Scale reading apparatus
AssigneeMitutoyo Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
InventorTouji Hirose
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A scale reading apparatus having a dust-proof means for protection of the slide and guide surfaces, the relatively moving parts of the apparatus, from the ingress of foreign material and a means for sensing the scale reading. The dust-proof means includes a flexible band covering the entire length of the slide surfaces and an opening connecting the moving parts. The scale sensing means is resiliently mounted at an angle to the verticle thereby substantially reducing the forces applied and the affects of vibration upon the scale sensing means to insure a high precision reading.
Claims6
A scale reading apparatus comprising:
- a housing of hollow tubular construction;
- a transparent bar scale provided in said housing;
- a longitudinal guide opening in said housing extending in the longitudinal direction of said scale;
- a pair of slide surfaces extending parallel to said guide opening;
- a slider member for operative association with said housing, said slider having an extension portion extending from the exterior of said housing into the interior thereof through said guide opening;
- a sensor holding member detachably coupled to the end of said extension portion;
- a plurality of sensors for reading said scale provided in said sensor holding member;
- a magnetic means provided in the longitudinal side wall of said housing adjacent to said slide surfaces and along both sides of said guide opening;
- a flexible strip band extending longitudinally along and substantially covering the entire length of said guide opening, said flexible strip band being made of a magnetic material and being held in contact with said guide opening by said magnetic members;
- an arcuate protrudent guide portion formed in said extension portion of said slider member, said guide portion being in slidable contact with the inner surface of said strip band;
- holding members provided at the ends of said slider member to press down said strip band to said guide opening;
- and
- a means for detachably coupling said sensor holding member to said extension portion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.