Fibreglass collar for data transfer from rotatable shaft.

摘要

Telemetry apparatus for a rotating machine shaft includes a fixed collar (22) of lightweight composite material wrapped on the shaft (10) and having embedded in it telemetry apparatus (28a, 28b, 29a, 29b). Measured data such as torque from a strain gauge sensor is transmitted to a stationary sensor by pulses of infrared signals. An array of photovoltaic cells (23) receives energy from a stationary source (32) to power the rotating telemetry apparatus (28a, 28b, 29a, 29b). All rotating electronics is embedded in the composite material which may be, for example, E-type fibreglass. Such composite material provides a resistance to centrifugal forces due to rotation of the shaft (10) but has sufficient transparency to allow both the transmission of data and power to and from the rotating telemetry.