Method for controlling supply of lubricant, device for controlling supply of lubricant, and program

A lubricant supply control device for a device that lubricates a plurality of portions using a lubricant, the lubricant supply control device comprising:

• a measurement unit configured to measure an impedance of an electric circuit including the plurality of portions by applying an AC voltage to the electric circuit;
• a derivation unit configured to derive an oil film thickness and a breakage rate of an oil film between the plurality of portions based on the impedance measured by the measurement unit;
• and
• a control unit configured to control at least one of a supply amount and a supply timing of the lubricant to the device based on the oil film thickness and the breakage rate of the oil film derived by the derivation unit so that a lubrication state between the plurality of portions becomes a predetermined lubrication state,
• wherein the predetermined lubrication state is a state in which the breakage rate of the oil film is 0 or substantially 0, and the oil film thickness is smaller than a theoretical oil film thickness between the plurality of portions, and
• wherein in the controlling of at least one of the supply amount and the supply timing of the lubricant to the device, a measurement timing in the next measurement of the impedance is controlled based on a difference between the oil film thickness derived in the derivation and the theoretical oil film thickness.

A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having instructions encoded thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to execute a procedure comprising:

• measuring an impedance of an electric circuit including a plurality of portions, which are lubricated by using a lubricant in a device, by applying an AC voltage to the electric circuit;
• deriving an oil film thickness and a breakage rate of an oil film between the plurality of portions based on the impedance measured in the measurement;
• and
• controlling at least one of a supply amount and a supply timing of the lubricant to the device based on the oil film thickness and the breakage rate of the oil film derived in the derivation so that a lubrication state between the plurality of portions becomes a predetermined lubrication state,
• wherein the predetermined lubrication state is a state in which the breakage rate of the oil film is 0 or substantially 0, and the oil film thickness is smaller than a theoretical oil film thickness between the plurality of portions, and
• wherein in the controlling of at least one of the supply amount and the supply timing of the lubricant to the device, a measurement timing in the next measurement of the impedance is controlled based on a difference between the oil film thickness derived in the derivation and the theoretical oil film thickness.