Westinghouse Electric Corporation

Westinghouse Electric Company LLC

Lanson Y Shum

Robert E Fromson

James N Brecker

Robert C Miller

John H Staehlin

Andrew J Piloto

Raymond P Castner

Bernard J Miller

Arthur F Jacobs

David C Burns

Renato D Reyes

Brian H Smith

Richard S Konapelsky

Duane W Morris

Douglas K Comstock

Denise B Harris

Michael A Mongilio

David W Parry

Tibor Csakvary

Brian D Ottinger

John B Branthover

Dan B Zeitlin

Paul D Hodges, Jr

Theresa M Lengel

Frank B Gabranski

Robert R Carlson, Jr

Albert F Zirkle

RF manifolding for a radar antenna which allows tight spacing of Phase Control Modules (PCMs) is disclosed. The manifolding consists of ridged branch manifold waveguides to which ridged cross waveguide sections are installed. Each branch manifold waveguide of the present invention has ridges on one broad wall, coupling slots on another broad wall, and a plurality of cross waveguides connected on the side having the coupling slots. The cross waveguides are likewise provided with ridges on one broad wall, which are oriented at right angles to the ridges of the branch manifold waveguide, and have coupling slots on the opposite broad wall which correspond to the coupling slots of the branch manifold waveguide. The PCMs are mounted on the end of each cross waveguide, parallel to the ridges thereof. The branch manifold waveguide assemblies, comprising the branch manifold waveguides, the cross waveguides, and the PCMs, are installed on the antenna in parts and oriented back-to-back, with their ridges contacting to enclose a space defined by the walls of the two branch manifolds. The space enclosed between the branch manifold waveguides of the assembled pair by virtue of these ridges may be used for fluid cooling in high power antenna applications.

Back-to-back ridged branch manifold structure for a radar frequency

A high performance, high current, miniaturized low voltage power supply is disclosed which employs a thick copper-ceramic film primary board, a direct bonded copper secondary, flexible printed circuit power inductors, the power supply has high power leadless chip carriers, hybrid rectifier packages and various electrical circuits including application specific integrated circuits for control, a turn on protection and current sharing.

High performance, high current miniaturized low voltage power supply

In a gripper device including a power frame of a motor 10, shaft 12, sun gear 14, planetary gear 16, gripper assembly shaft 18, gripper lever 20, gripper finger 22, a clutch 24 is interposed in the power train to each gripper finger and is controlled to provide a low force coupling transmittal when the fingers are moved in a position to contact the object 26 to be gripped, and after all fingers have contacted the object, the clutch provides for the transmittal of a relatively higher force adequate to permit handling the object without slipping.

Force-controlled gripper with adaptive accommodation

In automatic assembly or processing operations employing multiple machines or robots, a signal preprocessor employing frequency and amplitude modulation techniques translates a plurality of monitored condition signals associated with each machine or robot into a composite audio signal. The time-varying composite audio signal represents a unique audio signature of the status of the assembly or process operation at any given time. This composite audio signal is available for analysis by an operator or an audio recognition system to detect variations in the composite audio signal which identify impending operational irregularities in the process being performed.

Automated system monitoring using frequency and amplitude modulation

A programmable assembly system for performing any of a variety of operations for different batch assemblies wherein at least some of the batches have different end points is obtained by using a limited capability, high reliable, high speed pick and place robot 30 mounted on a machine base 10 which has the capability of shifting its table 14 in any of three perpendicular directions so that any style changeover between batches the machine base is operated in a program manner to set up for a different batch operation.

Modular, low cost, pogrammable assembly system

A split-ball type wrist and manipulator assembly (FIG. 6) includes a first ball portion 2, a second ball portion 4 rotatable independently and relative to the first ball portion, and end effector 52 rotatably carried by the second ball portion 4, the first ball portion 2 being controlled in its rotation by the hollow outer shaft 38, the second ball portion 4 being controlled in its rotation by rotation of an inner shaft 39 coupled to the second ball portion by the hollow, flexible coupling 45, and the end effector rotation being controlled by the innermost hollow shaft 42 rotation connected to the end effector by the inner flexible coupling 53, and with power line means 58 for controlling tool operation extending totally internally of the wrist and arm to the source of power.

Split-ball type wrist and manipulating assembly for robot

In a computerized numerical control (CNC) or a direct numerical control (DNC) machine tool, the second derivative as a function of time of the net power applied to the cutting tool is used to detect approaching tool failure, and a statistical representation of such occurrences with a series of tools is used to derive instantaneously the percentage of wear experienced by a new tool in terms of the statistically expected critical level of net power.

Tool wear and tool failure monitor system

An automatic robot structure includes a fixed location support 10 which carries three locational arms 12, 14, 16, being hingedly connected to each other at their location of convergence to support a workhead 20, the driving motors 12a, 14a, and 16a each being independently operable to drive its respective arm in an axial direction, each of the arms being rigid in the sense that no part of the arm is hingedly connected to another part, so that the forces derived from a payload weight subject the arms primarily only to compression and or tension.

Multi-arm robot

A pick and place robot is provided in which support 10 carries a rotatable turret 12, which in turn has one end of the pick and place arm 14 pivotally carried therefrom, the arm carrying a working tool 16 at its other end supported in rotatable relation and connected to constant orientation means 62, 64, 66 which maintains the working tool in a given disposition throughout the extent of the swing of the arm from a pick to a place location, both the turret and the arm being driven independently by its own drive.

Pick and place robot

A robotic manipulator structure including a base supporting first and second independently operable drive motors 16 and 18, a first swinging arm rotatably supported by the base and driven from the first drive, a second swinging arm 42 supported for rotation at the end of the first arm for rotation through a plane translationally displaced from the plane through which the first arm rotates, and a mechanism for coupling the rotation of the second drive motor 18 through the hollow shaft 50 concentrically located and rotatable within the hollow shaft 38, and through a sprocket and chain arrangement in the hollow 58 of the first arm to independently effect the rotation of the second arm 42.

Robotic manipulator structure

A digital electric energy measuring circuit for totalizing electrical power and energy usage from an alternating current supply by converting a voltage signal representing the current component into a pulse train signal whose frequency is proportional to the magnitude of the voltage, sampling that frequency to provide a digital value representing the current component, and then converting a voltage signal representing the voltage component into a second pulse train signal whose frequency is proportional to the magnitude of the voltage which is used to control the rate that the digitized value of the current component is successively added which provides an indication of electrical energy that is totalized and displayed.

Digital electric energy measuring circuit

A segmented manipulator arm for a nuclear reactor vessel inspection device is disclosed. The several segments of the arm are linked in a manner which permits independent movement of each segment in a different plane of motion. The transducer array which is utilized to conduct the examination of any appropriate point in the reactor vessel is cooperably linked to the final or most forward segment of the manipulator arm. The first segment of the manipulator arm is appropriately coupled to the main column of the inspection device for independent movement in one of three planes relative to the main column. Additional segments are employed and cooperatively linked to the first segment to yield a total of nine planes of movement for one or more of the segments. In addition, brackets are used to constrain segment movement in parallel or predetermined planes as desired.

Segmented articulating manipulator arm for nuclear reactor vessel

An apparatus for gauging the shape of a specimen conducting surface or load distribution between normally mateable specimen conducting surfaces. A capacitance pad which is insertable between the specimen surface in question and a reference surface of known shape or normally mateable surfaces has multiple electrodes sandwiched between dielectric plates which are, during operation, situated adjacent the reference and specimen surfaces. The electrodes in the capacitance pad may be individually energized and selectively connected to a capacitance measuring circuit. Capacitance between the reference and specimen surfaces or between the normally mateable specimen surfaces changes the frequency of the measuring circuit when selected capacitance pad electrodes are connected to that circuit. The measuring circuitry counts the pulses emitted by an included oscillator within a selected period of time with the number of pulses being inversely proportional to the capacitance and, thus, also inversely proportional to the distance separating the surfaces. The distance between the surfaces is inversely related to the force or pressure on the sandwiched electrodes. By varying the period of pulse counting or dividing the number of pulses counted by selected numbers the specimen's surface shape or pressure distribution between mateable specimen surfaces may be displayed directly in the dimensional units desired.

Apparatus for gauging the shape of a conducting surface

A calibrating and measuring circuit is disclosed for a capacitive probe-type instrument. The capacitive probe, in contact with a surface to be measured, is connected to an oscillator which generates pulses, the frequency of which is adjustable, the number of pulses generated being a function of the texture of the surface being measured. A digital counter is connected to receive, count and present the resulting summation to a visual numerical display. In order to calibrate the instrument the capacitive probe is placed on a known specimen, the digital magnitude of which is loaded into the counter through a number of thumb switches. The counter first counts down to this number, and then counts up to the number of remaining pulses. The resulting count, called the offset number, is then transferred to a memory. During measurement the memory loads the offset number into the counter, the counter then counting the offset number down to zero, before counting up to the amount of the received pulses, which are then displayed. A logic arrangement initiates and controls both calibration and measurement.

Calibrating and measuring circuit for a capacitive probe-type instrument

A capacitance gauging apparatus is described for monitoring the texture or flatness of a conductive surface. Conductive plate members, resiliently supported on a flexible substrate, provide a probe to measure the texture of a surface to be monitored, the surface itself forming the other plate of a capacitor. The capacitance probe is electrically energized and connected to a monitoring circuit. As the insulated probe rests on the conducting surface, the resulting capacitance changes the frequency of the monitoring circuit. The monitoring circuitry counts the pulses within a period, the number of pulses being proportional to the surface texture, i.e., the higher the number, the coarser the surface texture, and conversely. The period of counting is set such that the surface texture may be displayed directly in microinches or micrometers.

Growing community of inventors

Delmont, PA, United States of America

Lanson Y Shum