Probe for use in determining an attribute of a coating on a substrate
First Claim
1. A probe for providing electrical communication between a coating on a substrate and a processing system that determines an attribute of the coating, such as the thickness of the coating, by detection of phenomena resulting from the application of electrical energy to the probe in contact with the coating, said probe comprising:
- a housing;
at least one contact mounted within said housing;
an electrical circuit adapted to provide electrical communication between said contact and said processing system; and
at least one electrically conductive engaging member that (1) has a distal end projecting outwardly for engaging said coating, (2) has a proximal portion in said housing for engaging said at least one contact and for accommodating disengagement from said at least one contact, and (3) is captivated partially in an electrically insulating captivation structure which can be removed from said housing together with said at least one electrically conductive engaging member.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A probe provides electrical communication between a coating and a processing system. One optional feature includes an outwardly projecting, electrically conductive engaging member that is held in a captivation structure releasably retained in a housing and engages a contact that is inside the probe and connected with the processing system. Another optional feature of the probe provides the electrically conductive engaging member in the form of a pin or pins captivated in a light-transmissive structure adjacent a light-emitting source. Another optional feature of the probe includes a restraining structure that defines a frustoconical seat for engaging a conical distal end of an electrically conductive pin that is adapted to contact the coating.
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Citations
38 Claims
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1. A probe for providing electrical communication between a coating on a substrate and a processing system that determines an attribute of the coating, such as the thickness of the coating, by detection of phenomena resulting from the application of electrical energy to the probe in contact with the coating, said probe comprising:
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a housing; at least one contact mounted within said housing; an electrical circuit adapted to provide electrical communication between said contact and said processing system; and at least one electrically conductive engaging member that (1) has a distal end projecting outwardly for engaging said coating, (2) has a proximal portion in said housing for engaging said at least one contact and for accommodating disengagement from said at least one contact, and (3) is captivated partially in an electrically insulating captivation structure which can be removed from said housing together with said at least one electrically conductive engaging member. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A probe for providing electrical communication between a coating on a substrate and a processing system that determines an attribute of the coating, such as the thickness of the coating, by detection of phenomena resulting from the application of electrical energy to the probe in contact with the coating, said probe comprising:
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a housing having a receiving cavity with an access opening; a plurality of contacts that are mounted within said receiving cavity of said housing; an electrical circuit adapted to provide electrical communication between said contacts and said processing system; and a tip releasably received in said receiving cavity of said housing and accessible at said access opening of said receiving cavity, said tip including a captivation structure containing a plurality of pins captivated in a spaced-apart array wherein each said pin has (1) a distal end projecting outwardly for engaging said coating, and (2) a proximal portion in said receiving cavity of said housing for engaging one of said contacts whereby said tip can be selectively either releasably retained within said housing or manually removed therefrom. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A probe for providing electrical communication between a coating on a substrate and a processing system that determines an attribute of the coating, such as the thickness of the coating, by detection of phenomena resulting from the application of electrical energy to the probe in contact with the coating, said probe comprising:
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a housing having a receiving cavity with an access opening; at least four contacts that are mounted in a spaced-apart parallel planar array within said receiving cavity of said housing; an electrical circuit adapted to provide electrical communication between said contacts and said processing system; and a tip received in said receiving cavity of said housing and accessible at said access opening of said receiving cavity, said tip including a captivation structure containing four pins captivated in a spaced-apart, parallel, planar array wherein each said pin has (1) a distal end, and (2) a proximal portion, and wherein said housing and said tip together provide a snap-fit engagement structure for releasably holding at least a portion of said tip within said housing to orient said distal end of each said pin projecting outwardly for engaging said coating and to orient said proximal portion of each said pin in said receiving cavity of said housing for engaging one of said contacts whereby said snap-fit engagement structure between said housing and said tip can be released to permit manual removal of said tip from said housing. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A probe for providing electrical communication between a coating on a substrate and a processing system that determines an attribute of the coating, such as the thickness of the coating, by detection of phenomena resulting from the application of electrical energy to the probe in contact with the coating, said probe comprising:
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a housing having a receiving cavity with an access opening; a light transmissive captivation structure that is mounted in said receiving cavity of said housing for communication through said receiving cavity access opening with the exterior of said probe; at least one electrically conductive pin that (1) has a portion captivated in a fixed orientation within said light transmissive captivation structure, (2) has a distal end projecting outwardly of said light transmissive captivation structure for engaging said coating, and (3) is connected with an electrical circuit adapted to provide electrical communication with said processing system; and a light emitting source in said housing for emitting light through said light transmissive captivation structure along said pin to illuminate said pin distal end. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. In a probe for providing electrical communication between a coating on a substrate and a processing system wherein
said processing system determines an attribute of the coating, such as the thickness of the coating, by detection of phenomena resulting from the application of electrical energy to a pin in contact with the coating, and said pin includes (1) a plunger having a shank with a conical distal end that is symmetric about a longitudinal axis and that is adapted to engage said coating, (2) a proximal portion that includes a barrel that receives at least a portion of said plunger in a telescoping relationship to accommodate reciprocation of said plunger in said barrel, and (3) a spring in said barrel for biasing said plunger outwardly; -
the improvement comprising; a captivation structure for holding said pin in a fixed orientation in said probe, said captivation structure including (a) a barrel restraining structure for restraining said barrel of said pin against axial and lateral movement; and (b) a plunger restraining structure that (1) defines a frustoconical seat about an axis that is coincident with said longitudinal axis, and (2) engages said pin plunger shank conical distal end as said plunger is biased outwardly by said spring. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38)
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Specification