Patent ID: 7051447

Claim:
A multi-joint coordinate measuring system comprising: a support member; a multi-joint measuring arm having a first end for installation of a probe and a second end for attachment to the support member, the arm including: a head member for holding the probe; a first link; a second link; a wrist joint for providing a bending motion between the head member and the first link; an elbow joint for providing a bending motion between the first link and the second link; and a shoulder joint for providing a bending motion between the second link and the support member; a processor configured to produce a three-dimensional coordinate corresponding to a position of the probe based on an angle of each joint of the measuring arm; and a warning indicator that warns a user in response to a determination of an angle between the first and second links, a determination of a distance from a supporting point of the measuring arm to a head point of the measuring arm, and a detection of at least one of first and second conditions, the first condition being that the determined angle between the first and second links exceeds a first value and the second condition being that the determined distance from the supporting point of the measuring arm to the head point of the measuring arm exceeds a second value.