US 5,347,857 A · Phase detection apparatus and method

Abstract

Machine assemblies often include driving and driven members such an engine associated with a driven load. These members typically include rotatable shafts (16, 18) interconnected by a flexible coupling element (20). System torsionals in such a machine often cause the shafts (16, 18) to be out of phase with one another. When this occurs, excessive energy is transferred to the coupling element (20). The subject apparatus (22) includes a device (24) for detecting and measuring rotational phase differences between driving and driven rotatable shafts (16, 18). The measured phase differences are compared with a reference phase difference level and an error signal is produced in response to the measured phase difference exceeding the reference level.

Claims12

Dependent claims

An apparatus (22), comprising:

a driving member having a driving rotatable shaft connected therewith;
a driven member having a driven rotatable shaft connected therewith;
a coupling element interconnecting said driven and driving shafts;
means (24) for detecting and measuring rotational phase differences between the driving and driven rotatable shafts (16, 18);
means (26) for comparing said measured phase difference with a reference phase difference level;
means (28) for producing an error signal in response to said measured phase difference exceeding said reference phase difference level;
wherein said means for detecting said measuring phase differences includes a first transducer associated with said driving member shaft, and a second transducer associated with said driven member shaft;
wherein said first and second transducers each include a multi-toothed gear and a gear tooth detector adapted to sense the presence and absence of the respective gear teeth;
wherein one of said multi-toothed gears includes substantially more teeth than does the other of said multi-toothed gears.

6 more elements

An apparatus (22) for measuring the dynamic phase difference between the rotatable shafts (16, 18) of a reciprocating engine drivingly connectable by a flexible coupling element (20) to a load, comprising:

means (24) for detecting rotational phase differences between the rotatable engine and load shafts (16, 18), including first and second transducers (30, 32) associated respectively with the engine and load shafts (16, 18), each of said transducers (30, 32) including a respective multi-toothed gear (34, 38) and gear tooth detector (36, 40);
and
means (24) for determining the amount of dynamic phase difference between the rotatable shafts (16, 18), by counting the number of driving member gear teeth passing the respective gear tooth detectors (36) during the interval between two successive ones of said driven member gear teeth passing the respective gear tooth detector (40), calculating the instantaneous phase difference between the rotatable shafts (16, 18) by subtracting the actual number of driving member gear teeth counted from the expected number obtained by dividing the number of driving member gear teeth by the number of driven member gear teeth, and integrating the calculated instantaneous phase difference and responsively determining the amount of dynamic phase difference.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Phase detection apparatus and method

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Phase detection apparatus and method

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims12