Multifunction wire feeder for a portable welding system

Abstract

Disclosed is a wire feeder including a housing having wire inlet and outlet regions, a roller assembly, a gear housing, and a gear assembly. The roller assembly includes a drive roller and a feed roller that are coupled to the first side of the housing and feed wire from the wire inlet region to the wire outlet region. The gear housing coupled to a second side of the housing and the gear assembly is housed in the gear housing. The gear assembly is directly coupled to a drive motor and the feed roller so that the gear assembly transmits rotational motion of the drive motor to the feed roller, and the gear housing is sized so that the gear assembly can be formed from multiple different gearing arrangements to achieve a desired wire feed speed when feeding wire.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A wire feeder for a portable welding system, comprising:
 a housing having a wire inlet region and a wire outlet region;   a roller assembly comprising:
 a drive roller rotatably coupled to a first side of the housing; and 
 a feed roller coupled to the first side of the housing, the feed roller positionable opposite the drive roller to receive a wire therebetween and to feed the wire from the wire inlet region to the wire outlet region; 
   a gear housing coupled to a second side of the housing that is opposite the first side of the housing; and   a gear assembly that is housed in the gear housing and that is directly coupled to a drive motor and the feed roller so that the gear assembly transmits rotational motion of the drive motor to the feed roller, wherein the gear housing is sized so that the gear assembly is formable from multiple different gearing arrangements to achieve a desired wire feed speed when feeding the wire.   
     
     
         2 . The wire feeder of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a tensioning assembly coupled to the housing, the tensioning assembly being adjustable to apply a downward force to the drive roller so that the drive roller maintains a downward force on the wire when the feed roller and the drive roller feed the wire from the wire inlet region to the wire outlet region.   
     
     
         3 . The wire feeder of  claim 2 , wherein the tensioning assembly comprises:
 a pivotable tension arm having a first pivot axis oriented perpendicular to a wire feeding direction of the wire feeder; and   a pivotable tension knob assembly having a second pivot axis oriented parallel to the wire feeding direction, wherein the pivotable tension arm is free to rotate about the first pivot axis when the pivotable tension knob assembly is rotated from a closed position to an open position by rotating about the second pivot axis.   
     
     
         4 . The wire feeder of  claim 3 , wherein the pivotable tension knob assembly comprises:
 a tension adjustment bolt receivable within a yoke portion of the pivotable tension arm, the tension adjustment bolt being coupled to a tension adjustment knob of the pivotable tension knob assembly and a tension adjustment base of the pivotable tension knob assembly, and the tension adjustment base being coupleable with the yoke portion to move the drive roller toward the feed roller.   
     
     
         5 . The wire feeder of  claim 4 , wherein the tension adjustment bolt is pivotably coupled to the housing via a tensioning pivot connection located adjacent the wire inlet region, and wherein the tensioning pivot connection includes a spring roll pin that is disposed within an opening of the tensioning adjustment bolt and within an opening of the housing. 
     
     
         6 . The wire feeder of  claim 5 , wherein the spring roll pin has a lengthwise axis parallel to the wire feeding direction. 
     
     
         7 . The wire feeder of  claim 1 , wherein the wire fed by the feed roller and the drive roller is a first wire with a first diameter and the feed roller comprises:
 a first circumferential groove corresponding to a first wire diameter of the first wire; and   a second circumferential groove corresponding to a second wire diameter of a second wire, so that the feed roller and the drive roller are operable to feed the first wire or the second wire.   
     
     
         8 . The wire feeder of  claim 7 , wherein in a first orientation of the feed roller, the first circumferential groove is engageable with the first wire to feed the first wire through the wire feeder, and wherein in a second orientation of the feed roller, the second circumferential groove is engageable with the second wire to feed the second wire through the wire feeder. 
     
     
         9 . The wire feeder of  claim 1 , wherein the feed roller is removably coupled to the housing. 
     
     
         10 . The wire feeder of  claim 1 , wherein the wire outlet region includes a cylindrical opening configured to receive a torch connector having a plurality of gas inlets configured to correspond to a gas inlet of the wire outlet region, the plurality of gas inlets sealed via first and second seals disposed on opposite sides of the plurality of gas inlets. 
     
     
         11 . A wire feeder, comprising:
 a main body;   a wire inlet region;   a wire outlet region;   a drive roller rotatably coupled to a first side of the main body;   a feed roller coupled to the first side of the main body, the feed roller positionable opposite the drive roller to receive a first wire or a second wire therebetween and to feed the first wire or the second wire from the wire inlet region to the wire outlet region;   a gear housing coupled to a second side of the main body that is opposite the first side of the main body; and   a gear assembly that is housed in the gear housing and that is directly coupled to a drive motor and the feed roller so that the gear assembly transmits rotational motion of the drive motor to the feed roller, wherein the gear housing is sized so that the gear assembly is formable from multiple different gearing arrangements to achieve a desired wire feed speed when feeding the first wire or the second wire.   
     
     
         12 . The wire feeder of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 a tensioning assembly coupled to the main body, the tensioning assembly being adjustable to apply a downward force to the drive roller so that the drive roller maintains a downward force on the first wire or the second wire when the feed roller and the drive roller feed the first wire or the second wire from the wire inlet region to the wire outlet region.   
     
     
         13 . The wire feeder of  claim 12 , wherein the tensioning assembly further comprises:
 a pivotable tension arm having a first pivot axis oriented perpendicular to a wire feeding direction; and   a pivotable tension knob assembly having a second pivot axis oriented parallel to the wire feeding direction.   
     
     
         14 . The wire feeder of  claim 13 , wherein the pivotable tension knob assembly comprises:
 a tension adjustment bolt receivable within a yoke portion of the pivotable tension arm, the tension adjustment bolt being coupled to a tension adjustment knob of the pivotable tension knob assembly and a tension adjustment base of the pivotable tension knob assembly, and the tension adjustment base being coupleable with the yoke portion to move the drive roller toward the feed roller.   
     
     
         15 . The wire feeder of  claim 14 , wherein the tension adjustment bolt is pivotably coupled to the main body via a tensioning pivot connection located adjacent the wire inlet region, wherein the tensioning pivot connection includes a spring roll pin that is disposed within an opening of the tensioning adjustment bolt and within an opening of the main body, and wherein the spring roll pin has a lengthwise axis parallel to the wire feeding direction. 
     
     
         16 . The wire feeder of  claim 15 , wherein the spring roll pin has a lengthwise axis parallel to the wire feeding direction. 
     
     
         17 . The wire feeder of  claim 11 , wherein the second wire has a different diameter than the first wire, and the feed roller comprises first and second circumferential grooves, the first circumferential groove corresponding to a first diameter of the first wire, the second circumferential groove corresponding to a second diameter of the second wire. 
     
     
         18 . The wire feeder of  claim 17 , wherein in a first orientation of the feed roller, the first circumferential groove is engageable with the first wire to feed the first wire through the wire feeder, and wherein in a second orientation of the feed roller, the second circumferential groove is engageable with the second wire to feed the second wire through the wire feeder. 
     
     
         19 . The wire feeder of  claim 11 , wherein the feed roller is removably coupled to the main body. 
     
     
         20 . The wire feeder of  claim 11 , wherein the wire outlet region includes an opening configured to receive a torch connector having a plurality of gas inlets configured to correspond to a gas inlet of the wire outlet region, the plurality of gas inlets sealed via first and second circumferential seals disposed along the torch connector.