Non-contact displacement sensing system for a compliance device

Claim 2

A non-contact displacement sensing system for a remote center compliance (RCC) device having a movable part and a fixed part comprising: a curved reflector mounted for movement with one of said parts of the RCC device; radiation source means including at least one radiation source mounted to the other said part of the RCC device and spaced from said curved reflector for providing a beam of radiation to said reflector; and detector means including at least one detector device mounted to said other part of the RCC device and spaced from said curved reflector for receiving the reflected radiation from said radiation source means, and generating output representative of the displacement of the movable part of the RCC device relative to the fixed part.

Claim 3

The non-contact displacement sensing system of claim 1 in which said detector device and said radiation source are spaced from each other.

Claim 4

The non-contact displacement sensing system of claim 2 in which said detector means generates four outputs representative of the displacement of the operator member relative to the frame and further including means for transforming two of the outputs of said detector means directly into rotational displacement about two mutually perpendicular axes which are perpendicular to the axis of symmetry of the RCC.

Claim 5

The non-contact displacement sensing system of claim 1 in which said detector device and said radiation source are coaxial.

Claim 6

The non-contact displacement sensing system of claim 4 in which said detector means generates four outputs representative of the displacement of the movable part of the RCC device relative to the fixed part and further including means for transforming two of the outputs of said detector means directly into rotational displacement about two mutually perpendicular axes which are perpendicular to the axis of symmetry of the RCC device and the other two outputs of said detector means directly into translational displacement along each of those two mutually perpendicular axes.

Claim 7

The non-contact displacement sensing system of claim 1 in which said radiation source includes means for producing a narrow beam of radiation.

Claim 8

The non-contact displacement sensing system of claim 6 in which said radiation source includes means for producing a collimated beam of radiation.

Claim 9

The non-contact displacement sensing system of claim 1 in which said radiation source includes means for producing a planar beam of radiation.

Claim 10

The non-contact displacement sensing system of claim 1 in which said detector device includes a linear sensor array.

Claim 11

The non-contact displacement sensing system of claim 1 in which said detector device includes an areal array.

Claim 12

The non-contact displacement sensing system of claim 1 in which said detector device is monotonically sensitive in two directions.

Claim 13

The non-contact displacement sensing system of claim 1 in which said detector device includes a pair of mutually perpendicular linear arrays.

Claim 14

The non-contact displacement sensing system of claim 1 further including means for transforming the outputs of each said detector device into one or more rotational and translational displacements.

Claim 15

The non-contact displacement sensing system of claim 1 in which said curved reflector is cylindrical.

Claim 16

The non-contact displacement sensing system of claim 1 in which said reflector is mounted on said movable part and said radiation source means and said detector means are mounted on said fixed part.

Claim 17

The non-contact displacement sensing system of claim 1 in which there is a detector device corresponding to each said radiation source.

Claim 18

A non-contact displacement sensing system for a remote center compliance (RCC) device having a movable part and a fixed part comprising: a curved reflector mounted for movement with one of said parts of the RCC device; radiation source means mounted to the other of said parts of the RCC device and spaced from said curved reflector for providing a beam of radiation to said reflector; detector means, spaced from said radiation source means, mounted to said other part of the RCC device and spaced from said curved reflector for receiving the reflected radiation from said radiation source means, and generating four outputs representative of the displacement of the movable part of the RCC device relative to the fixed part; and means for transforming two of the four outputs of said detector means directly into rotational displacement of the movable part of the RCC device relative to the fixed part about two mutually perpendicular axes perpendicular to the axis of symmetry of the RCC device.

Claim 19

A non-contact displacement sensing system for a remote center compliance (RCC) device having a movable part and a fixed part comprising: a curved reflector mounted for movement with one of said parts of the RCC device; radiation source means mounted to the other of said parts of the RCC device and spaced from said curved reflector for providing a beam of radiation to said reflector; detector means, spaced from said radiation source means, mounted to said other part of the RCC device and spaced from said curved reflector for receiving the reflected radiation from said radiation source means, and generating four outputs representative of the displacement of the movable part of the RCC device relative to the fixed part; and means for transforming two of the four outputs of said detector means directly into rotational displacement of the movable part of the RCC device relative to the fixed part about two mutually perpendicular axes perpendicular to the axis of symmetry of the RCC device.

Claim 20

A non-contact displacement sensing system for a remote center compliance (RCC) device having a movable part and a fixed part comprising: a curved reflector mounted for movement with one of said parts of the RCC device; radiation source means mounted to the other of said parts of the RCC device and spaced from said curved reflector for providing a beam of radiation to said reflector; detector means, coaxial with said radiation source means, mounted to said other part of the RCC device and spaced from said curved reflector for receiving the reflected radiation from said radiation source means, and generating four outputs representative of the displacement of the movable part of the RCC device relative to the fixed part; and means for transforming two of the four outputs of said detector means directly into rotational displacement of the movable part of the RCC device relative to the fixed part about two mutually perpendicular axes perpendicular to the axis of the symmetry of the RCC device, and the other two outputs of said detector means directly into translational displacements of the operator member relative to the fixed part along the mutually perpendicular axes.

Claim 21

A non-contact displacement sensing system for a remote center compliance (RCC) device having a movable part and a fixed part comprising: a curved reflector mounted for movement with one of said parts of the RCC device; radiation source means mounted to the other of said parts of the RCC device and spaced from said curved reflector for providing a beam of radiation to said reflector; detector means, coaxial with said radiation source means, mounted to said other part of the RCC device and spaced from said curved reflector for receiving the reflected radiation from said radiation source means, and generating four outputs representative of the displacement of the movable part of the RCC device relative to the fixed part; and means for transforming two of the four outputs of said detector means directly into rotational displacement of the movable part of the RCC device relative to the fixed part about two mutually perpendicular axes perpendicular to the axis of the symmetry of the RCC device, and the other two outputs of said detector means directly into translational displacements of the operator member relative to the fixed part along the mutually perpendicular axes.

Claim 22

A non-contact displacement sensing system for a compliant device having a movable part and a fixed part and at least two degrees of freedom comprising: a curved reflector mounted for movement with one of said parts of the compliant device; radiation source means including at least one radiation source mounted to the other said part of the compliant device and spaced from said curved reflector for providing a beam of radiation to said reflector; and detector means including at least one detector device mounted said other part of the compliant device and spaced from said curved reflector for receiving the reflected radiation from said radiation source means, and generating output representative of the displacement of the movable part of the compliant device relative to the fixed part.

Claim 23

A non-contact displacement sensing system for a compliant device having a movable part and a fixed part and at least two degrees of freedom comprising: a curved reflector mounted for movement with one of said parts of the compliant device; radiation source means including at least one radiation source mounted to the other said part of the compliant device and spaced from said curved reflector for providing a beam of radiation to said reflector; and detector means including at least one detector device mounted said other part of the compliant device and spaced from said curved reflector for receiving the reflected radiation from said radiation source means, and generating output representative of the displacement of the movable part of the compliant device relative to the fixed part.

Claim 24

A non-contact displacement sensing system for a remote center compliance (RCC) device having a movable part and a fixed part comprising: a curved reflector mounted for movement with the movable part of the RCC device; radiation source means including at least one radiation source mounted to the fixed part of the RCC device and spaced from said curved reflector for providing a beam of radiation to said reflector; and detector means including at least one detector device mounted to the fixed part of the RCC device and spaced from said curved reflector for receiving the reflected radiation from said radiation source means, and generating output representative of the displacement of the movable part of the RCC device relative to the fixed part.

Claim 25

A non-contact displacement sensing system for a remote center compliance (RCC) device having a movable part and a fixed part comprising: a curved reflector mounted for movement with the movable part of the RCC device; radiation source means including at least one radiation source mounted to the fixed part of the RCC device and spaced from said curved reflector for providing a beam of radiation to said reflector; and detector means including at least one detector device mounted to the fixed part of the RCC device and spaced from said curved reflector for receiving the reflected radiation from said radiation source means, and generating output representative of the displacement of the movable part of the RCC device relative to the fixed part.

Claim 26

A non-contact displacement sensing system for a remote center compliance (RCC) device having a movable part and a fixed part comprising: a curved reflector mounted for movement with the fixed part of the RCC device; radiation source means including at least one radiation source mounted to the movable part of the RCC device and spaced from said curved reflector for providing a beam of radiation to said reflector; and detector means including at least one detector device mounted to the movable part of the RCC device and spaced from said curved reflector for receiving the reflected radiation from said radiation source means, and generating output representative of the displacement of the movable part of the RCC device relative to the fixed part.

Claim 27

A non-contact displacement sensing system for a remote center compliance (RCC) device having a movable part and a fixed part comprising: a curved reflector mounted for movement with the fixed part of the RCC device; radiation source means including at least one radiation source mounted to the movable part of the RCC device and spaced from said curved reflector for providing a beam of radiation to said reflector; and detector means including at least one detector device mounted to the movable part of the RCC device and spaced from said curved reflector for receiving the reflected radiation from said radiation source means, and generating output representative of the displacement of the movable part of the RCC device relative to the fixed part.