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:
Mar. 06, 2007
Filed:
May. 27, 2004
Theodore M. Boyl-davis, Snohomish, WA (US);
James N. Buttrick, Jr., Seattle, WA (US);
Darrell D. Jones, Mill Creek, WA (US);
Theodore M. Boyl-Davis, Snohomish, WA (US);
James N. Buttrick, Jr., Seattle, WA (US);
Darrell D. Jones, Mill Creek, WA (US);
The Boeing Company, Chicago, IL (US);
Abstract
A rail system for positioning a toolhead above a workpiece uses a rack cut into one edge of the rail and driven by a pinion gear whose shaft is approximately perpendicular to a workpiece to couple the rail to the toolhead. Multiple rollers placed on the toolhead allow contact between the toolhead and the rail to be effectively continuous despite the cutting away of as much as or more than two-thirds of the rail edge to provide rack teeth. Separating thickness axis containment from transverse with a square rail edge and separate thickness axis and transverse rollers allows the toolhead to follow a rail as the rail flexes over a curved surface with minimal position error. Several variations in rail, bearing, and rack implementation can realize comparable results.