Patents Assigned to MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Inc.
  • Patent number: 6929591
    Abstract: A tool holster resiliently engages with a tool upon its insertion with the holster. Positive retention is obtained by rotating a threaded shaft to advance a cam to rotate levers to engage the tool. The lever arms are split to allow a degree of misalignment. Springs bias the arms towards engagement of the tool. This provides an initial resilient entrapment of the tool. Advancement of the threaded shaft causes the cam to close-up the misalignment in the lever arm portions until your removable retention of the total is cheap, a “hard dock”. This final positive retention may contain a small amount of sprung resilience to allow for some overload protection of the mechanism and tool due to an external disturbance (example robot runaway) before rigid retention is engaged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2005
    Assignee: MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Inc.
    Inventor: Timothy Dilts