Rail flaw detector position control
First Claim
1. An apparatus for ultrasonically inspecting railroad track rail elongated members for abnormalities, the apparatus including a sensor head movably supported fom a carriage so as to be in contact with the member to be inspected, the carriage being movable longitudinally along the member to be inspected and the sensor head being separately movable laterally with respect to the direction of movement of the carriage, the improvement comprising means for automatically positioning the sensor head laterally relative to the carriage comprising:
- a pair of passive ultrasound transducers movably supported from the carriage, the transducers of said pair respectively being equally spaced to either side of a line through the center of an ultrasound generator in the sensor head, said line being parallel to the direction of movement of the carriage, the transducers of said pair being acoustically coupled to the member being inspected and generating electrical signals commensurate with reflected ultrasound energy;
means responsive to the electrical signals generated by the transducers of said pair for generating a position error signal commensurate with any difference between the transducer generated signals;
actuator means for imparting lateral movement to the sensor head and to said passive transducers, said actuator means being supported on the carriage; and
means responsive to said position error signal for delivering a control signal to said actuator means to cause movement of said head and passive transducers in a direction to null the error signal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A laterally movable ultrasound transducer, comprising the sensor of a rail fault detection device, is automatically centered on the rail as the detection device moves along the rail. The sensor includes a pair of ultrasound receiving transducers positioned to either side of a transducer which generates and receives ultrasonic energy. Signals provided by the receiving transducers are compared and any difference therebetween employed to control the lateral position of the sensor with respect to the rail.
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Citations
6 Claims
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1. An apparatus for ultrasonically inspecting railroad track rail elongated members for abnormalities, the apparatus including a sensor head movably supported fom a carriage so as to be in contact with the member to be inspected, the carriage being movable longitudinally along the member to be inspected and the sensor head being separately movable laterally with respect to the direction of movement of the carriage, the improvement comprising means for automatically positioning the sensor head laterally relative to the carriage comprising:
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a pair of passive ultrasound transducers movably supported from the carriage, the transducers of said pair respectively being equally spaced to either side of a line through the center of an ultrasound generator in the sensor head, said line being parallel to the direction of movement of the carriage, the transducers of said pair being acoustically coupled to the member being inspected and generating electrical signals commensurate with reflected ultrasound energy; means responsive to the electrical signals generated by the transducers of said pair for generating a position error signal commensurate with any difference between the transducer generated signals; actuator means for imparting lateral movement to the sensor head and to said passive transducers, said actuator means being supported on the carriage; and means responsive to said position error signal for delivering a control signal to said actuator means to cause movement of said head and passive transducers in a direction to null the error signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A method for the inspection of a railroad track steel rail comprising the steps of:
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coupling an ultrasound transceiver to the rail head whereby ultrasound energy generated by the transducer will travel to the base of the rail and will be reflected back to the transducer; ultrasonically coupling a pair of passive ultrasound transducers to the rail head respectively at points equally spaced to either side of a line through the center of the ultrasound transceiver; moving the ultrasound transceiver and the passive ultrasound transducers longitudinally along the rail head; periodically energizing the transceiver to couple bursts of ultrasonic energy into the rail, echoes being subsequently received by the transceiver and analyzed for discontinuities in the rail; comparing the magnitude of the ultrasound energy received at the passive ultrasound transducers subsequent to reflection from the rail base of the bursts of ultrasonic energy; and adjusting the lateral position of the ultrasound transceiver and the passive ultrasound transducers to minimize any differences in the magnitude of the signals received at the passive ultrasound transducers, the position adjustment being performed without varying the relative positions of the transceiver and transducers. - View Dependent Claims (6)
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Specification