Method of surveying a track

• US 7,050,926 B2
• Filed: 02/10/2000
• Issued: 05/23/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Franz Plasser Bahnbaumaschinen-Industriegesellschaft MbH
• Original Assignee: Franz Plasser Bahnbaumaschinen-Industriegesellschaft MbH
• Inventors: Theurer, Josef, Lichtberger, Bernhard
• Primary Examiner(s): Hoff, Marc S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): West, Jeffrey R
• Application Number:
  US09/501,251
• Publication Number:
  US 20030097235A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,294 Days
• Field of Search: 731/46, 702/150, 702/165, 702/151, 702/155, 702/158, 702/163, 702/94, 702/95, 701/19, 701/201, 701/205, 701/207, 342/357.06, 342/357.08, 332/87, 104 8- 10, 246/120, 246/121, 246/122.R
• US Class Current: 702/150
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/88 Lidar systems specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/14 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/51 Relative positioning

Abstract

In a method of surveying a track (9), a first or mobile measuring vehicle (1) and a second or stationary measuring vehicle (2) are placed at a distance apart from one another on a track section to be measured. A reference line (14) is formed by a laser beam emitted from the stationary measuring vehicle (2). At the start of each measuring cycle, by using a GPS receiver (19), the relative position of the stationary measuring vehicle (2) with reference to a fixedly installed GPS reference station (29) located adjacent to the track section is determined, the said GPS reference station being known within a terrestrial coordinate system. The reference line (14) is aligned with the mobile measuring vehicle (1) on the basis of the determined position data, and the track surveying operation is carried out by advancing the mobile measuring vehicle (1) while changes of the actual track position relative to the reference line (14) are registered.

Claims

1. A method of surveying a track, comprising the steps of:

a) positioning a mobile measuring vehicle and a stationary measuring vehicle at end points of a track section to be measured during a measuring cycle, the mobile measuring vehicle being designed for mobility along a reference line in the form of an optical measuring beam between an emitter mounted on the stationary measuring vehicle and a receiving unit mounted on the mobile measuring vehicle and supported by flanged rollers on the track section;

b) determining, at the start of each measuring cycle, position coordinates of the emitter mounted on the stationary measuring vehicle, with the aid of a GPS receiver mounted thereon, relative to a fixedly installed GPS reference station located adjacent the track section to be measured, the coordinates of the GPS reference station being known within a terrestrial coordinate system;

c) aligning the reference line with the mobile measuring vehicle on the basis of the position data determined with the aid of the GPS receiver mounted on the stationary measuring vehicle; and

d) registering as a correction measurement value a change in position of the receiving unit relative to the reference line in dependence on an actual track position of the receiving unit transmitted by the flanged towards the stationary measuring vehicle to survey the track, without the aid of the GPS receiver.

2. The method of claim 1, and further comprising the step of measuring a distance traveled by the mobile measuring vehicle by an odometer.