Route examining system

• US 10,501,100 B2
• Filed: 10/30/2017
• Issued: 12/10/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GE Global Sourcing LLC (Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: GE Global Sourcing LLC (Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation)
• Inventors: Plotnikov, Yuri Alexeyevich, Matthews, Brett Alexander, Kumar, Ajith Kuttannair, Fries, Jeffrey Michael, Noffsinger, Joseph Forrest, Poonacha, Samhitha Palanganda, Frangieh, Tannous, Wheeler, Frederick Wilson, Staton, Brian Lee, Brown, Timothy Robert, Boverman, Gregory, Nayeri, Majid
• Primary Examiner(s): Whittington, Jess
• Application Number:
  US15/797,086
• Publication Number:
  US 20180065650A1
• Time in Patent Office: 771 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 2205/04 Satellite based navigation systems, e.g. global positioning system [GPS]
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 23/044 Broken rails
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 23/045 Rail wear
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 23/34 for indicating the distance between vehicles or trains by the transmission of signals therebetween
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 3/08 controlling electrically
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 3/10 using current passing between devices along the route and devices on the vehicle or train

Abstract

Systems for examining a route inject one or more electrical examination signals into a conductive route from onboard a vehicle system traveling along the route, detect one or more electrical characteristics of the route based on the one or more electrical examination signals, and detect a break in conductivity of the route responsive to the one or more electrical characteristics decreasing by more than a designated drop threshold for a time period within a designated drop time period. Feature vectors may be determined for the electrical characteristics and compared to one or more patterns in order to distinguish between breaks in the conductivity of the route and other causes for changes in the electrical characteristics.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

plural conductive bodies attached to a vehicle system that is configured to travel along a conductive route, wherein the conductive bodies are configured to inject plural electrical examination signals into the route from onboard the vehicle system and to detect plural electrical characteristics of the route based on the electrical examination signals; and

one or more processors are configured to determine feature vectors representative of different values of the electrical characteristics, the feature vectors including a combination of (a) a mean or median of the electrical characteristics and (b) a deviation of the electrical characteristics one or more of prior to, during, or subsequent to a decrease in the electrical characteristics by more than a designated threshold decrease, the one or more processors also configured to compare the feature vectors to one or more patterns of feature vectors associated with different conditions of the route, at least one of the patterns of feature vectors is associated with the break in the conductivity of the route,

wherein the one or more processors are configured to detect a break in the conductivity of the route responsive to one or more of the electrical characteristics decreasing by more than a designated drop threshold for a time period within a designated drop time period and responsive to the feature vectors more closely matching the at least one pattern of feature vectors associated with the break in the conductivity of the route.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the conductive bodies comprise one or more of a conductive shoe configured to conductively engage the route, a conductive brush configured to conductively engage the route, a wheel configured to conductively engage the route, or a device configured to inductively couple with the route.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to detect the break that is in a conductive rail of the route or that is in an insulated joint in the route.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the conductive bodies are configured to inject at least one of the electrical examination signals into the route with a first frequency, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to isolate a subset of the electrical characteristics of the route that occurs within a frequency range of interest by applying a filter to at least one of the electrical characteristics of the route that is detected.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the one or more processors are configured to apply the filter to the at least one electrical characteristic by suppressing one or more of the electrical characteristics that occur at frequencies that are one or more of outside of the frequency range of interest or attributable to noise along the route.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to direct the conductive bodies to inject a first examination signal of the examination signals into a first conductive portion of the route with a first unique identifier and to inject a second examination signal of the examination signals into a second conductive portion of the route with a second unique identifier.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the first unique identifier comprises a modulation of the first examination signal that differs from a unique modulation identifier of the second examination signal.

8. A method comprising:

injecting a first electrical examination signal into a conductive route from onboard a vehicle system traveling along the route;

detecting a first electrical characteristic of the route based on the first electrical examination signal;

applying a filter to the first electrical characteristic to isolate a subset of the first electrical characteristic occurring at a first frequency range of interest; and

detecting a break in conductivity of the route responsive to the subset of the first electrical characteristic including feature vectors that match a pattern of feature vectors associated with the break in conductivity, the feature vectors including a combination of (a) a mean or median of the first electrical characteristic and (b) a deviation of the first electrical characteristic one or more of prior to, during, or subsequent to a decrease in the first electrical characteristic by more than a designated threshold decrease.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the break that is detected includes a break in a conductive rail of the route or a break in an insulated joint in the route.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein detecting the break includes detecting an opening in a circuit formed by wheels and axles of the vehicle system and segments of conductive portions of the route extending between the wheels of the vehicle system.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the first electrical examination signal that is injected into the conductive route has a first frequency, and wherein the filter that is applied is tuned to isolate the subset of the first examination characteristic occurring at the first frequency range of interest that includes the first frequency.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein applying the filter to the first electrical characteristic of the route includes applying at least one of a band-pass filter or a matched filter to the first electrical characteristic.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein applying the filter to the first electrical characteristic includes suppressing the first electrical characteristic that one or more of occurs at frequencies outside of the first frequency range of interest or is attributable to noise along the route.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein injecting the first electrical examination signal into the route includes injecting the first electrical examination signal having a first unique identifier into a first conductive rail of the route, and further comprising injecting a second electrical examination signal having a second unique identifier into a second conductive rail of the route.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the first unique identifier comprises a modulation of the first electrical examination signal that differs from a modulation of the second unique identifier.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first electrical characteristic of the route is measured along the first conductive rail by one or more first conductive bodies of a route examining system onboard the vehicle system, and further comprising:

detecting a second electrical characteristic of the route based on the second electrical examination signal as measured along the first conductive rail by the one or more first conductive bodies and applying a filter to the second electrical characteristic to isolate a subset of the second electrical characteristic occurring at a second frequency range of interest;

detecting a third electrical characteristic of the route based on the first electrical examination signal as measured along the second conductive rail by one or more second conductive bodies of the route examining system and applying a filter to the third electrical characteristic to isolate a subset of the third electrical characteristic occurring at the first frequency range of interest; and

detecting a fourth electrical characteristic of the route based on the second electrical examination signal as measured along the second conductive rail by the one or more second conductive bodies and applying a filter to the fourth electrical characteristic to isolate a subset of the fourth electrical characteristic occurring at the second frequency range of interest.

17. A system comprising:

one or more first application conductive bodies configured to inject a first electrical examination signal having a first unique identifier, into a conductive route from onboard a vehicle system traveling along the route, wherein the first unique identifier comprises a first modulation of the first electrical examination signal;

one or more first detection conductive bodies configured to detect a first electrical characteristic of the route based on the first unique identifier of the first electrical examination signal;

one or more processors configured to apply a filter to the first electrical characteristic to isolate a subset of the first electrical characteristic occurring at a first frequency range of interest, the one or more processors further configured to detect and differentiate between a plurality of track features of the route responsive to the subset of the first electrical characteristic decreasing by more than a designated drop threshold for a time period within a designated drop time period,

wherein the one or more first application conductive bodies are configured to inject the first electrical examination signal into the route by injecting the first electrical examination signal having the first frequency into a first conductive rail of the route, and further comprising one or more second application conductive bodies configured to inject a second electrical examination signal having a second unique identifier and further having a different, second frequency into a second conductive rail of the route, wherein the second unique identifier comprises a second modulation of the second electrical examination signal that is different from the first modulation,

wherein the one or more first detection conductive bodies are configured to measure the first electrical characteristic of the route along the first conductive rail, and wherein the one or more first detection conductive bodies are configured to measure a second electrical characteristic of the route along the first conductive rail based on the second electrical examination signal injected by the one or more second application conductive bodies into the second conductive rail of the route, and further comprising;

one or more second detection conductive bodies configured to measure a third electrical characteristic of the route along the second conductive rail based on the first electrical examination signal, wherein the one or more second detection conductive bodies also are configured to measure a fourth electrical characteristic of the route along the second conductive rail based on the second electrical examination signal,

wherein the one or more processors are configured to apply a filter to the second electrical characteristic to isolate a subset of the second electrical characteristic occurring at the second frequency of the second electrical examination signal, the one or more processors being configured to apply a filter to the third electrical characteristic to isolate a subset of the third electrical characteristic occurring at the first frequency of the first electrical examination signal, and the one or more processors being configured to apply a filter to the fourth electrical characteristic to isolate a subset of the fourth electrical characteristic occurring at the second frequency of the second electrical examination signal.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the plurality of track features comprises:

damage, non-damage, electrical short, electrical circuit break, and intentional track features comprising insulated joints and track switches.