Abstract:
The present invention relates to an information generating apparatus for transmitting and receiving elastic waves through a rail for a train. The information generating apparatus comprises elastic wave transmitting means for transmitting elastic waves to said rail, elastic wave receiving means for receiving elastic waves transmitted from said elastic wave transmitting means through said rail, and information generating means for generating information that is necessary for controlling/monitoring associated elements of a control system for performing control operations on said train, based on an elastic wave reception signal received by said elastic wave receiving means. The information generating means has judgment means for making a judgment on presence/absence of rupture in said rail, based on a reception condition of an elastic wave received by said elastic wave receiving means compared with a predetermined condition and for generating information representing presence/absence of rupture in said rail.
Abstract:
A band pass filter 12a for detecting a component in the vicinity of a frequency (1 kHz) having the highest propagation efficiency among oscillations generated when a train runs, a band pass filter 12c for detecting a component in the vicinity a frequency (5.5 kHz) having the lowest propagation efficiency and a microcomputer 16 are provided, the microcomputer 16 being arranged to determine a state in which the train has approached a relatively near location, a state in which the train has approached a very near location, a state in which the train has passed through and exists at a very near location or a state in which the train exists at a relatively near location. A conventional track circuit must, as a matter of course, have insulating portions for rails and incorporate a signal cable for communicating a result of the detection, causing the cost to be enlarged. The present invention is able to eliminate the foregoing necessities and reduce the cost.
Abstract:
A hazard predictor that processes both rail and superstructure measurements to predict some potentially hazardous conditions on a railway structure. Measurement is collected in real time with the aid of fiber optic sensor based linear array mesh, and processed with a neural network. Sensors placed under the rail and sensors placed laterally of the rail provide data collection in real time both during occupied and unoccupied periods. In some embodiments the measurement data is compressed into two signatures which can be represented as two vectors. The collinearity of the vectors and the angle between the vectors are utilized to interpret the data as to track conditions. The angle between the descriptors can be used to predict the severity of degradation of the structure. The predictor can be used to manage maintenance of the structure and interface with existing railway signalling equipment to provide traffic management.
Abstract:
This invention relates to a device for determining lateral and/or vertical deviations in the path taken by a wheel at railway points or crossings. One of the aims of this invention is to provide data on the condition of such points or crossings, particularly as to the degree of their wear. Further, it is another aim of the invention to create a device which is easier to relate the signals from the sensors to the direction of the loads giving rise to these signals, and which at the same time is simpler and more economical to assembly while at the same time ensuring reproduceable results. According to this invention, a device for detecting lateral and/or vertical wheel path deviations at railway points or crossings, in which an actuating member (1) of the device works in co-operation with at least one sensor, particularly a resistant strain gauge, characterised in that the actuating member (1) is connected to at least one torsion rod (2), the torsion rod (2) is provided, in a manner known to those versed in the art, with four resistant strain gauges (3) in a circumferentially displaced pattern on its barrel or in a drilled hole, and the torsion rod (2) is disposed in the longitudinal direction of the rails and/or perpendicular thereto.
Abstract:
A device for determining the condition of railway switches or railway crossings by monitoring the end position of tongue rails (2), said device having a sensor (18) within the area of the theoretical frog point (17) of a frog (8), said sensor giving on occasion of a mechanical collision with the wheel flange or with the running surface of the wheel a signal indicating premature wear within the area of the frog.