding method and apparatus used in the method A resistance welding method in which a welding current is passed through a welding portion of a material to be welded in a condition that the welding portion is put in between a pair of electrodes, so that the welding portion is fused and welded by use of... | 11/02/1999 |
| 5973287 | Resistance welding method and apparatus used in the method A resistance welding apparatus in which welding portions of materials to be welded are resistance-welded with each other by use of resistance heating caused by conduction of a welding current while the welding portions are pressed between a pair of electr... | 10/26/1999 |
| 5954976 | Method and apparatus for automatically adjusting air pressure in a pneumatic weld head A pressure regulator system for a pneumatically- or hydraulically-actuated weld head. The weld head includes a switching valve comprising several ports: an inflow port attached to a source of pressurized gas, preferably air; an exhaust port; a first line ... | 09/21/1999 |
| 5883355 | Method of adjusting a clamping force of servo-controlled welding gun A method of adjusting a clamping force for automatically correcting a reference clamping force(Fi) vs. electric reference supply current(Ii) table for a servo-controlled welding gun on which a workpiece is clamped. The clamping force vs. electric current ... | 03/16/1999 |
| 5514846 | Automatic welder control system The present invention provides a weld control monitoring system which determines the quality of the welds in real time, and provides responsive useful outputs indicating the quality of the weld. The system permits the user to input weld data as well as qu... | 05/07/1996 |
| 5504297 | Apparatus for electrical resistance spot welding An improved welding apparatus and method of use including a pair of opposed electrodes mounted on arms which are fixed against outward displacement during the application of the welding current. One of the arms includes a pneumatic cylinder for moving an ... | 04/02/1996 |
| 5428202 | Methods and apparatus for fusing electrical conductors Methods and apparatus for fusing together electrical conductors to a commutator are provided. A precise, timed, and controlled delivery of electric current to the fusing electrode of the fusing machine is achieved. A generic supply signal is converted int... | 06/27/1995 |
| 5412172 | Spot welding machine A spot welding machine includes tip electrodes mounted on the tips of the first and second arms, respectively, a pressing actuator for moving at least one of the first and second arms to apply a pressing force to the tip electrodes, an interelectrode dist... | 05/02/1995 |
| 5405075 | Welding apparatus and an operation method thereof When a welding tip is moved from one welding point to a successive welding point, a robot and a welding gun are operated simultaneously with each other during a first time period between an issue of a pressurizing start signal and finish of the pressurizi... | 04/11/1995 |
| 5300753 | Methods and apparatus for fusing electrical conductors Methods and apparatus for fusing together electrical conductors to a commutator are provided. A precise, timed, and controlled delivery of electric current to the fusing electrode of the fusing machine is achieved. A generic supply signal is converted int... | 04/05/1994 |
| 5063279 | Methods and apparatus for fusing armature and stator wires Methods and apparatus for fusing armature wires to a commutator, and fusing stator lead wires and stator hooks, are provided. An electrode assembly having a screw mechanism converts the rotational motion of a motor into a translational motion of the fusin... | 11/05/1991 |
| 4999475 | Detecting system of electrode tips for a spot welder A detecting system for a spot welder having a pair of electrodes attached to a pair of arms is disclosed. A limit detecting device has a pair of axially slidable detecting rods spaced at a predetermined distance corresponding to the distance between the e... | 03/12/1991 |
| 4901506 | Heat seal temperature control Method and circuitry is disclosed for controlling and stabilizing temperature of a resistance heat sealing element used in packaging operations. Temperature of the heat sealing element is measured by monitoring its resistance by means of a current sensing... | 02/20/1990 |
| 4861959 | Resistance spot welding gun and transformer assembly An assembly is provided for mounting on an end of a robot arm actuator as an integral spot resistance welding gun and transformer unit. A gun slide support bracket is connected to the transformer and serves to provide a mount for a sliding gun cylinder ha... | 08/29/1989 |
| 4684778 | Resistance spot welding gun and transformer assembly An assembly is provided for mounting on an end of a robot arm actuator as an integral spot resistance welding gun and transformer unit. A gun slide support bracket is connected to the transformer and serves to provide a mount for a sliding gun cylinder ha... | 08/04/1987 |
| 4680441 | Pressure regulator control system A pressure regulator control system for controlling the pressure with which welding electrodes are engaged against a workpiece comprises a transducer for establishing a first regulated fluid outlet pressure proportional to the strength of an electrical si... | 07/14/1987 |
| 4675494 | Preheat time compensating weld control A spot weld controller includes a current transformer, a current amplitude detector, a keypad data entry, a solenoid, an air valve and pneumatic cylinder, welding electrodes, a connection to an electric power supply, a source of pressurized air, and progr... | 06/23/1987 |
| 4672166 | Control circuit for the current of a welding transformer The invention is directed to a control circuit for controlling the current of a welding transformer integrated in an industrial robot. For the purpose of achieving a simpler, more accurate and more reliable detection of contact between the welding tongs (... | 06/09/1987 |
| 4634828 | Control method of resistance welding A control method of resistance welding for controlling weld conditions, such as welding current and welding time, in response to a change in material of weldments, which comprises the steps of detecting the local lowest value of resistance between electro... | 01/06/1987 |
| 4631383 | Machine with automatic finger safety guard An improved machine with automatic finger safety guard includes a machine body having a finger-accessible work space and at least one movable machine component disposed in the work space. An electric motor is connected by leads to a power source and is al... | 12/23/1986 |
| 4497019 | Programmable control system for controlling at least two parameters in a predetermined sequence using both analog and digital control signals A method and apparatus for controlling a work function, such as, for example, welding, requiring the control of at least one parameter according to a predetermined sequence, the apparatus including at least one work station where the work function is carr... | 01/29/1985 |
| 4390770 | Automatic welding apparatus for solar cells Automatic welding apparatus is provided for welding contact tabs to solar lls which are particularly adapted for use in space vehicular solar generators. The apparatus comprises a plurality of welding electrodes arranged to extend across the direction of ... | 06/28/1983 |
