RAIL VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION AND PROCESSING

• US 20090055041A1
• Filed: 03/06/2008
• Published: 02/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Electronic Machines Corp.
• Original Assignee: International Electronic Machines Corp.
• Inventors: Mullaney, Jeremy C., Mian, Zahid F.
• Granted Patent: US 8,655,540 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/29
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 27/57 for vehicles or trains, e.g. trackside supervision of train conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 17/10 Suspensions, axles or wheels
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/30 Transportation; Communications
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom

Abstract

A solution for further automating the identification and processing of rail vehicles is provided. Each individual rail vehicle in a series of rail vehicles is identified and data is acquired for the rail vehicle. Identification of each rail vehicle can be implemented using a set of electromagnetic beams that are emitted and detected across a set of rails in such a manner as to enable the reliable identification of individual rail vehicles. Data acquisition for the rail vehicles can include evaluation of one or more parts of the rail vehicle, particularly the rail wheels, for the presence of one or more defects. Data on the part(s), such as rail wheels, can be reliably assigned to a corresponding rail vehicle by also accounting for changes in the direction of movement of the rail vehicle in locations such as a classification yard.

Claims

1. A method of processing rail vehicles, the method comprising:

identifying each individual rail vehicle as it moves along a set of rails, the identifying including;

emitting and detecting a set of electromagnetic beams across the set of rails, the set of electromagnetic beams having a height and angle that enable the detection of a gap between any two of a plurality of types of connected railroad cars; and

identifying each rail vehicle based on an obstruction of at least one of the set of electromagnetic beams;

acquiring data for each identified rail vehicle as it moves along the set of rails; and

providing the acquired data for processing each identified rail vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1, the acquiring including:

detecting a rail wheel while the rail vehicle is moving;

measuring the rail wheel while the rail vehicle is moving;

evaluating the rail wheel for at least one defect based on the measuring; and

including evaluation data on the rail wheel in the data for the rail vehicle.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising routing the rail vehicle for servicing when the evaluation data indicates a defect for at least one rail wheel on the rail vehicle.

4. The method of claim 1, the acquiring including:

obtaining a destination for each rail vehicle; and

obtaining evaluation data for the rail wheels of a rail vehicle while the rail vehicle is moving;

the method further comprising automatically routing each rail vehicle based on one of;

the destination or the evaluation data.

5. The method of claim 4, the acquiring further including identifying a location of the rail wheel on the rail vehicle, the providing including providing an identification of the rail vehicle, the defect, and the location of the rail wheel on the rail vehicle.

6. The method of claim 1, the acquiring including:

determining a direction of the movement of a rail vehicle; and

accounting for any change in the direction when identifying and acquiring data for the rail vehicle.

7. The method of claim 6, the acquiring further including determining when a rail wheel is at an exact position using a pair of wheel sensors, the determining a direction of the movement including identifying an order in which a presence of the rail wheel was detected by the pair of wheel sensors.

8. A system for processing rail vehicles, the system comprising:

a component for identifying each individual rail vehicle as it moves along a set of rails, wherein the component for identifying is configured to;

emit and detect a set of electromagnetic beams across the set of rails, the set of electromagnetic beams having a height and angle that enable the detection of a gap between any two of a plurality of types of connected railroad cars; and

identify each rail vehicle based on an obstruction of at least one of the set of electromagnetic beams;

a component for acquiring data for each identified rail vehicle as it moves along the set of rails; and

a component for providing the acquired data for processing each identified rail vehicle.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the component for acquiring is configured to:

detect and measure a rail wheel while the rail vehicle is moving;

evaluate the rail wheel for at least one defect based on the measurement; and

include evaluation data on the rail wheel in the data for the rail vehicle.

10. The system of claim 9, further comprising a component for routing the rail vehicle for servicing when the evaluation data indicates a defect for at least one rail wheel on the rail vehicle.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the component for acquiring is configured to:

obtain a destination for each rail vehicle; and

obtain evaluation data for the rail wheels of a rail vehicle while the rail vehicle is moving;

the system further comprising a component for automatically routing each rail vehicle based on one of;

the destination or the evaluation data.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the component for acquiring is further configured to identify a location of the rail wheel on the rail vehicle;

and

wherein the component for providing is configured to provide an identification of the rail vehicle, the defect, and the location of the rail wheel on the rail vehicle.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the component for acquiring is configured to determine a direction of the movement of a rail vehicle and account for any change in the direction when identifying and acquiring data for the rail vehicle.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the component for acquiring is further configured to determine when a rail wheel is at an exact position using a pair of wheel sensors and determine the direction by identifying an order in which a presence of the rail wheel was detected by the pair of wheel sensors.

15. A system for processing a series of connected rail vehicles, the system comprising:

a component for identifying each individual rail vehicle in the series of connected rail vehicles as it moves along a set of rails;

a component for acquiring data for each identified rail vehicle, wherein the component for acquiring is configured to;

obtain a destination for each rail vehicle;

detect a rail wheel while the rail vehicle is moving;

determine a direction of the movement of the rail wheel;

measure the rail wheel while the rail vehicle is moving;

evaluate the rail wheel for at least one defect based on the measuring; and

include evaluation data for the rail wheel in the data for the rail vehicle; and

a component for providing the acquired data for processing each identified rail vehicle.

16. The system of claim 15, further comprising a component for routing each rail vehicle based on one of:

the assigned destination or the evaluation data.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the component for acquiring is further configured to identify a location of the rail wheel on the rail vehicle;

and

wherein the component for providing is configured to provide an identification of the rail vehicle, the at least one defect, and the location of the rail wheel on the rail vehicle when the evaluation data indicates at least one defect.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the component for identifying is configured to:

emit and detect a set of electromagnetic beams across the set of rails, the set of electromagnetic beams having a height and angle that enable the detection of a gap between any two of a plurality of types of connected railroad cars; and

identify each rail vehicle based on an obstruction of at least one of the set of electromagnetic beams.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the component for acquiring includes a pair of wheel sensors that are used to detect a rail wheel, determine when the rail wheel is at an exact position, and determine a direction of movement of the rail wheel.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the component for acquiring is configured to obtain a set of destinations for the series of rail vehicles, each destination corresponding to a position of a rail vehicle in the series of rail vehicles, and assign a destination to each rail vehicle based on the position of the rail vehicle and a corresponding destination in the set of destinations.