METHOD, APPARATUS, AND SYSTEM FOR NON-CONTACT MANUAL MEASUREMENT OF A WHEEL PROFILE
First Claim
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1. A method for measuring the profile for a railway wheel, said method comprising:
- placing a laser having an angular displacement sensing unit and distance displacement sensing unit in a calibrated location proximate to a railway wheel;
energizing said laser to emanate a laser beam;
rotating said laser to cause said laser beam to reflect off a plurality of locations on at least a portion of said railway wheel;
capturing angular displacement and distance displacement data of said plurality of locations; and
calculating a set of wheel parameters based upon said captured distance displacement data and angular displacement data of said reflected beam from said plurality of locations.
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Abstract
A method, apparatus and system for non-contact measurement of a railway wheel profile are disclosed herein. To measure the wheel profile, a laser having a distance displacement sensor and angular displacement sensor projects a beam of light onto the surface of a railway wheel to measure the wheel profile. In an alternate embodiment, a rail thickness measurement gauge is provided. In another alternate embodiment, a witness groove measurement gauge is provided.
10 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method for measuring the profile for a railway wheel, said method comprising:
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placing a laser having an angular displacement sensing unit and distance displacement sensing unit in a calibrated location proximate to a railway wheel; energizing said laser to emanate a laser beam; rotating said laser to cause said laser beam to reflect off a plurality of locations on at least a portion of said railway wheel; capturing angular displacement and distance displacement data of said plurality of locations; and calculating a set of wheel parameters based upon said captured distance displacement data and angular displacement data of said reflected beam from said plurality of locations. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. An apparatus for optically measuring the profile for a railway wheel, said apparatus comprising:
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a means for placing a laser having angular displacement and distance displacement sensing units in a calibrated location proximate to a railway wheel; a means for energizing said laser to emanate a laser beam; a means for rotating said laser said to cause said laser beam to reflect off a plurality of points on at least a portion of said railway wheel; a means for capturing angular displacement and distance displacement data of said plurality of points; and a means for calculating a set of wheel parameters based upon said captured distance displacement data and angular displacement data of said reflected beam from said plurality of points.
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- 4. An apparatus for optically measuring the profile of a railway wheel, said apparatus comprising a laser rotatably attached to a measurement unit.
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13. A system for optically measuring the profile for a railway wheel, said system comprising:
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a laser having an angular displacement sensing unit and distance displacement sensing unit, said angular displacement sensing unit providing the distance measurement of a laser beam travel emanating from said laser and said distance displacement sensing unit providing angular displacement measurement of said laser; a mounting device for mounting said laser onto a railway wheel at a calibrated position, said laser rotatably mounted onto said mounting device; a computational unit in communication with said distance displacement sensing unit and said angular displacement sensing unit for receiving said distance measurement and said angular displacement measurement. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for measuring the profile for a railway wheel, said method comprising:
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rotating a laser beam along a plurality of points on a railway wheel; and detecting the distance the laser beam travels along said plurality of points and the angular displacement at each detected plurality of points.
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19. A method for measuring a railway wheel diameter, said method comprising the steps of:
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placing a laser having angular displacement and distance displacement sensing units in a calibrated location proximate to a railway wheel; energizing said laser to emanate a laser beam;
rotating said laser said to cause said laser beam to reflect off a plurality of points on a witness groove measurement device and along outer surface of said railway wheel substantially perpendicular to the wheel circumference;capturing angular displacement and distance displacement data of said plurality of points; and calculating the wheel diameter based upon said captured distance displacement data and angular displacement data of said plurality of points.
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20. An apparatus for measuring a railway wheel witness groove, said apparatus comprising:
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a laser rotatably attached to a measurement unit, said measurement unit comprising a laser displacement sensor to measure distance data of a beam of said laser and a rotary encoder to measure the angular displacement data of said laser when emitting said beam; a bracket for mounting said measurement unit on a railway wheel wherein said laser housing is attached to said bracket; and and a witness groove measurement device, wherein said witness groove measurement device comprises a magnet for removably attaching said witness groove measurement device onto a train wheel, wherein - View Dependent Claims (21, 22)
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Specification