Motor brake system
First Claim
1. A motor comprising:
- a housing including a rotor and stator;
a brake assembly adapted to selectively restrain rotation of the rotor, said brake assembly spring-biased into a normally-engaged condition in which said brake assembly restrains rotation of the rotor;
a brake controller comprising a brake diagnostics system;
at least one vibration sensor located in the housing, wherein said at least one vibration sensor senses vibrations occurring in said housing during a brake operation cycle of the brake assembly and outputs vibration data describing said vibrations to the brake diagnostics system for use by the brake diagnostics system to assess an operative condition of the brake assembly;
said brake assembly further comprising a brake coil that is selectively energized by said brake controller by passing an electrical current through said coil to disengage said brake assembly to allow rotation of said rotor;
said motor further comprising a brake coil current feedback system operatively associated with the brake coil and adapted to sense a magnitude of the electrical current flowing through the brake coil and provide a coil current feedback signal to said brake diagnostics system, wherein said coil current feedback signal varies in relation to said magnitude of the electrical current flowing through the brake coil and said brake diagnostics system assesses the operative condition of the brake assembly based at least partially upon said coil current feedback signal.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A motor includes a brake diagnostics system with sensors to assess the brake assembly condition. Acoustic or other vibration sensors provide vibration data that is compared to known vibration spectrum data to compare the condition of the brake assembly to a properly functioning brake assembly. The brake diagnostics system monitors current flow in the brake coil to assess the condition of the brake assembly. The sensed brake coil current is compared to known coil current spectrum data to compare the condition of the brake assembly to a properly functioning brake assembly. The voltage input to the brake coil is varied depending upon the current sensed in the brake coil to minimize heat in the brake coil. The motor also includes a resilient layer of thermally conductive material located between the brake assembly and the housing that provides a continuous, uninterrupted thermal pathway between the brake assembly and the motor housing.
20 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A motor comprising:
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a housing including a rotor and stator; a brake assembly adapted to selectively restrain rotation of the rotor, said brake assembly spring-biased into a normally-engaged condition in which said brake assembly restrains rotation of the rotor; a brake controller comprising a brake diagnostics system; at least one vibration sensor located in the housing, wherein said at least one vibration sensor senses vibrations occurring in said housing during a brake operation cycle of the brake assembly and outputs vibration data describing said vibrations to the brake diagnostics system for use by the brake diagnostics system to assess an operative condition of the brake assembly; said brake assembly further comprising a brake coil that is selectively energized by said brake controller by passing an electrical current through said coil to disengage said brake assembly to allow rotation of said rotor; said motor further comprising a brake coil current feedback system operatively associated with the brake coil and adapted to sense a magnitude of the electrical current flowing through the brake coil and provide a coil current feedback signal to said brake diagnostics system, wherein said coil current feedback signal varies in relation to said magnitude of the electrical current flowing through the brake coil and said brake diagnostics system assesses the operative condition of the brake assembly based at least partially upon said coil current feedback signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19)
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17. A motor comprising:
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a housing including a rotor and stator; a brake assembly adapted to restrain rotation of the rotor, said brake assembly comprising a brake coil; a brake controller comprising a brake diagnostics system; a brake coil current feedback system operatively associated with the brake coil and adapted to sense an electrical current flowing through the brake coil, wherein said brake coil current feedback system provides a coil current feedback signal to the brake diagnostics system, and wherein a magnitude of the coil current feedback signal indicates a magnitude of the electrical current flowing through the brake coil; wherein said brake diagnostics system uses the magnitude of the coil current feedback signal to at least one of;
(i) determine an operative condition of the brake assembly based upon the magnitude of the coil current feedback signal during a brake operation cycle;
(ii) reduce a voltage input to the brake coil when the coil current feedback signal indicates that more than a minimum holding current is flowing in the brake coil, wherein said minimum holding current represents a minimum current magnitude flowing in the brake coil required to maintain the brake assembly in a disengaged state. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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20. A motor comprising:
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a motor housing comprising a front wall, a rear wall, and a side wall, wherein said side wall extends between and interconnects said front wall and said rear wall, wherein said front wall, said rear wall, and said side wall define an interior space; said motor comprising a rotor and a stator located in said interior space, wherein said stator is fixed in position relative to said housing and said rotor is adapted to rotate relative to said stator; a front bearing assembly and a rear bearing assembly located in said interior space; an output shaft operably connected to said rotor and rotatably supported relative to said housing by said front bearing assembly and said rear bearing assembly, wherein said output shaft projects through said front wall of said housing such that part of said output shaft is located external to said interior space of said housing; said housing comprising a mid-point located halfway between said front wall and said rear wall such that a front region of said housing is defined between said front wall and said mid-point, and a rear region of said housing is defined between said rear wall and said mid-point, wherein said front bearing assembly and a brake assembly are located in said front region of said housing and said rear bearing assembly is located in said rear region of said housing.
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Specification