Kevin B Snow

US Patent:

6526816, Mar 4, 2003

Filed:

Dec 13, 2000

Appl. No.:

09/681057

Inventors:

Thomas A. Genise - Dearborn MI
Douglas C. Gooch - Richland MI
Kevin D. Snow - Augusta MI

Assignee:

Eaton Corporation - Cleveland OH

International Classification:

G01M 1500

US Classification:

731181

Abstract:

An integral gear life monitor system and method for determining gear use and damage is disclosed. The system includes a first and second sensors for measuring the rotational speed and torque of a driveline component, such as an input shaft of a vehicle transmission, for a particular gear ratio at one or more time intervals over a period of time. Each time interval may be in the range of 40 ms to 100 ms. The period of time may be hours, days, month, or even years. A processor performs a statistical summation technique to transform the signals from the first and second sensors into an equivalent amount time for the particular gear ratio during that period of time. A driveline vibration analyzer can perform an online determination of the torsional vibrations for the particular gear ratio to determine whether vibration is a root cause of why a gear ratio is worn or damaged. The transformed signals can be stored in a non-volatile memory of the processor for later retrieval as a diagnostic tool to statistically measure the amount of life used by each gear ratio, to determine if a gear ratio is worn or damaged, to determine the root cause of why a gear ratio is worn or damaged, and to take proactive and/or reactive measures to extend the life of the transmission.