Brush holder assembly monitoring apparatus, assembly, system and method
AssigneeCutsforth, Inc.
InventorsRobert S. Cutsforth, Denis Robert Bourdeau
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Methods and systems for monitoring a brush holder assembly and/or detecting wear of a brush in a brush holder assembly are disclosed. One method includes sending data from a plurality of remote monitoring locations to a central control unit, where the data may be evaluated in order to monitor states of brushes at a plurality of remote electrical facilities. For example, multiple images of a marker tracking longitudinal movement of the brush may be acquired. A comparison of the images, for example, a comparative imaging technique, such as pixel-by-pixel comparison, may then be performed in order to evaluate a condition of the brush, such as the wear rate, wear state, or life expectancy of the brush.
Claims36
A method of monitoring a brush holder assembly, the method comprising:
- providing a monitoring system including an imaging device in proximity to a brush holder assembly, the imaging device configured to capture an image of the brush holder assembly;
- capturing an image of the brush holder assembly with the imaging device;
- generating a signal based on the image;
- inputting the signal to a processing unit;
- and
- analyzing the signal to determine a condition of the brush holder assembly.
A method for determining the wear of a brush of a brush holder assembly, the method comprising:
- providing a brush and a marker for tracking longitudinal movement of the brush;
- providing an imaging device in proximity to the brush holder assembly;
- acquiring a first image of the marker with the imaging device;
- acquiring a second image of the marker with the imaging device;
- comparing the first image to the second image using an image analysis technique;
- and
- evaluating a condition of the brush, comprising one or more of the wear rate of the brush, the wear state of the brush, or the life expectancy of the brush.
A system for monitoring the wear of a brush of a brush holder assembly, the system comprising:
- a brush holder assembly including a brush;
- a marker tracking longitudinal movement of the brush;
- an imaging device in line of sight of the marker for acquiring images of the marker;
- and
- a processing unit for evaluating data generated from the images.
A system for monitoring the wear of brushes of brush holder assemblies, the system comprising:
- a plurality of remote monitoring locations, wherein each remote monitoring location generates data regarding the position of one or more brushes of a brush holder assembly;
- and
- a central control unit for receiving data from the plurality of remote monitoring locations.
An assembly for monitoring the wear of a brush of a brush holder assembly, the assembly comprising:
- a brush;
- a brush holder for guiding movement of the brush;
- and
- a marker for tracking movement of the brush, the marker including one or more markings positioned on a portion of the marker.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.