Method and apparatus for sensing magnetic radiation through tagging
OwnerThomas C. Targoszinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method and an apparatus for monitoring a material includes adding tagging particles to the material, sensing the tagging particles in the material for an even distribution throughout the material, forming a part from the material if the tagging particles are evenly distributed throughout the material, sensing the tagging particles in the part to determine a physical characteristic of the part, placing the part in operation if the determined physical characteristic is within a predetermined specification, sensing the tagging particles in the part during operation to detect at least one of wear and damage to the part, and generating an indication to a user upon detection of the at least one of wear or damage to the part.
Claims19
An apparatus for monitoring a part containing tagging particles distributed throughout comprising:
- a magnetic field generator positioned adjacent the part and generating a magnetic field;
- a first sensor positioned adjacent the part at a first point near the generator for generating a reference signal representing sensed flux;
- a second sensor spaced from the first sensor and positioned at a second point adjacent the part for generating a damage signal representing sensed flux;
- signal conditioning circuits connected to the first and second sensors for demodulating the damage signal with the reference signal;
- and
- an electronics unit connected to the signal conditioning circuits and being responsive to the demodulated damage signal to detect a change in the damage signal caused by wear or damage to the part.
An apparatus for monitoring a part containing tagging particles distributed throughout comprising:
- a magnetic field generator positioned adjacent the part and generating a magnetic field;
- a sensor positioned adjacent the part for generating an output signal representing sensed flux;
- a signal conditioning circuit connected to the sensor for demodulating the output signal by generating a square wave from the output signal;
- and
- an electronics unit connected to the signal conditioning circuit for utilizing the square wave to detect a change in the output signal caused by wear or damage to the part and notify an operator of the change.
A method for monitoring a moving material comprising the steps of:
- adding magnetic field altering tagging particles to a material;
- demagnetizing the tagging particles prior to moving the material to a first point;
- magnetizing the tagging particles at the first point;
- operating a first magnetic flux sensor at the first point to generate a first signal representing a detection of the magnetized tagging particles as the material leaves the first point;
- moving the material a predetermined distance from the first point to position the magnetized tagging particles at a second point;
- operating a second magnetic field sensor at the second point to generate a second signal representing a detection of the magnetized tagging particles when the magnetized tagging particles arrive at the second point;
- calculating a speed at which the material is moving between the first point to the second point based upon the predetermined distance and an elapsed time between the generation of the first signal and the generation of the second signal;
- and
- indicating to a user the speed at which the material is moving.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.