Inspection of a tool of a machine tool
AssigneeSick AG
InventorsThomas Weber, Kim Fritz, Gerald Krumm, Robert Schröder
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A sensor (10) for inspecting a tool (28) of a machine tool (24) is provided that has a radio frequency transmitter (12) for generating a radio frequency signal, a radio frequency receiver (14) for generating a received signal from a received radio frequency signal, a coupling unit (16) to couple a radio frequency signal into the tool (28) and to decouple it from the tool (28), and a control and evaluation unit (20) to determine a time of flight of a radio frequency signal transmitted from the radio frequency transmitter (12) and received again by the radio frequency receiver (14) with reference to the received signal of the radio frequency receiver (14).
Claims20
A sensor for inspecting a tool of a machine tool,
- wherein the sensor has a radio frequency transmitter for generating a radio frequency signal, a radio frequency receiver for generating a received signal from a received radio frequency signal, a coupling unit to couple a radio frequency signal into the tool so as to transmit the radio frequency signal to penetrate into the tool or as a radio frequency wave at the surface having a penetration depth that depends on the physical characteristics of the tool, with the radio frequency signal conducted from the sensor into the tool establishing a time domain reflectometry (TDR) signal and reflected at the remote part of the tool and to decouple it from the tool, and a control and evaluation unit to determine a time of flight of a radio frequency signal transmitted from the radio frequency transmitter and received again by the radio frequency receiver with reference to the received signal of the radio frequency receiver,
- and wherein the TDR signal from said radio frequency wave establishes a pathway within a portion of the tool subject to inspection.
A machine tool having a tool and having a sensor for inspecting the tool,
- wherein the sensor has a radio frequency transmitter for generating a radio frequency signal, a radio frequency receiver for generating a received signal from a received radio frequency signal, a coupling unit to couple a radio frequency signal into the tool so as to transmit the radio frequency signal to penetrate into the tool or as a radio frequency wave at the surface having a penetration depth that depends on the physical characteristics of the tool, with the radio frequency signal conducted from the sensor into the tool establishing a time domain reflectometry (TDR) signal and reflected at the remote part of the tool and to decouple it from the tool, and a control and evaluation unit to determine a time of flight of a radio frequency signal transmitted from the radio frequency transmitter and received again by the radio frequency receiver with reference to the received signal of the radio frequency receiver,
- and wherein the TDR signal from said radio frequency wave establishes a pathway within a portion of the tool subject to inspection.
A method for inspecting a tool of a machine tool,
- transmitting a radio frequency signal to penetrate into the tool or as a radio frequency wave at the surface having a penetration depth that depends on the physical characteristics of the tool, with the radio frequency signal conducted from a sensor into the tool establishing a time domain reflectometry (TDR) signal and reflected at the remote part of the tool;
- wherein the radio frequency signal is coupled in the tool at a coupling point, and is decoupled from the tool, with the radio frequency signal running between the coupling and the decoupling to a tool tip of the tool and back and the time of flight of the radio frequency signal up to the tool tip being determined,
- and wherein the TDR signal from said radio frequency wave establishes a pathway within a portion of the tool subject to inspection.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.