Seam tracking drilling machine

A robotic carriage for moving along a predetermined path over a surface without the use of rails, comprising:

• a platform;
• a plurality of selectively actuatable supports mounted on said platform actuatable from an actuated state adhering to a surface and a de-actuated state released from a surface;
• at least a first one of said selectively actuatable supports moveable relative to the platform;
• a controller for actuating said first one of said selectively actuatable supports and moving the platform relative to the first one of said selectively actuatable supports to reposition the platform on the surface, and subsequently de-actuating said first one of said selectively actuatable supports and moving said first one of said selectively actuatable supports relative to the platform;
• and
• a drill head mounted on said platform for drilling a hole through the surface.

A robotic carriage for moving over a surface without the use of rails, comprising:

• a first carriage having a frame, a first plurality of selectively actuatable supports extending from said frame so as to support said frame with respect to said surface, a platform positioned in said frame so as to be in a desired relationship to said surface, a first drive for selectively rotating said platform with respect to said frame about a rotational axis;
• a second carriage movably mounted to said platform for movement with respect to said platform, a second drive for selectively providing relative movement between said second carriage and said platform;
• a third carriage movably mounted to said second carriage for movement with respect to said second carriage, a second plurality of selected actuatable supports extending from said third carriage so as to support said third carriage with respect to said surface, and a third drive for selectively providing relative movement between said third carriage and said second carriage;
• and
• a controller for deactuating one of said first and second plurality of selectively actuatable supports while the other of said first and second plurality of selectively actuatable supports is actuated and for actuating said third drive to effect relative movement between said third carriage and said second carriage to thereby reposition one of said first and third carriages with respect to the other of said first and third carriages while the plurality of selectively actuatable supports on the carriage being repositioned are deactuated.

A robotic carriage for moving over a surface without the use of rails for drilling holes through the surface, comprising:

• a first carriage having a frame, a first plurality of selectively actuatable supports extending from the frame to support the frame on the surface, a platform positioned on the frame for pivotal motion relative to the frame about a first axis, and a first drive for selectively pivoting the platform with respect to the frame about the first axis;
• a second carriage mounted to said platform for movement with respect to said platform along a second axis, the second axis being perpendicular to the first axis, a second drive for selectively moving the second carriage relative to the platform;
• a third carriage mounted to the second carriage for movement with respect to the second carriage along a third axis, the third axis being perpendicular to both the first and second axes, a second plurality of selectively actuatable supports extending from said third carriage to support the third carriage on the surface and a third drive for selectively moving the third carriage relative to the second carriage along the third axis;
• a controller for deactuating one of said first and second plurality of selectively actuatable supports while the other of said first and second plurality of selectively actuatable supports is actuated and for actuating said third drive to effect relative movement between said third carriage and said second carriage to thereby reposition one of said first and third carriages with respect to the other of said first and third carriages while the plurality of selectively actuatable supports on the carriage being repositioned are deactuated;
• and
• a drill spindle unit mounted on one of said carriages for drilling holes in the surface.

A method for moving a robotic carriage over a surface without the use of rails, comprising:

• actuating a first plurality of selectively actuatable supports extending from a first carriage to support the first carriage on the surface, the first carriage having a frame, a platform positioned in the frame and a first drive for selectively rotating the platform with respect to the frame about a rotational axis;
• deactuating a second plurality of selectively actuatable supports extending from a third carriage, the third carriage movable relative to a second carriage, the second carriage movable relative to the first carriage;
• selectively moving the second or third carriage relative to the first carriage;
• actuating the second plurality of selectively actuatable supports to support the third carriage on the surface and deactuating the first plurality of selectively actuatable supports to remove support of the first carriage from the surface;
• and
• selectively moving the first or second carriage relative to the third carriage.