Patent ID: 6225813
Filing Date: 2001-05-01
Classification: G01R

Abstract:
A portable hand-held apparatus for measuring the capacitance of insulation on a stator bar in a motor or generator in situ, comprising:a support pole having a telescoping section and a bendable end section, wherein said end section is bendable along its length for configuring a tip portion at a variety of spatial orientations relative to said telescoping section; anda capacitance probe mounted at the tip portion of the bendable end section of the support pole, said probe comprising:a conductive electrode pad having a first surface adapted to contact a surface of the insulation,a bladder attached to a second surface of the electrode pad, said bladder adapted to expand when tilled with a fluid,a probe support plate attached to an outside surface of the bladder opposite the electrode pad, wherein the support plate portion of the probe is secured to the tip portion of the bendable end section, andat least one spacer plate detachably secured to the support plate, said spacer plate having predetermined a thickness such that an effective width of the probe can be selectively altered by mounting one or more spacer plates to the support plate to allow the probe to fit snugly between adjacent stator bars of various separation even when the bladder is expanded using low fluid pressures which preclude a ballooning of the bladder.