Patents by Inventor Wilhelmus Godefridus Weekers

Wilhelmus Godefridus Weekers has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 7191541
    Abstract: A machine, such as a coordinate measuring machine, having a component or element movable with respect to a support structure along rails or guideways, wherein the rails have a coefficient of thermal expansion that is different from that of the support structure to which they are attached. Differential thermal expansion and contraction of the rails with respect to the support structure may be accommodated without binding or distortion of the rails by coupling each guideway to the support structure at two different points. Typically, the coupling at the first point is rigid and prevents any movement of the rail with respect to the support structure. The second coupling includes a flexible component that permits movement of the rail with respect to the support structure in a direction of movement of the element or component. This flexible component may be a leaf spring. In another embodiment, the first coupling may also be flexible.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2007
    Assignee: Hexagon Metrology AB
    Inventors: Wilhelmus Godefridus Weekers, Jens Hupkau, David W. Payette, John Langlais
  • Patent number: 7059063
    Abstract: A machine, such as a coordinate measuring machine, having an element and a structure movable with respect to each other along rails, wherein the rails have a different coefficient of thermal expansion than the structure to which they are attached. In one embodiment, a bar is disposed on the structure opposite the rails. This bar has a coefficient of thermal expansion, a stiffness, a spacing from the neutral axis of the structure, and a cross-sectional dimension such that the bar balances any thermal stresses in the structure caused by differential expansion or contraction of the structure and the rails with temperature changes to minimize any bending of the structure. In one embodiment, two rails are disposed on a beam, and a carriage travels on the two rails. For each rail, there is an associated bar disposed on an opposite surface of the beam. In another aspect, a pin extends into an elongated slot on a slide associated with the structure to allow the structure to expand and contact.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2006
    Assignee: Hexagon Metrology AB
    Inventors: Wilhelmus Godefridus Weekers, Jens Hupkau, David W. Payette
  • Patent number: 6829838
    Abstract: A machine, such as a coordinate measuring machine, having an element and a structure movable with respect to each other along rails, wherein the rails have a different coefficient of thermal expansion than the structure to which they are attached. In one embodiment, a bar is disposed on the structure opposite the rails. This bar has a coefficient of thermal expansion, a stiffness, a spacing from the neutral axis of the structure, and a cross-sectional dimension such that the bar balances any thermal stresses in the structure caused by differential expansion or contraction of the structure and the rails with temperature changes to minimize any bending of the structure. In one embodiment, two rails are disposed on a beam, and a carriage travels on the two rails. For each rail, there is an associated bar disposed on an opposite surface of the beam. In another aspect, a pin extends into an elongated slot on a slide associated with the structure to allow the structure to expand and contact.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2003
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2004
    Assignee: Hexagon Metrology AB
    Inventors: Wilhelmus Godefridus Weekers, Jens Hupkau, David W. Payette