Coordinate positioning apparatus with indexable stylus, components thereof, and method of using it
First Claim
1. A method of operating a coordinate positioning machine in which a workpiece sensing device is connected to a movable member of the machine by a coupling assembly which includes a first coupling member and a second coupling member, said first coupling member being supported by said movable member of the machine, said second coupling member being supported by said first coupling member, said workpiece sensing device being supported by said second coupling member, said first and second coupling members respectively having first and second sets of positioning elements which are mutually engagable in a plurality of angular orientations about a coupling axis to provide a plurality of angularly indexed positions at which the second coupling member has stable and repeatable positions relative to said first coupling member, said machine having an indexing dock for rotating said second coupling member about said coupling axis, said method including the following steps:
- a) moving said movable member of the machine to carry said coupling assembly and workpiece sensing device to said indexing dock;
b) engaging said second coupling member with a rotatable carrier on said indexing dock;
c) moving said rotatable carrier to rotate said second coupling member about said coupling axis to change the angular orientation of said second coupling member relative to said first coupling member; and
, d) moving said movable member to carry said probe and coupling assembly away from said indexing dock.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A stylus is supported by an upper coupling member which is supported by a lower coupling member which is supported by a probe which is movably supported by a rail of a coordinate positioning machine. The coupling members are held together by a permanent magnet, and their relative positioning is established by first and second sets of positioning elements provided on the first and second coupling members respectively. The sets of positioning elements are mutually engagable in a plurality of angular orientations about the axis of the coupling to provide a plurality of angularly indexed positions at which the lower coupling member has stable and repeatable positions relative to the upper coupling member. The coupling is carried to the indexing dock where a carrier engages the lower coupling member, and the lower coupling member is released from the upper coupling member by energizing an electromagnet which repels the coupling members apart. The indexing dock rotates the lower coupling member about its axis to change its angular orientation of the lower coupling member relative to the upper coupling member. The stylus is connected to a stylus mount on the lower coupling member, and the stylus mount has a plurality of stylus-receiving mounting holes which have axes extending in different directions from the axis of the stylus mount and have different inclinations relative to the axis of the stylus mount. A plurality of lower coupling members can interchangeably be mounted on the upper coupling member. When not in use, the lower coupling members are held in storage docks which accept their lower coupling members regardless of their angular orientation about the coupling axes.
103 Citations
33 Claims
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1. A method of operating a coordinate positioning machine in which a workpiece sensing device is connected to a movable member of the machine by a coupling assembly which includes a first coupling member and a second coupling member, said first coupling member being supported by said movable member of the machine, said second coupling member being supported by said first coupling member, said workpiece sensing device being supported by said second coupling member, said first and second coupling members respectively having first and second sets of positioning elements which are mutually engagable in a plurality of angular orientations about a coupling axis to provide a plurality of angularly indexed positions at which the second coupling member has stable and repeatable positions relative to said first coupling member, said machine having an indexing dock for rotating said second coupling member about said coupling axis, said method including the following steps:
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a) moving said movable member of the machine to carry said coupling assembly and workpiece sensing device to said indexing dock;
b) engaging said second coupling member with a rotatable carrier on said indexing dock;
c) moving said rotatable carrier to rotate said second coupling member about said coupling axis to change the angular orientation of said second coupling member relative to said first coupling member; and
,d) moving said movable member to carry said probe and coupling assembly away from said indexing dock. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
moving said movable member after step (d) to carry the second coupling member of the coupling assembly to said one storage dock. -
10. The method according to claim 1 in which, prior to step (a), a plurality of styli are connected to said second coupling member in mounting holes which extend in different directions from said coupling axis and are oriented at different inclinations from said coupling axis.
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11. The method according to claim 1 wherein a probe is supported by the movable member and said method includes the step of supporting the stylus from a probe which includes a detector for detecting movement of the stylus relative to the probe, and changing the angular orientation of said probe during step (c) to one of at least twelve said angularly indexed positions.
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12. The method according to claim 1 wherein said workpiece sensing device is a stylus, said movable member includes a probe which detects movement of the stylus relative to the probe, and said coupling assembly supports the stylus from the probe, said stylus being rotated relative to the probe during step (c).
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13. A coordinate positioning machine, comprising,
a movable member which is supported and guided for movement along a set of coordinate axes; -
a releasable coupling member which is supported by said movable member and is releasable therefrom to permit its replacement by another releasable coupling member;
a stylus mounted on said releasable coupling member;
a plurality of storage docks with storage areas for storing a plurality of said releasable coupling members and styli mounted thereon. said storage docks being adjacent to each other;
means for rotating to a selected angle said releasable coupling member while in a released state from said movable member;
said releasable coupling member having a shape which fits into its said storage dock regardless of the angle selected, whereby an angle can be selected to reduce encroachment of styli on said releasable coupling into the storage areas of adjacent storage docks. - View Dependent Claims (14)
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15. A coordinate positioning machine, comprising:
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a storage dock assembly including storage docks;
an indexing apparatus for orienting a workpiece sensing device relative to a movable member of the coordinate positioning machine, said indexing apparatus including, a coupling assembly for supporting the workpiece sensing device from the movable member of the machine, said coupling assembly including first and second coupling members, said first coupling member being supported by the movable member of the machine, said second coupling member being supported by said first coupling member, said workpiece sensing device being supported by said second coupling member, said coupling assembly having a coupling axis about which the second coupling member is angularly orientable relative to said first coupling member, first and second sets of positioning elements provided on said first and second coupling members respectively, said sets of positioning elements being mutually engageable in a plurality of angular orientations about said coupling axis to provide a plurality of angularly indexed positions at which the second coupling member has stable and repeatable positions relative to said first coupling member, and said storage dock assembly including an indexing dock for changing the angular orientation of the second coupling member relative to the first coupling member, said movable member of the machine being operable to carry the coupling assembly to the indexing dock, said indexing dock including a carrier for engaging the second coupling member, said carrier being rotatable about said coupling axis to change the angular orientation of said second coupling member relative to the first coupling member. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification