There is provided an inductive sensing circuit, comprising a signal generator, configured to generate a drive signal; one or more sensing arrangements, each of the one or more sensing arrangements comprising: two sets of one or more inductive sensing elements, configured in a half bridge arrangement, the two sets of one or more inductive sensing elements driven by the drive signal; a correction signal circuit, configured to generate a correction signal, wherein the correction signal is an adjustably scaled version of the drive signal; and a summing circuit, configured to sum an output signal of the two sets of one or more inductive sensing elements with the correction signal; and a demodulation circuit, configured to demodulate an output of the summing circuit of each of the one or more sensing arrangements.

A capacitive distance sensor for determining distances from an object, wherein the distance sensor has at least one sensor electrode and at least one compensation electrode. Deviations from an ideal parallel orientation of distance sensor and object and/or errors caused by capacitive edge effects can be compensated by means of the compensation electrode.

The invention relates a capacitive sensor device for determining a distance between a rigid body and another rigid body in a system for contactless linear displacement along a linear displacement path of the rigid body relative to the other rigid body, the capacitive sensor device comprising a capacitive sensor component with a first sensor node mounted to the rigid body and a second sensor node mounted to the other rigid body; a transmission component having at least a first input node for receiving an input signal as well as an output node for providing an output signal representative of the distance; a frequency-dependent input signal generator operatively connected to the first sensor node of the capacitive sensor component and the first input node of the transmission component being operatively connected to the second sensor node of the capacitive sensor component.

In a method for monitoring a magnetic bearing device for an electric rotating machine, a first pair of at least essentially diametrically opposed sensors and a second pair of at least essentially diametrically opposed sensors are arranged in offset relation about an angle. A distance is determined between each of the sensors and a body of rotation arranged inside the first and second pairs of sensors. A first average distance is determined from distance values of the first pair of sensors and a second average distance is determined from distance values of the second pair of sensors. A first change in the first average distance is captured and a second change in the second average distance is captured. The first and second changes are compared and a warning signal is outputted when a difference between the first and second changes exceeds a limit value.

In a method for monitoring a magnetic bearing apparatus a first pair of at least essentially diametrically opposed sensors and a second pair of at least essentially diametrically opposed sensors are arranged in offset relation about an angle. A distance of each of the sensors from a rotating body arranged inside the first and second pairs of sensors is determined by temporal averaging of a plurality of distance measurements. The distances of the sensors from the rotating body are compared and a warning signal is outputted when a difference in the distances exceeds a limit value.

A bearing gauge arrangement including a holding frame dimensioned to replace a load-carrying element between an inner race and an outer race of a bearing, at least one distance gauge arranged in the holding frame to measure a distance between the inner race and the outer race during operation of the bearing, and an evaluation unit configured to evaluate measurements from a distance gauge relative to a bearing reference dimension. A generator including a main bearing between rotor and stator, and a bearing gauge arrangement, and a method of detecting a deformation of a bearing is also provided.

System for measuring motor bearings consumption of railway vehicles, comprising: a phonic wheel, arranged to be fixed to a shaft of a rotor, having a profile including an alternation of teeth and holes; a sensor, arranged to measure a punctual air-gap between the teeth of the phonic wheel and said sensor during rotation of the shaft, said sensor generating a basic sinusoidal signal function of said profile, wherein the basic sinusoidal signal is superimposed to a modulating wave, representative of a radial motion of the shaft, the basic signal and the modulating wave forming a complete signal; characterized in that the sensor further comprises: a control unit arranged to measure a maximum and a minimum amplitude value of the complete signal, said maximum and minimum amplitude values representing the maximum and minimum air-gap between the phonic wheel and the sensor, and for calculating an air-gap swing value; memory means arranged to store said air-gap swing value; wherein said sensor is arranged to send to an external control unit said air-gap swing value when the shaft stops rotating.

A device for monitoring a device with a sliding bearing device with a static element for an element movable in a rotatory manner relative to the static element. The movable element has a device for generating a magnetic field and the static element has at a sensor device for detecting the magnetic field, in particular a time-varying magnetic field, wherein data of the magnetic field that is detected, in particular in a contact-free manner, by the sensor device can be transmitted to a data processing device, and a statistic for a spatial arrangement of the static element relative to the movable element can be determined with the data processing device based on the detected data. The invention includes a method for monitoring the device with the sliding bearing device.

A mechanical device is provided for amplifying relative displacement between first and second mechanical structures operatively connected to opposite sides of a bearing. The relative displacement is caused by a thrust load on the bearing. The device includes a first bracket portion attachable to the first mechanical structure. The device further includes a compliant mechanism which extends from the first bracket portion to make contact with the second mechanical structure. The compliant mechanism is configured such that a measurement end of the mechanism moves in response to relative displacement between the first and second mechanical structures. The compliant mechanism is further configured such that the movement of the measurement end amplifies the relative displacement. The device further includes a sensor which measures the mechanically amplified movement of the measurement end.

A capacitive distance sensor for determining distances from an object, wherein the distance sensor has at least one sensor electrode and at least one compensation electrode. Deviations from an ideal parallel orientation of distance sensor and object and/or errors caused by capacitive edge effects can be compensated by means of the compensation electrode.