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US 11,993,235 B2Granted
Brake monitoring systems for railcars
AssigneeAmsted Rail Company, Inc.
InventorAndrew H. Martin
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system and method for detecting the operational status of a brake system on a railcar. The system receives from a sensor an indication of the magnitude of a braking force applied by the braking system in response to an instruction to increase or decrease the braking force. It compares the response to possible responses of the braking system in view of the instruction provided. Based on the comparison, the system generates at least one of a message and/or an alert indicating the status of the brake system. Additional sensors, including a pressure sensor on a brake pipe of the railcar, can be added for additional functionality.
Claims40
A method for monitoring at least one railcar, comprising:
- applying a braking force to wheels of the at least one railcar;
- causing a mechanical load to be sensed by or applied to at least one first sensor device when the braking force is being applied to the wheels of the at least one railcar;
- receiving, by a computing device, an electrical signal from the at least one first sensor device;
- analyzing, by the computing device, the electrical signal to assess an operational condition of a brake system of the at least one railcar;
- and
- causing, by the computing device, the operational condition to be provided to an operator of the at least one railcar or a communication device located remote from the at least one railcar;
- wherein application of the mechanical load to the at least one first sensor is at least partially caused because the at least one first sensor mechanically couples an articulating rigging of the brake system to a non-articulating underframe of the at least one railcar.
4 more elements
A method for monitoring at least one railcar, comprising:
- applying a braking force to wheels of the at least one railcar;
- causing a mechanical load to be sensed by or applied to at least one first sensor device when the braking force is being applied to the wheels of the at least one railcar;
- receiving, by a computing device, an electrical signal from the at least one first sensor device;
- analyzing, by the computing device, the electrical signal to assess an operational condition of a brake system of the at least one railcar;
- and
- causing, by the computing device, the operational condition to be provided to an operator of the at least one railcar or a communication device located remote from the at least one railcar;
- wherein application of the mechanical load to the at least one first sensor is at least partially caused because the at least one first sensor is located at a location within an articulating rigging of the brake system that is downstream from a brake lever of the brake system.
4 more elements
A method for monitoring at least one railcar, comprising:
- applying a braking force to wheels of the at least one railcar;
- causing a mechanical load to be sensed by or applied to at least one first sensor device when the braking force is being applied to the wheels of the at least one railcar;
- receiving, by a computing device, an electrical signal from the at least one first sensor device;
- analyzing, by the computing device, the electrical signal to assess an operational condition of a brake system of the at least one railcar;
- causing, by the computing device, the operational condition to be provided to an operator of the at least one railcar or a communication device located remote from the at least one railcar;
- and
- performing operations by an accelerometer or gyroscope to monitor attributes of the at least one railcar;
- wherein the operational condition of the brake system is assessed by further analyzing an output from the accelerometer or gyroscope.
5 more elements
A method for monitoring at least one railcar, comprising:
- applying a braking force to wheels of the at least one railcar;
- causing a mechanical load to be sensed by or applied to at least one first sensor device when the braking force is being applied to the wheels of the at least one railcar;
- receiving, by a computing device, an electrical signal from the at least one first sensor device;
- analyzing, by the computing device, the electrical signal to assess an operational condition of a brake system of the at least one railcar;
- and
- causing, by the computing device, the operational condition to be provided to an operator of the at least one railcar or a communication device located remote from the at least one railcar;
- obtaining information specifying a position of a valve, the valve having a first position indicating that the at least one railcar is loaded and a second position indicating that the at least one railcar is empty;
- and
- modifying an amount of air to be supplied to a brake cylinder during braking operations of the at least one railcar based on the position of the valve.
6 more elements
A method for monitoring at least one railcar, comprising:
- applying a braking force to wheels of the at least one railcar;
- causing a mechanical load to be sensed by or applied to at least one first sensor device when the braking force is being applied to the wheels of the at least one railcar;
- receiving, by a computing device, an electrical signal from the at least one first sensor device;
- analyzing, by the computing device, the electrical signal to assess an operational condition of a brake system of the at least one railcar;
- causing, by the computing device, the operational condition to be provided to an operator of the at least one railcar or a communication device located remote from the at least one railcar;
- monitoring an air pressure in a brake pipe of the brake system using a pressure switch;
- detecting when the air pressure increases above a first threshold value or decreases below a second threshold value;
- triggering at least one pressure reading by the pressure switch in response to a detection that the air pressure increased above the first threshold or decreased below the second threshold;
- receiving, by the computing device, first sensor data from the pressure switch that indicates the at least one pressure reading;
- and
- generating, by the computing device, a message containing the first sensor data and a time of at which the at least one pressure reading was triggered.
8 more elements
A method for monitoring at least one railcar, comprising:
- applying a braking force to wheels of the at least one railcar;
- causing a mechanical load to be sensed by or applied to at least one first sensor device when the braking force is being applied to the wheels of the at least one railcar;
- receiving, by a computing device, an electrical signal from the at least one first sensor device;
- analyzing, by the computing device, the electrical signal to assess an operational condition of a brake system of the at least one railcar;
- and
- causing, by the computing device, the operational condition to be provided to an operator of the at least one railcar or a communication device located remote from the at least one railcar;
- performing operations by a sensor to detect changes in a length of a slack adjuster in the brake system;
- and
- wherein the operational condition of the brake system is assessed by further analyzing an output from the sensor.
6 more elements
A method for monitoring at least one railcar, comprising:
- applying a braking force to wheels of the at least one railcar;
- causing a mechanical load to be sensed by or applied to at least one first sensor device when the braking force is being applied to the wheels of the at least one railcar;
- receiving, by a computing device, an electrical signal from the at least one first sensor device;
- analyzing, by the computing device, the electrical signal to assess an operational condition of a brake system of the at least one railcar;
- and
- causing, by the computing device, the operational condition to be provided to an operator of the at least one railcar or a communication device located remote from the at least one railcar;
- and
- performing operations by a sensor to sample a tread temperature of at least one said wheel of the at least one railcar at a sampling rate;
- wherein the operational condition of the brake system is assessed by further analyzing an output from the sensor.
6 more elements
A method for monitoring at least one railcar, comprising:
- applying a braking force to wheels of the at least one railcar;
- causing a mechanical load to be sensed by or applied to at least one first sensor device when the braking force is being applied to the wheels of the at least one railcar;
- receiving, by a computing device, an electrical signal from the at least one first sensor device;
- analyzing, by the computing device, the electrical signal to assess an operational condition of a brake system of the at least one railcar;
- causing, by the computing device, the operational condition to be provided to an operator of the at least one railcar or a communication device located remote from the at least one railcar;
- receiving, by the computing device, an indication that a threshold event has occurred at the at least one railcar, the threshold event occurring when an amount of the brake force being applied to the wheels of the at least one railcar reaches a certain value;
- causing, by the computing device, enablement of a timer responsive to the indication that the threshold event has occurred at the at least one railcar;
- and
- determining, by the computing device, whether the threshold event has occurred at one or more other railcars of a plurality of railcars during a predetermined period of time.
6 more elements
A method for monitoring at least one railcar, comprising:
- applying a braking force to wheels of the at least one railcar;
- causing a mechanical load to be sensed by or applied to at least one first sensor device when the braking force is being applied to the wheels of the at least one railcar;
- receiving, by a computing device, an electrical signal from the at least one first sensor device;
- analyzing, by the computing device, the electrical signal to assess an operational condition of a brake system of the at least one railcar;
- causing, by the computing device, the operational condition to be provided to an operator of the at least one railcar or a communication device located remote from the at least one railcar;
- identifying a time when an air pressure of a brake system is reduced in each said railcar of the plurality of railcars;
- and
- determining an order of the railcars in the train consist based on the times at which air pressures of the brake systems where reduced.
5 more elements
A system, comprising:
- a brake system configured to apply a braking force to wheels of at least one railcar;
- at least one first sensor device configured to sense a mechanical load or have the mechanical load applied thereto when the braking force is being applied to the wheels of the at least one railcar;
- a computing device configured to:
- receive an electrical signal from the at least one first sensor device;
- analyze the electrical signal to assess an operational condition of the brake system of the at least one railcar;
- and
- cause the operational condition to be provided to an operator of the at least one railcar or a communication device located remote from the at least one railcar;
- wherein application of the mechanical load to the at least one first sensor is at least partially caused because the at least one first sensor mechanically couples an articulating rigging of the brake system to a non-articulating underframe of the at least one railcar.
5 more elements
A system, comprising:
- a brake system configured to apply a braking force to wheels of at least one railcar;
- at least one first sensor device configured to sense a mechanical load or have the mechanical load applied thereto when the braking force is being applied to the wheels of the at least one railcar;
- a computing device configured to:
- receive an electrical signal from the at least one first sensor device;
- analyze the electrical signal to assess an operational condition of the brake system of the at least one railcar;
- and
- cause the operational condition to be provided to an operator of the at least one railcar or a communication device located remote from the at least one railcar;
- wherein application of the mechanical load to the at least one first sensor is at least partially caused because the at least one first sensor is located at a location within an articulating rigging of the brake system that is downstream from a brake lever of the brake system.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.