Rail inspection device

A rail inspection device comprising:

• a drive part configured to drive on a lower rail;
• side wheels configured to rotate such that the drive part moves in a first direction on the lower rail, wherein the side wheels are on two side surfaces of the drive part opposite in a second direction that intersects the first direction;
• upper wheels on an upper surface of the drive part and configured to rotate in contact with a branch guide rail above an upper portion of the drive part as part of an external guide rail;
• a body connected to a lower surface of the drive part in a third direction that is perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction;
• an inclination sensor on an upper surface of the body, and configured to measure an inclination of the body in the second direction and to generate an inclination detection signal based on the inclination being greater than or equal to a threshold value determined based on a rail design specification;
• and
• a step sensor on a front surface of the drive part and configured to detect whether a front portion of the lower rail in a driving direction of the drive part is continuous or discontinuous and to identify a stepped portion of the lower rail based on the detected discontinuity,
• wherein the step sensor is further configured to measure a distance to the stepped portion of the lower rail from the step sensor in the third direction based on the inclination detection signal.

A rail inspection device comprising:

• a drive part configured to drive on a lower rail;
• side wheels configured to rotate such that the drive part moves in a first direction on the lower rail, wherein the side wheels are on two side surfaces of the drive part opposite in a second direction that intersects the first direction;
• a body connected to a lower surface of the drive part in a third direction that is perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction;
• an inclination sensor on an upper surface of the body and configured to measure an inclination of the body;
• a protruding-object detection sensor connected to a lower portion of the drive part and configured to detect a protruding object;
• a width measurement sensor on a rear surface of the drive part and configured to measure a distance to the lower rail from the width measurement sensor in the second direction using a first laser;
• a step sensor on a front surface of the drive part, configured to detect whether a front portion of the lower rail in a driving direction of the drive part is continuous or discontinuous and to identify a stepped portion of the lower rail based on the detected discontinuity, and to measure a distance to the stepped portion of the lower rail from the step sensor in the third direction using a second laser;
• an alarm display on the body and configured to display a warning alarm;
• and
• a processor configured to control the inclination sensor, the protruding-object detection sensor, the width measurement sensor, the step sensor and the alarm display,
• wherein the inclination sensor is further configured to provide an inclination detection signal to the processor in-based on the inclination of the body being greater than or equal to a threshold value determined based on a rail design specification,
• wherein the protruding-object detection sensor is further configured to provide a protruding-object detection signal to the processor based on detecting the protruding object,
• wherein the width measurement sensor is further configured to provide a width detection signal to the processor based on the distance to the lower rail in the second direction deviating from a first threshold range determined based on the rail design specification,
• wherein the step sensor is further configured to provide a step detection signal to the processor based on the distance to the lower rail in the third direction deviating from a second threshold range determined based on the rail design specification, and
• wherein the processor is further configured to control the alarm display to display the warning alarm based on the inclination detection signal, the protruding-object detection signal, the width detection signal, or the step detection signal.