Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US7594339
Timestamp: 2017-07-20 23:34:13
Document Index: 131059089

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Patent US7594339 - Sensor module for a probe of a tactile coordinate measuring machine - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inPatentsA sensor module for a probe of a tactile coordinate measuring machine has a stationary module base which defines a first measurement plane. The sensor module has a support, which is moveable relative to the module base, for holding a stylus. At least one deformable connecting element movably interconnects...http://www.google.com/patents/US7594339?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7594339 - Sensor module for a probe of a tactile coordinate measuring machineAdvanced Patent SearchTry the new Google Patents, with machine-classified Google Scholar results, and Japanese and South Korean patents.Publication numberUS7594339 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 12/017,571Publication dateSep 29, 2009Filing dateJan 22, 2008Priority dateJul 26, 2005Fee statusPaidAlso published asDE102005036126A1, EP1907787A1, EP1907787B1, US20080172897, WO2007012389A1Publication number017571, 12017571, US 7594339 B2, US 7594339B2, US-B2-7594339, US7594339 B2, US7594339B2InventorsKarl Seitz, Roland Roth, Walter Dominicus, Wolfgang StraussOriginal AssigneeCarl Zeiss Industrielle Messtechnik GmbhExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (22), Non-Patent Citations (2), Classifications (10), Legal Events (3) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetSensor module for a probe of a tactile coordinate measuring machine
Usually, the stylus is movably suspended on the probe via spring mechanisms and/or plain or roller bearings. Plunger coils or Hall sensors, for example, are used in order to detect the deflections of the stylus relative to the probe. Such “conventional” probe kinematics are several centimeters in size. By contrast, DE 101 08 774 A1 describes a sensor module for a miniaturized probe in an exemplary embodiment. The sensor module comprises a silicon monocrystal, and the structure of the module was fabricated by etching from a solid silicon body. The edge length of the entire sensor module is only 6 mm, while the profile thickness of the module base is 0.5 mm. The deformable connecting element via which the likewise miniaturized stylus is connected to the module base comprises silicon webs with a thickness of approximately 30 μm that have been left standing upon complete etching of the solid body. When the stylus is deflected, the webs are twisted, and this can be detected by means of strain sensors. Owing to the miniaturization and the fragile design, this sensor module is the basis of a new generation of probes for tactile coordinate measuring machines by means of which very accurate measurements on microstructures are rendered possible because of the small dimensions and deflections.
The fundamental concept of such a sensor module for a tactile probe is disclosed in an article by Kleine-Besten et al. entitled “Miniaturisierter 3D-Tastsensor für die Metrologie an Mikrostrukturen” [“Miniaturized 3D probe sensor for metrology of microstructures”], which appeared in the German journal “tm-Technisches Messen” [“tm-Technical measurement”], issue December 1999, pages 490-495. This article describes investigation results on a miniaturized sensor module of this kind, wherein, in contrast to the exemplary embodiment from DE 101 08 774 A1, the support for holding the stylus (the so-called “boss”) is held on the module base by a solid membrane. The use of individual webs for holding the boss, as described in DE 101 08 774 A1, is mentioned in the article as a prospect for matching the bending stiffnesses of the module in the three spatial directions x, y, z with respect to one another. This is because the investigation of the sensor module with a solid membrane has shown that the bending stiffnesses when the stylus is deflected in a plane parallel to the module base (x-direction or y-direction) are considerably less than when it is deflected at right angles to the module base (z-direction).
The novel sensor module thus has a design with at least two material layers, which are arranged at a different “level” perpendicular to the first measurement plane. The at least two material layers will advantageously lie parallel to one another in the state of rest of the sensor module. In preferred embodiments, the at least two material layers are arranged with a detectable spacing from one another.
Investigations by the applicant have shown that the bending stiffness of the connecting element is raised in the z-direction by a factor that approximately corresponds to the number of the material layers arranged in a mutually offset fashion. The bending stiffness in the x-direction or y-direction varies, in contrast, as a function of the geometric arrangement and the geometric dimensions of the at least two material layers. Since the bending stiffnesses in the x-/y-directions and z-direction can therefore be influenced differently, it is possible to achieve a matching of the bending stiffnesses in the various directions. In a particularly simple embodiment, it is already possible to achieve a matching when two “conventional” sensor modules, such as known from the article by Kleine-Besten et al., are arranged one above the other, with the module bases (frames) of the individual modules, and preferably also the stylus supports, being interconnected. In this case, the membranes of the individual modules constitute a double-layer, deformable connecting element in which the stiffness in the z-direction is approximately doubled as against the individual module, while the bending stiffness in the x-/y-directions is a function of the vertical spacing of the membranes and of the membrane thickness. As an alternative, however, a sensor module of multilayer design can also be implemented by means of a unipartite module base.
The use of a fill material which can differ from the material of the material layers opens up a further degree of freedom for matching the bending stiffnesses in the three spatial directions. Moreover, this refinement facilitates the production of the novel sensor module, particularly in cases where the sensor module is assembled from two or more single-layer modules. The use of a fill material is, moreover, a very simple option for implementing a large vertical spacing between the material layers, particularly in the case of assembled “single-layer” modules.
In FIG. 1, a coordinate measuring machine is denoted by reference numeral 10 in total. The coordinate measuring machine 10 is illustrated here in the form of a gantry structure which is frequently used. However, the invention is not restricted to this form. In principle, the novel sensor module can also be used with other configurations, for example for horizontal-arm measuring devices. It is particularly preferable for the novel sensor module to be used for a coordinate measuring machine as is described in US 2007/0089313 A, which is incorporated by reference. This preferred coordinate measuring machine has a movement mechanism for the probe which differs from the conventional designs and whose fundamental principles are described in a dissertation by Marc Vermeulen entitled “High Precision 3D-Coordinate Measuring Machine”, which can be obtained using the ISBN number 90-386-2631-2. However, for the sake of simplicity, the following description refers to the coordinate measuring machine illustrated in FIG. 1, because its movement mechanism is clearer and more conventional.
In FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 a first exemplary embodiment of the novel sensor module is denoted by the reference numeral 40 in total. The sensor module 40 comprises two single-layer module parts 42, 44 which are mounted on and fastened to one another (FIG. 2). Each module part 42, 44 has a module base 46 a, 46 b that is designed here as a square frame. Arranged inside of each frame 46 a, 46 b is a stylus support 48 a, 48 b which is sometimes denoted as “boss”. Each stylus support 48 a, 48 b is connected to the associated frame 46 a, 46 b via a membrane 50 a, 50 b. The edge length of the frames 46 a, 46 b, that is to say the external dimensions of the sensor module 40, lies here between approximately 3 and 10 mm, for example at 6.5 mm. The frame 46 a, 46 b, the stylus support 48 a, 48 b and the membrane 50 a, 50 b are made here from a solid silicon body by an etching process. The thickness of the membrane is, for example, 0.025 mm, while the frame and the stylus support are approximately 0.5 mm thick. Owing to these geometric dimensions, the stylus support 48 a, 48 b can move relative to the frame 46 a, 46 b, with the membrane 50 a, 50 b being deformed.
In FIG. 5, a second exemplary embodiment of the novel sensor module is denoted by reference numeral 60 in total. The sensor module 60 also comprises two module parts 62, 64 which are arranged one above another and secured one to another. As distinguished from the module parts 42, 44 from FIG. 2, the connecting elements here are merely strips 66 a, 66 b that run in the middle from one side of the frame to the other. The stylus supports 48 a, 48 b are designed in the middle on the strips 66 a, 66 b. In other words, the module parts 62, 64 differ from the module parts 42, 44 from FIG. 2 in that the connecting elements are not designed here as solid membranes. The module parts 62, 64 are “open” to the right and left of the strips 66 a, 66 b. As an alternative to this, the strips 66 a, 66 b could also be formed solely by etching a slot into the solid membrane 50 a, 50 b from the embodiment of FIG. 2, or introducing it in some other way. Such a solution can be implemented more easily and accurately in terms of production engineering than the removal of relatively large surface areas.
The two module parts 62, 64 are arranged on one another in the exemplary embodiment in FIG. 5 such that the strip-shaped connecting elements 66 a, 66 b are offset by 90° to one another. The sensor module 60 therefore has a cruciform connecting element in plan view (not illustrated here). In this case, the branches of the cross (that is to say the strips 66 a, 66 b) lie in different planes, as illustrated in FIG. 4 for the solid membranes.
In FIG. 6, a further exemplary embodiment of the novel sensor module is denoted by reference numeral 70. Identical reference symbols denote the same elements as before. The sensor module 70 also comprises two single-layer module parts 62, 64. In contrast to the exemplary embodiment from FIG. 5, here the upper module part 62 is placed on the head, that is to say it is pivoted by 180° about a horizontal axis lying in the measurement plane 54. As a result, the free end faces of the stylus supports 48 a, 48 b lie on one another in the assembled state. The stylus 26 is fastened on the rear side of the stylus support 48 a. This exemplary embodiment has the advantage that the relative spacing of the two strips 66 a, 66 b is enlarged, as a result of which the bending stiffness in the x-/y-directions can be more easily matched to the bending stiffness in the z-direction, for otherwise identical dimensions.
In FIG. 8, a further exemplary embodiment of the novel sensor module is denoted by reference numeral 100. As in the foregoing embodiments, the sensor module 100 has a stationary frame 46 and a stylus support 48 that are interconnected via a deformable connecting element 102. However, here the stylus support 48 is not designed as “boss” in the middle of the frame 46, but as a plate that spans the entire base area of the sensor module 100. The stylus 26 is fastened in the middle on the plate.
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