Patents Assigned to Fronius International GmbH
  • Publication number: 20240139849
    Abstract: Embodiments reduce the draining of HF ignition energy via a data line for data transmission between a welding device and another part of a welding assembly. A decoupling apparatus is provided, in which a first data line portion of the data line is connected to a first coupling element and a second data line portion of the data line is connected to a second coupling element. The first coupling element and the second coupling element are interconnected via a wireless coupling path for galvanic separation of the data line, and a separate power supply is provided for each of the first coupling element and the second coupling element. The power supplies of the first coupling element and the second coupling element are decoupled from one another for a HF voltage on the data line as a result of the HF ignition voltage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 28, 2022
    Publication date: May 2, 2024
    Applicant: Fronius International GmbH
    Inventors: Franz HOFMANNINGER, Christoph RAMSAUER
  • Patent number: 11967929
    Abstract: A photovoltaic system comprising an inverter adapted to convert a DC power supplied by photovoltaic modules of a photovoltaic generator via power cables to said inverter into an AC current for an AC power supply grid, wherein the inverter has a base station connected by means of the power cables to the module level devices which are provided to monitor and/or to control associated photovoltaic modules of the photovoltaic generator, wherein if the inverter does not receive sufficient energy from the photovoltaic generator and the AC power supply grid, a controller is adapted to activate a deadlock prevention mode of an energy supply unit connected to the inverter where the inverter receives energy from the energy supply unit such that the base station of the inverter is able to continue to transmit permission to operate, PTO, signals via the power cables to the module level devices of the photovoltaic generator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2024
    Assignee: Fronius International GmbH
    Inventors: Tobias Kampl, David Hanek, Franz Breitwieser, Jürgen Waldhör, Martin Wolf
  • Patent number: 11945058
    Abstract: A method for synchronizing welding currents of at least two welding current sources prior to performing a simultaneous welding process on at least one workpiece, in particular a welding process with non-consumable electrodes, wherein the method includes the following steps: a first welding current source outputting a reference signal, wherein the reference signal contains synchronization information; a second welding current source measuring or receiving the reference signal and evaluating the synchronization information contained in the reference signal; synchronizing a second welding current of the second welding current source with a first welding current of the first welding current source on the basis of the synchronization information. The invention furthermore relates to a welding current source and to a system having at least two welding current sources.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: FRONIUS INTERNATIONAL GMBH
    Inventors: Josef Artelsmair, Peter Lattner
  • Patent number: 11931834
    Abstract: In a method for regulating or controlling the conveyance speed of a wire composed of consumable material during a laser soldering or welding method, the wire is melted by a laser beam from a laser unit and is conveyed at a mean conveyance speed toward a workpiece to be processed, wherein a voltage between the wire and the workpiece is measured. A laser soldering or laser welding device carries out this method. In order to avoid at least relatively lengthy short-circuit breaking between the end of the wire and the workpiece, the conveyance speed of the wire, as a function of the measured voltage, is temporarily increased to a predetermined boost speed by increasing the conveyance speed to the predetermined boost speed when a defined voltage limit value is exceeded, and the conveyance speed is reduced again at the latest when the voltage limit value falls below.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Assignee: FRONIUS INTERNATIONAL GMBH
    Inventors: Manuel Binder, Andreas Waldhör
  • Publication number: 20240033842
    Abstract: A multiple welding method using at least two consumable electrodes which enables stable welding processes at the electrodes and also less heat input into the parent material compared with the multiple pulse welding method. At each of the at least two electrodes a welding process includes a short-circuit welding phase and a hot-welding phase with higher heat input into the parent material relative to the short-circuit welding phase, the short-circuit welding phase and the hot-welding phase periodically alternating, and for the short-circuit welding phases of the welding processes of the at least two electrodes to be temporally synchronized on the basis of at least one defined first synchronization event per short-circuit welding phase.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 15, 2021
    Publication date: February 1, 2024
    Applicant: Fronius International GmbH
    Inventor: Dominik SÖLLINGER
  • Patent number: 11872659
    Abstract: In order to easily regulate the supply of welding wire to the welding point during a welding process, the electrical potential produced by the welding current around the electrode is tapped with the welding wire and the control of the welding wire feed speed is carried out on the basis of the tapped potential and this control results in an average welding wire feed speed being established.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2024
    Assignee: FRONIUS INTERNATIONAL GMBH
    Inventors: Martin Willinger, Josef Artelsmair, Peter Lattner, Wolfgang Kruglhuber
  • Patent number: 11876483
    Abstract: A photovoltaic, PV, module level monitoring system (1) comprising a photovoltaic array (PVA) including at least one photovoltaic string (PVS) comprising photovoltaic modules, PVM, (5) each having a module level device, MLD, (4) adapted to monitor and/or to control the associated photovoltaic module, PVM, (5), wherein each module level device, MLD, (4) comprises a transceiver adapted to communicate with a transceiver of a base station (2) of an inverter (6) connected to said photovoltaic array (PVA), wherein the transceivers are coupled by associated duplexer circuits (7) to a DC power network comprising power cables (3) connecting the photovoltaic modules, PVM, (5) of the at least one photovoltaic string (PVS) of said photovoltaic array (PVA) with the base station (2) of the inverter (6), wherein a signal amplitude of a communication signal, CS, transmitted by a transceiver via its associated duplexer circuit (7) is adjusted automatically depending on a monitored impedance, ZPV, of the respective photovoltaic
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2024
    Assignee: Fronius International GmbH
    Inventors: Johann Wilhelm, Christian Fasthuber
  • Patent number: 11876376
    Abstract: An inverter (200) connected to an energy source (100) and configured to supply power to a load network (300) comprising at least one controllable load, said inverter (200) comprising a processor (201) adapted to control the at least one controllable load of the load network (300) is disclosed. The processor (201) comprising: a net load detector (201a) detects a net load of the load network (300); a power export analyzer (201b) determines an inverter power transfer of the inverter and a grid power transfer of a grid (400); characterized in that a power manager (201c) varies the power output of the inverter (200) and a power consumption of the at least one controllable load based on the inverter power transfer, the grid power transfer, an export condition violation and a derating state of the energy source (100).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2024
    Assignee: Fronius International GmbH
    Inventors: Thomas Krösswang-Ridler, Markus Brandstötter
  • Publication number: 20240014648
    Abstract: The aim of the invention is to detect an arc in an assembly for transmitting a direct voltage. This aim is achieved by a communication transformer having a primary winding and a secondary winding, the secondary winding being connected to a transmitting device, which is designed to impress a communication signal onto the secondary winding of the communication transformer, and the primary winding being connected to one of the direct voltage lines in order to feed a communication signal transformed by the communication transformer to one of the direct voltage lines. In order to detect, in the assembly, the arc signal caused by an arc, the secondary winding is connected to an arc detection unit, which is designed to detect an arc signal transformed by the communication transformer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 20, 2023
    Publication date: January 11, 2024
    Applicant: Fronius International GmbH
    Inventors: BERND HOFER, CHRISTIAN FASTHUBER, FRANZ FISCHEREDER, STEFAN BREUER, WALTER SPITZER, MARIO BAIRHUBER, REIMAR PFEIL
  • Publication number: 20240001472
    Abstract: In order to improve the estimation of the arc voltage for use in a welding process, a welding line is modeled using a welding line model in the form of a transfer system with an order greater than one for estimating the arc voltage, and the estimated value of the arc voltage is determined as the difference between the measurement voltage at the measurement point and the determined line voltage drop.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 23, 2021
    Publication date: January 4, 2024
    Applicant: Fronius International GmbH
    Inventors: Philipp ROITHINGER, Helmut ENNSBRUNNER, Dominik SÖLLINGER, Gebhard WALLINGER
  • Publication number: 20240001474
    Abstract: The aim of the invention is to enable a stable welding process. This is achieved in that a welding device is supplied with a supply power by an energy source and converts at least a part of the supply power into a welding power in order to generate a welding arc, wherein the welding power is regulated by specifying a welding current. For this purpose, the supply voltage is determined, and the maximum supply current that can be delivered to the welding device from the energy source is specified. A maximum supply power is calculated using the supply voltage and the maximum supply current. The maximum welding power that is delivered by the welding device is determined from the maximum supply power, and the welding power is limited to the maximum welding power that can be delivered.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2021
    Publication date: January 4, 2024
    Applicant: Fronius International GmbH
    Inventors: Christian MAGERL, Franz Peter MUSIL, Peter LATTNER, Robert EBERL
  • Publication number: 20230415255
    Abstract: To ensure safe operation of a welding apparatus, low-voltage pulses occurring on a low-voltage side of the welding apparatus are transformed into high-voltage pulses occurring on a high-voltage side of the welding apparatus, an arc is ignited between an electrode and a workpiece during an ignition mode and/or idling mode using the high-voltage pulses, provision is made, in the ignition mode and/or in the idling mode, for a time window that extends from a starting time point to an end time point, an amount of ignition energy at the electrode is determined during the time window and compared with an energy limit value, and an action is triggered in the event of the energy limit value being exceeded, in order to prevent further high-voltage pulses in the time window.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 1, 2021
    Publication date: December 28, 2023
    Applicant: Fronius International GmbH
    Inventors: Andreas PRINZ, Stefan AUMAIR, Franz HOFMANNINGER, Michael MUSS
  • Publication number: 20230408569
    Abstract: To determine an AC insulation resistance between the AC connections of an inverter and a ground potential, the AC connections are connected to an AC energy sink in an emergency standby operation in order to transmit energy from a DC energy source to an AC energy sink and an insulation test is performed in emergency standby operation. An AC fault current flowing between an AC connection and the ground potential is determined, and the AC insulation resistance is calculated from the AC fault current.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 25, 2021
    Publication date: December 21, 2023
    Applicant: Fronius International GmbH
    Inventors: Roland JUNGREITHMAIR, Stefan WIESER, Martin WOLF, Bernhard DOPPELBAUER
  • Publication number: 20230405702
    Abstract: In a method for regulating or controlling the conveyance speed of a wire composed of consumable material during a laser soldering or welding method, the wire is melted by a laser beam from a laser unit and is conveyed at a mean conveyance speed toward a workpiece to be processed, wherein a voltage between the wire and the workpiece is measured. A laser soldering or laser welding device carries out this method. In order to avoid at least relatively lengthy short-circuit breaking between the end of the wire and the workpiece, the conveyance speed of the wire, as a function of the measured voltage, is temporarily increased to a predetermined boost speed by increasing the conveyance speed to the predetermined boost speed when a defined voltage limit value is exceeded, and the conveyance speed is reduced again at the latest when the voltage limit value falls below.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 14, 2022
    Publication date: December 21, 2023
    Applicant: FRONIUS INTERNATIONAL GMBH
    Inventors: Manuel BINDER, Andreas WALDHÖR
  • Publication number: 20230393210
    Abstract: In a method for analyzing an electrical energy storage device, in particular an accumulator or a battery, the energy storage device is electrically connected to at least one consumer and to at least one electrical energy source in an electrical energy supply system. An electrical energy flow into or out of the energy storage device is directly or indirectly measured using a measuring unit, in particular a smart meter, and at least one energy storage device parameter is iteratively determined on the basis of recorded values of the measured energy flow. The energy flow is expressed by the unit energy per time, and an energy profile of the energy flowing into the energy storage device and extracted from the energy storage device is identified from the energy flow by integrating the energy flow over time. The at least one parameter is determined on the basis of the energy profile.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 17, 2022
    Publication date: December 7, 2023
    Applicant: Fronius International GmbH
    Inventors: Florian GUSCHLBAUER, HANNES HEIGL, Johannes MÜHLEGGER, Dominik PFAFFENBICHLER
  • Publication number: 20230390851
    Abstract: In a method in which a welding process is carried out on a workpiece with a welding torch and to a welding device for carrying out the method, a welding current source is supplied in order to provide a welding voltage, and an electrical voltage is applied, at least temporarily, during the welding process to an external element of the welding torch, in particular to an outer wall of a gas nozzle, and a possibly occurring electrical contact between the external element and a further element, in particular the workpiece or a contact tube, is detected by the electrical voltage applied. The welding current source is electrically connected via at least one first resistor to the external element of the welding torch and the external element of the welding torch is connected to the electrical potential of the workpiece via at least one second resistor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 1, 2021
    Publication date: December 7, 2023
    Applicant: Fronius International GmbH
    Inventors: Josef ARTELSMAIR, Dominik SÖLLINGER, Andreas WALDHÖR, Manuel BINDER
  • Patent number: 11831149
    Abstract: To recognize a fault in an arrangement including a transformer having a primary winding connected in series with a DC voltage line and a secondary winding coupled magnetically to the primary winding, and including an evaluation unit that processes a secondary signal on the secondary winding, a signal component at at least one frequency is determined from the secondary signal and a signal level of the signal component is compared with a signal threshold. The fault is detected when the signal level falls below the signal threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2023
    Assignee: FRONIUS INTERNATIONAL GMBH
    Inventors: Bernd Hofer, Stefan Breuer, Christian Fasthuber, Walter Spitzer, Andreas Hofer
  • Patent number: 11813705
    Abstract: In a method and apparatus for monitoring a non-melting welding electrode of an automated arc welding apparatus, using at least one camera, welding electrode images are captured and processed, and the state of the welding electrode is concluded therefrom. The images are captured during a welding process carried out with the arc welding apparatus, the images are reprocessed, and the arc of the welding process is extracted. The shape of the electrode end is determined from the reprocessed images and compared with a predefined shape of the electrode end. The images are reprocessed by capturing at least two images with different exposure times, cutting out and/or weighting partial areas from the at least two images with different exposure times, and combining them to form a composite image. If the determined shape of the electrode end deviates from the predefined shape of the electrode end, a signal is output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2023
    Assignee: Fronius International GmbH
    Inventors: Guenther Reinthaler, Martin Leuchtenmueller
  • Patent number: 11815877
    Abstract: A method for automatically determining optimum welding parameters for carrying out a weld on a workpiece carries out test welds on test workpieces along test welding tracks, and at each test weld a welding parameter is changed automatically along the test welding track from a predefined initial value to a predefined final value. Each resulting test weld seam is measured along the test welding track with a sensor, and a sensor signal is received. A quality parameter characterizing each test weld seam is calculated from the sensor signal. A quality function for characterizing the test weld seam quality in accordance with the changed weld parameters is calculated from the quality parameter. An optimum quality function is ascertained, and the values for the optimum welding parameters are defined based on each quality parameter at this quality function optimum and the corresponding test weld track locations and saved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2023
    Assignee: FRONIUS INTERNATIONAL GMBH
    Inventors: Manfred Schoerghuber, Bernhard Moertendorfer, Daniel Angermayr, Helmut Ennsbrunner
  • Publication number: 20230347439
    Abstract: A method and a welding device for contactlessly striking an arc between an electrode of a welding head and a material surface of a workpiece. A first ignition voltage pulse with a first or second polarity is generated between the electrode and the material surface. After being struck and, where applicable, after a polarity reversal, the arc is maintained with the second polarity or with an alternating polarity. In the event of an ignition failure, after the first ignition voltage pulse, a sequence of ignition voltage pulses is generated according to a sequence pattern until successful striking of the arc. The sequence pattern includes ignition voltage pulses with the first polarity and ignition voltage pulses with the second polarity, and an ignition pause is provided between ignition voltage pulses with the first polarity and ignition voltage pulses with the second polarity.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 11, 2021
    Publication date: November 2, 2023
    Applicant: Fronius International GmbH
    Inventors: Martin WILLINGER, Peter LATTNER