Abstract: A conveyor belt monitoring system is disclosed that uses sensors to measure magnetic disruptions (“events”) in a conveyor belt which are indicative of one or more splice joints, rip panels and reinforcing cord damage. The system may comprise a plurality of sensing components, including coils or Hall Effect sensors for sensing rip panels, splices and generalized reinforcing cord damage. The system may also have RFID-based rip panels and may use RFID chips to identify various belt components. A PLC-based control system may communicate with the aforementioned components via an Ethernet link. Data received by the control system is used to chart belt wear and damage trends and to provide user alarms when signal levels exceed predetermined norms. The system may stop the belt when imminent belt failure is predicted. The PLC-based control system is highly scalable and will integrate easily into existing conveyor control systems and facility-wide monitoring systems.

Abstract: A system and method are disclosed for controlling a conveyor belt condition monitoring system, and for automatically providing user alarms and system trips when sensed conditions exceed acceptable values. The system may use sensors to measure magnetic disruptions (“events”) in belt components and an algorithm may be used to monitor changes in these disruptions over time. The magnitude of these changes can then be used to predict when belt failures will occur. The system may also be used to sense when imminent failure of the belt will occur and to automatically stop the belt before failure occurs. An integrated display provides detailed information on the measured belt events and enables the user to customize alarm/trip levels and to assess problem as conditions via a virtual private network or the Internet while the belt is operating. The system is modular so that its features may be selectively integrated into existing facility-wide monitoring systems.

Abstract: A conveyor belt rip monitoring system is disclosed. The system includes at least one rip panel having a conductive loop positioned in or on a conveyor belt so that the loop extends substantially across the width of the belt. The conductive loops may be formed from metallic or non-metallic materials. An RFDD chip is electrically coupled to the loop and provides a signal to an RFID interrogation unit positioned on the conveyor structure indicative of the health of the conductive loop. If a break is sensed in the loop, the RFID chip sends an appropriate signal to the interrogation unit which passes the information to a processing system. A unique resistor or diode may be included in the circuit between the chip(s) and the legs of the loop so that the interrogation unit can distinguish one leg or loop from another. If the break in the loop is determined to be due to a rip in the conveyor belt, the processing system alerts a user of the rip condition via an attached display device.

Abstract: A conveyor belt monitoring system is disclosed that uses sensors to measure magnetic disruptions (“events”) in a conveyor belt which are indicative of one or more splice joints, rip panels and reinforcing cord damage. The system may comprise a plurality of sensing components, including coils or Hall Effect sensors for sensing rip panels, splices and generalized reinforcing cord damage. The system may also have RFID-based rip panels and may use RFID chips to identify various belt components. A PLC-based control system may communicate with the aforementioned components via an Ethernet link Data received by the control system is used to chart belt wear and damage trends and to provide user alarms when signal levels exceed predetermined norms. The system may stop the belt when imminent belt failure is predicted. The PLC-based control system is highly scalable and will integrate easily into existing conveyor control systems and facility-wide monitoring systems.

Abstract: A system and method are disclosed for controlling a conveyor belt condition monitoring system, and for automatically providing user alarms and system trips when sensed conditions exceed acceptable values. The system may use sensors to measure magnetic disruptions (“events”) in belt components and an algorithm may be used to monitor changes in these disruptions over time. The magnitude of these changes can then be used to predict when belt failures will occur. The system may also be used to sense when imminent failure of the belt will occur and to automatically stop the belt before failure occurs. An integrated display provides detailed information on the measured belt events and enables the user to customize alarm/trip levels and to assess problem as conditions via a virtual private network or the Internet while the belt is operating. The system is modular so that its features may be selectively integrated into existing facility-wide monitoring systems.