Installation and process for measuring rolling parameters by means of artificial vision on wheels of railway vehicles
First Claim
1. Installation for measuring rolling parameters by means of artificial vision on wheels mounted on moving railway vehicles, in which, the parameters include the thickness and the height of the flange of the wheel, qR factor, the diameter of the wheel and the distance between internal faces of opposite wheels, and in which a reproduction of the profile of the wheel is generated, said installation comprising a steel slab (2) on which a wheel (1) whose parameters are to be measured runs, a guard rail (3) which cooperates with said steel slab to prevent derailment of said wheel, a wheel-position sensor (9) which emits a signal when the wheel is in a suitable position for measurement, a laser generator (5) which is activated by said signal to project a planar beam of laser light onto the wheel, a camera (6) with lens and filter which captures the image generated by said planar beam of light, a controller (10) for illuminating and capturing the image which synchronizes the acquisition of the image through the wheel-position sensor (9), high-resolution artificial-vision electronic equipment (11) which analyzes the image captured by said camera and which sends the measurements obtained to a central control computer (8) where the measurements are processed and displayed on a monitor (13), said high-resolution artificial-vision electronic equipment including first equipment for producing measurements regarding the profile of the wheel (1) and second equipment for producing measurements regarding the diameter of the wheel, said first and second equipment being autonomous and capable of functioning independently of each other.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for measuring parameters of the wheels on a moving railway car in which the wheels travel on a steel slab and when a wheel passes a position sensor and is in a suitable position for measurement, a signal is produced which is supplied to a laser generator. The laser generator produces a planar laser beam which is directed onto the wheel. An image generated by the planar beam of light is captured by a camera in synchronization with the signal produced by the position sensor. The image is supplied to high-resolution artificial-vision electronic equipment whose output is supplied to a central control computer which processes the output and produces the desired information and displays it on a monitor. Separate laser generators can be used to produce separate beams for measuring wheel diameter and wheel profile and the separate generators are connected to separate electronic equipment in turn connected to the central control computer.
56 Citations
17 Claims
- 1. Installation for measuring rolling parameters by means of artificial vision on wheels mounted on moving railway vehicles, in which, the parameters include the thickness and the height of the flange of the wheel, qR factor, the diameter of the wheel and the distance between internal faces of opposite wheels, and in which a reproduction of the profile of the wheel is generated, said installation comprising a steel slab (2) on which a wheel (1) whose parameters are to be measured runs, a guard rail (3) which cooperates with said steel slab to prevent derailment of said wheel, a wheel-position sensor (9) which emits a signal when the wheel is in a suitable position for measurement, a laser generator (5) which is activated by said signal to project a planar beam of laser light onto the wheel, a camera (6) with lens and filter which captures the image generated by said planar beam of light, a controller (10) for illuminating and capturing the image which synchronizes the acquisition of the image through the wheel-position sensor (9), high-resolution artificial-vision electronic equipment (11) which analyzes the image captured by said camera and which sends the measurements obtained to a central control computer (8) where the measurements are processed and displayed on a monitor (13), said high-resolution artificial-vision electronic equipment including first equipment for producing measurements regarding the profile of the wheel (1) and second equipment for producing measurements regarding the diameter of the wheel, said first and second equipment being autonomous and capable of functioning independently of each other.
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10. A process for measuring parameters of wheels mounted on moving railway vehicles comprising:
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advancing the wheels of a moving railway vehicle on steel slabs which support the wheels on outer portions of the wheels, producing a signal from a wheel-position sensor when an associated wheel travels past said sensor, activating a laser generator by said signal to produce a planar beam of laser light directed onto said associated wheel, producing, by a camera, an image of the associated wheel illuminated by said beam of laser light, synchronizing the production of said image of the associated wheel by its associated said sensor, supplying the said image to artificial-vision electronic analysis equipment, supplying an output of said artificial-vision electronic analysis equipment to a computer in which the desired parameters are obtained and displayed on a monitor, and wherein the measurement of the profile of the wheel and of the distance between inner faces of opposite wheels, and the measurement of the diameter of the wheel are achieved with measurement components which form part of a single unit. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13)
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14. A process for measuring parameters of wheels mounted on moving railway vehicles comprising:
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advancing the wheels of a moving railway vehicle on steel slabs which support the wheels on outer portions of the wheels, producing a signal from a wheel-position sensor when an associated wheel travels past said sensor, activating a laser generator by said signal to produce a planar beam of laser light directed onto said associated wheel, producing, by a camera, an image of the associated wheel illuminated by said beam of laser light, synchronizing the production of said image of the associated wheel by its associated said sensor, supplying the said image to artificial-vision electronic analysis equipment, supplying an output of said artificial-vision electronic analysis equipment to a computer in which the desired parameters are obtained and displayed on a monitor, and wherein the measurement of the profile of the wheel and of the distance between inner faces of opposite wheels and the measurement of the diameter of the wheel are achieved with measurement components which form part of two autonomous units capable of functioning independently of each other. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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Specification
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- Resources
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Current AssigneePatentes Talgo SL (Pegaso Rail International SA)
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Original AssigneePatentes Talgo SL (Pegaso Rail International SA)
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InventorsSanchez-Revuelta, Angel Luis, Gomez Gomez, Carlos-Javier
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Primary Examiner(s)Voeltz, Emanuel T.
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Assistant Examiner(s)Bui, Bryan
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Application NumberUS08/668,401Time in Patent Office816 DaysField of Search364/525, 364/562, 364/560, 364/563, 364/561, 356/355, 356/356, 356/357, 356/358, 356/360, 356/381, 356/384, 356/385, 250/560US Class Current702/151CPC Class CodesG01B 11/25 by projecting a pattern, e....
