Portable coordinate measurement machine
AssigneeFaro Technologies, Inc.
InventorsSimon Raab, Seyed Ali Sajedi, Kenneth J. Hasloecher, Marc Barber
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A portable coordinate measurement machine comprises an articulated arm having jointed arm segments. The arm includes joint assemblies which include at least one read head together with one or more (preferably five) sensors (preferably proximity sensors) in communication with a periodic pattern of a measurable characteristic, the pattern and read heads being positioned within the joint so as to be rotatable with respect to each other.
Claims38
A portable coordinate measurement machine (CMM) for measuring the position of an object in a selected volume, comprising:
- a manually positionable articulated arm having opposed first and second ends, said arm including a plurality of joints;
- a measurement probe attached to a first end of said articulated arm;
- an electronic circuit which receives the position signals from transducers in said arm and provides a digital coordinate corresponding to the position of the probe in a selected volume;
- and
- wherein at least one of said joints further comprise;
- a periodic pattern of a measurable characteristic;
- at least one read head spaced from and in communication with said pattern;
- said pattern and said read head being positioned within said joint so as to be rotatable with respect to each other;
- and
- at least one sensor which measures relative movement in said articulated arm with respect to said at least one read head so as to improve the measurement accuracy of said at least one read head.
17 The CMM of claim 8 including at least five sensors which, together with said read head, measure at least six degrees of freedom of said shaft.
34 The CMM of claim 1 wherein said at least one joint comprises:
- a first housing;
- a second housing;
- a rotatable shaft fixed to said second housing and extending into said first housing;
- at least one bearing supported within said first housing and supporting said rotatable shaft for rotation about its axis;
- wherein one of said pattern and said at least one read head is fixed to an end of said shaft and the other of said pattern and said at least one read head is fixed within said first housing.
A portable coordinate measurement machine (CMM) for measuring the position of an object in a selected volume, comprising:
- a manually positionable articulated arm having opposed first and second ends, said arm including a plurality of joints;
- a measurement probe attached to a first end of said articulated arm;
- an electronic circuit which receives the position signals from transducers in said arm and provides a digital coordinate corresponding to the position of the probe in a selected volume;
- and
- wherein at least one of said joints further comprise;
- a rotatable shaft surrounded, at least in part, by a housing, said shaft and said housing being adapted to rotate relative to one another;
- a periodic pattern of a measurable characteristic;
- at least one read head spaced from and in communication with said pattern;
- said pattern and said read head being positioned within said joint so as to be rotatable with respect to each other;
- and
- a plurality of displacement sensors which measure relative movement between said shaft and said housing, said relative movement measurement being used to improve the measurement accuracy of said at least one read head.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.