System and method for anticipating low-speed bearing failure
First Claim
1. A conveyor system for advance detection of bearing failure for a bearing rotating at a low RPM, the bearing being incorporated in a conveyor mechanism, and the bearing having an outer portion, an inner portion, and an intermediate portion separating the outer portion from the inner portion, the conveyor system comprising:
- an accelerometer portion positioned proximate the bearing, wherein the accelerometer is configured to measure a vibration of the bearing and to output an alternating-current electrical signal indicative of the measured vibrations;
a low-pass filter portion configured to pass frequency components of the alternating-current electrical signal that are less than a low-passing frequency and configured to reject frequency components of the alternating-current electrical signal that are above the low-passing frequency;
an AC-to-DC conversion portion configured to convert the alternating-current electrical signal indicative of the measured vibrations to a direct-current electrical signal containing information regarding a condition of the bearing;
a transmitter in electrical communication with the AC-DC conversion portion and configured to transmit the information regarding the condition of the bearing;
a remote monitoring device, wherein the remote monitoring device is configured to receive from the transmitter the information regarding the condition of the bearing; and
a warning device associated with the remote monitoring device, wherein the warning device is configured to indicate when the information received by the remote monitoring device exceeds a predetermined threshold indicating that the condition of the bearing is deteriorating,an averaging filter portion in electrical communication with the AC-to-DC conversion portion and configured to smooth the alternating-current electrical signal from the AC-to-DC conversion portion by averaging a first alternating-current electrical signal measured at a first point in time with a second alternating-current electrical signal measured at a second point in time that is later than the first point in time.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for anticipating low-speed bearing failure triggers a notification when a noise generated by the low-speed bearing exceeds a threshold. The system predicts failure far in advance of the actual failure. The system includes an accelerometer for detecting the noise generated by the bearing. The signal produced by the accelerometer is processed using a band pass filter, an amplifier/rectifier, an averaging filter, and a voltage to current converter. The signal and raw data are transmitted to a remote monitoring system, such as a computer. The signal is further analyzed, such as to produce a best-fit line. When the signal exceeds a predetermined threshold, such as when the amount or the slope of the best-fit line exceeds a value, the remote system notifies a monitor to schedule maintenance.
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Citations
42 Claims
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1. A conveyor system for advance detection of bearing failure for a bearing rotating at a low RPM, the bearing being incorporated in a conveyor mechanism, and the bearing having an outer portion, an inner portion, and an intermediate portion separating the outer portion from the inner portion, the conveyor system comprising:
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an accelerometer portion positioned proximate the bearing, wherein the accelerometer is configured to measure a vibration of the bearing and to output an alternating-current electrical signal indicative of the measured vibrations; a low-pass filter portion configured to pass frequency components of the alternating-current electrical signal that are less than a low-passing frequency and configured to reject frequency components of the alternating-current electrical signal that are above the low-passing frequency; an AC-to-DC conversion portion configured to convert the alternating-current electrical signal indicative of the measured vibrations to a direct-current electrical signal containing information regarding a condition of the bearing; a transmitter in electrical communication with the AC-DC conversion portion and configured to transmit the information regarding the condition of the bearing; a remote monitoring device, wherein the remote monitoring device is configured to receive from the transmitter the information regarding the condition of the bearing; and a warning device associated with the remote monitoring device, wherein the warning device is configured to indicate when the information received by the remote monitoring device exceeds a predetermined threshold indicating that the condition of the bearing is deteriorating, an averaging filter portion in electrical communication with the AC-to-DC conversion portion and configured to smooth the alternating-current electrical signal from the AC-to-DC conversion portion by averaging a first alternating-current electrical signal measured at a first point in time with a second alternating-current electrical signal measured at a second point in time that is later than the first point in time. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 34)
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25. A component of a conveyor system for advance detection of bearing failure for a bearing rotating between approximately 0.1 RPM and approximately 10.0 RPM, the bearing being incorporated in a conveyor mechanism, and the bearing having an outer portion, an inner portion, and an intermediate portion separating the outer portion from the inner portion, the component comprising:
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an accelerometer portion positioned proximate the bearing and configured to measure a vibration of the bearing and to output alternating-current electrical signal indicative of the measured vibrations, wherein the accelerometer detects frequencies between approximately 0.5 Hz and approximately 15,000 Hz; a frequency filtering portion configured to pass frequency components of the alternating-current electrical signal that are less than approximately 500 Hz and configured to reject frequency components of the alternating-current electrical signal that is greater than approximately 500 Hz; and an AC-to-DC conversion portion configured to rectify the alternating-current electrical signal indicative of the measured vibrations to a direct-current electrical signal containing information regarding a condition of the bearing, wherein the component is configured to process the alternating-current electrical signal output by the accelerometer through both the frequency filtering portion and the AC-to-DC conversion portion, wherein the component is configured to transmit a first electrical signal derived from the direct-current electrical signal; and an averaging filter portion in electrical communication with the accelerometer and configured to smooth alternating-current electrical signal from the accelerometer by averaging a first alternating-current electrical signal measured at a first point in time with a second alternating-current electrical signal measured at a second point in time that is later than the first point in time. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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35. A method for advance detection of bearing failure for a bearing rotating between approximately 0.1 RPM and approximately 10.0 RPM, the bearing being incorporated in a conveyor mechanism, and the bearing having an outer portion, an inner portion, and an intermediate portion separating the outer portion from the inner portion, the method comprising steps of:
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positioning an accelerometer adjacent to the bearing to measure a vibration of the bearing and to output alternating-current electrical signal indicative of the measured vibrations, the accelerometer being configured to detect frequencies between approximately 0.5 Hz and approximately 15,000 Hz; filtering the output of the accelerometer through a low-pass filter configured to reject frequencies greater than 500 Hz; rectifying the output of the accelerometer through an AC-to-DC converter configured to convert the alternating-current electrical signal indicative of the measured vibrations to direct-current electrical signal-containing information regarding a condition of the bearing; transmitting a first electrical signal derived from the direct-current electrical signal to a remote monitoring device; and using an averaging filter portion in electrical communication with the accelerometer to smooth the alternating-current electrical signal from the accelerometer by averaging a first alternating-current electrical signal measured at a first point in time with a second alternating-current electrical signal measured at a second point in time that is later than the first point in time. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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Specification