Conveyor system monitoring and maintenance

1. A method for initiating one or more maintenance procedures on a conveyor system, the method employing a load cell assembly of the conveyor system, the load cell assembly being supported by a link of a conveyor chain of the system so that the load cell assembly, when powered, can measure tension between opposing ends of the link, collect and process tension measurements and transmit the collected measurements and the processed measurements, the conveyor chain being driven around a circuit of the conveyor system at a substantially constant speed, the circuit including an upper travel portion, over which the conveyor chain conveys a load, and a lower, return portion, and the method comprising:

establishing a position along the circuit, such that each tension measurement collected can be associated with a location along the circuit;

establishing at least one threshold value for a rate of change in tension, each of the at least one threshold value being associated with a portion along the circuit;

collecting, via the load cell assembly, a group of tension measurements;

calculating a rate of change in tension for successive tension measurements from the group of tension measurements;

comparing each calculated rate of change in tension to one or more of the at least one threshold value to determine if any calculated rate of change in tension exceeds one of the one or more of the at least one threshold value; and

if any calculated rate of change in tension exceeds one of the one or more of the at least one threshold value, initiating a maintenance procedure that corresponds to the threshold value which is exceeded.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the at least one threshold value for the rate of change in tension comprises a threshold value associated with a starting portion of the circuit, the starting portion being in proximity to a starting location of the upper travel portion, at which the conveyed load passes onto the conveyor chain; and

the maintenance procedure comprises lubricating a channel through which the conveyor chain passes along at least a portion of the circuit.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the at least one threshold value for the rate of change in tension comprises a threshold value associated with one or both of: the upper travel portion and the lower return portion; and

the maintenance procedure comprises removing a discontinuity from a local site along the circuit.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein calculating the rate of change in tension and comparing each calculated rate of change in tension to one or more of the at least one established threshold value is carried out by the load cell assembly; and further comprising sending a signal from the load cell assembly, when any calculated rate of change in tension exceeds one of the one or more of the at least one threshold value, to a controller of the conveyor system, which, upon receipt of the signal, sends another signal to initiate the maintenance procedure.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

transmitting the group of collected tension measurements from the load cell assembly to a controller of the conveyor system; and

wherein calculating the rate of change in tension and comparing each calculated rate of change in tension to one or more of the at least one threshold value is carried out by the controller.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein:

initiating the maintenance procedure is carried out by the controller; and

the maintenance procedure comprises lubricating a channel through which the conveyor chain passes along at least a portion of the circuit.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

calculating the rate of change in tension is carried out by the load cell assembly and the load cell assembly transmits each calculated rate of change in tension to a controller of the conveyor system; and

comparing each calculated rate of change in tension to one or more of the at least one threshold value is carried out by the controller.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein:

initiating the maintenance procedure is carried out by the controller; and

the maintenance procedure comprises lubricating a channel through which the conveyor chain passes along at least a portion of the circuit.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

generating a plot of the calculated rates of change in tension versus time and presenting the plot on a display of a monitoring station of the conveyor system for an operator to view; and

viewing the displayed plot to compare each calculated rate of change in tension to one or more of the at least one threshold value.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

establishing a threshold value for tension;

comparing each tension measurement from the group of collected tension measurements to the threshold value for tension to determine if any tension measurement exceeds the threshold value; and

if any tension measurement exceeds the threshold value, initiate a maintenance procedure that corresponds to the exceeded tension threshold value.

11. A method for initiating one or more maintenance procedures on a conveyor system, the method employing a load cell assembly of the conveyor system, the load cell assembly being supported by a link of a conveyor chain of the system so that the load cell assembly, when powered, can measure tension between opposing ends of the link, collect and process tension measurements and transmit the collected measurements and the processed measurements, the conveyor chain being driven around a circuit of the conveyor system at a substantially constant speed, the circuit including an upper travel portion, over which the chain conveys a load, and a lower return portion, and the method comprising:

establishing a position along the circuit, such that each tension measurement collected can be associated with a location along the circuit;

establishing a threshold value for variation between plots of groups of collected tension measurements;

collecting, via the load cell assembly, multiple groups of tension measurements over multiple cycles around the circuit;

generating a plot of tension measurements versus time for each group of collected tension measurements, such that the plots overlay one another, being registered according to the established position along the circuit;

presenting the plots on a display of a monitoring station of the conveyor system for an operator to view;

viewing the displayed plots to compare the collected measurements of each group and thereby determine if a variation between the plot of any two of the groups exceeds the established threshold value for variation; and

if the variation between the plot of any two of the groups exceeds the threshold value, initiating a maintenance procedure that corresponds to the exceeded threshold value.

12. A method for monitoring tension in a conveyor chain of a conveyor system, the method employing a load cell assembly of the conveyor system, the load cell assembly being supported by a link of the conveyor chain so that the load cell assembly, when powered, can measure tension between opposing ends of the link, collect and process tension measurements and transmit the collected measurements and the processed measurements, the conveyor chain being driven around a circuit of the conveyor system at a substantially constant speed, and the method comprising:

collecting, via the load cell assembly, a group of tension measurements according to a predetermined sampling rate and over a predetermined period of time;

calculating a rate of change in tension for successive tension measurements from the group of tension measurements;

generating a plot of the calculated rates of change in tension versus time; and

presenting the plot on a display of a monitoring station of the conveyor system for an operator to view.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

establishing a position along the circuit, at which, when the load cell assembly passes thereby, the load cell assembly begins collecting the group of tension measurements; and

registering the presented plot according to the established position along the circuit so that each calculated rate of change in tension can be associated with a location along the circuit.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein:

the predetermined period of time spans multiple cycles around the circuit;

the group of collected tension measurements comprises multiple sub-groups, each sub-group corresponding to one of the multiple cycles around the circuit such that a first measurement for each sub-group corresponds to the established position along the circuit; and

each successive tension measurement comprises an average of the corresponding tension measurements across the sub-groups.

15. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

establishing a position along the circuit, at which, when the load cell assembly passes thereby, the load cell assembly begins collecting the group of tension measurements, such that each collected tension measurement can be associated with a location along the circuit; and

generating a plot of the group of collected tension measurements versus time; and

presenting the plot of the group of collected tension measurements on the display of the monitoring station for the operator to view;

wherein the predetermined time spans multiple cycles around the circuit;

the group of collected tension measurements comprises multiple sub-groups, each sub-group corresponding to one of the multiple cycles around the circuit such that a first measurement collected for each sub-group corresponds to the established position along the circuit; and

the plot of the group of collected tension measurements versus time comprises multiple sub-plots overlaying one another, each sub-plot corresponding to a sub-group and being registered according to the established position along the circuit.