Instrumented take-up unit and related control method

• US 20050124447A1
• Filed: 11/12/2002
• Published: 06/09/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ABet SKF
• Original Assignee: ABet SKF
• Inventors: Message, Olivier, Ponson, Frederic
• Granted Patent: US 7,699,732 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 474/135
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2007/081 Torsion springs
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2007/0861 comprising means for sensing tensioner position
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2007/0876 Control or adjustment of actuators
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2007/0891 Linear path
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2007/0893 Circular path
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2061/1208 with diagnostic check cycles; Monitoring of failures
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 61/12 Detecting malfunction or potential malfunction, e.g. fail safe in control of hydrostatic gearing F16H61/4192; Circumventing or fixing failures
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 7/1263 where the axis of the pulley moves along a substantially straight path
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 7/1281 where the axis of the pulley moves along a substantially circular path

Abstract

The invention concerns a device for tensioning belts or chains comprising a fixed support (4), an equipment (2) mobile relative to the fixed support (4) and designed to be in contact with the belt or the chain, and an actuator (14) designed to exert a permanent tensioning force between the mobile equipment and the fixed support. The device further comprises an assembly sensing (16, 28) parameters of angular displacement of the mobile equipment relative to the fixed support.

Claims

1. A belt- or chain-tensioning device, comprising:

a fixed bracket;

a moving element relative to the fixed bracket, wherein the moving element is configured to contact a belt or a chain;

an actuator configured to exert a permanent tension force between the moving element and the fixed bracket; and

a sensor unit configured to monitor parameters of angular displacement of the moving element relative to the fixed bracket, and

a coder element positioned on a working cam of a tensioning roller or on a pivot bearing for an arm, and wherein the coder element is configured to be able to rotate past a sensor positioned on the fixed bracket.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the coder element comprises an optical coder ring, and wherein the optical coder ring comprises an alternation of reflective and opaque zones or a multipolar magnetic coder ring.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the moving element comprises a pulley rotation-mounted on the moving element, and wherein the pulley is configured come in contact with the belt or the chain.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein the moving element comprises a pulley rotation-mounted on the moving element, and wherein the pulley is configured to come in contact with the belt or the chain.

4. A process for monitoring a tension of a belt or a chain, comprising:

exerting a tension force between a fixed bracket and a moving element relative to the fixed bracket, and

measuring parameters of angular displacement of the moving element relative to the fixed bracket.

5. The process of claim 4, wherein measuring parameters of angular displacement comprise measuring an angular displacement, an angular displacement velocity, a frequency, and amplitude of angular displacement of the moving element relative to the fixed bracket.

6. The process of claim 5, wherein a belt-tension record comprises determined from a value of mean angular displacement.

7. The process of claim 6, wherein a record of failure of the belt or the tension device comprises a function of thresholds of mean linear displacement or as a function of mean angular displacement.

8. The process of claims 5, wherein a record of failure of the belt or of the tension device comprises function of the frequency or amplitude of oscillation about a mean angular displacement value.

9. The process of claim 8, wherein a record of failure comprises a function of thresholds of amplitude of oscillation or of frequency of oscillation about a mean angular displacement value.

12. The process of claim 6, wherein a record of failure of the belt or of the tension device comprises a function of the frequency or amplitude of oscillation about a mean angular displacement value.

13. The process of claim 7, wherein a record of failure of the belt or of the tension device comprises a function of the frequency or amplitude of oscillation about a mean angular displacement value.

10. A system for monitoring tension of a belt of chain, comprising:

a CPU;

a memory coupled to the CPU;

wherein the memory comprises program instructions executable to implement;

monitoring a tension of a belt tensioned by means of a tensioning device comprising;

a fixed bracket;

a moving elements relative to the fixed bracket;

an actuator configured to exert a permanent tension force between the moving element and the fixed bracket, and wherein the actuator comprises a module for receiving signals corresponding to parameters of angular displacement of the moving element relative to the fixed bracket; and

a module for processing received signals, wherein the module for processing received signals is configured to determine a belt-tension record or a failure record on the basis of an angular displacement value, an angular displacement velocity value, an angular displacement mean value, and a frequency and amplitude of angular displacement value.