DETECTION OF LABEL FOULING IN AUTOMATIC RAILROAD CAR IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM

• US 3,754,212 A
• Filed: 07/22/1971
• Issued: 08/21/1973
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/1970
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Albertus C.H. Borsboom, Gerrit Van Der Most, Jan Van Harten
• Original Assignee: Albertus C.H. Borsboom, Gerrit Van Der Most, Jan Van Harten
• Inventors: Borsboom, Albertus C. H., Van Harten, Jan, Van Der Most, Gerrit
• Primary Examiner(s): Wilbur, Maynard R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kilgore, Robert M.
• Application Number:
  US05/165,299
• Time in Patent Office: 761 Days
• Field of Search: 340/146.3B,146.3K 235/61.11E,61.7B,61.12N,61.6E 250/219D,219DC
• US Class Current: 235/454
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 25/041 using reflecting tags
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/12 using a selected wavelength, e.g. to sense red marks and ignore blue marks

Abstract

Label fouling in an automatic railroad car identification system is detected in response to the intensities of signals from coded visible panels. The identifying panels are color coded, and failing of the panels can produce errors in reading the code. The ratio of intensity of a pair of primary colors in light reflected from a white strip in the panel is used as the measure of degree of fouling.

Claims

1. An apparatus for the identification of a vehicle, incorporating an optical system for scanning a panel carrying a code in the form of colored strips, which panel is fixed to the vehicle, and for receiving light reflected from the panel, as well as a signal processing unit for decoding the reflected light, which signal processing unit is capable of producing from the light intensities of two primary colors A and B, for instance red and blue, analog and digital electric signals corresponding to those intensities, which apparatus comprises:

a. an attenuator connected to the output for analog signals for color A of the aforementioned signal processing unit, b. a subtracting element, of which one input is connected to the output of said attenuator and the other input to the output for analog signals for color B of said signal processing unit, c. an and-gate, of which the two inputs are connected to the outputs for digital signals for the colors A and B of said signal processing unit, d. a switch element with two inputs, connected, respectively, to the output of said subtractiNg element and to the output of said and-gate, e. a warning device connected to the output of the switch element.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, in which apparatus a delaying element is connected between the subtracting element and the switch element.

3. An aparatus according to claim 1, in which apparatus a delaying element is present in each of the lines from the outputs for analog signals of the signal processing unit.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1 in which apparatus the components mentioned in claim 4 under (a) to (e) are present in duplicate, one attenuator and one subtracting element being connected as indicated under (a) and (b), the other attenuator to the output for analog signals for color B and the other subtracting element to the output for analog signals for color A of the signal processing unit.