Patent ID: 6923063

Claim:
An acoustic sensing device, comprising: (a) a housing assembly having a housing interior including: i. a housing body having a first end portion and a second end portion; ii. a mount disposed on said first end portion for permitting removable attachment of said housing body relative to a surface mounting region of the machinery, said first end portion of said housing body formed as a substantially planar wall having a substantially planar inner contact surface and a substantially planar outer contact surface that is oriented in a facing relationship to the surface mounting region of the machinery when the housing body is removably attached relative thereto; and iii. a coupler disposed on said second end portion for permitting said housing body to be selectively coupled to measuring instrumentation via a communications interface; and (b) an acoustic emissions sensor supported within said housing interior in electrical communication with said coupler, said acoustic emissions sensor including a piezoelectric transducer having a mounting face immovably secured to said inner contact surface and extending longitudinally within the housing interior from said mounting face to terminate in an unrestrained free end portion, said piezoelectric transducer operative upon exposure to sound waves propagating through the surface mounting region of the machinery to stress longitudinally within the housing interior and produce corresponding transducer signals, and said acoustic emissions sensor operative, when the housing body is attached relative the surface mounting region and the measuring instrumentation is coupled to said housing body, to produce detection signals from the transducer signals along said communications interface.