Coordinate measurement system with auxiliary axis
AssigneeFaro Technologies, Inc.
InventorsKishore Lankalapalli, Kenneth Steffey, Keith G. Macfarlane, Paul C. Atwell, Dragos M. Stanescu, John Lucas Creachbaum, Brent Bailey, Matthew Mogensen
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Abstract
According to some aspects of the invention, auxiliary axis measurement systems for determining three-dimensional coordinates of an object are provided as shown and described herein. According to some aspects of the invention, methods for operating auxiliary axis measurement systems for determining three-dimensional coordinates of an object are provided as shown and described herein.
Claims21
An auxiliary axis measurement system for determining three-dimensional coordinates of an object, the system comprising:
- a primary axes assembly having one or more primary axes, wherein each axis of the one or more primary axes includes an encoder configured to measure movement relative to a respective axis;
- an auxiliary axis assembly having three auxiliary axes, wherein each axis of the three auxiliary axes includes an encoder configured to measure movement relative to a respective axis, wherein the three auxiliary axes comprise a rotatable axis, a tilt axis, and a translation axis;
- and
- a control unit operably connected to the encoders of the primary axes assembly and the encoders of the auxiliary axis assembly and configured to receive data therefrom, wherein the control unit processes, integrates, and synchronizes the data from both the primary axes assembly and the auxiliary axis assembly in real-time to employ a single coordinate system to determine the three-dimensional coordinates of the object,
- wherein the control unit corrects, in real-time, for delays of data collection between the encoders based on a capture signal sent from the control unit to each encoder and wherein the collected data is synchronized to the capture signal and data from each encoder is transmitted to the control unit at a capture interval.
A method for operating an auxiliary axis measurement system, the method comprising:
- obtaining data, at a control unit, from a primary axes assembly having one or more primary axes, wherein each axis of the one or more primary axes includes an encoder configured to measure movement relative to the respective axis;
- obtaining data, at the control unit, from an auxiliary axis assembly having three auxiliary axes, wherein each axis of the three auxiliary axes includes an encoder configured to measure movement relative to the respective axis, wherein the three auxiliary axes comprise a rotatable axis, a tilt axis, and a translation axis;
- and
- processing, integrating, and synchronizing the data from both the primary axes assembly and the auxiliary axis assembly in real-time to employ a single coordinate system to generate 3D coordinate data of a target, wherein the control unit corrects, in real-time, for delays of data collection between the encoders based on a capture signal sent from the control unit to each encoder and wherein the collected data is synchronized to the capture signal and data from each encoder is transmitted to the control unit at a capture interval.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.