US5067085A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Optical robotic canopy polishing system
Assignee: Southwest Research Institute
•
Filing: 1989-05-15
•
Granted: 1991-11-19
•
Expires: 2009-05-15
Abstract
Abstract A method and apparatus for providing an automated optical robotic polishing system for removing flaws in transparencies, such as transparent canopies used in aircraft. A pneumatic random orbital polishing tool attached to a robot arm is used to polish canopies to remove flaws. The flaws are removed by grinding the area surrounding the flaw and smoothing the flaw site to conform to the contour of the canopy. To identify optimum motions for the polishing tool for grinding to remove the bulk of the plastic material around a flaw, mathematical topology simulation techniques are implemented using various polishing pad pressure profiles and various polishing motions.
Inventors
- 👤 Dennis J. Wenzel
- 👤 II David S. McFalls
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 03:15
CPC Classifications
B; B25; B25J; B25J9/00; B25J9/16; B25J9/1679; B25J9/1684; G; G01; G01N; G01N21/00; G01N21/84; G01N21/88; G01N21/91; G01N21/95; G01N21/9515; G05; G05B; G05B19/00; G05B19/02; G05B19/18; G05B19/401; G01N21/8851; G01N2021/8854; G01N2021/8874; G05B2219/00; G05B2219/30; G05B2219/37; G05B2219/37206; G05B2219/37572; G05B2219/45; G05B2219/45058; G05B2219/49; G05B2219/49362
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 13
Claim 1
Independent Claim
130 words
A system for removing flaws from the surface of a material, such as a transparent aircraft canopy, comprising: a canopy; means for obtaining a video signal representation of the surface of said canopy, wherein said means for obtaining a video signal representation of said canopy comprises means for mapping said surface of said canopy to obtain a plurality of mapped sectors, the location of said flaws being correlated with the location of said mapped sectors; means for processing said video signal representation of said surface of said canopy to locate flaws in said surface; means for determining an optimal grinding pattern for removing said flaws from said canopy; and means for polishing the surface of said canopy in accordance with said grinding pattern to remove said flaws from said surface.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
130 words
A system for removing flaws from the surface of a material, such as a transparent aircraft canopy, comprising: a canopy; means for obtaining a video signal representation of the surface of said canopy, wherein said means for obtaining a video signal representation of said canopy comprises means for mapping said surface of said canopy to obtain a plurality of mapped sectors, the location of said flaws being correlated with the location of said mapped sectors; means for processing said video signal representation of said surface of said canopy to locate flaws in said surface; means for determining an optimal grinding pattern for removing said flaws from said canopy; and means for polishing the surface of said canopy in accordance with said grinding pattern to remove said flaws from said surface.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
59 words
The system according to claim 1, said means for determining said optimal grinding pattern further comprising means for calculating an optimum pad pressure profile, said pad pressure profile being correlated, in accordance with said optimal grinding pattern, with the amount of material to be removed from the surface of said canopy by a grinding pad on said polishing means.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
28 words
The system according to claim 2, wherein said pad pressure profile is determined by a second order polynomial as a function of the radius of a polishing pad.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
25 words
The system according to claim 3, wherein said flaws are grouped in clusters to minimize the number of grinding patterns needed to remove said flaws.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
23 words
The system according to claim 4, wherein said optimum grinding pattern is a cubic polynomial function of the radius of said polishing pad.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
31 words
The system according to claim 5, wherein said flaws are removed by grinding a plurality of circular patterns in said surface of said canopy in accordance with said optimum grinding pattern.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
124 words
A method of removing flaws from the surface of a material, such as transparent material used in an aircraft canopy, comprising the steps of: obtaining a video signal representation of the surface of a canopy; processing said video signal representation of said surface of said canopy to locate flaws in said surface; calculating an optimal grinding pattern for removing said flaws from said canopy; calculating a pad pressure profile, said pad pressure profile being correlated, in accordance with said optimal grinding pattern, with the amount of material to be removed from the surface of said canopy by a grinding pad on a polishing means; and polishing the surface of said canopy in accordance with said grinding pattern to remove said flaws from said surface.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
124 words
A method of removing flaws from the surface of a material, such as transparent material used in an aircraft canopy, comprising the steps of: obtaining a video signal representation of the surface of a canopy; processing said video signal representation of said surface of said canopy to locate flaws in said surface; calculating an optimal grinding pattern for removing said flaws from said canopy; calculating a pad pressure profile, said pad pressure profile being correlated, in accordance with said optimal grinding pattern, with the amount of material to be removed from the surface of said canopy by a grinding pad on a polishing means; and polishing the surface of said canopy in accordance with said grinding pattern to remove said flaws from said surface.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method according to claim 7, wherein said pad pressure profile is a second order polynomial function of the radius of said grinding pad.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method according to claim 8, wherein said flaws are grouped in clusters to minimize the number of grinding patterns needed to remove said flaws.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method according to claim 9, wherein said optimum grinding pattern is a cubic polynomial function of the radius of said grinding pad.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
39 words
The system according to claim 10, wherein said step of polishing the surface of said canopy comprises the step of grinding a plurality of circular patterns in said surface of said canopy in accordance with said optimum grinding pattern.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US4355447A
Cited
US4409718A
Cited
US4541011A
Cited
US4633620A
Cited
US4682856A
Cited
US4777769A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1994-11-18 | 1995-05-20 | 1995-11-19 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1998-11-18 | 1999-05-20 | 1999-11-19 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2002-11-18 | 2003-05-20 | 2003-11-19 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |