Patent ID: 6094980
Filing Date: 2000-08-01
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
A torsion spring tester comprising:(a) a carriage;(b) a first housing mounted to said carriage;(c) a second housing slidably mounted to said carriage;(d) a load cell located within one of said housings to generate signals representative of torque;(e) a first tooling member coupled to the housing in which the load cell is located, said tooling member including a first blank and a first engagement member projecting from said first blank, said tooling member being mounted so that loads applied to the engagement member are sensed by the load cell;(f) a second tooling member coupled to the other of said housings, said second tooling member including a second blank and a second engagement member projecting from the second blank;(g) a mandrel projecting from the center of one of said first and second blanks;(h) an encoder located within one of said first and second housings and coupled to the electronics package to generate signals representative of angular deflection of said first tooling member and said second tooling member as one of said first and second tooling members is rotated; and(i) an electronics package for controlling the output of test data, the electronics package coupled to the encoder to receive signals representative of angular deflection and coupled to the load cell to receive signals representative of torque, wherein said electronics package compensates for a deflection of said first tooling member during testing.