Method and system for compensating for wheel wear on a train
First Claim
1. A system for correcting errors in train movement information caused by 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 wheel sensor connected to the control unit, the wheel sensor being configured to measure rotation of a train wheel;
wherein the control unit is configured to perform the steps of determining a distance traveled by the train over an interval by calculating a difference in positions reported by the positioning system at the start of the interval and the end of the interval;
obtaining wheel rotation information from the wheel sensor over the interval;
determining a new size of the wheel based on the distance traveled and wheel rotation information;
calculating a correction factor based on the new wheel size and a nominal wheel size; and
correcting train movement information indicated by the wheel sensor using the correction factor.
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Accused Products
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 and/or distance and speed from a wheel sensor over the distance is also collected. The wheel rotation information and distance and/or speed information are then used to determine the size of the train wheels and/or a correction factor that can be used to correct the information from the wheel sensor for wheel wear. 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
63 Claims
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1. A system for correcting errors in train movement information caused by 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 wheel sensor connected to the control unit, the wheel sensor being configured to measure rotation of a train wheel;
wherein the control unit is configured to perform the steps of determining a distance traveled by the train over an interval by calculating a difference in positions reported by the positioning system at the start of the interval and the end of the interval;
obtaining wheel rotation information from the wheel sensor over the interval;
determining a new size of the wheel based on the distance traveled and wheel rotation information;
calculating a correction factor based on the new wheel size and a nominal wheel size; and
correcting train movement information indicated by the wheel sensor using the correction factor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for correcting errors in train movement information caused by wear of a wheel of a train comprising the steps of:
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determining a distance traveled by the train over an interval by calculating a difference in positions reported by a positioning system located on the train at the start of the interval and the end of the interval;
obtaining wheel rotation information from the wheel sensor over the interval;
determining a new size of the wheel based on the distance traveled and wheel rotation information;
calculating a correction factor based on the new wheel size and a nominal wheel size; and
correcting train movement information indicated by the wheel sensor using the correction factor. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A system for correcting errors in train movement information caused by 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 wheel sensor connected to the control unit, the wheel sensor being configured to measure rotation of a train wheel and provide train movement information based on a nominal wheel size;
wherein the control unit is configured to perform the steps of determining a positioning system distance traveled by the train over an interval by calculating a difference in positions reported by the positioning system at the start of the interval and the end of the interval;
determining a wheel sensor distance traveled by the train over the interval based on the train movement information from the wheel sensor;
calculating a correction factor based on the positioning system distance and the wheel sensor distance; and
using the correction factor to correct train movement information indicated by the wheel sensor;
wherein the control unit is further configured to ignore wheel rotation distance and positioning system distance when a speed of the train is below a speed threshold. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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49. A method for correcting errors in train movement information caused by wear of a wheel of a train comprising the steps of:
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determining a positioning system distance traveled by the train over an interval by calculating a difference in positions reported by a positioning system located on the train at the start of the interval and the end of the interval;
determining a wheel sensor distance traveled by the train over the interval based on the train movement information from the wheel sensor;
calculating a correction factor based on the positioning system distance and the wheel sensor distance; and
correcting train movement information indicated by the wheel sensor using the correction factor;
wherein the wheel sensor distance and the positioning system distance is ignored when a speed of the train is below a speed threshold. - View Dependent Claims (50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63)
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Specification