US 2023/0243713 A1Published application

System and Method for Determining Railcar Attributes

AssigneeFreightlucid, LLC

InventorKenneth W. Huck

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Abstract

A system for determining a center of gravity (COG) of a commodity of a railcar comprises a plurality of sensors and a computing device. At least a first sensor from the plurality of sensors is disposed on a first center plate of the railcar. At least a second sensor from the plurality of sensors is disposed on a second center plate of the railcar. Each sensor is configured to determine a change in force imposed on the sensor based on a change in micro strain on the sensor. The computing device receives a plurality of force values from the plurality of sensors. The computing device determines a weight of the railcar body and commodity by combining the received force values. The computing device determines the COG of the railcar body and commodity based at least on the plurality of force values and the weight of the railcar.

Claims24

Dependent claims

A system for determining railcar attributes, comprising:

a plurality of sensors comprising:
a first set of one or more sensors disposed on a first center plate of a railcar;
a second set of one or more sensors disposed on a second center plate of the railcar, wherein each sensor from the plurality of sensors is configured to determine a change in force imposed on the sensor based on a change in microstrain on the sensor;
a computing device communicatively coupled with the plurality of sensors, and comprises a processor configured to:
receive a first set of one or more force values from the first set of one or more sensors;
receive a second set of one or more force values from the second set of one or more sensors;
determine a weight of a railcar body and a commodity loaded in the railcar by combining the first set of one or more force values and the second set of one or more force values;
and
determine a center of gravity (COG) of the combined railcar body and the commodity based at least on the first set of one or more force values, the second set of one or more force values, and the weight of the combined railcar body and the commodity.

6 more elements

A method for determining railcar attributes, comprising:

receiving a first set of one or more force values from a first set of one or more sensors, wherein the first set of one or more sensors is disposed on a first center plate of a railcar;
receiving a second set of one or more force values from a second set of one or more sensors, wherein the second set of one or more sensors is disposed on a second center plate of the railcar, and wherein each sensor from the first set of one or more sensors and the second set of one or more sensors is configured to determine a change in force imposed on the sensor based on a change in microstrain on the sensor;
determining a weight of a railcar body and a commodity loaded in the railcar by combining the first set of one or more force values and the second set of one or more force values;
and
determining a center of gravity (COG) of the combined railcar body and the commodity based at least on the first set of one or more force values, the second set of one or more force values, and the weight of the combined railcar body and the commodity.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.