Brush holder assembly monitoring apparatus, assembly, system and method
AssigneeCutsforth, Inc.
InventorRobert S. Cutsforth
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Methods and systems for monitoring a brush holder assembly and/or detecting wear of a brush in a brush holder assembly are disclosed. One method includes sending data from a plurality of remote monitoring locations to a central control unit, where the data may be evaluated in order to monitor states of brushes at a plurality of remote electrical facilities. For example, multiple images of a marker tracking longitudinal movement of the brush may be acquired. A comparison of the images, for example, a comparative imaging technique, such as pixel-by-pixel comparison, may then be performed in order to evaluate a condition of the brush, such as the wear rate, wear state, or life expectancy of the brush.
Claims18
A brush holder assembly for an electrical device comprising:
- a brush holder;
- a carbon brush slidably disposed within the brush holder, the carbon brush configured to contact a rotating conductive surface of an electrical generator to conduct electrical current therefrom, the brush holder permitting linear movement of the carbon brush toward the rotating conductive surface as the carbon brush wears;
- a brush wear indicator configured to provide data indicative of linear displacement of the carbon brush relative to the brush holder associated with wear of the carbon brush, the brush wear indicator including a base portion having a lower surface and an upper surface opposite the lower surface, the lower surface of the base portion attached to a top surface of the carbon brush;
- and
- a spring having a coiled portion engaging the upper surface of the base portion to advance the carbon brush towards the rotating conductive surface.
A brush assembly for an electrical device comprising:
- a carbon brush having a top surface and a bottom surface opposite the top surface;
- a brush wear indicator configured to provide data indicative of linear displacement of the carbon brush associated with wear of the carbon brush, the brush wear indicator including a base portion having a lower surface and an upper surface opposite the lower surface, the lower surface of the base portion replaceably attachable to the top surface of the carbon brush.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.