Metrological instrument

A metrological instrument for measuring a characteristic of a surface of a workpiece, the instrument comprising:

• a manually portable measurement unit arranged to be placed on a surface to be measured, the measurement unit having a sensor support for carrying a sensor to enable the sensor to sense a surface when the measurement unit is placed on the surface and a deriver operable to derive a signal indicative of a surface characteristic sensed by the sensor;
• and
• a user interface unit separate from the measurement unit and having an indicator operable to provide a user with an indication of a surface characteristic sensed by the sensor, each of the measurement unit and the user interface unit having a communicator enabling remote communication of information relating to a measurement between the measurement and user interface units, and each of the measurement unit and the user interface unit having a coupler enabling coupling of the measurement and user interface units together in two different configurations such that, in a first configuration, a part of the user interface unit protects the sensor to inhibit damage to the sensor when the measurement unit is not in use and, in a second configuration, the communicator of the measurement unit is directed towards the communicator of the user interface unit to enable communication between the two units when the two units are coupled together.

A manually portable measurement unit for metrological instrument for measuring a characteristic of a surface of a workpiece, the measurement unit being configured to be placed on a surface to be measured and the measurement unit comprising:

• a sensor support for carrying a sensor to enable the sensor to sense a surface characteristic when the measurement unit is placed on the surface;
• a deriver operable to derive a signal indicative of a surface characteristic sensed by the sensor;
• a communicator enabling remote communication of information relating to a measurement between the measurement unit and a separate user interface unit for providing a user with an indication of a surface characteristic sensed by the sensor;
• and
• a coupler enabling, when the measurement unit is not in use, coupling of the measurement unit to the interface unit with the sensor protected by at least part of the user interface unit.

A manually portable measurement unit for use in a metrological instrument for measuring a characteristic of a surface of a workpiece, the measurement unit being arranged to be placed on a surface to be measured and the measurement unit comprising:

• a sensor support for carrying a sensor to enable the sensor to sense a surface characteristic when the measurement unit is placed on the said surface;
• a deriver operable to derive a signal indicative of a surface characteristic sensed by the sensor;
• a communicator enabling remote communication of information relating to a measurement with a communicator of a user interface unit separate from the measurement unit for providing a user with an indication of a surface characteristic sensed by the sensor;
• and
• a coupler enabling coupling of the measurement unit to the user interface unit with the communicator of the measurement unit directed towards the communicator of the user interface unit to enable communication between the two units when the two units are coupled together.

A manually portable measurement unit for use in a metrological instrument for measuring a characteristic of a surface of a workpiece, the measurement unit being arranged to be placed on a surface to be measured and the measurement unit comprising:

• a sensor support for carrying a sensor to enable the sensor to sense a surface characteristic when the measurement unit is placed on the surface;
• a deriver operable to derive a signal indicative of a surface characteristic sensed by the sensor;
• a communicator enabling communication of information relating to a measurement between the measurement unit and a separate interface unit for providing a user with an indication of a surface characteristic sensed by the sensor;
• and
• a coupling arrangement operable to couple the measurement unit to the user interface unit in two different configurations such that, in a first configuration, a part of the user interface unit protects the sensor to inhibit damage to the sensor when the measurement unit is not in use and, in a second configuration, the communicator of the measurement unit is directed towards a communicator of the user interface unit to enable communication between the two units when the two units are coupled together.

A manually portable metrological instrument having a measurement unit for measuring a surface characteristic of a workpiece surface and a separate user interface unit,

• the measurement unit having a housing with a first surface having a first window and a second surface having a second window, the first surface being arranged to contact a workpiece surface to support the measurement unit on the workpiece surface when a user places the measurement unit on the workpiece surface,
• the measurement unit housing containing a sensor located within the housing to sense the workpiece surface through the first window, a measurement deriver operatively coupled to the sensor to derive a measurement signal indicative of a surface characteristic sensed by the sensor and a measurement unit remote communications transceiver operatively coupled to the measurement deriver and positioned adjacent the second window to provide through the second window a communications signal representing a measurement signal derived by the measurement deriver,
• the user interface unit having a housing with a third window, the user interface unit housing containing a user interface unit remote communications transceiver positioned adjacent the third window to receive through the third window a communications signal provided by the measurement unit remote communications transceiver and a controller operatively coupled to the user interface unit remote communications transceiver and configured to control operation of the measurement instrument,
• the user interface unit housing having a display operatively coupled to the controller and configured to display display data representing a measurement signal to a user and also having a user operable switch operably coupled to the controller, the controller being configured, in response to operation of the user operable switch, to cause the user interface unit remote communications transceiver to transmit an instrument signal to the measurement remote communications transceiver and the measurement deriver being operable, in response to receipt of an instruction signal, to cause the sensor to commence a measurement operation.