Apparatus and method for measuring and maintaining the profile of a railroad track rail
AssigneeLoram Maintenance of Way, Inc.
InventorsDarwin H. Isdahl, Robert J. Monson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A strobe light, oriented directly over a railroad track rail and at a 45.degree. angle to the horizontal, projects a light line across the rail. A pair of cameras oriented directly over the rail view the light image on the rail. The light lines reflected from the foot of the rail provide a reference for numerically describing the profile of the railhead. The measured rail profile is compared to an ideal rail profile. The results of the comparison are used to position grinding modules for grinding the rail to a preferred profile.
Claims25
A method for restoring the rail of a railroad track having a worn rail profile, said rail presenting a rail length extending along a rail longitudinal axis, including the steps of:
- acquiring a plurality of data frames of the actual profile of the rail at a plurality of positions spaced apart along an interval of the length of said rail;
- computing a single representative rail profile over said rail interval from said data frames;
- comparing said representative rail profile to an ideal rail profile to determine the differences between said representative rail profile and said ideal rail profile along said interval;
- and
- grinding said rail along said interval to reduce said differences between said representative rail profile and said ideal rail profile.
A method for restoring the rail of a railroad track having a worn rail profile, said rail presenting a rail length extending along a rail longitudinal axis, including the steps of:
- determining the profile of the rail at a portion of the rail to be restored;
- comparing said rail profile to an ideal rail profile to determine the differences between said rail profile and said ideal rail profile at selected points along said rail profile;
- determining a first one of said selected points having the greatest difference between said rail profile and said ideal rail profile;
- and
- grinding said rail to reduce said difference between said rail profile and said ideal rail profile at said first one of said selected points along said rail profile.
The method as claimed in claim 31, said step of grinding said rail including the step of redetermining the grinding depths of the remaining potential grinding contact points based on a prediction of the effect of grinding said rail at said first grinding contact point with said first module, positioning a second grinding module at a second grinding contact point having a redetermined grinding depth next largest to the grinding depth of said first grinding contact point, and grinding said rail at said first and second grinding contact points.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.