soldering iron

Abstract

The invention relates to a soldering iron equipped with a stabilizer that stabilizes the soldering process, allowing even shaky hands to make a more or less vibration-free contact with the soldering tip. This soldering iron features a rotating flywheel driven rapidly by an electric motor. Another embodiment includes a decoupled unit containing the heating element, the flywheel with its drive mechanism, and the soldering tip. This unit is attached to the soldering iron only at the top by a hinge, while at the bottom it can pivot a few millimeters back and forth. These pivoting movements are smoothed by a centering system (consisting of return springs or magnetic fields), ensuring the soldering tip is always centered.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a soldering iron which is equipped with a stabilizer which stabilizes the soldering work so that even with shaky hands a soldering point can be touched with the soldering tip more or less without shaking.

[0002] Soldering irons are used for soldering work. They can be used to solder components or electronic elements into or out of a circuit board. Such tools are indispensable for electronics repairs, jewelry design / manufacturing, hobby model building, etc.

[0003] There's a very wide selection of soldering irons available on the market. They're used for everything from coarse to very fine soldering and repair work. Very fine soldering irons are used, for example, for repairing delicate circuit boards, such as those found in mobile devices, laptops, or PCs. They can also be used to reliably remove SMD components from a circuit board or solder them onto it.

[0004] DE102018102792B3 describes an electrical soldering device, in particular a soldering iron, comprising a handle portion, a heating element attached to the handle portion, a hollow soldering tip into which the heating element engages, and fastening means for releasably fastening the soldering tip to the handle portion. The fastening means comprise a permanent magnet surrounding the heating element and a ferromagnetic holding part surrounding the heating element, which cooperates with the permanent magnet and surrounds the heating element, such that the holding part can be arranged on the permanent magnet in a rotationally secure manner. The invention also relates to a soldering system comprising a soldering device according to one of the preceding claims and a removal device for removing the soldering tip from the handle portion.

[0005] EP2705921 B1 describes an interesting soldering iron whose tip is heated by a laser beam. Here, the soldering iron is provided with a soldering tip that is heated by a laser beam extending at least partially along a laser path within the soldering iron. The soldering iron comprises an energy converter configured to absorb the laser beam and coupled to the soldering tip to heat it.A laser source for generating the laser beam is arranged within the soldering iron, wherein a laser source generating the laser beam is designed to adjust the focus of the laser beam at different distances relative to the surface of the energy converter to be heated, so that heating times of the soldering iron can be varied, wherein the laser beam can be transported by means of a light guide arranged in the soldering iron, wherein the light guide runs along the laser path and a distance between an exit opening of the light guide and the energy converter is maintained constant, wherein the laser source comprises a laser exit opening which is coupled to one end of the light guide.

[0006] DE102017100975A1 describes a soldering iron comprising: an iron main body; and an iron tip having a leading end configured to melt solder, wherein the iron tip comprises an iron tip main body made of a thermally conductive material; a heater configured to heat the iron tip main body; and a temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature of the leading end side of the iron tip, wherein a first hole part accommodating the heater and a second hole part accommodating the temperature sensor are formed independently of each other within the iron tip main body.

[0007] Utility Model CN208644330U discloses a handheld welding stabilizer of a type characterized by comprising: an iron stand, a handle, and a three-axis stabilizing device mounted between the iron stand and the handle, the three-axis stabilizing device comprising a first structural block, a second structural block, and a third structural block, the iron stand being disposed on the first structural block, the first structural block being connected to the second structural block via a first rotary shaft, the second structural block being connected to the third block via a second shaft, and the third block structure being connected to the handle via a third shaft, a servo motor being disposed on the first rotary shaft, and a gyro sensor being disposed on the second and third shafts, respectively, and an operation panel being provided on the handle.By applying the above technical concept, the three-axis stabilizing device is increased in the middle because the handle and the iron frame are separated, so that the three-axis stabilizing device will not cause the operator's hand to shake during welding, and the alignment properties of the iron will not be affected, which is especially suitable for users with light fingers or inexperienced users.

[0008] The publication JP 2018-40408A also describes a soldering iron that is equipped with additional functions.

[0009] There are thousands of other solutions describing a soldering iron. These primarily focus on the heating technology and the design of the soldering device. Despite some of the features built into the soldering iron, at least one important function is missing, which is supposed to compensate for the vibration. Unfortunately, with age, the ability to hold hands still often deteriorates. Many older people develop more or less shaky hands (tremor syndrome). This also has a negative psychological impact, which further exacerbates the condition. Older people who, for example, work with electronics professionally or in their free time, or in the model car industry, sometimes shy away from delicate repair work because the tremors are even more pronounced during delicate soldering work.

[0010] The invention specified in patent claims 1 to 10 is based on the problem of achieving a solution for people with tremor syndrome who would like to carry out fine soldering work, whereby the solution should enable quiet soldering work and should also work for people who have shaky hands.

[0011] This problem is solved with the features listed in patent claims 1 to 10.

[0012] Advantages of the invention are: - smooth soldering work, even when operated by people with unsteady or shaky hands, - precise soldering work on sensitive devices.

[0013] Embodiments of the invention are described with reference to Fig. 1 to 4 explained.

[0014] They show: Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 the stabilizer function with a small flywheel, Fig. 3 Centering the soldering tip or the lower part of the soldering iron using magnetic fields and magnets. Fig. 4 a retrofittable stabilizer that is connected directly to a soldering iron housing.

[0015] The invention represents a soldering iron capable of compensating, to a greater or lesser extent, for the shaking movements experienced by users with shaky hands. Here, the soldering iron is equipped with a shaking motion stabilizer 20, which is intended to minimize the shaking movements transmitted by the user's hands.

[0016] The functionality is relatively simple. The device is essentially a soldering iron 1 with a rapidly rotating flywheel. It can be built compactly, like a conventional soldering iron, or it can have a decoupled unit 2, consisting of a heating element 3 and the soldering tip 4, which provides a stabilizing function ( Fig. 1). The stabilizer function can be switched on and off at any time. As soon as the stabilizer function is activated on the soldering iron (pressing a button would be sufficient), a small flywheel 5 inside the soldering iron begins to rotate. The rotational axis 6 of the flywheel (flywheel) is arranged parallel to the longitudinal axis 7 of the soldering iron. It is rapidly rotated by an electric motor 8, which is controlled by a controller 9. As soon as the flywheel 5 (which can be a flywheel or rotating cylinder, for example) rotates rapidly, it generates a gyroscopic effect, or a gyroscopic force, which makes the rotational axis 6 of the flywheel inert against changes in direction. If such a rapidly rotating mass is installed in a soldering iron, it can keep the soldering iron more or less stable against the shaking movements of the user's hand. A thermal insulation body 26 insulates the drive and the flywheel, protecting them from the heat of the heating element.

[0017] For optimized development of the gyroscopic forces, a further embodiment proposes an additional outer casing 10, into which the soldering iron with the built-in flywheel 5 is inserted. The outer casing 10 is a hollow cylinder into which the soldering iron is inserted. The soldering iron is not completely fixed, but is decoupled at the lower end 11 of the outer casing, while at the upper end 12 it is connected to the soldering iron 1 by a joint 13. In practice, the outer casing with the soldering iron inside looks like a very narrow bell, with the soldering iron representing the clapper. In the lower area, near the soldering tip 4, the soldering iron housing 14 is coupled to the outer casing by a spring system. The spring system can, for example, be designed from three star-shaped and radially arranged pull springs / return springs 15 ( Fig. 2). The springs exert a centering spring force that tries to keep the soldering iron centered in the outer casing. The outer casing has an inner diameter that is only slightly larger than the outer diameter of the soldering iron. A difference of a few millimeters is sufficient. The user takes the outer casing, which contains the soldering iron, in their hand and tries to hit the soldering point with the soldering tip. If the user has shaky hands, the outer casing will also vibrate, but the soldering iron inside, which is decoupled at the lower end and is only held in the center position by the three centering springs, and because the flywheel 5 in the soldering iron also rotates quickly, does not follow the vibrating movements of the outer casing. The iron does follow the larger pivoting movements of the outer casing, but the vibrating movements with small amplitudes and a frequency of 1 - 20 Hz do not fully follow, or only very sluggishly.This smooths out the shaking movements and you can actually hit the desired point very precisely with the soldering tip.

[0018] The centering of the soldering tip or the lower part of the soldering iron can also be achieved by magnetic fields and magnets 16 ( Fig. 3 - Top view). All that would be needed is to install a cylindrical magnet (cylindrical magnet) 16 in the soldering iron housing 14, and to install three (or more) individual magnets 18 (or a magnetic ring) on ​​the inner wall 17 of the housing, which generate repulsive forces against the cylindrical magnet. This would keep the soldering tip 4 always centered because it is repelled from all sides radially to the longitudinal axis of the soldering iron.

[0019] An outer shell 10 is not absolutely necessary. Instead, the soldering iron housing 14 can be used for such purposes. The heating element 3, the rapidly rotating flywheel 5 with its drive, and the soldering tip 4 would simply need to form a fixed unit 2 that is partially decoupled from the soldering iron. This unit is fixed to the upper end of the soldering iron by a joint 13 and can pivot freely at the bottom. Here, too, at least a pull spring or a magnetic field centering system would have to be installed in the lower area to ensure that the soldering tip is centered after it has been moved back and forth by trembling or pivoting movements. The decoupled unit follows the trembling movements only sluggishly or not at all, so that the soldering tip can be held steady over the soldering point. A ball joint or a gimbal mount can be used as a joint at the upper end.

[0020] The rapid vibrations of the soldering tip can also be largely smoothed by electrically controlled stabilization systems or a self-contained and removable vibration stabilizer 20. One or more vibration dampening elements 19 can be installed to dampen the centering forces of the return spring or the magnetic fields.

[0021] On the Fig.Figure 4 shows a variant of the trembling motion stabilizer 20, which is designed to be self-contained and removable. It is installed in its own compact housing 21 and has its own power source / battery 22. A flywheel 5 and an electronic control unit 9 are also built into it. The trembling motion stabilizer housing 21 is connected to the soldering iron 1 by connecting elements. Suitable connecting elements include Velcro fasteners 23, clip fasteners 24, magnets 25, etc. The stabilizing forces are transferred from the trembling motion stabilizer housing to the soldering iron. LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS 1 soldering iron 2 Decoupled unit 3 Heating element 4 soldering tip 5 Flywheel 6 Rotation axis of the flywheel 7 Soldering iron longitudinal axis 8 Electric motor 9 Control 10 Outer shell 11 Lower end of the outer shell 12 Upper end of the outer shell 13 joint (e.g. ball joint, cardan suspension) 14 soldering iron housings 15 pull springs / return springs 16 cylindrical shaped magnets 17 Interior wall 18 individual magnets / magnetic ring 19 vibration damper elements 20 Shake Stabilizer 21 Compact housing of the trembling motion stabilizer 22 Energy source / battery 23 Velcro straps 24 clip closures 25 magnets 26 thermal insulation bodies

Claims

[1] Soldering iron, characterized by that it is equipped with at least one vibration stabilizer, which includes a flywheel built into the soldering iron housing, which is set into rapid rotation by a built-in electric motor. [2] Soldering iron according to claim 1, characterized by that the rotation axis of the flywheel lies on the longitudinal axis of the soldering iron. [3] Soldering iron according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by that a partially decoupled unit is built into the soldering iron housing, consisting of a heating element, a rapidly rotating flywheel with an electric drive system, and the soldering tip, as well as a centering system consisting of return springs or a magnetic field system which always centers the decoupled unit and thus the soldering tip, or ensures that the longitudinal axis of the soldering tip and the longitudinal axis of the soldering iron are always aligned. [4] Soldering iron, characterized bythat it is equipped with a trembling motion stabilizer consisting of at least - an additional outer shell, in which the soldering iron and its housing are inserted, which has a free space in the lower area for slight swinging back and forth when the soldering iron is vertically with the soldering tip pointing downwards, - a joint that connects the upper end of the outer shell to the upper end of the soldering iron housing, - an electrically driven flywheel or flywheel mass, which is installed in the soldering iron, - a centering return spring system that aims to keep the pivoting end of the soldering iron centered in the outer shell after an abrupt movement or shaking movement. [5] Soldering iron according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the axis of rotation of the flywheel / flywheel mass is arranged parallel to the longitudinal axis of the soldering iron. [6] Soldering iron according to claim 4 or 5, characterized by that the centering return spring system forms a springy connection between the soldering iron and the outer shell. [7] Soldering iron according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that it is equipped with a control system that controls the drive of the flywheel / flywheel mass. [8] Soldering iron according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the rotational speed of the flywheel / flywheel mass can be controlled by a built-in electronic circuit or control. [9] Soldering iron according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that it has at least two rapidly rotating flywheels whose axes of rotation are at an angle of 90° or approximately at right angles to each other. [10] Soldering iron according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat it is equipped with vibration dampers that are intended to dampen the vibrations of the soldering tip relative to the soldering iron housing or outer shell.

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