Daniel C Stevens

US Patent:

8430363, Apr 30, 2013

Filed:

Oct 18, 2005

Appl. No.:

11/253160

Inventors:

Peter Hesser - Harthausen, DE
Thomas Strecker - Rauenberg, DE
Miles Metschke - Kansas City MO, US
Thomas Shanahan - Lee's Summit MO, US
Daniel Kurt Stevens - Summerville SC, US
Mathias Hartmann - Bad Durkheim, DE

Assignee:

Progress Rail Services Corp - Albertville AL

International Classification:

B61K 1/00

US Classification:

246169R

Abstract:

A system () for sensing a condition of a rail vehicle undercarriage component (e. g. , ) includes a sensor (e. g. , ) comprising an array of infrared sensing elements (). Each of the elements may be aimed at a different region of a target area (e. g. , ) of a rail vehicle undercarriage component to generate respective scanning waveform signature data corresponding to each different region. The sensor may be oriented so that at least one of the elements receives unobstructed infrared emissions (e. g. , ) from the undercarriage component of a rail vehicle passing the sensor. The system also includes a memory () for storing characteristic waveform signature data corresponding to known undercarriage components. In addition, the system includes a processor () for processing the scanning waveform signature data with respect to the characteristic waveform signature data stored in memory to identify a type of the rail vehicle undercarriage component being scanned and to extract information indicative of a health condition of the rail vehicle undercarriage component being identified.

US Patent:

8622351, Jan 7, 2014

Filed:

Mar 3, 2010

Appl. No.:

12/716495

Inventors:

Peter Hesser - Harthausen, DE
Thomas Strecker - Rauenberg, DE
Miles Metschke - Kansas City MO, US
Thomas Shanahan - Lee's Summit MO, US
Daniel Kurt Stevens - Summerville SC, US
Mathias Hartmann - Bad Durkheim, DE

Assignee:

Progress Rail Services Corp - Albertville AL

International Classification:

B61K 9/04

US Classification:

246169A

Abstract:

A system () for sensing a condition of a rail vehicle undercarriage component (e. g. , ) includes a sensor (e. g. , ) comprising an array of infrared sensing elements (). Each of the elements may be aimed at a different region of a target area (e. g. , ) of a rail vehicle undercarriage component to generate respective scanning waveform signature data corresponding to each different region. The sensor may be oriented so that at least one of the elements receives unobstructed infrared emissions (e. g. , ) from the undercarriage component of a rail vehicle passing the sensor. The system also includes a memory () for storing characteristic waveform signature data corresponding to known undercarriage components. In addition, the system includes a processor () for processing the scanning waveform signature data with respect to the characteristic waveform signature data stored in memory to identify a type of the rail vehicle undercarriage component being scanned and to extract information indicative of a health condition of the rail vehicle undercarriage component being identified.