Piezoelectric film transducer sytem for bearings

摘要

An in-use rolling element bearing monitoring system which uses a piezoelectric film transducer on either a bearing, bearing support structure, or on a separate washer in close proximity to a bearing for monitoring bearing performance. One embodiment provides a bearing monitoring system for detecting and predicting bearing failure. Another embodiment provides a system configured for detecting rotational speed of a rolling element bearing. Each embodiment of the invention entails maintaining a piezoelectric film transducer in contiguous pressure wave responsive communication with a bearing for detecting bearing performance, and provides the system in a compact configuration for in-use operation on a variety of machinery and vehicle components heretofore previously not compatible.