Methods and systems for position sensing
First Claim
1. A method of performing a manufacturing operation comprising:
- measuring at least four discrete point positions associated with a first component by using at least one transmitter having a known position and orientation and in a line of sight with the at least four discrete point positions, the four discrete point positions having known distances relative to one another;
computing a current position and orientation of the first component calculating a best-fit solution based on the at least four discrete point positions as measured by the at least one transmitter, and the known distances of the four discrete point positions; and
performing the manufacturing operation using the computed current position and orientation of the first component, including using a tool to perform the manufacturing operation on the first component.
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Abstract
Methods and systems for position sensing are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method includes measuring at least three discrete point positions associated with a first component using at least one transmitter having a known position and orientation and in a line of sight with the three discrete point positions, the three discrete point positions having known distances relative to one another. The method computes a current position and orientation of the first component using data provided by the at least one transmitter and the three discrete point positions, along with position and orientation data from a last known location of the first component assuming that no sudden position changes since the first component has moved from the last known location. The first and second components may be a workpiece and a tool that performs a manufacturing operation on the workpiece.
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Citations
9 Claims
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1. A method of performing a manufacturing operation comprising:
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measuring at least four discrete point positions associated with a first component by using at least one transmitter having a known position and orientation and in a line of sight with the at least four discrete point positions, the four discrete point positions having known distances relative to one another; computing a current position and orientation of the first component calculating a best-fit solution based on the at least four discrete point positions as measured by the at least one transmitter, and the known distances of the four discrete point positions; and performing the manufacturing operation using the computed current position and orientation of the first component, including using a tool to perform the manufacturing operation on the first component. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A system for positioning a first component and a tool for performing a manufacturing operation, comprising:
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a measurement system comprising a first transmitter with a known position to determine a measured position of at least three discrete point positions associated with at least one of the first component and the tool, the at least three discrete point positions having known relative distances to one another, the at least three discrete point positions being at least one of on and adjacent to the corresponding one of the first component and the tool, and the at least three discrete point positions in a first line of sight of the first transmitter; a data management device operatively coupled to the measurement system, the data management device including a processor portion to; receive the measured positions of the at least three discrete point positions, compute a position and orientation of the at least one of the first component and the tool using the known relative distances of the at least three discrete point positions and further using the measured positions of the at least three discrete points on the at least one of the first component and the tool, the position and orientation of the at least one of the first component and the tool further computed based on assuming no sudden position changes by the at least one of the first component and the tool and a last known position and orientation of the at least one of the first component and the tool when the at least three discrete positions are no more than three discrete positions, the position and orientation of the at least one of the first component and the tool further computed using a best-fit calculation when the at least three discrete positions are more than three discrete positions. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9)
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Specification