US 11,358,617 B2Granted

Systems and methods for analyzing thermal properties of a railroad

AssigneeEnsco, Inc.

InventorsMatthew Dick, Zhipeng Liu, Samson Yilma

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Abstract

A system for analyzing thermal properties of a railroad includes a thermal imaging device configured to generate thermal image data reproducible as a thermal image of a portion of the railroad, the thermal image data being associated with a location of the portion of the railroad, an electronic display device, a memory device configured to receive and store therein the generated thermal image data; and one or more processors configured to: determine a temperature metric of the portion of the railroad based at least in part on the thermal image data; and cause the electronic display device to display (i) a first graph indicative of the temperature metric of the portion of the railroad and (ii) a second graph indicative of a railroad track geometry metric associated with the location of the portion of the railroad.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A system for analyzing thermal properties of a railroad, the system comprising:

a thermal imaging device configured to generate thermal image data reproducible as one or more thermal images along a length of the railroad;
a memory device configured to receive and store therein the generated thermal image data;
and
one or more processors configured to:
analyze the thermal image data to determine a temperature metric along the length of the railroad;
compare the temperature metric along the length of the railroad to a predefined temperature threshold indicative of a railroad condition;
responsive to the temperature metric at a location along the length of the railroad being less than the predefined temperature threshold, analyze one or more railroad track geometry metrics associated with the location along the length of the railroad to identify a presence or absence of a railroad track defect;
and
responsive to the presence of a railroad defect being identified at the location along the length of the railroad, generate a report identifying the railroad condition at the location along the length of the railroad as the cause of the railroad track defect at the location along the length of the railroad.

6 more elements

A system for analyzing thermal properties of a railroad, the system comprising:

a thermal imaging device configured to generate thermal image data reproducible as a thermal image of a portion of the railroad;
a camera configured to generate image data reproducible as an image of the portion of the railroad;
a GPS sensor configured to determine a location of the system relative to the portion of the railroad;
an electronic display device;
a memory device configured to receive and store therein the generated thermal image data and the image data;
and
one or more processors configured to:
determine a temperature metric of the portion of the railroad based at least in part on the thermal image data;
determine, based on the temperature metric of the portion of the railroad and a predefined temperature threshold, a railroad condition for the portion of the railroad;
identify, based on the railroad condition and one or more railroad track geometry metrics, a defect in the portion of the railroad;
and
responsive to the identification of the railroad defect in the portion of the railroad, generate a report identifying the railroad condition as the cause of the railroad track defect in the portion of the railroad.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 17/098,135Filed 13 Nov 2020 · continuation
Priority: 28 Sep 2018
Published: US 2021/0061322 A14 Mar 2021
Granted: 14 Jun 2022
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification24 codes

B61K 9/08
Railway vehicle profile gauges; Detecting or indicating overheating of components; Apparatus on locomotives or cars to indicate bad track…:…
B61L 15/0081
Indicators provided on the vehicle or train for signalling purposes: on-board diagnosis or maintenance
B61L 23/042
For monitoring the mechanical state of the route: track changes detection
G01J 5/0022
Radiation pyrometry, e.g. infrared or optical thermometry: for sensing the radiation of moving bodies

Family

Application62/739,124Us provisional application · filed 28 Sep 2018
Application16/584,946Parent of this continuation · filed 27 Sep 2019
US 2021/0061322 A1Pre-grant publication · published 4 Mar 2021
US 10,864,926 B2Parent of this continuation
US 2020/0101989 A1Published application
US 11,358,617 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.