Apparatus and method for measuring properties of a rope
AssigneeActuant Corporation
InventorsLuis S. PADILLA, Wesley CONGER
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A rope, a system and a method for measuring one or more properties of a rope. A property evaluation system for ropes can be deployed for a number of different applications including, but not limited to, moving lines, e.g., crane or winch and static lines, e.g., mooring lines, stays, etc., to evaluate physical properties of the ropes and, in some cases, to help evaluate structural health of the ropes. A sheave assembly (10) may transmit a signal into a rope (14) to measure at least one property of the rope. At least one sensor (25) may be coupled to or assembled in the rope to measure at least one property of the rope.
Claims38
A system for measuring one or more properties of a rope, the system comprising:
- a sheave assembly including a wheel having a circumferential groove for at least partially receiving the rope;
- and
- a transducer coupled to the sheave, the transducer being operable to transmit a signal into the rope when the rope is in contact with the wheel to measure at least one property of the rope, the signal being transmitted in a generally transverse direction relative to a longitudinal direction of the rope.
A method of measuring a property of a rope in use, the method comprising:
- providing a sheave having a passageway for engaging the rope, the sheave having a transducer positioned along the passageway;
- moving the rope through the sheave;
- transmitting a signal transversely into the rope relative to an axial length of the rope;
- receiving the signal after the signal has passed transversely through the rope;
- and
- based at least partially on the signal, determining with a controller a property of the rope.
A synthetic fiber rope comprising:
- a plurality of strands intertwined to form a rope having a length defining an axial direction;
- and
- a plurality of sensors coupled to the rope along the length of the rope, the sensors being adapted to sense a characteristic of the rope and selectively transmit a signal representative of the sensed characteristic.
A system for measuring one or more properties of a rope, the system comprising:
- a rope having a plurality of sensors contained within the rope;
- and
- a device adjacent to which the rope passes, the device being adapted to receive information from the plurality of sensors as the rope passes adjacent the device.
A method of measuring a property of a rope in use, the method comprising:
- providing a rope having a plurality of sensors at least partially contained within the rope;
- deploying the rope into use;
- with the plurality of sensors, sensing conditions of the rope when in use;
- retracting the rope;
- and
- receiving sensed conditions in the sensors as the rope is retracted.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.