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:
May. 15, 2007
Filed:
May. 27, 2004
Theodore M. Boyl-davis, Snohomish, WA (US);
James N. Buttrick, Jr., Seattle, WA (US);
Roger A. Gage, Marysville, WA (US);
Darrell D. Jones, Mill Creek, WA (US);
David P. Banks, Lake Stevens, WA (US);
Ronald Wayne Outous, Shoreline, WA (US);
Paul Reuben Arntson, Bothell, WA (US);
James C. Murphy, Kirkland, WA (US);
Alan R. Merkley, Greenbank, WA (US);
Theodore M. Boyl-Davis, Snohomish, WA (US);
James N. Buttrick, Jr., Seattle, WA (US);
Roger A. Gage, Marysville, WA (US);
Darrell D. Jones, Mill Creek, WA (US);
David P. Banks, Lake Stevens, WA (US);
Ronald Wayne Outous, Shoreline, WA (US);
Paul Reuben Arntson, Bothell, WA (US);
James C. Murphy, Kirkland, WA (US);
Alan R. Merkley, Greenbank, WA (US);
The Boeing Company, Chicago, IL (US);
Abstract
A flexible rail machine tool couples temporarily to a structure by vacuum cups and positions a tool head at any desired point over an area. The toolhead can perform operations such as drilling, bolt insertion, and acquisition of dimension data. The flexible rail can conform to surface curvature in one or more axes. Tool head perpendicularity to the structure can be sensed and adjusted as needed. The as-attached position of the rail may be compensated for through coordinate transformation, allowing holes, for example, to be placed with substantial precision.