Measuring instrument

Claim 2

A linear measuring instrument assembly including: a housing; an encoder mounted in said housing and including a control shaft rotatable in either direction about a particular axis, said encoder generating electrical signals indicative of the number of rotations of said control shaft and of the direction of rotation thereof; a wheel assembly coupled to said encoder control shaft so that rotary movement of said wheel assembly in one direction or the other causes corresponding rotary movements of said encoder control shaft, said wheel assembly being comprised of a central drum member having a pair of side flanges defining a space therebetween each with a tapered peripheral edge, an adjustable rim mounted on the peripheral edges of said flanges, a first plurality of screws extending through said side flanges and across said space and adjustable to draw said side flanges towards one another, and a second plurality of screws extending through one of said side flanges and across said space therebetween and adjustable for moving said side flanges away from one another; an elongated control member coupled to said wheel assembly and movable linearly in and out of said housing so that linear movements of said control member are transposed to corresponding rotary movements of said wheel assembly in one direction or the other whereby linear distances measured by the extension of said control member from said housing may be transformed into equivalent numbers of rotations of said wheel assembly and said control shaft coupled thereto in one direction or the other; and an electronic bidirectional counter and read-out unit electrically coupled to said encoder and responsive to said electrical signals therefrom for obtaining readings indicative of the linear distances measured by the extension of said control member from said housing.

Claim 3

A linear measuring instrument assembly, comprising: a housing; a gauge wheel mounted in said housing for rotation about a particular axis, said wheel having an outer peripheral tape-engaging surface concentric with its axis of rotation; a flexible elongated tape member trained over a portion of the outer peripheral tape-engaging surface of said gauge wheel to frictionally engage and turn said gauge wheel in one direction or the other as said tape member is moved out from or into said housing whereby linear movement of said tape member is converted into rotary movement of said wheel in one direction or the other; tape storage reel means mounted in said housing for rotation on an axis in spaced parallel relation to the axis of rotation of said gauge wheel, said tape member being advanced for storage on said storage reel means from the outer periphery of said gauge wheel; constant torque spring means for said storage reel means including a pair of spaced spring reels and a spring member mounted on said spring reels and extending therebetween to spring-load one of said spring reels, said one of said spring reels being coupled to said storage reel means whereby to resiliently bias said tape member into said housing under substantially constant tension and maintain a substantially constant frictional force between said tape member and said gauge wheel as said tape member is moved into and out of said housing; photoelectric encoder means including a control shaft and slotted disc rotatable in either direction about an axis in parallel relation to the axis of rotation of said gauge wheel, said photoelectric encoder means including photocell means being operable to generate first and second electrical signals which are indicative of the number of rotations and direction of rotation of said control shaft as said slotted disc is rotated past said photocell means; gear means mechanically coupling said gauge wheel to said control shaft so that the movement of said tape member is converted by said gauge wheel and said gear means into an equivalent number of rotations of said control shaft of one direction or another as represented by said first and second electrical signals generated by said photoelectric encoder means; and electronic bidirectional counter means connected to said photoelectric encoder means to receive said first and second electrical signals therefrom, said counter means being operable to count said first and second electrical signals either in a positive or negative direction depending on the order in which said first and second electrical signals are received and generate readings indicative of the distance measured from a predetermined zero point by said tape member by its movement out from or into said housIng.

Claim 4

A linear measuring instrument assembly, comprising: a housing; a gauge wheel mounted in said housing for rotation about a particular axis, said wheel having an outer peripheral tape-engaging surface concentric with its axis of rotation; a flexible elongated tape member trained over a portion of the outer peripheral tape-engaging surface of said gauge wheel to frictionally engage and turn said gauge wheel in one direction or the other as said tape member is moved out from or into said housing whereby linear movement of said tape member is converted into rotary movement of said wheel in one direction or the other; tape storage reel means mounted in said housing for rotation on an axis in spaced parallel relation to the axis of rotation of said gauge wheel, said tape member being advanced for storage on said storage reel means from the outer periphery of said gauge wheel; constant torque spring means for said storage reel means including a pair of spaced spring reels and a spring member mounted on said spring reels and extending therebetween to spring-load one of said spring reels, said one of said spring reels being coupled to said storage reel means whereby to resiliently bias said tape member into said housing under substantially constant tension and maintain a substantially constant frictional force between said tape member and said gauge wheel as said tape member is moved into and out of said housing; photoelectric encoder means including a control shaft and slotted disc rotatable in either direction about an axis in parallel relation to the axis of rotation of said gauge wheel, said photoelectric encoder means including photocell means being operable to generate first and second electrical signals which are indicative of the number of rotations and direction of rotation of said control shaft as said slotted disc is rotated past said photocell means; gear means mechanically coupling said gauge wheel to said control shaft so that the movement of said tape member is converted by said gauge wheel and said gear means into an equivalent number of rotations of said control shaft of one direction or another as represented by said first and second electrical signals generated by said photoelectric encoder means; and electronic bidirectional counter means connected to said photoelectric encoder means to receive said first and second electrical signals therefrom, said counter means being operable to count said first and second electrical signals either in a positive or negative direction depending on the order in which said first and second electrical signals are received and generate readings indicative of the distance measured from a predetermined zero point by said tape member by its movement out from or into said housIng.

Claim 5

A linear measuring instrument assembly according to claim 2 in which said gear means includes a first gear mounted for rotation with said gauge wheel and a second gear mounted on said control shaft in engagement with said first gear, said spring means being defined by a negator spring.

Claim 6

A linear measuring instrument assembly for measuring the linear distance of movement of a movable part of a machine tool and the like, comprising: a housing including attaching means adapted for attachment to a stationary part of the machine tool; a gauge wheel mounted on said housing for rotation about a particular axis, said wheel having an outer peripheral tape-engaging surface concentric with its axis of rotation; a flexible elongated tape member trained over a portion of the outer peripheral tape-engaging surface of said gauge wheel and extending outwardly through a slot in said housing including coupling means at the free end thereof externally of said housing adapted for attachment to the movable part of the machine tool whereby to frictionally engage and turn said gauge wheel in one direction or the other as said tape member is moved out from or into said housing by the movable part of the machine tool so that linear movement of said tape member is converted into rotary movement of said gauge wheel in one direction or the other; a storage reel mounted in said housing between said gauge wheel and the slot in said housing for rotation on an axis in spaced parallel relation to the axis of rotation of said gauge wheel, said tape member being advanced for storage onto said storage reel from the outer periphery of said gauge wheel, said storage reel having constant torque spring means coupled thereto and operative to spring-load said reel means under substantially constant tension and resiliently bias said tape member into said housing under substantially constant tension and maintain a substantially constant frictional force between said tape member and said gauge wheel as said tape member is moved into and out of said housing; photoelectric encoder means including a control shaft and slotted disc rotatable in either direction about an axis in parallel relation to the axis of rotation of said gauge wheel, said photoelectric encoder means including photocell means being operable to generate first and second electrical signals which are indicative of the number of rotations and direction of rotation of said control shaft as said slotted disc is rotated past said photocell means; gear means mechanically coupling said gauge wheel to said control shaft including a first spur gear mounted for rotation on the axis of rotation of said gauge wheel and a second spur gear mounted on said control shaft in engagement with said first spur gear whereby movement of said tape member is converted by said gauge wheel and said gear means into an equivalent number of rotations of said control shaft as represented by said electrical signals generated by said encoder means; and electronic bidirectional counter means disposed externally of said housing and connected to said encoder means to receive said electrical signals therefrom, said counter means being operable to count said electrical signals and generate readings indicative of the distance measured from a predetermined zero point by said tape member by its movement out from or into said housing.

Claim 7

A linear measuring instrument assembly for measuring the linear distance of movement of a movable part of a machine tool and the like, comprising: a housing including attaching means adapted for attachment to a stationary part of the machine tool; a gauge wheel mounted on said housing for rotation about a particular axis, said wheel having an outer peripheral tape-engaging surface concentric with its axis of rotation; a flexible elongated tape member trained over a portion of the outer peripheral tape-engaging surface of said gauge wheel and extending outwardly through a slot in said housing including coupling means at the free end thereof externally of said housing adapted for attachment to the movable part of the machine tool whereby to frictionally engage and turn said gauge wheel in one direction or the other as said tape member is moved out from or into said housing by the movable part of the machine tool so that linear movement of said tape member is converted into rotary movement of said gauge wheel in one direction or the other; a storage reel mounted in said housing between said gauge wheel and the slot in said housing for rotation on an axis in spaced parallel relation to the axis of rotation of said gauge wheel, said tape member being advanced for storage onto said storage reel from the outer periphery of said gauge wheel, said storage reel having constant torque spring means coupled thereto and operative to spring-load said reel means under substantially constant tension and resiliently bias said tape member into said housing under substantially constant tension and maintain a substantially constant frictional force between said tape member and said gauge wheel as said tape member is moved into and out of said housing; photoelectric encoder means including a control shaft and slotted disc rotatable in either direction about an axis in parallel relation to the axis of rotation of said gauge wheel, said photoelectric encoder means including photocell means being operable to generate first and second electrical signals which are indicative of the number of rotations and direction of rotation of said control shaft as said slotted disc is rotated past said photocell means; gear means mechanically coupling said gauge wheel to said control shaft including a first spur gear mounted for rotation on the axis of rotation of said gauge wheel and a second spur gear mounted on said control shaft in engagement with said first spur gear whereby movement of said tape member is converted by said gauge wheel and said gear means into an equivalent number of rotations of said control shaft as represented by said electrical signals generated by said encoder means; and electronic bidirectional counter means disposed externally of said housing and connected to said encoder means to receive said electrical signals therefrom, said counter means being operable to count said electrical signals and generate readings indicative of the distance measured from a predetermined zero point by said tape member by its movement out from or into said housing.

Claim 8

A linear measuring instrument assembly according to claim 4, said constant torque spring means being defined by a pair of spaced spring reels and a negator spring mounted on said spring reels and extending therebetween, one of said spring reels being coupled to said storage reel whereby to resiliently bias said tape member onto said storage reel so that said tape member is automatically movable into and out of said housing.

Claim 9

A linear measuring instrument assembly according to claim 5, said tape storage reel means including a central shaft and a storage reel member keyed for rotation on said centrAl shaft, said central shaft including an axial extension with said one of said spring reels keyed for rotation on the axial extension of said shaft for said tape storage reel member.

Claim 10

A linear measuring instrument assembly according to claim 4, said gauge wheel including axially spaced side flanges, and the outer peripheral tape-engaging surface of said gauge wheel being in the form of a rim shaped to fit over the outer peripheral edges of said axially spaced flanges, an interface between said flanges and said rim such that axial movement of said flanges toward and away from each other effects distortion of said rim, and adjustment means connecting said axially spaced flanges to effect relative axial movement of said flanges to regulate the distortion of said outer rim.