Method and apparatus for measuring thickness of an object
View Patent ↗An apparatus for measuring thickness of an object is provided. The apparatus includes a compression control system which further includes a movable platform, a compression sensor, and a switching device operatively coupled to the compression sensor. The apparatus also includes a measurement system operatively coupled to the switching device for receiving a signal representative of a toggle event at the switching device and configured to measure a gradient. The apparatus also includes a processing circuit operatively coupled to the switching device and the measurement system for measuring a thickness of the object upon receiving the signal representative of the toggle event at the switching device by using the gradient and a communication circuit for transmitting a measured thickness of the object to a remote database.
1. An apparatus for measuring thickness of an object, comprising:
a compression control system comprising:
a movable platform;
a compression sensor;
a switching device operatively coupled to the compression sensor;
a measurement system operatively coupled to the switching device for receiving a signal representative of a toggle event at the switching device and configured to measure a gradient;
a processing circuit operatively coupled to the switching device and the measurement system for measuring a thickness of the object upon receiving the signal representative of the toggle event at the switching device by using the gradient; and
a communication circuit for transmitting a measured thickness of the object to a remote database via a wireless medium.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the compression sensor is operatively coupled to the movable platform.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the compression sensor comprises a spring system, a pressure sensor or a force sensor.
4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the spring system is mechanically coupled to the movable platform.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the movable platform comprises a toggle key to perform the toggle event.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the switching device is located below a toggle key at a predetermined distance.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the compression sensor is operatively coupled to a plunger assembly.
8. A thickness gauge comprising:
a compression control system comprising:
a movable platform disposed within a lower surface of a cavity in the thickness gauge, wherein the movable platform comprises a toggle key;
a spring system mechanically coupled to the movable platform;
a switching device situated below the toggle key at a predetermined distance;
a measurement system operatively coupled to the switching device for receiving a signal representative of a toggle event at the switching device and configured to measure a gradient;
a processing circuit operatively coupled to the switching device and the measurement system for measuring a thickness of the object upon receiving the signal representative of the toggle event at the switching device by using the gradient; and
a communication circuit for transmitting a measured thickness of the object to a remote database via a wireless medium.
9. The thickness gauge of claim 8 , wherein the movable platform comprises a hollow cylindrical shape.
10. The thickness gauge of claim 9 , wherein the spring system is situated within the movable platform.
11. The thickness gauge of claim 8 , wherein the movable platform comprises a solid cylindrical shape.
12. The thickness gauge of claim 11 , wherein the spring system is situated below the movable platform.
13. The thickness gauge of claim 8 , further comprising a plunger assembly disposed above an upper surface of the cavity in a gauge housing.
14. The thickness gauge of claim 8 , further comprising an additional switching device situated adjacent to the switching device for redundancy.
15. The thickness gauge of claim 8 , wherein the wireless medium comprises a Bluetooth network, a Wi-Fi network, or a WiMAX network.
16. The thickness gauge of claim 8 , further comprising a display unit operatively coupled to the thickness gauge, wherein the communication circuit transmits the thickness measurement of the object to the display unit in addition to the remote database.
17. A method for measuring thickness of an object comprising:
placing an object on a movable platform in a thickness measuring apparatus;
compressing a plunger on to the object placed on the movable platform;
toggling a switching device using a toggle key upon sensing a predetermined compression by a compression sensor;
measuring a distance of movement of the plunger using the measurement device upon toggling the switching device;
obtaining a thickness measurement of the object by using the distance measured upon toggling the switching device; and
automatically transmitting the thickness measurement to a remote database via a wireless medium.
18. The method of claim 17 , wherein automatically transmitting the thickness measurement to the remote database via the wireless medium comprises automatically transmitting the thickness measurement to the remote database via a Bluetooth network, a Wi-Fi network, or a WiMAX network.