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A welding carriage has a frame that is adjustable in width and height and is guided by the sides of a workpiece. First and second wheel assemblies support the frame upon the workpiece, the first and second wheel assemblies forcibly engaging the sides of the workpiece for guiding the frame along a pa

A welding carriage has a frame that is adjustable in width and height and is guided by the sides of a workpiece. First and second wheel assemblies support the frame upon the workpiece, the first and second wheel assemblies forcibly engaging the sides of the workpiece for guiding the frame along a path substantially parallel thereto. The frame comprises two opposing lateral sides interconnected by a linkage therebetween. The linkage can be actuated to adjust a coarse width of the frame, dimensional variations being handles by biased guide wheels of the second wheel assembly. Each of the opposing lateral sides further has vertically adjustable leg posts for adjusting a vertical height of the frame.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A welding carriage for supporting at least one welding machine relative to a workpiece having substantially linear first and second lateral sides and a joint to be welded, the welding carriage comprising: a first lateral support having at least one first wheel assembly;a second lateral support ha

1. A welding carriage for supporting at least one welding machine relative to a workpiece having substantially linear first and second lateral sides and a joint to be welded, the welding carriage comprising: a first lateral support having at least one first wheel assembly;a second lateral support having at least one second wheel assembly;a four-bar leading parallelogram linkage and a four-bar trailing parallelogram linkage, each of the leading and trailing parallelogram linkages comprising first and second parallelogram linkages, each having an upper bar and a lower bar parallel to each other, each parallelogram linkage pivotally connected to each other at inner ends at a common fulcrum point and pivitally connected at outer ends to their respective first and second lateral supports,first and second actuation linkages, the first actuation linkage pivotally connecting to the first parallelogram linkage at a first drive point intermediate along its length and to an intermediate and common actuation point, and the second actuation linkage pivotally connecting to the second parallelogram linkage at a second drive point intermediate along its length and to the common actuation point,an actuator connected between the common fulcrum point and the common actuation point for driving the first and second parallelogram linkages together and apart for adjusting a lateral spacing between the first and second lateral supports,wherein the leading parallelogram linkage and the trailing parallelogram linkage form a frame for supporting the at least one welding machine; andthe at least one first and the at least second wheel assemblies support the frame for movement upon the workpiece and guide the frame relative to the first and second lateral sides and along a path substantially parallel to the first and second lateral sides. 2. The welding carriage of claim 1, wherein the at least one first and the at least one second wheel assemblies forcibly engage the respective first and second lateral sides for guiding the frame relative to the path. 3. The welding carriage of claim 2, wherein one of the at least one first or the at least one second wheel assemblies is biased to forcibly engage its respective first or second lateral side. 4. The welding carriage of claim 2, wherein the at least one first wheel assembly is fixed relative to the path and engages the first lateral side; andthe at least one second wheel assembly is biased for forcibly engaging the second lateral side and maintaining the frame along the path despite dimensional variation between the first and second lateral sides. 5. The welding carriage of claim 2, wherein the at least one first wheel assembly is fixed relative to the path and engages the first lateral side; andthe at least one second wheel assembly is biased for forcibly engaging the second lateral side and adjusting for dimensional variation between the first and second lateral sides. 6. The welding carriage of claim 2, wherein the at least one first wheel assembly comprises support wheels for supporting the first lateral support upon the workpiece, and fixed guide wheels for engaging the first lateral side and guiding the frame relative to the path; andthe at least one second wheel assembly comprises support wheels for supporting the second lateral support upon the workpiece and biased guide wheels for forcibly engaging the second lateral side. 7. The welding carriage of claim 6 wherein the at least one second wheel assembly further comprises: a wheel housing secured to the second lateral support, the biased guide wheel being pivoted from the housing; anda spring acting between the housing and the guide wheel to bias the guide wheel towards the workpiece. 8. The welding carriage of claim 7, wherein the second wheel assembly further comprises a locking mechanism for securing the guide wheel housing in either an engaged position, for forcibly engaging the second lateral side, or an unengaged position. 9. The welding carriage of claim 1, wherein the frame further comprises: a central fulcrum yoke between the common fulcrum points wherein the actuator acts upon the fulcrum yoke to adjust the lateral spacing. 10. The welding carriage of claim 9, wherein the frame further comprises: a central actuation yoke between the common actuation points wherein the actuator acts between the fulcrum yoke and the actuation yoke to adjust the lateral spacing. 11. The welding carriage of claim 1, wherein the first lateral support comprises a first pair of legs and the second lateral support comprises a second pair of legs, each leg comprising an independently vertically adjustable leg post for adjusting a working height of the carriage. 12. The welding carriage of claim 11, wherein the frame further comprises: a first stabilizer between each leg of the first pair of legs; anda second stabilizer between each leg of the second pair of legs. 13. The welding carriage of claim 1, wherein the workpiece is an I-beam having at least one flange and a web, and a weld joint being between the at least one flange and the web, and wherein the first wheel assembly engages the first lateral side of the flange and the second wheel assembly engages the second lateral side of the flange for guiding the frame relative to the first and second lateral sides and along a path substantially parallel to the weld joint. 14. A method of welding at least one joint along a workpiece having first and second opposing and substantially parallel lateral sides comprising: movably supporting a welding machine on a frame upon the workpiece, the frame comprising first and second lateral supports, at least a first and a second wheel assembly, a four-bar leading parallelogram linkage and a four-bar trailing parallelogram linkage, each of the leading and trailing parallelogram linkages connected between the first and second lateral supports,each of the leading and trailing parallelogram linkages comprising,first and second parallelogram linkages, each having an upper bar and a lower bar parallel to each other, each parallelogram linkage pivotally connected to each other at inner ends at a common fulcrum point and pivotally connected at outer ends to their respective first and second lateral supports,first and second actuation linkages, the first actuation linkage pivotally connecting to the first parallelogram linkage at a first drive point intermediate along its length and to an intermediate and common actuation point, and the second actuation linkage pivotally connecting to the second parallelogram linkage at a second drive point intermediate along its length and to the common actuation point;engaging the at least first wheel assembly to the first lateral side and engaging at least second wheel assembly to the second lateral side;adjusting a lateral spacing between the first and second lateral supports by actuating the leading and trailing parallelogram linkages for adjusting a width of the frame to a width of the workpiece between the first and second opposing and substantially parallel lateral sides;propelling the welding machine;guiding the welding machine along the at least one joint along the workpiece; andwelding the at least one joint. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the engaging of the at least second wheel assembly to the workpiece comprises biasing the at least second wheel assembly for imposing a force into the second opposing side and adjusting for dimensional variations. 16. The method of claim 14, further comprising adjusting a working height of the frame. 17. The method of claim 14, wherein the workpiece is an I-beam having at least one flange and a web, and a weld joint between the at least one flange and the web, the method comprising: movably supporting and propelling the welding machine upon the flange;guiding the welding machine along the at least one joint along the workpiece by engaging opposing and substantially parallel sides of the flange. 18. The welding carriage of claim 10, wherein the first lateral support comprises a first pair of legs and the second lateral support comprises a second pair of legs, each leg comprising an independently vertically adjustable leg post for adjusting a working height of the carriage. 19. The welding carriage of claim 10, wherein the workpiece is an I-beam having at least one flange and a web, and a weld joint being between the at least one flange and the web, and wherein the first wheel assembly engages the first lateral side of the flange and the second wheel assembly engages the second lateral side of the flange for guiding the frame relative to the first and second lateral sides and along a path substantially parallel to the weld joint. 20. The welding carriage of claim 11, wherein the workpiece is an I-beam having at least one flange and a web, and a weld joint being between the at least one flange and the web, and wherein the first wheel assembly engages the first lateral side of the flange and the second wheel assembly engages the second lateral side of the flange for guiding the frame relative to the first and second lateral sides and along a path substantially parallel to the weld joint. 21. The method of claim 14, wherein at least one of the first or second wheel assembly is a biased wheel assembly, the method further comprising: locking the biased wheel assembly in an engaged position for forcibly engaging the workpiece. 22. The method of claim 16, wherein the workpiece is an I-beam having at least one flange and a web, and a weld joint between the at least one flange and the web, the method comprising: movably supporting and propelling the welding machine upon the flange;guiding the welding machine along a path along the workpiece by engaging opposing and substantially parallel sides of the flange.