Tie-in device for the correlation of coordinate systems

A positioning system for moving a component to a predefined position, the positioning system comprising:

• at least one tie-in device mounted in a fixed position relative to the component, the tie-in device comprising:
• an outer surface having a predefined geometric shape located at a first predefined distance from a reference point of the tie-in device;
• and
• at least one target located at a second predefined distance from the reference point;
• a first locating device that maps the outer surface of the tie-in device to determine a location of the reference point in a first coordinate system, wherein the first locating device maps a surface of the component in the first coordinate system to determine a position of the component relative to the reference point of the tie-in device;
• a second locating device that transmits a signal that is in communication with the target to locate the target and determine a location of the reference point in a second coordinate system, which is different than the first coordinate system, wherein the relative locations of the reference point determined by the first and second locating devices are tied-in to correlate the first and second coordinate systems and thereby define the position of the component in the second coordinate system;
• and
• an actuating device that moves the component to the predefined position based upon the position of the component in the second coordinate system.

A method of defining a position of a component, comprising the steps of:

• determining a location of at least one reference point of a tie-in device in a first coordinate system by transmitting a first signal that is in communication with an outer surface of the tie-in device having a predefined geometric shape located at a first predefined distance from the reference point, wherein the first signal maps a surface of the component in the first coordinate system to determine the position of the component relative to the reference point in the first coordinate system;
• determining a location of the reference point of the tie-in device in a second coordinate system, which is different than the first coordinate system, by transmitting a second signal, which is different than the first signal, that is in communication with at least one target located at a second predefined distance from the reference point to determine the location of the reference point in the second coordinate system;
• and
• correlating the first and second coordinate systems by tying-in the relative locations of the reference point to define the position of the component in the second coordinate system.

A method of positioning a component to a predefined position, comprising the steps of:

• placing the component on an actuating device comprising at least one tie-in device;
• determining a location of at least one reference point of the tie-in device in a first coordinate system by transmitting a first signal that is in communication with an outer surface of the tie-in device having a predefined geometric shape located at a first predefined distance from the reference point, wherein the first signal maps a surface of the component in the first coordinate system to determine the position of the component relative to the reference point in the first coordinate system;
• determining a location of the reference point of the tie-in device in a second coordinate system, which is different than the first coordinate system, by transmitting a second signal, which is different than the first signal, that is in communication with at least one target located at a second predefined distance from the reference point to determine the location of the reference point in the second coordinate system;
• and
• correlating the first and second coordinate systems by tying-in the relative locations of the reference point to define the position of the component in the second coordinate system;
• and
• moving the component to the predefined position based upon the position of the component in the second coordinate system.