System and method for inspecting railroad track

• US 7,616,329 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2005
• Issued: 11/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Loram Technologies Incorporated (Loram Maintenance of Way, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Georgetown Rail Equipment Company (Loram Maintenance of Way, Inc.)
• Inventors: Nagle, John Anthony II, Orrell, Steven C., Villar, Christopher M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Toatley, Jr.; Gregory J
• Assistant Examiner(s): VALENTIN II, JUAN D
• Application Number:
  US11/172,618
• Publication Number:
  US 20060017911A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,594 Days
• Field of Search: 356/602, 356/606, 356/607, 332/87, 104/2, 104/7.2
• US Class Current: 356/625
• CPC Class Codes: B61K 9/08 Measuring installations for surveying permanent way applications of measuring apparatus or devices for track building purposes E01B35/00; measuring techniques G01
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 23/044 Broken rails
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 23/045 Rail wear
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 3/08 Use of electric radiation detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 3/085 with electronic parallax measurement

Abstract

A system and method for inspecting railroad track is disclosed. The disclosed system includes lasers, cameras, and a processor. The lasers are positioned adjacent the track. The laser emits a beam of light across the railroad track, and the camera captures images of the railroad track having the beam of light emitted thereon. The processor formats the images so that they can be analyzed to determine various measurable aspects of the railroad track. The disclosed system can include a GPS receiver or a distance device for determining location data. The measurable aspects that can be determined by the disclosed system include but are not limited to the spacing between crossties, the angle of ties with respect to rail, cracks and defects in surface of ties, missing fastener components, misaligned fastener components, sunken tie plates, raised spikes, rail wear, gage of rail, ballast height relative to ties, size of ballast stones, and break or separation in the rail. The system includes one or more algorithms for determining these measurable aspects of the railroad track.

Claims

1. A system for inspecting a railroad track bed, including the railroad track, to be mounted on a vehicle for movement along the railroad track, the system comprising:

at least one light generator positioned adjacent the railroad track for projecting a beam of light across the railroad track bed;

at least one optical receiver positioned adjacent the railroad track for receiving at least a portion of the light reflected from the railroad track bed and generating a plurality of images representative of the profile of at least a portion of the railroad track bed; and

at least one processor for analyzing the plurality of images and determining one or more physical characteristics of the said portion of the railroad track bed, the one or more physical characteristics comprising at least a geographic location of the plurality of images along the railroad track bed,

wherein the processor includes an algorithm for determining the distance between crossties of the railroad track bed, the algorithm comprising the steps of;

(a) analyzing a first frame, one or more intermediate frames and an end frame of the plurality of images, the first and end frames comprising crossties while the one or more intermediate frames lack crossties;

(b) determining a number of the one or more intermediate frames lacking crossties;

(c) determining a known spacing between frames; and

(d) determining the distance between the crossties of the first and end frames based upon the number of the one or more intermediate frames lacking crossties and the known spacing between the frames.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the light generator is a laser.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the laser emits an infrared beam of light.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one light generator is positioned substantially above the railroad track and emits the beam of light substantially perpendicular to the railroad track.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the laser emits the beam of light with an angular expanse.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one optical receiver comprises a digital camera.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the optical device comprises a band pass filter allowing substantially only the wavelength of the beam of light to be captured in the plurality of images.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor comprises a data storage device for storing the plurality of images.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a GPS receiver or an encoder that provides the geographical location data for analysis by the processor.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising a temperature sensor positioned adjacent the railroad track that provides a temperature of the railroad track for analysis by the processor.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of images comprises a plurality of pixels given X-Y-coordinates.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of images comprises a Z-coordinate representing the location of the image along the length of railroad track.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor includes an algorithm for identifying specific components of the railroad track bed.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor includes an algorithm for determining a defect in a crosstie of the railroad track bed.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor includes an algorithm for detecting missing, misaligned, damaged, or defective fastener components of the railroad track bed.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor includes an algorithm for determining wear of the rails of the railroad track.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor includes an algorithm for determining spacing of the rails of the railroad track.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor includes an algorithm for determining a height of ballast relative to a crosstie of the railroad track bed.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor includes an algorithm for determining a size of ballast stones of the railroad track bed.

21. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor includes an algorithm for determining a gap size between sections of the railroad track.

16. A system for inspecting a railroad track bed, including the railroad track, to be mounted on a vehicle for movement along the railroad track, the system comprising:

at least one light generator positioned adjacent the railroad track for projecting a beam of light across the railroad track bed;

at least one optical receiver positioned adjacent the railroad track for receiving at least a portion of the light reflected from the railroad track bed and generating a plurality of images representative of the profile of at least a portion of the railroad track bed; and

at least one processor for analyzing the plurality of images and determining one or more physical characteristics of the said portion of the railroad track bed, the one or more physical characteristics comprising at least a geographic location of the plurality of images along the railroad track bed, wherein the processor includes an algorithm for detecting a misaligned or sunken tie plate of the railroad track bed, the algorithm comprising the steps of;

(a) analyzing a frame of the plurality of images, the frame comprising a region of interest;

(b) determining whether the region of interest contains a tie plate;

(c) if a tie plate is present, determining a crosstie contour and a tie plate contour;

(d) comparing an orientation of the crosstie contour and an orientation of the tie plate contour; and

(e) determining whether the tie plate is misaligned or sunken based upon the comparison.

23. The system of claim 16, wherein the processor includes an algorithm for determining at least one of a presence of a crosstie of the railroad track bed;

a presence of a missing, misaligned, damaged, or defective fastener components of the railroad track bed;

a wear of the rails of the railroad track;

a spacing of the rails of the railroad track;

a height of ballast relative to a crosstie of the railroad track bed;

a size of ballast stones of the railroad track bed;

or a gap size between sections of the railroad track.

22. A method for inspecting railroad track bed, the railroad track bed including crossties, rails, associated fastening hardware, and ballast, the method comprising the steps of:

a) illuminating a line across the span of the railroad track bed;

b) receiving at least a portion of the light reflected from the railroad track bed;

c) generating a plurality of images representative of the profile of at least a portion of the railroad track bed;

d) analyzing the plurality of images and determining one or more physical characteristics of the said portion of the railroad track bed, the one or more physical characteristics comprising at least a geographic location of the plurality of images along the railroad track bed;

e) displaying the determined physical characteristics of the said portion of the railroad track bed; and

f) determining the distance between crossties of the railroad track bed, the step of determining distance comprising the steps of;

(a) analyzing a first frame, one or more intermediate frames and an end frame of the plurality of images, the first and end frames comprising crossties while the one or more intermediate frames lack crossties;

(b) determining a number of the one or more intermediate frames lacking crossties;

(c) determining a known spacing between frames; and

(d) determining the distance between the crossties of the first and end frames based upon the number of the one or more intermediate frames lacking crossties and the known spacing between the frames.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein a laser illuminates the line across the span of the railroad track bed.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the laser emits an infrared beam of light.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein the line across the span of the railroad track bed is substantially perpendicular to the rails of the railroad track bed.

27. The method of claim 24, wherein the laser emits the line with an angular expanse.

28. The method of claim 22, wherein a digital camera receives the at least a portion of light reflected from a portion of the railroad track bed.

29. The method of claim 22, further comprising the step of filtering the portion of light reflected from a portion of the railroad track bed with a band pass filter.

30. The method of claim 22, further comprising the step of storing the plurality of images.

31. The method of claim 22, further comprising the step of providing the geographical location data from a GPS receiver or an encoder.

32. The method of claim 22, further comprising the step of obtaining a temperature of the rails of the railroad track bed.

33. The method of claim 22, wherein the plurality of images comprises a plurality of pixels given X-Y coordinates.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the plurality of images further comprise a Z coordinate representing the location of the image along the length of rail of the railroad track bed.

35. The method of claim 22, further comprising the step of identifying specific components of the railroad track bed.

36. The method of claim 22, further comprising the step of determining a defect in a crosstie of the railroad track bed.

37. The method of claim 22, further comprising the step of detecting missing, misaligned, damaged, or defective fastener hardware of the railroad track bed.

39. The method of claim 22, further comprising the step of determining wear of a rail of the railroad track bed.

40. The method of claim 22, further comprising the step of determining spacing of rails of the railroad track bed.

41. The method of claim 22, further comprising the step of determining a height of ballast relative to a crosstie of the railroad track bed.

42. The method of claim 22, further comprising the step of determining a size of ballast stones of the railroad track bed.

43. The method of claim 22, further comprising the step of determining a gap size between sections of rail of the railroad track bed.

38. A method for inspecting railroad track bed, the railroad track bed including crossties, rails, associated fastening hardware, and ballast, the method comprising the steps of:

a) illuminating a line across the span of the railroad track bed;

d) receiving at least a portion of the light reflected from the railroad track bed;

e) generating a plurality of images representative of the profile of at least a portion of the railroad track bed;

d) analyzing the plurality of images and determining one or more physical characteristics of the said portion of the railroad track bed, the one or more physical characteristics comprising at least a geographic location of the plurality of images along the railroad track bed;

e) displaying the determined physical characteristics of the said portion of the railroad track bed; and

f) detecting a misaligned or sunken tie plate of the railroad track bed, the step of detecting comprising the steps of;

(a) analyzing a frame of the plurality of images, the frame comprising a region of interest;

(b) determining whether the region of interest contains a tie plate;

(c) if a tie plate is present, determining a crosstie contour and a tie plate contour;

(d) comparing an orientation of the crosstie contour and an orientation of the tie plate contour; and

(e) determining whether the tie plate is misaligned or sunken based upon the comparison.

44. The method of claim 38, further comprising the step of providing the geographical location data from a GPS receiver or an encoder.

45. The method of claim 38, further comprising the step of obtaining a temperature of the rails of the railroad track bed.

46. The method of claim 38, the method further comprising the steps of determining at least one of a presence of a crosstie of the railroad track bed;

a presence of a missing, misaligned, damaged, or defective fastener component of the railroad track bed;

wear of the rails of the railroad track;

spacing of the rails of the railroad track;

a height of ballast relative to a crosstie of the railroad track bed;

a size of ballast stones of the railroad track bed;

or a gap size between sections of the railroad track.

47. A method of inspecting railroad track bed having a crosstie, rails, associated fastening hardware, and ballast, the method comprising the steps of:

a) traveling along the rails;

b) projecting a focused beam of light across the span of the railroad track bed;

c) capturing a plurality of images of the focused beam of light projected across a portion of railroad track bed while traveling along the rails;

d) determining one or more aspects of the portion of the railroad track bed by processing the plurality of images, the one or more aspects comprising at least a geographic location of the plurality of images along the railroad track bed;

e) outputting the determined one or more aspects of the portion of the railroad track bed; and

f) determining the distance between crosstie of the railroad track bed, the step of determining distance comprising the steps of;

(a) analyzing a first frame, one or more intermediate frames and an end frame of the plurality of images, the first and end frames comprising crossties while the one or more intermediate frames lack crossties;

(b) determining a number of the one or more intermediate frames lacking crossties;

(c) determining a known spacing between frames; and

(d) determining the distance between the crossties of the first and end frames based upon the number of the one or more intermediate frames lacking crossties and the known spacing between the frames.

48. The method of claim 47, wherein a laser projects the focused beam of light across the span of the railroad track bed.

49. The method of claim 48, wherein the laser emits an infrared beam of light.

50. The method of claim 48, wherein the laser is positioned substantially above the rails and emits the focused beam of light substantially perpendicular to the rails.

51. The method of claim 48, wherein the laser emits the focused beam of light with an angular expanse.

52. The method of claim 47, wherein a digital camera captures the plurality of images.

53. The method of claim 47, further comprising the step of filtering the projected beam of light with a band pass filter.

54. The method of claim 47, further comprising the step of storing the plurality of images on a data storage device.

55. The method of claim 47, further comprising the step of obtaining the geographical location data from a GPS receiver or an encoder.

56. The method of claim 47, further comprising the step of obtaining the temperature of the rails.

57. The method of claim 47, wherein the plurality of images further comprises a plurality of pixels given X-Y coordinates.

58. The method of claim 57, wherein the plurality of images further comprise a Z coordinate representing the location of the image along the length of the rails.

59. The method of claim 47, further comprising the step of identifying specific components of the railroad track bed.

60. The method of claim 47, further comprising the step of determining a defect in a crosstie of the railroad track bed.

61. The method of claim 47, further comprising the step of detecting a missing, misaligned, damaged, or defective fastening hardware.

63. The method of claim 47, further comprising the step of determining wear of the rails.

64. The method of claim 47, further comprising the step of determining spacing of the rails.

65. The method of claim 47, further comprising the step of determining a height of ballast relative to a crosstie of the railroad track bed.

66. The method of claim 47, further comprising the step of determining a size of ballast stones of the railroad track bed.

67. The method of claim 47, further comprising the step of determining a gap size between sections of rail.

62. A method of inspecting railroad track bed having a crosstie, rails, associated fastening hardware, and ballast, the method comprising the steps of:

a) traveling along the rails;

b) projecting a focused beam of light across the span of the railroad track bed;

c) capturing a plurality of images of the focused beam of light projected across a portion of railroad track bed while traveling along the rails;

d) determining one or more aspects of the portion of the railroad track bed by processing the plurality of images, the one or more aspects comprising at least a geographic location of the plurality of images along the railroad track bed;

e) outputting the determined one or more aspects of the portion of the railroad track bed; and

f) detecting a misaligned or sunken tie plate of the railroad track bed, the step of detecting comprising the steps of;

(a) analyzing a frame of the plurality of images, the frame comprising a region of interest;

(b) determining whether the region of interest contains a tie plate;

(c) if a tie plate is present, determining a crosstie contour and a tie plate contour;

(d) comparing an orientation of the crosstie contour and an orientation of the tie plate contour; and

(e) determining whether the tie plate is misaligned or sunken based upon the comparison.

68. The method of claim 62, further comprising the step of providing the geographical location data from a GPS receiver or an encoder.

69. The method of claim 62, further comprising the step of obtaining a temperature of the rails of the railroad track bed.

70. The method of claim 62, the method further comprising the steps of determining at least one of a presence of a crosstie of the railroad track bed;

a presence of a missing, misaligned, damaged, or defective fastener component of the railroad track bed;

wear of the rails of the railroad track;

spacing of the rails of the railroad track;

a height of ballast relative to a crosstie of the railroad track bed;

a size of ballast stones of the railroad track bed;

or a gap size between sections of the railroad track.

71. A system for inspecting a railroad track bed, including the railroad track, to be mounted on a vehicle for movement along the railroad track, the system comprising:

at least one light generator positioned adjacent the railroad track for projecting a beam of light across the railroad track bed;

at least one optical receiver positioned adjacent the railroad track for receiving at least a portion of the light reflected from the railroad track bed and generating a plurality of images representative of the profile of at least a portion of the railroad track bed; and

at least one processor for analyzing the plurality of images and determining one or more physical characteristics of the said portion of the railroad track bed, the one or more physical characteristics comprising at least a geographic location of the plurality of images along the railroad track bed;

wherein the processor includes an algorithm for identifying a break in a rail of the railroad track bed, the algorithm comprising the steps of;

(a) analyzing a first frame, one or more intermediate frames and an end frame of the plurality of images, the first and end frames comprising rails while the one or more intermediate frames lack rails;

(b) determining a number of the one or more intermediate frames lacking rails;

(c) determining a known spacing between frames; and

(d) identifying the break in the rail based upon the number of the one or more intermediate frames lacking rails and the known spacing between the frames.

72. The system of claim 71, wherein the processor includes an algorithm for determining at least one of a presence of a crosstie of the railroad track bed;

a presence of a missing, misaligned, damaged, or defective fastener components of the railroad track bed;

a wear of the rails of the railroad track;

a spacing of the rails of the railroad track;

a height of ballast relative to a crosstie of the railroad track bed;

a size of ballast stones of the railroad track bed;

or a gap size between sections of the railroad track.

73. A method for inspecting railroad track bed, the railroad track bed including crossties, rails, associated fastening hardware, and ballast, the method comprising the steps of:

a) illuminating a line across the span of the railroad track bed;

b) receiving at least a portion of the light reflected from the railroad track bed;

c) generating a plurality of images representative of the profile of at least a portion of the railroad track bed;

d) analyzing the plurality of images and determining one or more physical characteristics of the said portion of the railroad track bed, the one or more physical characteristics comprising at least a geographic location of the plurality of images along the railroad track bed;

e) displaying the determined physical characteristics of the said portion of the railroad track bed; and

f) identifying a break in a rail of the railroad track bed, the step of identifying comprising the steps of;

(a) analyzing a first frame, one or more intermediate frames and an end frame of the plurality of images, the first and end frames comprising rails while the one or more intermediate frames lack rails;

(b) determining a number of the one or more intermediate frames lacking rails;

(c) determining a known spacing between frames; and

(d) identifying the break in the rail based upon the number of the one or more intermediate frames lacking rails and the known spacing between the frames.

74. The method of claim 73, further comprising the step of providing the geographical location data from a GPS receiver or an encoder.

75. The method of claim 73, further comprising the step of obtaining a temperature of the rails of the railroad track bed.

76. The method of claim 73, the method further comprising the steps of determining at least one of a presence of a crosstie of the railroad track bed;

a presence of a missing, misaligned, damaged, or defective fastener component of the railroad track bed;

wear of the rails of the railroad track;

spacing of the rails of the railroad track;

a height of ballast relative to a crosstie of the railroad track bed;

a size of ballast stones of the railroad track bed;

or a gap size between sections of the railroad track.

77. A method of inspecting railroad track bed having a crosstie, rails, associated fastening hardware, and ballast, the method comprising the steps of:

a) traveling along the rails;

b) projecting a focused beam of light across the span of the railroad track bed;

c) capturing a plurality of images of the focused beam of light projected across a portion of railroad track bed while traveling along the rails;

d) determining one or more aspects of the portion of the railroad track bed by processing the plurality of images, the one or more aspects comprising at least a geographic location of the plurality of images along the railroad track bed;

e) outputting the determined one or more aspects of the portion of the railroad track bed; and

f) identifying a break in a rail of the railroad track bed, the step of identifying comprising the steps of;

(a) analyzing a first frame, one or more intermediate frames and an end frame of the plurality of images, the first and end frames comprising rails while the one or more intermediate frames lack rails;

(b) determining a number of the one or more intermediate frames lacking rails;

(c) determining a known spacing between the frames; and

(d) identifying the break in the rail based upon the number of the one or more intermediate frames lacking rails and the known spacing between the frames.

78. The method of claim 77, further comprising the step of providing the geographical location data from a GPS receiver or an encoder.

79. The method of claim 77, further comprising the step of obtaining a temperature of the rails of the railroad track bed.

80. The method of claim 77, the method further comprising the steps of determining at least one of a presence of a crosstie of the railroad track bed;

a presence of a missing, misaligned, damaged, or defective fastener component of the railroad track bed;

wear of the rails of the railroad track;

spacing of the rails of the railroad track;

a height of ballast relative to a crosstie of the railroad track bed;

a size of ballast stones of the railroad track bed;

or a gap size between sections of the railroad track.