Interchangeable task module counterweight
AssigneeRenishaw PLC
InventorsDavid R. McMurtry, Nicholas J. Weston, Richard G. Dewar, Matthew H. Freeman
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Abstract
A method of operating a coordinate positioning apparatus comprising an articulated head having at least one rotational axis. The method comprises, in any suitable order, loading at least one interchangeable task module onto the articulated head; and loading at least one interchangeable task module counterweight on the articulated head. The at least one interchangeable task module counterweight at least partially counterbalances the weight of the at least one task module on the articulated head about the at least one axis.
Claims27
A method of operating a coordinate positioning apparatus comprising an articulated head having at least one rotational axis, comprising, in any suitable order:
- loading at least one interchangeable task module onto the articulated head;
- and
- loading at least one interchangeable task module counterweight on the articulated head,
- in which the at least one interchangeable task module counterweight at least partially counterbalances the weight of the at least one task module on the articulated head about the at least one axis.
A coordinate positioning apparatus comprising:
- an articulated head having at least one axis of rotation;
- at least one task module interchangeably mounted to the articulated head;
- and
- at least one interchangeable task module counterweight which at least partially counterbalances the weight of the at least one task module about the at least one axis of rotation.
A coordinate positioning apparatus as claimed in 19, in which at least one of the at least one task module comprises a stylus having a stylus tip for contacting an artefact.
Apparatus comprising a task module for interchangeably mounting onto an articulated head of a coordinate positioning machine having at least one axis of rotation, and at least one corresponding task module counterweight for interchangeably mounting onto the articulated head for at least partially counterbalancing the weight of the task module about the at least one axis.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.