Laser work station with optical sensor for calibration of guidance system
First Claim
1. A laser work station enabling precise positioning of a workpiece relative to its X-Y guidance system, the workpiece having a reference formation with at least one edge, said work station comprising:
- (a) a base member;
(b) a workpiece support;
(c) a laser head spaced above said workpiece support;
(d) a laser head support member mounted on said base member for movement of said laser head relative to said base member, said laser head being movable thereon in X, Y and Z axes relative to the workpiece support;
(e) movement means for moving said laser head in said X, Y and Z axes;
(f) a guidance system connected to said movement means for effecting precision movement of said laser head in said X, Y and Z axes to permit said laser head to direct a laser beam onto an associated workpiece supported on said workpiece support;
(g) an optical sensor assembly comprising (i) a light source for directing onto an associated workpiece on said workpiece support a light beam parallel to the Z-axis of movement of said laser head and (ii) light sensors about said light source for detecting light reflected from the surface of the associated workpiece upon which said light beam impinges, said sensor assembly being operable to detect reference formations on an associated workpiece carried by said workpiece support;
(h) sensor assembly mounting means mounting said sensor assembly on said laser head for movement therewith in X-Y axes relative to an associated workpiece on said workpiece support; and
(i) position determining means cooperating with said sensor assembly and said guidance system to;
(i) index said laser head and sensor assembly to a preselected X-Y position relative to the approximate position of a reference formation on the associated workpiece;
(ii) move said laser head and sensor assembly in a predetermined path from said preselected position to sense passage of the beam over an edge of a reference formation; and
(iii) use data obtained form such sensing of the passage of the beam over an edge of the reference formation to adjust the coordinates of said guidance system to reflect the actual position of the associated workpiece on said workpiece support.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A laser work station has a base member, a laser head mounted on a laser head support carried on the base member for movement of the laser head relative to the base member, so that it is movable thereon in X, Y and Z axes. A guidance system effects precision movement of the laser head in the X, Y and Z axes to move the beam about a workpiece, and an optical sensor assembly comprising a light source and light sensors about the light source to detect light reflected from the surface of the workpiece. The sensor assembly is operable to detect reference formulations on the workpiece as it is moved thereabout. The computer control indexes the sensor assembly to a preselected position relative to the approximate position of a reference formation on the workpiece, and moves it in a predetermined path from the preselected position to sense passage of the beam over the edge of the reference formation, and the work station uses data obtained from such sensing of the passage of the beam over the edge of the reference formation to adjust the coordinates of the guidance system to reflect the actual position of the workpiece.
93 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A laser work station enabling precise positioning of a workpiece relative to its X-Y guidance system, the workpiece having a reference formation with at least one edge, said work station comprising:
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(a) a base member; (b) a workpiece support; (c) a laser head spaced above said workpiece support; (d) a laser head support member mounted on said base member for movement of said laser head relative to said base member, said laser head being movable thereon in X, Y and Z axes relative to the workpiece support; (e) movement means for moving said laser head in said X, Y and Z axes; (f) a guidance system connected to said movement means for effecting precision movement of said laser head in said X, Y and Z axes to permit said laser head to direct a laser beam onto an associated workpiece supported on said workpiece support; (g) an optical sensor assembly comprising (i) a light source for directing onto an associated workpiece on said workpiece support a light beam parallel to the Z-axis of movement of said laser head and (ii) light sensors about said light source for detecting light reflected from the surface of the associated workpiece upon which said light beam impinges, said sensor assembly being operable to detect reference formations on an associated workpiece carried by said workpiece support; (h) sensor assembly mounting means mounting said sensor assembly on said laser head for movement therewith in X-Y axes relative to an associated workpiece on said workpiece support; and (i) position determining means cooperating with said sensor assembly and said guidance system to; (i) index said laser head and sensor assembly to a preselected X-Y position relative to the approximate position of a reference formation on the associated workpiece; (ii) move said laser head and sensor assembly in a predetermined path from said preselected position to sense passage of the beam over an edge of a reference formation; and (iii) use data obtained form such sensing of the passage of the beam over an edge of the reference formation to adjust the coordinates of said guidance system to reflect the actual position of the associated workpiece on said workpiece support. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A laser work station enabling precise positioning of a workpiece relative to its X-Y guidance system, with workpiece having a reference formation with at least one edge, said work station comprising:
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(a) a base member; (b) a workpiece support including aligning means for positioning a workpiece placed thereon; (c) a laser head spaced above said workpiece support; (d) a laser head support member mounted on said base member for movement of said laser head relative to said base member, said laser head being movable thereon in X, Y and Z axes relative to the workpiece support; (e) movement means for moving said laser head in said X, Y and Z axes; (f) a guidance system connected to said movement means for effecting precision movement of said laser head in said X, Y and Z axes to permit said laser head to direct a laser beam onto an associated workpiece supported on said workpiece support; (g) an optical sensor assembly comprising (i) a light source for directing onto an associated workpiece on said workpiece support a light beam parallel to the Z-axis of movement of said laser head and (ii) light sensors about said light source for detecting light reflected from the surface of the associated workpiece upon which said light beam impinges, said sensor assembly being operable to detect reference formations on an associated workpiece carried by said workpiece support; (h) sensor assembly mounting means mounting said sensor assembly on said laser head for movement therewith in X-Y axes relative to an associated workpiece on said workpiece support; and (i) position determining means cooperating with said sensor assembly and said guidance system to; (i) index said laser head and sensor assembly to a preselected position relative to the approximate position of a reference formation on the associated workpiece; (ii) move said laser head and sensor assembly in a predetermined path from said preselected position to sense passage of the beam over an edge of a reference formation; and (iii) use data obtained form such sensing of the passage of the beam over an edge of the reference formation to adjust the coordinates of said guidance system to reflect the actual position of the associated workpiece on said workpiece support; and (j) a computer for controlling said movement means and said guidance system, said computer being operative in cooperation with said position determining means to move said sensor assembly to each preselected position, to effect said movement in a preselected path, to receive the sensed data, and to adjust the coordinates of said guidance system. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification