Avalanche slide detection system and method
AssigneeBNSF Railway Company
InventorMitchell Beard
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An impact detection tower is disclosed that can facilitate a reliable method of avalanche detection, related to the maintenance and monitoring a railway system. The avalanche detection system can include a plurality of impact detection towers comprising sensors in operable communication with a gateway configured to utilize data transmitted from the sensors to determine if an avalanche has occurred. The gateway can be in operable connection with a human-machine interface to facilitate monitoring of the system by a railroad engineer.
Claims20
An avalanche detection system, comprising:
- a plurality of impact detection towers configured to detect an avalanche, each impact detection tower comprising:
- a stanchion member having a mast hingedly coupled to a base, the mast maintained in an upright position by a conditional operator adapted to control the operation of the hinge;
- and
- a sensor operably coupled to the stanchion member;
- and
- a gateway configured to receive data from the sensor to determine a magnitude of the stanchion member's movement,
- wherein the avalanche detection system is operable to detect an avalanche based upon the magnitude of the stanchion member's movement.
An impact detection tower, comprising:
- a stanchion member having a mast hingedly coupled to a base, the mast maintained in an upright position by a conditional operator adapted to control the operation of the hinge;
- and
- a sensor operably coupled to the stanchion member and configured to collect data related to the status of the impact detection tower,
- wherein the sensors can indicate the presence of an avalanche proximate the impact detection tower based upon the collected data.
A method of detecting avalanche interference in a railroad system, comprising:
- receiving data from a sensor coupled to a stanchion member disposed proximate a railroad track related to the movement of the stanchion member, wherein the stanchion member includes a mast hingedly coupled to a base;
- detecting an avalanche, via a gateway, if the stanchion member movement exceeds a predetermined threshold;
- and
- generating an alert using at least a portion of the received data.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.