Portable profiler for locomotive or railcar wheels
AssigneeHJR Real Estate Management, LLC
InventorHarold F. Ross
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A portable apparatus for configuring a wheel associated with a track is provided. The apparatus is in a fixed position with respect to a rail associated with the track when in operation. The apparatus includes a tool configured to engage the wheel, a position system for positioning the cutting tool in at least two axis, and a computer control. The computer control is coupled to control the positioning system. The positioning system is controlled so that the wheel is configured in accordance with a profile.
Claims20
A portable apparatus for profiling a first wheel, the apparatus comprising:
- a base;
- a cutter;
- a positioning system configured to move the cutter relative to the first wheel along at least two axes, the positioning system coupled to the base;
- and
- a computer control configured to control the positioning system, wherein the positioning system is controlled so that the first wheel is profiled to a desired profile, wherein the first wheel is free to spin without contact with the portable apparatus except at the cutter, wherein the computer control, the base, the positioning system and the cutter are disposed below a center point of the first wheel and a bottom of a first rail associated with the first wheel, the base being attached to the first rail.
A method of using a cutting system to profile a wheel while attached to a railcar or locomotive on a track, the method comprising:
- raising the wheel from a first rail of the track while allowing other wheels to engage the track, the other wheels being a set of wheels associated with the wheel;
- attaching the cutting system to at least a portion of the track, wherein the cutting system is disposed between a line parallel to the first rail and through a center point of the wheel and a bottom of the first rail;
- and
- profiling the wheel in accordance with a stored profile in the cutting system.
A system configured to profile a first wheel of a first pair of wheels mounted on an axle and disposed on a track with a first rail and a second rail in accordance with an electronically stored profile, wherein the first wheel is raised while allowing one or more second pairs of wheels to engage the track, the system comprising:
- a cutting tool disposed on the track and configured to engage the first wheel;
- a positioning system configured to position the cutting tool;
- and
- a control configured to control the positioning system, wherein the positioning system is controlled so that the first wheel is profiled to the electronically stored profile, wherein the cutting tool and the positioning system are disposed between a line parallel to the first rail and through a center point of the first wheel and ground beneath the first rail.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.