WELDING POWER SOURCE HOUSING

Description

[0001] The invention relates to an arc welding power source for supplying an arc welding torch with electric current and electric voltage for carrying out an arc welding process, wherein the arc welding power source is provided with a housing in which a current transformation device is provided for conditioning electric current fed into the welding power source for suitability in an arc welding process, and furthermore two pole contact devices are provided on the housing of the arc welding power source, which pole contact devices each protrude from the housing along different longitudinal axes and are provided with connecting means for receiving a welding power cable (see, for example, US 6 225 596 B1).

[0002] There are many different welding processes. The present invention is of particular importance for the various arc welding processes. These are based on the heat generated by an electric arc between a welding electrode and a workpiece to be welded. The heat generated can locally melt the material(s) to be welded. In almost all arc welding processes, a shielding gas is supplied to the area of the arc for this purpose. This is done to create an ionized atmosphere between the welding electrode and the workpiece that reduces resistance, and to prevent oxidation of the welding electrode and the workpiece. Instead of an inert gas provided as a shielding gas, an active gas or a mixture can also be supplied to trigger the reaction.Electrodes can also be provided that do not require an external gas supply, since the substances required for this are integrated into the electrodes and are released when the electrodes melt.

[0003] An arc welding torch is typically designed so that a user or a robot can direct a metal welding wire, also known as a metal filler metal, toward a specified joint on the target metal piece. The welding wire is guided through the welding torch and ultimately transported to the target metal piece through an opening in the contact nozzle at the end of the welding torch.

[0004] When an electrical voltage is applied to the inner tube of a welding torch and the welding wire makes contact with the target metal, a high electric current flows from the inner tube of the welding torch through a nozzle holder, then through the contact nozzle, through the welding wire, and possibly an arc to the target metal, and then to ground. The high current and the arc cause the welding wire to melt in a shielding gas atmosphere, resulting in the formation of droplets of the wire and the creation of an arc.

[0005] This arc melts the metal of the target pieces and the advancing welding wire. The resulting droplets of welding wire fall off or are transferred in a short circuit to the molten area of the target pieces, bonding them together.

[0006] Arc welding systems or arc welding circuits are each equipped with a welding power source to provide the required electrical current and voltage. The welding torch of the arc welding system must be electrically connected to this source so that current can be supplied to the respective arc welding point and a voltage can be applied to it. This connection is typically achieved using welding power cables, with one welding power cable provided for each of the two poles of the respective welding power source. In addition to a connection to the welding torch and a connection to the workpiece, the respective welding power cable must also be connected to the welding power source.If, due to the respective welding process, welding media, such as shielding gas and / or a welding wire, are to be supplied to the process location, this can also be done via one of the two welding power cables, in particular by means of a coaxial welding power cable with a central feedthrough for welding media. The present invention relates to welding power cables both with and without integrated media supply.

[0007] JP-S65 131084 A discloses a welding power source with an approximately cuboid-shaped housing. On the front of the housing, on a vertically oriented operating panel, are two pole contact devices, each for receiving a welding power cable. These two contact devices protrude from the operating panel and thus from the housing. The pole contact devices project beyond the operating panel, and their axes run parallel to a support surface on which the welding power source and its rollers are mounted.

[0008] DE 17 47 118 U discloses a type of adapter intended to prevent the rotating or pivoting movements of the cable ends on the connecting bolts of the welding power source, which are often required when connecting welding power cables to a welding power source. This can cause the nuts screwed onto the connecting bolts and thus the connecting elements attached to the connecting bolts to become loose, which can lead to contact problems or contact burns and thus to malfunctions. The adapter-like connecting device is therefore intended to have connecting elements attached to the connecting bolts of a welding power source or to the cable ends, which are rigidly connected to one another but can be rotated if necessary, and which themselves have receptacles for the welding power cables.

[0009] US 2005 / 258155 A1 relates to a portable handheld welder comprising a welder housing. The welder housing has vertical end faces at the front and rear, as well as left and right side faces. The housing also has a horizontal top extending from the rear to the front, which houses a carrying handle. Two cables protruding from the housing serve as pole contacts, with contact clamps at their ends.

[0010] US 5 734 148 A discloses a welding power source with a housing designed to allow easy access to various components located within the housing. US 5 734 148 A does not specify where pole contacts are provided for connecting welding power cables.

[0011] US Patent No. 7,241,973 B1 shows a handheld welding device whose housing, together with welding gas cylinders that can be attached to the housing, is movable. A connection box is provided on the side of the housing, from which horizontally aligned pole contact devices protrude. If welding power cables are connected to the pole contact devices, they run horizontally next to the housing, thus increasing the space required for the handheld welding device.

[0012] To connect the welding power source with the welding power cables, the welding power source is equipped with two pole contact devices. Pole contact devices as defined and described in the DIN EN 60974-12 standard are widely used. This essentially consists of a contact pin protruding from the housing of the respective welding power source. Its peripheral surface is provided with a groove into which a pin of a welding power cable plug engages. Once the pin is inserted into the groove, a rotational movement of the plug and the associated movement of the pin in the groove create a connection between the contact pin and the plug. A disadvantage of such prior art solutions is that the pole contacts protrude from and protrude from the housing of the respective welding power source. Consequently, the welding power cables connected to the pole contacts also protrude from the welding power source.These protruding cables often get in the way and increase the space required by the welding power source.

[0013] The invention is therefore based on the object of creating a possibility to avoid collisions with welding power cables connected to a welding power source of the type mentioned above.

[0014] This object is achieved according to the invention in a welding power source of the type mentioned at the outset by a welding power source according to claim 1.

[0015] The invention provides that both pole contact devices of the welding power source according to the invention are located completely within the projection surface of the welding power source. According to the invention, the pole contact devices should therefore not protrude beyond the outer contour defined by the housing. This not only reduces the protrusion of welding power cables with connection elements beyond the housing and possibly beyond its single- or multi-part support element, thus at least reducing the risk of damage, but also simultaneously reduces the required installation space, the so-called footprint, of a welding power source in an industrial environment, such as a production hall. Particularly in industrial environments when using automatic arc welding machines, it is common practice to set up a large number of welding production cells in a production hall.Each such welding production cell can have at least one welding power source. By using a plurality of welding power sources designed according to the invention, the space required by a production facility can be reduced, thus creating the possibility of installing additional welding production cells in a production hall. Better utilization of a production hall means a reduction in production costs.

[0016] In this way, the advantages according to the invention of reducing the space requirement and reducing the risk of collision with welding power cables can be achieved to a particularly large extent and with particular consistency.

[0017] A preferred embodiment of the invention can be characterized by an alignment of a longitudinal axis of at least one of the pole contact devices, in which the longitudinal axis of the pole contact device encloses an angle from a range of 0° to 45° with a perpendicular to the installation surface.

[0018] According to the invention, the pole contact devices are provided with connecting means designed to create and secure a detachable connection between the pole contact device and a welding power cable using a rotational movement of a connecting means about a longitudinal axis of the pole contact device. The longitudinal axis extends from the housing of the welding power source in such a way that the longitudinal axis is aligned from the housing toward the plane of the support surface. Thus, the respective pole contact device has an orientation of its longitudinal axis in which at least one component of the spatial course of the longitudinal axis is aligned vertically to the support surface of the housing.By having a longitudinal axis of the respective pole contact device running obliquely in the direction of the installation surface, or particularly preferably perpendicularly in the direction of the support surface, not only can the space required for a welding power source and the welding power cables connected to it be kept as small as possible, but ergonomically favorable handling can also be achieved when attaching and removing a welding power cable. Furthermore, the route of the welding power cables in the area of the welding power sources can be kept as close as possible to the welding power source, thereby reducing the risk of collisions with pole contact devices and the welding power cables connected to them. The aforementioned advantages are particularly pronounced in a particularly preferred development of the invention, with a longitudinal axis of at least one, preferably both, pole contact devices oriented perpendicular to the support surface.

[0019] A welding power cable is connected to each of the at least one pole contact device, preferably to both pole contact devices, by means of a contacting and connecting device of the respective welding power cable. The respective contacting and connecting device is suitably designed to create a detachable mechanical connection and an electrical contact between the welding power cable and the pole contact device.

[0020] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the pole contact device, in particular its orientation and position on the housing, as well as the housing itself, are designed such that the welding power cable connected to it is also located within the footprint of the housing and only exits the footprint of the housing at a predetermined location, spaced apart from the pole contact device and the contacting and connecting device. In particular, the contacting and connecting device of the respective welding power cable should thus also be located within the (vertical) projection of the housing onto the installation surface of the welding power source and thus not protrude beyond the housing.

[0021] In order to enable good accessibility for a welding power cable connection to the at least one pole contact device according to the invention, a further preferred embodiment of the invention can provide for the housing to have at least one lower section and at least one upper section, the upper section being at a greater distance from the plane of the support surface than the lower section of the housing and the upper section projecting beyond the lower section. At least one of the pole contact devices can be located on an underside of the upper section of the housing at a distance from the support surface. As a result, the respective pole contact device and a welding power cable connected to it are easily accessible and yet still protected by the housing.

[0022] In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the upper section of the housing can project or protrude on two sides of the upper housing part relative to the lower housing part arranged below this housing part. This results in the advantageous possibility of arranging one of the two pole contact devices on each of the two projecting sides of the upper section of the housing, in particular on their undersides. This also makes it particularly easy to prevent the two pole contact devices from being confused when connecting a welding power cable, since the two pole contact devices are spaced relatively far apart and are spatially separated from one another by the lower section of the housing.

[0023] The advantages achievable with the invention can be further enhanced by a preferred development of the invention by at least one cable guide arranged on the housing for at least one welding power cable. With such a cable guide, it can be provided in particular to guide at least one of the welding power cables, if possible within the footprint, to a specific point at which the welding power cable exits the footprint. It can be particularly advantageous in this case if a cable guide is arranged and aligned on the housing in such a way that a welding power cable can be guided to the rear of the housing using the cable guide. Since welding power sources are usually operated from their front side, routing the at least one welding power cable to the rear of the housing can particularly reliably prevent a collision between an operator and a welding power cable.The same applies to a cable guide, with which at least one of the welding power cables can be guided to the underside of the welding power source, particularly in the case of a welding power source suspended at a distance from a base.

[0024] Further preferred embodiments of the invention emerge from the claims, the description and the figures of the drawing.

[0025] The invention is explained in more detail using exemplary embodiments shown purely schematically in the figures, which show: Fig. 1 a perspective view of a welding power source for arc welding processes with welding power cables connected to its two pole contact devices; Fig. 2 an exploded view of a pole contact device of the welding power source; Fig. 3 a sectional view through a pole contact device according to Fig. 2; Fig. 4 an exploded view of a contacting and connecting device of a welding power cable; Fig. 5 a sectional view of the contacting and connecting device of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 a sectional view of a contacting and connecting device in which a supply device for shielding gas is integrated; Fig. 7 a welding power cable designed as an extension cable, which is provided with a socket connection and a plug connection at both ends, in a sectional view, a side view and a perspective view; Fig. 8a in a sectional view an end section of a welding power cable, together with a part of a pole contact device matched to the welding power cable; Fig. 8b a sectional view an end section of another welding power cable together with a part of a pole contact device matched to the welding power cable; Fig. 9 a part of a mounting element for the housing of the welding power source; Fig. 10 the welding power source from Fig. 1 in a front view; Fig. 11 the welding power source Fig. 1 and 10in a side view; Fig. 12 the welding power source Fig. 1 with a modified cable routing in a front view; Fig. 13 the welding power source from Fig. 12 in a side view.

[0026] In Fig. 1a welding power source 1 is shown, with which electrical current and an electrical voltage are provided for carrying out arc welding processes using an arc welding torch (not shown in detail). In addition, the welding power source 1 contains a control device with an operating panel 2, with which parameters of the respective arc welding process to be carried out can be set and the welding process can be controlled. In the present case, the welding power source 1 can be used to carry out, for example, MIG / MAG or also TIG, plasma, electrode as well as all other arc welding processes or high-current applications. In further possible embodiments of the invention, other arc welding and cutting processes can also be carried out. The preferred embodiment of a welding power cable 3 and its connection to the welding power source 1 discussed below can also be used here.

[0027] Two pole contact devices 5, 6 protrude from a housing 4 of the welding power source 1, which are each provided for the connection of a welding power cable 3 and are arranged in Fig. 1 are covered by a union nut 10 of the welding power cable 3. The pole contacts of the pole contact devices 5, 6 are each designed in the form of a substantially cylindrical contact pin 7. The respective contact pin 7 is arranged in a central recess of a housing part 8 of the respective pole contact device 5, 6 ( Fig. 3). A contact surface is formed on an end face 7a of the respective pole contact, here the contact pin 7. In particular, a jacket surface 7b of the contact pin 7 and optionally the end face 7a can be provided for electrically conductive contact with one or more contact elements on the welding current cable side, for example contact blades not shown in detail. Since the contact pin 7 is made entirely from an electrically conductive material, in particular from copper or a copper alloy, it is capable of being an electrically conductive contact partner over its entire outer jacket or circumferential surface. The housing part 8 is formed with sections of different diameters, wherein the section 8a with the largest diameter is located approximately centrally with respect to a longitudinal axis of the housing part 8.Toward the housing of the welding power source, there is another section 8b, which has a smaller diameter than the first section 8a. A third section 8c is intended for the overlapping arrangement of a power cable-side union nut 10 (. Fig. 4 ) is provided on this third section 8c. A rear housing part 11, which in the exemplary embodiment is designed in the form of a cap, is provided on the second section 8b. The contact pin 7 is releasably attached to the housing part 8 using the rear housing part 11 and additional fastening means 12.

[0028] The end face 7a is formed on an end portion of the contact pin 7, which has a smaller diameter than the portion of the contact pin 7 preceding it. The said preceding portion thus serves as a stop for the positioning of the contact pin 7 in the housing part 8.

[0029] The housing part 8 has, on its outer surface of the third section 8c, two identical groove-shaped recesses 14, which are arranged offset from one another by 180° around the circumference and have at least approximately constant depth and width, which run along part of the circumference of the section 8c. The groove-shaped recesses 14 are open at the end face 15 of the housing part and initially run approximately parallel to the longitudinal axis of the housing part 8. As the grooves 14 continue, the grooves 14 each move with a progression component in the circumferential direction, also toward the section 8a with the largest diameter, and then - likewise with a progression component in the circumferential direction - approach the end face 15 of the housing part 8 again.In the preferred embodiment, the section of the grooves 14 which also runs in the circumferential direction has an approximately V-shape, wherein the two legs of the approximately V-shape have components of at least approximately the same length in the axial direction and components of different lengths in the radial direction.

[0030] As in Fig. 4As shown, the welding power cable 3 is provided with a contacting and connecting device 17 at its partially stripped end on the welding power source side. A wire end ferrule 18 of the contacting and connecting device 17 is pushed onto the strands of the stripped cable 3. The wire end ferrule 18 is surrounded by a contact socket 19 provided as a contacting means for the welding power cable; for this purpose, the wire end ferrule 18 is located in a blind hole 19a provided on the front side of the contact socket 19. The contact socket 19 also has a blind hole 19b on its other end face, the power source side. One end of this blind hole 19b has a central pin 20, by means of which the contact pin 7 provided for arrangement in the blind hole is centered.

[0031] On its outer, at least essentially cylindrical surface, the contact socket 19 has two blind hole recesses 21 ( Fig.5 ) which, viewed longitudinally, are located between the two blind holes 19a, 19b. Furthermore, the contact socket 19 has a shoulder 22 on its outer surface, which, viewed longitudinally, is located between the blind hole recesses 21 and the power source-side end of the contact socket. The contact socket 19, together with the wire end ferrule 18, is clamped onto the stripped welding power cable 3 by means of two grub screws 23.

[0032] An electrically non-conductive insulating sleeve 25 is pushed onto the metallic contact socket 19, preferably made of copper or copper alloy. In its final position on the contact socket 19, the insulating sleeve 25 extends with one end face to just before the blind hole recesses 21 of the contact socket 19 and with its other end face to the power source-side end of the contact socket 19. On its inner wall delimiting the recess of the insulating sleeve 25, the latter is provided with a shoulder 26 which corresponds to the shoulder 22 of the outer surface of the contact socket 19, so that insertion of the contact socket 19 into the insulating sleeve 25 is limited by the shoulder 26 of the insulating sleeve 25. The insulating sleeve 25 rests against the outer surface of the contact socket 19 both in the area of the shoulder 22 and - viewed in the longitudinal direction - on both sides of the shoulder 22.On its outer surface, the insulating sleeve 25 is provided with an annular flange 27 arranged at a distance from the welding cable end.

[0033] For handling the welding power cable 3, it is provided with a grip sleeve 29 as part of the handling device. The grip sleeve 29 is clamped onto the contact socket 19 and the welding power cable 3. The grip sleeve 29 surrounds a portion of the contact socket 19 and an end section of the welding power cable 3. The grip sleeve 29 has two gripping shells 29a, 29b, which are connected to one another by means of a click connection. For this purpose, the two gripping shells 29a, 29b are provided with several locking hooks 30 and recesses 31. The locking hooks 30, which are integrally connected to one of the gripping shells 29a, 29b, are designed to engage and snap into one of the recesses 31. In the area of one of the ends of the grip sleeve, the latter has a circumferential groove on its inner surface into which a sealing ring 32 is inserted, the inner surface of which bears against an outer protective and insulating sleeve (sheath) 3a of the welding power cable 3.

[0034] At its other end face, the grip sleeve 29 is provided on its inner surface with a recess 35 of the inner wall. While the inner wall rests on an end region of the outer surface of the insulating sleeve 25, the boundary surface of the grip sleeve 29 created by the recess engages over a shoulder 10a of the outer circumferential surface of the union nut 10, which is located in the area of the welding cable-side end of the union nut 10 and has a smaller diameter than the remaining outer surface of the essentially hollow-cylindrical union nut 10. As particularly shown in Fig. 4As can be seen, the union nut 10 has on its otherwise smooth inner surface two identical cams 36 which are offset from one another by 180° around the circumference and whose size is matched to the height and width of the grooves 14 of the housing part 8 in such a way that the cams 36 can be arranged in the grooves 14 and moved as smoothly as possible. The cams 36 are located on the inner surface 10b of the union nut at a short distance from the front and welding power source end of the union nut 10. In the area of its welding power cable end, the union nut 10 has a shoulder on its inner surface to form an area with a first reduced diameter, which is then followed by a second, even smaller diameter area.

[0035] As in particular Fig. 5As can be seen, a spring element 39 rests on the inner annular end face 38 formed by the diameter reductions and is supported with one of its two ends on this inner end face 38. Since the union nut 10 is pushed onto the insulating sleeve 25, the spring element 39 rests with its other end against the flange 27 of the insulating sleeve 25. Because the insulating sleeve 25 is fixed in the axial direction on the contact socket 19, but the union nut 10 can be moved back and forth in the axial direction against the spring force of the spring element 39 between the grip sleeve 29 and the flange 27 of the insulating sleeve 25, the spring element 39 can be compressed by means of an axial movement of the union nut 10. Likewise, the spring force of the compressed spring element 39 can move the union nut 10 in the axial direction towards the grip sleeve in order to ensure a firm fit in the bayonet in the locked position.

[0036] To connect the welding power cable 3 to the welding power source 1 or another welding power source, the welding power cable 3 can be manually handled by its grip sleeve 29. To do this, the contact socket 19 protruding from the union nut 10 should be brought up to the contact pin 7 of one of the pole contact devices 5, 6 of the welding power source 1. The contact socket 19 is then guided with the blind hole 19b over the contact pin 7. The union nut 10, which can be rotated about its own longitudinal axis, can now also be aligned by manual manipulation with the cams 36 so that the cams 36 are located in the axial direction in front of the end face of the housing part 8 and in the direction of rotation at the entrances to the grooves 14. The cams 36 can now be inserted into the grooves 14 by a movement parallel to the longitudinal axis. The spring element 39 is thereby tensioned.The respective cam 36 can be guided along the further course of the respective groove 14. After the respective cam 36 has traveled along the section of the respective groove 14 running parallel to the longitudinal axis, it is guided into the approximately V-shaped section of the groove 14, in which the cam 36 executes a movement with a component in the circumferential direction and a component parallel to the longitudinal axis. The union nut 10 is moved in the circumferential direction and at the same time initially executes a further lifting movement against the spring force of the spring element 39. After the respective cam 36 has reached the apex of the V-shape of its movement path, the spring element is slightly relieved during the rotational movement and simultaneous slight lifting movement parallel to the longitudinal axis, but now in the opposite direction away from the grip sleeve 29.The bayonet connection between the union nut 10 of the welding power cable 3 and the housing part 8 of the welding power source 1 is now created. The section of the V-shape first traveled by the respective cam 36, i.e. the section that runs between the axially parallel section of the groove and the apex of the V-shape, has a smaller gradient than the second section of the V-shape, while being at least approximately the same length in the longitudinal axis direction. As a result, less force is required to move the cam 36 into its locking position than to move it out of its locking position. This structural design provides additional security against unintentional loosening of the bayonet connection.

[0037] This connection between the welding power cable 3 and one of the pole contact devices 5, 6 of the welding power source 1 can now only be released again by applying force against the pre-tensioned spring element 39 and simultaneous rotational movement in the now reverse direction of rotation in the direction of the circumference of the housing part 8.

[0038] In Fig. 6 A further embodiment of a welding power cable 3 is shown. In this embodiment, immediately behind the

[0039] Bayonet connection and behind the union nut 10 as well as behind the blind hole recesses 21 of the grip sleeve 29, a media supply 42 for a shielding gas, such as argon, CO 2 or a mixed gas, is integrated into the welding power cable 3, which opens into a central recess 46 of the welding power cable. Except for this aspect, the welding power cable from Fig. 6 the one in the Fig. 2 to 5shown and discussed welding power cable and in particular the bayonet connection between the welding power cable and the welding power source created together with a welding power source. Therefore, only the differences to the embodiment according to the Fig. 2 to 5 received.

[0040] A shell 29a, 29b of the two-part grip sleeve 29 is provided with a feedthrough 43 extending through its wall, to which a supply line 44 coming from the outside is connected. This feedthrough 43 leads through the grip sleeve 29 into a blind hole 45 in the contact socket 19. The blind hole 45, in turn, leads into a central recess 46 with which the welding power cable 3 of this embodiment is provided from the media supply to its other end. The welding power cable 3 of this embodiment also has electrically conductive copper strands 47, which are arranged in the cable coaxially to the recess 46 and are inserted with one end into a corresponding recess in the contact socket 19 and arranged therein. The copper strands 47 are in turn surrounded by a likewise centrally formed insulating sleeve or sheath 48 of the welding power cable.With this welding power cable 3, the current and voltage of the welding power source can be transmitted to a welding torch or to a device in the welding circuit via the contact socket 19, and a shielding gas can be supplied to the welding torch. A detachable connection between the welding power source and the welding power cable can be made using an identical bayonet connection as in the exemplary embodiment of the . Fig. 2 to 5 whose welding power cable-side component, namely the union nut 10 and its cams 36, are decoupled from the welding power cable 3 itself for rotary movements and loads. As a result, the welding power cable 3 is also decoupled from rotary movements of the union nut 10. In this regard, reference is made to the corresponding figures and descriptions of the Fig. 1 to 5 Reference is made.

[0041] In Fig. 7A further preferred embodiment is shown. This is a welding power cable designed as an extension cable 50. Such an extension cable 50 can, for example, be provided to connect a welding power cable as shown in Fig. 4 One application for such an extension cable 50 can be, for example, that the welding power cable from Fig. 4 is too short for connecting a welding power source to a component of a welding circuit. With an extension cable 50, a larger distance can then be bridged between a pole contact device 5, 6 of a welding circuit component, for example an arc welding torch. For this purpose, the extension cable 50 has a plug connection 51 at one of its ends, the geometry and shape of which corresponds to the plug part of the pole contact device, as shown in the Fig. 2 and 3The plug connection 51 essentially corresponds to the housing part 8 and the contact pin 7 of the pole contact device from Fig. 2 and 3 . At the end of the cable and in the area of the plug connection 51, the extension cable 50 is also provided with a grip sleeve 52, which has two interconnected grip shells and, similar to the grip sleeve 29, is made of Fig. 4 and 5 The grip sleeve 52 clamped onto the sheath of the welding power cable engages the housing part 53 of the plug connection 51 at its end face and fixes it to the sheath of the extension cable 50 in a rotationally fixed manner.

[0042] The contact pin 107 of the plug connector 51 has a recess 54 on its cable-side end face, in which the stripped end of the cable is arranged and clamped to the contact pin 107 by means of a wire end ferrule and screws. The other end of the contact pin 107 protrudes into the housing part 53, so that the housing part 53 concentrically surrounds the contact pin 107. The end of the contact pin 107 is only slightly recessed from the end face 58 of the housing part 53.

[0043] At its other end, the extension cable 50 is provided with a socket connection 60, which corresponds to the socket connection of the welding power cable from Fig. 4 and 5 In particular, both the union nut 110 used here, as well as the grip sleeve 129 and the contact socket 119 are identical to the corresponding components from the embodiment according to the Fig. 4 and 5identical. Here, too, the union nut 110 is rotatable relative to the sheath of the extension cable 50. As Fig. 7 can be removed, protrudes as in the embodiment according to the Fig. 4 and 5 The contact socket 119 extends beyond the end face of the union nut 110 of the plug connection. In the area of the end face extending beyond the union nut, the contact socket 119 has a blind hole 119a, on the end face of which a pin 120 is formed.

[0044] In the Fig. 8a, 8b End sections of two welding power cables 65, 66 are shown, each provided with a socket connection 67, 68. The socket connection 67 of the Fig. 8a corresponds completely to the socket connection from the Fig. 4 and 5 . The socket connection 68 of the Fig. 8b differs, however, with regard to the geometric shape of the front side of its blind hole 69 of the contact socket 71. In contrast to the contact socket 70 from the Fig. 8a In the contact socket 71, the cylindrical pin 73 is provided with a greater length in the axial direction and has a smaller diameter than the pin 20 from the Fig. 5 and the pin from Fig. 8a. In both embodiments from the Fig. 8a and 8b the respective union nut can be rotated endlessly relative to the sheath of the welding power cable.

[0045] Each of the two contact sockets 70, 71 is assigned a plug connection 77, 78, the respective contact pin 79, 80 of which is designed to be congruent with the corresponding contact socket 70, 71. In particular, the recess 79a, 80a of the respective contact pin 79, 80 on the free end face is adapted to the geometric shape of the respective pin 72, 73 in terms of length and diameter. As a result, each of the two socket connections 67, 68 can only be inserted into the plug connection 77, 78 assigned to it in a position in which the cam of the respective union nut can be inserted into the groove of the housing part and moved into the respective locking position. These socket / plug connections are thus coded, which makes it impossible to mix up the plug connections with the respective socket connections of the other type.If the two pole contact devices are each provided with one of the two and thus different socket connections, interchanging the ground welding current cable and the welding current cable for the positive pole of the welding power source when connecting to the respective pole contact device 5, 6 can be excluded.

[0046] As in Fig. 1As can be seen, the upper section 4a of the housing 4 protrudes on both sides of the housing with respect to the narrow front part 130 of the T-shape of the lower housing section 4b. With regard to the rear, wider part 131 of the T-shape of the lower housing section 4b, the upper housing section 4a has a width that corresponds at least approximately to the width of the rear, wider part 131 of the lower housing section 4b. This configuration results in an area of the upper housing section 4a on each of the sides of the housing 4, in which an underside 132 of the protruding part of the upper housing section is covered by a housing cover, here a housing plate 133, 134, and this area is freely accessible. In the exemplary embodiment, these two areas of the underside 132 of the upper housing section 4a are rectangular and freely accessible from the front and from one side of the housing 4 respectively.These two regions of the underside 132 of the upper housing section 4a are separated from each other by the narrow part of the T-shape of the lower housing section. One of the two pole contact devices 5, 6 is arranged in each of the two regions of the underside 132 of the upper housing section 4a, so that only one of the pole contact devices 5, 6 is located in each of these two regions. The two pole contact devices 5, 6 thus protrude from the housing 4 of the preferred welding power source according to the invention at the underside 132 of the upper housing section 4a.

[0047] On its underside, the housing 4 is provided with a multi-part, namely two-part, mounting element 138. In the exemplary embodiment, the two parts 139 of the mounting element 138, one of which is Fig. 9is shown, identical. Each of the two parts 139 of the support element 138 is attached to one of the sides of the housing 4 and fastened there. The support element 138 is provided with four foot elements 140, each arranged at a corner of the rectangular basic shape of the support element 138. Each of the four foot elements 140 has a flat support surface 141 ( Fig. 1) with which the respective foot element 140 stands on a suitable surface, such as the floor of a production hall. All contact surfaces 141 are located in the same two-dimensional plane, namely a mounting plane / surface. The mounting surface is identical to the surface of the generally flat surface on which the welding power source is intended to be mounted. The so-called footprint of the welding power source is also located within the mounting surface. The footprint is a projection of the welding power source 1 onto the mounting surface, perpendicular to the mounting surface. The size of the footprint is therefore determined - in relation to a plan view of the welding power source 1 - by the outer contour of the welding power source.

[0048] In the illustrated preferred embodiment of the invention, the two regions of the underside 132 of the upper housing section are aligned at least substantially parallel to the support surfaces 141 and the mounting surface. Furthermore, the two regions of the underside 132 of the upper housing section are spaced relatively far from the support surfaces 141, resulting from the height of the lower housing section 4b and the mounting element 138. The pole contact devices 5, 6 are thus easily accessible despite their arrangement in the two regions of the underside of the upper housing section.

[0049] The pole contacts of the pole contact devices 5, 6 are each designed in the form of a substantially cylindrical contact pin 7. A longitudinal axis of the respective contact pin is aligned substantially perpendicular to the surface of the underside 132 and to the mounting surface on which it is arranged. The longitudinal axes of the contact pins 7 of the two pole contact devices 5, 6 thus run parallel to each other.

[0050] A welding power source according to the invention can preferably also comprise a device for guiding at least one of the welding power cables. Preferably, the welding power source 1 is provided with a cable guide device that provides at least one separate cable guide means 145 for each of the two welding power cables 3. Using the cable guide means 145, the welding power cables 3 can be guided in a predetermined manner on the housing of the welding power source 1, so that the respective welding power cable 3 exits the contour of the housing 4 at a predetermined location. In the embodiment of Fig. 1 to 13The channel-like cable guide means 145 is arranged on each end face of the welding power source 4 on the mounting element 138. The channel-like cable guide means 145 is located on the mounting element part 139 between its two foot elements 140 and is open at both ends for the passage of a welding power cable. Likewise, both channel-like cable guide means 145 are each provided laterally with a slot extending over the entire length of the cable guide means 145, through which a welding power cable 3 can be inserted laterally into the channel-like cable guide means 145. As can be seen particularly from the front view of Fig. 10As can be seen, the two channel-like cable guide means 145 are located within the contour of the welding power source 1. Thus, the welding power cable coming from the respective pole contact device 5, 6—relative to a projection onto the installation surface—can run from the respective pole contact device 5, 6 to the rear of the welding power source within the footprint and only exit the footprint in a predetermined manner at the rear of the welding power source. The cable guide means 145 can be designed like a recessed grip on both an inner and an outer side, so that the welding power source can be transported by grasping the cable guide means 145.

[0051] As in Fig. 11As shown, the respective channel-like cable guide means 145 is arranged at a distance from the front foot element 140 of the same support element part 139. This open area between the cable guide means 145 and the front foot element can be used as an additional cable guide means, as shown in Fig. 12 and 13 is shown. With the help of these cable guides, each of the two welding power cables can be guided within the contour of the welding power source to the level of the support surfaces of the foot elements and from there downwards out of or out of the contour of the welding power source. Such a solution can be particularly important for applications in which the welding power source is arranged in a suspended position. List of reference symbols 1 Welding power source 20 cones 2 Control panel 21 Blind hole recess 3 Welding power cable 22 Paragraph 3a Protective and insulating sleeve 23 grub screw 4 Housing 25 Insulating sleeve 4a upper section 26 Paragraph 4b lower section 27 flange 5 Pole contact devices 29 Grip sleeve 6 Pole contact devices 29a Handle 7 contact pin 29b Handle 7a front side 30 locking hook 7b lateral surface 31 recess 8 Housing part 32 sealing ring 8a first section 33 8b second section 35 Turning 8c third section 36 cam 10 union nut 37 frontal surface 10a Paragraph 38 frontal surface 10b inner surface 39 spring element 11 rear housing part 42 Media feed 12 Fasteners 43 Implementation 14 groove-shaped recess 44 supply line 15 front side 45 Blind hole drilling 17 Contacting and connection device 46 centric recess 47 copper strands 18 wire end ferrule 48 Insulation grommet 19 contact socket 50 extension cable 19a Blind hole drilling 51 Plug connection 19b Blind hole drilling 52 Grip sleeve 53 Housing part 54 recess 107 contact pin 58 front side 110 union nut 60 socket connection 119 contact socket 65 Welding power cable 119 Blind hole drilling 66 Welding power cable 120 cones 67 socket connection 130 narrow front part 68 socket connection 131 rear wider part 69 Blind hole drilling 132 bottom 70 contact socket 133 lower housing plate 71 contact socket 134 lower housing plate 72 cones 138 Installation element 73 cones 139 Part installation element 77 Plug connection 140 Foot element 78 Plug connection 141 Contact area 79 contact pin 145 Cable management systems 79a recess 80 contact pin 80a recess

Claims

1. Welding power source (1) for supplying an arc welding torch with electric current and electric voltage for carrying out an arc welding process, the arc welding power source being provided with a housing (4) in which a current transformation device for conditioning electric current and voltage fed into the welding power source (1) for suitability in an arc welding process, two pole contact devices (5, 6) are also provided on the housing (4) of the welding power source (1), which each project from the housing along a respective longitudinal axis and are provided with connecting means for receiving a respective welding power cable (65, 66), wherein both pole contact devices (5, 6) are located completely within a projection surface of the housing (4) onto a plane in which an installation surface of the welding power source (1) is located, the projection taking place along an axis running perpendicular to the installation surface, characterised in both pole contact devices (5, 6) are provided with connecting means which are provided for producing and locking a detachable connection of the respective pole contact device (5, 6) to a welding power cable (65, 66) using a rotational movement about a longitudinal axis of the respective pole contact device (5, 6), the longitudinal axis emerging from the housing (4) of the welding power source (1) in such a way that the longitudinal axis is aligned in the direction of the plane of the contact surface.

2. Welding current source according to claim 1, characterised in that at least one of the pole contact devices (5, 6) is arranged on a surface of an underside (132) of the housing (4), the underside being located at a distance from the contact surface of the housing (4).

3. Welding power source according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterised in that the housing (4) has at least one lower section (4b) and at least one upper section (4a), the upper section (4a) being at a greater distance than the lower section (4b) of the housing (4) from the plane of the contact surface and the upper section (4a) projecting beyond the lower section (4b).

4. Welding power source according to claim 1, characterised in that at least one of the pole contact devices is arranged on an underside (132) of the at least one projecting upper section.

5. Welding power source according to claim 1, characterised in that the upper section (4a) of the housing (4) projects beyond the lower section (4b) on two sides of the housing (4).

6. Welding current source according to claim 3, characterised in that one of the two pole contact devices (5, 6) is arranged on each of the projecting sides of the housing (4) on their respective underside (132).

7. Welding power source according to claim 3 or 4, characterised by at least one cable guide means (145) arranged on the housing (4) for at least one welding power cable (65, 66), through which the welding power cable (65, 66) can be guided to the rear of the housing (4).

8. Welding power source according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterised by an alignment of the longitudinal axis of at least one of the pole contact devices (5, 6), in which the longitudinal axis of the pole contact device (5, 6) encloses an angle from a range of 0° to 45° with a perpendicular to the installation surface.

9. Welding power source according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterised by at least one current-carrying cable (5, 6) connected to the pole contact device (5, 6) of the welding power source (1) by means of a contacting and connecting device (17) of the welding power cable (65, 66), wherein the contacting and connecting device (17) of the welding power cable (65, 66) is located completely within the projection surface of the housing (4) onto the plane in which the installation surface of the welding power source (1) is also located.