Touch probe

Details Touch probe Touch probe

1999-06-14

2001-08-14

Metjahic, Safet (Department: 2858)

Electricity: measuring and testing

Fault detecting in electric circuits and of electric components

Of individual circuit component or element

C324S1540PB, C324S756010, C324S765010, C033S556000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06275053

ABSTRACT:

The present invention relates to touch probes of the type having a stylus which is mounted in a seat within the probe and is biased into the seat by a spring. The probe is mountable on the arm of a machine and movable towards a workpiece in order to drive the stylus into contact with the workpiece. Upon contact with the workpiece the stylus is deflected from its seat against the action of the bias means and this movement generates a signal which is passed to the machine so that the machine can record the instantaneous position of the arm of the machine on which the probe is mounted at the moment that the signal arrives.
One form of such touch probe is known from our U.S. Pat. No. 4,153,998, which describes, inter alia, a probe in which the stylus is screwed into a stylus holder, and the stylus holder is supported in a kinematic seat by three radially extending arms spaced at 120° around the axis of the stylus. The kinematic seat is provided by the vee notches defined between a pair of closely spaced balls which are glued into sockets on the housing of the probe in such a way that the glue forms an insulating barrier between the balls and the housing. The balls are wired in series in an electrical circuit which is only completed when all three arms are seated in the vee notches defined by the balls, thus bridging the gaps between the balls.
The gluing of the balls into the sockets and the wiring of the individual balls in the electrical circuit are time consuming operations which add to the cost of the probe, and can give rise to other problems. For example, the presence of the glue can give rise to inaccuracies during operation of the probe if there are any significant temperature changes. Also the wiring can be a source of failure of the probe as individual wires can become broken or dislodged from the balls in use.
The present invention seeks to remedy one or more of these defects in a probe.


REFERENCES:
patent: 3883942 (1975-05-01), Fichter, Jr. et al.
patent: 4136458 (1979-01-01), Bell et al.
patent: 4153998 (1979-05-01), McMurtry
patent: 5778552 (1998-07-01), LeGuin
patent: 5848477 (1998-12-01), Wiedmann et al.
patent: 94 11 566 U (1994-11-01), None
patent: 195 16 272 (1996-11-01), None
patent: 0 269 795 (1988-06-01), None
patent: 2 317 055 (1998-03-01), None
patent: WO 91/14149 (1991-09-01), None

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