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US 5,575,597 AGranted
Mechanical manipulator
AssigneeGeodetic Technology International Holdings N.V.
InventorsRalph P. S. Bailey, Jerome J. Leary
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AssigneeGeodetic Technology International Holdings N.V.
InventorsRalph P. S. Bailey, Jerome J. Leary
Estimating the term…
The present invention relates to a computer aided design and manufacturing system. The system comprises a platform suspended by means of three pairs of supportive legs which are coupled at triangularly spaced-apart locations by means of three universal joints, each of which couples to one end of each of the two legs of a respective pair. The two legs of each pair extend from their respective universal joint in divergent directions to spaced-apart locations in an overhead mounting where each leg is drivingly engaged by a respective gimbal-mounted electric motor arranged to move the leg in its own longitudinal direction. The platform position and orientation can be controlled by appropriate operation of the six leg drive motors. A rotary indexing stage is mounted on the platform for rotation in the plane of the platform under control of a further electric motor and serves as a mounting for a stage providing for pivotal movement in a plane perpendicular to the plane of rotation of the indexing stage, such pivotal movement being effected under the control of yet a further electric motor. Mounted on the pivotal stage is a rotary tool holder arranged to be driven by yet another electric motor. The various electric motors are precisely positionable under computer control for effecting automatic manufacture of an object by cutting the object out of a block of material by means of a tool held in the tool holder.
A mechanical movement system for locating an effector relative to an object, said system comprising:
A system providing for relative rotation between first and second members and wherein bearing surfaces of said first and second members are each formed with a plurality of radially spaced apart annular grooves, the grooves of one member being complementary to those of the other whereby the two sets of grooves interengage with each other for determining the axis of relative rotation of the two members.
A system providing for relative rotation between first and second members and wherein bearing surfaces of said first and second members are each formed with at least one annular groove, the grooves of one member being complementary to those of the other whereby the two sets of grooves interengage with each other for determining the axis of relative rotation of the two members, wherein said grooves include spherical surfaces such that the mating of the two members simulates the mating of a spherical member into a complementary socket.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.