Ultra-light and ultra-accurate portable coordinate measurement machine with serial bus capture
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A portable coordinate measurement machine (CMM) comprising:
- a manually-positionable articulated arm having first and second ends, the articulated arm including a plurality of arm segments and a plurality of rotary joints, the first end including a connector configured to connect to a measurement probe and the second end including a base;
an electrical circuit including a serial communications bus having at least some portions disposed within the plurality of arm segments;
wherein at least one of the rotary joints from the plurality of rotary joints includes;
first and second bearings;
a shaft that engages an inner diameter of the first bearing and an inner diameter of the second bearing, the shaft configured to rotate about an axis of rotation of the first bearing and the second bearing;
a housing having at least one port that engages at least one of an outer diameter of the first bearing and an outer diameter of the second bearing; and
at least one transducer configured to output an angle signal corresponding to an angle of rotation of the shaft relative to the housing about the axis of rotation,a serial communication circuit operably connected to the serial communications bus and configured to receive a capture command via serial communication, anda capture circuit configured to execute a capture of the angle signal from the at least one transducer in response to receiving the capture command or in response to receiving via serial communications a falling edge or rising edge of a read data command after receiving the capture command.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A portable coordinate measurement machine (CMM) includes a manually-positionable articulated arm having first and second ends, the articulated arm including a plurality of arm segments and a plurality of rotary joints. At least one of the rotary joints from the plurality of rotary joints includes first and second bearings, a shaft configured to rotate about an axis of rotation of the first bearing and the second bearing, at least one transducer configured to output an angle signal corresponding to an angle of rotation of the shaft about the axis of rotation, and a serial communication circuit configured to receive via serial communication a capture command.
58 Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A portable coordinate measurement machine (CMM) comprising:
-
a manually-positionable articulated arm having first and second ends, the articulated arm including a plurality of arm segments and a plurality of rotary joints, the first end including a connector configured to connect to a measurement probe and the second end including a base; an electrical circuit including a serial communications bus having at least some portions disposed within the plurality of arm segments; wherein at least one of the rotary joints from the plurality of rotary joints includes; first and second bearings; a shaft that engages an inner diameter of the first bearing and an inner diameter of the second bearing, the shaft configured to rotate about an axis of rotation of the first bearing and the second bearing; a housing having at least one port that engages at least one of an outer diameter of the first bearing and an outer diameter of the second bearing; and at least one transducer configured to output an angle signal corresponding to an angle of rotation of the shaft relative to the housing about the axis of rotation, a serial communication circuit operably connected to the serial communications bus and configured to receive a capture command via serial communication, and a capture circuit configured to execute a capture of the angle signal from the at least one transducer in response to receiving the capture command or in response to receiving via serial communications a falling edge or rising edge of a read data command after receiving the capture command. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
-
-
13. A portable coordinate measurement machine (CMM) comprising:
a manually-positionable articulated arm having first and second ends, the articulated arm including a plurality of arm segments and a plurality of rotary joints, wherein at least one of the rotary joints from the plurality of rotary joints includes; first and second bearings; a shaft configured to rotate about an axis of rotation of the first bearing and the second bearing; and at least one transducer configured to output an angle signal corresponding to an angle of rotation of the shaft about the axis of rotation, a serial communication circuit configured to communicate the angle signal, the serial communication circuit configured to receive via serial communication a capture command, and a capture circuit configured to execute a capture of the angle signal from the at least one transducer in response to receiving the capture command or in response to receiving via serial communications a falling edge or rising edge of a read data command after receiving the capture command. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
Specification