Portable, self-contained data collection systems and methods
First Claim
1. A power supply for an accelerometer comprising:
- a power supply housing;
an accelerometer battery power supply in said power supply housing, which provides sufficient power for an accelerometer;
output means, for electrically and mechanically connecting said accelerometer battery power supply to an accelerometer external to said power supply housing, and for receiving accelerometer signals from said accelerometer external to said power supply housing;
input means, for electrically and mechanically coupling said accelerometer battery power supply to a portable computer external to said power supply housing, for receiving a control signal from the portable computer external said power supply housing and for providing said accelerometer signals to the portable computer external to said power supply housing;
said accelerometer battery power supply being responsive to said control signal to activate said accelerometer battery power supply to supply power for an accelerometer external to said power supply housing to said output means so that the accelerometer external to the power supply housing is powered by the accelerometer battery power supply instead of by said portable computer external to said power supply housing.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A portable self-contained data collection system for measuring and collecting vibration data from machines includes an accelerometer which is coupled to the analog input of a data acquisition card. The data acquisition card samples and digitizes the analog signal to produce a time domain digital signal. The data acquisition card output is coupled to a battery-powered portable computer. The battery-powered portable computer includes a database having machine identifications and associated measurement parameters. The portable computer processes the time domain digital signal according to the measurement parameters associated with a selected machine identification, and produces a frequency domain digital signal by performing a Fast Fourier Transform and other digital signal processing operations. The frequency domain signal is also analyzed in the portable computer to produce predictive maintenance information. A power supply for supplying power to the accelerometer is also included. The accelerometer power supply electrically and mechanically couples the accelerometer to the data acquisition card. It supplies power to the accelerometer when the data acquisition card is activated.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. A power supply for an accelerometer comprising:
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a power supply housing; an accelerometer battery power supply in said power supply housing, which provides sufficient power for an accelerometer; output means, for electrically and mechanically connecting said accelerometer battery power supply to an accelerometer external to said power supply housing, and for receiving accelerometer signals from said accelerometer external to said power supply housing; input means, for electrically and mechanically coupling said accelerometer battery power supply to a portable computer external to said power supply housing, for receiving a control signal from the portable computer external said power supply housing and for providing said accelerometer signals to the portable computer external to said power supply housing; said accelerometer battery power supply being responsive to said control signal to activate said accelerometer battery power supply to supply power for an accelerometer external to said power supply housing to said output means so that the accelerometer external to the power supply housing is powered by the accelerometer battery power supply instead of by said portable computer external to said power supply housing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A data collection system for measuring and collecting vibration data from machines, said data collection system comprising:
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a portable computer including; a portable computer housing; a portable computer battery power supply within said portable computer housing to supply power to said portable computer; and an expansion slot in said portable computer housing; a data acquisition card mechanically and electrically coupled to said expansion slot; and an accelerometer power supply including; a power supply housing; an accelerometer battery power supply within said power supply housing which provides sufficient power for an accelerometer; means for electrically and mechanically coupling an accelerometer external to said power supply housing to said accelerometer power supply to convey accelerometer signals produced by the accelerometer external to said power supply housing to said accelerometer power supply and to supply power from said accelerometer battery power supply to the accelerometer external to said power supply housing; and means for electrically and mechanically coupling said accelerometer power supply to a data acquisition card external to said power supply housing to thereby convey accelerometer signals from the accelerometer power supply to the data acquisition card external to the power supply housing. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification