Follow-up clamping device

Abstract

This invention provides a follow-up clamping device for providing vortex gas to a laser welding head to protect the workpiece being welded. The follow-up clamping device includes: a clamping body having a conical inner cavity; a connecting member, one end of which is connected to the laser welding head; and an annular gas supply member, through which gas is introduced from the large opening side of the conical inner cavity, converges and forms a vortex-like converging airflow within the conical inner cavity, and is then ejected from the small opening side of the conical inner cavity, suitable for spraying towards the workpiece being welded. This invention solves the problems of unstable gas protection and the existence of protection dead zones in existing technologies, as well as the problem of severe plasma shielding effects affecting welding depth and energy transmission in existing technologies. It also solves the problem of existing laser welding clamping mechanisms obstructing airflow and causing protection blind zones.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of laser welding technology, and more specifically to a follow-up clamping device. Background Technology

[0002] While existing laser welding boasts high precision and efficiency, it still suffers from several shortcomings. For instance, the high temperature of the molten pool makes it prone to reacting with oxygen and nitrogen in the air to form oxides and nitrides, leading to decreased weld toughness and corrosion resistance, as well as defects such as porosity and spatter. Existing side-blowing and coaxial gas shielding methods struggle to create a stable, uniform, and seamless protective gas layer in the welding zone: side-blowing is susceptible to environmental disturbances and air entrainment behind the molten pool; traditional coaxial gas blowing has a single outlet with limited coverage, insufficient ability to disperse the plasma cloud, and a tendency to create a "plasma shielding effect," weakening laser energy transfer and welding depth. In scenarios requiring mechanical clamping, such as thin-plate lap welding and sealing seam welding, the commonly used rigid double-sided clamping structure suffers from uneven clamping force distribution, making it difficult to flexibly adjust to curved welds or complex trajectories, easily leading to poor fit, weld warping, and deformation; the clamping mechanism, constantly exposed to high temperatures and weld spatter, is also prone to thermal deformation, jamming, and wear, resulting in a limited lifespan. In addition, the visualization of the welding area is affected by high temperature, strong light and equipment obstruction. External lighting often leads to uneven illumination, making it difficult for CCD vision systems to reliably identify the molten pool shape.

[0003] In summary, there is still a lack of laser welding devices that can achieve reliable follow-up clamping while providing stable, efficient, and blind-spot-free gas protection for the molten pool and also take into account visual monitoring. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present invention provides a follow-up clamping device to solve at least one of the following technical problems:

[0005] 1. Existing gas protection technologies suffer from instability and dead zones. Current side-blowing or coaxial-blowing gas protection methods have a single airflow direction and are greatly affected by external airflow, making it difficult to form a stable and uniform protective gas layer in the welding zone. Turbulent air entrapment, especially behind the molten pool, easily forms, allowing air to enter the welding zone, leading to weld oxidation, porosity, and severely impacting welding quality.

[0006] 2. Existing technologies suffer from severe plasma shielding effects, which affect welding depth and energy transmission. In high-power laser welding, metal vapor is easily ionized to form a plasma cloud. This plasma has absorption and scattering effects on the laser beam, causing a plasma shielding effect. This hinders the transmission of laser energy, thereby reducing the penetration depth and welding efficiency. Existing gas protection structures have limited plasma dispersing effects and are difficult to effectively alleviate the problem.

[0007] 3. Traditional clamping mechanisms obstruct airflow and create blind spots for protection. Traditional clamping devices often use pressure rollers or pressure blocks, and their mechanical contact parts directly block the gas flow channel, making the clamping area a blind spot for gas protection. As a result, key welding parts cannot be isolated by inert gas, resulting in defects such as local oxidation, porosity and spatter.

[0008] 4. Traditional clamping devices have poor durability and are prone to heat deformation and jamming. Because the clamping mechanism is in a high-temperature environment, with welding slag splash and metal vapor, it often causes the steel balls or pressure rollers to overheat and jam, welding slag to adhere, and rolling to be difficult, resulting in severe wear of the mechanism, short service life, and affecting the stability of the welding process.

[0009] 5. Welding visual monitoring is obstructed and the lighting is uneven. Existing welding equipment mostly relies on external light sources for molten pool imaging. The clamping device can easily block the light, resulting in uneven lighting in the welding area. This causes the CCD vision system to not be able to recognize the weld pool clearly and the molten pool boundary to be blurred, which affects automated welding path tracking and quality inspection.

[0010] 6. Existing clamping technologies have poor adaptability and struggle to achieve uniform clamping from all directions. Most existing follow-up clamping mechanisms employ rigid, double-sided clamping structures, concentrating clamping force primarily in localized areas on both sides of the weld. This fails to create a continuous and uniform clamping effect at the weld center and periphery. Especially during curved welds or welding processes with complex trajectories, the clamping direction and orientation of the device are difficult to adjust flexibly with the weld path, leading to poor workpiece fit, uneven welding stress distribution, and in severe cases, weld warping or deformation.

[0011] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution:

[0012] A follow-up clamping device is used to provide vortex gas to a laser welding head to protect the workpiece being welded. The follow-up clamping device includes:

[0013] The clamping body has a conical inner cavity, which includes a small opening side and a large opening side with a radial dimension larger than the small opening side. The clamping body is adapted to point the small opening side toward the workpiece to be welded.

[0014] The connector has one end for connecting to the laser welding head and the other end for connecting to the clamping body on the large opening side of the conical inner cavity;

[0015] An annular air supply component is located on the large opening side of the conical inner cavity of the pressing body;

[0016] Gas is introduced from the large opening side of the conical inner cavity through the annular gas supply component, converges and forms a vortex-like converging airflow through the conical inner cavity, and is then ejected through the small opening side of the conical inner cavity, and is suitable for spraying onto the workpiece to be welded.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has achieved the following beneficial effects:

[0018] This invention provides a laser welding follow-up clamping device with integrated vortex gas protection. This follow-up clamping device solves the problem of "the spatial conflict between the traditional clamping mechanism and the gas protection device, which leads to dead angles and blind spots in gas protection". It also solves the problem of "the weak plasma cloud dispersal ability and low laser energy utilization rate of ordinary coaxial blowing in the prior art".

[0019] Specifically, the follow-up clamping device provided by the present invention can achieve the following beneficial effects:

[0020] 1. All-round protection without dead angles: By integrating the annular air supply component into the interior of the follow-up clamping device, and utilizing the vortex airflow generated by the combination of the annular air supply component and the conical inner cavity, the protective gas is directly spirally ejected. This not only eliminates the obstruction of the airflow by the clamping device, but also forms a positive pressure air curtain from the inside to the outside in the clamping contact area, effectively isolating the air, which is especially suitable for welding highly active metals.

[0021] 2. Suppressing plasma shielding: The high-speed rotating vortex airflow forms a shear flow field and centrifugal force field near the laser focus, which can effectively destroy, disperse and throw out the plasma cloud, thereby weakening its shielding effect on the laser and significantly improving the welding penetration and energy transmission efficiency.

[0022] 3. Cooling and self-cleaning: The continuous vortex airflow cools the rolling clamping components below and blows away the spattered welding slag, preventing the clamping mechanism from overheating and jamming, thus extending its service life. Attached Figure Description

[0023] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other solutions can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0024] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the follow-up clamping device provided in an embodiment of the present invention from a first viewing angle.

[0025] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the follow-up clamping device from a second viewing angle;

[0026] Figure 3 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the follow-up clamping device from a third viewing angle;

[0027] Figure 4 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the follow-up clamping device in the fourth observation view;

[0028] Figure 5 for Figure 1 A cross-sectional view of the follow-up clamping device in the middle;

[0029] Figure 6 for Figure 1 An explosion diagram of the follow-up clamping device in the middle;

[0030] Figure 7 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the explosion of the follow-up clamping device from another viewing angle.

[0031] 1-Clamping body; 10-Cone-shaped inner cavity; 101-Small opening side; 102-Large opening side; 2-Connector; 20-Boss; 21-Flange bolt hole; 22-Limit screw; 23-Sleeve; 3-Annular air supply component; 30-Air jet hole; 41-Steel ball; 43-Railway cover; 430-Cover hole; 5-Housing; 50-Hole; 51-Ventilation pipe; 52-Port; 53-Limit groove; 6-Elastic component; 7-Annular lighting assembly; 8-Exhaust port. Detailed Implementation

[0032] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only for illustration and explanation of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0033] Any specific numerical values ​​disclosed herein (including the endpoints of numerical ranges) are not limited to their exact values, but should be understood to also include values ​​close to the exact value, such as all possible values ​​within ±5% of the exact value. Furthermore, with respect to the disclosed numerical ranges, one or more new numerical ranges can be obtained by arbitrarily combining the endpoint values ​​of the range, the endpoint values ​​with specific point values ​​within the range, and the specific point values ​​themselves; these new numerical ranges should also be considered as specifically disclosed herein.

[0034] The terminology used in this invention is for the purpose of describing specific exemplary embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” as used herein are intended to include the plural forms as well. The terms “comprising,” “including,” “containing,” and “having” are inclusive and thus describe the presence of said features, elements, compositions, steps, integers, operations, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or inclusion of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or sets thereof. Although the open-ended term “comprising” should be understood as a non-limiting term used to describe and claim the various embodiments described in this invention, in some aspects it may instead be understood as a more restrictive and limiting term, such as “consisting of” or “essentially composed of.” Thus, for any given embodiment describing a composition, material, component, element, feature, integer, operation, and / or process step, the invention also particularly includes embodiments consisting of or substantially consisting of such compositions, materials, components, elements, features, integers, operations, and / or process steps. In the case of “consisting of…”, the alternative embodiments exclude any additional compositions, materials, components, elements, features, integers, operations and / or process steps. In the case of “essentially composed of…”, any additional compositions, materials, components, elements, features, integers, operations and / or process steps that substantially affect the essential and novel characteristics are excluded from such embodiments. However, any compositions, materials, components, elements, features, integers, operations and / or process steps that do not substantially affect the essential and novel characteristics may be included in the embodiments.

[0035] Any method steps, processes, and operations described in this invention should not be construed as necessarily requiring them to be performed in the specific order discussed or shown, unless explicitly specified. It should also be understood that, unless otherwise stated, additional or alternative steps may be used.

[0036] In this invention, except where expressly stated, any matters or issues not mentioned are directly applicable to those known in the art without any modification. Furthermore, any embodiment described in this invention can be freely combined with one or more other embodiments described in this invention, and the resulting technical solutions or concepts are considered part of the original disclosure or original record of this invention, and should not be regarded as new content not disclosed or anticipated by this invention, unless those skilled in the art consider the combination to be clearly unreasonable.

[0037] Unless otherwise stated, the terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art, and if a term is defined herein and its definition differs from the common understanding in the art, the definition herein shall prevail.

[0038] See Figures 1 to 7 This invention provides a follow-up clamping device for providing vortex gas to a laser welding head to protect the workpiece being welded. The follow-up clamping device includes: a clamping body 1, which has a conical inner cavity 10 inside. The conical inner cavity 10 includes a small opening side 101 and a large opening side 102 with a radial dimension larger than the small opening side 101. The clamping body 1 is adapted to point the small opening side 101 toward the workpiece being welded; a connecting member 2, one end of which is connected to the laser welding head, and the other end of which is connected to the clamping body 1 at the large opening side 102 of the conical inner cavity 10; and an annular gas supply member 3, which is disposed at the large opening side 102 of the conical inner cavity 10. Gas is introduced from the annular gas supply member 3 from the large opening side 102 of the conical inner cavity 10, converges and forms a vortex converging airflow through the conical inner cavity 10, and is ejected through the small opening side 101 of the conical inner cavity 10, and is adapted to be sprayed toward the workpiece being welded. Specifically, by arranging the annular gas supply component 3 on the large opening side 102 of the conical inner cavity 10 of the pressing body 1, and causing the protective gas to converge from the large opening side 102 to the small opening side 101 within the conical inner cavity 10 and be ejected at high speed from the small opening side 101, a protective gas flow or vortex gas flow that converges along the laser beam axis can be formed near the laser welding head. This gas flow surrounds the weld pool area, providing concentrated isolation and replacement of the atmosphere around the weld pool. This helps to reduce the intrusion of oxygen, nitrogen, etc. from the air into the weld pool and suppresses the generation of weld oxidation, nitriding, and porosity defects. At the same time, by rigidly connecting the connector 2 to the laser welding head, the vortex gas outlet and the laser spot maintain a fixed relative position, which facilitates the integrated coaxial output of the protective gas and the welding beam. The structure is compact and easy to integrate.

[0039] It should be noted that, as Figure 5 As shown, the ejection direction of the gas "ejected through the small opening side 101 of the conical inner cavity 10" is the same as the emission direction of the laser beam, or in other words, the two are coaxial.

[0040] It is understandable that the cone angle of the 10 segments of the aforementioned conical inner cavity can range from 30° to 60°.

[0041] See Figures 5 to 7In some embodiments of the present invention, the annular air supply member 3 is provided with an air jet hole 30. The air jet hole 30 is located circumferentially on the inner side of the annular air supply member 3. The air outlet direction of the air jet hole 30 has a non-zero component in the tangential direction at the location of the air jet hole 30, and the air jet hole 30 points towards the small opening side 101 of the conical inner cavity 10. It is understood that the number of air jet holes 30 can be adjusted according to actual application requirements, and can be exemplarily 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, or 50. It is worth noting that by setting circumferentially distributed air jets 30 and directing the air jets 30 towards the small opening side 101 of the conical inner cavity 10, the protective gas can enter the conical inner cavity 10 in a multi-channel, approximately annular manner, forming a more uniform and stable converging airflow or vortex flow field within the cavity. This helps to reduce local dead zones and turbulence, improve the circumferential coverage of the weld pool and the consistency of gas protection, thereby further improving weld quality and repeatability.

[0042] See Figures 5 to 7 In some embodiments of the present invention, the air outlet direction of the jet hole 30 has an axial component relative to the circumferential tangent of the annular air supply member 3.

[0043] It is worth noting that, see Figure 5 and Figure 6 In some embodiments of the present invention, the laser welding head described above can pass through the inner cavity of the follower clamping device to irradiate the workpiece to be welded; the inner cavity described above is as follows: Figure 5 The blank area inside the follow-up clamping device is shown in the figure.

[0044] See Figures 1 to 7 In some embodiments of the present invention, the follow-up clamping device further includes a steel ball 41, which is movably disposed on the end face of the clamping body 1 on the side with the small opening 101 and adapted to face the workpiece to be welded. The steel ball 41 is adapted to adhere to the surface of the workpiece to be welded. It should be noted that by adding the steel ball 41, so that the steel ball 41 is movably disposed on the end face of the clamping body 1 where the small opening 101 is located and adheres to the surface of the workpiece to be welded, a rolling contact rather than a surface friction sliding contact can be formed between the follow-up clamping device and the workpiece to be welded. This is beneficial for continuously applying a certain clamping force to the workpiece to be welded during the welding process, while reducing the frictional resistance and the risk of surface scratches during relative movement. It also helps to maintain the stability of the gap between the small opening 101 and the workpiece to be welded, thereby contributing to the stability of the vortex airflow outlet position and the protective effect.

[0045] In some embodiments of the present invention, a raceway is provided on the end face of the side of the clamping body 1 where the small opening side 101 is located, along the circumference of the conical inner cavity 10, and the steel ball 41 is accommodated in the raceway. It can be understood that accommodating the steel ball 41 in the raceway located on the clamping body 1 and arranged circumferentially along the conical inner cavity 10 can guide and limit the distribution of the steel ball 41 circumferentially, so that multiple steel balls 41 are evenly loaded and rolled in the annular area. This is beneficial to make the clamping force more evenly distributed in the circumferential direction of the weld, improve the smoothness and posture stability of the device when moving along the weld direction, and reduce welding deformation caused by local indentation or uneven clamping.

[0046] See Figure 5 and Figure 6 In some embodiments of the present invention, the follow-up clamping device further includes a raceway cover 43, which is installed on the raceway of the clamping body 1. The raceway cover 43 has multiple cover holes 430 to expose the steel balls 41. It should be noted that by adding a raceway cover 43 on the outside of the raceway and partially exposing the steel balls 41 through the cover holes 430 on the raceway cover 43, the steel balls 41 can be reliably encapsulated and retained while ensuring that the steel balls 41 protrude outward to make rolling contact with the workpiece surface, preventing the steel balls 41 from falling off or mixing with welding spatter. At the same time, the raceway cover 43 helps to block welding slag and dust from entering the raceway area, slows down the wear of the rolling parts, and improves the service life and operational reliability of the rolling clamping mechanism.

[0047] See Figures 1 to 7 In some embodiments of the present invention, the follow-up clamping device further includes a housing 5, which has a semi-enclosed structure and houses the roller cover 43, the clamping body 1, and the annular air supply component 3 in sequence inside. The port 52 of the housing 5 is housed in the connector 2. It is worth noting that by setting a semi-enclosed housing 5 around the above structure and housing the roller cover 43, the clamping body 1, and the annular air supply component 3 in sequence inside, the above functional components form a compact assembly structure inside the housing 5. This provides mechanical protection for the internal rolling clamping mechanism and air passage structure, preventing direct impact from external impacts or welding spatter, and facilitates assembly with the connector 2 through the port 52 of the housing 5. This enables the overall positioning and rapid installation of the follow-up clamping device relative to the welding head, improving the integration of the device and the convenience of on-site use.

[0048] See Figure 6In some embodiments of the present invention, the housing 5 may include two separate parts. One part is cylindrical and fitted onto the outer periphery of the clamping body 1, and encloses and protects the annular gas supply component 3 and the annular lighting assembly 7. The other part of the housing 5 may cover the raceway cover 43 to enclose and protect the raceway cover 43 and the steel ball 41. The above-mentioned split housing 5 design facilitates component production and assembly. Of course, in other embodiments, the housing 5 may be made as a single piece to adapt to other production standards.

[0049] See Figure 1 , Figure 4 , Figure 6 and Figure 7 In some embodiments of the present invention, the end face of the housing 5 facing away from its port 52 is provided with a hole 50 to expose the steel ball 41. It can be understood that providing a hole 50 on the end face of the housing 5 near the workpiece allows the steel ball 41 to be exposed through the hole 50 and contact the surface of the workpiece to be welded. This can maintain the protection of the internal components by the housing 5 while placing the rolling clamping point on the outside of the housing, making it easier for the steel ball 41 to move directly with the weld seam and achieve follow-up clamping. At the same time, the hole 50 limits the exposed area of ​​the steel ball 41, which is beneficial to control the outward protrusion of the steel ball 41, thereby controlling the clamping stroke and the position of the clamping force.

[0050] Understandably, the number of steel balls 41 can be between 5 and 20.

[0051] See Figure 1 , Figure 2 as well as Figures 5 to 7 In some embodiments of the present invention, exhaust ports 8 are provided through the circumferential walls of both the housing 5 and the pressing body 1, and each exhaust port 8 is interconnected and communicates with the outside. The interconnected exhaust ports 8 on the circumferential walls of the housing 5 and the pressing body 1 allow excess gas, plasma carried by the vortex airflow, and fumes to be smoothly discharged from the air cavity formed around the conical inner cavity 10, preventing abnormal accumulation of air pressure or stagnation of fumes within the cavity. This helps maintain a stable vortex airflow field, reduces the negative impact of airflow disturbance on the weld pool, and also provides a certain degree of self-cleaning, reducing the risk of internal blockage and contamination.

[0052] See Figures 1 to 7In some embodiments of the present invention, the housing 5 is provided with a ventilation pipe 51, one end of which is connected to the annular air supply component 3, and the other end is used to connect to an external air source. It should be noted that by providing a ventilation pipe 51 on the housing 5, with one end connected to the annular air supply component 3 and the other end connected to an external air source, the protective gas can be reliably introduced into the annular air supply component 3 through a fixed pipeline path, simplifying the on-site pipeline layout. Simultaneously, the arrangement of the ventilation pipe 51 concentrates the air supply interface at a designated location on the outside of the housing 5, facilitating connection and maintenance, and helping to ensure the stability of the protective gas flow rate and pressure, thereby stabilizing the formation of the vortex airflow and the protective effect.

[0053] It is worth noting that the protective gas used in this invention and the gas provided by the gas source can be at least one inert gas selected from argon, nitrogen, and helium.

[0054] See Figure 5 In some embodiments of the present invention, the connector 2 has a boss 20 inside; the follow-up clamping device further includes an elastic element 6, which is disposed between the boss 20 of the connector 2 and the port 52 of the housing 5; the connector 2 is a flange structure and has flange bolt holes 21 for connection to the laser welding head via screws. It should be noted that by providing a boss 20 inside the connector 2 and arranging an elastic element 6 between the boss 20 and the port 52 of the housing 5, and fixing the flange connector 2 with flange bolt holes 21 to the laser welding head, the housing 5 can achieve axial elastic floating relative to the connector 2 under the action of the elastic element 6, thereby automatically compensating for differences in workpiece height or flatness during the welding process and maintaining a basically constant clamping force on the workpiece; at the same time, the "flange and bolt hole" connection method has the advantages of reliable installation and accurate positioning, which is beneficial to ensuring the coaxiality and repeatability of the assembly between the follow-up clamping device and the welding head.

[0055] It is understood that the connecting piece 2 of the aforementioned flange structure can be detachably connected to the laser welding head via the aforementioned flange bolt hole 21 and flange bolt.

[0056] For details, please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 5 and Figure 6 The aforementioned connector 2 is a flange, and the flange has the aforementioned flange bolt holes 21.

[0057] See Figure 6 and Figure 7In some embodiments of the present invention, the housing 5 is provided with a limiting groove 53 along its axial direction, and the connecting member 2 is provided with a limiting screw 22. The limiting screw 22 can move along the axial direction of the housing 5 in the limiting groove 53 to limit the movement between the housing 5 and the connecting member 2. The above design can mechanically limit the maximum relative displacement of the housing 5 while allowing the housing 5 to float with a limited stroke relative to the connecting member 2, preventing the housing 5 from over-travel displacement or disengagement due to external force or deformation of the elastic member 6, ensuring that the elastic follower mechanism works within a safe range, thereby balancing follower capability and structural reliability.

[0058] See Figures 5 to 7 In some embodiments of the present invention, the follow-up clamping device includes an annular lighting component 7, which surrounds the large opening side 102 of the conical inner cavity 10 of the clamping body 1 and is used to provide illumination for the workpiece to be welded. It is worth noting that by arranging the annular lighting component 7 around the large opening side 102 of the conical inner cavity 10 of the clamping body 1, a near-axial, annularly distributed lighting source can be provided to the molten pool and its surrounding area during laser welding. This reduces the shadows formed by the clamping device blocking traditional side lighting, which is beneficial for operators or visual inspection systems to clearly observe the molten pool morphology and weld formation, facilitating welding quality monitoring and parameter adjustment.

[0059] In some embodiments of the present invention, the ring lighting component 7 is equipped with a blue LED light-emitting unit and a control circuit. It should be noted that the use of a blue LED light-emitting unit and a corresponding control circuit in the ring lighting component 7 allows for control of the brightness and on / off state of the ring lighting. Furthermore, by utilizing the contrast advantage of the blue light band in metal molten pool imaging, the signal-to-noise ratio and boundary clarity of the welding area in imaging devices such as CCDs are improved. This facilitates automatic visual recognition, tracking, and quality assessment of the weld pool and weld seam, thereby further improving the reliability and stability of the automated welding system. The selection of blue light is based on its ability to improve the imaging contrast under metal surface reflection, providing uniform and stable illumination conditions for automated visual inspection, molten pool recognition, and laser focus tracking, thereby enhancing visual inspection and positioning accuracy.

[0060] In addition, see Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 5 and Figure 6 In some embodiments of the present invention, the connecting member 2 is a flange; wherein, the flange is provided with flange bolt holes 21, and the flange can be adapted to be installed on the body of the welding equipment having the above-mentioned laser welding head, and fixed to the welding equipment by means of flange bolt holes 21 and screws.

[0061] like Figure 6As shown, in some embodiments of the present invention, the base of the flange can be a square or rectangular flat plate. Of course, the specific shape and size of the flange and its base can be adjusted according to the actual application scenario to adapt to welding equipment of different shapes and specifications.

[0062] like Figure 6 As shown, when the connector 2 is in the form of a flange, the flange-shaped connector 2 can be further designed with a sleeve 23 structure so that the sleeve 23 encapsulates the aforementioned components such as the clamping body 1.

[0063] See Figure 5 and Figure 6 The flange-shaped connector 2 has a sleeve 23, which can be fitted onto the outside of the housing 5. In other words, the housing 5 and the clamping body 1 located inside the housing 5 are partially housed in the housing 5. Furthermore, as the surface of the workpiece being welded undulates, under the elastic force of the elastic member 6, the housing 5 and the clamping body 1 can translate relative to the sleeve 23 of the connector 2 along the axial direction of the sleeve 23.

[0064] In addition, see Figure 5 In some embodiments of the present invention, the annular air supply component 3 and the annular lighting component 7 are housed inside the housing 5; for more details, please refer to... Figure 6 The annular air supply component 3 and the annular lighting component 7 can be installed near the port 52 of the housing 5.

[0065] See Figure 5 and Figure 6 The sleeve 23 of the connector 2 has a tapering structure at its opening, which, together with the boss 20, can clamp the elastic member 6 in the middle. It is understood that the specific dimensions and shapes of the tapering structure at the opening of the sleeve 23 and the boss 20 can be selected and adjusted according to the actual application scenario.

[0066] In addition, see Figure 1 In some embodiments of the present invention, the sleeve 23 of the connector 2 is provided with a strip-shaped clearance groove so that the ventilation pipe 51 on the housing 5 can extend to the outside to connect to the air source. At the same time, the design of the strip-shaped clearance groove ensures that the presence of the ventilation pipe 51 will not affect the relative movement between the sleeve 23 and the housing 5.

[0067] The mechanism by which vortex airflow affects plasma clouds is explained below.

[0068] During high-power laser welding, the metal vapor generated by evaporation on the material surface is strongly ionized under the laser's action, forming a localized plasma cloud. Plasma has a high electron density n eThe plasma exhibits significant absorption and scattering of the incident laser beam, weakening the intensity of the laser energy reaching the workpiece surface and creating a "plasma shielding effect." This effect directly leads to reduced weld penetration and lower energy utilization. To effectively suppress this effect, this invention integrates an annular gas supply component 3 into the follow-up clamping mechanism, constructing a high-speed rotating vortex airflow field in the welding zone. The specific mechanism is as follows:

[0069] 1. Formation of vortex airflow fields

[0070] The vortex airflow is generated by the tangential jet orifice 30 in the annular air supply component 3. According to the law of conservation of angular momentum in fluid mechanics, when the gas moves at a tangential velocity v t When the vortex flow enters the cylindrical cavity from the nozzle, a stable rotating flow field is formed within the cavity. If the vortex flow field is represented in cylindrical coordinates (r, θ, z), its velocity components satisfy: v θ (r)=k / r, v r =0, v z =v0, where v θ (r) represents the tangential velocity component, v z Let v be the axial velocity component and k be the angular momentum constant. Because the jet arrangement angle of the annular air supply component 3 in this invention has an axial component (i.e., the angle between the jet and the horizontal plane is not 90°), the gas ejected simultaneously possesses tangential and downward velocity components: v t =v0sin α,v t =v0 cosα. Thus, a spiral vortex airflow field that converges downward and surrounds the laser beam is formed between the conical inner cavity 10 of the pressing body 1 and the workpiece surface.

[0071] 2. Shearing and centrifugal dispersal effects:

[0072] The high-speed rotation of the vortex airflow creates a significant shear velocity gradient dv at the center of the welding zone. θ / dr=-k / r 2 The shear flow field exerts a hydrodynamic shear stress τ=μ·dv on the plasma cloud suspended above the welding area. θ / dr, where μ is the gas dynamic viscosity, this shear stress disrupts the continuity of the plasma cloud, tearing it apart. Simultaneously, the rotating flow field generates a strong centrifugal force Fc=ρ on the fluid particles with mass. g v 2 θ / r ， Where ρ gThe gas density is [value missing]. Under the action of centrifugal force, the high-temperature, low-density plasma and dust are rapidly discharged to the outside and discharged through the plasma discharge hole, i.e., exhaust port 8, on the side wall of the body. This not only clears the high electron density area above the laser focus and effectively weakens the plasma shielding effect, but also prevents the accumulation of contaminants on the optical path, thereby significantly improving the welding penetration and the utilization rate of laser energy.

[0073] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the scope of the claims. Furthermore, specific examples have been used in the specification to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of the present invention. The above description of the embodiments is only for the purpose of helping to understand the method and core ideas of the present invention, and the content of this specification should not be construed as a limitation of the present invention.

Claims

1. A follow-up clamping device for providing vortex gas to a laser welding head to protect the workpiece being welded, characterized in that, The follow-up clamping device includes: The clamping body (1) has a conical inner cavity (10) inside, the conical inner cavity (10) includes a small opening side (101) and a large opening side (102) with a radial dimension larger than the small opening side (101), the clamping body (1) is adapted to point the small opening side (101) toward the workpiece to be welded; The connector (2) has one end for connecting to the laser welding head and the other end for connecting to the clamping body (1) on the large opening side (102) of the conical inner cavity (10); An annular air supply component (3) is provided on the large opening side (102) of the conical inner cavity (10) of the pressing body (1). Gas is introduced from the annular gas supply component (3) through the large opening side (102) of the conical inner cavity (10), converges and forms a vortex converging airflow through the conical inner cavity (10), and is ejected through the small opening side (101) of the conical inner cavity (10), and is suitable for spraying onto the workpiece to be welded. The annular air supply component (3) is provided with an air jet hole (30). The air jet hole (30) is located on the inner side of the annular air supply component (3) along the circumference of the annular air supply component (3). The air outlet direction of the air jet hole (30) has a non-zero component in the tangential direction at the location of the air jet hole (30), and the air jet hole (30) points to the small opening side (101) of the conical inner cavity (10).

2. The follow-up clamping device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The follow-up clamping device also includes a steel ball (41), which is movably disposed on the end face of the clamping body (1) having the small opening side (101) and adapted to face the side of the workpiece to be welded, and the steel ball (41) is adapted to fit against the surface of the workpiece to be welded.

3. The follow-up clamping device as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The pressing body (1) has a raceway along the circumference of the conical inner cavity (10) on the end face of the side with the small opening (101), and the steel ball (41) is housed in the raceway. The follow-up clamping device also includes a raceway cover (43), which is installed on the raceway of the clamping body (1). The raceway cover (43) has a plurality of cover holes (430) to expose the steel ball (41).

4. The follow-up clamping device as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The follow-up pressing device also includes a housing (5), which has a semi-enclosed structure and contains the roller cover (43), pressing body (1), and annular air supply component (3) in sequence inside. The port (52) of the housing (5) is housed in the connector (2). The housing (5) has a hole (50) on the end face away from its port (52) to expose the steel ball (41). Both the shell (5) and the pressing body (1) have exhaust ports (8) that are connected to each other and open to the outside.

5. The follow-up clamping device as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The housing (5) is provided with a ventilation pipe (51), one end of which is connected to the annular air supply component (3), and the other end is used to connect to an air source.

6. The follow-up clamping device as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The connector (2) has a boss (20) inside; The follow-up clamping device also includes an elastic element (6), which is disposed between the boss (20) of the connector (2) and the port (52) of the housing (5); The connector (2) is a flange and is provided with flange bolt holes (21) to be connected to the laser welding head via screws.

7. The follow-up clamping device as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The housing (5) is provided with a limiting groove (53) along its axial direction, and the connector (2) is provided with a limiting screw (22). The limiting screw (22) can move in the limiting groove (53) along the axial direction of the housing (5) to limit the movement between the housing (5) and the connector (2).

8. The follow-up clamping device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The follow-up clamping device includes an annular lighting component (7), which surrounds the large opening side (102) of the conical inner cavity (10) of the clamping body (1) and is used to provide illumination for the workpiece to be welded.

9. The follow-up clamping device as described in claim 8, characterized in that, The ring lighting assembly (7) is equipped with a blue LED light-emitting unit and a control circuit.

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