System and method for monitoring railcar performance

• US 9,981,673 B2
• Filed: 05/18/2016
• Issued: 05/29/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amsted Rail Company Incorporated (Amsted Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Amsted Rail Company Incorporated (Amsted Industries Incorporated)
• Inventors: Martin, Andrew H., LeFebvre, William D., Wilson, Brent M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Soofi, Yazan A
• Application Number:
  US15/158,018
• Publication Number:
  US 20170050651A1
• Time in Patent Office: 741 Days
• Field of Search: 701 19, 34087016
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 13/665 the systems being specially adapted for transferring two or more command signals, e.g. railway systems B60T13/662 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 17/221 Procedure or apparatus for checking or keeping in a correct functioning condition of brake systems hydraulic pressure systems in general F15B19/00, F15B21/04; testing structures or apparatus G01M
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 17/228 for railway vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B61H 13/02 Hand or other personal actuation
• CPC Class Codes: B61K 9/04 Detectors for indicating the overheating of axle bearings and the like, e.g. associated with the brake system for applying the brakes in case of a fault
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 15/0018 Communication with or on the vehicle or train
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 15/0027 Radio-based, e.g. using GSM-R
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 15/0081 On-board diagnosis or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 2205/04 Satellite based navigation systems, e.g. global positioning system [GPS]
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 25/025 Absolute localisation, e.g. providing geodetic coordinates
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 27/40 Handling position reports or trackside vehicle data
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 27/57 for vehicles or trains, e.g. trackside supervision of train conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 7/023 provided with specially adapted connectors connectors per se H01R

Abstract

A system for monitoring operation of a railcar having one or more sensing units, mounted on the railcar, for monitoring operating parameters and or conditions of the railcar, and a communication management unit, in wireless communication with the sensing units, wherein the system can make a determination of an alarm condition based on data collected the sensing units. A temperature sensor device for use in such a system is also provided.

Claims

1. A method of monitoring operational characteristics of a railcar comprising the steps of:

a. receiving data or processed information regarding said operational characteristic from one or more sensing units on said railcar, said sensing units monitoring an operational characteristic of said railcar;

b. applying a heuristic to said received data to determine deviations from nominal operating conditions;

c. assigning a severity level to said deviations from nominal operating conditions; and

d. determining an alarm condition based on said assigned severity level.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the initial step of establishing wireless communication with said one or more remote sensing units.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said one or more remote sensing units form a mesh network.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein steps a-d are executed by a processing unit located on said railcar.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein said processing unit located on said railcar is a part of said mesh network.

6. The method of claim 2 further comprising the step of transmitting said alarm condition to a location remote from said railcar.

7. The method of claim 2 further comprising the step of transmitting said data received from said one or more sensing units to a location remote from said railcar.

8. The method of claim 2 further comprising the steps of:

a. receiving data from a plurality of railcars;

b. applying a heuristic to said received data to determine deviations from nominal operating conditions;

c. assigning a severity level to said deviations from nominal operating conditions;

d. determining an alarm condition based on said assigned severity level;

e. transmitting said raised alarm to a display unit on a train of which said plurality of railcars are a part.

9. The method of claim 6 further comprising the steps of

a. determining a recommended course of action based on said alarm condition;

and

b. transmitting said recommended course of action to a display unit on a train of which said railcar is a part.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein steps (a) through (d) can be carried out at different event engines distributed among at least two of said sensor units, a communication management unit, and a mobile or land base station.

10. A method of monitoring a temperature of a desired part of a railcar, comprising:

(a) sensing the temperature of a part of the railcar other than the desired part by use of a temperature sensor in thermal communication with said other part;

(b) determining the temperature of the desired part by use of the temperature sensed in step (a);

(c) determining if said temperature of the desired part is outside an acceptable range of temperatures; and

(d) transmitting an alarm if in step (c) it is determined that the temperature of the desired part is outside an acceptable range.

11. A method of monitoring a temperature of a desired part of a railcar in accordance with claim 10, further comprising the step of determining the temperature of the ambient air, which temperature is used in the determination of step (b).

12. A method of monitoring a temperature of a desired part of a railcar in accordance with claim 10, wherein steps (a) through (d) are carried out by a single unit attached to said railcar.

14. A method for monitoring the operation of a railcar performed by a communication management unit disposed on said railcar comprising the steps of:

a. wirelessly receiving data from one or more sensing units which periodically collect readings from one or more sensors disposed on said railcar;

b. heuristically analyzing said received data to determine if an actual failure exists on said railcar or to predict potential or imminent failures based on a statistical analysis of said received data; and

c. communicating the results of said analysis to an off-railcar location.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein each of said sensing units can make a determination of an alarm condition based on data collected by the sensing unit, said method further comprising the step of:

a. wirelessly receiving notice of said alarm condition from said sensing unit; and

b. communicating said alarm condition to an off-railcar location.

16. The method of claim 14 further comprising the steps of:

a. making a determination of an alarm condition based on data received from two or more of said sensing units; and

b. communicating said alarm condition to an off-railcar location.

17. The method of claim 14 further comprising the step of placing said one or more sensing units in a stand-by state when said one or more sensing units is not reading data from any of said sensors or transmitting data.

18. The method of claim 14 further comprising the step of joining a mesh network consisting of one or more sensing units located on said railcar.

19. The method of claim 14 further comprising the step of joining a mesh network consisting of communication management units located on other railcars.

20. The system of claim 14 further comprising the steps of:

a. saving data received from said one or more sensing units in memory; and

b. comparing data received with said saved data to identify trends or deviations from normal readings of said data stored in memory.

21. A method for monitoring the operation of a railcar comprising:

a. collecting data at periodic intervals about one or more operating parameters of said railcar using one or more sensor units provided on said railcar;

b. communicating said collected data to a communication management unit;

c. analyzing said collected data by applying heuristics thereto to (i) determine if an actual failure exists and (ii) to predict potential or imminent failures based on a statistical analysis of said collected data.

22. The method of claim 21 further comprising the steps of:

assessing the collected data to determine if an alarm condition exists; and

wirelessly communicating said alarm condition to an off railcar location.