Locomotive rail conditioning system alignment verification
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorDavid A. Sheppard
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus (40,60) for aligning a rail conditioning system, such as a sanding system or a compressed air snow removal system of a locomotive. A source of light (50,70) is removeably and unmovingly attached to a conduit (44,62) of the rail conditioning system to direct a beam of light (53) toward a rail (46) to verify a location of impingement (56) of a spray of rail conditioning material (45,66). The source of light may be a battery operated laser pointer, and it may be attached to a fixture (48,72) that is removeably secured to the conduit. The fixture may be attached over an outlet nozzle (42,62) of the conduit, or it may be threaded onto the conduit in place of the nozzle when the nozzle is removed for cleaning and inspection.
Claims13
A method of aligning a rail conditioning system installed on a rail vehicle for delivery of a rail conditioning material to a desired location on a rail relative to a wheel of the rail vehicle, the rail conditioning system including a delivery conduit having a nozzle for producing a diffused spray of a material centered along a line of flow directed toward the rail, the method comprising:
- removing a nozzle from a delivery conduit of a rail conditioning system of a rail vehicle;
- detachably securing a source of light on the delivery conduit in place of the nozzle to unmovingly align the source of light relative to the delivery conduit;
- energizing the source of light to direct a beam of light along a path corresponding to a central line of a flow of material to be delivered by the nozzle;
- detecting impingement of the beam of light on one of a rail and a wheel to assess alignment of the nozzle when installed on the delivery conduit for centering the flow of material on a desired location;
- removing the source of light from the delivery conduit;
- reinstalling the nozzle onto the delivery conduit;
- and
- delivering a spray of a rail conditioning material to provide a desired coverage of the rail by the rail conditioning material.
A method of aligning a rail conditioning system installed on a rail vehicle for delivery of a rail conditioning material to a desired location on a rail relative to a wheel of the rail vehicle, the rail conditioning system including a delivery conduit having a nozzle for producing a diffused spray of a material centered along a line of flow directed toward the rail, the method comprising:
- detachably securing a source of light to be unmovingly aligned with a nozzle end of a conduit of a rail conditioning system:
- energizing the source of light to direct a beam of light along a path corresponding to a central line of flow of a diffused spray of material to be delivered by the conduit through a nozzle;
- detecting impingement of the beam of light on one of a rail and a wheel to assess alignment of the nozzle for centering the flow of material on a desired region of the rail;
- delivering a spray of rail conditioning material to the rail through the nozzle to provide a desired coverage of the rail by the rail conditioning material:
- removing the nozzle from the conduit prior to the step of detachably securing the source of light;
- detachably securing the source of light in place of the nozzle;
- and
- reattaching the nozzle between the steps of detecting impingement and delivering a spray of rail conditioning material.
A method of aligning a rail conditioning system installed on a rail vehicle for delivery of a rail conditioning material to a desired location on a rail relative to a wheel of the rail vehicle, the rail conditioning system including a delivery conduit having a nozzle for producing a diffused spray of a material centered along a line of flow directed toward the rail, the method comprising:
- detachably securing a source of light to be unmovingly aligned with a nozzle end of a conduit of a rail conditioning system;
- energizing the source of light to direct a beam of light along a path corresponding to a central line of flow of a diffused spray of material to be delivered by the conduit through a nozzle;
- detecting impingement of the beam of light on one of a rail and a wheel to assess alignment of the nozzle for centering the flow of material on a desired region of the rail;
- delivering a spray of rail conditioning material to the rail through the nozzle to provide a desired coverage of the rail by the rail conditioning material;
- attaching the source of light to a fitting having a generally hollow shape adapted for receiving the nozzle;
- detachably securing the source of light by unmovingly securing the fitting over the nozzle;
- forming the fitting to contain a notch in a predetermined location;
- and
- aligning the fitting on the nozzle by engaging a protruding feature of the nozzle into the notch.
A method of aligning a rail conditioning system installed on a rail vehicle for delivery of a rail conditioning material to a desired location on a rail, the rail conditioning system including a delivery conduit having a nozzle for producing a diffused spray of a material centered along a line of flow directed toward the rail, the method comprising:
- adjusting alignment of a conduit to have approximately a first predetermined angle in a forward direction and to have approximately a second predetermined angle in a sideward direction with respect to a vertical axis passing through a rail;
- removing an outlet nozzle from the conduit;
- unmovingly securing a source of light on the conduit in place of the nozzle;
- energizing the source of light to direct a beam of light along a path corresponding to a central line of a flow of material to be delivered by the nozzle;
- adjusting alignment of the conduit to direct impingement of the beam of light onto a predetermined location;
- removing the source of light from the delivery conduit;
- and
- reinstalling the nozzle onto the delivery conduit.
A method of aligning a rail conditioning system installed on a rail vehicle for delivery of a rail conditioning material to a desired location on a rail relative to a wheel of the rail vehicle, the rail conditioning system including a delivery device for producing a flow of the rail conditioning material along a line of flow, the method comprising:
- attaching a source of light to a fitting comprising a first one of a notch alignment feature and a protruding alignment feature;
- detachably securing the fitting to the delivery device;
- engaging the first one of the alignment features with a second one of the alignment features on the delivery device to align a beam of light produced by the source of light relative to the line of flow;
- and
- detecting impingement of the beam of light to assess alignment of the delivery device.
A method of aligning a rail conditioning system installed on a rail vehicle for delivery of a rail conditioning material to a desired location on a rail relative to a wheel of the rail vehicle, the rail conditioning system including a delivery device for producing a flow of the rail conditioning material along a line of flow, the method comprising:
- removing a nozzle of the delivery device;
- detachably securing a source of light to the delivery device in place of the nozzle to align a beam of light produced by the source of light relative to the line of flow;
- and
- detecting impingement of the beam of light to assess alignment of the delivery device.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.