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US 12,296,867 B2Granted
Automated on-wheel thermography for safety and prevention
AssigneeDelta Thermal, Inc.
InventorsAndrew Griffis, Michael Snyder, Nicholas Griffis, Jacob Dorer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A comprehensive system designed for the predictive maintenance of railcar wheel bearings, integrating multiple sensor modalities. The system includes thermography for temperature mapping, vibration analysis via a three-axis accelerometer, rotational velocity measurement using a rate gyro, and optical spectrometry for lubricant analysis. Each modality contributes to a holistic understanding of bearing health, enhancing maintenance strategies, safety, and operational efficiency in rail transportation.
Claims21
A self-powered system (100) configured to measure properties of one or more bearings (102) of one or more wheels, the system (100) comprising:
- a. one or more sensor devices, each sensor device (104) disposed on a wheel (103) of the one or more wheels, each sensor device (104) comprising:
- i. one or more thermal sensors (134), configured to continuously measure a temperature of the one or more bearings (102) and generate a continuous temperature data stream;
- and
- ii. a magnetic power unit (600) operatively coupled to the one or more thermal sensors (134), configured to convert a rotation of the wheel (103) into energy and power the sensor device (104) with the energy without a battery;
- and
- b. a computing device (105) communicatively coupled to the one or more sensor devices, comprising a processor (108) configured to execute computer-readable instructions and a memory component (109) comprising computer-readable instructions for:
- i. accepting, for each sensor device (104) of the one or more sensor devices, the continuous temperature data stream from the one or more thermal sensors (134);
- ii. generating a temperature map of the one or more bearings (102) based on the one or more continuous temperature data streams;
- iii. measuring a heat value of one or more regions of the temperature map against a heat threshold;
- and
- iv. identifying, if the heat value of a region of the one or more regions exceeds the heat threshold, a hot spot indicative of one or more anomalies of the one or more bearings (102).
8 more elements
A method for measuring properties of one or more bearings (102) of one or more wheels, the method comprising:
- a. providing one or more sensor devices, each sensor device (104) disposed on a wheel (103) of the one or more wheels, each sensor device (104) comprising:
- i. one or more thermal sensors (134), configured to continuously measure a temperature of the one or more bearings (102) and generate a continuous temperature data stream;
- and
- ii. a magnetic power unit (600) operatively coupled to the one or more thermal sensors (134), configured to convert a rotation of the wheel (103) into energy and power the sensor device (104) with the energy without a battery;
- and
- b. continuously measuring, for each sensor device (104) of the one or more sensor devices, the temperature of the one or more bearings (102);
- c. generating, for each sensor device (104) of the one or more sensor devices, the continuous temperature data stream;
- d. transmitting, for each sensor device (104) of the one or more sensor devices, the continuous temperature data stream to a computing device (105) communicatively coupled to the one or more sensor devices;
- e. generating, by the computing device (105), a temperature map of the one or more bearings (102) based on the one or more continuous temperature data streams;
- f. measuring, by the computing device (105), a heat value of one or more regions of the temperature map against a heat threshold;
- and
- g. identifying, by the computing device (105), if the heat value of a region of the one or more regions exceeds the heat threshold, a hot spot indicative of one or more anomalies of the one or more bearings (102).
9 more elements
A self-powered system (100) configured to measure properties of one or more bearings (102) of one or more wheels, the system (100) comprising:
- a. one or more sensor devices, each sensor device (104) disposed on a wheel (103) of the one or more wheels, each sensor device (104) comprising:
- i. a magnetic power unit (600), configured to convert a rotation of the wheel (103) into energy and power the sensor device (104) with the energy without a battery;
- ii. one or more thermal sensors (134) operatively coupled to the magnetic power unit (600), configured to continuously measure a temperature of the one or more bearings (102) and generate a continuous temperature data stream;
- iii. an accelerometer (203) operatively coupled to the magnetic power unit (600), configured to continuously measure a vibration signal of the wheel (103) and generate a continuous vibration data stream;
- iv. a rate gyrometer (303) operatively coupled to the magnetic power unit (600), configured to continuously measure a rotational speed and a rotational phase of the wheel (103) and generate a continuous rotational data stream;
- and
- v. an optical spectrometer (404) operatively coupled to the magnetic power unit (600), configured to continuously measure spectral data of the one or more bearings (102) and generate a continuous spectral data stream;
- and
- b. a computing device (105) communicatively coupled to the one or more sensor devices, comprising a processor (108) configured to execute computer-readable instructions and a memory component (109) comprising computer-readable instructions for:
- i. accepting, for each sensor device (104) of the one or more sensor devices, the continuous temperature data stream from the one or more thermal sensors (134);
- ii. generating a temperature map of the one or more bearings (102) based on the one or more continuous temperature data streams;
- iii. measuring a heat value of one or more regions of the temperature map against a heat threshold;
- iv. identifying, if the heat value of a region of the one or more regions exceeds the heat threshold, a hot spot indicative of one or more anomalies of the one or more bearings (102);
- v. accepting, for each sensor device (104) of the one or more sensor devices, the continuous vibration data stream from the accelerometer (203);
- vi. identifying one or more vibrational patterns in the one or more continuous vibration data streams;
- vii. determining whether the one or more vibrational patterns are indicative of the one or more anomalies of the one or more bearings (102);
- viii. accepting, for each sensor device (104) of the one or more sensor devices, the continuous rotational data stream from the rate gyrometer (303);
- ix. determining whether the rotational speed, the rotational phase, or a combination thereof are indicative of the one or more anomalies of the one or more bearings (102);
- x. accepting, for each sensor device (104) of the one or more sensor devices, the continuous spectral data stream from the optical spectrometer (404);
- xi. identifying, based on the one or more continuous spectral data streams, an amount of lubricant, one or more lubricant types, one or more lubricant states, or a combination thereof;
- xii. identifying, based on the amount of lubricant, the one or more lubricant types, the one or more lubricant states, or the combination thereof, a potential lubricant shortage;
- and
- xiii. adjusting, based on the amount of lubricant, the one or more lubricant types, the one or more lubricant states, or the combination thereof, the heat threshold.
20 more elements
A self-powered system (100) configured to measure properties of one or more bearings (102) of one or more wheels, the system (100) comprising:
- a. one or more sensor devices, each sensor device (104) disposed on a wheel (103) of the one or more wheels, each sensor device (104) comprising:
- i. one or more thermal sensors (134), configured to continuously measure a temperature of the one or more bearings (102) and generate a continuous temperature data stream;
- wherein the one or more thermal sensors (134) are disposed optically in-line with the one or more bearings (102) such that the one or more thermal sensors (134) do not contact the one or more bearings (102);
- and
- ii. a magnetic power unit (600) operatively coupled to the one or more thermal sensors (134), configured to convert a rotation of the wheel (103) into energy and power the sensor device (104) with the energy without a battery;
- and
- b. a computing device (105) communicatively coupled to the one or more sensor devices, comprising a processor (108) configured to execute computer-readable instructions and a memory component (109) comprising computer-readable instructions for:
- i. accepting, for each sensor device (104) of the one or more sensor devices, the continuous temperature data stream from the one or more thermal sensors (134);
- ii. generating a temperature map of the one or more bearings (102) based on the one or more continuous temperature data streams;
- iii. measuring a heat value of one or more regions of the temperature map against a heat threshold;
- and
- iv. identifying, if the heat value of a region of the one or more regions exceeds the heat threshold, a hot spot indicative of one or more anomalies of the one or more bearings (102).
9 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.