FORM 2
The Patent Act 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
The Patent Rules  2005

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(SEE SECTION 10 AND RULE 13)

TITLE OF THE INVENTION

“Smart chip detector using a Hall Effect sensor”
APPLICANTS:
Name Nationality Address
HCL Technologies Ltd. Indian SEZ  TWR-
1 129  Jigani Industrial Area 
Bommasandra Jigani Link Road 
Bangalore – 562 106  Karnataka  (India)

The following specification particularly describes and ascertains the nature of this invention and the manner in which it is to be performed:-

FIELD OF INVENTION
[001] This invention relates to electronic sensors and detectors  and more particularly to a smart chip detector for sensing ferrous debris generated due to wear and tear in machines.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
[002] The failure mode of the bearings and gears in aircraft gas turbine engines or helicopter or wind turbine  or steam turbine or earth moving heavy truck transmissions and other oil-wetted machinery is usually metal fatigue. At the onset of failure  tiny metal flakes or chips or debris are produced which are carried away by the lubricating oil. The debris in close loop oil system slowly affects the performance of machines  if ignored  catastrophic failure of components can occur. Debris is typically carried by the engine’s lubricating oil toward a sump or a filter. The debris is generally detected by using a magnet based device also called as chip detectors or electric chip detectors (ECD). The chip detectors collect debris and can provide an alerting signal mechanism if it exceeds a threshold.
[003] There are several chip detector devices available in the market. They may use inductive  magnetic or other means for wear debris detection. The performance of these chip detectors may be checked/verified only during periodic maintenance or after any incident. These chip detectors do not have means to check self-performance and do not possess a mechanism to raise an alert if there is an error in the detector device or if the detector device is unable to perform its tasks adequately. Hence  a component may fail or perform below standards due to a faulty chip detector and this would not be found until maintenance is done. Hence the ability to detect these chips and condition of sensor while the aircraft or equipment in working state i.e. the nascent state of failure  will enable the ground crew or maintenance personal to route the aircraft or the machines to a scheduled maintenance facility for repair.

OBJECT OF INVENTION
[004] The principal object of any chip detector is alerting the presence of wear related debris in machine  as in prior art.
[005] The object of this invention is to ensure that the smart chip detector can perform a self-check to detect weather its working or not. If the sensor is not working as in prior art there will be no alarm  which may be wrongly taken as safe operating condition.

STATEMENT OF INVENTION
[006] Accordingly the invention provides an apparatus comprising of Hall sensor which is characterized such that there is a smart chip detector so as to detect the working condition of the magnet.
[007] Embodiments herein disclose a system for detecting deterioration in magnetic strength of at least one magnet  the smart chip detector comprising a hall effect sensor placed in magnetic field of the at least one magnet  wherein the hall effect sensor is configured to indicate deterioration of magnetic strength of the at least one magnet; a processor to analyze voltage produced across the hall effect sensor; and an alerting system to indicate that the magnetic strength of the at least one magnet has deteriorated  on receiving an alert from the processor.
[008] Also  disclosed herein is a method for detecting deterioration in magnetic strength of at least one magnet using a smart chip detector  the method comprising of measuring voltage produced across a hall effect sensor placed in magnetic field of the at least one magnet; analyzing voltage produced across the hall effect sensor to detect magnetic strength deterioration of the at least one magnet; and raising an alert if magnetic strength deterioration of the at least one magnet is below a threshold.
[009] These and other aspects of the embodiments herein will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood  however  that the following descriptions  while indicating preferred embodiments and numerous specific details thereof  are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the embodiments herein without departing from the spirit thereof  and the embodiments herein include all such modifications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES
[0010] This invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings  through out which like reference letters indicate corresponding parts in the various figures. The embodiments herein will be better understood from the following description with reference to the drawings  in which:
[0011] FIG. 1 illustrates the block diagram of a broad smart chip detector system  according to the embodiments as disclosed herein;
[0012] FIG. 2 shows the sectional view of a smart chip detector constructed according to the embodiments as disclosed herein;
[0013] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing various processing blocks of a smart chip detector  according to the embodiments disclosed herein;
[0014] FIG. 4 is a table showing some of the various scenarios where magnet deterioration takes place  according to the embodiments disclosed herein; and
[0015] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the method of operation of the smart chip detector  according to embodiments disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
[0016] The embodiments herein  the various features  and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly  the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
[0017] Referring now to the drawings  and more particularly to FIGS. 1 through 5  where similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the figures  there are shown preferred embodiments.
[0018] FIG. 1 illustrates the block diagram of a smart chip detector system  according to the embodiments as disclosed herein. The block diagram shows the magnetic health alarm 101  the Hall Effect sensor 104  the magnet 102 and the chip gap 103. The magnet 102 may be a single annular magnet or comprise of a plurality of magnets. The magnet 102 may also be a permanent magnet or an electro magnet. The magnets 102 may also comprise of a combination of permanent magnets and electro magnets. The magnet 102 is used for producing a magnetic field in any machine fluid. The machine fluid may be oil or any other fluid used in machines. The Hall Effect sensor 104 is placed in the magnetic field near the one of the poles of the permanent magnet 102. A set of contacts connect the Hall Effect sensor 104 to the magnetic health alarm indicator 101. A Hall Effect sensor 104 is a transducer that varies its output voltage based on changes in the magnetic field. The output voltage produced by the Hall Effect sensor 104 is calibrated initially when the magnets are in good condition. The calibrated output voltage may be calculated using magnetic field produced by the magnet and the distance from the magnet. For setting a threshold value for magnetic deterioration indication  the calibrated output voltage  say V volts produced  by the Hall Effect sensor 104 under ideal conditions i.e. perfect magnets is measured and stored. As particles accumulate near the contacts and bridges the chip gap 103 of the magnet 102  the magnetic field is redistributed. This continuity of circuit gives an indication of particle accumulation. Once in use the changes in the magnetic field cause variations in the output voltage of the Hall Effect sensor 104. The reduction in the strength of the magnetic field may be caused due to redistribution of the magnetic field due to accumulation of debris. The reduction in the strength of the magnetic field may be due to other reasons such as magnetic field weakening over time due to natural/external causes. The amount of reduction in the output voltage across the Hall Effect sensor 104  gives an indication of magnet deterioration. When magnetic field changes the output voltage across the Hall Effect sensor 104 also changes by ?V value. The difference between V and ?V (V-?V) acts as indicator of magnetic deterioration. Different values of (V-?V) indicate different stages of magnetic deterioration percentage. A threshold value can be set for the (V-?V) value for indicating an unacceptable magnetic deterioration percentage. The threshold value may be set by a user  where the user is a person capable of operating the machinery. If the threshold value has been exceeded  an alarm is raised. The alarm may be a visual alarm  an acoustic alarm or a combination of visual and acoustic alarms.
[0019] FIG. 2 shows the front view of a smart chip detector constructed according to the embodiments as disclosed herein. The smart chip detector 200 contains magnets 102 separated by a distance. The magnets 102 produce a magnetic field 202 around the magnets 102. The Hall Effect sensor 104 is placed in the magnetic field 202 near the one of the poles of the magnet 102. The presence of debris particles in the machine liquid slowly build up near the electrical contacts of the magnet 102  creating a circuit current flow between the electrical contacts of the magnet 102. The magnetic field 202 changes due to the presence of the particles. The contact wires 201 of the Hall Effect sensor 104 connect to a processor (not shown in the figure). The Hall Effect sensor 104 indicates the changes in the magnetic field 202 based on the output voltage across it. As particle accumulation increases  the magnetic field strength is reduced. The particles act as conductor forming a circuit  resulting in the apparent reduction of the magnetic field strength. The reduction in the strength of the magnetic field may be caused due to redistribution of the magnetic field due to accumulation of debris. The reduction in the strength of the magnetic field may be due to other reasons such as magnetic field weakening over time due to natural/external causes. The threshold of reduction in magnetic field to make the Hall Effect sensor 104 indicates magnet deterioration can be set in the processor of the smart chip detector.
[0020] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing various processing blocks of a smart chip detector  according to the embodiments disclosed herein. This block diagram shows components of the processor 301 relevant to the present invention and do not describe all the components of a smart detector chip. The analog to digital convertor (ADC) 302 converts analog values measured into digital values. The processor 301 contains a comparator 303 and a voltage monitoring module 304. The voltage monitoring module 304 measures the voltage and sends the measured voltage to the comparator 303. The comparator 303 compares the measured values with threshold values as defined. The threshold values are fetched from a database 305  which contains the threshold values as defined. The acceptable voltage levels 304 defines the voltage value threshold (V-?V) below which the magnetic deterioration cannot be tolerated. The reduction in the strength of the magnetic field may be caused due to redistribution of the magnetic field due to accumulation of debris. The reduction in the strength of the magnetic field may be due to other reasons such as magnetic field weakening over time due to natural/external causes. Based on the changes in the magnetic field 202  the processor 301 can activate the magnetic health alarm 101  which indicates the poor condition of the magnets 102. In an embodiment herein  the information related to the changes in the magnetic field may be stored in the database 305.
[0021] FIG. 4 is a table showing some of the various scenarios where magnet deterioration takes place  according to the embodiments disclosed herein. The table classifies different types of condition and the Hall Effect sensor 104 activity. In type 1 condition  when a smart chip sensor encounter ferrous particles in fluid and no magnet deterioration  the hall effect sensor 104 measures a small reduction in voltage and the magnet health alarm is not activated. There can be a situation where there might be heavy accumulation of particles around the magnet or accumulation is not symmetric around the magnet. In both of these situations chip accumulation as well magnet deterioration alarm will trigger. In this case magnet health alarm can be ignored or electronically suppressed as the particles are attracted to the magnet. The type 2 presents a condition where presence of debris particle in the fluid and magnet deterioration. Here as there is magnet deterioration there will be no alarm for article accumulation. In this condition  the Hall Effect sensor 104 measures an output voltage value below the threshold and activates the magnetic health alarm 101. The type 3 presents a condition when there are no debris particles in fluid but the magnetic health is poor. In this scenario  the Hall Effect sensor 104 measures an output voltage value below the threshold and the magnetic health alarm 101 is activated. The type 4 shows a normal operating condition where there is no debris in fluid and magnetic deterioration is under normal ranges and there is no need for activating the alarm.
[0022] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the method of operation of the smart chip detector  according to embodiments disclosed herein. The method begins with the processor checking (501) if the Hall Effect sensor 104 measures a V-?V value below the threshold value. If the V-?V is not below the threshold value  the processor goes back to the step 501. If the V-?V is below the threshold value  an alert signal is sent (502) to the magnetic health alarm 101. The magnetic health alarm 101 produces (503) an alarm alerting deterioration of the magnet 102. The various actions in method above may be performed in the order presented  in a different order or simultaneously. Further  in some embodiments  some actions listed in Figures 5 may be omitted.
[0023] Though the above embodiments describe monitoring strength of a single magnet  it may be obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to use the Hall Effect sensor as described above to monitor the strength of a plurality of magnets.
[0024] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can  by applying current knowledge  readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept  and  therefore  such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore  while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments  those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.

STATEMENT OF CLAIMS
1. A system for detecting deterioration in magnetic strength of at least one magnet  said smart chip detector comprising:
a hall effect sensor placed in magnetic field of said at least one magnet  wherein said hall effect sensor is configured to indicate deterioration of magnetic strength of said at least one magnet;
a processor to analyze voltage produced across said hall effect sensor; and
an alerting system to indicate that said magnetic strength of said at least one magnet has deteriorated  on receiving an alert from said processor.

2. The system  as claimed in claim 1  where said at least one magnet is at least one of a
At least one permanent magnet;
At least one electro magnet; or
A combination of permanent magnets and electro magnets.

3. The system  as claimed in claim 1  where said magnetic strength changes with at least one of
ferrous particle accumulation on said at least one magnet; and
deterioration of performance of said at least one magnet.
4. The system  as claimed in claim 1  wherein said processor further comprises of at least one means configured for sending an indication to said alerting system on detecting voltage value below a pre-defined threshold.

5. The system  as claimed in claim 1  wherein said alerting system is at least one of
a visual alerting system;
an audio based alerting system; and
a combination of a visual and audio based alerting system.

6. A method for detecting deterioration in magnetic strength of at least one magnet using a smart chip detector  said method comprising of:
measuring voltage produced across a hall effect sensor placed in magnetic field of said at least one magnet;
analyzing voltage produced across said hall effect sensor to detect magnetic strength deterioration of said at least one magnet; and
Raising an alert if magnetic strength deterioration of said at least one magnet is below a threshold.

7. The method  as claimed in claim 5  wherein voltage of said Hall Effect sensor reduces below a threshold when magnetic strength of said at least one magnet has deteriorated.
8. The method  as claimed in claim 5  where said magnetic strength changes with at least one of
ferrous particle accumulation on said at least one magnet; and
deterioration of performance of said at least one magnet.

9. The method  as claimed in claim 5  wherein said alerting system is at least one of
a visual alerting system;
an audio based alerting system; and
a combination of a visual and audio based alerting system.

Dated this 16th September 2011

Dr. Kalyan Chakravarthy
Patent Agent.
ABSTRACT

Smart chip detector using a Hall Effect sensor. This invention relates to electronic sensors and detectors  and more particularly to a smart chip detector for sensing ferrous debris generated due to wear and tear in machines. a method and system for detecting deterioration in magnetic strength of a magnet  the smart chip detector comprising a hall effect sensor placed in magnetic field of the magnet  wherein the hall effect sensor is configured to indicate deterioration of magnetic strength of the magnet; a processor to analyze voltage produced across the hall effect sensor; and an alerting system to indicate that the magnetic strength of magnet has deteriorated  on receiving an alert from the processor.FIG. 2