Precipitation detector for railroad applications
AssigneeProgress Rail Services Corporation
InventorMark Joseph Bartonek
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Abstract
A method for detecting precipitation is disclosed. The method may include receiving a signal from a sensing module positioned in the vicinity of a railroad track, the signal being indicative of a capacitive dielectric property of a form of precipitation that has accumulated in the vicinity of the railroad track. The method may further include processing the signal from the sensing module to determine the type of precipitation that has accumulated in the vicinity of the railroad track as a function of the indicated capacitive dielectric property. The method may still further include sending a signal indicative of a recommended action based on the type of precipitation.
Claims20
A precipitation detector, comprising:
- a sensing module configured for installation in the vicinity of a railroad track, the sensing module being configured to detect a capacitive dielectric property of a type of precipitation that has accumulated in the vicinity of the railroad track;
- and
- a processor configured to receive a signal from the sensing module indicative of the capacitive dielectric property, determine the type of precipitation that has accumulated in the vicinity of the railroad track as a function of the capacitive dielectric property, and transmit a signal indicative of a recommended action based on the type of precipitation.
A method for detecting precipitation, the method comprising:
- receiving a signal from a sensing module positioned in the vicinity of a railroad track, the signal being indicative of a capacitive dielectric property of a type of precipitation that has accumulated in the vicinity of the railroad track;
- processing the signal from the sensing module to determine the type of precipitation that has accumulated in the vicinity of the railroad track as a function of the capacitive dielectric property;
- and
- sending a signal indicative of a recommended action based on the type of precipitation.
A method of detecting precipitation, the method comprising:
- receiving a signal from a sensing module positioned in the vicinity of a railroad track, the signal being indicative of a capacitive dielectric property of a type of precipitation that has accumulated in the vicinity of the railroad track;
- processing the signal from the sensing module to determine the type of precipitation and amount of precipitation that has accumulated in the vicinity of the railroad track as a function of the capacitive dielectric property, wherein processing the signal from the sensing module includes comparing the type of precipitation and amount of precipitation with one or more of a threshold value or a library or database of instructions tailored for each potential type and amount of precipitation;
- and
- sending a signal indicative of a recommended action based on the type of precipitation and amount of precipitation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.