ENERGY HARVESTER, WIRELESS SENSOR DEVICE HAVING THE ENERGY HARVESTER, AND SYSTEM FOR MONITORING RAILROAD VEHICLE USING THE SAME

• US 20160152252A1
• Filed: 10/30/2015
• Published: 06/02/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Korea Railroad Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Korea Railroad Research Institute
• Inventors: Kim, Jaehoon, Lee, Jae Yun, Lee, Kwan Sup, Kim, Young Il, Yeo, Kun Min
• Granted Patent: US 9,701,325 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B61K 9/00 Railway vehicle profile gauges; Detecting or indicating overheating of components; Apparatus on locomotives or cars to indicate bad track sections; General design of track recording vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 15/0018 Communication with or on the vehicle or train
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 15/0027 Radio-based, e.g. using GSM-R
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 15/0081 On-board diagnosis or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 25/04 Indicating or recording train identities
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 27/40 Handling position reports or trackside vehicle data
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 27/57 for vehicles or trains, e.g. trackside supervision of train conditions
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 27/70 Details of trackside communication
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 11/00 Component parts of measuring arrangements not specially adapted for a specific variable G01D13/00, G01D15/00 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 5/02 using mechanical means
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 17/08 Railway vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 35/02 with moving magnets and stationary coil systems
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 7/1892 Generators with parts oscillating or vibrating about an axis
• CPC Class Codes: H02N 2/186 Vibration harvesters
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/40 using a wireless architecture
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/886 using energy harvesting, e.g. solar, wind or mechanical
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom

Abstract

A railroad vehicle monitoring system installed on a railroad vehicle includes: wireless sensor devices installed at attached equipment of the railroad vehicle, including a sensor that senses statuses of the attached equipment, configured to wirelessly transmit a sensing value sensed by the sensor in real time, and including an energy harvester configured to convert energy generated by running of the railroad vehicle into electric energy, and supply the electric energy as a power source for the sensor, a signal process in the sensing value, and wireless communication of the sensing value; sink node devices configured to wirelessly receive the sensing value and output, in real time, railroad vehicle status information obtained by integrating the received sensing value; and a vehicle status monitoring device configured to receive the railroad vehicle status information, integrate and manage the railroad vehicle status information, and output the integrated railroad vehicle status information in real time.

Claims

1. A railroad vehicle monitoring system installed on a railroad vehicle, comprising:

wireless sensor devices respectively installed at attached equipment of the railroad vehicle, including a sensor that senses statuses of the attached equipment, and configured to wirelessly transmit a sensing value sensed by the sensor in real time;

sink node devices configured to wirelessly receive the sensing value from at least one of the wireless sensor devices and output, in real time, railroad vehicle status information obtained by integrating the received sensing value; and

a vehicle status monitoring device configured to receive the railroad vehicle status information from at least one of the sink node devices, integrate and manage the railroad vehicle status information, and output the integrated railroad vehicle status information in real time,

wherein the wireless sensor device includes an energy harvester configured to collect at least one kind of energy generated by running of the railroad vehicle, convert the collected energy into electric energy, and supply the electric energy as a power source for the sensor, a signal process with respect to the sensing value sensed by the sensor, and wireless communication of the sensing value.

2. The railroad vehicle monitoring system of claim 1,

wherein the vehicle status monitoring device includes:

a vehicle status display control unit configured to output the integrated railroad vehicle status information through a display unit installed on the railroad vehicle;

a status reporting unit configured to wirelessly transmits the integrated railroad vehicle status information to an external control device through a wireless communication network; and

a maintenance support unit configured to receive maintenance instruction information from the external control device in response to the integrated railroad vehicle status information which is wirelessly transmitted,

wherein the maintenance instruction information received by the maintenance support unit is output on the display unit by the vehicle status display control unit.

3. The railroad vehicle monitoring system of claim 2,

wherein the vehicle status monitoring device further includes a status diagnostic unit configured to perform a process for determining occurrence of a failure and a process for predicting a failure in each of the attached equipment on the basis of the integrated railroad vehicle status information, and generate railroad vehicle diagnostic information on the basis of results of the process for determining occurrence of a failure and the process for predicting a failure,

the vehicle status display control unit outputs the railroad vehicle diagnostic information through the display unit in real time,

the status reporting unit wirelessly transmits the railroad vehicle diagnostic information to the external control device in real time, and

the status diagnostic unit compares a sensing value from each of the wireless sensor devices included in the integrated railroad vehicle status information with each of a first threshold value preset for each of the attached equipment and a second threshold value lower than the first threshold value, and determines that a failure occurs when the sensing value is equal to or higher than the first threshold value or determines that a failure can occur when the sensing value is lower than the first threshold value and equal to or higher than the second threshold value.

4. The railroad vehicle monitoring system of claim 1,

wherein the wireless sensor device includes a sensing data processing module configured to generate digital data by performing a preset sampling process and quantization process to original data sensed by the sensor, and update conditions for the sampling process on the basis of a vibration frequency generated during driving of the railroad vehicle.

5. A wireless sensor device comprising:

an energy harvester configured to convert vibration generated from a broadband vibration source into electricity;

an elastic member arranged to receive the vibration; and

a communication unit fixed by the elastic member, supplied with the converted electricity from the energy harvester, and configured to transmit sensing information obtained by sensing a measurement target,

wherein the elastic member operates as a mechanical filter configured to limit a range of a frequency and a magnitude of acceleration caused by the vibration for the communication unit, and

the communication unit is arranged to receive vibration passing through the elastic member.

6. The wireless sensor device of claim 5,

wherein the elastic member includes:

a spring having a natural frequency previously set depending on the specifications of the communication unit, and configured to limit the frequency range; and

an elastic mass arranged on the spring and configured to limit the acceleration magnitude,

wherein the natural frequency is previously set on the basis of a mass of the communication unit, a mass of the elastic mass, and an intrinsic constant of the spring, and

the frequency range is limited to make an average acceleration for each frequency of the vibration equal to or lower than a preset reference value.

7. The wireless sensor device of claim 6,

wherein the elastic member further includes a damper configured to limit displacement of the spring and the elastic mass.

8. The wireless sensor device of claim 5,

wherein the energy harvester converts the vibration into electricity by using a frequency at which an average acceleration for each frequency of the vibration is maximized.

9. (canceled)

10. (canceled)

11. (canceled)

12. (canceled)

13. (canceled)

14. An energy harvester configured to convert vibration into electricity, comprising:

a first elastic part configured to vibrate in response to vibration having a first vibration frequency as a center frequency;

a first mass part combined with the first elastic part;

a first magnetic body combined with the first mass part;

a second elastic part configured to vibrate in response to vibration having a second vibration frequency as a center frequency;

a second mass part combined with the second elastic part;

a second magnetic body combined with the second mass part;

a central shaft combined with the first elastic part, the second elastic part, the first mass part, the second mass part, the first magnetic body, and the second magnetic body;

a third elastic part combined between the first mass part and the second mass part; and

a coil part which is arranged along the central shaft and into which the first magnetic body or the second magnetic body is inserted in response to vibration of the first elastic part or the second elastic part, respectively.

15. The energy harvester of claim 14,

wherein the first elastic part, the second elastic part, the first mass part, the second mass part, the first magnetic body, and the second magnetic body are formed into a cylindrical shape including an opening through which the central shaft passes.

16. The energy harvester of claim 14,

wherein the first vibration frequency corresponds to a preset first speed or more, the second vibration frequency corresponds to a preset second speed or less, and the first speed has a higher speed value than the second speed.

17. The energy harvester of claim 14,

wherein the coil part includes:

a first groove formed along an inner peripheral surface of the first mass part;

a second groove formed along an inner peripheral surface of the second mass part; and

coils respectively wound on the first grove and the second groove.

18. The energy harvester of claim 14, further comprising:

a lower supporting plate installed and fixed to a vibration source, connected to the central shaft as being fixed thereto, and also formed to be separated from the second elastic part;

a lateral supporting plate connected to the lower supporting plate and formed to be separated from peripheral surfaces of the first mass part and the second mass part; and

an upper supporting plate connected to the central shaft as being fixed thereto, connected to the lateral supporting plate, and also formed to be separated from the first elastic part.

19. The energy harvester of claim 14,

wherein the first mass part is combined with an upper surface of the third elastic part and a lower part of the first elastic part, and the first magnetic body is combined with a partial surface of the first mass part facing an upper part of the coil part and inserted into the upper part of the coil part, and

the second mass part is combined with a lower surface of the third elastic part and an upper part of the second elastic part, and the second magnetic body is combined with a partial surface of the second mass part facing a lower part of the coil part and inserted into the lower part of the coil part.