Class / Patent application number | Description | Number of patent applications / Date published |
246169000 | Train defect | 31 |
20090084909 | Method and Device for Deactivating Defective Doors - A method and an apparatus for deactivating defective doors or movable steps of a train. | 04-02-2009 |
20110309206 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DISTRIBUTED POWER TRAIN CONTROL - A method for controlling a railroad train ( | 12-22-2011 |
20120217351 | RAILWAY SYSTEM USING ACOUSTIC MONITORING - A method of monitoring and/or controlling components of a railway system which includes a track and at least one train that is operable to run on said track, comprises the steps of: a) providing an acoustic transducer proximate the railway for picking up acoustic signals; b) receiving acoustic signals from the transducer; and c) analysing the received signals. | 08-30-2012 |
20120325980 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR COMMUNICATING WITH A WAYSIDE DEVICE - A communication system includes an electronic component located at a wayside device positioned along a route of a rail vehicle and a router transceiver unit operably coupled to the electronic component. The router transceiver unit is conductively coupled to a power supply conductor that supplies electric current to power at least one of the electronic component of the wayside device or an electronic apparatus other than the electronic component. The router transceiver unit is configured to communicate network data with a remote location through the power supply conductor. | 12-27-2012 |
20140110534 | FLAT WHEEL DETECTOR WITH MULTIPLE SENSORS - The present disclosure is directed to a flat wheel detector. The flat wheel detector may have a first sensor configured to be located adjacent a rail of a railroad track. The first sensor may be oriented at a first angle relative to a horizontal plane. The flat wheel detector may also have a second sensor configured to be located adjacent the rail. The second sensor may be oriented at a second angle relative to the horizontal plane. In addition, the flat wheel detector may have a controller in communication with the first and second sensors. The controller may be configured to receive signals from the first and second sensors. The controller may also be configured to detect a flat wheel on a railroad car based on the signals. | 04-24-2014 |
20140110535 | Speed sensitive dragging equipment detector - The disclosure is directed to a method of detecting an object beneath a train. The method may include receiving a first signal indicative of a speed of the train, receiving a second signal indicative of a three generated by impact of the object with an impact element, and selecting a threshold value based on the speed of the train. The method may also include processing the second signal in accordance with a first procedure if the first signal indicates a speed of the train less than the threshold level, and processing the second signal in accordance with a second procedure different from the first procedure if the first signal is equal to or greater than the threshold level. | 04-24-2014 |
20140110536 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CHARACTERIZING DRAGGING EQUIPMENT - The disclosure is directed to a method and apparatus for characterizing an object protruding beneath a train traveling along a rail. The method may include receiving one or more signals indicative of a detected horizontal force component and a detected vertical force component generated by impact of the object with a stationary impact element. The method may also characterize the object based on the detected horizontal and vertical force components. | 04-24-2014 |
20140110537 | MULTI-FUNCTION DRAGGER - The present disclosure is directed to a dragger. The dragger may have a plurality of sensors configured to be located adjacent a railroad track. Each of the plurality of sensors may be oriented at an angle relative to a horizontal plane. The dragger may also have a controller in communication with the plurality of sensors. The controller may be configured to receive signals from the plurality of sensors, determine a parameter based on at least one of the received signals, and detect a fault condition when the parameter exceeds a threshold. | 04-24-2014 |
20140183304 | TRAIN END AND TRAIN INTEGRITY CIRCUIT FOR TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEM - A train system that includes a plurality of train units including a first train unit and second train unit coupled together. Each first and second train unit includes a controller configured to detect a change in train configuration of the train units, and comprising a plurality of inputs; train integrity signal lines spanning each train unit and coupled with the controller at the plurality of inputs and configured to transmit signals between a front end and a rear end of the train system, the signals indicating a status of train integrity of the train system; and a plurality of relays in communication with the controller, and configured to indicate a coupling or non-coupling status of each train unit. | 07-03-2014 |
20140209756 | VEHICLE COUPLING FAULT DETECTING SYSTEM - A vehicle coupling fault detecting system is disclosed. The system may include first and second selectively-pressurized fluid conduits containing first and second communication cables that are communicatively coupled when the first and second fluid conduits are connected together. A pressure sensor may detect a pressure within the fluid conduits when the conduits are connected together, and communicate a signal indicative of the pressure through at least one of the first and second communication cables. A controller may receive the signal and determine from the signal whether there is a fault in the connection between the first and second selectively-pressurized fluid conduits. | 07-31-2014 |
20160096536 | Electronic Condition Detection System and Method for Railcars - A railcar has an on-board system for weighing a load of the railcar. A center plate load cell is attached to the bottom of the railcar body and supports the first end of the railcar body on a truck assembly via the center bowl of the truck assembly. A pair of side bearing load cells are mounted to the bottom of the railcar body so as to flank the center plate load cell. A pair of side bearings are positioned on the top surface of the truck assembly bolster in alignment with the pair of side bearing load cells. Circuitry sums signals from the center plate load cell and the pair of side bearing load cells to provide a summed output corresponding to a weight of the railcar load. The summed output is conditioned and transmitted via a satellite and/or cable system to a remote receiving station. | 04-07-2016 |
20160159378 | ONLINE TRAIN WHEEL FAULT DETECTION DEVICE - The present invention discloses an online fault detection device for train wheels, including: base rails | 06-09-2016 |
20080283678 | HOT RAIL WHEEL BEARING DETECTION SYSTEM AND METHOD - A system for detecting a moving hot bearing or wheel is provided. The system includes a summer for combining an input signal representative of radiation emitted by the moving hot rail car bearing with a feedback signal. The system also includes an integrator to accumulate an error resulting from the combination of the input signal and the feedback signal. The system further includes a feedback loop to feedback output of the integrator to the summer. | 11-20-2008 |
20080283679 | HOT RAIL WHEEL BEARING DETECTION - A system for detecting a moving hot bearing or wheel of a rail car is provided. The system includes a first comparator to receive input signals representative of radiation emitted by the moving hot rail car bearing or wheel, and to compare the input signals to a threshold value. The system further includes a counter for counting incidents of the input signals exceeding the threshold value and a second comparator to compare a number of incidents of the input signals exceeding the threshold value to a count threshold as an indication of detection of a hot rail car bearing or wheel. | 11-20-2008 |
20080283680 | HOT RAIL WHEEL BEARING DETECTION SYSTEM AND METHOD - Hot rail car bearings or wheels are identified by sensing an infrared radiation from the hot surface and determining whether features of the sensed signals are indicative of hot rail car surfaces. The features may include the signals themselves, with distances or correlations being established between the signals and signals of known hot bearings or wheels. The features may be analyzed in a feature or decision space, with boundaries being established that identify hot bearings or wheels, or that establish false positive features or noise. The identification may also be implemented as a matched filter. | 11-20-2008 |
20080283681 | HOT RAIL WHEEL BEARING DETECTION SYSTEM AND METHOD - A system for detecting a hot surface is provided. The system includes a sensor for sensing an infrared radiation radiating from the hot surface and a high pass filter to eliminate low frequency components from the sensor signal. The system also includes an absolute value module to compute absolute values of a filtered signal, a first comparator to compare output of the absolute value module to a first threshold and a peak detector to report a peak value of the sensor signal's output. The system further includes a second comparator to compare output of peak detector to a second threshold. | 11-20-2008 |
20100078527 | DEVICE AND METHOD FOR ERROR MONITORING FOR UNDERCARRIAGE COMPONENTS OF RAIL VEHICLES - The invention relates to a device for monitoring errors in undercarriage components of rail vehicles, having at least one acceleration sensor which works with an evaluation unit. At least one acceleration sensor is arranged on the undercarriage of the rail vehicle in such a manner that its direction of detection has at least one component parallel to the vertical axis (z-direction) of the rail vehicle. The invention proposes that the acceleration sensor is constructed in such a manner that it delivers a measuring signal which contains the signal portion corresponding to a ground acceleration, or represents a signal corresponding to a ground acceleration, and that the evaluation unit has a routine for testing functions of the acceleration sensor, the routine controlling an error signal if the measuring signal delivered by the acceleration sensor contains no signal portion corresponding to a ground acceleration. The routine also suppresses the error signal if this is not the case. | 04-01-2010 |
20110024576 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MONITORING CONDITION OF RAIL CAR WHEELS, BRAKES AND BEARINGS - A system and method for detecting failing rail car wheels, brakes, bearings, and/or other components of a rail car may include at least one thermal sensor and at least one image capture device. The thermal sensor(s) and image capture devices(s) are usable to help determine whether there is a failure or potential failure of a component of a wheel set by detecting, measuring and/or comparing a temperature of various portions of the wheel set. If the temperature is higher than expected, it may indicate, for example, a stuck brake, a failing bearing, and/or some other failure of the wheel set. If the temperature is lower than expected, it could indicate that a brake of the wheel set is unexpectedly diengaged and/or some other failure of the wheel set. | 02-03-2011 |
20120193484 | METHOD AND DEVICE FOR ESTIMATING THE TEMPERATURE OF AN AXLE BEARING OF A WHEELSET OF A RAIL VEHICLE - A method for estimating the temperature (T | 08-02-2012 |
20130175406 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MONITORING CONDITION OF RAIL CAR WHEELS, BRAKES AND BEARINGS - A system and method for detecting failing rail car wheels, brakes, bearings, and/or other components of a rail car may include at least one thermal sensor and at least one image capture device. The thermal sensor(s) and image capture devices(s) are usable to help determine whether there is a failure or potential failure of a component of a wheel set by detecting, measuring and/or comparing a temperature of various portions of the wheel set. If the temperature is higher than expected, it may indicate, for example, a stuck brake, a failing bearing, and/or some other failure of the wheel set. If the temperature is lower than expected, it could indicate that a brake of the wheel set is unexpectedly disengaged and/or some other failure of the wheel set. | 07-11-2013 |
20130270396 | METHOD OF DETECTING AND SIGNALLING A HOT BOX CONDITION - A method of detecting and signalling a hot box condition on a rail vehicle comprising the steps of acquiring temperature data from undercarriage components of the rail vehicle through temperature sensors provided in hot box detection devices; relaying temperature data through a wireless network of the hot box detection devices to a data recorder. | 10-17-2013 |
20130270397 | DEVICE FOR DETECTING A HOT WHEEL CONDITION - A device for a detecting a hot box condition on a rail vehicle comprising a housing removably coupled to an undercarriage component of the rail vehicle, the housing being coupled magnetically; and a temperature sensor positioned within the housing. | 10-17-2013 |
20130320154 | CONSIST COMMUNICATION SYSTEM HAVING BEARING TEMPERATURE INPUT - A consist communication system is disclosed for use with a train consist. The system may have a sensor associated with a component of the consist and configured to generate a signal indicative of a performance parameter of the component. The system may further include a controller, a fluid conduit, at least a first cable disposed within the fluid conduit and configured to transmit the signal from the sensor to the controller, and a glad-hand coupling fixedly connected to an end of the fluid conduit. | 12-05-2013 |
20150083869 | Railroad Train Monitoring System - Railcar monitoring utilizes instrumented, flexible pads supported within the truck pedestal jaws on the bearing adapters. The pads contain sensors for monitoring temperature pressure, shifting loads, truck hunting and the like and have circuitry for processing information received from the sensors and for processing and reporting departures of performance variables to a remote source. The system cyclically activates polling each pad on a car and communicates signals of critical departures and car identity to a remote source. | 03-26-2015 |
20100155543 | Train Wheel Bearing Temperature Detection | 06-24-2010 |
20130032674 | DETECTOR FOR DETECTING TRAIN WHEEL BEARING TEMPERATURE - A detector for detecting a condition of a rail vehicle undercarriage component including a sensor with infrared sensing elements, each of the elements configured to scan regions of a target area of the rail vehicle undercarriage component. The sensor is oriented so that at least one of the elements receives unobstructed infrared emissions from the rail vehicle undercarriage component, and the sensing elements are arranged in a matrix of plurality of arrays. | 02-07-2013 |
20130313372 | Wayside Measurement of Railcar Wheel to Rail Geometry - Considerable damage to rails, wheels, and trucks can result from geometric anomalies in the wheelsets, rails, and truck hardware. A solution for identifying and quantifying geometric anomalies known to influence the service life of the rolling stock or the ride comfort for the case of passenger service is described. The solution comprises an optical system, which can be configured to accurately perform measurements at mainline speeds (e.g., greater than 100 mph). The optical system includes laser line projectors and imaging cameras and can utilize structured light triangulation. | 11-28-2013 |
20140312179 | INTEGRATED VEHICLE SAFETY MONITORING SYSTEM FOR RUNNING TRAINS - An integrated vehicle safety monitoring system for running trains, comprises a trackside multi-sensor fieldbus intelligent detection unit, a multivariate information processor transfer computer unit, a trackside wireless communication unit and a detection station monitoring information control terminal. Integrating a plurality of detection functions together, the system realizes intelligent multi-sensor information fusion, conducts diversified and parallel processing to various parameters, and greatly expands the monitoring space based on wireless communication, thereby comprehensively improving the system monitoring capacity and enabling the monitoring success rate to be greatly improved. The detection station monitoring information control terminal uploads the processed data to a superior vehicle safety monitoring center and a system cloud processing unit to realize the instant sharing of information between the units. | 10-23-2014 |
20150115109 | Wayside Measurement of Railcar Wheel to Rail Geometry - Considerable damage to rails, wheels, and trucks can result from geometric anomalies in the wheelsets, rails, and truck hardware. A solution for identifying and quantifying geometric anomalies known to influence the service life of the rolling stock or the ride comfort for the case of passenger service is described. The solution comprises an optical system, which can be configured to accurately perform measurements at mainline speeds (e.g., greater than 100 mph). The optical system includes laser line projectors and imaging cameras and can utilize structured light triangulation. | 04-30-2015 |
20090001226 | Acoustic monitoring of railcar running gear and railcars - Methods and devices are provided for monitoring the condition of the running gear of a railcar utilizing acoustic/motion/vibration sensors mounted on the railcar while the railcar is underway. For some embodiments, utilizing this sensor data, defects in the running gear may be detected, and this information may be used to alert an operator to the defective condition. Operated in conjunction with a GPS or similar location detection device, a plurality of sensors mounted on a plurality of railcars may also be used to identify damaged or worn sections of track. | 01-01-2009 |
20100127133 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DETECTING IMPACTS ON AREAS TO BE MONITORED ON A RUNNING VEHICLE - The invention relates to a method for detecting impacts on areas to be monitored on a running vehicle ( | 05-27-2010 |
246169000 | Hot bearing detectors | 12 |
20090084909 | Method and Device for Deactivating Defective Doors - A method and an apparatus for deactivating defective doors or movable steps of a train. | 04-02-2009 |
20110309206 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DISTRIBUTED POWER TRAIN CONTROL - A method for controlling a railroad train ( | 12-22-2011 |
20120217351 | RAILWAY SYSTEM USING ACOUSTIC MONITORING - A method of monitoring and/or controlling components of a railway system which includes a track and at least one train that is operable to run on said track, comprises the steps of: a) providing an acoustic transducer proximate the railway for picking up acoustic signals; b) receiving acoustic signals from the transducer; and c) analysing the received signals. | 08-30-2012 |
20120325980 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR COMMUNICATING WITH A WAYSIDE DEVICE - A communication system includes an electronic component located at a wayside device positioned along a route of a rail vehicle and a router transceiver unit operably coupled to the electronic component. The router transceiver unit is conductively coupled to a power supply conductor that supplies electric current to power at least one of the electronic component of the wayside device or an electronic apparatus other than the electronic component. The router transceiver unit is configured to communicate network data with a remote location through the power supply conductor. | 12-27-2012 |
20140110534 | FLAT WHEEL DETECTOR WITH MULTIPLE SENSORS - The present disclosure is directed to a flat wheel detector. The flat wheel detector may have a first sensor configured to be located adjacent a rail of a railroad track. The first sensor may be oriented at a first angle relative to a horizontal plane. The flat wheel detector may also have a second sensor configured to be located adjacent the rail. The second sensor may be oriented at a second angle relative to the horizontal plane. In addition, the flat wheel detector may have a controller in communication with the first and second sensors. The controller may be configured to receive signals from the first and second sensors. The controller may also be configured to detect a flat wheel on a railroad car based on the signals. | 04-24-2014 |
20140110535 | Speed sensitive dragging equipment detector - The disclosure is directed to a method of detecting an object beneath a train. The method may include receiving a first signal indicative of a speed of the train, receiving a second signal indicative of a three generated by impact of the object with an impact element, and selecting a threshold value based on the speed of the train. The method may also include processing the second signal in accordance with a first procedure if the first signal indicates a speed of the train less than the threshold level, and processing the second signal in accordance with a second procedure different from the first procedure if the first signal is equal to or greater than the threshold level. | 04-24-2014 |
20140110536 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CHARACTERIZING DRAGGING EQUIPMENT - The disclosure is directed to a method and apparatus for characterizing an object protruding beneath a train traveling along a rail. The method may include receiving one or more signals indicative of a detected horizontal force component and a detected vertical force component generated by impact of the object with a stationary impact element. The method may also characterize the object based on the detected horizontal and vertical force components. | 04-24-2014 |
20140110537 | MULTI-FUNCTION DRAGGER - The present disclosure is directed to a dragger. The dragger may have a plurality of sensors configured to be located adjacent a railroad track. Each of the plurality of sensors may be oriented at an angle relative to a horizontal plane. The dragger may also have a controller in communication with the plurality of sensors. The controller may be configured to receive signals from the plurality of sensors, determine a parameter based on at least one of the received signals, and detect a fault condition when the parameter exceeds a threshold. | 04-24-2014 |
20140183304 | TRAIN END AND TRAIN INTEGRITY CIRCUIT FOR TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEM - A train system that includes a plurality of train units including a first train unit and second train unit coupled together. Each first and second train unit includes a controller configured to detect a change in train configuration of the train units, and comprising a plurality of inputs; train integrity signal lines spanning each train unit and coupled with the controller at the plurality of inputs and configured to transmit signals between a front end and a rear end of the train system, the signals indicating a status of train integrity of the train system; and a plurality of relays in communication with the controller, and configured to indicate a coupling or non-coupling status of each train unit. | 07-03-2014 |
20140209756 | VEHICLE COUPLING FAULT DETECTING SYSTEM - A vehicle coupling fault detecting system is disclosed. The system may include first and second selectively-pressurized fluid conduits containing first and second communication cables that are communicatively coupled when the first and second fluid conduits are connected together. A pressure sensor may detect a pressure within the fluid conduits when the conduits are connected together, and communicate a signal indicative of the pressure through at least one of the first and second communication cables. A controller may receive the signal and determine from the signal whether there is a fault in the connection between the first and second selectively-pressurized fluid conduits. | 07-31-2014 |
20160096536 | Electronic Condition Detection System and Method for Railcars - A railcar has an on-board system for weighing a load of the railcar. A center plate load cell is attached to the bottom of the railcar body and supports the first end of the railcar body on a truck assembly via the center bowl of the truck assembly. A pair of side bearing load cells are mounted to the bottom of the railcar body so as to flank the center plate load cell. A pair of side bearings are positioned on the top surface of the truck assembly bolster in alignment with the pair of side bearing load cells. Circuitry sums signals from the center plate load cell and the pair of side bearing load cells to provide a summed output corresponding to a weight of the railcar load. The summed output is conditioned and transmitted via a satellite and/or cable system to a remote receiving station. | 04-07-2016 |
20160159378 | ONLINE TRAIN WHEEL FAULT DETECTION DEVICE - The present invention discloses an online fault detection device for train wheels, including: base rails | 06-09-2016 |
20080283678 | HOT RAIL WHEEL BEARING DETECTION SYSTEM AND METHOD - A system for detecting a moving hot bearing or wheel is provided. The system includes a summer for combining an input signal representative of radiation emitted by the moving hot rail car bearing with a feedback signal. The system also includes an integrator to accumulate an error resulting from the combination of the input signal and the feedback signal. The system further includes a feedback loop to feedback output of the integrator to the summer. | 11-20-2008 |
20080283679 | HOT RAIL WHEEL BEARING DETECTION - A system for detecting a moving hot bearing or wheel of a rail car is provided. The system includes a first comparator to receive input signals representative of radiation emitted by the moving hot rail car bearing or wheel, and to compare the input signals to a threshold value. The system further includes a counter for counting incidents of the input signals exceeding the threshold value and a second comparator to compare a number of incidents of the input signals exceeding the threshold value to a count threshold as an indication of detection of a hot rail car bearing or wheel. | 11-20-2008 |
20080283680 | HOT RAIL WHEEL BEARING DETECTION SYSTEM AND METHOD - Hot rail car bearings or wheels are identified by sensing an infrared radiation from the hot surface and determining whether features of the sensed signals are indicative of hot rail car surfaces. The features may include the signals themselves, with distances or correlations being established between the signals and signals of known hot bearings or wheels. The features may be analyzed in a feature or decision space, with boundaries being established that identify hot bearings or wheels, or that establish false positive features or noise. The identification may also be implemented as a matched filter. | 11-20-2008 |
20080283681 | HOT RAIL WHEEL BEARING DETECTION SYSTEM AND METHOD - A system for detecting a hot surface is provided. The system includes a sensor for sensing an infrared radiation radiating from the hot surface and a high pass filter to eliminate low frequency components from the sensor signal. The system also includes an absolute value module to compute absolute values of a filtered signal, a first comparator to compare output of the absolute value module to a first threshold and a peak detector to report a peak value of the sensor signal's output. The system further includes a second comparator to compare output of peak detector to a second threshold. | 11-20-2008 |
20100078527 | DEVICE AND METHOD FOR ERROR MONITORING FOR UNDERCARRIAGE COMPONENTS OF RAIL VEHICLES - The invention relates to a device for monitoring errors in undercarriage components of rail vehicles, having at least one acceleration sensor which works with an evaluation unit. At least one acceleration sensor is arranged on the undercarriage of the rail vehicle in such a manner that its direction of detection has at least one component parallel to the vertical axis (z-direction) of the rail vehicle. The invention proposes that the acceleration sensor is constructed in such a manner that it delivers a measuring signal which contains the signal portion corresponding to a ground acceleration, or represents a signal corresponding to a ground acceleration, and that the evaluation unit has a routine for testing functions of the acceleration sensor, the routine controlling an error signal if the measuring signal delivered by the acceleration sensor contains no signal portion corresponding to a ground acceleration. The routine also suppresses the error signal if this is not the case. | 04-01-2010 |
20110024576 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MONITORING CONDITION OF RAIL CAR WHEELS, BRAKES AND BEARINGS - A system and method for detecting failing rail car wheels, brakes, bearings, and/or other components of a rail car may include at least one thermal sensor and at least one image capture device. The thermal sensor(s) and image capture devices(s) are usable to help determine whether there is a failure or potential failure of a component of a wheel set by detecting, measuring and/or comparing a temperature of various portions of the wheel set. If the temperature is higher than expected, it may indicate, for example, a stuck brake, a failing bearing, and/or some other failure of the wheel set. If the temperature is lower than expected, it could indicate that a brake of the wheel set is unexpectedly diengaged and/or some other failure of the wheel set. | 02-03-2011 |
20120193484 | METHOD AND DEVICE FOR ESTIMATING THE TEMPERATURE OF AN AXLE BEARING OF A WHEELSET OF A RAIL VEHICLE - A method for estimating the temperature (T | 08-02-2012 |
20130175406 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MONITORING CONDITION OF RAIL CAR WHEELS, BRAKES AND BEARINGS - A system and method for detecting failing rail car wheels, brakes, bearings, and/or other components of a rail car may include at least one thermal sensor and at least one image capture device. The thermal sensor(s) and image capture devices(s) are usable to help determine whether there is a failure or potential failure of a component of a wheel set by detecting, measuring and/or comparing a temperature of various portions of the wheel set. If the temperature is higher than expected, it may indicate, for example, a stuck brake, a failing bearing, and/or some other failure of the wheel set. If the temperature is lower than expected, it could indicate that a brake of the wheel set is unexpectedly disengaged and/or some other failure of the wheel set. | 07-11-2013 |
20130270396 | METHOD OF DETECTING AND SIGNALLING A HOT BOX CONDITION - A method of detecting and signalling a hot box condition on a rail vehicle comprising the steps of acquiring temperature data from undercarriage components of the rail vehicle through temperature sensors provided in hot box detection devices; relaying temperature data through a wireless network of the hot box detection devices to a data recorder. | 10-17-2013 |
20130270397 | DEVICE FOR DETECTING A HOT WHEEL CONDITION - A device for a detecting a hot box condition on a rail vehicle comprising a housing removably coupled to an undercarriage component of the rail vehicle, the housing being coupled magnetically; and a temperature sensor positioned within the housing. | 10-17-2013 |
20130320154 | CONSIST COMMUNICATION SYSTEM HAVING BEARING TEMPERATURE INPUT - A consist communication system is disclosed for use with a train consist. The system may have a sensor associated with a component of the consist and configured to generate a signal indicative of a performance parameter of the component. The system may further include a controller, a fluid conduit, at least a first cable disposed within the fluid conduit and configured to transmit the signal from the sensor to the controller, and a glad-hand coupling fixedly connected to an end of the fluid conduit. | 12-05-2013 |
20150083869 | Railroad Train Monitoring System - Railcar monitoring utilizes instrumented, flexible pads supported within the truck pedestal jaws on the bearing adapters. The pads contain sensors for monitoring temperature pressure, shifting loads, truck hunting and the like and have circuitry for processing information received from the sensors and for processing and reporting departures of performance variables to a remote source. The system cyclically activates polling each pad on a car and communicates signals of critical departures and car identity to a remote source. | 03-26-2015 |
20100155543 | Train Wheel Bearing Temperature Detection | 06-24-2010 |
20130032674 | DETECTOR FOR DETECTING TRAIN WHEEL BEARING TEMPERATURE - A detector for detecting a condition of a rail vehicle undercarriage component including a sensor with infrared sensing elements, each of the elements configured to scan regions of a target area of the rail vehicle undercarriage component. The sensor is oriented so that at least one of the elements receives unobstructed infrared emissions from the rail vehicle undercarriage component, and the sensing elements are arranged in a matrix of plurality of arrays. | 02-07-2013 |
20130313372 | Wayside Measurement of Railcar Wheel to Rail Geometry - Considerable damage to rails, wheels, and trucks can result from geometric anomalies in the wheelsets, rails, and truck hardware. A solution for identifying and quantifying geometric anomalies known to influence the service life of the rolling stock or the ride comfort for the case of passenger service is described. The solution comprises an optical system, which can be configured to accurately perform measurements at mainline speeds (e.g., greater than 100 mph). The optical system includes laser line projectors and imaging cameras and can utilize structured light triangulation. | 11-28-2013 |
20140312179 | INTEGRATED VEHICLE SAFETY MONITORING SYSTEM FOR RUNNING TRAINS - An integrated vehicle safety monitoring system for running trains, comprises a trackside multi-sensor fieldbus intelligent detection unit, a multivariate information processor transfer computer unit, a trackside wireless communication unit and a detection station monitoring information control terminal. Integrating a plurality of detection functions together, the system realizes intelligent multi-sensor information fusion, conducts diversified and parallel processing to various parameters, and greatly expands the monitoring space based on wireless communication, thereby comprehensively improving the system monitoring capacity and enabling the monitoring success rate to be greatly improved. The detection station monitoring information control terminal uploads the processed data to a superior vehicle safety monitoring center and a system cloud processing unit to realize the instant sharing of information between the units. | 10-23-2014 |
20150115109 | Wayside Measurement of Railcar Wheel to Rail Geometry - Considerable damage to rails, wheels, and trucks can result from geometric anomalies in the wheelsets, rails, and truck hardware. A solution for identifying and quantifying geometric anomalies known to influence the service life of the rolling stock or the ride comfort for the case of passenger service is described. The solution comprises an optical system, which can be configured to accurately perform measurements at mainline speeds (e.g., greater than 100 mph). The optical system includes laser line projectors and imaging cameras and can utilize structured light triangulation. | 04-30-2015 |
20090001226 | Acoustic monitoring of railcar running gear and railcars - Methods and devices are provided for monitoring the condition of the running gear of a railcar utilizing acoustic/motion/vibration sensors mounted on the railcar while the railcar is underway. For some embodiments, utilizing this sensor data, defects in the running gear may be detected, and this information may be used to alert an operator to the defective condition. Operated in conjunction with a GPS or similar location detection device, a plurality of sensors mounted on a plurality of railcars may also be used to identify damaged or worn sections of track. | 01-01-2009 |
20100127133 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DETECTING IMPACTS ON AREAS TO BE MONITORED ON A RUNNING VEHICLE - The invention relates to a method for detecting impacts on areas to be monitored on a running vehicle ( | 05-27-2010 |
246169000 | Radiant energy type | 5 |
20090084909 | Method and Device for Deactivating Defective Doors - A method and an apparatus for deactivating defective doors or movable steps of a train. | 04-02-2009 |
20110309206 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DISTRIBUTED POWER TRAIN CONTROL - A method for controlling a railroad train ( | 12-22-2011 |
20120217351 | RAILWAY SYSTEM USING ACOUSTIC MONITORING - A method of monitoring and/or controlling components of a railway system which includes a track and at least one train that is operable to run on said track, comprises the steps of: a) providing an acoustic transducer proximate the railway for picking up acoustic signals; b) receiving acoustic signals from the transducer; and c) analysing the received signals. | 08-30-2012 |
20120325980 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR COMMUNICATING WITH A WAYSIDE DEVICE - A communication system includes an electronic component located at a wayside device positioned along a route of a rail vehicle and a router transceiver unit operably coupled to the electronic component. The router transceiver unit is conductively coupled to a power supply conductor that supplies electric current to power at least one of the electronic component of the wayside device or an electronic apparatus other than the electronic component. The router transceiver unit is configured to communicate network data with a remote location through the power supply conductor. | 12-27-2012 |
20140110534 | FLAT WHEEL DETECTOR WITH MULTIPLE SENSORS - The present disclosure is directed to a flat wheel detector. The flat wheel detector may have a first sensor configured to be located adjacent a rail of a railroad track. The first sensor may be oriented at a first angle relative to a horizontal plane. The flat wheel detector may also have a second sensor configured to be located adjacent the rail. The second sensor may be oriented at a second angle relative to the horizontal plane. In addition, the flat wheel detector may have a controller in communication with the first and second sensors. The controller may be configured to receive signals from the first and second sensors. The controller may also be configured to detect a flat wheel on a railroad car based on the signals. | 04-24-2014 |
20140110535 | Speed sensitive dragging equipment detector - The disclosure is directed to a method of detecting an object beneath a train. The method may include receiving a first signal indicative of a speed of the train, receiving a second signal indicative of a three generated by impact of the object with an impact element, and selecting a threshold value based on the speed of the train. The method may also include processing the second signal in accordance with a first procedure if the first signal indicates a speed of the train less than the threshold level, and processing the second signal in accordance with a second procedure different from the first procedure if the first signal is equal to or greater than the threshold level. | 04-24-2014 |
20140110536 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CHARACTERIZING DRAGGING EQUIPMENT - The disclosure is directed to a method and apparatus for characterizing an object protruding beneath a train traveling along a rail. The method may include receiving one or more signals indicative of a detected horizontal force component and a detected vertical force component generated by impact of the object with a stationary impact element. The method may also characterize the object based on the detected horizontal and vertical force components. | 04-24-2014 |
20140110537 | MULTI-FUNCTION DRAGGER - The present disclosure is directed to a dragger. The dragger may have a plurality of sensors configured to be located adjacent a railroad track. Each of the plurality of sensors may be oriented at an angle relative to a horizontal plane. The dragger may also have a controller in communication with the plurality of sensors. The controller may be configured to receive signals from the plurality of sensors, determine a parameter based on at least one of the received signals, and detect a fault condition when the parameter exceeds a threshold. | 04-24-2014 |
20140183304 | TRAIN END AND TRAIN INTEGRITY CIRCUIT FOR TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEM - A train system that includes a plurality of train units including a first train unit and second train unit coupled together. Each first and second train unit includes a controller configured to detect a change in train configuration of the train units, and comprising a plurality of inputs; train integrity signal lines spanning each train unit and coupled with the controller at the plurality of inputs and configured to transmit signals between a front end and a rear end of the train system, the signals indicating a status of train integrity of the train system; and a plurality of relays in communication with the controller, and configured to indicate a coupling or non-coupling status of each train unit. | 07-03-2014 |
20140209756 | VEHICLE COUPLING FAULT DETECTING SYSTEM - A vehicle coupling fault detecting system is disclosed. The system may include first and second selectively-pressurized fluid conduits containing first and second communication cables that are communicatively coupled when the first and second fluid conduits are connected together. A pressure sensor may detect a pressure within the fluid conduits when the conduits are connected together, and communicate a signal indicative of the pressure through at least one of the first and second communication cables. A controller may receive the signal and determine from the signal whether there is a fault in the connection between the first and second selectively-pressurized fluid conduits. | 07-31-2014 |
20160096536 | Electronic Condition Detection System and Method for Railcars - A railcar has an on-board system for weighing a load of the railcar. A center plate load cell is attached to the bottom of the railcar body and supports the first end of the railcar body on a truck assembly via the center bowl of the truck assembly. A pair of side bearing load cells are mounted to the bottom of the railcar body so as to flank the center plate load cell. A pair of side bearings are positioned on the top surface of the truck assembly bolster in alignment with the pair of side bearing load cells. Circuitry sums signals from the center plate load cell and the pair of side bearing load cells to provide a summed output corresponding to a weight of the railcar load. The summed output is conditioned and transmitted via a satellite and/or cable system to a remote receiving station. | 04-07-2016 |
20160159378 | ONLINE TRAIN WHEEL FAULT DETECTION DEVICE - The present invention discloses an online fault detection device for train wheels, including: base rails | 06-09-2016 |
20080283678 | HOT RAIL WHEEL BEARING DETECTION SYSTEM AND METHOD - A system for detecting a moving hot bearing or wheel is provided. The system includes a summer for combining an input signal representative of radiation emitted by the moving hot rail car bearing with a feedback signal. The system also includes an integrator to accumulate an error resulting from the combination of the input signal and the feedback signal. The system further includes a feedback loop to feedback output of the integrator to the summer. | 11-20-2008 |
20080283679 | HOT RAIL WHEEL BEARING DETECTION - A system for detecting a moving hot bearing or wheel of a rail car is provided. The system includes a first comparator to receive input signals representative of radiation emitted by the moving hot rail car bearing or wheel, and to compare the input signals to a threshold value. The system further includes a counter for counting incidents of the input signals exceeding the threshold value and a second comparator to compare a number of incidents of the input signals exceeding the threshold value to a count threshold as an indication of detection of a hot rail car bearing or wheel. | 11-20-2008 |
20080283680 | HOT RAIL WHEEL BEARING DETECTION SYSTEM AND METHOD - Hot rail car bearings or wheels are identified by sensing an infrared radiation from the hot surface and determining whether features of the sensed signals are indicative of hot rail car surfaces. The features may include the signals themselves, with distances or correlations being established between the signals and signals of known hot bearings or wheels. The features may be analyzed in a feature or decision space, with boundaries being established that identify hot bearings or wheels, or that establish false positive features or noise. The identification may also be implemented as a matched filter. | 11-20-2008 |
20080283681 | HOT RAIL WHEEL BEARING DETECTION SYSTEM AND METHOD - A system for detecting a hot surface is provided. The system includes a sensor for sensing an infrared radiation radiating from the hot surface and a high pass filter to eliminate low frequency components from the sensor signal. The system also includes an absolute value module to compute absolute values of a filtered signal, a first comparator to compare output of the absolute value module to a first threshold and a peak detector to report a peak value of the sensor signal's output. The system further includes a second comparator to compare output of peak detector to a second threshold. | 11-20-2008 |
20100078527 | DEVICE AND METHOD FOR ERROR MONITORING FOR UNDERCARRIAGE COMPONENTS OF RAIL VEHICLES - The invention relates to a device for monitoring errors in undercarriage components of rail vehicles, having at least one acceleration sensor which works with an evaluation unit. At least one acceleration sensor is arranged on the undercarriage of the rail vehicle in such a manner that its direction of detection has at least one component parallel to the vertical axis (z-direction) of the rail vehicle. The invention proposes that the acceleration sensor is constructed in such a manner that it delivers a measuring signal which contains the signal portion corresponding to a ground acceleration, or represents a signal corresponding to a ground acceleration, and that the evaluation unit has a routine for testing functions of the acceleration sensor, the routine controlling an error signal if the measuring signal delivered by the acceleration sensor contains no signal portion corresponding to a ground acceleration. The routine also suppresses the error signal if this is not the case. | 04-01-2010 |
20110024576 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MONITORING CONDITION OF RAIL CAR WHEELS, BRAKES AND BEARINGS - A system and method for detecting failing rail car wheels, brakes, bearings, and/or other components of a rail car may include at least one thermal sensor and at least one image capture device. The thermal sensor(s) and image capture devices(s) are usable to help determine whether there is a failure or potential failure of a component of a wheel set by detecting, measuring and/or comparing a temperature of various portions of the wheel set. If the temperature is higher than expected, it may indicate, for example, a stuck brake, a failing bearing, and/or some other failure of the wheel set. If the temperature is lower than expected, it could indicate that a brake of the wheel set is unexpectedly diengaged and/or some other failure of the wheel set. | 02-03-2011 |
20120193484 | METHOD AND DEVICE FOR ESTIMATING THE TEMPERATURE OF AN AXLE BEARING OF A WHEELSET OF A RAIL VEHICLE - A method for estimating the temperature (T | 08-02-2012 |
20130175406 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MONITORING CONDITION OF RAIL CAR WHEELS, BRAKES AND BEARINGS - A system and method for detecting failing rail car wheels, brakes, bearings, and/or other components of a rail car may include at least one thermal sensor and at least one image capture device. The thermal sensor(s) and image capture devices(s) are usable to help determine whether there is a failure or potential failure of a component of a wheel set by detecting, measuring and/or comparing a temperature of various portions of the wheel set. If the temperature is higher than expected, it may indicate, for example, a stuck brake, a failing bearing, and/or some other failure of the wheel set. If the temperature is lower than expected, it could indicate that a brake of the wheel set is unexpectedly disengaged and/or some other failure of the wheel set. | 07-11-2013 |
20130270396 | METHOD OF DETECTING AND SIGNALLING A HOT BOX CONDITION - A method of detecting and signalling a hot box condition on a rail vehicle comprising the steps of acquiring temperature data from undercarriage components of the rail vehicle through temperature sensors provided in hot box detection devices; relaying temperature data through a wireless network of the hot box detection devices to a data recorder. | 10-17-2013 |
20130270397 | DEVICE FOR DETECTING A HOT WHEEL CONDITION - A device for a detecting a hot box condition on a rail vehicle comprising a housing removably coupled to an undercarriage component of the rail vehicle, the housing being coupled magnetically; and a temperature sensor positioned within the housing. | 10-17-2013 |
20130320154 | CONSIST COMMUNICATION SYSTEM HAVING BEARING TEMPERATURE INPUT - A consist communication system is disclosed for use with a train consist. The system may have a sensor associated with a component of the consist and configured to generate a signal indicative of a performance parameter of the component. The system may further include a controller, a fluid conduit, at least a first cable disposed within the fluid conduit and configured to transmit the signal from the sensor to the controller, and a glad-hand coupling fixedly connected to an end of the fluid conduit. | 12-05-2013 |
20150083869 | Railroad Train Monitoring System - Railcar monitoring utilizes instrumented, flexible pads supported within the truck pedestal jaws on the bearing adapters. The pads contain sensors for monitoring temperature pressure, shifting loads, truck hunting and the like and have circuitry for processing information received from the sensors and for processing and reporting departures of performance variables to a remote source. The system cyclically activates polling each pad on a car and communicates signals of critical departures and car identity to a remote source. | 03-26-2015 |
20100155543 | Train Wheel Bearing Temperature Detection | 06-24-2010 |
20130032674 | DETECTOR FOR DETECTING TRAIN WHEEL BEARING TEMPERATURE - A detector for detecting a condition of a rail vehicle undercarriage component including a sensor with infrared sensing elements, each of the elements configured to scan regions of a target area of the rail vehicle undercarriage component. The sensor is oriented so that at least one of the elements receives unobstructed infrared emissions from the rail vehicle undercarriage component, and the sensing elements are arranged in a matrix of plurality of arrays. | 02-07-2013 |
20130313372 | Wayside Measurement of Railcar Wheel to Rail Geometry - Considerable damage to rails, wheels, and trucks can result from geometric anomalies in the wheelsets, rails, and truck hardware. A solution for identifying and quantifying geometric anomalies known to influence the service life of the rolling stock or the ride comfort for the case of passenger service is described. The solution comprises an optical system, which can be configured to accurately perform measurements at mainline speeds (e.g., greater than 100 mph). The optical system includes laser line projectors and imaging cameras and can utilize structured light triangulation. | 11-28-2013 |
20140312179 | INTEGRATED VEHICLE SAFETY MONITORING SYSTEM FOR RUNNING TRAINS - An integrated vehicle safety monitoring system for running trains, comprises a trackside multi-sensor fieldbus intelligent detection unit, a multivariate information processor transfer computer unit, a trackside wireless communication unit and a detection station monitoring information control terminal. Integrating a plurality of detection functions together, the system realizes intelligent multi-sensor information fusion, conducts diversified and parallel processing to various parameters, and greatly expands the monitoring space based on wireless communication, thereby comprehensively improving the system monitoring capacity and enabling the monitoring success rate to be greatly improved. The detection station monitoring information control terminal uploads the processed data to a superior vehicle safety monitoring center and a system cloud processing unit to realize the instant sharing of information between the units. | 10-23-2014 |
20150115109 | Wayside Measurement of Railcar Wheel to Rail Geometry - Considerable damage to rails, wheels, and trucks can result from geometric anomalies in the wheelsets, rails, and truck hardware. A solution for identifying and quantifying geometric anomalies known to influence the service life of the rolling stock or the ride comfort for the case of passenger service is described. The solution comprises an optical system, which can be configured to accurately perform measurements at mainline speeds (e.g., greater than 100 mph). The optical system includes laser line projectors and imaging cameras and can utilize structured light triangulation. | 04-30-2015 |
20090001226 | Acoustic monitoring of railcar running gear and railcars - Methods and devices are provided for monitoring the condition of the running gear of a railcar utilizing acoustic/motion/vibration sensors mounted on the railcar while the railcar is underway. For some embodiments, utilizing this sensor data, defects in the running gear may be detected, and this information may be used to alert an operator to the defective condition. Operated in conjunction with a GPS or similar location detection device, a plurality of sensors mounted on a plurality of railcars may also be used to identify damaged or worn sections of track. | 01-01-2009 |
20100127133 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DETECTING IMPACTS ON AREAS TO BE MONITORED ON A RUNNING VEHICLE - The invention relates to a method for detecting impacts on areas to be monitored on a running vehicle ( | 05-27-2010 |
246169000 | Sound detectors | 2 |
20090084909 | Method and Device for Deactivating Defective Doors - A method and an apparatus for deactivating defective doors or movable steps of a train. | 04-02-2009 |
20110309206 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DISTRIBUTED POWER TRAIN CONTROL - A method for controlling a railroad train ( | 12-22-2011 |
20120217351 | RAILWAY SYSTEM USING ACOUSTIC MONITORING - A method of monitoring and/or controlling components of a railway system which includes a track and at least one train that is operable to run on said track, comprises the steps of: a) providing an acoustic transducer proximate the railway for picking up acoustic signals; b) receiving acoustic signals from the transducer; and c) analysing the received signals. | 08-30-2012 |
20120325980 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR COMMUNICATING WITH A WAYSIDE DEVICE - A communication system includes an electronic component located at a wayside device positioned along a route of a rail vehicle and a router transceiver unit operably coupled to the electronic component. The router transceiver unit is conductively coupled to a power supply conductor that supplies electric current to power at least one of the electronic component of the wayside device or an electronic apparatus other than the electronic component. The router transceiver unit is configured to communicate network data with a remote location through the power supply conductor. | 12-27-2012 |
20140110534 | FLAT WHEEL DETECTOR WITH MULTIPLE SENSORS - The present disclosure is directed to a flat wheel detector. The flat wheel detector may have a first sensor configured to be located adjacent a rail of a railroad track. The first sensor may be oriented at a first angle relative to a horizontal plane. The flat wheel detector may also have a second sensor configured to be located adjacent the rail. The second sensor may be oriented at a second angle relative to the horizontal plane. In addition, the flat wheel detector may have a controller in communication with the first and second sensors. The controller may be configured to receive signals from the first and second sensors. The controller may also be configured to detect a flat wheel on a railroad car based on the signals. | 04-24-2014 |
20140110535 | Speed sensitive dragging equipment detector - The disclosure is directed to a method of detecting an object beneath a train. The method may include receiving a first signal indicative of a speed of the train, receiving a second signal indicative of a three generated by impact of the object with an impact element, and selecting a threshold value based on the speed of the train. The method may also include processing the second signal in accordance with a first procedure if the first signal indicates a speed of the train less than the threshold level, and processing the second signal in accordance with a second procedure different from the first procedure if the first signal is equal to or greater than the threshold level. | 04-24-2014 |
20140110536 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CHARACTERIZING DRAGGING EQUIPMENT - The disclosure is directed to a method and apparatus for characterizing an object protruding beneath a train traveling along a rail. The method may include receiving one or more signals indicative of a detected horizontal force component and a detected vertical force component generated by impact of the object with a stationary impact element. The method may also characterize the object based on the detected horizontal and vertical force components. | 04-24-2014 |
20140110537 | MULTI-FUNCTION DRAGGER - The present disclosure is directed to a dragger. The dragger may have a plurality of sensors configured to be located adjacent a railroad track. Each of the plurality of sensors may be oriented at an angle relative to a horizontal plane. The dragger may also have a controller in communication with the plurality of sensors. The controller may be configured to receive signals from the plurality of sensors, determine a parameter based on at least one of the received signals, and detect a fault condition when the parameter exceeds a threshold. | 04-24-2014 |
20140183304 | TRAIN END AND TRAIN INTEGRITY CIRCUIT FOR TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEM - A train system that includes a plurality of train units including a first train unit and second train unit coupled together. Each first and second train unit includes a controller configured to detect a change in train configuration of the train units, and comprising a plurality of inputs; train integrity signal lines spanning each train unit and coupled with the controller at the plurality of inputs and configured to transmit signals between a front end and a rear end of the train system, the signals indicating a status of train integrity of the train system; and a plurality of relays in communication with the controller, and configured to indicate a coupling or non-coupling status of each train unit. | 07-03-2014 |
20140209756 | VEHICLE COUPLING FAULT DETECTING SYSTEM - A vehicle coupling fault detecting system is disclosed. The system may include first and second selectively-pressurized fluid conduits containing first and second communication cables that are communicatively coupled when the first and second fluid conduits are connected together. A pressure sensor may detect a pressure within the fluid conduits when the conduits are connected together, and communicate a signal indicative of the pressure through at least one of the first and second communication cables. A controller may receive the signal and determine from the signal whether there is a fault in the connection between the first and second selectively-pressurized fluid conduits. | 07-31-2014 |
20160096536 | Electronic Condition Detection System and Method for Railcars - A railcar has an on-board system for weighing a load of the railcar. A center plate load cell is attached to the bottom of the railcar body and supports the first end of the railcar body on a truck assembly via the center bowl of the truck assembly. A pair of side bearing load cells are mounted to the bottom of the railcar body so as to flank the center plate load cell. A pair of side bearings are positioned on the top surface of the truck assembly bolster in alignment with the pair of side bearing load cells. Circuitry sums signals from the center plate load cell and the pair of side bearing load cells to provide a summed output corresponding to a weight of the railcar load. The summed output is conditioned and transmitted via a satellite and/or cable system to a remote receiving station. | 04-07-2016 |
20160159378 | ONLINE TRAIN WHEEL FAULT DETECTION DEVICE - The present invention discloses an online fault detection device for train wheels, including: base rails | 06-09-2016 |
20080283678 | HOT RAIL WHEEL BEARING DETECTION SYSTEM AND METHOD - A system for detecting a moving hot bearing or wheel is provided. The system includes a summer for combining an input signal representative of radiation emitted by the moving hot rail car bearing with a feedback signal. The system also includes an integrator to accumulate an error resulting from the combination of the input signal and the feedback signal. The system further includes a feedback loop to feedback output of the integrator to the summer. | 11-20-2008 |
20080283679 | HOT RAIL WHEEL BEARING DETECTION - A system for detecting a moving hot bearing or wheel of a rail car is provided. The system includes a first comparator to receive input signals representative of radiation emitted by the moving hot rail car bearing or wheel, and to compare the input signals to a threshold value. The system further includes a counter for counting incidents of the input signals exceeding the threshold value and a second comparator to compare a number of incidents of the input signals exceeding the threshold value to a count threshold as an indication of detection of a hot rail car bearing or wheel. | 11-20-2008 |
20080283680 | HOT RAIL WHEEL BEARING DETECTION SYSTEM AND METHOD - Hot rail car bearings or wheels are identified by sensing an infrared radiation from the hot surface and determining whether features of the sensed signals are indicative of hot rail car surfaces. The features may include the signals themselves, with distances or correlations being established between the signals and signals of known hot bearings or wheels. The features may be analyzed in a feature or decision space, with boundaries being established that identify hot bearings or wheels, or that establish false positive features or noise. The identification may also be implemented as a matched filter. | 11-20-2008 |
20080283681 | HOT RAIL WHEEL BEARING DETECTION SYSTEM AND METHOD - A system for detecting a hot surface is provided. The system includes a sensor for sensing an infrared radiation radiating from the hot surface and a high pass filter to eliminate low frequency components from the sensor signal. The system also includes an absolute value module to compute absolute values of a filtered signal, a first comparator to compare output of the absolute value module to a first threshold and a peak detector to report a peak value of the sensor signal's output. The system further includes a second comparator to compare output of peak detector to a second threshold. | 11-20-2008 |
20100078527 | DEVICE AND METHOD FOR ERROR MONITORING FOR UNDERCARRIAGE COMPONENTS OF RAIL VEHICLES - The invention relates to a device for monitoring errors in undercarriage components of rail vehicles, having at least one acceleration sensor which works with an evaluation unit. At least one acceleration sensor is arranged on the undercarriage of the rail vehicle in such a manner that its direction of detection has at least one component parallel to the vertical axis (z-direction) of the rail vehicle. The invention proposes that the acceleration sensor is constructed in such a manner that it delivers a measuring signal which contains the signal portion corresponding to a ground acceleration, or represents a signal corresponding to a ground acceleration, and that the evaluation unit has a routine for testing functions of the acceleration sensor, the routine controlling an error signal if the measuring signal delivered by the acceleration sensor contains no signal portion corresponding to a ground acceleration. The routine also suppresses the error signal if this is not the case. | 04-01-2010 |
20110024576 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MONITORING CONDITION OF RAIL CAR WHEELS, BRAKES AND BEARINGS - A system and method for detecting failing rail car wheels, brakes, bearings, and/or other components of a rail car may include at least one thermal sensor and at least one image capture device. The thermal sensor(s) and image capture devices(s) are usable to help determine whether there is a failure or potential failure of a component of a wheel set by detecting, measuring and/or comparing a temperature of various portions of the wheel set. If the temperature is higher than expected, it may indicate, for example, a stuck brake, a failing bearing, and/or some other failure of the wheel set. If the temperature is lower than expected, it could indicate that a brake of the wheel set is unexpectedly diengaged and/or some other failure of the wheel set. | 02-03-2011 |
20120193484 | METHOD AND DEVICE FOR ESTIMATING THE TEMPERATURE OF AN AXLE BEARING OF A WHEELSET OF A RAIL VEHICLE - A method for estimating the temperature (T | 08-02-2012 |
20130175406 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MONITORING CONDITION OF RAIL CAR WHEELS, BRAKES AND BEARINGS - A system and method for detecting failing rail car wheels, brakes, bearings, and/or other components of a rail car may include at least one thermal sensor and at least one image capture device. The thermal sensor(s) and image capture devices(s) are usable to help determine whether there is a failure or potential failure of a component of a wheel set by detecting, measuring and/or comparing a temperature of various portions of the wheel set. If the temperature is higher than expected, it may indicate, for example, a stuck brake, a failing bearing, and/or some other failure of the wheel set. If the temperature is lower than expected, it could indicate that a brake of the wheel set is unexpectedly disengaged and/or some other failure of the wheel set. | 07-11-2013 |
20130270396 | METHOD OF DETECTING AND SIGNALLING A HOT BOX CONDITION - A method of detecting and signalling a hot box condition on a rail vehicle comprising the steps of acquiring temperature data from undercarriage components of the rail vehicle through temperature sensors provided in hot box detection devices; relaying temperature data through a wireless network of the hot box detection devices to a data recorder. | 10-17-2013 |
20130270397 | DEVICE FOR DETECTING A HOT WHEEL CONDITION - A device for a detecting a hot box condition on a rail vehicle comprising a housing removably coupled to an undercarriage component of the rail vehicle, the housing being coupled magnetically; and a temperature sensor positioned within the housing. | 10-17-2013 |
20130320154 | CONSIST COMMUNICATION SYSTEM HAVING BEARING TEMPERATURE INPUT - A consist communication system is disclosed for use with a train consist. The system may have a sensor associated with a component of the consist and configured to generate a signal indicative of a performance parameter of the component. The system may further include a controller, a fluid conduit, at least a first cable disposed within the fluid conduit and configured to transmit the signal from the sensor to the controller, and a glad-hand coupling fixedly connected to an end of the fluid conduit. | 12-05-2013 |
20150083869 | Railroad Train Monitoring System - Railcar monitoring utilizes instrumented, flexible pads supported within the truck pedestal jaws on the bearing adapters. The pads contain sensors for monitoring temperature pressure, shifting loads, truck hunting and the like and have circuitry for processing information received from the sensors and for processing and reporting departures of performance variables to a remote source. The system cyclically activates polling each pad on a car and communicates signals of critical departures and car identity to a remote source. | 03-26-2015 |
20100155543 | Train Wheel Bearing Temperature Detection | 06-24-2010 |
20130032674 | DETECTOR FOR DETECTING TRAIN WHEEL BEARING TEMPERATURE - A detector for detecting a condition of a rail vehicle undercarriage component including a sensor with infrared sensing elements, each of the elements configured to scan regions of a target area of the rail vehicle undercarriage component. The sensor is oriented so that at least one of the elements receives unobstructed infrared emissions from the rail vehicle undercarriage component, and the sensing elements are arranged in a matrix of plurality of arrays. | 02-07-2013 |
20130313372 | Wayside Measurement of Railcar Wheel to Rail Geometry - Considerable damage to rails, wheels, and trucks can result from geometric anomalies in the wheelsets, rails, and truck hardware. A solution for identifying and quantifying geometric anomalies known to influence the service life of the rolling stock or the ride comfort for the case of passenger service is described. The solution comprises an optical system, which can be configured to accurately perform measurements at mainline speeds (e.g., greater than 100 mph). The optical system includes laser line projectors and imaging cameras and can utilize structured light triangulation. | 11-28-2013 |
20140312179 | INTEGRATED VEHICLE SAFETY MONITORING SYSTEM FOR RUNNING TRAINS - An integrated vehicle safety monitoring system for running trains, comprises a trackside multi-sensor fieldbus intelligent detection unit, a multivariate information processor transfer computer unit, a trackside wireless communication unit and a detection station monitoring information control terminal. Integrating a plurality of detection functions together, the system realizes intelligent multi-sensor information fusion, conducts diversified and parallel processing to various parameters, and greatly expands the monitoring space based on wireless communication, thereby comprehensively improving the system monitoring capacity and enabling the monitoring success rate to be greatly improved. The detection station monitoring information control terminal uploads the processed data to a superior vehicle safety monitoring center and a system cloud processing unit to realize the instant sharing of information between the units. | 10-23-2014 |
20150115109 | Wayside Measurement of Railcar Wheel to Rail Geometry - Considerable damage to rails, wheels, and trucks can result from geometric anomalies in the wheelsets, rails, and truck hardware. A solution for identifying and quantifying geometric anomalies known to influence the service life of the rolling stock or the ride comfort for the case of passenger service is described. The solution comprises an optical system, which can be configured to accurately perform measurements at mainline speeds (e.g., greater than 100 mph). The optical system includes laser line projectors and imaging cameras and can utilize structured light triangulation. | 04-30-2015 |
20090001226 | Acoustic monitoring of railcar running gear and railcars - Methods and devices are provided for monitoring the condition of the running gear of a railcar utilizing acoustic/motion/vibration sensors mounted on the railcar while the railcar is underway. For some embodiments, utilizing this sensor data, defects in the running gear may be detected, and this information may be used to alert an operator to the defective condition. Operated in conjunction with a GPS or similar location detection device, a plurality of sensors mounted on a plurality of railcars may also be used to identify damaged or worn sections of track. | 01-01-2009 |
20100127133 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DETECTING IMPACTS ON AREAS TO BE MONITORED ON A RUNNING VEHICLE - The invention relates to a method for detecting impacts on areas to be monitored on a running vehicle ( | 05-27-2010 |