Method for measuring and displaying the track geometry of a track system

• US 10,119,227 B2
• Filed: 10/19/2015
• Issued: 11/06/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HP3 Real GmbH
• Original Assignee: HP3 Real GmbH
• Inventors: Lichtberger, Bernhard
• Primary Examiner(s): Gilliard, Delomia L
• Application Number:
  US15/513,152
• Publication Number:
  US 20170306568A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,114 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B61K 9/08 Measuring installations for surveying permanent way applications of measuring apparatus or devices for track building purposes E01B35/00; measuring techniques G01
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 23/047 Track or rail movements
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 23/048 Road bed changes, e.g. road bed erosion
• CPC Class Codes: E01B 2203/012 present, i.e. in its normal position
• CPC Class Codes: E01B 2203/10 Track-lifting or-lining devices or methods
• CPC Class Codes: E01B 2203/16 Guiding or measuring means, e.g. for alignment, canting, stepwise propagation
• CPC Class Codes: E01B 27/12 Packing sleepers, with or without concurrent work on the track; Compacting track-carrying ballast
• CPC Class Codes: E01B 33/02 for slewing, i.e. transversely shifting, in steps
• CPC Class Codes: E01B 33/06 for slewing in a continuous operation, e.g. for tracks which carry excavators
• CPC Class Codes: E01B 35/06 for measuring irregularities in longitudinal direction
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 7/04 involving a vehicle which moves along the profile to be traced
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/205 Image-based rendering
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/74 involving reference images or patches

Abstract

A method for measuring and displaying the track geometry of a track system uses a track-driveable permanent-way machine, comprising a control measurement system measuring the track position to be corrected before a lifting and lining device, an acceptance measurement system measuring the corrected track position after it, and output units displaying the measured values. The lifting and lining device is controlled depending on the measured values of the control measurement system and the acceptance measurement system to achieve a specified target track geometry. A three-dimensional position image is calculated from the curvature image (k_(s)), longitudinal level image (h_(s)) and superelevation image (u_(s)) of the target track geometry, put into a perspective display, and displayed by the output unit, supplemented by measured error curves for track parameters of track direction, superelevation, twist, and longitudinal level.

Claims

1. A method for measuring and displaying the track geometry of a track system using a track-driveable permanent-way machine having a control measurement system measuring a value of the track position to be corrected before a lifting and lining device, an acceptance measurement system measuring a value of the corrected track position after the lifting and lining device, and an associated output unit having a display that is visible to a user displaying the measured values, said method comprising:

controlling the lifting and lining device depending on the measured values of the control measurement system and the acceptance measurement system so as to achieve a predetermined target track geometry including a curvature image, a longitudinal level image and a superelevation image;

first calculating a three-dimensional position image from the curvature image, longitudinal level image and superelevation image of the target track geometry,

putting the three-dimensional position image into a perspective display so as to form a perspective position image, and

displaying the perspective position image using the output unit, and

supplementing the perspective position image by measured error curves for track parameters including track direction, superelevation, twist, and longitudinal level.

2. A method according to claim 1, and further comprising assigning synchronization points to the target track geometry, and displaying said synchronization points at respective positions of the perspective display of the track progression, wherein once the permanent-way machine reaches the synchronization points a synchronization of actual synchronization points on the track system is carried out with virtual synchronization points of the perspective display.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the track position of the permanent-way machine and current error values are displayed continuously in the display of the output unit with continued travel of the machine.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein a progression of residual errors is precalculated based on the measured error curves and performed control interventions and is displayed on a display of the output unit.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the track position before the permanent-way machine is recorded with an image recording device, a position of the rails is calculated with image evaluation, and the calculated position of the rails and the target track geometry are displayed in perspective in the perspective position image.

6. A method according to claim 1, and further comprising recording synchronization points before the permanent-way machine with an image recording device and inserting said synchronization points into the perspective image from a preselectable approach for synchronization.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein a progression of deviations of the track position from the target position to be corrected is calculated, that trends are calculated and are displayed on the output unit so as to ensure the adherence to tolerances by taking timely action on the lifting and lining devices.

8. A method according to claim 1, wherein corrections of calculated deviations of the track position to be corrected from the target position before the lifting and lining device are carried out by a control system of the lifting and lining device.

9. A method according to claim 1, wherein the perspective position image is projected via a head-up projector onto a front windscreen of the permanent-way machine or displayed using data goggles.

10. A method according to claim 1, wherein the perspective position image is transmitted via a radio data line to a control center spatially remote from an operating location of the permanent-way machine that monitors progress of the method.

11. A method according to claim 10, wherein the control center remotely controls the method.