Sensor for wear measurement, method of making, and method of operating same

{
  "publication_number": "US9389195B2",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B2",
  "title": "Sensor for wear measurement, method of making, and method of operating same",
  "abstract": "A wear sensor comprising: an insulating substrate having a top surface and a bottom surface; a conductive electrode formed on said top surface of said insulating substrate; an insulating wear lining material having a first side secured to said top surface of said insulating substrate and conductive electrode, an opposite second side that will be worn down by relative motion between the wear sensor and a moving component; one or more contact points where the electrical properties between the electrode and the moving component can be measured; and one or more perforations through the thickness of the substrate and electrode, through which an adhesive may flow, thereby increasing the peel strength between the wear sensor and race or between the wear sensor and the wear liner.",
  "claims": [
    "1. A wear sensor comprising: an insulating substrate having a top surface and a bottom surface; a conductive electrode formed on said top surface of said insulating substrate; an insulating wear lining material having a first side secured to said top surface of said insulating substrate and conductive electrode, an opposite second side that will be worn down by relative motion between the wear sensor and a moving component; one or more contact points where the electrical properties between the electrode and the moving component can be measured; and one or more perforations through the thickness of the substrate and electrode, the one or more perforations being capable of allowing an adhesive to flow therethrough, whereby the adhesive increases the peel strength between the wear sensor and a race or between the wear sensor and the wear liner.",
    "2. A wear sensor according to claim 1 wherein the perforations are holes.",
    "3. A wear sensor according to claim 1 wherein the perforations are slots.",
    "4. A wear sensor according to claim 1 wherein the perforations have a minimum size of 0.5 mm in one dimension.",
    "5. A wear sensor according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the one or more contact points is placed in a detent.",
    "6. A wear sensor according claim 5 wherein the detent is a staking ring.",
    "7. A method for sensing wear in a sleeve bearing for a moving component, the method comprising: providing a wear sensor comprising: an insulating substrate having a top surface and a bottom surface; a conductive electrode formed on said top surface of said insulating substrate; an insulating wear lining material having a first side secured to said top surface of said insulating substrate and conductive electrode, an opposite second side that will be worn down by relative motion between the wear sensor and a moving component; one or more contact points where the electrical properties between the electrode and the moving component can be measured; and one or more perforations through the thickness of the substrate and electrode, the one or more perforations being capable of allowing an adhesive to flow therethrough, whereby the adhesive increases the peel strength between the wear sensor and a race or between the wear sensor and the wear liner; positioning the wear sensor inside of a wear liner of a sleeve bearing; and measuring at least one electrical property between the electrode of the wear sensor and the moving component so as to determine the wear in the sleeve bearing."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "This patent application claims benefit of pending prior U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/713,735, filed Oct. 15, 2012 by Iosif Izrailit et al. for SENSOR FOR WEAR MEASUREMENT, METHOD OF MAKING, AND METHOD OF OPERATING SAME, which patent application is hereby incorporated herein by reference.\n\nThis invention relates to wear sensing devices in general, and more particularly to a sensor suited to the measurement of wear in bearings that employ a low friction wear lining material, instead of balls or rollers to support the load. More particularly, the invention relates to the electrical measurement of capacitance or other electrical impedance parameters between a movable surface and an electrode, which may be positioned within or on the back side of the wear liner, and its correlation to wear.\n\nCondition based maintenance programs rely upon inspection to identify those parts that are nearing their end of life. Bearings are no exception to this rule. The replacement of a bearing before it is fully worn out may be wasteful, but waiting too long to replace a bearing can be catastrophic in some applications, particularly with rotorcraft and aircraft. It is known in the art to place sensors inside a bearing to measure wear. Discenzo (U.S. Pat. No. 7,551,288) disclosed a system for monitoring bearing wear that employed an optical fiber embedded in the bearing and operatively coupled to an interferometric system. Such a system will measure wear at only one point, and that point may not coincide with the area of maximum wear.",
  "cpc": [
    "G01N 27/02",
    "F16C 17/02",
    "F16C 17/246",
    "F16C 23/043",
    "G01N 27/22",
    "G01N 27/221",
    "G01N 3/56"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "G01N 27/02",
    "G01N 27/22",
    "F16C 17/24"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "New Hampshire Ball Bearings Inc",
    "NanoLab Inc"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Iosif Izrailit",
    "David L. Carnahan",
    "Grant A. Drew",
    "Richard R. Soelch"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2013-10-15",
  "publication_date": "2016-07-12",
  "grant_date": "2016-07-12",
  "priority_date": "2012-10-15",
  "application_number": "US-201314054485-A",
  "family_id": "50474813",
  "cited_by_count": 8,
  "citations": [
    "US3950599A",
    "US4006051A",
    "US4122388A",
    "US7551288B1",
    "US7166354B2",
    "US7270890B2",
    "US20090219040A1",
    "US7354877B2",
    "US20140103942A1"
  ]
}