Wheel-assembly monitor for diagnosing passing railroad trains
OwnerGerd R. Wetzlerinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A monitor to diagnose wheel assemblies of passing railroad trains, the monitor being characterized in that a cavity is present in and parallel to a measurement tie or in a hollow railroad tie, the cavity housing infrared deflection units and at least one infrared detector which make it possible to monitor all heat sources present in the vicinity of the wheel assembly and the undercarriage of the train car while offering maximum protection against mechanical and electrical factors. The wheel pressure and accelerator pickups introduced with the monitor allow accurate determination of the values needed to normalize the infrared test results such as wheel position, wheel weight and tread conditions.
Claims19
A monitoring and measurement system for detecting operational characteristics of a wheel/axle assembly mounted on a railed vehicle, said system comprising:
- a tie member supporting a pair of substantially parallel rails upon which a railed vehicle translates;
- at least one infrared deflection unit mounted in a collimated manner, and adapted to receive and collimate infrared radiation from said wheel/axle assembly;
- an infrared detection means for receiving collimated infrared radiation from said at least one deflection unit, said infrared detection means being positioned between said parallel rails, wherein said collimated infrared radiation is transduced into electrical signals representing the wheel/axle assembly's temperature and operational characteristics,
- wherein said deflection unit is mounted in said tie member.
A monitoring and measurement system for detecting operational characteristics of a wheel/axle assembly mounted on a railed vehicle, said system comprising:
- a tie member supporting a pair of substantially parallel rails upon which a railed vehicle translates, said tie member being at least partially hollow and extending in a longitudinal direction;
- at least one infrared deflection unit mounted in said tie member, and adapted to receive and collimate infrared radiation from said wheel/axle assembly;
- an infrared detection means mounted in said tie member for receiving collimated infrared radiation from said at least one deflection unit, wherein said collimated infrared radiation passes from said at least one infrared deflection unit to said detection means within said hollow tie member.
A monitoring and measurement system for detecting operational characteristics of a wheel/axle assembly mounted on a railed vehicle, said system comprising:
- a tie member supporting a pair of substantially parallel rails upon which a railed vehicle translates;
- at least one infrared deflection unit mounted in a collimated manner, and adapted to receive and collimate infrared radiation from said wheel/axle assembly, said at least one infrared deflection unit being positioned between said parallel rails;
- an infrared detection means for receiving collimated infrared radiation from said at least one deflection unit, wherein said collimated infrared radiation is transduced into electrical signals representing an operational characteristic of the wheel/axle assembly;
- and
- at least one additional infrared deflection unit mounted outside said pair of rails, said at least one additional infrared deflection unit adapted to receive and collimate infrared radiation from said wheel/axle assembly and deflect the infrared radiation to said detection means.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.