Rotary force diagnostic tools and methods
First Claim
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1. An apparatus, comprising:
- a force sensor to be coupled to a rotary component which rotates about a first axis;
a handle rotatably coupled to the force sensor to enable an amount of force applied to the handle to be sensed by the force sensor, wherein the handle is rotatable about a second axis; and
an angular position sensor to sense an angular position of the handle relative to a portion of the force sensor, wherein the first axis and the second axis are not coaxial.
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Abstract
An apparatus includes a force sensor including a housing and a support rotatably coupled to the housing. The housing also includes a handle coupled to the support to rotate with the support. The handle is spaced apart from the housing to define a space between the housing and the handle. The apparatus further includes an angular position sensor disposed in the space between the housing and the handle to sense relative rotation between the housing and the handle.
31 Citations
21 Claims
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1. An apparatus, comprising:
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a force sensor to be coupled to a rotary component which rotates about a first axis; a handle rotatably coupled to the force sensor to enable an amount of force applied to the handle to be sensed by the force sensor, wherein the handle is rotatable about a second axis; and an angular position sensor to sense an angular position of the handle relative to a portion of the force sensor, wherein the first axis and the second axis are not coaxial. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11)
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9. An apparatus, comprising:
a force sensor including a housing and a support coupled to the housing; a handle rotatably coupled to the support, the handle spaced apart from the housing to define a space between the housing and the handle; and an angular position sensor disposed in the space between the housing and the handle to sense relative rotation between the housing and the handle, wherein the angular position sensor includes a rotary encoder wheel and a rotary encoder sensor, wherein the output of the angular position sensor and the force sensor is used to determine the force applied to a rotary component at each angular position of the angular position sensor. - View Dependent Claims (10, 12, 13, 14, 21)
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15. A method, comprising:
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coupling a diagnostic tool to a steering wheel that is rotatable about a first axis, the diagnostic tool including a force sensor, a handle rotatably coupled to the force sensor so as to rotate about a second axis which is not coaxial with the first axis, and an angular position sensor coupled to at least one of the handle or the force sensor; positioning the handle in a predetermined orientation; applying a force to the handle to rotate the steering wheel from a first position to a second position while substantially maintaining the handle in the predetermined orientation; determining an angular position of the steering wheel based on position information generated by the angular position sensor as the steering wheel rotates from the first position to the second position; and determining an amount of the force applied to the handle based on force information generated by the force sensor as the steering wheel rotates from the first position to the second position. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification