Portable coordinate measurement machine with integrated magnetic mount
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A portable coordinate measurement machine (CMM) for measuring the position of an object in a selected volume, comprising:
- a manually positionable articulated arm having opposed first and second ends, said arm including a plurality of jointed arm segments, each arm segment including at least one position transducer for producing a position signal;
a probe at said first end of said arm;
a base at said second end of said arm;
a magnetic mount forming an integral part of said base, said base together with said integral magnetic mount being attached to said arm for mounting said arm to a magnetic surface;
an electronic circuit which receives the position signals from the transducers and provides a digital coordinate corresponding to the position of the probe in a selected volume; and
wherein said magnetic mount further includes;
an actuator for selectively actuating said magnetic mount between an “
on”
position where said magnetic mount provides a magnetic field and an “
off”
position where little or no magnetic field is provided; and
a magnetic core, said magnetic core comprising a non-magnetic center sandwiched between first and second magnets, said magnetic core being rotatable between said “
an”
position where said first and second magnets are in a first position and said “
off”
position where said first and second magnets are in a second position.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A portable coordinate measurement machine comprises an articulated arm having jointed arm segments. The arm includes a base having an integrated magnet mount therein for attaching the arm to a magnetic surface.
243 Citations
47 Claims
-
1. A portable coordinate measurement machine (CMM) for measuring the position of an object in a selected volume, comprising:
-
a manually positionable articulated arm having opposed first and second ends, said arm including a plurality of jointed arm segments, each arm segment including at least one position transducer for producing a position signal;
a probe at said first end of said arm;
a base at said second end of said arm;
a magnetic mount forming an integral part of said base, said base together with said integral magnetic mount being attached to said arm for mounting said arm to a magnetic surface;
an electronic circuit which receives the position signals from the transducers and provides a digital coordinate corresponding to the position of the probe in a selected volume; and
wherein said magnetic mount further includes;
an actuator for selectively actuating said magnetic mount between an “
on”
position where said magnetic mount provides a magnetic field and an “
off”
position where little or no magnetic field is provided; and
a magnetic core, said magnetic core comprising a non-magnetic center sandwiched between first and second magnets, said magnetic core being rotatable between said “
an”
position where said first and second magnets are in a first position and said “
off”
position where said first and second magnets are in a second position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
-
-
14. A mount for magnetically mounting an object to a magnetic surface comprising:
-
an upper housing having opposed first and second ends, said upper housing having an opening therethrough and being formed from a non-magnetic material;
a pair of opposed extensions extending outwardly from said second end of said upper housing, said extension being formed from a non-magnetic material;
a lower housing having spaced first and second sections, said extensions being sandwiched between said first and second sections, said lower housing being formed from a magnetic material;
a magnetic core in said lower housing, said magnetic core comprising a non-magnetic center sandwiched between first and second magnets, said magnetic core being rotatable with respect to said lower housing between an “
on”
position where said first and second magnets are aligned with said first and second lower housing sections and an “
off”
position where said first and second magnets are out of alignment with said first and second lower housing sections. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
-
-
27. A portable coordinate measurement machine (CMM) for measuring the position of an object in a selected volume, comprising:
-
a manually positionable articulated arm having opposed first and second ends, said arm including a plurality of jointed arm segments, each arm segment including at least one position transducer for producing a position signal;
a probe at said first end of said arm;
a base at said second end of said arm;
a magnetic mount forming a part of said base and being attached to said arm for mounting said arm to a magnetic surface; and
an electronic circuit which receives the position signals from the transducers and provides a digital coordinate corresponding to the position of the probe in a selected volume; and
wherein said magnetic mount comprises;
an upper housing having opposed first and second ends, said upper housing having an opening therethrough and being formed from a non-magnetic material;
a pair of opposed extensions extending outwardly from said second end of said upper housing, said extensions being formed from a non-magnetic material;
a lower housing having spaced first and second sections, said extensions being sandwiched between said first and second sections, said lower housing being formed from a magnetic material;
a magnetic core in said lower housing, said magnetic core comprising a non-magnetic center sandwiched between first and second magnets, said magnetic core being rotatable with respect to said lower housing between an “
on”
position where said first and second magnets are aligned with said first and second lower housing sections and an “
off”
position where said first and second magnets are out of alignment with said first and second lower housing sections. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
-
-
45. A portable coordinate measurement machine (CMM) for measuring the position of an object in a selected volume, comprising:
-
a manually positionable articulated arm having opposed first and second ends, said arm including a plurality of jointed arm segments, each arm segment including at least one position transducer for producing a position signal;
a probe at said first end of said arm;
an electronic circuit which receives the position signals from the transducers and provides a digital coordinate corresponding to the position of the probe in a selected volume;
a magnetic mount forming an integral part of said base, said base together with said integral magnetic mount being attached to said arm for mounting said arm to a magnetic mounting surface, and wherein;
at least a portion of said base has magnetic properties such that actuation of said magnetic mount creates a magnetic field which will, in turn, magnetize said portion of said base whereby said base will then be mountable to a magnetic mounting surface. - View Dependent Claims (46)
-
-
47. A portable coordinate measurement machine (CMM) for measuring the position of an object in a selected volume, comprising:
-
a manually positionable articulated arm having opposed first and second ends, said arm including a plurality of jointed arm segments, each arm segment including at least one position transducer for producing a position signal;
a probe at said first end of said arm;
an electronic circuit which receives the position signals from the transducers and provides a digital coordinate corresponding to the position of the probe in a selected volume;
a base at said second end of said arm; and
a magnetic mount forming an integral part of said base, said base together with said integral magnetic mount being attached to said arm for mounting said arm to a magnetic surface, said magnetic mount being spaced inwardly relative to said base such that upon actuation, said base will contact a mounting surface while said magnetic mount will not contact such mounting surface.
-
Specification