Wheel measurement systems and methods

• US 7,841,248 B2
• Filed: 12/14/2008
• Issued: 11/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Electronic Machines Corp.
• Original Assignee: International Electronic Machines Corp.
• Inventors: MacAllister, Robert, Peabody, William, Mian, Zahid F., Mullaney, Jeremy C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Raevis; Robert R
• Application Number:
  US12/334,466
• Publication Number:
  US 20090090163A1
• Time in Patent Office: 716 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 73/865.9
• CPC Class Codes: B61K 9/12 Measuring or surveying wheel-rims measuring techniques G01
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 5/06 for measuring thickness

Abstract

An improved maintenance, inspection, and/or measurement solution is provided. An embodiment of the invention includes a handheld measurement device for measuring an object, such as a railway wheel on a train. The handheld measurement device can comprise a single unit to provide one handed operation and can include various features, such as onboard evaluation, a graphical user interface, and/or a self-health monitor. Additionally, aspects of the invention provide an inspection environment that incorporates preliminary measurement data, wireless communications, and/or historical data into the measurement and evaluation process.

Claims

1. A handheld measurement device comprising:

a system configured to implement a measurement method, the method including;

managing an inspection schedule for a plurality of related objects, wherein a user obtains a plurality of measurements for each of the plurality of related objects according to the inspection schedule;

obtaining the plurality of measurements for an object in the plurality of related objects;

evaluating at least one of the plurality of measurements with at least one anticipated object property to determine a validity of the at least one of the plurality of measurements; and

managing a plurality of measurement modes, the plurality of measurement modes including a mode for performing measurements according to the inspection schedule and a mode for re-measuring the object in response to a determination that the at least one of the plurality of measurements is not valid.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the evaluating includes:

obtaining a set of previous measurements for the object; and

comparing the set of previous measurements with at least one of the plurality of measurements, wherein the evaluating determines that the at least one of the plurality of measurements is not valid when the at least one of the plurality of measurements is outside of an expected range of measurements according to the set of previous measurements.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the obtaining includes detecting when a set of sensing devices are correctly aligned with the object.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of related objects are wheels on a train.

5. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

a graphical user interface configured to display at least one of;

an operating status of the obtaining, a representation of the object, or the validity of the at least one of the plurality of measurements; and

a set of user interface controls configured to enable the user to select functions for at least one of;

the graphical user interface or the obtaining.

6. The device of claim 1, the method further comprising:

obtaining a set of operational environment attributes of the handheld measurement device; and

monitoring an operability of the handheld measurement device based on the set of operational environment attributes.

7. The device of claim 1, further comprising a wireless communications system configured to communicate with at least one of:

an object management system or a dynamic support system to configure implementation of the measurement method by the handheld measurement device.

8. A measurement system comprising:

a handheld measurement device configured to implement a measurement method, the method including;

managing an inspection schedule for a plurality of related objects, wherein a user obtains a plurality of measurements for each of the plurality of related objects according to the inspection schedule;

obtaining the plurality of measurements for an object in the plurality of related objects; and

managing a plurality of measurement modes, the plurality of measurement modes including a mode for performing measurements according to the inspection schedule and a mode for re-measuring the object in response to a determination that at least one of the plurality of measurements for the object is not valid.

9. The measurement system of claim 8, wherein the plurality of related objects are wheels on a train.

10. The measurement system of claim 9, further comprising a system configured to manage wheel measurement for a plurality of trains in communication with the handheld measurement device.

11. The measurement system of claim 8, further comprising:

a system configured to obtain a set of preliminary measurements for the plurality of related objects; and

a system configured to generate the inspection schedule for the plurality of related objects based on the set of preliminary measurements.

12. The measurement system of claim 8, further comprising a dynamic support system configured to update an operating capacity of the handheld measurement device.

13. The measurement system of claim 8, further comprising a system configured to evaluate at least one of the plurality of measurements with at least one anticipated object property to determine a validity of the at least one of the plurality of measurements and communicate a determination that the at least one of the plurality of measurements is not valid to the handheld measurement device.

14. The measurement system of claim 13, wherein the evaluation includes:

obtaining a set of previous measurements for the object; and

comparing the set of previous measurements with at least one of the plurality of measurements, wherein the evaluating determines that the at least one of the plurality of measurements is not valid when the at least one of the plurality of measurements is outside of an expected range of measurements according to the set of previous measurements.

15. The measurement system of claim 8, wherein the method further includes:

obtaining a set of operational environment attributes of the handheld measurement device; and

monitoring an operability of the handheld measurement device based on the set of operational environment attributes.

16. The measurement system of claim 8, wherein the obtaining includes detecting when a set of sensing devices are correctly aligned with the object.

17. The measurement system of claim 8, wherein the handheld measurement device further includes a wireless communications system configured to communicate with at least one of:

an object management system or a dynamic support system to configure implementation of the measurement method by the handheld measurement device.

18. A measurement method comprising:

managing an inspection schedule for a plurality of related objects on a handheld measurement device, wherein a user obtains a plurality of measurements for each of the plurality of related objects according to the inspection schedule using the handheld measurement device;

obtaining the plurality of measurements for an object in the plurality of related objects using the handheld measurement device; and

managing a plurality of measurement modes on the handheld measurement device, the plurality of measurement modes including a mode for performing measurements according to the inspection schedule and a mode for re-measuring the object in response to a determination that at least one of the plurality of measurements for the object is not valid.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

obtaining a set of preliminary measurements for the plurality of related objects using a preliminary measurement system;

generating the inspection schedule for the plurality of related objects based on the set of preliminary measurements using an object management system; and

providing the inspection schedule for processing on the handheld measurement device.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

obtaining a set of operational environment attributes of the handheld measurement device; and

monitoring an operability of the handheld measurement device based on the set of operational environment attributes.