Method and apparatus for detecting railtrack failures by comparing data from a plurality of railcars
First Claim
1. A method of detecting conditions of a railway system to predict a possible track failure, said method comprising:
- detecting a first intensity value of an anomaly in a railway system using a first motion sensor operably coupled to a first moving rail car in a railway system;
detecting a second intensity value of said anomaly in said railway system using a second motion sensor operably coupled to a second moving rail car in said railway system; and
comparing said first intensity value to said second intensity value to identify a possible increase in a magnitude of said anomaly to predict a behavior of said anomaly.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A technique for monitoring anomalies in a railway system 400 to predict a future track behavior. The technique uses a motion sensor 207, 209 operably coupled to a chassis of a rail car 101 to detect a possibility of an event which may correspond to an anomaly in the railway system. A global positioning sensor (GPS) 213 operably coupled to the chassis detects a geographical location of the rail car 101 at a time corresponding to the event, which correlates the anomaly to the geographical location and the time. The technique also uses a processor 301 operably coupled to the motion sensor 207, 209 to direct a signal corresponding to the event and a recorder 215 operably coupled to the processor 301 to log the signal which may correspond to the anomaly and the geographical location of the rail car corresponding to the event. A central station 104 tracks and analyzes the anomaly over time to predict a possible defect in the railway system using a record of the events over time.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method of detecting conditions of a railway system to predict a possible track failure, said method comprising:
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detecting a first intensity value of an anomaly in a railway system using a first motion sensor operably coupled to a first moving rail car in a railway system; detecting a second intensity value of said anomaly in said railway system using a second motion sensor operably coupled to a second moving rail car in said railway system; and comparing said first intensity value to said second intensity value to identify a possible increase in a magnitude of said anomaly to predict a behavior of said anomaly. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of detecting conditions of a railway system to predict a possible track failure, said method comprising:
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detecting a plurality of intensity values of an anomaly in a railway system at a geographical location over time using a motion sensor operably coupled to a moving rail car in said railway system; and analyzing said intensity values of said anomaly to identify a possible increase in a magnitude of said anomaly over time to predict a behavior of said anomaly. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A system for detecting track failures in a railway system, said system comprising:
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a plurality of rail car units to be operable in a railway system; a tracking device on each of said rail car units for detecting an anomaly in said railway system, said tracking device including; a sensor comprising a motion sensor to be coupled to a chassis of a rail car; a global positioning sensor (GPS) to be coupled to said chassis; and a processing means coupled to said GPS and coupled to said motion sensor for detecting a magnitude value of the anomaly at a geographical location over time and for comparing said magnitude value to previously detected values to identify a possible increase in the magnitude of said anomaly to predict a behavior of said anomaly; and a tracking station for receiving data related to said anomaly from tracking device.
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Specification