Hand-held vibration sensor
A hand-held or portable vibration sensor device having a housing and a sensor body which generally provides a single point of contact with the machinery or apparatus for which vibration measurement is desired. In one aspect, the sensor body comprises a vibration sensor element such as an accelerometer for measuring vibration. In another aspect, a force sensor such as a force sensing resistor or load cell is provided to reduce the impact of forces applied to said hand-held vibration sensor such as a force applied through a handle during measurement. In another aspect, a compensation circuit processes the out put from a vibration sensor element to provide a relatively flat frequency response over a desired operational frequency range. The hand-held vibration sensor may also comprise a rubber isolation member disposed between the sensor body and force sensor.
1. A hand-held vibration sensor, comprising:
a hand-held housing having a base portion;
a sensor body within said base portion, said sensor body having a generally conical portion with a sharp point;
a vibration sensor element within said sensor body, said vibration sensor element measuring vibration and generating a corresponding vibration sensor element output;
a force sensor within said hand-held housing in communication with said sensor body generating a force sensor output corresponding to changes in the resistance of said force sensor as a function of non-vibrational forces applied to the hand-held vibration sensor;
an analog-to-digital converter within said hand-held housing and coupled to said vibration sensor element; and
a microprocessor within said hand-held housing adjusting said vibration sensor element output as a function of said force sensor output to reduce the impact of said non-vibrational applied forces on said vibration sensor element output, said microprocessor coupled to said analog-to-digital converter.
2. The hand-held vibration sensor of claim 1 wherein said vibration sensor element is an accelerometer.
3. The hand-held vibration sensor of claim 1 wherein said force sensor is a force sensing resistor or load cell.
4. The hand-held sensor of claim 1 , further comprising:
a compressible mechanical isolation member interposed between said sensor body and said force sensor.
5. The hand-held sensor of claim 4 wherein said compressible mechanical isolation member comprises rubber, plastic or polyurethane.
6. The hand-held sensor of claim 1 , further comprising:
a compensation circuit in electrical communication with said vibration sensor element, said compensation circuit receiving said vibration sensor element output and processing said vibration sensor output such that a relativity flat frequency response results over a desired operational frequency range.
7. The hand-held sensor of claim 1 , further comprising:
a high frequency channel comprising a compensation circuit in electrical communication with said vibration sensor element, said compensation circuit receiving said vibration sensor element output and processing said vibration sensor output such that a relativity flat frequency response results over a desired high frequency range; and
a low frequency channel comprising a gain regulator, amplifier or filter.
8. The hand-held sensor of claim 1 , further comprising:
a display on said housing in communication with said microprocessor, said display displaying said adjusted vibration sensor element output.
9. A hand-held vibration sensor for measuring vibration in a machine, comprising:
a sensor body having a generally conical portion with a sharp point;
an accelerometer within said sensor body measuring vibration and generating a corresponding accelerometer output representative of vibration present in a machine contacted by said sharp point;
a compensation circuit in electrical communication with said accelerometer, said compensation circuit receiving said accelerometer output and providing a relativity flat frequency response over a desired operational frequency range;
a force sensing resistor in communication with said sensor body, said force sensing resistor generating a force sensor output as a function of forces applied to the hand-held vibration sensor by a user; and
means for adjusting said accelerometer output as a function of said force sensor output,
wherein said sensor body, said accelerometer, said compensation circuit, and said force sensing resistor are contained within a single hand-held housing.
10. The hand-held sensor of claim 9 , further comprising:
a compressible isolation member interposed between said sensor body and said force sensing resistor, said compressible isolation member comprising rubber, plastic or polyurethane.
11. A hand-held vibration sensor for measuring vibration in a machine, comprising:
a hand-held housing having a base portion;
a sensor body within said base portion, said sensor body having a generally conical portion with a sharp point;
a vibration sensor element within said hand-held housing coupled to said sensor body, said vibration sensor element having a vibration sensor element output representative of vibration present in a machine contacted by said sharp point;
a force sensor within said hand-held housing in communication with said sensor body generating a force sensor output corresponding to the resistance of said force sensor as a function of forces applied to the hand-held vibration sensor by a user;
a processor within said hand-held housing receiving said vibration sensor element output and said force sensor output, said processor adjusting said vibration sensor element output as a function of said force sensor output to reduce the impact of said user applied forces on said vibration sensor element output.
12. The hand-held vibration sensor of claim 11 wherein said vibration sensor element is an accelerometer.
13. The hand-held vibration sensor of claim 11 wherein said force sensor is a force sensing resistor or a load cell.
14. The hand-held sensor of claim 11 , further comprising:
a rubber isolation member interposed between said sensor body and said force sensor.
15. The hand-held sensor of claim 11 , further comprising:
a compensation circuit in electrical communication with said vibration sensor element, said compensation circuit receiving said vibration sensor element output and producing a relativity flat frequency response over a desired operational frequency range.
16. The hand-held sensor of claim 11 , further comprising:
a high frequency channel comprising a compensation circuit in electrical communication with said vibration sensor element, said compensation circuit receiving said vibration sensor element output and processing high frequency signals; and
a low frequency channel processing low frequency signals.