Patent ID: 6249991
Filing Date: 2001-06-26
Classification: B24B

Abstract:
A control system for a pivotally actuated tracer which traces an object while the object is held in a more-vertical-than-horizontal orientation, said control system comprising:a signal element generating rotational signals indicative of a rotational orientation of an object engager as the object engager is rotated about the object to be traced;a trace control element receiving said rotational signals and generating control signals for receipt by the pivotally actuated tracer, said control signals causing the object engager of the tracer to be pivotally actuated against and along the object to be traced with a biasing force toward the object while the object engager is rotated along the object; anda gravity compensation element compensating for the effects of gravity on the object engager by causing said trace control element to apply said control signals so that the tracer exerts a pivoting force on the object engager which varies depending upon the rotational orientation of the object engager to keep the biasing force substantially constant along the object, said biasing force being a sum of the pivoting force and a component of gravitational force on the object engager directed toward the object.