Patent Application
20150066291
The present disclosure relates to a wear monitoring system of an undercarriage component, and more particularly to a wear monitoring system using an ultrasonic sensor.
Machines are used to perform various operations in different industries, such as construction, mining, transportation, and the like. Such machines may include an upper frame supported on an undercarriage. The undercarriage includes ground engaging members which provide propulsion to the machine. Operation of the machines may result in wear to various components of the undercarriage including the ground engaging members. For example, if the undercarriage includes a track assembly as a ground engaging member, each track link of the track assembly may undergo wear due to contact with other components of the track assembly and/or a ground surface.
Such components, which are prone to wear, may be periodically inspected to determine whether the components require repair or replacement. However, periodic inspections may result in machine downtimes. Further, timely identification of wear of the components may not be possible leading to further damage and/or potential failures of the components during operation of the machine.
US Patent Publication 2006/0243839 describes a method and apparatus for measuring and monitoring the setting of a crusher, in which method the erosion of the wearing parts of the crusher are monitored by sensors capable of transmitting the measurement data to the crusher's automatic control system. Based on the received measurement data, the control system adjusts the crusher setting so as to maintain the setting at its predetermined value irrespective of the erosion of the crusher's wearing parts. The invention also relates to alternative embodiments of wear sensors for the wearing parts of a crusher. The measurement data indicating the amount of erosion in the wearing parts is transmitted wirelessly to the exterior side of the crusher.
In one aspect of the present disclosure, a wear monitoring system for an undercarriage component is provided. The wear monitoring system includes an ultrasonic sensor disposed on the undercarriage component. The ultrasonic sensor is configured to emit ultrasonic waves to detect wear of the undercarriage component. The wear monitoring system further includes a wear monitoring device disposed in communication with the ultrasonic sensor. The wear monitoring device is located remote to the ultrasonic sensor. Further, the wear monitoring device is configured to generate an output indicative of wear of the undercarriage component.
Other features and aspects of this disclosure will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings.
Reference will now be made in detail to specific embodiments or features, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, corresponding or similar reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or corresponding parts.
The undercarriage 102 may include a pair of track assemblies 109 (only one shown) on opposing sides of the machine 100. The track assembly 109 may include a track 110, a drive sprocket 106, at least one idler 120, a plurality of rollers 122, and a frame assembly 124. The track 110 may form a continuous structure operatively coupled to the drive sprocket 106, the idlers 120, and the rollers 122. Further, the power source of the machine 100 may transmit power to the drive sprocket 106 via a driving mechanism. The driving mechanism may include a mechanical drive, a hydraulic drive, an electric drive, or a combination thereof.
The frame assembly 124 may carry the idlers 120. The frame assembly 124 may include multiple members (not shown) movable longitudinally relative to one another. During operation, a relative movement between the members of the frame assembly 124 may move the idlers 120 relative to one another. Further, rotation of the drive sprocket 106 may cause the drive the track 110 to move around the drive sprocket 106, the idlers 120, and the rollers 122 to engage a ground surface, and thereby propel the machine 100. The drive sprocket 106 may be driven in different directions to propel the machine 100 in forward or reverse directions. Further, the machine 100 may be steered by providing differential power to the drive sprockets 106 of the corresponding track assemblies 109.
In an exemplary embodiment, the track 110 may include a plurality of interconnected track links 126. Adjacent track links 126 may be rotatably coupled together via a track pin assembly 128. The track pin assembly 128 may be engaged by teeth of the drive sprocket 106 to drive the track 110 around the drive sprocket 106, the idlers 120, and the rollers 122.
The track 110 may further include a plurality of track shoes 130 secured to the track links 126. Each track shoe 130 may include a connecting portion configured to be secured to one or more of the track links 126 and a ground engaging portion 132 configured to contact the ground. The ground engaging portion 132 may include one or more portions (e.g., grouser bars) that provide increased traction between the track shoes 130 and the ground. It should be understood that the various components of the undercarriage 102, described above, are purely exemplary and not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure.
During operation, one or more undercarriage components, such as the rollers 122, the track shoes 130, the track links 126, and the track pin assemblies 128, and the like may undergo wear. These undercarriage components may require replacement and/or repair based on an extent of wear. The present disclosure relates to a wear monitoring system 200 configured to monitor an extent of wear of one or more undercarriage components, as will be explained hereinafter in detail.
The wear monitoring device 204 may be positioned anywhere on the machine 100 that allows the wear monitoring device 204 to receive signals from the wear sensor 202. In an embodiment, the wear monitoring device 204 may be disposed in the upper body 101 of the machine 100. The wear monitoring device 204 may be installed in the operator cabin 103 of the machine 100. Alternatively, the wear monitoring device 204 may be mounted on an exterior surface of the machine 100. In yet another embodiment, the wear monitoring device 204 may be placed remotely from the machine 100.
The wear sensor 202 may be secured to the track link 126 by various methods. In one embodiment, the wear sensor 202 may be at least partially embedded within the track link 126. In another embodiment, the wear sensor 202 may be mounted on a surface of the track link 126. The wear sensor 202 may be configured to detect wear of the track link 126 and transmit a signal indicative of wear to the wear monitoring device 204. In an embodiment, the wear sensor 202 may be an ultrasonic sensor configured to emit ultrasonic waves, schematically shown as arrow ‘A’, in order to detect wear of the track link 126.
In an example, the wear sensor 202 may be configured to detect an extent of wear of the track link 126, and transmit signals when one or more wear thresholds are detected. Each of the wear thresholds may be indicative of a length of wear, area of wear, or a ratio of a detected dimension to an original dimension of the track link 126. The wear sensor 202 may be configured to monitor wear of a surface 203 of the track link 126. As shown in
In operation, the wear sensor 202 may be configured to emit ultrasonic waves and receive reflected ultrasonic waves from the surface 203. The wear sensor 202 may be further configured determine an elapsed time span between transmission and receipt of the ultrasonic waves. The elapsed time span may vary with progressive wear of the track link 126. For example, elapsed time span for an unworn undercarriage component may be different to elapsed time for a worn undercarriage component due to change in dimensions of the undercarriage component. The variation in elapsed time span may be correlated to the wear thresholds described above. When a specific wear threshold is reached, the wear sensor 202 may transmit a signal indicative of the extent of wear of the track link 126 to the wear monitoring device 204. The wear monitoring device 204 may generate an output indicative of wear of the track link 126. The output may include an alert, for example, an audio, visual or a tactile alert. Further, the output may include a signal to a central server accessible by service personnel, manufacturer or a dealer. Additionally, the wear monitoring device 204 may also store data related to wear of the track link 126 in a memory. The wear monitoring device 204 may include one or more ports which enable an external device to be connected thereto in order to access stored data related to wear.
The wear monitoring device 204 may also be configured to transmit information received from the wear sensor 202 to on-board or off-board devices (not shown). For example, the monitoring device 204 may be in communication with a machine controller (not shown). Moreover, the monitoring device 204 may be in communication with smartphones, laptops, or any portable device known in the art.
Although, the wear monitoring system 200 including the wear sensor 202 and the wear monitoring device 204 has been described for wear monitoring of the track link 126, it should be understood that the wear monitoring system 200 can be employed for wear monitoring of any undercarriage component. Various examples of such undercarriage components are described hereinafter in detail.
It may be contemplated that the wear monitoring system 200 may include multiple wear sensors 202 disposed on corresponding undercarriage components. In an embodiment, the multiple wear sensors 202 may be in communication with a single monitoring device 204. Alternatively, a separate monitoring device 204 may be provided for each wear sensor 202.
The present disclosure is related to the wear monitoring system 200 for an undercarriage 102 component of the machine 100. The monitoring system 200 may include the wear sensor 202 for detecting wear of the undercarriage component. Further, the wear sensor 202 may be in communication with the monitoring device 204. The monitoring device 204 may be configured to generate an output indicative of wear of the undercarriage component. As explained above, the undercarriage component may include, for example, but not limited to, the track link 126, the idler 120, the roller 122, the track shoe 130 etc.
The wear monitoring system 200 may enable real time monitoring of wear of the undercarriage component. Further, the wear sensor 202 may be an ultrasonic sensor disposed on the undercarriage component, thereby enabling accurate determination of an extent of wear. Extent of wear may indicate whether the undercarriage component requires repair and/or replacement. Further, the wear monitoring system 200 may provide an alert if the undercarriage component requires immediate attention, thereby preventing any possible failures of the undercarriage component. Hence, machine downtimes may be reduced.
The wear monitoring system 200 may also be configured to store wear data. Wear data may be accessible in order to optimize maintenance and operation schedules of the machine 100, determine working life of various undercarriage components etc. Further, manual inspection of the undercarriage components may be reduced.
While aspects of the present disclosure have been particularly shown and described with reference to the embodiments above, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various additional embodiments may be contemplated by the modification of the disclosed machines, systems and methods without departing from the spirit and scope of what is disclosed. Such embodiments should be understood to fall within the scope of the present disclosure as determined based upon the claims and any equivalents thereof.
