Claims
- 1. A method of monitoring the quality of lubricant that is in a gear mechanism or machine and that contains effective materials, said method including the steps of:
withdrawing from the gear mechanism or machine a sample of said lubricant or of vapor that escapes from said lubricant, conveying a sample of the vapor escaping from the lubricant to an ion mobility spectrometer, analyzing materials of said sample that are present in a vapor phase above said lubricant, and comparing a change of content and type of analyzed materials in said sample to predetermined materials in a vapor phase of virgin lubricant, and using such comparison as an actual condition for an aging of said lubricant.
- 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the lubricant is classified pursuant to the analysis of the determined measurement results by comparison with prescribed threshold values.
- 3. A method according to claim 1, wherein after the analysis of the determined measurement results by comparison with prescribed threshold values, effective materials are added to the lubricant.
- 4. A method according to claim 1, wherein after the analysis of the determined measurement results by comparison with prescribed threshold values, the lubricant is exchanged.
- 5. An apparatus for monitoring the quality of lubricant that is in a gear mechanism or machine and that contains effective materials, said apparatus comprising
a sample withdrawal line connected to said gear mechanism or machine, an ion mobility spectrometer connected to said sample withdrawal line, and an analysis unit connected to said ion mobility spectrometer.
- 6. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said analysis unit is connected to a control room.
- 7. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said analysis unit is connected to a remote monitoring station.
- 8. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said sample withdrawal line is connected to an inner chamber of said gear mechanism or machine above a level of said lubricant therein.
- 9. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said gear mechanism or machine is provided with an oil-venting device, and wherein said sample withdrawal line is connected to said oil-venting device.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
102 35 612.2 |
Aug 2002 |
DE |
|
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of pending application Ser. No. 10/633,265 filed on Aug. 1, 2003.
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10633265 |
Aug 2003 |
US |
Child |
10737243 |
Dec 2003 |
US |