Finger controlled inspection apparatus
First Claim
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1. An inspection apparatus for inspecting an article having a surface, comprising:
- a flexible sensor conformable to the surface of the article for sensing a characteristic thereof, wherein the flexible sensor comprises an eddy current sensor and an ultrasonic transducer;
a finger cover which fits over a finger of a user; and
attachment means for attaching the flexible sensor to the finger cover.
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Abstract
An exemplary inspection apparatus for inspecting an article comprises a flexible sensor for sensing a characteristic of the article, which sensor conforms to a surface of the article, a finger cover which fits over a finger of a user, and an attachment device for removably attaching the sensor to the finger cover. The apparatus allows the user to traverse the sensor over a large range of smoothly varying concave or convex inspection surfaces, for example, while providing the user with direct control of the sensor.
59 Citations
13 Claims
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1. An inspection apparatus for inspecting an article having a surface, comprising:
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a flexible sensor conformable to the surface of the article for sensing a characteristic thereof, wherein the flexible sensor comprises an eddy current sensor and an ultrasonic transducer; a finger cover which fits over a finger of a user; and attachment means for attaching the flexible sensor to the finger cover. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13)
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11. A method of inspecting an objects comprising the steps of:
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attaching a flexible sensor to a finger of a user, wherein the flexible sensor comprises an eddy current sensor and an ultrasonic transducer; manually applying pressure to the flexible sensor to control conformance of the flexible sensor to a surface of the object; generating a first signal in the object by inducing an eddy current in the object with the eddy current sensor; generating a second signal in the object by propagating an ultrasonic wave in the object with the ultrasonic transducer; and receiving a third signal in the flexible sensor representative of a characteristic of the object. - View Dependent Claims (12)
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Specification