| United States Patent | 5,796,068 |
| Jones | Aug. 18, 1998 |
Abstract
An automatic external welder travels on tracks which are attached to the exterior surface of the pipeline and functions to weld together the abutting ends of pipe segments. The automatic welder has a carriage assembly that includes a laser source for producing a laser beam for performing the welding operation at the weld region. The laser source is positioned in a first embodiment to produce a laser beam which is parallel to the axis of the pipe and is reflected for direction to the weld joint. In a second embodiment, the laser source is positioned on the carriage such that the laser beam is directed without deflection to the welding junction. For each embodiment, the laser source is carried by the carriage assembly so that it orbits about the pipeline to produce a complete weld of the abutting pipe ends.
| Inventors: | Jones; Richard L. (Houston, TX). |
| Assignee: | CRC-Evans Pipeline International, Inc. (Houston, TX). |
| Appl. No.: | 780,638 |
| Filed: | Jan. 8, 1997 |
| Division of Ser No. 321,214, Oct. 11, 1994, Pat. No. 5,593,605. |
| Intl. Cl. : | B23K 26/00 |
| Current U.S. Cl.: | 219/121.63 |
| Field of Search: | 219/121.63, 121.64 |
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