A physical disturbance sensor includes a plurality of piezoresistive elements configured in a resistive bridge configuration. A signal transmitter is electrically connected to the physical disturbance sensor and configured to send an encoded signal to the piezoresistive elements of the resistive bridge configuration. A signal receiver is electrically connected to the piezoresistive elements and configured to receive a signal from the physical disturbance sensor. The received signal from the physical disturbance sensor is correlated with the sent encoded signal in determining a measure of physical disturbance.

A bearing monitoring apparatus includes a rolling bearing. The rolling bearing includes an outer ring and an inner ring disposed coaxially with the outer ring, the inner ring being on an inner peripheral side of the outer ring. The rolling bearing includes multiple rolling elements disposed between the outer ring and the inner ring. The rolling bearing includes a strain gauge configured to detect strain of the outer ring or the inner ring, the strain gauge including at least two resistors, and the resistors being arranged in a same direction as an arrangement direction of the rolling elements so as to correspond to spacing between rolling elements that are next to each other. The bearing monitoring apparatus includes a waveform generator configured to generate a first distorted waveform based on an output of one resistor and to generate a second distorted waveform based on an output of another resistor. The bearing monitoring apparatus includes a subtracting unit configured to subtract the second distorted waveform from the first distorted waveform to generate a differential waveform. The bearing monitoring apparatus includes a comparator configured to compare the differential waveform against a reference value to detect a wear state of the rolling bearing.

There is disclosed a guide carriage for roller-mounted guiding on a guide rail having at least one carriage roller track on which roller members which can be arranged between guide carriages and a guide rail can be rolled, wherein the carriage roller track, in particular in order to establish a load acting on the guide carriage or wear, is associated with a pressure-sensitive sensor device which can be loaded by the roller members and which has sensors which are arranged in a manner distributed in the rolling direction and which in order to evaluate the sensor signals thereof can be connected in terms of signaling to an evaluation device. There are further disclosed a route guide having such a guide carriage and a method for establishing the load on the guide carriage.

A load cell for determining a radial force acting on a crankshaft having a receiving sleeve for receiving a bearing ring and a fastening ring for attaching the load cell in a transmission housing. Axial support areas are provided on the fastening ring for axially supporting the outer ring of the first bearing. Moreover, measuring regions for receiving radial forces of the receiving sleeve are provided which connect the receiving sleeve with the fastening ring. Strain sensors are attached to at least two of the measuring regions.

A bearing assembly may include an integral sensor module retained within a bore in the bearing housing. The sensor module includes at least one strain gauge oriented to sense a compressive load acting on the bearing housing. The sensor module may be retained within the bore under an axial compressive load. The sensor module may include a power source and a wired or wireless communications module for transmitting information indicative of the compressive load to an external instrument or other system.

A hub assembly includes an inner rotatable hub having inboard and outboard axial ends, a radial flange extending outwardly from the outboard axial end and connectable with the wheel, an inner circumferential surface, and an opposing outer circumferential surface providing inboard and outboard inner races. An outer hub is disposed about the inner hub, connectable with the chassis and has inboard and outboard axial ends, an outer circumferential surface and an inner circumferential surface. The inner surface provides inboard and outboard outer races and a central surface section extending between the two outer races. First and second sets of rolling elements are disposed between the inner and outer races. One or more sensors are each disposed on the central surface section of the outer hub and are each configured to sense strain within the outer hub generated by the rolling elements.

Sensorised wheel hub unit and a method for detecting, in real time, forces and moments applied to an outer ring of the wheel hub unit in which piezoresistive ceramic plates are made of one piece with welded metal plates housed within respective recesses formed in an outer surface of the outer ring over respective races for rolling elements in such a way that there is a gap between the plates and a base wall of each recess; in which the temperature of the outer ring and the amplitude and frequency of first electrical signals (S1) associated with the sensors relating to the same race are analysed to determine a frequency value equal to the frequency of the first signal having the maximum amplitude and as many amplitude values (D1-Dn) as there are sensors associated with that race and each equal to the maximum amplitude of the first signal from each sensor, corrected according to the temperature.

A sliding bearing assembly includes at least one sliding bearing element which is arranged in a bearing receptacle that is part of a bearing structure having at least one sensor connected to a data transmission device for data transmission to a receiver of the data, and to an energy generating device. The energy generating device supplies the sensor and/or the data transmission device with electrical energy in a self-sufficient manner, and may include a piezo element which is pretensioned under pressure. In some embodiments, the energy generating device is the sensor.

This invention relates to a bearing monitoring method and system suitable for the monitoring of faults in rolling element bearings. The method and system utilize an acceleration sensor that is sensitive to both acceleration and housing strain and which has the effect of amplifying acceleration events that coincide with areas of the housing strain signal that correspond to bearing ball-pass events. The housing strain signal due to ball-pass events can be used to synchronise or otherwise modify the sampling of acceleration signals, or to determine bearing performance characteristics.

The invention relates to a sensor element that is capable of sensing dynamic loads and/or vibrations in a machine component, the sensor element comprising a multilayer coating (302) deposited on a substrate (300′). The multilayer coating comprises a sensitive layer (304) of a piezoelectric material and a first electrode layer (308) of a metallic material, which electrode layer serves as a first electrode of the sensor element. The substrate (300′) may serve as the second electrode. In order to seal any pinholes in the sensitive layer (304) and thereby prevent short-circuiting between the first and second electrodes, the multilayer coating further comprises a pinhole sealing layer (306) deposited on top of the sensitive layer (304), so as to be sandwiched between the sensitive layer and the first electrode layer (308).