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US 4,347,569 AGranted
Wheel slip system
AssigneeGeneral Signal Corporation
InventorsJohn J. Allen, Jr., Bruce W. Shute
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A microprocessor controlled wheel slip system for a train of railway cars receives wheel speed data, calibrates that data in accordance with a predetermined set of instructions, and indicates when a pair of wheels on an axle of a given car is slipping or spinning relative to the other wheels on the other cars of the train.
Claims18
A method for detecting wheelslip on a railway car comprising the steps of:
- initially measuring the speed of each of a plurality of wheels while the car is coasting;
- determining valid initial measured speeds;
- normalizing the valid initial measured speeds in order to derive a normalizing factor for each wheel;
- subsequently measuring the speed of each wheel from which a valid initial measured speed was determined;
- applying the normalizing factor of each wheel to the corresponding subsequently measured speeds;
- comparing the normalized subsequent speed measurements of the wheels to each other and to previous corresponding normalized speed measurements for each wheel;
- indicating when the compared normalized speeds between wheels differ from each other by more than a first predetermined amount thereby showing that a wheel is slipping and when the compared normalized speeds for each wheel differ by more than a second predetermined amount thereby showing that the wheels are slipping.
4 more elements
A wheelslip control apparatus including a microprocessor comprising:
- input means for receiving a rate signal from a plurality of sources;
- clock means for periodically sampling the input rate signals;
- first memory means for storing sets of the sampled input rate signals;
- calibrating means for selecting one set of stored signals and deriving a normalization factor for each signal in the selected set;
- reading means for applying said normalization factors to subsequently sampled sets of input rate signals,
- second memory means for receiving and storing a plurality of sets of normalized rate signals;
- first comparison means for determining when any one normalized rate signal in a given set differs from any other normalized rate signal in such set by a first predetermined amount;
- and
- second comparison means for determining when a normalized rate signal of a set differs from corresponding normalized rate signal of another set by a second predetermined amount.
6 more elements
A wheelship control apparatus including a microprocessor comprising:
- input means for receiving a rate signal from a plurality of sources;
- clock means for periodically sampling the input rate signals;
- memory means for storing sets of the sampled input rate signals;
- error means for detecting erroneous rate signals from a source and entering an error rate signal for input rate signals from said erroneous source in said memory means;
- calibrating means for selecting one set of stored signals and deriving a normalization factor for each signal in a selected set;
- reading means for applying said normalization factors to subsequently sampled sets of input rate signals;
- and
- comparison means for determining when any one normalized rate signal in a given set differs from another normalized rate signal in such set by a predetermined amount.
5 more elements
A wheelslip control apparatus including a microprocessor comprising:
- input means for receiving a rate signal from a plurality of sources;
- clock means for periodically sampling the input rate signals;
- memory means for storing sets of the sampled input rate signals;
- calibrating means for selecting one set of stored signals and deriving a normalization factor for each signal in the selected set;
- reading means for applying said normalization factors to subsequently sampled sets of input rate signals;
- comparison means for determining when any one normalized rate signal in a given set differs from any other normalized rate signal in such set by a predetermined amount;
- a relay operable to disengage a brake of a wheel having a rate exceeding said predetermined amount;
- and
- means for disabling the relay and thereby reapplying the brake after a predetermined time irrespective of said comparison means.
6 more elements
A wheelslip control apparatus comprising:
- means for sequentially generating a set of a plurality of speed signals each of which is representative of the angular velocity of a corresponding wheel;
- means for generating a signal representative of the mode of application of power to said wheels including signals representative of running, braking and coasting;
- a microprocessor including an arithmetic logic unit, a random access memory, a ready only memory, and an input and output interface for receiving a plurality of signals, converting the received signals into microprocessor readable form, performing a plurality of operations based upon the received signals and information stored in its read only memory and for generating a plurality of output signals for controlling the operation of a plurality of brakes and propulsion corresponding to said plurality of wheels;
- means responsive to a coasting signal for determining and storing valid speed signals of each wheel in said random access memory;
- means responsive to a running or braking signal for comparing a subsequent set of valid speed signals to the plurality of corresponding stored signals and generating a synchronous slip signal for each compared corresponding speed signals which differ by a first predetermined amount;
- means responsive to a running or braking signal for comparing valid speed signals within a set and generating an asynchronous slip signal for compared set speed signals which differ by a second predetermined amount;
- and
- means responsive to said synchronous and asychronous signals and to said mode signals for releasing the brake for a predetermined time during a braking mode and for disengaging propulsion to a wheel during a running mode.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.