Wear Detection Systems for Overhead Conveyor Systems

• US 20150197399A1
• Filed: 01/14/2014
• Published: 07/16/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Incorporated (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Incorporated (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Mayer, Dennis L., Allen, Matthew R.
• Granted Patent: US 9,683,918 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B61B 3/00 Elevated railway systems with suspended vehicles with suspended flexible tracks B61B7/00; saddle or like balanced type with monorail B61B13/06; with propelling cables and for transporting materials B65G; tracks therefor E01B25/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/06 for measuring thickness ; e.g. of sheet material thickness measurement by thermal means G01B21/085
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 5/0025 of elongated objects, e.g. pipes, masts, towers or railways G01M5/0058 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 5/0033 by determining damage, crack or wear
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 3/56 Investigating resistance to wear or abrasion

Abstract

A wear detection system for detecting beam wear along a support flange of a beam includes a rail riding portion configured to travel along the support flange and a processor portion connected to the rail riding portion. The rail riding portion includes a wear measurement system comprising one or more measuring sensors configured to provide an output indicative of thickness of the support flange. The processor portion includes an integrated processing system that receives the output of the one or more measuring sensors and generates measurement information based on the output.

Claims

1. A wear detection system for detecting beam wear along a support flange of a beam, the wear detection system comprising:

a rail riding portion configured to travel along the support flange; and

a processor portion connected to the rail riding portion;

the rail riding portion comprising a wear measurement system comprising one or more measuring sensors configured to provide an output indicative of thickness of the support flange;

the processor portion comprising an integrated processing system that receives the output of the one or more measuring sensors and generates measurement information based on the output.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the rail riding portion comprises a frame and a sensor mount assembly that mounts the one or more measuring sensor to the frame, the processor portion connected to the frame such that the processor portion hangs from the frame during a wear detection process.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the rail riding portion includes one or more wheels arranged and configured to ride along the support flange of the beam.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the rail riding portion comprises an encoder having a rotary wheel that engages the support flange and is configured to provide an output indicative of location along the support flange of the beam to the integrated processing system.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the rail riding portion comprises a detecting sensor arranged and configured to detect an indicator marker and provide an output to the integrated processing system.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the integrated processing system includes logic that resets the encoder based on output from the detecting sensor when the indicator marker is detected.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more measuring sensors comprise a pair of laser displacement sensors.

8. A method for detecting beam wear along a support flange of a beam using a wear detection system, the method comprising:

moving a rail riding portion of the wear detection system along the support flange, the wear detection system comprising a processor portion connected to the rail riding portion;

generating an output indicative of thickness of the support flange using one or more measuring sensors of a wear measurement system carried by the rail riding portion; and

generating measurement information using an integrated processing system of the processor portion using the output of the one or more measuring sensors.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising providing an output to the integrated processing system indicative of location of the wear detection system along the support flange of the beam using an encoder having a rotary wheel that engages the support flange, the integrated processing system generating location information based on the output of the encoder.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising providing the location information to an external computer.

11. The method of claim 9 further comprising providing an output to the integrated processing system using a detecting sensor upon detecting an indicator marker.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising the integrated processing system resetting the encoder based on the output from the detecting sensor when the indicator marker is detected.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the one or more measuring sensors comprise a pair of laser displacement sensors.

14. The method of claim 8 further comprising providing the measurement information to an external computer.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising reporting the measurement information to a user using the external computer.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the measurement information is reported to a user using a mobile computing device.

17. A wear analysis system for detecting beam wear along a support flange of a beam, the wear analysis system comprising:

a wear detection system comprising;

a rail riding portion configured to travel along the support flange; and

a processor portion connected to the rail riding portion;

the rail riding portion comprising a wear measurement system comprising one or more measuring sensors configured to provide an output indicative of thickness of the support flange;

the processor portion comprising an integrated processing system that receives the output of the one or more measuring sensors and generates measurement information based on the output; and

a computer external to the wear detection system that receives the measurement information and reports the measurement information to a user.

18. The wear analysis system of claim 17, wherein the computer is a mobile computing device.

19. The wear analysis system of claim 17, wherein the rail riding portion of the wear detection system comprises a frame and a sensor mount assembly that mounts the one or more measuring sensor to the frame, the processor portion connected to the frame such that the processor portion hangs from the frame during a wear detection process.

20. The wear analysis system of claim 17, wherein the rail riding portion of the wear detection system comprises an encoder having a rotary wheel that engages the support flange and is configured to provide an output indicative of location along the support flange of the beam to the integrated processing system.