Wheel inspection system

• US 6,523,411 B1
• Filed: 03/21/2000
• Issued: 02/25/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Electronic Machines Corp.
• Original Assignee: International Electronic Machines Corp.
• Inventors: Haller, Theodore, Mian, Zahid F., Peabody, William
• Primary Examiner(s): MOLLER, RICHARD ALAN
• Application Number:
  US09/532,137
• Time in Patent Office: 1,071 Days
• Field of Search: 73/636,635,632,602,618,620,627,628,633,640,641,643,634,637,638,639 702/35,38,39
• US Class Current: 73/620
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 17/10 Suspensions, axles or wheels
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/02854 Length, thickness
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/0423 Surface waves, e.g. Rayleigh waves, Love waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/2696 Wheels, Gears, Bearings
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/225 Supports, positioning or alignment in moving situation
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/2412 using the magnetostrictive properties of the material to be examined, e.g. electromagnetic acoustic transducers [EMAT]; investigating the presence of flaws using eddy currents G01N27/90, magnetostrictive transducers B06B1/08, measuring magnetostrictive properties G01R33/18
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/36 Detecting the response signal , e.g. electronic circuits specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/46 by spectral analysis, e.g. Fourier analysis or wavelet analysis spectral signal processing per se G06F17/14

Abstract

A wheel inspection system based on electromagnetic acoustic signals and having improved inspection by the use of a noise removing system and/or a pivotal mounting system. The invention also includes an improved detection head and data analysis.

Claims

1. A wheel inspection system comprising:

at least one electromagnetic acoustic transducer having a transmit coil to propagate an ultrasonic wave into a wheel and a receiving coil to receiving an ultrasonic surface wave from the wheel;

a radio frequency generator for exciting the electromagnetic acoustic transducer and producing an ultrasonic wave in the wheel;

a computer control unit connected to and communicating with the radio frequency generator and the electromagnetic acoustic transducer;

a data acquisition unit connected to and in communication with the computer control unit and the electromagnetic acoustic transducer for determining and analyzing defects in the wheel; and

a noise removing system to remove noise from the data.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the noise removing system includes a plurality of receiving coils, one coil of which receives overall data and another coil of which receives noise data.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein a first receiving coil is located on a first rail of a multiple rail track that supports a wheel and a second receiving coil is located on a second rail of the multiple rail track.

4. The system of claim 2, further comprising a switching device to selectively switch between which receiving coil output is being input to the data acquisition unit.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the receiving coils are placed along an axis of the same rail and a switching device selectively switches between which receiving coil output is being input to the data acquisition unit.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the noise removing system includes a matched filter having an amplitude frequency response corresponding to a frequency spectrum of the radio frequency generator.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the noise removing system includes the radio frequency generator producing a phase modulated output.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein noise removing system includes the data acquisition unit monitoring multiple data frames to statistically improve a signal to noise ratio.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the radio frequency generator produces a plurality of frequency components in an output thereof to create a series of ultrasonic waves that travel in varying depths within the wheel.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of transmit and receiving coils of differing configurations to create a first ultrasonic wave traveling substantially at a tread surface of the wheel and a second ultrasonic wave traveling substantially at a flange surface of the wheel.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the data acquisition unit further determines a wheel diameter.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the radio frequency generator includes a bridge network to couple multiple radio frequency sources to an output coil to increase the transmitted power.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the electromagnetic acoustic transducer is mounted in a hand-held assembly.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the hand-held assembly includes a connector port to communicate with a portable computer control unit and the data acquisition unit.

15. The system of claim 13, further comprising a removal device for removing the hand-held assembly from a wheel.

16. The system of claim 1, further comprising a detection head for the electromagnetic acoustic transducer, the detection head including:

a housing for holding transducer components, the housing including a transducer pocket and a magnet pocket;

a removable magnet assembly for removably mounting a magnet to the magnet pocket; and

a removable transducer assembly for removably mounting a coil assembly of the transducer to the transducer pocket.

17. The system of claim 16, further comprising a removal device for removing the housing from a wheel when the detection head is hand held.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) includes at least three EMATs for receiving signals sent through a wheel;

and

the data acquisition unit is connected to and in communication with each EMAT, the data acquisition unit including a neural network, to determine the presence of defects in the wheel, for each EMAT.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the at least three EMATs includes an odd number of EMATs.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein output from the neural network is processed by a fuzzy logic network.

21. The system of claim 1, further comprising means for pivotally mounting the electromagnetic acoustic transducer to a wheel supporting surface such that the EMAT may pivot about at least two axes.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the means for pivotally mounting is retractable relative to the wheel support surface.

23. A detection head for an electromagnetic acoustic transducer wheel inspection system, the detection head comprising:

a housing for holding transducer components, the housing including a transducer pocket and a magnet pocket;

a removable magnet assembly for removably mounting a magnet to the magnet pocket; and

a removable transducer assembly for removably mounting a coil assembly of the transducer to the transducer pocket.

24. The detection head of claim 23, further comprising a removal device for removing the housing from a wheel when the detection head is hand held.