The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 18, 1998
Filed:
Jul. 30, 1997
Norm Gitis, Cupertino, CA (US);
Leo Levinson, Mountain View, CA (US);
Vlad Dorfman, Mountain View, CA (US);
Michael Vinogradov, Mountain View, CA (US);
Center for TriBology, Inc., Mountain View, CA (US);
Abstract
A tester of the invention has a horizontal base with a vertical column that supports vertical guides for guiding a carriage that supports a rotary drive mechanism for an upper specimen which is secured in a chuck and engages a lower specimen supported by an interchangeable bowl. The tester is also provided with a computerized measuring system for precisely measuring characteristics to be tested. The main distinguishing feature of the tester of the invention is a that a flexible coupling that may have at least one degree of freedom (preferably three) is installed in a link between a rotary motion unit and the chuck for fixing the upper specimen. In other words, the upper specimen is fixed in a self-aligning manner so that its flat working surface is always maintained in full surface-to-surface contact with the lower specimen. In addition, a provision of the flexible coupling in the link between the drive unit and the zone of friction contact makes it possible to decrease strictness in requirement of manufacturing accuracy of guides and other parts of the tester.