System, method and kit for measuring a distance within a railroad system
First Claim
1. A system for determining whether a railroad vehicle has shifted by more than a threshold distance on a pair of rails, said system comprising:
- said rail vehicle configured to travel along the pair of rails;
a transducer positioned on an outer surface location of said rail vehicle, said transducer being aligned above an inner edge portion of said respective rail to direct a signal toward said inner edge portion located a first distance from said transducer, said inner edge portion being positioned a threshold distance outward from an inner edge of said respective rail, said transducer configured to receive said signal having reflected from one of said inner edge portion along said first distance to said transducer and a surface of the respective rail beyond said inner edge portion along a second distance to said transducer, said second distance being greater than said first distance; and
a controller coupled to said transducer to receive transmission and reception data of said signal to determine whether said rail vehicle has shifted by more than said threshold distance along said respective rail, based on said signal having reflected along from the surface of the respective rail along the second distance.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system is provided for measuring a distance within a railroad system. The railroad system includes a rail vehicle having a plurality of pairs of wheels, where the plurality of pairs of wheels are in respective contact with a pair of rails. The system further includes a transducer positioned on an outer surface location of the rail vehicle. The transducer is configured to emit a signal to an object located the distance away from the transducer. The transducer is configured to receive the signal having reflected from the object along the distance to the transducer. The system further includes a controller coupled to the transducer to receive transmission and reception data of the signal to determine the distance. A method is also provided for measuring a distance within a railroad system, as well as a kit for converting a rail vehicle from a first configuration to a second configuration.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A system for determining whether a railroad vehicle has shifted by more than a threshold distance on a pair of rails, said system comprising:
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said rail vehicle configured to travel along the pair of rails; a transducer positioned on an outer surface location of said rail vehicle, said transducer being aligned above an inner edge portion of said respective rail to direct a signal toward said inner edge portion located a first distance from said transducer, said inner edge portion being positioned a threshold distance outward from an inner edge of said respective rail, said transducer configured to receive said signal having reflected from one of said inner edge portion along said first distance to said transducer and a surface of the respective rail beyond said inner edge portion along a second distance to said transducer, said second distance being greater than said first distance; and a controller coupled to said transducer to receive transmission and reception data of said signal to determine whether said rail vehicle has shifted by more than said threshold distance along said respective rail, based on said signal having reflected along from the surface of the respective rail along the second distance. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for determining whether a railroad vehicle has shifted by more than a threshold distance on a pair of rails, said method comprising:
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providing the rail vehicle configured to travel along the pair of rails; positioning a transducer on an outer surface location of said rail vehicle; aligning the transducer above an inner edge portion of said respective rail; directing a signal toward the inner edge portion located a first distance from said transducer and a threshold distance outward from an inner edge of said respective rail; receiving said signal having reflected from one of said inner edge portion along said first distance to said transducer and a surface of the respective rail beyond said inner edge portion along a second distance to said transducer; and determining whether said rail vehicle has shifted by more than said threshold distance along said respective rail, based on said signal having reflected from the surface of the respective rail along the second distance.
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17. A kit for converting a rail vehicle from a first configuration to a second configuration, said rail vehicle configured to travel along a pair of rails, said kit comprising:
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a transducer configured to be positioned on an outer surface location of said rail vehicle, said transducer being aligned above an inner edge portion of said respective rail to direct a signal toward said inner edge portion located a first distance from said transducer, said inner edge portion being positioned a threshold distance outward from an inner edge of said respective rail, said transducer configured to receive said signal having reflected from one of said inner edge portion along said first distance to said transducer and a surface of the respective rail beyond said inner edge portion along a second distance to said transducer, said second distance being greater than said first distance; and a controller configured to be installed within the rail vehicle and coupled to said transducer to receive transmission and reception data of said signal to determine whether said rail vehicle has shifted by more than said threshold distance along said respective rail, based on said signal having reflected along from the surface of the respective rail along the second distance; wherein when the kit is installed in said rail vehicle, the rail vehicle is converted from the first configuration to the second configuration, the second configuration having a different operational capability than the first configuration; wherein the first configuration comprises manually determining whether said rail vehicle has shifted by more than said threshold distance along said respective rail, said second configuration comprises automatically determining whether said rail vehicle has shifted by more than said threshold distance along said respective rail using said transducer and said controller.
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Specification