Coordinate positioning and measuring apparatus

Claim 1

A COORDINATE POSITIONING AND MEASURING APPARATUS FOR ENABLING THE MACHINING OF A WORK IN ACCORDANCE WITH COORDINATE POINTS REFERENCE TO HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL COORDINATE AXES ON A GIVEN GRID PATTERN COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION: POSITIONING MEANS FOR POSITIONING SAID WORK, SAID POSITIONING MEANS BEING MOVABLE IN BOTH HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL DIRECTIONS CORRESPONDING TO THE DIRECTIONS OF SAID COORDINATE AXES, RESPECTIVELY; MEASURING MEANS INCLUDING FIXED HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL RACKS HAVING TEETH SPACED IN ACCORDANCE WITH SAID COORDINATES ALONG FIRST LONGITUDINAL EDGES OF SAID RACKS PARALLEL TO SAID COORDINATE AXES, SAID TEETH EXTENDING ACROSS THE WIDTH OF THE RACKS AT A SLANT WITH RESPECT TO FIRST LONGITUDINAL EDGES TO TERMINATE ON SECOND LONGITUDINAL EDGES OF SAID RACKS IN POSITIONS SPACED AT LEAST ONE COORDINATE POINT AHEAD OF THE COORDINATE POINT DEMARKING THE STARTING POINTS OF THE TEETH ALONG SAID FIRST LONGITUDINAL EDGES SO THAT TEETH PORTIONS INTERMEDIATE SAID FIRST AND SECOND LONGITUDINAL EDGES DEFINE POINTS BETWEEN ADJACENT COORDINATES; HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL INDEXING MEANS COUPLED TO SAID POSITIONING MEANS FOR RESPECTIVE HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL MOVEMENT ALONG SAID FIRST LONGITUDINAL EDGES OF SAID HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL RACKS, AND FOR TRANSVERSE MOVEMENT BETWEEN SAID FIRST AND SECOND LONGITUDINAL EDGES; AND MEANS TO ACTUATE SAID INDEXING MEANS TO ENGAGE PORTIONS OF SAID TEETH IN SAID RACKS WHEREBY SAID POSITIONING MEANS MAY BE INDEXED TO SPECIFIC COORDINATES AND FRACTIONS OF COORDINATES ON SAID GRID PATTERN BY SAID INDEXING MEANS TO EFFECT A CORRESPONDING POSITIONING OF SAID WORK.