An article of footwear can include a ferromagnetic body disposed in the article, and a magnetometer to measure a strength or direction of a magnetic field that is influenced by a position of the ferromagnetic body. One of the ferromagnetic body and the magnetometer can be configured to move relative to the other one of the ferromagnetic body and the magnetometer, for example according to movement of a foot in the article. In an example, the ferromagnetic body is disposed in a compressible insole and the ferromagnetic body moves in response to compression or relaxation of the insole. The magnetometer can be disposed in a platform or sole portion of the article that is relatively stationary compared to the ferromagnetic body. Rate of change information about the magnetic field can be used to control article functions or to provide information about a foot strike or step rate.

A system for compensating for the stresses applied to a bearing that rotatably supports a rotor shaft of a rotating machine relative to a stator of the machine. The system provides at least one sensor for measuring an input signal positioned on an element of the bearing, a module for acquiring the input signal configured to convert the input signal into a value of the deformation applied to the rolling bearing, a module for determining a compensation signal as a function of the deformation value, and an amplifier module configured to control a magnetic actuator rotatably supporting the shaft of the rotor and including at least one electromagnet, the amplifier module being configured to convert the compensation signal into a voltage signal transmitted to the electromagnet of the magnetic actuator, the magnetic actuator being configured to exert a force on the rotor shaft as a function of the voltage signal.

A foot presence sensor system for an active article of footwear can include a sensor housing configured to be disposed at or in an insole of the article, and a controller circuit, disposed within the sensor housing, configured to trigger one or more automated functions of the footwear based on a foot presence indication. In an example, the sensor system includes a capacitive or magnetic sensor configured to sense changes in a body's proximity to the sensor in footwear. Characteristics of the sensed proximity can be used to update an automated footwear function, such as an automatic lacing function, or can be used to determine a step count, foot strike force, a rate of travel, or other information about a foot or about the footwear.

An abnormality diagnosis method of a rolling bearing used in rotating machinery includes: a time acquisition step of acquiring, from an output signal detected by a sensor during the rotation of the rolling bearing, an entry time when a rolling element enters a flaking region of a bearing ring, and an escape time when the rolling element escapes from the flaking region of the bearing ring; and an estimation step of estimating a flaking size based on a flaking passage time, which is a time difference between the entry time and the escape time. When the bearing ring receives repeated load from the rolling element, the progress of the flaking occurring in the bearing ring can be quantitatively evaluated.

An agricultural system including: an agricultural baler with a bale-forming chamber; a plunger movable in a reciprocating manner within the bale-forming chamber for compressing plant matter in the bale-forming chamber; and a driveline for moving the plunger within the bale-forming chamber. The driveline comprises at least one bearing. The agricultural system further includes a control unit configured to: receive load-data indicative of a load acting on the plunger during operation of the baler; and determine a bearing-status-signal indicative of wear status the bearing, based on the load-data.

An article of footwear can include a ferromagnetic body disposed in the article, and a magnetometer to measure a strength or direction of a magnetic field that is influenced by a position of the ferromagnetic body. One of the ferromagnetic body and the magnetometer can be configured to move relative to the other one of the ferromagnetic body and the magnetometer, for example according to movement of a foot in the article. In an example, the ferromagnetic body is disposed in a compressible insole and the ferromagnetic body moves in response to compression or relaxation of the insole. The magnetometer can be disposed in a platform or sole portion of the article that is relatively stationary compared to the ferromagnetic body. Rate of change information about the magnetic field can be used to control article functions or to provide information about a foot strike or step rate.

In a screw device where a shim is disposed between two nuts, a screw device that can detect preload is provided. The preload detectable screw device includes: two nuts; a shim sandwiched and compressed between the two nuts; a coupling portion configured to couple the two nuts in such a manner as to be incapable of relative rotation to each other; and a force sensor for detecting preload. A contact surface of at least one of the two nuts with the shim is provided with a recess, spaced apart from the coupling portion, in such a manner as to reduce the contact area. The force sensor is attached near the recess on an outer surface of the shim.

A method for fixing a fiber having a fiber Bragg grating sensor segment onto a component configured to undergo changes in strain and/or temperature. The method providing the steps of stretching at least a section of the fiber including the fiber Bragg grating sensor segment by a defined and calibrated preload into a preloaded condition, fixing the section of the fiber including the fiber Bragg grating sensor segment being in the preloaded condition on a carrier element, and fixing the carrier element onto the component, as well as a bearing device with such a fiber.

A method of determining bearing preload by vibration measurement including mounting the bearing on a vibration tester, the outer ring clamped preventing rotation, mounting a sensor proximate the outer ring to measure vibration, the bearing inner ring rotated to excavate eigen-frequencies, the measured vibration data transmitted from the sensor to a computer workstation, the computer workstation performs a numerical FFT transforming data to Frequency Domain, spectral data from the FFT analyzed with the computer workstation, a peak detection algorithm determines the peaks that are the various modes of the outer ring, the modes are sorted and main modes identified, numerical relationship is obtained for each mode between the resonance and preload, the mode relationships are compared to one or more references, a match between the numerical relationships for each mode and the ideally referenced graph modes indicates a correct preload is determined. Also, a system for carrying out the method.

Provided is a torque sensor that includes: a bearing that is provided with an inner ring and an outer ring that are supported so as to be relatively movable only in the direction of rotation about a predetermined axis; a connecting member that is provided with fixing sections that are respectively fixed to the inner ring and the outer ring and a strain generation section that connects between the fixing sections; and a strain sensor that is disposed on the connecting member so as to be capable of detecting a strain at least in the circumferential direction.