Work Vehicle Wear Sensor with Cavity-Mounted Support Body
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for predicting wear on work machine components, such as undercarriages, are unreliable due to numerous variables and require machine downtime for inspections, which are often unsafe and impractical, especially when components are inaccessible or covered in debris.
Innovation Solution
A wear sensor system with a flexible printed circuit and support body is integrated into the component, ensuring constant alignment and protection against external forces, allowing continuous monitoring without damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If periodic visual or instrumental inspections are performed on undercarriage components, then wear state can be detected, but machine downtime increases and inspection safety decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual visual or instrumental inspection methods with an automated optical measurement system. The projector casts structured light patterns onto the component surface, and the camera captures the deformed patterns to calculate wear depth through photogrammetric algorithms, eliminating the need for periodic manual inspections.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a wearable sensor probe as an intermediary element that directly contacts the component surface during operation. This probe continuously measures dimensional changes and transmits data wirelessly, serving as a mediator between the component and the monitoring system, enabling real-time wear detection without stopping the machine.
2Measurement precision
If wear sensors are directly exposed on the component surface, then wear monitoring is enabled, but sensor alignment drifts and sensor damage occurs due to external forces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent embeds the wear sensor probe within a cavity in the component rather than exposing it on the surface. The probe nests inside the cavity with its measurement tip extending slightly beyond the cavity opening, protecting the sensitive electronics and alignment mechanisms from external forces while maintaining measurement capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent provides a support body within the cavity that cushions and absorbs external forces before they reach the sensor probe. This support structure acts as a protective buffer, preventing direct transmission of mechanical shocks and loads to the delicate sensor elements, thereby maintaining alignment and preventing damage.
3Duration of action of moving object
If statistical considerations are used to predict component wear, then maintenance scheduling can be planned, but prediction reliability is insufficient due to numerous variables
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback-based monitoring system where the wearable sensor continuously measures actual wear progression and transmits data to a processing system. This real-time feedback replaces unreliable statistical predictions with direct measurement data, enabling accurate determination of when maintenance should be performed based on actual component condition rather than estimated operating life.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables the component to self-monitor its own wear state through the integrated sensor probe that is part of the component structure. The component essentially reports its own condition through wireless data transmission, eliminating the need for external inspection or prediction methods.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention describes a work vehicle component (10) comprising a cavity (12) obtained in the component (10), having an extension axis (A) and delimited by a side wall (13), an opening (14) for the cavity (12) placed at an outer surface (11) of the component (10), a wear sensor (16) housed in the cavity (12) and comprising a first axial end (16c) placed at the opening (14) for the cavity (12), a support body (22) inserted into the cavity (12) with a first axial end (22a) aligned with the first axial end (16c) of the wear sensor (16). The support body (22) is connected to the side wall (13) of the cavity (12) and constrained to the side wall (13) of the cavity (12), and the wear sensor (16) is physically connected to the support body (22) and is constrained, at least in an axial direction, to the support body (22).