Enhanced position detection for a CMM

1. A coordinate measurement device comprising:

an articulated arm having a first end, a second end, and a plurality of jointed arm segments therebetween, each arm segment defining at least one axis of rotation, a last axis of rotation being defined by bearings near a distal end of the arm; and

a laser scanner assembly coupled to the distal end of the arm wherein the arm continuously generates trigger signals which are received by the laser scanner and indicate a time at which the arm's position is measured,

wherein an arm measurement frequency is higher than a scanner measurement frequency.

2. The CMM of claim 1 wherein the trigger signal is created by a function generator in electronics in the arm.

3. A coordinate measurement device comprising:

an articulated arm having a first end, a second end, and a plurality of jointed arm segments therebetween, each arm segment defining at least one axis of rotation, a last axis of rotation being defined by bearings near a distal end of the arm; and

a laser scanner assembly coupled to the distal end of the arm wherein the arm continuously generates trigger signals which are received by the laser scanner and indicate a time at which the arm's position is measured,

wherein the arm position at the time of a scanner image is calculated by interpolating between two arm positions based on times associated with the trigger signals and the time of the scanner image.

4. The CMM of claim 3 , wherein the trigger signal is created by a function generator in electronics in the arm.

5. A method of operating a coordinate measurement device comprising:

continuously measuring the position of an articulated arm;

generating a plurality of trigger signals upon each measurement of the position of the articulated arm;

transmitting the trigger signals to a scanner at an end of the articulated arm;

acquiring a scanner measurement from the scanner;

associating the scanner measurement with one or more trigger signals; and

associating an interpolated arm position with the scanner measurement.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the interpolation is a linear interpolation.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the interpolation is a higher order polynomial interpolation.

8. The method of claim 5 , wherein the step of continuously measuring comprises continuously outputting the angular position of a plurality of rotatable joints.

9. The method of claim 5 , wherein the scanner is a laser scanner.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the scanner measurement comprises coordinate measurements.

11. The method of claim 5 , wherein the scanner measurement is associated with a plurality of trigger signals.

12. A method of operating a coordinate measurement device comprising:

continuously measuring the position of an articulated arm;

generating a plurality of trigger signals upon each measurement of the position of the articulated arm;

transmitting the trigger signals to a scanner at an end of the articulated arm;

acquiring a scanner measurement from the scanner; and

associating the scanner measurement with one or more trigger signals;

wherein a frequency of measurement of the position of the articulated arm is higher than a frequency of measurement of the scanner.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the step of continuously measuring comprises continuously outputting the angular position of a plurality of rotatable joints.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the scanner is a laser scanner.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the scanner measurement comprises coordinate measurements.

16. The method of claim 12 , wherein the scanner measurement is associated with a plurality of trigger signals.