Flexible measurement device
US6729037B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 30, 2002 |
| Grant date | May 4, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 30, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01B3/28
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The invention is a depth gauge having standard components and improved in that a flexible shaft is mated to the tip. A probe is attached to the shaft. The flexible shaft allows for full angular adjustment for various directional approaches to the hole. The tip of the probe can be formed into a shape that conforms with a mating part through which the hole is measured. The probe is manufactured from a superelastic nickel titanium <<NITINOL>> alloy which has greater flexibility and elasticity than typical spring steels so that it doesn't permanently deform when the flexible shaft is bent. The nickel titanium probe also extends from the tip of the shaft in a direction perpendicular to the tip so it extends straight into the hole being measured even when the guide is off axis. The nickel titanium probe can be attached in several different ways to the depth gauge. For example, a setscrew could be used or a crimp. In this disclosure a nickel titanium coupling connector device is shown to hold the probe to the gauge.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.