Railroad radio frequency waveguide

Apparatus for transferring data along a railroad line comprising:

• means for transmitting radio frequency signals containing said data;
• means for conducting said radio frequency signals along said railroad line, said means for conducting comprising at least one rail of said railroad line and means for supporting said at least one rail;
• and
• means for receiving said signals.

Apparatus for tranferring data along a railroad line comprising:

• a waveguide comprising the ballast of said railroad line, a plurality of ties embedded in said ballast and at least one rail attached to said ties;
• means for transmitting radio frequency signals containing said data along said waveguide;
• and
• means for receiving said signals.

In a system for railroad intra-train communication by means of radio frequency signals comprising a waveguide, means for transmitting radio frequency signals containing said communication along said waveguide and means for receiving said radio frequency signals, the improvement wherein said waveguide is comprised of:

• at least one rail supporting said train;
• a plurality of ties supporting said at least one rail;
• ballast supporting said ties, said ballast and ties forming the bottom surface of said waveguide;
• a plurality of wheels of said train, said at least one rail and wheels forming the side surfaces of said waveguide;
• and
• a plurality of axles and under-vehicle parts of said train forming the upper surface of said waveguide.

Apparatus for railroad intra-train communication comprising:

• a waveguide comprising at least one rail supporting said train, a plurality of ties supporting said at least one rail and ballast supporting said ties, a plurality of wheels of said train, and a plurality of axles and under-vehicle parts of said train;
• means for transmitting radio frequency signals containing said communication along said waveguide;
• and
• means for receiving said signals.

Apparatus for collecting data concerning the conditions of vehicles comprising a railroad train, said apparatus comprising:

• at least one condition sensing means attached to at least one part of said vehicles;
• at least one radio frequency transmitter, one transmitter associated with at least one of said sensors and each of said sensing means associated with one of said transmitters;
• waveguide means comprising at least one rail of said railroad, means for supporting said at least one rail, a plurality of wheels of said train, and a plurality of axles and under-vehicle parts of said train said waveguide means for conducting the radio frequency output of said at least one transmitter;
• and means for receiving said radio frequency output.

Apparatus for collecting data concerning the conditions of the vehicles comprising a railroad train, said vehicles comprising a plurality of parts, said apparatus comprising:

• sensing means attached to at least one of said parts for detecting at least one of the temperature and vibration levels of said at least one of said parts;
• means for transmitting radio frequency signals representing said conditions when said conditions exceed a predetermined value;
• waveguide means comprising the ballast of said railroad line, a plurality of ties embedded in said ballast, at least one rail attached to said ties, a plurality of wheels of said train and the plurality of axles and under-vehicle parts of said train, said waveguide means for guiding said radio frequency signals along said railroad;
• means for receiving said signals;
• and
• means for producing an alarm signal from said received radio frequency signals, said alarm signal indicative of at least one of said sensing means detecting a condition exceeding said predetermined value.

A method of collecting data concerning the conditions of vehicles comprising a railroad train, said method comprising the steps of:

• detecting at least one condition of at least one part of said vehicles;
• transmitting radio frequency signals indicative of a predetermined condition along waveguide means comprising least one rail of said railroad, means for supporting said at least one rail, a plurality of wheels of said train, and a plurality of axles and under-vehicle parts of said train, supporting means forming the lower surface, said at least one rail and wheels forming the side surfaces, and said axles and under-vehicle parts forming the upper surface of said waveguide means;
• and
• receiving said radio frequency signals.

A method of collecting data concerning the conditions of vehicles comprising a railroad train, said method comprising the steps of:

• detecting at least one of temperature and vibration level of at least one part of said vehicle;
• transmitting radio frequency signals related to said conditions when said conditions exceed a predetermined level, said transmitting step transmitting said signals along waveguide means comprising the ballast of said railroad, a plurality of ties embedded in said ballast, at least two rails attached to said ties, a plurality of wheels of said train, and a plurality of axles and under-vehicle parts of said train;
• receiving said radio frequency signals;
• and
• producing an alarm signal from said received radio frequency signals.

Apparatus for detecting railroad track conditions comprising:

• means for transmitting radio frequency pulses;
• waveguide means for guiding said radio frequency pulses along said track, said waveguide comprising at least one rail of said track and means for supporting said rail;
• and
• means for receiving the reflections of said radio frequencies pulses.

Apparatus for detecting railroad track conditions comprising:

• means for transmitting radio frequency pulses;
• waveguide means comprising the ballast of said track, a plurality of ties embedded in said ballast and at least one rail attached to said ties, said waveguide means for guiding said radio frequency pulses along said track;
• means for receiving the reflections of said radio frequency pulses and producing a signal related to said reflections;
• means for producing a signal related to anticipated reflections of said radio frequency pulses along said track;
• and
• means for comparing said signal representing said received reflections and said signal representing said anticipated reflections to determine track conditions.

Apparatus for detecting track conditions comprising:

• waveguide means comprising at least one rail of said track and means for supporting said at least one rail;
• means for transmitting radio frequency pulses along said waveguide means;
• means for receiving reflections of said radio frequency pulses and producing a first signal related to said reflections;
• means for adjusting the amplitude of said first signal with respect to time to compensate for the attenuation of said radio frequency pulses and said reflections so as to normalize said first signal;
• means for recreating a second signal related to the anticipated reflections along said track;
• means for comparing the amplitude of said normalized first signal with said second signal;
• means for producing an alarm signal when the amplitude of said normalized first signal differs from the amplitude of said second signal by a predetermined amount;
• and
• means for determining the distance between said train and said point on the track causing an alarm signal to be produced.

A method of detecting railroad track conditions comprising the steps of:

• transmitting radio frequency pulses along the bed of said track, said bed comprising ballast, a plurality of ties embedded in said ballast and at least one rail attached to said ties, wherein said ballast, ties and at least one rail cooperate to form a waveguide;
• receiving the reflections of said radio frequency pulses;
• predetermining the proper reflections of said radio frequency pulses to be received along said track;
• and
• comparing said received reflections with said predetermined reflections in order to detect track conditions.

A method of detecting track conditions comprising the steps of:

• transmitting radio frequency pulses along the bed of said track, said bed comprising at least one rail and means for supporting said at least one rail, said supporting means and said at least one rail cooperating to form waveguide means;
• receiving reflections of said radio frequency pulses and producing a first signal related to said reflections;
• adjusting the amplitude of said first signal with respect to time to compensate for the attenuation of said radio frequency pulses and said reflections so as to normalize said first signal;
• predetermining the proper reflections to be received along said track and recreating a second signal related thereto;
• comparing the amplitude of said normalized first signal with the amplitude of said second signal;
• producing an alarm signal when the amplitude of said normalized first signal differs to a predetermined degree from the amplitude of said second signal;
• and
• determining the distance between a train on said track and the point on said track causing an alarm signal to be produced.