Wheel profile inspection apparatus and method
First Claim
1. A method for measuring a railroad wheel, the railroad wheel having a tread, a surface, a flange, an axis, and a profile, the method comprising:
- illuminating a first portion of the surface of the railroad wheel, the first portion being illuminated along a first plane intersecting the profile;
illuminating a second portion of the surface of the railroad wheel, the second portion being illuminated along a second plane intersecting the railroad wheel, the second plane being substantially perpendicular to the axis of the railroad wheel;
capturing a first image of the first portion;
capturing a second image of the second portion;
converting the first image to a first set of coordinates;
converting the second image to a second set of coordinates;
calculating, using the second set of coordinates, a center and a wheel size of the railroad wheel, the wheel size being related to a wheel diameter; and
calculating a set of wheel parameters using the first set of coordinates, the calculated center, and the calculated wheel size.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for measuring railroad wheels, where the wheels may be measured while mounted on railcars that are in motion. The method and system may be practiced by using one or more lasers or other light sources to illuminate portions of the surface of the railroad wheels, two or more of which may be substantially mutually orthogonal. By converting images of the illuminated portions to coordinates, wheel center position and diameter can be calculated, and once center position and diameter are calculated, wheel profile parameters such as flange height, flange width, and tread hollow can be calculated. The method and system produces accurate results at speeds up to at least 60 miles per hour.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method for measuring a railroad wheel, the railroad wheel having a tread, a surface, a flange, an axis, and a profile, the method comprising:
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illuminating a first portion of the surface of the railroad wheel, the first portion being illuminated along a first plane intersecting the profile;
illuminating a second portion of the surface of the railroad wheel, the second portion being illuminated along a second plane intersecting the railroad wheel, the second plane being substantially perpendicular to the axis of the railroad wheel;
capturing a first image of the first portion;
capturing a second image of the second portion;
converting the first image to a first set of coordinates;
converting the second image to a second set of coordinates;
calculating, using the second set of coordinates, a center and a wheel size of the railroad wheel, the wheel size being related to a wheel diameter; and
calculating a set of wheel parameters using the first set of coordinates, the calculated center, and the calculated wheel size. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for measuring a railroad wheel while the wheel is mounted on a railcar that is in motion on a rail, the railroad wheel having a tread, a surface, a flange, an axis, and a profile, the method comprising:
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using a laser to illuminate a first portion of the surface of the railroad wheel, the first portion being illuminated along a first plane intersecting the profile;
using a laser to illuminate a second portion of the surface of the railroad wheel, the second portion being illuminated along a second plane intersecting the railroad wheel, the second plane being substantially perpendicular to the axis of the railroad wheel;
capturing a first image of the first portion;
capturing a second image of the second portion;
filtering the light that comprises the first image and the second image so that the first image and the second image each respectively comprise substantially only the first illuminated portion and the second illuminated portion;
converting the first image to a first set of coordinates;
converting the second image to a second set of coordinates;
calculating, using the second set of coordinates, a center and a wheel size of the railroad wheel, wheel size being related to a wheel diameter of the railroad wheel; and
calculating a set of wheel parameters using the first set of coordinates, the calculated center, and the calculated wheel size, wherein the set of wheel parameters comprises tread hollow. - View Dependent Claims (16)
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17. A measurement system for optically measuring a railroad wheel, the railroad wheel having a tread, a surface, a flange, an axis, a surface, and a profile, the system comprising:
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a first optical means that illuminates a first portion of the surface of the railroad wheel, the first portion being illuminated along a first plane intersecting the profile;
a second optical means that illuminates a second portion of the surface of the railroad wheel, the second portion being illuminated along a second plane intersecting the railroad wheel, the second plane being substantially perpendicular to the axis of the railroad wheel, wherein the first plane and the second plane are substantially orthogonal to each other;
a first camera aligned to capture a first image of the first portion;
a second camera aligned to capture a second image of the second portion;
means for converting the first image to a first set of coordinates;
means for converting the second image to a second set of coordinates;
means for calculating, using the second set of coordinates, a center and a wheel size of the railroad wheel, wheel size being related to a wheel diameter;
means for calculating a set of wheel parameters using the first set of coordinates, the calculated center, and the calculated wheel size. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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21. A measurement system for optically measuring a railroad wheel, the railroad wheel having a tread, a surface, a flange, an axis, and a profile, the system comprising:
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a first laser that illuminates a first portion of the surface of the railroad wheel, the first portion being illuminated along a first plane intersecting the profile, the first plane being substantially perpendicular to the railroad wheel'"'"'s tread surface at a point where the first plane intersects the tread surface;
a second laser that illuminates a second portion of the surface of the railroad wheel, the second portion being illuminated along a second plane intersecting the railroad wheel, the second plane being substantially perpendicular to the axis of the railroad wheel, wherein the first plane and the second plane are substantially orthogonal to each other;
a first camera aligned to capture a first image of the first portion;
a second camera aligned to capture a second image of the second portion; and
a computer-readable medium comprising instructions executable by a processor to;
convert the first image to a first set of coordinates;
convert the second image to a second set of coordinates;
calculate, using the second set of coordinates, a center and a wheel size of the railroad wheel, wheel size being related to a wheel diameter; and
calculate a set of wheel parameters using the first set of coordinates, the calculated center, and the calculated wheel size. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A measurement system for measuring a railroad wheel while the wheel is mounted on a railcar that is in motion on a rail, the wheel having a tread, a flange an axis, a surface, and a profile, the measurement system comprising:
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a first laser that illuminates a first portion of the surface of the railroad wheel, the first portion being illuminated along a first plane intersecting the profile, the first plane being substantially perpendicular to the railroad wheel'"'"'s surface at a point where the first plane intersects the surface;
a second laser that illuminates a second portion of the surface of the railroad wheel, the second portion being illuminated along a second plane intersecting the railroad wheel, the second plane being substantially perpendicular to the axis of the railroad wheel, wherein the first plane and the second plane are substantially orthogonal to each other;
a third laser that illuminates a third portion of the surface of the railroad wheel, the third portion being illuminated along a third plane intersecting the flange side of the railroad wheel and being substantially parallel to the axis of the railroad wheel;
a first camera aligned to capture a first image of the first portion;
a second camera aligned to capture a second image of the second portion;
a third camera aligned to capture a third image of the third portion;
a plurality of wheel position sensors, the sensors being communicatively coupled to trigger the capture of the first image and the second image when the wheel is in a defined position relative to the first camera and the second camera, substantially without regard to the wheel'"'"'s direction of travel; and
a computer-readable medium comprising instructions executable by a processor to;
convert the first image to a first set of coordinates;
convert the second image to a second set of coordinates;
convert the third image to a third set of coordinates;
calculate, using the second set of coordinates, a center and a wheel size of the railroad wheel, wheel size being related to a wheel diameter; and
calculate a set of wheel parameters using the first set of coordinates, the third set of coordinates, the calculated center, and the calculated wheel size, wherein the set of wheel parameters comprises flange height, flange thickness, and tread hollow.
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Specification