Device for detecting defective wheels on rail cars
First Claim
1. A device for detecting surface profile defects on a metal wheel having a rim and a flange and adapted to run along a railway, comprising:
- a resonator cavity, mounted proximate said railway, for causing reflection of microwave energy from the surface of said wheel; and
a microwave detector, connected to said resonator cavity, for measuring said reflection and determining surface profile defects in said wheel.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Flanged steel wheels remain in service on rail cars, locomotives, and other heavy rail guided machinery unitl they no longer maintain minimum specified rim or flange profile dimensions. If the rim or flange profile of the wheel cannot be returned to minimum specifications by surface machining operations, the wheel is condemned as being defective and is removed from service and scrapped. It is desirable to use an automated inspection device to determine if a wheel is approaching this condemning limit of profile wear. The invention automatically detects profile defects upon passing the wheel between rail mounted antennae which form a resonator cavity and transmit microwave radiation. When influenced by a wheel possessing condemnable rim thickness, flange thickness, or flange height profiles, the antennae cause a D.C. voltage to propagate at a microwave detector inserted into an interconnected comparison bridge network. A controller monitors the detector and activates an alarm at a remote location when a voltage is detected. The alarm notifies operating personnel of a defective wheel and sequentially logs the date and time of the alarm occurrence, the axle and wheel position of the defective wheel, and the specific profile defect on the wheel.
20 Citations
16 Claims
-
1. A device for detecting surface profile defects on a metal wheel having a rim and a flange and adapted to run along a railway, comprising:
-
a resonator cavity, mounted proximate said railway, for causing reflection of microwave energy from the surface of said wheel; and a microwave detector, connected to said resonator cavity, for measuring said reflection and determining surface profile defects in said wheel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
-
-
8. A device for detecting thin flange, high flange, and thin rim-type surface profile defects on in-motion flanged steel heels, comprising:
-
a running-rail and guard-rail assembly having pairs of intermittently-energized microwave antennae arranged so that the rim and flange of said wheel pass between individual antennae of said pairs of antennae without surface contact; microwave bridges interconnected with said pairs of antennae so that one set of paired antennae and its associated microwave bridge comprises a thin flange-type defect detector, one set comprises a high flange-type defect detector, and one set comprises a thin rim-type defect detector; and a controller individually-monitoring outputs from said high flange detector, said thin flange detector, and said thin rim detector, and activating an alarm should a thin flange, high flange, or thin rim-type surface profile defect be detected on the rim or flange of said wheel. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
-
Specification