Patent ID: 9551460
Date: 2017-01-24
CPC Classifications: F16C,F16N

Claim:
1. A bearing system comprising: a bearing housing configured to house a bearing, the bearing housing enclosing a free volume for receiving lubricant; a quantity of the lubricant in the free volume; a sensor configured to measure at least one parameter affecting a degradation rate at which the lubricant will degrade and to produce at least one output signal indicative of the measured at least one parameter; a pump for pumping lubricant into the bearing housing; and a controller configured to receive the at least one output signal from the sensor, and to control the pump based a function of the received at least one output signal; wherein the controller is configured to determine the degradation rate of the lubricant based on a rotation speed of the bearing, a temperature of the lubricant in the bearing housing and a moisture level of the lubricant and cause the pump to pump lubricant into the bearing housing based on the determined degradation rate; and wherein the controller is further configured to set a lubrication rate at which the pump dispenses lubricant as a first function of the rotation speed of the bearing in response to a determination that the temperature is below a first level and the moisture level is below a second level and to set the lubrication rate at which the pump dispenses lubricant as a second function of the rotation speed of the bearing in response to a determination that the temperature is at or above the first level and the moisture level is below the second level and to set a lubrication rate as a third function of the rotation speed of the bearing or independently of the rotation speed of the bearing in response to a determination that the moisture level is at or above the second level.