Systems and methods for analyzing a rail

Inventors

Kim, Anthony • Ford, David G. • Bloom, Jeffrey

Assignees

Ensco Inc

Abstract

A deployable measurement system for analyzing a rail of a railroad track includes a housing, a reflecting assembly coupled to the housing, a movement assembly coupled to the housing, and an optical measurement system disposed within the housing. Both the housing and the reflecting assembly are moveable between a stored position and a deployed position. The movement assembly includes a deployment assembly that moves the reflecting assembly from the stored position to the deployed position, and a retraction assembly that moves the reflecting assembly from the deployed position to the stored position. The optical measurement system emits and receives light. The reflecting assembly reflects the emitted light toward the rail. The reflecting assembly reflects light reflected off of the rail toward the optical measurement system. The light received by the optical measurement system is used to measure parameters related to the rail.

Core Innovation

The invention relates to a deployable measurement system configured to be coupled to a vehicle that is configured to move along a railroad track having a pair of running rails and a conducting rail. The system includes a housing and a reflecting assembly coupled to the housing, where the reflecting assembly is movable between a stored position and a deployed position and is deployed so that it extends beyond the vehicle clearance envelope and is retracted back into the stored position.

The system further includes an optical measurement system disposed within the housing. The optical measurement system includes an electromagnetic radiation source and an optical sensor configured to receive electromagnetic radiation reflected by the reflecting element, and the received electromagnetic radiation is associated with one or more parameters related to the conducting rail. The disclosure also describes mapping from sensor images to rail physical locations and provides rail-analysis outputs for rail parameters.

To manage deployment state, one or more sensors are configured to detect when the reflecting assembly is in the stored position, the deployed position, or both. The reflecting element is positioned at an angular placement, and the housing opening includes an aperture/lip and flange interfaces. The disclosure also explains a breakaway/robustness concept in which structural fasteners detaching at a detachment threshold force can allow parts to detach under impact conditions involving a foreign object, while remaining attached otherwise.

Claims Coverage

Two independent claims are identified, each covering a deployable rail analysis measurement system for a vehicle on railroad tracks. The independent claims share a common inventive core: a housing-coupled, movable reflecting assembly and an optical measurement system that receives electromagnetic radiation reflected by the reflecting assembly to obtain parameters related to the conducting rail, with sensors detecting the stored and/or deployed positions.

Across the independent claims, the inventive elements are a movable reflecting assembly on a vehicle-mounted housing, an optical measurement system that receives electromagnetic radiation reflected by the reflecting element to associate the received radiation with parameters related to the conducting rail, and one or more sensors that detect stored and/or deployed positions. One independent claim additionally defines the movement assembly as enabling deployment and retraction, while the other independent claim defines deployment as positioning at least a portion of the reflecting assembly outside the housing.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications