US 12,433,792 B2
Smart welding helmets with arc time tracking verification and lens maintenance detection
William Joshua Becker, Manitowoc, WI (US); and James Francis Rappl, Neenah, WI (US)
Assigned to ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS INC., Glenview, IL (US)
Filed by Illinois Tool Works Inc., Glenview, IL (US)
Filed on Dec. 1, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/539,617.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/125,097, filed on Dec. 14, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2022/0183889 A1, Jun. 16, 2022
Int. Cl. A61F 9/06 (2006.01); B23K 9/095 (2006.01); B23K 9/32 (2006.01)
CPC A61F 9/061 (2013.01) [B23K 9/0953 (2013.01); B23K 9/0956 (2013.01); B23K 9/322 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A welding helmet, comprising:
processing circuitry; and
memory circuitry comprising machine readable instructions which, when executed, cause the processing circuitry to:
determine whether an operator is performing a welding operation based on a distance from the welding helmet to a light source, and
track an arc time or darken a filter of the welding helmet in response to determining that the operator is performing the welding operation,
wherein determining whether the operator is performing the welding operation based on the distance from the welding helmet to the light source comprises:
capturing a first image and a second image of the light source via a first image sensor and a second image sensor of the welding helmet,
determining a distance between the welding helmet and the light source using the first image and the second image,
determining whether the distance is less than a threshold distance, and
determining that the operator is performing the welding operation in response to determining that the distance is less than the threshold distance.