Patent Publication Number: US-2019170569-A1

Title: Vibration monitoring system

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to a vibration monitoring system, and more specifically, to a system and method for monitoring vibrations at a work site. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Machines, such as vibratory compactors, are used in a variety of applications to compact various materials. The primary role of the compactor is to compact these materials to a desired density. Vibrations generated from operating these machines is beneficial for compaction. However, these vibrations may be detrimental to sensitive structures that are present at a work site. 
     Currently, it may be difficult for site managers or supervisors to measure these vibrations and provide real-time feedback to operators of the machine. While operating the machines at the work site, the operators may in some cases unknowingly exceed recommended vibration levels, affecting the sensitive structures present at the work site. 
     United States Published Application Number 2010/0008728 describes a compactor. The compactor includes a transporter, an impact tool, a lifting mechanism capable of lifting the impact tool to a raised position, a substantially elongate support mast coupled to the lifting mechanism and capable of supporting the raised impact tool, and a mast stabilization system characterized in that the stabilizing system is capable of adjusting the orientation of the support mast to allow the impact tool to descend substantially vertically from said raised position without the transmission of any lateral force by the tool to the support mast. 
     SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     In one aspect of the present disclosure, a vibration monitoring system at a work site is provided. The vibration monitoring system includes a vibration detection sensor associated with a structure provided at the work site. The vibration detection sensor is configured to generate a signal indicative of vibrations in an area proximate to the structure. The system also includes a stationary alert assembly provided at the work site. The stationary alert assembly is proximate to the structure and the stationary alert assembly is positioned such that an alert provided by the stationary alert assembly is perceivable by users operating at the work site. The system also includes a controller coupled to the vibration detection sensor and the stationary alert assembly. The controller is configured to receive the signal indicative of the vibrations and compare the signal with a predetermined threshold. The controller is configured to provide the alert to the users through the stationary alert assembly based on the comparison. 
     In another aspect of the present disclosure, a method for vibration monitoring at a work site is provided. The method includes receiving, by a controller, a signal indicative of the vibrations in an area proximate to a structure through a vibration detection sensor. The method includes comparing, by the controller, the signal with a predetermined threshold. The method includes providing, by the controller, an alert to the users through a stationary alert assembly based on the comparison. The stationary alert assembly is proximate to the structure and is positioned such that the alert provided by the stationary alert assembly is perceivable by users operating at the work site. 
     In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a system for vibration monitoring at a work site including a plurality of structures is provided. The system includes a vibration detection sensor associated with each of the plurality of structures provided at the work site. The vibration detection sensor is configured to generate a signal indicative of vibrations in an area proximate to the respective structure. The system also includes a stationary alert assembly associated with each of the plurality of structures. The stationary alert assembly is positioned proximate to the respective structure such that an alert provided by the stationary alert assembly is perceivable by users operating at the work site. The system also includes a controller coupled to the vibration detection sensor and the stationary alert assembly. The controller is configured to receive the signal indicative of the vibrations for each of the plurality of structures. The controller is configured to compare the signal with a predetermined threshold. The controller is configured to provide the alert to the users through the respective stationary alert assembly based on the comparison. 
     Other features and aspects of this disclosure will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view of an exemplary work site, in accordance with the concepts of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a vibration monitoring system for the work site of  FIG. 1 , in accordance with the concepts of the present disclosure; and 
         FIG. 3  is a flowchart of a method for monitoring vibrations at the work site, in accordance with the concepts of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , an exemplary work site  100  is illustrated. The work site  100  may be any known mining job site. A number of machines  102 ,  104  operate at the work site  100   100 . In the illustrated embodiment, compactors are shown operating at the work site  100 . Alternatively, any other types of machines may operate at the work site  100  without any limitation. For simplicity of explanation, two compactors are shown in the accompanying figures. However, the number of machines  102 ,  104  present at the work site  100  may vary without any limitation. 
     The work site  100  also includes a structure  106 . In the present disclosure, the structure  106  represents a building or any other construction that is present at the work site  100  and requires protection from vibrations generated by the machines  102 ,  104  during operation. For simplicity, a single structure  106  is shown at the work site  100 . However, the number of structures  106  present at the work site  100  may vary without any limitation. Further, based on the type of the structure  106 , each structure  106  at the work site  100  has a predetermined vibration level or predetermined threshold associated with a given area surrounding the structure  106 . During operation, if the vibrations at the work site  100  exceed the predetermined threshold for the structure  106 , the respective structure  106  may be potentially affected by the vibrations. 
     The present disclosure relates to a vibration monitoring system  200  associated with the work site  100 . Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the vibration monitoring system  200  includes a vibration detection sensor  108  provided at the work site. The vibration detection sensor  108  is associated with the structure  106 . A number of vibration detection sensors  108  are provided on the work site  100  proximate to respective structures  106 . The vibration detection sensor  108  is positioned at the work site  100  such that the vibration detection sensor  108  is proximate to the structure  106 , and is configured to generate a signal indicative of vibrations in the area surrounding the structure  106 . 
     As explained earlier, these vibrations may be generated due to operation of the machines  102 ,  104  at the work site  100 . In one example, the vibration detection sensor  108  is a geophone. Alternatively, the vibration detection sensor  108  may include any other similar device to measure the ground vibration and calculating the vibration levels or particle velocities. In one example, one or more vibration detection sensors  108  may be positioned in the area surrounding the structure  106  for measuring the vibrations in the area. 
     Additionally, stationary alert assemblies  110  are provided at different locations on the work site  100 . More specifically, one or more stationary alert assemblies  110  may be placed in the area surrounding the respective structure  106 . The stationary alert assemblies  110  are fixedly provided at the work site  100  such that alerts provided by the stationary alert assembly  110  are perceivable by the operators, personnel and/or users present on the work site  100 . The alerts provided by the stationary alert assembly  110  may include visual alerts, audio alerts or a combination thereof and will be explained later in this section. It should be noted that the stationary alert assembly  110  is a stationary and relatively large device that is fixedly attached to the work site  100  and can be viewed or heard easily from any location at the work site  100  or within a defined vicinity at the work site  100 . 
     The vibration monitoring system  200  also includes a controller  202 . The controller  202  is coupled to the vibration detection sensor  108 . The controller  202  is configured to receive the signal indicative of the vibrations in the area surrounding the structure  106  from the vibration detection sensor  108 . Further, the controller  202  is coupled to a database  204 . The database  204  may include any known data repository or memory storage device for storing information related to the predetermined threshold associated with the structure  106 . The controller  202  is configured to access and retrieve the predetermined threshold from the database  204 . The controller  202  then compares the signal received from the vibration detection sensor  108  and the predetermined threshold. If the current vibrations in the area surrounding the structure  106  exceed the predetermined threshold, the controller  202  is configured to provide the alert through the stationary alert assembly  110 . 
     As mentioned above, the alert may be any combination of visual and/or audio alerts. In one embodiment, based on a degree of closeness between the signal indicative of the current vibrations and the predetermined threshold, different alerts may be provided through the stationary alert assembly  110 . For example, as shown in  FIG. 1 , the stationary alert assembly  110  may include a set of lights, say three lights. If the signal lies within a first range of the predetermined threshold, a first alert, say a green light, is made visible for all operators at the work site to see. Further, if the signal lies within a second range of the predetermined threshold, a second alert, say an orange light is made visible for all operators at the work site to see if the signal lies within a third range of the predetermined threshold, a third alert, say a combination of a red light and an alarm is provided by the stationary alert assembly  110  for all operators at the work site. The alerts described above are exemplary and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. 
     The alerts are provided by the stationary alert assembly  110  in such a manner that the alerts can be seen or heard by all operators at the work site  100  and/or within the predefined vicinity of the structure  106 , so that the operators may take the required corrective actions on perceiving the alert. Additionally, the stationary alert assembly  110  is positioned near the respective structure  106  so that the operator is made aware which structure  106  is potentially at risk. The controller  202  is configured to provide the alert on a real-time basis. 
     In one example, the controller  202 , the vibration detection sensor  108 , and the stationary alert assembly  110  are integrated into a single device and installed proximate to the structure  106  at the work site  100 , such that the controller  202  within the device processes and analyses the vibration data for the given structure  106 . Alternatively, the stationary alert assembly  110  and the vibration detection sensor  108  may be placed in a single device near the structure  106 , and the controller  202  may be located off-site. In one example, the controller  202  may receive and process data from multiple vibration detection sensors  108  through known wireless communication techniques. In yet another embodiment, each of the vibration detection sensor  108 , the stationary alert assembly  110 , and the controller  202  may be individual and separate components that are installed and positioned at different locations and may communicate with one another using known communication networks. 
     Additionally, in some cases the controller  202  may also be configured to provide another alert on mobile devices, that have authorized access, in addition to the alert provided by the stationary alert assembly  110 . Also, the data collected from the multiple vibration detection sensors  108  may also be stored in a cloud or other known storage device for later retrieval by the controller  202 . 
     The controller  202  may be a microprocessor or other processor as known in the art. The controller  202  may embody a single microprocessor or multiple microprocessors to perform the operations described above. Numerous commercially available microprocessors may be configured to perform the functions of the controller  202 . A person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the controller  202  may additionally include other components and may also perform other functions not described herein. 
     INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY 
     The present disclosure provides the system  200  and method  300  for monitoring vibrations generated at a work site  100 . Referring to  FIG. 3 , at step  302 , the controller  202  receives the signal indicative of the vibrations in the area proximate to the structure  106  through the vibration detection sensor  108 . At step  304 , the controller  202  compares the signal with the predetermined threshold. At step  306 , the controller  202  provides the alert to the users through the stationary alert assembly  110  based on the comparison. The stationary alert assembly  110  is proximate to the structure  106  and is positioned such that the alert provided by the stationary alert assembly  110  is perceivable by the users operating at the work site  100 . 
     The stationary alert assembly  110  of the present disclosure provides as easy and cost-effective solution for identifying if the vibrations generated in the area of the work site  100  are detrimental to given structures  106  present on the work site  100 . The system may be easily deployed by providing the suitable hardware at the desired locations of the work site  100 . The stationary alert assembly  110  can be installed proximate to the structure  106  and can be viewed or heard by all operators in the defined vicinity of the work site  100 . This may make it easy for operators to become aware of when the vibrations in the area are high enough to cause potential damage to the structures  106 , allowing the operators to take corrective actions in time. 
     While aspects of the present disclosure have been particularly shown and described with reference to the embodiments above, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various additional embodiments may be contemplated by the modification of the disclosed machines, systems and methods without departing from the spirit and scope of what is disclosed. Such embodiments should be understood to fall within the scope of the present disclosure as determined based upon the claims and any equivalents thereof.