Workpiece engagement checking apparatus
First Claim
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1. A method for detecting complete or incomplete engagement of two mateable work pieces, comprising:
- prestoring reference acceptable surface profile dimensional data of an exterior surface of at least one of two engageable work pieces representing the two work pieces in a complete engagement position, wherein the surface profile dimensional data varies if the two work pieces are fully engaged or not fully engaged;
engaging the two mateable work pieces;
locating a scanning profile laser sensor and the two engaged workpieces in a measurement relationship;
scanning an exterior surface of at least one of the two engaged work pieces with the scanning profile laser sensor to generate surface profile dimensional data of the exterior surface of at least one of the two engaged work pieces;
comparing the scanned surface profile dimensional data with the pre-stored reference acceptable surface profile dimensional data representing a complete engagement position of the two work pieces; and
generating, based on the comparison, an output signal corresponding to one of a complete engagement state or a non-complete engagement state of the two work pieces.
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Abstract
An apparatus and method for measuring the engagement state of two mating work pieces, such as two parts of an electrical connector, includes a 2D scanning profile laser sensor. The laser sensor is located in a measurement position relative to the work pieces being scanned. The laser generates a two axis surface profile of the joined work pieces. The measured surface profile is compared by a controller with a reference surface profile to determine complete or non-complete engagement of the work pieces.
8 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method for detecting complete or incomplete engagement of two mateable work pieces, comprising:
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prestoring reference acceptable surface profile dimensional data of an exterior surface of at least one of two engageable work pieces representing the two work pieces in a complete engagement position, wherein the surface profile dimensional data varies if the two work pieces are fully engaged or not fully engaged; engaging the two mateable work pieces; locating a scanning profile laser sensor and the two engaged workpieces in a measurement relationship; scanning an exterior surface of at least one of the two engaged work pieces with the scanning profile laser sensor to generate surface profile dimensional data of the exterior surface of at least one of the two engaged work pieces; comparing the scanned surface profile dimensional data with the pre-stored reference acceptable surface profile dimensional data representing a complete engagement position of the two work pieces; and generating, based on the comparison, an output signal corresponding to one of a complete engagement state or a non-complete engagement state of the two work pieces. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An apparatus for detecting complete or incomplete engagement of two mateable work pieces comprising:
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a laser sensor generating an output signal representative of a scanned dimensional profile of the two engaged work pieces in the form of a plurality of sample dimensional points along each of a plurality of laser scan lines; a 2D scanning profile laser sensor to generate profile data of two joined work pieces; a controller executing a control program comparing a reference surface profile of complete engagement of the two work pieces with the surface profile from the laser sensor; and the controller generating an output signal representative of the determined completely engagement or non-complete engagement state of the two work pieces. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification