# US 2016/0355201 A1 · Inspection system and method > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2016/0355201 A1 - Document ID: US20160355201A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 15/240,487 - Filed: 2016-08-18 - Published: 2016-12-08 - Earliest claimed: 2012-12-02 - Assignees: General Electric Company - Applicants: General Electric Company - Inventors: JARED KLINEMAN COOPER; NICHOLAS DAVID NAGRODSKY - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20160355201A1 ## CPC - B61L 27/12: Preparing schedules - B61K 9/08: Measuring installations for surveying permanent way - B61L 23/042: {Track changes detection} - B61L 25/025: {Absolute localisation, e.g. providing geodetic coordinates} - G01S 19/13: Receivers - G01S 19/50: whereby the position solution is constrained to lie upon a particular curve or surface, e.g. for locomotives on railway tracks - B61L 23/044: {Broken rails} - B61L 23/045: {Rail wear} - B61L 2201/00: Control methods - B61L 2205/04: Satellite based navigation systems, e.g. global positioning system [GPS] - B61L: GUIDING RAILWAY TRAFFIC; ENSURING THE SAFETY OF RAILWAY TRAFFIC (brakes or auxiliary equipment B61H, B61K; point or crossing construction E01B) - B61K: AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR RAILWAYS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - G01S: RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES ## Abstract An inspection system for use with a vehicle includes a database containing vehicle route data and at least one location of a route to be inspected. The database may be accessed by vehicles with on-board inspection systems so that they may inspect the location of route to be inspected ## Claims ### Claim 1 An inspection system, comprising: a sensor system on board a vehicle and configured for inspection of a route on which the vehicle is configured to travel; a database containing vehicle route data and at least one location of the route to be inspected; a control system on board the vehicle, wherein the control system is configured to activate the sensor system for inspecting the route based on a location of the vehicle as cross-referenced to the database; and an energy management system on board the vehicle, the energy management system configured to control movement of the vehicle based at least in part on the database. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the database is located on-board the vehicle. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the database is located off-board the vehicle. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, further comprising a global positioning system on board the vehicle and configured to determine the location of the vehicle along the route. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the energy management system is configured to generate a trip plan to control movement of the vehicle, the trip plan comprising throttle settings as a function of at least one of location or time, and wherein the energy management system is configured to generate the trip plan based at least in part on the database. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the database is configured to be updated with the at least one location of the route to be inspected from an off-board scheduling system that is configured to schedule the movement of the vehicle and plural other vehicles in a transportation system that includes the route. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, further comprising a global positioning system on board the vehicle and configured to determine the location of the vehicle along the route, wherein the control system is configured to activate the sensor system for inspecting the route based on the location determined by the global positioning system as cross-referenced to the database. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The system of claim 7, wherein the database is configured to be updated with the at least one location of the route to be inspected from an off-board scheduling system that is configured to schedule the movement of the vehicle and plural other vehicles in a transportation system that includes the route. ### Claim 9 An inspection system comprising: a sensor system on board a vehicle configured for inspection of a route on which the vehicle is configured to travel; a control system on board the vehicle, wherein the control system includes an energy management system that is configured to generate a trip plan to control movement of the vehicle; and a database that contains vehicle route data, a location of the route to be inspected, a frequency that the location of the route is to be inspected, and a previous time that the location of the route was inspected; wherein the control system is configured to activate the sensor system for inspecting the route based on the frequency, the previous time, and a location of the vehicle as cross-referenced to the database. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The system of claim 9, wherein the database is on-board the vehicle. ### Claim 11 (depends on 9) The system of claim 9, wherein the database is off-board the vehicle. ### Claim 12 (depends on 9) The system of claim 9, wherein the database is configured to be updated with at least one of the location of the route to be inspected, the vehicle route data, the frequency, or the previous time by an off-board scheduling system that is configured to schedule the movement of the vehicle and plural other vehicles in a transportation system that includes the route. ### Claim 13 (depends on 9) The system of claim 9, wherein the energy management system is configured to automatically control movement of the vehicle based on the trip plan. ### Claim 14 A method comprising the steps of: establishing a time period during which a vehicle route inspection location is to be inspected; identifying all inspection vehicles that will be traveling along a route containing the vehicle route inspection location during the established time period; and directing inspection vehicles travelling along the route during the time period to inspect the inspection location. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The method of claim 14, wherein the steps are carried out by an automated dispatch system that is configured to guide the movement of the inspection vehicles in a transportation network that include the location.