Patent ID: 8108158

Claim:
A joint simulator comprising: (a) a housing having a chamber; (b) a piston, slidable within the chamber of the housing; (c) a shaft rotatable within the housing, having (i) an end configured to engage a power tool to be tested, and (ii) a threaded end engaged with the piston, whereby rotating the shaft causes the piston to slide within the chamber; (d) hydraulic fluid filling a section of the chamber formed by a side of the piston and the housing; (e) a pressure valve for regulating a flow of hydraulic fluid into the section of the chamber; (f) a relief valve for regulating the flow of hydraulic fluid out of the section of the chamber; (g) computer software programmed to actuate the pressure and relief valve to simulate a joint characteristics of a specific joint to be simulated; and (h) a means to measure an angular displacement of the shaft.