Vibration severity indicator

• US 4,302,977 A
• Filed: 04/04/1980
• Issued: 12/01/1981
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/1980
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: IRD Mechanalysis, Inc.
• Original Assignee: IRD Mechanalysis, Inc.
• Inventors: Sisson, Edwin D., Spehr, Carl J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kreitman, Stephen A.
• Application Number:
  US06/137,552
• Time in Patent Office: 606 Days
• Field of Search: 73/660, 73/658, 73/659, 73/661, 73/593, 73/646, 73/647, 340/683
• US Class Current: 73/658
• CPC Class Codes: G01H 1/003 of rotating machines G01H1/10 takes precedence

Abstract

A vibration severity indicator has been developed which permits an operator to determine the severity of instantaneous vibration of a vibrating body in accordance with a vibration scale which is appropriate to the vibrating body. A DC ammeter is provided with a single scale divided into uniform segments. A selection switch is provided to permit the operator to indicate the category of the vibrating object so that the single meter scale will accurately reflect standards applicable to the category of the vibrating object. The result is accomplished by delivering an electrical signal corresponding to the instantaneous vibration level through a chain of resistance separated by contacts corresponding to the switch positions.

Claims

1. A vibration severity indicator for displaying transducer derived vibration levels of machines having predetermined machine classifications comprising:

conductor means connectable with said transducer for receiving electrical signals therefrom related to an instantaneous vibration amplitude of a said machine;

a plurality of serially connected resistors for receiving said signals including contacts for effecting select electrical connections between adjacent ones of said resistors;

means for conveying said signals to said plurality of resistors;

switch means manually actuable for electrical communication with selected ones of said contacts and having visible indicia associated with each said contact corresponding with a unique said machine classification;

amplifier means coupled with said switch means for amplifying the signal derived from a selected said contact;

converter means coupled with said amplifier means for deriving an output signal corresponding with the logarithm of the RMS value of said amplified signal;

a direct current meter responsive to said output signal for providing a readout indicating the instantaneous direct current value of said converter means output signal on a basis from zero to full scale, said meter having a common scale with indicia comprised of segments of predetermined width extending in mutual adjacency substantially from the zero to full scale of said meter, each said segment having a visual indication associated therewith representative of a qualitative evaluation of said vibration levels;

said resistors having resistance values selected to provide said zero to full scale basis in correspondence with a fixed range of vibration levels expressed in decibels.

2. The vibration severity indicator of claim 1 wherein the said common scale is divided into four segments, each segment having a range of 8 decibels.

3. The vibration severity indicator of claim 1 in which said means for conveying said signals to said plurality of resistors provides said signals as vibration velocity signals.