Method and apparatus for recording and retrieving railroad locomotive speed data

• US 3,872,479 A
• Filed: 06/01/1972
• Issued: 03/18/1975
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: William K. Ramsey
• Original Assignee: William K. Ramsey
• Inventors: Ramsey, William K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hartary, Joseph W.
• Application Number:
  US05/258,858
• Time in Patent Office: 1,020 Days
• Field of Search: 346/18,17,33D,25,65-67,1 33/1C
• US Class Current: 346/18
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 1/122 Speed recorders
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/12 in graphical form

Abstract

A highly simplified and economical system for recording and retrieving railroad locomotive speed data is disclosed. The system utilizes a '"'"''"'"''"'"''"'"'universal'"'"''"'"''"'"''"'"' recording tape having a base line printed thereon and also utilizes a read-out template having printed thereon the miles per hour read-out calibrations for a number of different kinds of recorders. The invention eliminates the necessity for maintaining an inventory of a large number of differently printed recording tapes, decreases the likelihood that an incorrect recording tape will be installed in a locomotive speed recorder, reduces the cost of printing the individual tapes, and reduces the wasted time and motion on the part of the mechanic resulting from his having incorrect tapes available when fresh tape is installed.

Claims

1. An improved method of recording and retrieving locomotive speed data utilizing a common elongated tape record medium which accomodates and is compatible with a plurality of different kinds of locomotive speed recorders that differ from each other in that they respectively produce a speed plot on said elongated tape record medium based on different speed scales or speed scale orientations, said method comprising:

installing said common elongated tape record medium on any given one of said plurality of different kinds of locomotive speed recorders;

producing a speed plot on said elongated tape record medium of the speed conditions experienced by said locomotive in accordance with the characteristics of said given one of said plurality of different kinds of locomotive speed recorders; and

, retrieving the speed recorded by said given locomotive speed recorder on said elongated tape record medium by utilizing an overlay having a plurality of separate sets of speed calibration indicia, each set of which respectively corresponds to one of said plurality of different kinds of locomotive speed recorders, said overlay and said tape record medium each being provided with alignable registration means for registering the appropriate set of said separate sets of speed calibration indicia on said overlay with said speed plot to provide the user thereof with a readout of the speed information represented by said speed plot.

2. The improved method of claim 1 wherein said elongated tape record medium is free of speed indicia.

3. The improved method of claim 1 wherein said tape record medium registration means comprises a base line imprinted on said elongated tape record medium which is generally parallel to the marginal edge of said elongated tape record medium adjacent thereto.

4. The improved method of claim 3 wherein the distance between said base line and said adjacent marginal edge of said elongated tape record medium is equal to the distance between said overlay registration means and an adjacent edge of said overlay.

5. The improved method of claim 1 wherein said tape record medium registration means comprises at least two base lines which are respectively used to register different sets of speed calibration indicia on said overlay with the speed plots produced by at least two different of said plurality of different locomotive speed recorders.

6. A combination for utilizing a common elongate tape record medium for recording and retrieving locomotive speed data from a plurality of different kinds of locomotive speed recorders that differ from each other in that they respectively produce a speed plot on said elongated tape record medium base on different speed scales or speed scale orientations, said combination comprising:

a common elongate tape record medium adapted to be operatively received on each of said different kinds of locomotive speed recorders and to have speed plots produced thereon which are respectively characteristic of each of said plurality of different kinds of locomotive speed recorders, said common elongate tape record medium being free of speed indicia and including tape record medium registration means; and

, an overlay having a plurality of seParate sets of speed calibration indicia, each of which respectively corresponds to each of said plurality of different kinds of locomotive speed recorders, said overlay being further provided with overlay registration means alignable with said tape record medium registration means for registering the appropriate set of said speed calibration indicia on said overlay with a speed plot produced on said elongate tape record medium by any one of said plurality of different kinds of locomotive speed recorders to provide an accurate speed readout of said speed plot;

said tape record registration means including at least two base lines which are generally parallel to the marginal edges of said elongated tape record medium adjacent thereto which tape record registration means are respectively used to register different sets of speed calibration indicia on said overlay with the speed plots produced by at least two different of said plurality of different locomotive speed recorders, the distance between at least one of said base lines and the marginal edge of said elongated tape second medium adjacent thereto being equal to the distance between said overlay registration means and an adjacent edge of said overlay.

7. The combination of claim 6 wherein said overlay is transparent.