Methods for aligning measured data taken from specific rail track sections of a railroad with the correct geographic location of the sections
First Claim
1. A computerized system for aligning measured track data collected from a length of railroad track to correct geographic location information for geometric features contained in the data comprising:
- a first data repository containing track geography data;
a second data repository containing the measured track data; and
a processing component for comparing the measured tack data to the track geography data;
characterized in that the track geography data is reconstructed to match in format and track length to the measured track data and then cross-correlated reference data to the measured track data, the cross correlation made in whole and or in matching portions thereof for purpose of identifying shift in alignment between the data types, the shift relating to misalignment of geometric and geographic signatures present in both data types including shift identified as odometer error value in the measured track data, the identified shifts used to correct geometric, geographic, and odometer error misalignment in the measured track data with respect to the reference data.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for aligning measured track data collected from a railroad track to correct geographic location information for geometric parameters in the measured track data includes steps for (a) obtaining track geography data for use as reference data in data alignment; (b) reconstructing the track geography data to simulate in form and in coverage of length the measured track data to be aligned, (c) comparing the reconstructed reference data to the measured track data to identify a relative misalignment value between the data types; and (d) using the value identified through comparison to correct the geographic location information contained in the measured track data.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. A computerized system for aligning measured track data collected from a length of railroad track to correct geographic location information for geometric features contained in the data comprising:
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a first data repository containing track geography data;
a second data repository containing the measured track data; and
a processing component for comparing the measured tack data to the track geography data;
characterized in that the track geography data is reconstructed to match in format and track length to the measured track data and then cross-correlated reference data to the measured track data, the cross correlation made in whole and or in matching portions thereof for purpose of identifying shift in alignment between the data types, the shift relating to misalignment of geometric and geographic signatures present in both data types including shift identified as odometer error value in the measured track data, the identified shifts used to correct geometric, geographic, and odometer error misalignment in the measured track data with respect to the reference data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for aligning measured track data collected from a railroad track to correct geographic location information for geometric parameters in the measured track data comprising steps of:
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(a) obtaining track geography data for use as reference data in data alignment;
(b) reconstructing the track geography data to simulate in form and in coverage of length the measured track data to be aligned;
(c) cross-correlating the reconstructed reference data to the measured track data to identify a relative misalignment value between the data types; and
(d) using the value identified through comparison to correct the geographic location information contained in the measured track data. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. In a data alignment process for aligning measured track data collected along a length of railroad track to a reference data set for the same length of track, a method for coarse estimation of odometer error manifest along the track length of measured track data and refining the coarse estimate to produce a final estimate used in correcting the actual odometer error manifest in the measured track data comprising steps of:
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(a) creating a plurality of simulated data sets from the measured track data, each data set simulating a different odometer error value, each value taken at a different predetermined interval point along a predetermined maximum error range applied to the measured track data set, the range having a zero interval point at center thereof;
(b) cross-correlating each of the simulated data sets against the reference data set at each interval point along the maximum range allowed obtaining a coefficient value for each of the simulated data sets;
(c) identifying a single best coefficient value from those obtained in step (b) that defines a best alignment to data contained in the reference data set; and
(d) repeating steps (a) through (c) using a smaller range having smaller intervals, the smaller range centered over the range interval in the first range of the measured track data associated the best coefficient identified. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. In a data alignment process for aligning measured track data collected along a length of railroad track to a reference data set for the same length of track, a method for estimating a value of odometer error manifest along the track length of measured track data comprising steps of:
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(a) cross-correlating the entire set of measured track data to the entire set of reference data to identify a relative misalignment value;
(b) filtering the measured track data set to remove references to certain geometric features;
(c) dividing the length of the measured and reference data sets into smaller portions;
(d) cross-correlating the smaller portions of measured data against associated portions of reference data to find relative misalignment values for each portion;
(e) using line regression, fitting a line through the found misalignment values plotted sequentially for each correlated data portion on a graph; and
(f) determining the magnitude and direction of slope of the fitted line indicative of the magnitude and direction of the actual calibration error manifest in the measured track data. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification