Rail and train monitoring system and method
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsDavid Michael Davenport, Nick Andrew Van Stralen, Thomas James Batzinger, Robert Snee Gilmore, Paul Kenneth Houpt
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Abstract
A system and method for determining at least one parameter related to a train traversing on a railway track is provided. The system comprises a sensor coupled to a detection location and configured for sensing acoustic signals at the detection location on the railway track and a processor coupled to the sensor and configured for analyzing a temporal progression of a frequency spectrum corresponding to the acoustic signals
Claims40
A method for determining at least one parameter related to a train traversing on a railway track, the method comprising:
- (a) sensing high frequency acoustic signals at a detection location on the railway track;
- (b) obtaining a high frequency spectrum of the high frequency acoustic signals;
- (c) obtaining a temporal progression of the high frequency spectrum;
- and
- analyzing the temporal progression to detect an approach of the train towards the detection location on the railway track.
A system for determining it least one parameter related to a train traversing on a railway track, the system comprising:
- (a) a sensor coupled to a detection location and configured for sensing high frequency acoustic signals at the detection location on the railway track;
- and
- (b) a processor coupled to the sensor and configured for obtaining a high frequency spectrum of the high frequency acoustic signals, obtaining a temporal progression of the high frequency spectrum, and analyzing the temporal progression to detect an approach of the train towards the detection location on the railway track.
A system to determine at least one parameter related to a train characteristic, the system comprising:
- a sensor configured for detecting low frequency acoustic signals at a detection location on a railway track, as the train is traversing over the detection location on the railway track, and
- a processor configured for obtaining a low frequency spectrum of low frequency acoustic signals, obtaining a temporal progression of the low frequency spectrum, and analyzing the temporal progression to determine at least one parameter related to the train characteristic.
A method for determining a position of a rail break, the method comprising:
- analyzing acoustic signals propagated by a train while traversing over the railway track to determine a speed of the train:
- detecting a rail break on the railway track at a time of detection.
- determining a difference between the time of detection and a time of train passage over a detection location.
A system to determine at least one parameter related to train traveling on a railway track, the system comprising:
- a sensor configured for detecting broadband acoustic signals at a detection location on the railway track;
- and
- a processor configured for obtaining a broadband frequency spectrum of the broadband acoustic signals, obtaining a temporal progression of the broadband frequency spectrum, and analyzing the temporal progression to determine at least one parameter related to a train characteristic.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.