Patent ID: 7346475
Filing Date: 2008-03-18
Classification: G01R,G05B,H02H

Abstract:
1. A method of detecting impending mechanical faults comprising: generating baseline data for an operating motor; receiving a first set of current data from the operating motor; performing an FFT on the first set of current data to generate a first set of frequency spectrum data; receiving a second set of current data from the operating motor; performing an FFT on the second set of current data to generate a second set of frequency spectrum data; linearly averaging the first set of frequency spectrum data with the second set of frequency spectrum data to generate an averaged set of frequency spectrum data; selecting a first range of frequency spectrum data from the averaged set of frequency spectrum data, the first range comprising frequencies greater than a system frequency; summing the frequency spectrum data within the first range to generate a mechanical fault signature; comparing the mechanical fault signature to a portion of the baseline data; generating a ratio of the mechanical fault signature to the baseline data indicating a probability of the prospective faults; determining amplitude variances within a component of a running shaft speed of the motor indicative of prospective faults due to at least one of motor misalignment and unbalance; and storing the amplitude variances in memory.