Patent ID: 6813926
Filing Date: 2004-11-09
Classification: B23Q,B25B,G01B,H01F

Abstract:
A method of determining wear of a rubbing surface of a rubbing member of a friction couple comprising said rubbing member and a friction material member capable of coupled motion relative to the rubbing surface when pressed into frictional engagement therewith substantially normally to the direction of said coupled motion such that a frictional engagement region extends along, and transversely to, said coupled motion direction, the method comprising:(i) defining a track across the rubbing surface in a direction inclined with respect to the coupled motion direction, (ii) locating on the rubbing surface a carrier of a scanning transducer, having a probe operable to determine instantaneous distance of a probe tip from the carried transducer, such that the located transducer defines a temporary scan plane, (iii) forming at least one datum recess in the rubbing surface, each having a floor region extending transversely to the track direction by at least the locating accuracy of the transducer carrier, defining by at least one floor region a datum plane substantially parallel to the rubbing surface including at least two datum regions spaced apart along the track direction, (iv) scanning the transducer probe across the rubbing surface substantially along the track and deriving therefrom at a plurality of scan positions transducer signals relating instantaneous distance of the rubbing surface from the temporary scan plane, (v) scanning the transducer probe across the datum recess datum regions and from the transducer signals thereat relating the temporary scan plane to the datum plane, (vi) referring the transducer signals derived at said plurality of scan positions to the datum plane, (vii) removing the transducer carrier from the rubbing surface, (viii) subjecting the rubbing surface to wear, and (ix) repeating steps (ii) and (iv) to (viii) and, for each repeated locating of the transducer carrier on the rubbing surface, comparing the referred transducer signals with referred transducer signals of at least one preceding locating of the carrier.