System for detecting flat portion of peripheral surface of vehicle wheel

• US 4,696,446 A
• Filed: 03/20/1984
• Issued: 09/29/1987
• Est. Priority Date: 04/07/1983
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Shinko Electric Industries Company Limited (Fujitsu Limited), Japanese National Railway
• Original Assignee: Shinko Electric Industries Company Limited (Fujitsu Limited), Japanese National Railway
• Inventors: Fujita, Shinichiro, Yamada, Kuniaki, Ozawa, Kira, Mochizuki, Asahi
• Primary Examiner(s): Caldwell, Sr., John W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Oberley, Alvin
• Application Number:
  US06/591,535
• Time in Patent Office: 1,288 Days
• Field of Search: 246/1 R, 246/77, 246/121, 246/169 R, 246/169 S, 246/247, 246/249, 246/246
• US Class Current: 246/169.00S
• CPC Class Codes: B61K 9/12 Measuring or surveying wheel-rims measuring techniques G01
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 17/10 Suspensions, axles or wheels

Abstract

There is disclosed a system for detecting a flat portion of a peripheral surface of a vehicle wheel disposed in rolling engagement with a track rail. A detecting device is provided for detecting one of acceleration representative of vibration of the wheel, stress developing in a support member connected to the wheel, and a noise produced by the rolling of the wheel on the rail to produce a first detection signal in response to a predetermined angular movement of the wheel. A device is provided for determining whether the first detection signal is above a predetermined reference level to produce a second detection signal in synchronism with the rotation of the wheel and indicative of a wheel flat portion of above a predetermined length.

Claims

1. A system for detecting a flat portion of a peripheral surface of a wheel mounted on a vehicle in rolling engagement with a track rail, comprising:

a. means mounted on the vehicle in the vicinity of the wheel for detecting vibrations of the wheel caused by the rolling of the wheel on the rail, and producing a first detection signal representative of the magnitude of the vibrations;

b. rotation detecting means mounted on the vehicle for detecting the rotation of the wheel and producing a predetermined number of pulses for each rotation of the wheel;

c. memory means having a plurality of storage areas, each having a plurality of memory locations equal in number to said pulses produced during one rotation of the wheel, said memory means further storing data representative of the relationship between the length of a flat portion and the vibration of the wheel;

d. addressing means, responsive to said pulses, for addressing the memory locations of said memory means to sequentially store data corresponding to said first detection signal into said memory locations over said plural storage areas in accordance with the rotation of the wheel;

e. means for comparing the data stored in said plurality of memory locations to detect a flat portion of the wheel when one of the data abruptly increases from the immediately-preceding data and when a difference between said one data and the data in the corresponding-disposed memory locations of the storage areas, other than the storage area in which the memory location storing said one data, is below a predetermined level; and

f. flat length determination means responsive to said detection of a flat portion for reading the data in memory to determine the length of the wheel flat based on the data in memory and said one data.