Bearing condition monitor for a vehicle, such as a truck or a trailer
First Claim
1. A bearing monitoring system for a vehicle comprising:
- an axle;
a wheel mounting apparatus surrounding said axle, said wheel mounting apparatus including at least one bearing;
a wheel mounted on said wheel mounting apparatus;
a sensor member mounted on said axle, said sensor member having a first sensing element mounted thereon for use in determining the temperature of said at least one bearing; and
circuitry for processing information from said sensor member regarding the temperature of said at least one bearing and for performing a function on the vehicle depending on the information sensed by said first sensing element.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system for monitoring bearing health of a wheel of a vehicle, such as a trailer, is provided. The system is configured to monitor at least one characteristic relating to the wheel bearings, such as a temperature, vibrations, and/or proximity. The monitoring system may be configured to monitor more than one of these characteristics (i.e., temperature, vibration and proximity) or even all three. The system is incorporated into a wheel speed sensor. The system may be incorporated in an anti-lock brake system (ABS) or electro-pneumatic brake system (EBS). Regardless of which characteristic is actually monitored by the system and whether the system is employed with an ABS or EBS, the bearing monitoring system provides that one or more bearings of a vehicle can be continuously and automatically monitored in the field.
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Citations
39 Claims
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1. A bearing monitoring system for a vehicle comprising:
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an axle;
a wheel mounting apparatus surrounding said axle, said wheel mounting apparatus including at least one bearing;
a wheel mounted on said wheel mounting apparatus;
a sensor member mounted on said axle, said sensor member having a first sensing element mounted thereon for use in determining the temperature of said at least one bearing; and
circuitry for processing information from said sensor member regarding the temperature of said at least one bearing and for performing a function on the vehicle depending on the information sensed by said first sensing element. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A bearing monitoring system for a vehicle comprising:
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an axle;
a wheel mounting apparatus surrounding said axle, said wheel mounting apparatus including at least one bearing;
a wheel mounted on said wheel mounting apparatus;
a sensor member mounted on said axle, said sensor member having a first sensing element mounted thereon for use in sensing vibrations of one or more elements of the wheel mounting apparatus; and
circuitry for processing information from said sensor member regarding the vibrations of one or more elements of said wheel mounting apparatus and for performing a function on the vehicle depending on the information sensed by said first sensing element. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A bearing monitoring system for a vehicle comprising:
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an axle;
a wheel mounting apparatus surrounding said axle, said wheel mounting apparatus including at least one bearing;
a wheel mounted on said wheel mounting apparatus;
an element mounted on said wheel mounting apparatus;
a sensor member mounted on said axle, said sensor member having a first sensing element mounted thereon for use in determining the radial and/or axial proximity of said element relative thereto by sensing the radial and/or axial position of said element relative to said first sensing element; and
circuitry for processing information from said sensor member regarding the radial and/or axial proximity of said element and for performing a function on the vehicle depending on the information sensed by said first sensing element. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A bearing monitoring system for monitoring a bearing of a wheel of a vehicle, said bearing monitoring system comprising:
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brake mechanisms;
circuitry in operable communication with said brake mechanisms;
wheel speed sensors in communication with said circuitry, said circuitry configured to operate said brake mechanisms depending on what is sensed by said wheel speed sensors; and
at least one bearing sensor configured to monitor at least one characteristic at least generally relating to the bearing, said characteristic being at least one of a temperature proximate the bearing, vibrations of one or more elements of said wheel mounting apparatus and proximity of a rotating element of the wheel. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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Specification