Automated profiling of the hardness of wood
AssigneeOsmose Utilities Services, Inc.
InventorsRandal K. More, Nelson G. Bingel, III, Thomas Pope, Lawrence J. Geitner
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Abstract
The present invention pertains to a device, system, and method for evaluating the condition of a wooden structure by automated profiling of the hardness of the structure. More particularly, the present invention is directed towards a probing device comprising a blade coupled to a resistance mechanism and a mechanical sensor for measuring the hardness of wood in a structure; a system comprising such a device, and a computing device coupled to the device that outputs the hardness measurements of the device; and a method for operating such a device and determining the condition of wood by identifying changes in hardness in a wooden structure.
Claims20
A device for measuring hardness of wooden structures, the device comprising:
- a shaft;
- a blade moveably coupled to the shaft, the blade being configured to (i) extend outwardly from the shaft and (ii) displace inwardly toward the shaft in response to contacting a wooden structure of sufficient hardness;
- and
- a sensor configured to measure displacement of the blade.
A system for measuring hardness of a wooden structure, the system comprising:
- a device for measuring a local hardness of the wooden structure, the device comprising:
- a shaft;
- a blade moveably coupled to the shaft, the blade being configured to (i) extend outwardly from the shaft and (ii) displace inwardly toward the shaft in response to contacting a wooden structure of sufficient hardness;
- and
- a displacement sensor configured to measure displacement of the blade;
- and
- a computing device configured to receive displacement data from the displacement sensor, the displacement data being indicative of the displacement of the blade, wherein the computing device is configured to determine the local hardness of the wooden structure based at least in part on the displacement data.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.