Optical sensor for velocity and slip measurement of automobile belt drives

To investigate and optimize the operational behavior of automobile belt drives, it is important to detect unfavorable operating conditions, such as excessive slippage. To measure slippage, the speed of the belt is compared to the peripheral velocities of pulleys in the belt drive. The velocity of the belt is obtained by a contactless optical sensor, whose signals are processed employing correlation techniques. The paper proposes adequate designs of the optical as well as of the signal processing components of the system to ensure high accuracy of the measured values.