Computer implemented method, and apparatus for controlling a hand-held tool
First Claim
1. An apparatus for controlling and diagnosing torque and speed applied to fasteners by a hand-held tool comprising:
- a housing having a hand-grip portion;
contained within said housing, an electric motor having a shaft, said motor being operable in current mode to control a force to be applied to a fastener interface mechanism connected to the shaft by varying current through the windings;
a processor contained within said housing having a clock for providing timing pulses, wherein said processor controls an interrupt driven state machine for monitoring operating parameters of the hand-held tool, keeping a performance history of the tool'"'"'s operation comprising performance records, communicating with a remote computer and controlling the torque and speed applied to fasteners;
a nonvolatile, writable memory for storing performance history;
two random access memory locations for storing data points;
a separate memory location for storing said data points into performance records from which the performance history will be selected;
a first communications port located the housing capable of being accessed from exterior portion of the housing by the remote computer for linking said processor with the remote computer;
a torque transducer responsive to the force being applied to the fastener interface mechanism by the shaft of the electric motor having an output capable of being transferred as a digital value to the processor;
temperature transducers located within said housing having outputs capable of being transferred as digital values to the processor;
said remote computer comprising a second communications port for uploading and downloading data to the hand-held tool and a graphical user interface for allowing an operator to manipulate the data and remotely control the tool;
a circuit breaker connected to said motor for controlling current to the motor;
display indicators located on the exterior of the housing for communicating information to the operator in response to messages generated by the processor;
a trigger located on the exterior of the housing for switching the tool between a running state and an idling state and for sending a signal to the processor for the purpose of alerting the processor as to whether the tool is in a running or idling state; and
selection controls located on the exterior of the housing for an operator to select torque and speed parameters.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention described here in is a computer-implemented method and apparatus for controlling a hand-held tool. In particular, the control of a hand held tool is for the purpose of controlling the speed of a fastener interface mechanism and the torque applied to fasteners by the fastener interface mechanism of the hand-held tool and monitoring the operating parameters of the tool. The control is embodied in intool software embedded on a processor within the tool which also communicates with remote software. An operator can run the tool, or through the interaction of both software, operate the tool from a remote location, analyze data from a performance history recorded by the tool, and select various torque and speed parameters for each fastener.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An apparatus for controlling and diagnosing torque and speed applied to fasteners by a hand-held tool comprising:
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a housing having a hand-grip portion; contained within said housing, an electric motor having a shaft, said motor being operable in current mode to control a force to be applied to a fastener interface mechanism connected to the shaft by varying current through the windings; a processor contained within said housing having a clock for providing timing pulses, wherein said processor controls an interrupt driven state machine for monitoring operating parameters of the hand-held tool, keeping a performance history of the tool'"'"'s operation comprising performance records, communicating with a remote computer and controlling the torque and speed applied to fasteners; a nonvolatile, writable memory for storing performance history; two random access memory locations for storing data points; a separate memory location for storing said data points into performance records from which the performance history will be selected; a first communications port located the housing capable of being accessed from exterior portion of the housing by the remote computer for linking said processor with the remote computer; a torque transducer responsive to the force being applied to the fastener interface mechanism by the shaft of the electric motor having an output capable of being transferred as a digital value to the processor; temperature transducers located within said housing having outputs capable of being transferred as digital values to the processor; said remote computer comprising a second communications port for uploading and downloading data to the hand-held tool and a graphical user interface for allowing an operator to manipulate the data and remotely control the tool; a circuit breaker connected to said motor for controlling current to the motor; display indicators located on the exterior of the housing for communicating information to the operator in response to messages generated by the processor; a trigger located on the exterior of the housing for switching the tool between a running state and an idling state and for sending a signal to the processor for the purpose of alerting the processor as to whether the tool is in a running or idling state; and selection controls located on the exterior of the housing for an operator to select torque and speed parameters. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A computer-implemented method for controlling and diagnosing torque and speed applied to fasteners by a hand-held tool and for monitoring operating parameters of the tool, comprising the steps of:
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(a) monitoring the operating parameters of the hand-held tool comprising a housing with a hand-grip portion, an electric motor contained within said housing having a shaft, said motor being operable in current mode to control a force to be applied to a fastener interface mechanism connected to the shaft by varying current through the windings, a power supply for driving said motor and a circuit breaker for controlling the current to the motor; (b) creating a performance history of the tool'"'"'s operation comprising performance records to be stored in a nonvolatile, writable memory; (c) controlling the torque and speed applied to fasteners by a program controlled processor having a clock for generating timing pulses and a first communications port for linking to a remote computer; (d) providing a remote computer with a graphical user interface for analyzing at the remote computer torque, speed and parameter information; (e) remotely directing the torque and speed to be applied to each of said fasteners by the hand held tool under the control of the remote computer. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification