Differential clamp-on railway vehicle wheel detector
AssigneeWestinghouse Air Brake Company
InventorHeinz Gilcher
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A railway car wheel detection arrangement employing a pair of clamp-on sensor units which are spaced apart a given distance and are positioned on the upper surface of the base flange of the track rail. Each of the sensor units includes an elongated epoxy glass board member having a reduced intermediate portion to which is attached a strain gage element. A pair of C-shaped clamps securely holds each of the sensor units to the base flange of the rail. The strain gage element is placed in tension by the stress in the track rail under the load of a wheel of a railway car to vary its resistance value which results in the unbalancing of a differential bridge circuit to produce a signal signifying the presence of a car wheel.
Claims10
A differential detecting device for sensing a passing object moving along a trackway comprising, a pair of sensing units each positioned at a given spaced location along the trackway, said sensing units each including a base support member and a strain gage element, each of said strain gage elements bonded to a respective one of said base support members, and clamping means for firmly holding said sensing units to the base flange of the trackway for allowing said strain gage elements to detect the stress which is imparted to the trackway under the load of the passing objects.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.