Method and apparatus for welding with battery power
A method and apparatus provides welding-type power and preferably includes a removable battery or other energy storage device, a converter connected to the battery, and a controller. The controller may have a CV and/or a CSC and/or an AC weld control module, and/or an ac auxiliary control module. The converter is a boost converter, a buck converter, a cuk converter, a forward converter, an inverter, a bridge converter, and/or a resonant converter. The controller may include a battery charging control module, and may have one or more charging schedules, and/or data for stored charge, thermal information, expected life of the battery, maximum amp-hour charge for the battery, maximum charging current and/or feedback. The battery charging schedules may include at least 3 phases, such as a phase of increasing voltage and a phase of decreasing current, a substantially constant power phase. The controller can wirelessly provide data to a display or pda. A generator may provide power to the battery, charger, and/or the weld. It can include a vehicle and use its dc power system.
1. A welding-type power supply, comprising:
a battery; a first converter, having an input in electrical communication with the battery, and having a control input, and having a welding-type power output; and a controller, having a control output in electrical communication with the control input, and having at least one of a controlled voltage control module, a controlled short circuit control module and an AC weld control module in electrical communication with the control output; and a second converter, having a second input in electrical communication with the battery, wherein the battery configured to provide power to the second converter; and having a second control input, and having an ac auxiliary output, and wherein the controller; has an ac auxiliary control module with a second control output in electrical communication with the second control input.
2. The welding-type power supply of claim 1 wherein the controller has both of the controlled voltage control module and the AC weld control module in electrical communication with the control output.
3. The welding-type power supply of claim 1 wherein the controller has a plasma control module in electrical communication with the control output.
4. The welding-type power supply of claim 1 wherein the first converter is a boost converter.
5. The welding-type power supply of claim 1 wherein the second converter is a buck converter.
6. The welding-type power supply of claim 1 , wherein the battery is removable.
7. The welding-type power supply of claim 1 , wherein the battery is a lead acid battery.
8. The welding-type power supply of claim 1 , further comprising a welding gun, in electrical communication with the welding-type power and a source of gas, disposed to provide gas to the welding gun.
9. The welding-type power supply of claim 1 , further comprising a generator, having a generator output in electrical communication with the battery.
10. The welding-type power supply of claim 2 wherein the controller has a CC control module in electrical communication with the control output.
11. The welding-type power supply of claim 7 , wherein the battery is comprised of a plurality of batteries in at least one of series and parallel.
12. A welding-type power supply,
comprising: a battery; a converter, having an input in electrical communication with the battery, and having a control input, and having a welding-type power output and an ac auxiliary output; an ac auxiliary converter; having a second input in electrical communication with the battery, wherein the battery configured to provide power to the second converter, and having an ac auxiliary output, and a controller, having a control output in electrical communication with the control input, and an ac auxiliary control module in electrical communication with the control output.
13. The welding-type power supply of claim 12 wherein the controller has at least one of a controlled voltage weld control module, a controlled short circuit weld control module, and an AC weld control module in electrical communication with the control output.