Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
  • H01J37/00—Discharge tubes with provision for introducing objects or material to be exposed to the discharge, e.g. for the purpose of examination or processing thereof
  • H01J37/02—Details
  • H01J37/20—Means for supporting or positioning the objects or the material; Means for adjusting diaphragms or lenses associated with the support
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B25—HAND TOOLS; PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TOOLS; MANIPULATORS
  • B25J—MANIPULATORS; CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES
  • B25J7/00—Micromanipulators
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B25—HAND TOOLS; PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TOOLS; MANIPULATORS
  • B25J—MANIPULATORS; CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES
  • B25J9/00—Programme-controlled manipulators
  • B25J9/10—Programme-controlled manipulators characterised by positioning means for manipulator elements
  • B25J9/1085—Programme-controlled manipulators characterised by positioning means for manipulator elements positioning by means of shape-memory materials

Definitions

• Apparatus for translational manipulation of an element such as an axis
• the present invention relates to the field of apparatus for handling an element, and relates to such an apparatus allowing the translation, in space, of an axis, for example, in a magnetic, electric or high frequency field. .
• translational manipulation devices are used in all kinds of scientific fields, and for all kinds of applications.
• the handling device When the handling device is accessible, it can be controlled directly by the operator. For example, a microscope or a microprobe can be manipulated directly, by micrometric screws or the like. But very often, the handling device is not accessible, because one works, for example, in vacuum, or in ultra-vacuum, as in the case of spectrometry, in a radioactive atmosphere as in the nuclear, and more generally, in any corroded or hostile atmosphere, such as a field, high frequency, a dangerous gas or a high temperature.
• a movement transfer mechanism is then necessary, of the manual or automatic type.
• Conventional transfer mechanisms, of the manual type based on gears, links, chains or the like, are very often heavy, bulky, complex and expensive.
• tolerance and precision problems are frequent.
• micromotors controlled by microproces ⁇ sors We then thought of replacing them with automatic types of mechanisms, controlled by micromotors controlled by microproces ⁇ sors.
• micromotors are disturbed in their operation, as soon as one works, for example, in a vacuum, or in a magnetic, electric or high frequency field. Significant problems of reliability and reproducibility ensue.
• the handling device is inaccessible directly by the operator, and that one works in a magnetic, electric or high frequency field, transfer mechanisms are used manual or automatic resulting in non reproducible results after a certain period, due to their lack of reliability.
• the present invention aims to overcome these drawbacks.
• a device for manipulating in translation an element such as an axis characterized in that it comprises a displacement device for each dimension of the space in which axis is to be manipulated, each displacement device comprising two pre-trapped blades in opposition, constituted by a pseudo-elastic alloy or with shape memory, arranged on either side of a heating means and / or cooling causing a thermal gradient between the two blades and thus their martensitic transformation resulting in their deformation.
• FIG. 1 is a front sectional view of a handling device according to the invention
• FIG. 2 is a sectional view, on the left, along AA of FIG.
• Figure 1 is a sectional view, on the right, along BB of Figure 1, of the handling device according to the invention;
• Figure 4 is a perspective view of the two displacement devices for manipulating the axis in a plane (x, y);
• Figure 5 is a schematic perspective view of the displacement device allowing manipulation of the axis in direction (z), and
• Figure 6 is a front sectional view of a handling device provided with '' a sample holder mounted on a direct introduction rod of a mass spectrometer.
• the manipulation device comprises a displacement device 2 for each dimension of the space in which the axis 1 is to be manipulated, each displacement device 2 comprising two blades 3 prestressed in opposition, constituted by a pseudo-elastic or shape memory alloy, arranged on either side of a heating and / or cooling means 4 causing a thermal gradient between the two blades 3 and thus their artensitic transformation resulting in their deformation .
• a heating and / or cooling means 4 causing a thermal gradient between the two blades 3 and thus their artsitic transformation resulting in their deformation .
• Such an apparatus is particularly suitable for handling in a magnetic, electric or high frequency field.
• the heating and / or cooling means 4 is advantageously in the form of a Peltier effect cell.
• each displacement device 2 is in the form of a support 8 on which the Peltier effect cell 4 and the two blades 3 are fixedly mounted, each in direct contact with one of the two faces of the Peltier effect cell 4, the two blades 3 being prestressed in opposition and kept in the pre-stressed state in opposition by a hollow and articulated blade 9 making them integral with one another, and being mounted in opposition symmetrically on either side of the support 8.
• the Peltier 4 cell acts as an electrical insulator.
• This cell 4 By applying to this cell 4 a variable current remote controlled at long distance using a very sensitive potentiometer, one of its faces becomes cold, while the other heats up.
• the thermal heating of the blade 3 causes a decrease in the amount of martensite and the cooling of the blade 3 causes an increase in the amount of martensite, the temperature of the ambient medium T A being higher than the temperature at the start of martensitic transformation M . This results in an imbalance
• the handling device comprises a displacement device 2, for each dimension of the space in which the axis 1 is to be handled. If therefore it is desired to manipulate the axis 1 only along an axis x, the enclosure 5 of the handling device will contain a single displacement device 2.
• the axis 1 may be fixed directly on the recessed and articulated blade 9, the movement of this last you, under the effect of displacement of the two slides 3, displacing the axis 1 in one direction or the other of the x axis determined by the direction in which the blades 3 are prestressed.
• the axis 1 can be guided, during its manipulation, by a guide means 6 in the form of an articulated parallelogram whose property is to keep two opposite sides perfectly parallel, or by a guide means 7 in the form a slide, either dovetail, if working in a vacuum, or ball, if working in an atmosphere.
• the enclosure 5 of the handling device contains two displacement devices 2 allowing the manipulation of the axis 1 in an x, y plane, the two devices 2 being located one above the other at an angle 0 of 90 e and the axis 1 being held in the two recesses 11.
• each hollowed and articulated blade 9 of a displacement device 2 is provided with a element 10, itself provided with a recess 11 in which the axis 1 slides, and arranged in a plane perpendicular to that of the blade 9.
• the emptying 11 could, for example, be rectangular.
• the simultaneous displacement or not of the blades 3 of each of the two displacement devices 2, some along the x axis, the others along the y axis, causes the displacement of the axis 1 in the x plane, y.
• the axis 1 may also be guided, during its handling, by one or more guide means 6 or 7.
• the guide means 6 may also be in the form of a ball joint (not shown in the accompanying drawings). This means will be used, for example, in the case of controlling the antenna plate of a missile.
• the enclosure 5 of the handling device contains three displacement devices 2 allowing the manipulation of the axis 1 in a three-dimensional space x, y, z , two devices 2 allowing the manipulation of the axis 1 in the x, y plane and being located one above the other at an angle of 90 °, the axis 1 being held in the two recesses 11 and the third device 2 allowing the manipulation of axis 1 along the z axis.
• the movement in the plane x, y is ensured, as in the previous embodiment, by means of the two évidements 11 of the two perpendicular blades 9.
• the axis 1 can be guided, during of its manipulation in the x, y plane, by two guide means 6 in the form of two articulated parallelograms, and along the z axis by a guide means 7 in the form of a dovetail slide.
• this slide 7 can also be ball, especially when the handling device operates at atmospheric pressure and lubrication is possible.
• the articulated parallelo ⁇ grams 6 are integral with one another, and one of the pieces 20 of one of the parallelograms 6 slides directly in the slide with tail dovetail 7, this piece 20 also being connected to part 19 (see Figure 3.
• the handling device further comprises a sample holder 24 located outside the enclosure 5 in the form of a support housing and connected, in a fixed and removable manner, to one of the two ends 1 ′ of the axis 1, the side of the support housing 5 opposite the sample holder 24 being connected to a direct introduction rod 12 of the samples in a mass spectrometer or any other device, for example, a ESCA photoelectron spectrometer, an ion microprobe, an AUGER microprobe, an electron microscope, etc.
• An additional heating and / or cooling means 4 is arranged between the sample holder 24 and the end 1 ′ of axis 1, of to heat or cool the sample holder 24.
• the sample holder 24 is fixed on a rod 13, at its end 13 'situated outside the support box 5 and the other end 13 "of which is inserted, inside the support box 5, in a support 14, one of the faces of which is integral with the heating and / or cooling means 4 in the form of a Peltier effect cell, itself connected to the end 1 ′ of the axis 1 by a connecting support 15 in which said end 1 ′ of axis 1 is inserted.
• the support 14 can advantageously be made of copper, the ceramic faces of the Peltier effect cell 4 playing the role of electrical insulator.
• Axis 1 will therefore be movable in the three dimensions x, y, z of space.
• the device working in a vacuum the slide 7 will be dovetailed.
• the two blades 9 and thus the two recesses 11 ensuring the manipulation of the axis 1 in the x plane y will be inclined by 45 e relative to gravity terrestrial, so as to balance the own weight of axis 1 which supports the sample holder 24.
• the samples not exceeding 1 cm in length and width, and 4 mm in height, but which may have any shape, are fixed by clips which slide in eight concentric grooves. These clips hold the samples by screw tightening.
• Two grids 22 and 23 mounted on insulators, as well as the sample holder 24, can be brought to variable potentials.
• the sample holder 24 can also be in other forms, for example, in the form of a heating filament.
• the electrical conductors are designed so that, for the majority of their journey, they are parallel to the z axis which coincides with the axis of a strong magnetic field (for example from 2 to 7 Tesla). When they are not parallel to the z axis, they are coupled two by two (back and forth of the current), so that there is compensation for Laplace forces.
• the axis 1 the guidance of which has just been described, is hollow for the passage of the conductors of the Peltier effect cell 4.
• the support box 5 meanwhile, is connected to the direct introduction rod 12 via a sealed glass-metal passage 16 provided with metal tubes 17 allowing the passage of electrical contacts to the metal rods 18 of the rod direct introduction 12.
• the sample holder 24 has six electrical contacts, and each of the displacement devices 2 has two, which brings the total number of electrical contacts to twelve.
• the handling device fixed to the end of the direct introduction rod 12 can, by its reduced dimensions, be fixed or adapted to any mass spectrometer, or any other device, for example, a photoelectronic spectrometer ESC, an ionic microprobe, an AUGER microprobe, an electron microscope etc ..., comprising an introduction flange whose opening diameter is sufficient.
• a photoelectronic spectrometer ESC an ionic microprobe, an AUGER microprobe, an electron microscope etc ...
• the length and width of the device may be of the order of 6.5 cm, and the height of the order of 15 cm.
• the opening diameter of the introduction flange must then be greater than 7 cm.
• the fixing, longitudinal, transverse or other can be carried out by a standard flange with knife, which ensures the possible tightness when the handling device has to move empty in the support case 5.
• the mass spectrometer can be cyclotron resonance or, more conventionally, quadrupole, magnetic sector, electrostatic sector or any combination of these different types. It may also be an X or NMR scanner or a laser or ion microprobe.
• the manipulation device has the function of moving an element 1, in this case an axis 1. But it goes without saying that this device can also be used for other applications.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Robotics (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Analytical Chemistry (AREA)
• Other Investigation Or Analysis Of Materials By Electrical Means (AREA)
• Sampling And Sample Adjustment (AREA)

Priority Applications (2)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=9342348

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (7)

Cited By (1)

Families Citing this family (4)

Citations (10)

Family Cites Families (3)

• 1986
  • 1986-12-23 FR FR868618244A patent/FR2608837B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 1987
  • 1987-12-22 DE DE19873790816 patent/DE3790816T1/de active Pending
  • 1987-12-22 DE DE3790816A patent/DE3790816C2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1987-12-22 CH CH3119/88A patent/CH675849A5/fr not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1987-12-22 WO PCT/FR1987/000509 patent/WO1988004599A1/fr active Application Filing
  • 1987-12-22 GB GB8814669A patent/GB2207654B/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1987-12-22 US US07/249,573 patent/US4879467A/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1987-12-22 JP JP63501144A patent/JP2697757B2/ja not_active Expired - Lifetime

Patent Citations (10)

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