Displacement measurement system and method using magnetic encodings
First Claim
1. A measurement system, comprising:
- a rotating member configured to transfer mechanical energy to a point of use, the member having at a surface thereof a pair of spatially separated, circumferentially oriented bands of magnetizable material, each band having a magnetic pattern comprised of a plurality of transitions magnetically recorded in the magnetizable material of that band, the transitions having approximately a 1 mm spacing;
a magnetic-field sensor being disposed sufficiently near each band of magnetizable material to sense the magnetic pattern recorded in that band as the member rotates, each magnetic-field sensor generating signals in response to the magnetic pattern sensed by that magnetic-field sensor; and
processing electronics in communication with each magnetic-field sensor to receive the signals generated by that magnetic-field sensor while the member rotates and to dynamically compute, in response to the signals generated by the magnetic-field sensors sensing the magnetic patterns recorded in the spatially separated bands, an angular displacement of one of the spatially separated bands relative to the other of the spatially separated bands,wherein a resolution for computing the angular displacement is at a sub-micron level.
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Abstract
A measurement system includes a rotating member configured to transfer mechanical energy to a point of use. The member has at a surface thereof one or more circumferentially oriented bands of magnetizable material. Each band has a magnetic pattern comprised of a plurality of transitions magnetically recorded in the magnetizable material of that band. A magnetic-field sensor is disposed sufficiently near each band of magnetizable material to sense a magnetic pattern recorded in that band as the member rotates. Each magnetic-field sensor generates signals in response to the magnetic pattern sensed by that magnetic-field sensor. Processing electronics is in communication with each magnetic-field sensor to receive the signals generated by that magnetic-field sensor while the member rotates and to dynamically compute from the signals a measurement associated with a performance of the rotating member.
130 Citations
31 Claims
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1. A measurement system, comprising:
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a rotating member configured to transfer mechanical energy to a point of use, the member having at a surface thereof a pair of spatially separated, circumferentially oriented bands of magnetizable material, each band having a magnetic pattern comprised of a plurality of transitions magnetically recorded in the magnetizable material of that band, the transitions having approximately a 1 mm spacing; a magnetic-field sensor being disposed sufficiently near each band of magnetizable material to sense the magnetic pattern recorded in that band as the member rotates, each magnetic-field sensor generating signals in response to the magnetic pattern sensed by that magnetic-field sensor; and processing electronics in communication with each magnetic-field sensor to receive the signals generated by that magnetic-field sensor while the member rotates and to dynamically compute, in response to the signals generated by the magnetic-field sensors sensing the magnetic patterns recorded in the spatially separated bands, an angular displacement of one of the spatially separated bands relative to the other of the spatially separated bands, wherein a resolution for computing the angular displacement is at a sub-micron level.
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2. A measurement system, comprising:
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a shaft rotating about an axis, the shaft having a surface and a pair of spatially separated circumferentially oriented bands of magnetizable material directly on the surface of the shaft, each band having a magnetic pattern comprised of a plurality of transitions magnetically recorded in the magnetizable material of that band; a magnetic-field sensor being disposed sufficiently near each band of magnetizable material to sense the magnetic pattern recorded in that band as the shaft rotates, each magnetic-field sensor generating signals in response to the magnetic pattern sensed by that magnetic-field sensor; and processing electronics in communication with each magnetic-field sensor to receive the signals generated by that magnetic-field sensor while the shaft rotates, the processing electronics measuring, in response to the signals generated by the magnetic-field sensors, an angular displacement of one of the spatially separated bands relative to the other of the spatially separated bands, and computing torsion experienced by the shaft from the measured angular displacement. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A measurement system, comprising:
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a shaft rotating about an axis, the shaft having at a surface thereof a circumferentially oriented band of magnetizable material, the band having a magnetic pattern comprised of a plurality of transitions magnetically recorded in the magnetizable material; a magnetic-field sensor being disposed sufficiently near the band of magnetizable material to sense the magnetic pattern as the shaft rotates, the magnetic-field sensor generating signals in response to the magnetic pattern; and processing electronics in communication with the magnetic-field sensor to receive the signals generated by the magnetic-field sensor while the shaft rotates, the processing electronics measuring vibration occurring in the rotating shaft from the received signals generated by the magnetic-field sensor. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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13. A method for measuring performance of a rotating member, comprising:
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providing a pair of spatially separated bands of magnetizable material at a surface of a rotatable member, each of the one or more bands having a magnetic pattern comprised of a plurality of transitions with approximately a 1 mm spacing magnetically recorded in the magnetizable material of that band; rotating the member to transfer mechanical energy to a point of use; sensing the magnetic pattern recorded in each of the one or more bands of magnetizable material as the member rotates; generating signals in response to each sensed magnetic pattern; dynamically computing, in response to the generated signals, an angular displacement of one of the spatially separated bands relative to the other of the spatially separated bands at a sub-micron level resolution. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification