JP2018048858A - Grease deterioration diagnostic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily conduct deterioration diagnosis of grease.SOLUTION: A sensor unit 12 of a grease deterioration diagnostic device 1 includes: a transmission unit 15 for transmitting ultrasonic waves; and a reception unit 16 arranged facing the transmission unit 15 for receiving the ultrasonic waves. A propagation loss measuring unit measures an amount of propagation loss of the ultrasonic waves through grease 40 placed in a groove 31 on the basis of an output signal from the reception unit 16. A determination unit compares the amount of propagation loss with an amount of reference loss set as a determination reference of deterioration corresponding to a base oil rate of the grease 40, and determines the state of the grease 40 on the basis of the comparison result.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a grease deterioration diagnosis device.

  Conventionally, grease has been used to keep the drive section lubricated and airtight. For example, in a power device such as a switch gear (SWG), grease is applied to an operation mechanism unit such as a circuit breaker. Aged deterioration of the grease causes a malfunction in the operation mechanism section. For this reason, for example, a sensor is attached to the operation mechanism unit to detect deterioration of grease (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 4172386

  By the way, since the operation mechanism part of said electric power apparatus has many components and is a complicated structure, it may be difficult to attach a sensor. In the case of a power device having a plurality of operation mechanism units, it is difficult to attach a sensor to each operation mechanism unit. For this reason, it is desired to easily carry out a grease deterioration diagnosis.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a grease deterioration diagnosis device that can easily perform grease deterioration diagnosis.

  A grease deterioration diagnosis device that solves the above problems is a grease deterioration diagnosis device that diagnoses deterioration of grease containing a base oil, and sandwiches a transmitter that transmits ultrasonic waves and a grease filling portion where the grease is disposed. Propagation of the ultrasonic wave in the grease arranged in the grease filling unit based on an output signal of the receiving unit based on an output signal of the receiving unit, and a receiving unit arranged opposite to the transmission unit to receive the ultrasonic wave A propagation loss measuring unit that measures the loss amount; and a determination unit that determines the state of the grease based on the propagation loss amount.

  According to this configuration, the amount of ultrasonic propagation loss in the grease disposed between the transmitting unit and the receiving unit disposed opposite to each other is measured, and the deterioration of the grease is determined based on the measured transmission loss amount. A determination is made. The base oil ratio is an oil fraction that is a weight ratio of the base oil to the grease weight. When the base oil contained in the grease decreases, the grease deteriorates in performance and deteriorates. The amount of propagation loss in grease increases as the base oil ratio of grease decreases. Therefore, the grease deterioration diagnosis can be easily performed by disposing the grease between the transmitter and the receiver and measuring the propagation loss.

  In the above grease deterioration diagnosis apparatus, the sensor unit includes a first base unit and a second base unit having surfaces facing each other, and the second base unit is opposed to the first base unit. A second base part supported so as to be movable along a direction, and either one of the transmission part and the reception part is directed from the first base part toward the second base part. It is preferable that the other of the transmitting unit and the receiving unit is disposed so as to project from the second base unit toward the first base unit.

  According to this configuration, since the transmission unit and the reception unit are disposed so as to protrude from the mutually facing surfaces of the first base unit and the second base unit, the ultrasonic waves transmitted from the transmission unit are It is difficult for the first and second base parts to leak and is received by the receiving part. For example, when a leaked ultrasonic wave is received by the receiving unit, the leaked ultrasonic wave affects the measurement of the propagation loss amount of grease and causes an error in the measurement result. In this respect, in the above configuration, since ultrasonic waves are difficult to leak, the occurrence of measurement errors can be suppressed.

  The grease deterioration diagnostic apparatus includes the grease filling unit, is disposed between the transmission unit and the reception unit, and is sandwiched between the transmission unit and the reception unit, so that the ultrasonic wave is difficult to propagate. It is preferable to provide a jig made of a material.

  According to this configuration, the grease disposed in the grease filling portion can be easily disposed between the transmitting portion and the receiving portion by the jig having the grease filling portion. And since a jig | tool consists of material which an ultrasonic wave does not propagate easily, the transmission loss amount in the grease arrange | positioned at the grease filling part of the jig | tool can be measured, without receiving the influence of a jig | tool.

The grease deterioration diagnostic apparatus preferably includes a positioning portion on which at least one of the transmitting portion and the receiving portion is in contact with the jig.
According to this configuration, the jig is positioned between the transmission unit and the reception unit by the positioning unit, and the grease disposed on the jig is easily positioned between the transmission unit and the reception unit.

  In the grease deterioration diagnostic apparatus, the sensor unit includes a base unit that is integrally sealed by connecting the transmission unit and the reception unit, and the propagation loss measurement unit transmits to the transmission unit. A network analyzer that obtains a propagation loss between the transmission unit and the reception unit as a vector based on a signal and a reception signal output from the reception unit, wherein the grease is provided between the transmission unit and the reception unit. A third vector of the ultrasonic wave that has passed through the grease is calculated based on a first vector obtained when the grease is disposed and a second vector obtained when the grease is not disposed. Preferably, the propagation loss amount is calculated based on the third vector.

  The ultrasonic wave transmitted from the transmission unit propagates through the base unit that integrally seals the transmission unit and the reception unit and reaches the reception unit. The propagation loss due to the ultrasonic wave leaking to the base portion becomes background noise (BGN) with respect to the propagation loss in the ultrasonic wave passing through the grease, and causes a measurement error in the propagation loss amount of the grease.

  According to the above configuration, by performing a vector operation on the first vector when the grease is disposed and the second vector when the grease is not disposed, the third vector by the ultrasonic wave that has passed through the grease is obtained. can get. This third vector does not include propagation loss due to leaked ultrasound. For this reason, the propagation loss amount in the grease can be obtained with high accuracy.

  According to the grease deterioration diagnosis device of the present invention, grease deterioration diagnosis can be easily performed.

(A) is the schematic of the grease deterioration diagnostic apparatus of 1st Embodiment, (b) is explanatory drawing of a jig | tool, (c) is a partial cross section figure which shows the state which set the jig | tool to the sensor part. The block diagram of the grease degradation diagnostic apparatus of 1st Embodiment. The characteristic view which shows a response | compatibility with a base oil rate and a propagation loss. The partial block diagram of the grease deterioration diagnostic apparatus of a comparative example. The characteristic view which shows operation | movement of the grease deterioration diagnostic apparatus of a comparative example. The block diagram of the grease deterioration diagnostic apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. The vector diagram which shows the propagation loss measurement in 2nd Embodiment.

Hereinafter, each embodiment will be described.
In the accompanying drawings, components may be shown in an enlarged manner for easy understanding. The dimensional ratios of the components may be different from the actual ones or in other drawings.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, the first embodiment will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1A, the grease deterioration diagnosis device 1 according to this embodiment includes a detector 10, a diagnosis device 20, and a jig 30. The detector 10 and the diagnostic device 20 are configured to be able to communicate with each other wirelessly.

  The detector 10 includes a transmitter 15 that transmits ultrasonic waves, which will be described later, and a receiver 16 that receives the ultrasonic waves transmitted from the transmitter 15. A jig 30 is inserted between the transmitter 15 and the receiver 16. The jig 30 is used to place grease between the transmission unit 15 and the reception unit 16.

  The grease is collected from an operation mechanism unit such as a circuit breaker included in the power device at a site, for example, a place where the power device such as a switch gear (SWG) is grounded. Grease is used as a lubricant for operating the scanning mechanism section smoothly in the operation mechanism section. A small amount of grease collected from the operation mechanism unit is disposed between the transmission unit 15 and the reception unit 16 of the detector 10 by the jig 30.

  The diagnostic device 20 is, for example, a tablet computer. The detector 10 starts the detection process based on the measurement start command from the diagnostic device 20. Then, the detector 10 transmits the ultrasonic transmission level in the transmission unit 15 and the reception result (reception level of the received ultrasonic wave) in the reception unit 16 to the diagnostic device 20. The diagnostic device 20 receives the transmission level and the reception level from the detector 10. And the diagnostic apparatus 20 calculates the propagation loss amount in grease based on the transmission level and the reception level. The diagnosis device 20 diagnoses the deterioration of the grease based on the propagation loss amount.

The detector 10 includes an apparatus main body 11 and a sensor unit 12 attached to the apparatus main body.
The sensor unit 12 includes first and second base units 13 and 14, a transmission unit 15, and a reception unit 16.

  The first base portion 13 is formed in a substantially L shape and is attached to the side surface of the apparatus main body 11. The first base portion 13 and the second base portion 14 are combined so as to form a substantially U shape. Accordingly, the tip portions of the first base portion 13 and the second base portion 14 extend in the same direction (right direction in the drawing). The second base portion 14 is attached to the base portion 13 so as to be movable along a direction (vertical direction in the drawing) facing the first base portion 13. The second base portion 14 is biased toward the first base portion 13 by an elastic member (for example, a spring) (not shown) provided in the first base portion 13.

  A transmitter 15 is attached to the first base portion 13, and a receiver 16 is attached to the second base portion 14. The transmitting unit 15 and the receiving unit 16 are respectively attached to the first base unit 13 and the second base unit 14 so that the distal end surfaces thereof are opposed to each other. In addition, the transmitter 15 is attached such that the tip thereof protrudes from the first base portion 13 toward the second base portion 14. The receiving part 16 is attached so that the tip part protrudes from the second base part 14 toward the first base part 13. The first base portion 13 and the second base portion 14 are disposed so as to form a predetermined gap (gap) between the front end surface of the transmission unit 15 and the front end surface of the reception unit 16. . Further, the receiving unit 16 moves in a direction away from the transmitting unit 15 by the movement of the second base unit 14.

A jig 30 is inserted between the transmission unit 15 and the reception unit 16. The jig 30 is used to dispose grease between the transmission unit 15 and the reception unit 16.
FIG. 1B shows an example of the jig 30. The jig 30 is formed in a substantially U shape. A groove 31 as a grease filling portion is formed in the jig 30. The groove 31 is filled with grease 40 collected from an operation mechanism unit of a power device (not shown). The jig 30 is made of a material that hardly propagates ultrasonic waves. As such a material, for example, a polystyrene foam is used.

  As shown in FIG. 1C, a positioning portion 15 a is formed on the distal end surface of the transmission portion 15. Similarly, a positioning portion 16 a is formed on the front end surface of the receiving portion 16. For example, when the transmission unit 15 is viewed from the reception unit 16, the positioning units 15 a and 16 a are arranged with respect to the transmission unit 15 and the reception unit 16 so that the groove 31 of the jig 30 is disposed at the center of the transmission unit 15. Then, the jig 30 is positioned. And the jig | tool 30 is pinched | interposed between the transmission part 15 and the receiving part 16 with the above-mentioned elastic member.

Next, the electrical configuration of the grease deterioration diagnosis device 1 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 2, the detector 10 includes a transmission unit 15, a reception unit 16, and a control unit 17.

  The control unit 17 controls the transmission unit 15 and causes the transmission unit 15 to transmit ultrasonic waves of several MHz (for example, a frequency within a range of 3 to 3.5 MHz). The receiving unit 16 receives the ultrasonic waves transmitted from the transmitting unit 15 and transmitted through the grease 40. The control unit 17 has a wireless communication function, and transmits the transmission level in the transmission unit 15 and the reception level in the reception unit 16 to the diagnostic device 20.

The diagnostic device 20 includes a propagation loss measurement unit 21, a determination unit 22, and a display unit 23.
The propagation loss measurement unit 21 has a wireless communication function and receives the transmission level and the reception level transmitted from the transmission unit 15. The propagation loss measurement unit 21 measures the amount of propagation loss due to the transmission of the grease 40 from the difference between the transmission level in the transmission unit 15 and the reception level in the reception unit 16, that is, “reception level−transmission level”. Then, the propagation loss measurement unit 21 outputs the measured propagation loss amount to the determination unit 22.

  A reference loss amount is set in the determination unit 22. The determination unit 22 compares the propagation loss amount measured by the propagation loss measurement unit 21 with the reference loss amount, and determines the deterioration of the grease 40 based on the comparison result.

  For example, a reference loss amount corresponding to the diagnosis target grease is set in the determination unit 22. The reference loss amount is a threshold value for determining that the grease is deteriorated. The grease is composed of a base oil, a thickener for holding the base oil, and an additive. When the base oil disappears, the grease cannot maintain the initial performance and deteriorates. The oil content, which is the weight ratio of the base oil to the grease weight, is defined as the base oil ratio. The amount of propagation loss in grease increases as the base oil ratio of grease decreases. When the base oil ratio is smaller than a predetermined value (for example, 50%), it is determined that the collected grease is deteriorated. The propagation loss amount with respect to the base oil ratio of the predetermined value is set as the reference loss amount. The determination unit 22 compares the calculated propagation loss amount with the reference loss amount, and determines the deterioration of the collected grease based on the comparison result. In addition, the base oil rate determined as deterioration may be changed as appropriate.

  Note that the relationship between the base oil ratio and propagation loss differs for each type of grease. That is, even if the base oil ratio is the same, the propagation loss is different if the type of grease is different. For this reason, the reference loss amount is set according to the type of grease.

  FIG. 3 shows the relationship between the base oil ratio and the propagation loss. In FIG. 3, the horizontal axis represents the base oil ratio, and the vertical axis represents the propagation loss. The circles shown in FIG. 3 indicate the propagation loss amounts measured by preparing samples with different base oil ratios. Based on the measurement of such a sample, the propagation loss amount when the base oil rate is a predetermined amount (for example, 50%) is set as the reference loss amount.

(Comparative example)
Here, a comparative example with respect to the present embodiment will be described. In addition, the same code | symbol is used about the same member as said embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the grease deterioration diagnosis device 100 of the comparative example includes a base unit 101 that integrally supports the transmission unit 15 and the reception unit 16. The base 101 is a metal case and is formed so as to seal the transmitter 15 and the receiver 16. The propagation loss measurement unit 102 controls the transmission unit 15 and transmits ultrasonic waves from the transmission unit 15. The propagation loss measuring unit 102 measures the propagation loss due to the grease 41 disposed between the transmitting unit 15 and the receiving unit 16 based on the output signal of the receiving unit 16.

  In this comparative example, the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the transmission unit 15 reaches the reception unit 16 via the grease 41 as indicated by a broken line L11 in the drawing. Further, the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the transmission unit 15 reaches the reception unit 16 via the metal base unit 101 as indicated by a broken line L12 in the drawing. Therefore, the output signal of the receiving unit 16 includes the ultrasonic wave that has passed through the grease 41 (broken line L11) and the ultrasonic wave that has passed through the base part 101 (broken line L12).

  FIG. 5 shows the propagation loss characteristics of the base oil ratio of two greases having different propagation loss amounts. In this example, grease DA has less propagation loss than grease DB. In the grease DB, the change of the propagation loss with respect to the base oil rate does not decrease below the predetermined propagation loss amount. This is considered to be because the reception level of the ultrasonic wave transmitted through the grease DB is masked by the reception level of the leaked ultrasonic wave. In such a case, it is difficult to diagnose the deterioration of the grease DB. In addition, the characteristic of grease DB when there is no influence of the leaked ultrasonic wave is shown with the dashed-dotted line.

Next, the operation of the grease deterioration diagnosis device 1 of this embodiment will be described.
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1A, the transmission unit 15 and the reception unit 16 are arranged so as to protrude from the base units 13 and 14 in directions facing each other. For this reason, the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the transmission unit 15 is difficult to leak to the base units 13 and 14. Therefore, the receiving unit 16 receives the ultrasonic wave that has passed through the grease 40 from the transmitting unit 15. For this reason, even in the case of grease having a large propagation loss (for example, grease DB shown in FIG. 5), the reception level at the receiving unit 16 varies with the propagation loss amount corresponding to the base oil ratio of the grease. Therefore, the propagation loss amount of grease can be measured with high accuracy. And the deterioration diagnosis of grease can be performed based on the measured propagation loss amount.

  As shown in FIGS. 1A to 1C, the grease deterioration diagnosis device 1 of this embodiment attaches grease to a jig 30, and places the jig 30 between a transmission unit 15 and a reception unit 16. And the amount of propagation loss of the grease 40 is measured. For this reason, deterioration of the grease can be diagnosed with a small amount (for example, 0.05 cc) of grease collected from the operation mechanism unit of the power device.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1-1) The sensor unit 12 of the grease deterioration diagnosis device 1a includes a transmission unit 15 that transmits ultrasonic waves, and a reception unit 16 that is disposed to face the transmission unit 15 and receives ultrasonic waves. The propagation loss measuring unit 21 measures the amount of ultrasonic propagation loss in the grease 40 disposed in the groove 31 based on the output signal of the receiving unit 16. The determination unit 22 compares the propagation loss amount with a reference loss amount set as a deterioration determination reference according to the base oil ratio of the grease 40, and determines the state of the grease 40 based on the comparison result.

  Therefore, the propagation loss amount of ultrasonic waves in the grease 40 disposed between the transmitting unit 15 and the receiving unit 16 disposed to face each other is measured, and based on the measured transmission loss amount and the reference loss amount, Determination of deterioration of the grease 40 is performed. The base oil ratio is an oil fraction that is a weight ratio of the base oil to the grease weight. When the base oil contained in the grease 40 decreases, the performance of the grease 40 decreases and the deterioration progresses. The amount of propagation loss in the grease 40 increases as the base oil ratio of the grease 40 decreases. Therefore, the grease 40 can be easily diagnosed for deterioration by arranging the grease 40 between the transmitter 15 and the receiver 16 and measuring the propagation loss.

  (1-2) The sensor unit 12 includes a base unit 13 and a second base unit 14 that extends in the same direction as the base unit 13 and is supported so as to be movable along a direction facing the base unit 13. doing. The transmitting unit 15 and the receiving unit 16 are arranged so as to protrude from the opposing surfaces of the base unit 13 and the second base unit 14 in the opposing direction.

  Since the transmitting unit 15 and the receiving unit 16 are arranged so as to protrude from the mutually facing surfaces of the base unit 13 and the base unit 14, ultrasonic waves transmitted from the transmitting unit 15 leak to the base units 13, 14 and the like. This is difficult to receive, and is received by the receiving unit 16. For example, when a leaked ultrasonic wave is received by the receiving unit 16, the leaked ultrasonic wave affects the measurement of the propagation loss amount of the grease 40 and causes an error in the measurement result. In this respect, in the above configuration, since ultrasonic waves are difficult to leak, the occurrence of measurement errors can be suppressed.

  (1-3) The jig 30 has a groove 31, is disposed between the transmission unit 15 and the reception unit 16, and is sandwiched between the transmission unit 15 and the reception unit 16. The jig 30 is made of a material that is difficult for ultrasonic waves to propagate.

  Accordingly, the grease 40 disposed in the groove 31 can be easily disposed between the transmission unit 15 and the reception unit 16 by the jig 30 having the groove 31. And since the jig | tool 30 consists of material which an ultrasonic wave does not propagate easily, the transmission loss amount in the grease 40 arrange | positioned in the groove | channel 31 of the jig | tool 30 can be measured, without receiving the influence of the jig | tool 30. .

  (1-4) Positioning portions 15a and 16a with which the jig 30 is brought into contact are provided on at least one of the front end surfaces of the transmission portion 15 and the reception portion 16. For this reason, the jig 30 is positioned between the transmission unit 15 and the reception unit 16 by the positioning units 15 a and 16 a, and the grease 40 disposed on the jig 30 is placed between the transmission unit 15 and the reception unit 16. It can be easily positioned.

(Second Embodiment)
The second embodiment will be described below.
In addition, in this embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the same component as the said embodiment, and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the grease deterioration diagnosis device 1 a according to the present embodiment includes a sensor unit 12 a, a propagation loss measurement unit 21 a, and a determination unit 22.
The sensor unit 12 a includes a transmission unit 15, a reception unit 16, and a base unit 50 that integrally supports the transmission unit 15 and the reception unit 16. The base unit 50 is a metal case and is formed to seal the transmission unit 15 and the reception unit 16. The propagation loss measurement unit 21 a controls the transmission unit 15 and transmits ultrasonic waves from the transmission unit 15. The propagation loss measuring unit 21 a measures the amount of propagation loss due to the grease 42 disposed between the transmission unit 15 and the reception unit 16 based on the output signal of the reception unit 16.

  The propagation loss measurement unit 21a includes, for example, a network analyzer. The propagation loss measurement unit 21 a measures a vector of propagation loss between the transmission unit 15 and the reception unit 16 based on the transmission signal in the transmission unit 15 and the reception signal in the reception unit 16. The propagation loss measuring unit 21 a calculates the propagation loss amount of the grease 42 based on the measured vector and outputs the propagation loss amount to the determination unit 22.

The determination unit 22 compares the propagation loss amount measured by the propagation loss measurement unit 21a with the reference loss amount, and determines the deterioration of the grease 42 based on the comparison result.
Next, calculation of the propagation loss amount of the grease 42 will be described.

  In the sensor unit 12 shown in FIG. 6, the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the transmission unit 15 reaches the reception unit 16 via the grease 42 as indicated by a broken line in the figure. Further, the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the transmission unit 15 reaches the reception unit 16 through the metal base unit 50. Therefore, the output signal of the receiving unit 16 includes the ultrasonic wave (broken line) that has passed through the grease 42 and the ultrasonic wave that has passed through the base unit 50.

  The signal leaking to the base unit 50 becomes background noise (Back-Ground Noise: hereinafter referred to as BGN) in the reception signal output from the reception unit 16. This BGN masks the ultrasonic reception signal that has passed through the grease having a large propagation loss. The propagation loss measuring unit 21a measures a vector (first vector) B when the grease 42 is disposed and a vector (second vector) G when the grease 42 is not disposed. Based on the vectors B and G, a propagation loss vector (third vector) Bx in the grease 42 is calculated. This vector Bx indicates the propagation loss due to the grease 42 alone. The propagation loss amount due to this vector Bx is assumed to be a true value Bx. That is, the propagation loss measuring unit 21a measures the two vectors B and G, and calculates the propagation loss amount (true value Bx) in the grease 42 based on these vectors B and G.

FIG. 7 shows the relationship between vectors B, G, and Bx. In FIG. 7, the horizontal axis is the real axis, and the vertical axis is the imaginary axis.
An angle occurs between the vectors B and G. This angle corresponds to a vector B, which is a propagation loss resulting from the combination of the ultrasonic wave propagated through the non-dielectric base part 50 and the ultrasonic wave propagated through the dielectric grease 42, and the non-dielectric base part 50. This is caused by the phase difference from the vector G, which is a propagation loss of the ultrasonic wave propagating through.

  The vectors B and G rotate on polar coordinates with both axes of I (real part) and Q (imaginary part) with respect to changes in the frequency of the ultrasonic wave. The relationship shown in FIG. 7 is established. That is, the vector B is a vector composition of the vector G and the vector Bx, and the following complex quantity expression is established.

The real part Bi and imaginary part Bq of the vector B and the real part Bxi and imaginary part Bxq of the vector Bx are expressed by the following equations.

A propagation loss vector Bx of the grease 42 is expressed by the following equation.

Therefore, the true value Bx, that is, the amplitude of the ultrasonic wave that has passed through the grease 42 is obtained by the following equation.

In this way, the propagation loss amount (true value Bx) in the grease 42 is obtained.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(2-1) The sensor unit 12a includes a base unit 50 in which the transmission unit 15 and the reception unit 16 are coupled and sealed together. The propagation loss measuring unit 21a includes a network analyzer, and the propagation loss between the transmission unit 15 and the reception unit 16 is set as a vector based on the transmission signal supplied to the transmission unit 15 and the reception signal output from the reception unit 16. obtain. The propagation loss measuring unit 21a is based on a vector B obtained when the grease 42 is arranged between the transmitting unit 15 and the receiving unit 16, and a vector G obtained when the grease 42 is not arranged. An ultrasonic vector Bx that has passed through the grease 42 is calculated, and a propagation loss amount in the grease 42 is calculated based on the vector Bx.

  The ultrasonic wave transmitted from the transmission unit 15 propagates through the base unit 50 that integrally seals the transmission unit 15 and the reception unit 16 and reaches the reception unit 16. The propagation loss due to the ultrasonic wave leaking to the base portion 50 becomes background noise (BGN) with respect to the propagation loss in the ultrasonic wave passing through the grease 42, and causes a measurement error in the propagation loss amount of the grease 42. .

  According to the above configuration, the vector Bx by the ultrasonic wave that has passed through the grease 42 is obtained by performing a vector operation on the vector B when the grease 42 is disposed and the vector G when the grease 42 is not disposed. The third vector Bx does not include propagation loss due to leaked ultrasonic waves. For this reason, the propagation loss amount in the grease 42 can be obtained with high accuracy.

In addition, you may implement each said embodiment in the following aspects.
-In each above-mentioned embodiment, you may change suitably the composition of grease degradation diagnostic equipment 1 and 1a. For example, in the first embodiment, the detector 10 and the diagnostic device 20 are separated from each other, but the detector and the diagnostic device may be integrated. In the second embodiment, the propagation loss measurement unit 21a may be a scalar network analyzer.

-In 2nd Embodiment, you may make it arrange | position grease between the transmission part 15 and the receiving part 16 using a jig | tool.
In each of the above embodiments, the deterioration of the grease collected from the operation mechanism unit of the power device is diagnosed, but the deterioration of the grease collected from another device may be diagnosed.

In the above embodiment, the receiving unit 16 may be attached to the first base unit 13 and the transmitting unit 15 may be attached to the second base unit 14.
In the above embodiments, the shape of the jig 30 may be changed as appropriate.

  In each of the above embodiments, the deterioration is determined based on the propagation loss amount, but the loss amount is converted into the base oil rate based on the “base oil rate—loss amount” characteristic acquired in advance, and the base oil rate is calculated. You may determine degradation based on it.

  -As a countermeasure against the outside air temperature fluctuation, temperature correction such as conversion at a constant temperature may be performed on the basis of the "temperature-loss amount" characteristic for each base oil rate of the grease acquired in advance.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,1a ... Grease deterioration diagnostic apparatus, 13, 14 ... Base part, 15 ... Transmission part, 16 ... Reception part, 21 ... Propagation loss measurement part, 22 ... Judgment part, 30 ... Jig, 31 ... Groove (grease filling part) 40) Grease.

Claims (5)

A grease deterioration diagnosis device for diagnosing deterioration of grease containing base oil,
A sensor unit comprising: a transmission unit that transmits ultrasonic waves; and a reception unit that is disposed opposite to the transmission unit across a grease filling unit in which the grease is disposed;
Based on the output signal of the receiving unit, a propagation loss measuring unit that measures the propagation loss amount of the ultrasonic wave in the grease disposed in the grease filling unit;
A determination unit that determines the state of the grease based on the propagation loss amount;
A grease deterioration diagnosis device characterized by comprising:   The sensor unit includes a first base unit and a second base unit having surfaces facing each other, and the second base unit is supported so as to be movable along a direction facing the first base unit. One of the transmission unit and the reception unit is disposed so as to protrude from the first base unit toward the second base unit, and the other of the transmission unit and the reception unit is the first unit. The grease deterioration diagnosis device according to claim 1, wherein the grease deterioration diagnosis device is disposed so as to protrude from the base portion of 2 toward the first base portion.   It has the grease filling part, and is provided between the transmitting part and the receiving part, and is sandwiched between the transmitting part and the receiving part, and includes a jig made of a material that hardly propagates the ultrasonic wave. The grease deterioration diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that:   The grease deterioration diagnosis apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a positioning portion on which at least one of the transmitting portion and the receiving portion is brought into contact with the jig. The sensor unit includes a base unit integrally connected by connecting the transmission unit and the reception unit,
The propagation loss measurement unit is a network analyzer that obtains a propagation loss as a vector between the transmission unit and the reception unit based on a transmission signal supplied to the transmission unit and a reception signal output from the reception unit. Provided, based on a first vector obtained when the grease is arranged between the transmitter and the receiver, and a second vector obtained when the grease is not arranged, Calculating a third vector of the ultrasonic wave that has passed through the grease, and calculating the amount of propagation loss based on the third vector;
The grease deterioration diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1.