Shaft mounted energy harvesting for wireless sensor operation and data transmission

A method of monitoring a rotating part, comprising:

• a. providing a rotatable part, a sensor, a processor, an energy storage device, a non-volatile memory, and a wireless transmitter;
• b. mounting said sensor, said processor, said energy storage device, said non-volatile memory, and said wireless transmitter to rotate with said rotatable part;
• c. rotating said rotatable part, wherein said sensor, said processor, said energy storage device, said non-volatile memory, and said transmitter rotate with said rotatable part;
• d. waking said processor for a period of time while said shaft is rotating, wherein said processor draws energy from said energy storage device during said period of time, wherein said processor is in an active mode during said period of time;
• e. sampling said sensor and storing data derived from said sensor in said non-volatile memory during said period of time;
• f. returning said processor to sleep mode;
• and
• g. transmitting information with said wireless transmitter, wherein said information includes data derived from said sensor and stored in said non-volatile memory, wherein said transmitting is accomplished while said rotatable part is rotating.

A method of monitoring a rotating part, comprising:

• a. providing a rotatable part, a sensor, a processor, and an energy supplying device;
• b. mounting said sensor, said processor, and said energy supplying device to rotate with said rotatable part;
• c. rotating said rotatable part, wherein said sensor, said processor, and said energy supplying device rotate with said rotatable part;
• d. while said rotatable part is rotating waking said processor for a period of time, wherein said processor draws energy from said energy supplying device during said period of time, wherein said processor is in an active mode during said period of time;
• e. sampling said sensor during said period of time;
• f. while said rotatable part is rotating automatically adjusting rotation of said rotatable part based on data derived from said sensor;
• and
• g. returning said processor to sleep mode.