NIP WIDTH SENSING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ELEVATED TEMPERATURE ENVIRONMENTS

摘要

A system for measuring nip width for a nip present between two rolls includes:(a) a sensor assembly, said sensor assembly including: 1) a first strip formedof a first electrically conductive material having a resistance, the firststrip having a first end and a second end and a first measuring zone betweenthe first and second ends; 2) a second strip disposed adjacent the first stripand formed of a second electrically conductive material, the second striphaving a second measuring zone disposed adjacent and substantially coextensivewith said first measuring zone; 3) a gap defined between the first and secondstrips and electrically isolating the first and second strips from oneanother; and 4) wherein at least one of the first and second strips isdeformable such that, when the device is placed in the press nip, pressurefrom the nip rolls forces portions of the first and second measuring zonesinto electrically conductive contact with one another over a contact length,the contact length corresponding to the nip width. The system furthercomprises: (b) a resistance-measuring unit that measures an electricalresistance; (c) first and second leads, the first lead being connected to thefirst strip adjacent the first end, the second lead being connected to thesecond strip; and (d) a controller operatively associated with the resistance-measuring unit, the controller including computer readable program code, thecode including a plurality of data sets, each of the data sets representing arelationship between resistance of a sensor and environmental temperature.