Illinois Tool Works Inc.

Rudolf Mathias Mayer

Stephen Michael McMahon

Roland Schaefer

Fritz Mueller

Markus Mueller

John Hitchcock

Devin S Dix

Hardness testers having a pivoting body and capable of providing power to accessories on the pivoting body are disclosed. An example hardness testing device includes: a rotating carriage configured to: hold at least one of an indenter or an objective and at least one accessory; and rotate to selectively place the at least one indenter or objective or the at least one accessory in an operative position to operate the at least one indenter or objective or the at least one accessory; a carriage mount configured to support the rotating carriage; and an electrical contact block mounted stationary with respect to the carriage mount, the electrical contact block comprising a plurality of electrical contacts configured to make electrical contact with a counterpart electrical contact block of the at least one accessory coupled to the rotating carriage when the at least one accessory is positioned in the operative position.

Hardness testers having a pivoting body and capable of providing power to accessories on the pivoting body

An adjustable stage mount includes a housing having a base defining a hole and an adjustable stage including a ball joint extension that rotatably engages the hole and is rotatably securable about the x-, y-, and z-axes. An adjustable indenter mount includes a housing defining a hole and an adjustable indenter including a ball joint extension that rotatably engages the hole and is rotatably securable about the x-, y-, and z-axes. A collision protection switch includes a first plate having three pairs of electrically conductive spaced apart pins wired to a voltage source in an open circuit, and a second plate having three electrically conductive balls. A spring pulls the first and second plates together causing the three balls to complete the circuit. A sufficient force against the second plate causes a ball to disengage and open the circuit. A two-objective microscope includes two parallel objectives, upper and lower light sources, three half-mirrors, and a camera. The camera and the half-mirrors are configured such that the camera views through either objective depending on which light source is on.

Apparatus for microscopic detection of hardness

Growing community of inventors

Esslingen am Neckar, Germany

Rudolf Mathias Mayer