# US 4,528,682 A · Digital measuring instruments

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- Number: US 4,528,682 A
- Document ID: US4528682A
- Status: Granted
- Kind: A
- Application number: 06/239,482
- Filed: 1981-03-02
- Granted: 1985-07-09
- Earliest claimed: 1980-03-14
- Assignees: Mutoh Industry Ltd.
- Inventors: Tooru Nakaoki
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US4528682A

## CPC

- G01P 13/04: Indicating positive or negative direction of a linear movement or clockwise or anti-clockwise direction of a rotational movement
- G01P 3/486: delivered by photo-electric detectors
- G01P 3/489: Digital circuits therefor
- G05B 19/21: using an incremental digital measuring device
- G05B 2219/41068: Measuring and feedback
- H03M 1/30: incremental
- G01P: MEASURING LINEAR OR ANGULAR SPEED, ACCELERATION, DECELERATION, OR SHOCK; INDICATING PRESENCE, ABSENCE, OR DIRECTION, OF MOVEMENT (measuring or recording blood flow A61B5/02, A61B8/06; monitoring speed or deceleration of electrically-propelled vehicles B60L3/00; vehicle lighting systems adapted to indicate speed B60Q1/54; determining position or course in navigation, measuring ground distance in geodesy or surveying G01C; combined measuring devices for measuring two or more variables of movement G01C23/00; measuring velocity of sound G01H; measuring velocity of light G01J7/00; measuring direction or velocity of solid objects by reception or emission of radiowaves or other waves and based on propagation effects, e.g. Doppler effect, propagation time, direction of propagation, G01S; measuring speed of nuclear radiation G01T; measuring acceleration of gravity G01V; {measuring or recording the speed of trains B61L23/00; speed indicators incorporated in motor vehicles B60K35/00; measuring frequency or phase G01R; traffic control G08G})
- G05B: CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS (systems for controlling or regulating non-electric variables G05D; systems for regulating electric or magnetic variables G05F; control devices or systems insofar as characterised by mechanical features only G05G)
- H03M: CODING; DECODING; CODE CONVERSION IN GENERAL (using fluidic means F15C4/00; optical analogue/digital converters G02F7/00; coding, decoding or code conversion, specially adapted for particular applications, see the relevant subclasses, e.g. G01D, G01R, G06F, G06T, G09G, G10L, G11B, G11C, H04B, H04L, H04M, H04N; ciphering or deciphering for cryptography or other purposes involving the need for secrecy G09C)

## Abstract

In an instrument for converting the rotary motion of the feed shaft of a machine to a pulse train having a direction component and for counting and displaying the pulse train as counted by a reversible counter, a digital measuring device arranged such that its reversible counter does not count pulses generated by the idling rotation of the feed shaft due to play in the feed system of the machine, thereby digitally counting and displaying the correct transfer distance or feed ratio of the transfer unit of the machine.

## Claims

### Claim 1

In a digital measuring instrument wherein a distance of a transfer unit that moves due to the rotation of a feed shaft of a machine is digitally measured, the improvement comprising: a casing; an encoder which is self-contained within said casing and which converts a rotary motion of said feed shaft into output pulse signals having a directional component; a direction discriminating circuit which is connected to said encoder for determining said directional component of said output pulse signals of said encoder; a reversible counter which is connected to said direction discriminating circuit through counter input gate circuit, said counter input gate circuit being provided between an input terminal of said reversible counter and an output terminal of said encoder; and a counter input gate automatic control means which comprises a storage means for storing a play of the feed shaft of the machine and said storage means is connected to an output of said direction discriminating circuit for incrementing or decrementing the stored play, wherein the disabling and enabling of said counter input gate circuit is determined based on the content of the play stored in said storage means and wherein said reversible counter counts said output pulses from said encoder.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

A digital measuring instrument as claimed in claim 1, wherein said storage means comprises a preset counter for storing said play of the feed shaft of the machine as a digital preset value, wherein an output of said preset counter is connected to a gate switching control unit of said counter input gate, and wherein said preset counter outputs a signal for energizing said counter input gate circuit when the absolute value of the pulse count value of said preset counter becomes bigger than its preset value, and wherein said preset counter outputs a signal for disabling said counter input gate circuit when the absolute value of the pulse count value of said preset counter becomes smaller than its preset value.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

A digital measuring instrument as claimed in claim 1, wherein said counter input gate automatic control means includes a means for detecting the movement of said transfer unit, wherein said counter input gate circuit is energized when movement of said transfer unit is detected and wherein said counter input gate circuit is disabled when no movement of said transfer unit is detected.