METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MONITORING HOT BOXES

• US 3,646,343 A
• Filed: 02/26/1970
• Issued: 02/29/1972
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/1970
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Harmon Industries, Inc. (GE Aerospace)
• Original Assignee: Donald W. Greene, Paul W. Caulier
• Inventors: Caulier, Paul W., Greene, Donald W.
• Primary Examiner(s): La Point, Arthur L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Libman, George H.
• Application Number:
  US05/014,574
• Time in Patent Office: 733 Days
• Field of Search: 246/169D 340/213Q 73/341
• US Class Current: 246/169.00D
• CPC Class Codes: B61K 9/06 by detecting or indicating heat radiation from overheated axles
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 1/20 Safety arrangements for preventing or indicating malfunction of the device, e.g. by leakage current, by lightning

Abstract

The temperatures of a plurality of journal bearings or boxes on a passing car are monitored. An average temperature value for each side of the passing car is derived. Comparisons are then effected between the temperatures of the individual journal boxes disposed on a given side of the car and the derived average temperature value for the given side, and deviations above or below predetermined limits are utilized to signify the presence of an alarm condition. Also, means is disclosed by which the presence of an alarm condition can be correlated to a particular car and wheel of the passing train. This information is then enunciated to the train crew so that defective conditions can be readily corrected.

Claims

1. A method for detecting hot journal boxes of cars of a train, said method comprising the steps of:

serially monitoring the temperatures of journal boxes disposed on one side of a passing car with a common sensor to provide respective monitored temperature signals;

deriving a respective reference temperature signal for said side of each car from a selected plurality of said monitored temperature signals associated with said side of each car; and

comparing selected ones of said monitored temperature signals with the derived reference temperature signals for the side and the car associated with said selected ones of said monitored temperature signals respectively to provide output alarm indications of hot journal boxes.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, further including the step of correlating each output alarm indication with an individual car.

3. A method as defined in claim 2, wherein each output alarm indication is correlated with a specific journal box on an individual car.

4. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein said means for deriving comprises means for deriving respective reference temperature signals having values which are a function of the average temperature value of said selected plurality of monitored temperatures, and wherein each said monitored temperature is sequentially compared with said derived reference temperature signals to provide individual output alarm indications.

5. A method as defined in claim 4, comprising means for providing an output alarm indication in response to a comparison of the ratio of each said monitored temperature to said derived reference temperature signals.

6. A method as defined in claim 1, where the temperatures of journal boxes disposed on both sides of a car are monitored, and wherein a separate average temperature value is derived from said selected plurality monitored temperatures on each respective car side;

said monitored temperatures on each respective car side being compared with the respective separate average temperature value to provide said output alarm indication.

7. A method as defined in claim 6, wherein said monitored temperatures on one car side are first compared with the respective separate average temperature value, and thereafter, said monitored temperatures on the other car side are then compared with the other respective separate average temperature value.

8. A method for detecting hot journal boxes disposed on a plurality of cars, said method comprising the steps of:

a. serially monitoring the temperature tx of each of a plurality n of journal boxes disposed on one side of a given car to obtain separate, individual temperature quantities tx, (x 1, ....n) where n a desired plural number of journal boxes on said one given car side;

b. deriving the quantity A where c. obtaining the separate quantities Bx where Bx tx/A, and where x 1, ...n; and

, d. comparing each quantity Bx with a reference quantity and selectively generating an alarm in dependence on such comparison.

9. An apparatus for detecting hot journal boxes of the cars of a train, said apparatus comprising:

common detector means for generating signals representative of the temperature of journal boxes on a given side of the cars of a train; and

evaluator means coupled to said detector means for producing an alarm output representative of a deviation beyond predetermined limits of the temperature of a journal box on a given side of a car with respect to the average temperature value of a plurality of journal boxes disposed on said given car side.

10. An apparatus as defined in claim 9, further including means associated with said evaluator means for correlating said alarm output with a particular car.

11. An apparatus as defined in claim 10, further including means for generating a checking output representative of a system malfunction.

12. An apparatus as defined in claim 10, wherein said evaluator means includes side averager means for generating a signal representative of the average of a plurality of temperature signals generated by said detector means from journal boxes on one side of a car;

and signal comparator means for sequentially comparing each of said plurality of temperature signals with said average signal.

13. An apparatus as defined in claim 12, wherein said evaluator means further includes an average comparator means for comparing said average signal with a predetermined reference and for generating an output as a function of said comparison, said average comparator means defining means for generating a checking output representative of a system malfunction.

14. An apparatus as defined in claim 13, wherein said means for correlating comprises car detector means for generating a signal representative of the passage of a car.

15. An apparatus as defined in claim 10, further including output means for transmitting said alarm indications and associated car correlations to a remote location.

16. An apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein said remote location comprises the engine of said train.

17. An apparatus as defined in claim 10, wherein said output means transmits only after the last car of said train has passed said detector means.

18. A hot box detector system comprising:

sensing means for serially sensing the temperatUre of journal boxes on one side of the cars of a passing train;

means for separately evaluating the sensed temperatures of journal boxes on said side of each car to determine the presence of hot boxes, said means for evaluating comprising means for deriving a respective reference temperature for said side of each car from a selected plurality of sensed temperatures associated with said side of each car which is a function of the values of said last-named sensed temperatures, and means for comparing the sensed temperature values of the journal boxes associated with each car with the derived reference temperature associated with such car to generate an alarm output indication representative of a hot box and of the car side associated therewith; and

means for transmitting said alarm indication to the operator of the train after the last car has passed by said sensing means. respective output

19. A system as defined in 18, wherein said means for transmitting repetitively transmits said alarm indication.

20. A hot box detector comprising separate means for serially sensing the temperature of journal boxes located on each side of the cars of a passing train to provide temperature signals;

means responsive to a selected plurality of the temperature signals associated with one side of one car of said train to provide a reference signal having a value which is a function of the values of said temperature signals, means for comparing selected ones of the temperature signals associated with said one side of said one car with said reference signal to provide a respectiveoutput signal for each of said selected ones of the temperature signals, and means responsive to at least one of said output signals having a value different from an acceptable range of values for providing an alarm signal.