Positioning system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9751175-B2
Application number	US-201514802052-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 17, 2015
Priority date	Aug 6, 2014
Publication date	Sep 5, 2017
Grant date	Sep 5, 2017

Abstract

A positioning system includes a slide support, on which is mounted a positioning slide, which can be driven to perform a positioning movement in a positioning plane with the aid of drive gears of the slide support, wherein the positioning plane is defined by a Cartesian x-y coordinate system. The drive gears are represented by at least one x-drive gear, which can cause a positioning movement in the x-axis direction, and at least one y-drive gear, which can cause a positioning movement in the y-axis direction. The drive gears are in engagement with a driven toothing structure of the positioning slide, which includes a plurality of driven teeth distributed in a punctiform arrangement in a regular two-dimensional tooth matrix. Although the drive gears are short, the positioning system facilitates a traverse of the positioning slide within a large positioning area.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A positioning system comprising at least one positioning slide which is variably traversable and positionable relative to a slide support of the positioning system while performing a positioning movement in a positioning plane defined by a Cartesian x-y coordinate system, wherein the slide support comprises at least one y-drive gear which can be driven by drive means of the positioning system to perform a drive rotary movement about an axis of rotation parallel to the x-axis of the coordinate system and at least one x-drive gear which can be driven by drive means to perform a drive rotary movement about an axis of rotation parallel to the y-axis of the coordinate system, wherein each y-drive gear and each x-drive gear has a drive toothing at its outer circumference and wherein the positioning slide has a driven toothing structure with which it is simultaneously in tooth engagement with the drive toothing of at least one x-drive gear and at least one y-drive gear during the positioning movement and can be driven to perform a positioning movement in the x-axis direction of the x-y coordinate system by rotating the respective x-drive gear and to perform a positioning movement in the y-axis direction of the x-y coordinate system by rotating the respective y-drive gear, and wherein the driven toothing structure of the positioning slide comprises a plurality of driven teeth distributed in a punctiform fashion in a plane parallel to the positioning plane, which are placed in a two-dimensional tooth matrix at the intersection points of mutually perpendicular x-grid lines and y-grid lines of an imaginary cross grid, wherein at least several of the driven teeth of the tooth matrix are capable of coming into tooth engagement with both the at least one x-drive gear and the at least one y-drive gear during the positioning movement of the positioning slide.

2. A positioning system according to claim 1 , wherein each driven tooth of the tooth matrix is designed to be capable of coming into tooth engagement with both the at least one x-drive gear and the at least one y-drive gear during the positioning movement of the positioning slide.

3. A positioning system according to claim 1 , wherein the x-grid lines have the same distance from one another as the y-grid lines.

4. A positioning system according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one positioning slide has an underside facing the slide support, the driven toothing structure being located on this underside.

5. A positioning system according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one positioning slide rests with its driven toothing structure on the drive toothings of the drive gears.

6. A positioning system according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one positioning slide is designed as a product support which can be loaded directly or indirectly with at least one product to be positioned.

7. A positioning system according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one positioning slide has a rectangular outline and/or is designed to be plate-shaped.

8. A positioning system according to claim 1 , wherein the tooth matrix of the driven toothing structure has four edge regions extending at right angles to one another.

9. A positioning system according to claim 8 , wherein the tooth matrix is unbounded in all four edge regions.

10. A positioning system according to claim 1 , wherein all drive gears of the slide support have the same diameter, their axes of rotation lying in a common axes plane which is parallel to the positioning plane.

11. A positioning system according to claim 1 , wherein the slide support is equipped with a plurality of x-drive gears and/or with a plurality of y-drive gears.

12. A positioning system according to claim 1 , wherein the slide support is equipped with at least one pair of drive gears consisting of an x-drive gear and a y-drive gear, wherein these two drive gears are arranged parallel to the positioning plane in an L-shaped configuration, an axial end region of the x-drive gear being placed adjacent to an axial end region of the y-drive gear.

13. A positioning system according to claim 1 , wherein the slide support is provided with separate drive means for each drive gear.

14. A positioning system according to claim 13 , wherein the separate drive means of the slide support are of an electromotive design.

15. A positioning system according to claim 1 , wherein the drive gears of the slide support can be driven to rotate independently of one another by their assigned drive means.

16. A positioning system according to claim 1 , wherein the slide support is composed of a plurality of support modules, which can be or are lined up in a modular fashion in the x-axis direction and/or in the y-axis direction, and each of which comprises at least one x-drive gear and at least one y-drive gear with respectively associated drive means, wherein one and the same positioning slide can be traversed across several and expediently across all of the support modules in its positioning movement.

17. A positioning system according to claim 16 , wherein the support modules can be or are interconnected to allow a transmission of energy and/or data and/or signals as required for their operation.

18. A positioning system according to claim 1 , wherein the base area of the driven toothing structure, which contains the tooth matrix, of at least one positioning slide, is larger than the base area of the slide support or of each support module.

19. A positioning system according to claim 1 , wherein the slide support defines at the edges at least one transfer station suitable for moving the slide support to the positioning slide and/or for removing the positioning slide from the slide support.

20. A positioning system according to claim 1 , wherein the driven toothing structure of the positioning slide comprises a plurality of groove-like x-recesses which extend in the x-axis direction and are arranged side by side at a distance from one another in a plane parallel to the positioning plane and a plurality of groove-like y-recesses which extend in the y-axis direction and are arranged side by side at a distance from one another in a plane parallel to the positioning plane, the x-recesses and the y-recesses intersecting at right angles while laterally flanking the driven teeth belonging to the two-dimensional tooth matrix.

Assignees

• Festo Ag & Co Kg

Inventors

• Feyrer Thomas

Classifications

• B23Q5/385

  using a gear and rack mechanism or a friction wheel co-operating with a rail · CPC title

• B23Q1/621 Primary

  a single sliding pair followed perpendicularly by a single sliding pair · CPC title

• F16H19/04

  comprising a rack · CPC title

• B23Q3/18 Primary

  for positioning only · CPC title