Optical wheel evaluation
First Claim
1. A method of evaluating a wheel, the method comprising:
- illuminating a path of the wheel, wherein a length of the path includes at least one circumference of the wheel;
obtaining image data for the wheel as it moves along the path; and
measuring at least one attribute of the wheel based on the image data.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A solution for optically evaluating a wheel along at least one circumference of the wheel is provided. Image data is obtained while the wheel moves along a path having a length of at least one circumference of the wheel. The path and/or wheel can be illuminated to enhance the resulting image data. One or more attributes of the wheel are measured based on the image data. The attributes can then be used to detect one or more defects in the wheel. In one embodiment, the wheel is a rail wheel, and a rail segment is illuminated. The rail can be specially configured to enhance a contrast between the rail and the rail wheel and/or to provide a consistent path for the rail wheel to travel.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method of evaluating a wheel, the method comprising:
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illuminating a path of the wheel, wherein a length of the path includes at least one circumference of the wheel;
obtaining image data for the wheel as it moves along the path; and
measuring at least one attribute of the wheel based on the image data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A system for evaluating a wheel, the system comprising:
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means for illuminating a path of the wheel, wherein a length of the path includes at least one circumference of the wheel;
means for obtaining image data for the wheel as it moves along the path; and
means for measuring at least one attribute of the wheel based on the image data. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of evaluating a rail wheel, the method comprising:
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illuminating a rail segment, wherein a length of the rail segment includes at least one circumference of the wheel;
obtaining image data for the rail wheel as it moves along the rail segment; and
measuring at least one attribute of the rail wheel based on the image data. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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19. A system for evaluating a rail wheel, the system comprising:
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means for illuminating a rail segment, wherein a length of the rail segment includes at least one circumference of the wheel;
means for obtaining image data for the rail wheel as it moves along the rail segment; and
means for measuring at least one attribute of the rail wheel based on the image data. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification