Slippery wheel detector
AssigneeSouthern Pacific Transportation Company
InventorBernard G. Gallacher
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for determining whether or not a freight car in a classification yard can be adequately retarded, prior to it being moved to make up a freight train, by measuring whether the wheels of the freight car are too slippery for the car to be properly retarded to a safe speed while being moved toward the freight train.
Claims12
A freight car slippery wheel indicator for indicating whether a retarder can adequately retard a freight car having wheels comprising
- retarder means for resiliently gripping a wheel of a freight car as it is rolled through said retarder means,
- transducer means attached to said retarder means for generating a load signal representative of the load applied to said retarder means as a result of friction between said retarder means and a freight car wheel which is grasped thereby and
- means responsive to said load signal for indicating whether said wheel is too slippery to be adequately retarded by a retarder.
A freight car slippery wheel indicator for indicating whether a retarder can adequately retard a freight car having wheels comprising
- retarder means for gripping the wheels of a freight car as it rolls through said retarder means, said retarder means including a pair of spaced shoes supported on a plurality of levers above a rail section, and being adapted to press against a freight car wheel passing therebetween with a predetermined pressure,
- load cell means for producing an output load signal representative of the load applied thereto,
- means for attaching said load cell means to one of said shoes for producing an output load signal representative of the load applied to said shoe when it is pressing against a freight car wheel;
- and
- means responsive to said output load signal for indicating whether said wheel is too slippery to be adequately retarded by a retarder.
A freight car slippery wheel indicator for indicating whether a retarder can adequately retard a freight car having wheels comprising
- retarder means for gripping the wheels of a freight car as it rolls through said retarder means, said retarder means including a pair of spaced shoes supported on a plurality of levers above a rail section, and being adapted to press against a freight car wheel passing therebetween with a predetermined pressure,
- accelerometer means attached to one of said shoes for producing an output signal representative of the acceleration applied to said shoe in response to said shoe pressing against a wheel of a freight car, and
- means responsive to said output signal for indicating whether said wheel is too slippery to be adequately retarded by a retarder.
A freight car slippery wheel indicator for indicating whether a retarder can adequately retard a freight car having wheels comprising
- retarder means for gripping the wheels of a freight car as it rolls through said retarder means, said retarder means including a pair of spaced shoes supported on a plurality of levers above a rail section, and being adapted to press against a freight car wheel passing therebetween with a predetermined pressure,
- strain gauge means attached to one of said plurality of levers for producing an output signal indicative of the strain being undergone when a freight car wheel is between said two shoes, and
- means responsive to said output signal for indicating whether said wheel is too slippery to be adequately retarded by a retarder.
A method of indicating whether a wheel of a freight car can be adequately retarded by a retarder having a pair of spaced shoes between which a freight car wheel passes, said shoes being resiliently biased toward one another with a predetermined pressure to apply pressure to said wheel as it passes therebetween, said method comprising
- generating a signal representative of the load applied to said retarder as a result of the friction between said retarder shoes and the wheel of a freight car passing therethrough,
- measuring said signal to determine whether or not it is representative of a predetermined acceptable load, and
- producing an output when said signal is indicative of a non-acceptable load.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.