BRUSH HOLDER ASSEMBLY MONITORING APPARATUS, ASSEMBLY, SYSTEM AND METHOD
First Claim
1. A method of monitoring a brush holder assembly including one or more brushes at a plurality of remote monitoring locations, the method comprising:
- providing a central control unit in communication with the plurality of remote monitoring locations;
receiving data from the plurality of remote monitoring locations at the central control unit; and
evaluating the data at the central control unit to monitor states of the brushes at the plurality of remote monitoring locations.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and systems for monitoring a brush holder assembly and/or detecting wear of a brush in a brush holder assembly are disclosed. One method includes sending data from a plurality of remote monitoring locations to a central control unit, where the data may be evaluated in order to monitor states of brushes at a plurality of remote electrical facilities. For example, multiple images of a marker tracking longitudinal movement of the brush may be acquired. A comparison of the images, for example, a comparative imaging technique, such as pixel-by-pixel comparison, may then be performed in order to evaluate a condition of the brush, such as the wear rate, wear state, or life expectancy of the brush.
93 Citations
48 Claims
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1. A method of monitoring a brush holder assembly including one or more brushes at a plurality of remote monitoring locations, the method comprising:
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providing a central control unit in communication with the plurality of remote monitoring locations; receiving data from the plurality of remote monitoring locations at the central control unit; and evaluating the data at the central control unit to monitor states of the brushes at the plurality of remote monitoring locations. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of monitoring a brush holder assembly, the method comprising:
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providing a monitoring system including an imaging device in proximity to a brush holder assembly; generating a signal of the brush holder assembly with the imaging device; inputting the signal to a processing unit; and analyzing the signal to determine a condition of the brush holder assembly. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for determining the wear of a brush of a brush holder assembly, the method comprising:
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providing a brush and a marker for tracking longitudinal movement of the brush; providing an imaging device in proximity to the brush holder assembly; acquiring a first image of the marker; acquiring a second image of the marker; comparing the first image to the second image using an image analysis technique; and evaluating a condition of the brush, comprising one or more of the wear rate of the brush, the wear state of the brush, or the life expectancy of the brush. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A system for monitoring the wear of a brush of a brush holder assembly, the system comprising:
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a brush holder assembly including a brush; a marker tracking longitudinal movement of the brush; an imaging device in line of sight of the marker for acquiring images of the marker; and a processing unit for evaluating data generated from the images. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32)
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33. A system for monitoring the wear of brushes of brush holder assemblies, the system comprising:
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a plurality of remote monitoring locations, wherein each remote monitoring location generates data regarding the position of one or more brushes of a brush holder assembly; and a central control unit for receiving data from the plurality of remote monitoring locations. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35)
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36. An assembly for monitoring the wear of a brush of a brush holder assembly, the assembly comprising:
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a brush; a brush holder for guiding movement of the brush; and a marker for tracking movement of the brush, the marker including one or more markings positioned on a portion of the marker. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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43. A method of monitoring the condition of an electrical generator, the method comprising:
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providing a monitoring system including an imaging device and a processor; positioning an imaging device in line of sight of a component of an electrical generator; generating an image of the component of the electrical generator; transmitting the image to the processor; and analyzing the image to evaluate a condition of the electrical generator. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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Specification