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US 4,130,787 AGranted
Reliability monitoring system
AssigneeMcDonnell Douglas Corporation
InventorsWilliam P. Allaire, William J. Mayer, Thomas A. Zambetis
Life of this patent
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AssigneeMcDonnell Douglas Corporation
InventorsWilliam P. Allaire, William J. Mayer, Thomas A. Zambetis
Estimating the term…
A system for monitoring a machine tool under automatic control is provided which uses the actual path of the tool in all directions of motion for comparison with a mathematically ideal path to detect tool error. Machine tool position is obtained from independent feedback devices on each axis of tool movement. The system monitors the machine control commands independently of a machine control command generating means, the machine control command generating means commonly bring a computer of a conventional type. Thus, a monitoring loop is placed about the entire machine tool, that loop being capable of detecting malfunction or mispositioning of the tool, as that tool operates under automatic control. An independent dynamic braking means enables the system of this invention to bring the machine to a stop without part scrappage in the event of a machine shut down, occurring for example, because of a power system failue, or mispositioning error detection.
A system for monitoring operation of a computer controlled machine tool, said machine tool including a machine control unit having an input operatively connected to said computer and an output operatively connected to said machine tool along an input-output bus, data on the input-output bus of said machine control unit operating said machine tool, comprising:
In a computer controlled machine tool having a computer for controlling machine tool operation, said machine tool including a machine control unit for operating said machine tool, said machine control unit having an input-output bus, at least one tool slide movably mounted to said machine, and means for driving the tool slide, said drive means being operatively connected to said machine control unit, the improvement which comprises independent system means for monitoring machine tool operation, said system means including means for receiving idealized path data for said machine tool from said computer simultaneously with that data transmission to said machine control unit, means for detecting changes of state in the transient data on the input-output bus of the machine control unit, means dedicated to the monitoring system for determining actual machine tool position independently of any other tool position monitoring means, means for comparing the idealized path data for said machine tool with the actual position of the machine tool as detected by said dedicated means for determining actual machine tool position, and means for indicating a malfunction when the data available to said monitoring means from one of the input-output bus of the machine control unit and the comparing means falls outside a control value.
A system for manufacturing a machined part, comprising:
A system for monitoring operation of a computer controlled machine tool, said machine tool including a machine control unit having an input operatively connected to said computer and an output operatively connected to said machine tool along an input-output bus, data on the input-output bus of said machine control unit operating said machine tool, comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.