Method and system for compensating for wheel wear on a train
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A system for compensating for wear of a wheel of a train, the system comprising:
- a control unit;
a memory connected to the control unit;
a positioning system in communication with the control unit, the positioning system being configured to provide the control unit with position information pertaining to the train; and
a revolution counter connected to the control unit, the revolution counter being configured to measure rotation of a train wheel;
wherein the control unit is configured to perform the steps of determining a new size of the wheel based on a distance traveled as measured by the positioning system and wheel rotation information measured by the revolution counter;
updating a wheel size previously stored in the memory with the new wheel size;
whereby changes in wheel size due to wheel wear are compensated for without requiring a manual measurement of the wheel.
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Abstract
A method and system for compensating for wheel wear uses position and/or speed information from an independent positioning system to measure some distance over which the train has traveled. Wheel rotation information is also collected over the distance. The wheel rotation information and distance and/or speed information are then used to determine the size of the train wheels. The method is performed periodically to correct for changes in wheel size over time due to wear so that the wheel rotation information can be used to determine train position and speed in the event of a positioning system failure.
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Citations
60 Claims
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1. A system for compensating for wear of a wheel of a train, the system comprising:
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a control unit;
a memory connected to the control unit;
a positioning system in communication with the control unit, the positioning system being configured to provide the control unit with position information pertaining to the train; and
a revolution counter connected to the control unit, the revolution counter being configured to measure rotation of a train wheel;
wherein the control unit is configured to perform the steps of determining a new size of the wheel based on a distance traveled as measured by the positioning system and wheel rotation information measured by the revolution counter;
updating a wheel size previously stored in the memory with the new wheel size;
whereby changes in wheel size due to wheel wear are compensated for without requiring a manual measurement of the wheel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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6. A system for compensating for wear of a wheel of a train the system comprising:
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a control unit;
a memory connected to the control unit;
a positioning system in communication with the control unit, the positioning system being configured to provide the control unit with position information pertaining to the train; and
a revolution counter connected to the control unit, the revolution counter being configured to measure rotation of a train wheel;
wherein the control unit is configured to perform the steps of determining a new size of the wheel based on a distance traveled as measured by the positioning system and wheel rotation information measured by the revolution counter;
updating a wheel size previously stored in the memory with the new wheel size;
whereby changes in wheel size due to wheel wear are compensated for without requiring a manual measurement of the wheel;
further comprising a map database connected to the control unit, wherein the control unit is further configured to perform the steps of using position information from the positioning system as an index to determine a curvature of an upcoming section of track over which wheel rotation information is to be collected. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8)
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9. A system for compensating for wear of a wheel of a train, the system comprising:
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a control unit;
a memory connected to the control unit;
a positioning system in communication with the control unit, the positioning system being configured to provide the control unit with position information pertaining to the train; and
a revolution counter connected to the control unit, the revolution counter being configured to measure rotation of a train wheel;
wherein the control unit is configured to perform the steps of determining a new size of the wheel based on a distance traveled as measured by the positioning system and wheel rotation information measured by the revolution counter;
updating a wheel size previously stored in the memory with the new wheel size;
whereby changes in wheel size due to wheel wear are compensated for without requiring a manual measurement of the wheel;
further comprising a map database connected to the control unit, wherein the control unit is further configured to perform the steps of using position information from the positioning system as an index to determine a grade of an upcoming section of track over which wheel rotation information is to be collected. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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20. A method for compensating for wear of a train wheel comprising:
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determining a total distance traveled by a train using a positioning system;
counting a total number of revolutions of a train wheel over the total distance;
calculating a new wheel size based on the total number of revolutions and the total distance; and
updating a wheel size previously stored in a memory with the new wheel size. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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23. A method for compensating for wear of a train wheel comprising:
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determining a total distance traveled by a train using a positioning system;
counting a total number of revolutions of a train wheel over the total distance;
calculating a new wheel size based on the total number of revolutions and the total distance; and
updating a wheel size previously stored in a memory with the new wheel size further comprising the steps of;
determining a grade of a track over which the distance is traveled; and
subtracting each distance over which the grade of the track exceeds a grade threshold from the total distance and a corresponding number of revolutions from the total number of revolutions.
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24. A method for compensating for wear of a train wheel comprising:
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determining a total distance traveled by a train using a positioning system;
counting a total number of revolutions of a train wheel over the total distance;
calculating a new wheel size based on the total number of revolutions and the total distance; and
updating a wheel size previously stored in a memory with the new wheel size further comprising the steps of;
determining a curvature of a track over which the distance is traveled; and
subtracting each distance over which the curvature of the track exceeds a curvature threshold from the total distance and a corresponding number of revolutions from the total number of revolutions.
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34. A method for determining the size of a train wheel comprising the steps of:
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inputting a speed from a positioning system installed on a train;
obtaining rotation information from a tachometer; and
determining a wheel size based on the rotation information and the speed;
wherein the inputting, obtaining and determining steps are not performed if the speed is below a speed threshold. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39)
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35. A method for determining the size of a train wheel comprising the steps of:
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inputting a speed from a positioning system installed on a train;
obtaining rotation information from a tachometer;
determining a wheel size based on the rotation information and the speed; and
calculating an acceleration based on the wheel speed and ignoring any rotation information if the acceleration is above a threshold.- View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43)
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44. A system for compensating for wear of a wheel of a train, the system comprising:
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a control unit;
a positioning system being in communication with the control unit and being configured to provide the control unit with a speed of to the train; and
a tachometer connected to the control unit and being configured to measure rotation of a train wheel;
wherein the control unit is configured to determine a new size of the wheel based on the speed measured by the positioning system and wheel rotation information measured by the tachometer and update a previously stored wheel size with the new wheel size. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51)
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52. A method for compensating of a wheel of a train, the method comprising:
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obtaining a speed of a train from a positioning system located on the train;
obtaining wheel rotation information from a tachometer configured to measure rotation of a wheel on the train;
calculating a new size of the wheel based on the speed information from the positioning system and wheel rotation information from the tachometer and updating a previously stored wheel size with the new wheel size. - View Dependent Claims (53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59)
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60. A method for determining a size of a wheel of a train, the method comprising:
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obtaining speed information pertaining to a train from a positioning system located on the train;
obtaining wheel rotation information from a tachometer configured to measure rotation of a wheel on the train; and
calculating an initial estimate of a size of the wheel based on a speed of the train from the positioning system and wheel rotation information from the tachometer;
counting a total number of revolutions of a train wheel over a period;
determining a total distance traveled by the train over the period using position information from the global positioning system;
updating the initial estimate based on the total distance and the total number of revolutions;
repeating the counting and determining steps for a second period of time; and
updating the wheel size determined during the first period with the wheel size determined during the second period of time.
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Specification