Mouse-Based Hand Wheel Control For a Machine Tool

• US 20090281664A1
• Filed: 05/06/2008
• Published: 11/12/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/06/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hurco Companies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Hurco Companies, Inc.
• Inventors: Glandorf, Joseph D.
• Granted Patent: US 8,041,448 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/275
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/421 Teaching successive positions by mechanical means, e.g. by mechanically-coupled handwheels to position tool head or end effector G05B19/423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/35459 Knob, handle, handwheel delivers pulses, electronic handwheel, digipot
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/35462 Mouse

Abstract

The present invention provides a device for controlling a hand wheel of a machine tool and a method for using the same.

Claims

1. A machine tool comprising:

at least one movable element;

a control system;

a rotatable hand wheel; and

a pointing device coupled to the hand wheel and configured to track a movement of the hand wheel and communicate the movement to the control system, the control system being configured to control the at least one movable element based upon the movement of the hand wheel.

2. The machine tool of claim 1, wherein the pointing device comprises at least a portion of a computer mouse.

3. The machine tool of claim 1, wherein the at least one movable element comprises one of a cutting tool, a tool magazine, and a workpiece positioning mechanism.

4. The machine tool of claim 1, further comprising a second hand wheel, wherein the pointing device is coupled to the second hand wheel and configured to track a movement of the second hand wheel.

5. The machine tool of claim 1, wherein the pointing device is configured to track the movement of the hand wheel along an axis.

6. The machine tool of claim 1, wherein the pointing device includes at least one of a USB output, a PS/2 output, and a serial port output configured to communicate with the control system.

7. The machine tool of claim 1, wherein the pointing device is configured to track a surface of the hand wheel.

8. A device for manually operating a machine tool comprising:

a rotatable hand wheel; and

a pointing device coupled to the hand wheel and configured to track and communicate a movement of the hand wheel.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein the pointing device comprises at least a portion of a computer mouse.

10. The device of claim 8, wherein the pointing device comprises at least a portion of an optical computer mouse.

11. The device of claim 8, wherein the pointing device is configured to track the movement of the hand wheel along an axis.

12. The device of claim 8, wherein the pointing device includes at least one of a USB output, a PS/2 output, and a serial port output configured to communicate with a control system.

13. The device of claim 8, wherein the pointing device is configured to track a surface of the hand wheel.

14. The device of claim 8, further comprising a disc coupled to the hand wheel for rotation therewith, wherein the pointing device is configured to track a surface of the disc.

15. The device of claim 8, wherein the hand wheel includes a detent mechanism.

16. A method of manually operating a machine tool comprising the steps of:

providing a hand wheel with a pointing device coupled to the hand wheel;

rotating the hand wheel;

tracking a movement of the hand wheel with the pointing device;

communicating the movement of the hand wheel to a control system; and

positioning a movable element of the machine tool based upon the movement of the hand wheel.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the pointing device comprises at least a portion of a computer mouse.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the tracking step comprises tracking the movement of the hand wheel along an axis.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the tracking step comprises tracking a surface of the hand wheel.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of tracking a movement of a second hand wheel with the pointing device.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein the communicating step comprises communicating to a USB port of the control system.