Eye protection device for welder protection equipment

Claim 1

An eye protection device for the window of a welding hood or shield comprising: a protection filter being selectively operable to screen eye-impairable welding radiation, said filter including a movable screen; means for shifting said screen toward and away from a position adjacent said window, said drive means including a driven revolving device and an entrainer coupled to said revolving device and engaging said protective screen; and a control operably coupled to said drive means, said control having an electro-optical sensor being responsive to said radiation to actuate said drive means for shifting said screen toward said position adjacent said window whenever radiation is detected, said control also having a manually operable override switch for selective actuation of said drive means normally before the commencement of a welding operation, said manually operable switch comprising a pneumatic sensor operably responsive to a blown air stream, said control further including structure for retaining said screen in said window-adjacent position whenever said radiation is detected by said sensor regardless of whether said manually operable switch is actuated, said control including a timing element operable to actuate said drive means for shifting said screen away from said window adjacent position whenever said electro-optical sensor fails to detect welding radiation during a certain time interval, said manually operable switch including structure for manual overriding of said timing element for selective shifting of said screen away from said window adjacent position before elapse of said certain time interval.