BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will be better understood based on the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which:
FIGS. 1 through 4 are perspective views of the present invention measure acquisition system as applied to a torque key, in its disassembled form;
FIG. 5 is a side view of the present invention measure acquisition system as applied to a torque key, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 4;
FIG. 6 illustrates the measure acquisition system comprising the acquisition assembly, the receiver means and the base station;
FIGS. 7 and 11 are front perspective views of the present invention measure acquisition assembly, in its disassembled form;
FIG. 8 is a rear perspective view of the present invention measure acquisition assembly, in its assembled form;
FIGS. 9 and 10 are rear perspective views of the present invention measure acquisition assembly, in its disassembled form;
FIG. 12 illustrates the operation of the present invention measure acquisition system; and
FIGS. 13 through 19 illustrate displays of the software associated with the measure acquisition system, object of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
As can be seen from FIGS. 1 through 5, the measure acquisition assembly has been coupled to a key 1, in order to check the torque applied to screws in an assembly line, for example. The key 1 has a handle 90 for receiving power supply 20, which will provide the present invention measure acquisition assembly with power.
Handle 90 is received by the assembly comprised of casing 30, cover 40 and electronic card 50 coupled to said cover 40. The wires 70 go through hole 100, 110 and are responsible by the connection of electronic card 50 with power supply 20 and transducer 10, which is located in body 60 of key 1, respectively. Optionally, such connections mentioned above may be made without wires 70.
It is worth noting that, in this illustrated embodiment, the transducer is located in body 60 of key 1. However, this transducer may be positioned in another location, depending on the tool the measure acquisition assembly is coupled to.
The assembly further may include a hole 80 through which wires 70 also pass, connecting electronic card 50 to outer supply 120. This outer supply serves to make possible recharging power supply 20.
In FIG. 6, one can see how keys 1 communicate with the rest of the assembly. The measurements are effected by key 1, and the data from the measurements are sent to receiver means 11, such as personal data assistant (PDA) or any other receiver means commonly available on the market. The measured data transmission is done by radiofrequency (RF), which gives the system more robustness and stability, avoiding possible errors caused by external interference. In addition, the use of RF transmission speeds up the data transmission between key 1 and receiver means 11 and makes possible to manage a number of radio units operating in the same area. Such a transmission may be, for example, via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.
After receiving at receiver means 21, the user may choose to send the data collected by the means to base station 31, again, wirelessly, by radiofrequency. At this step, there will be an antenna 21 interfacing the data transmission between receiver means 11 and base station 31.
In FIGS. 7 through 11, there is shown the present invention measure acquisition assembly 200, isolated, without being coupled to any special key. As previous illustrated, assembly 200 has a casing 30 which is enclosed by a cover 40. Internally to the cover, electronic card 50 is coupled, being lodged inside casing 30. Electronic card 50 is responsible for transforming the measured values into digital values. These values are later transmitted to transducer 10, which in turn send the values to receiver means 11, which is responsible for displaying the statistics and results relative to the measurement.
In this case, coupled to the casing 30 rear portion is connector 130, serving to connect electronic card 50 to a rotating transducer. Connector 130 is utilized depending on the tool the measure acquisition assembly 200 is coupled to, providing for more flexibility in the use of assembly 200.
FIG. 12 illustrates the operation of the present invention measure acquisition system 300, comprised of acquisition assembly 200 coupled to another key 51 for measuring data when effecting the tightening of a screw on a predetermined surface.
The data relating to the screw tightening are then processed and sent wirelessly to receiver means 11.
FIGS. 13 through 19 illustrate displays of the software resident both in receiver means 11 and in base station 31. For example, in receiver means 11, information can be displayed such as the torque values as applied and estimated (point to point), as well as whether the same fall into pre-set patterns, apart from charts of the torque values as well as the measurements of the torque across time.
In FIG. 13, display 400 shows parameters being determined and identified according to the test type to be performed.
In FIG. 14, in turn, display 500 is shown displaying the definition of the tests to be performed during the use of the present invention measure acquisition system 300.
FIG. 15 shows display 600 displaying the results obtained from the measurement performed by system 300, where a listing is presented of all the parameters that have been checked during said measurement.
In relation to FIG. 16, display 700 illustrates the software located in base station 31, which is responsible for managing the results from the different receiver means 11. In this display, the user can browse through different receiver means 11 that have been utilized in storing data measured when utilizing measure acquisition system 300.
FIGS. 17 through 19 illustrate displays 800, 900, 1000 where the results obtained from the measurement can be analyzed in statistical form, by means of various charts.
Although the above description relates to a preferred embodiment, those skilled in the art should understand that the present invention is not limited to the details of the above teachings.
It should be noted that variations, modifications and changes in the invention herein described are possible to those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention or equivalents thereof, as encompassed by the appended claims and their equivalents.
Patent Application
20070268154
