Railway Rolling Stock Inspection Using Reference Markers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional systems for inspecting railway rolling stock at high speeds face challenges in achieving precise measurements due to dynamic movements of the rails and rolling stock, leading to inaccuracies in determining the position and parameters of wheels and other components.
Innovation Solution
The use of reference markers, both ground-mounted and rail-mounted, which provide known spatial and non-spatial references, allowing for accurate alignment and measurement of rolling stock components by capturing images with these markers, thereby compensating for dynamic motions and improving measurement precision.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional passive sensors are used to inspect rolling stock at high speeds, then inspection efficiency and productivity are improved, but measurement precision and accuracy deteriorate due to dynamic movements of rails and rolling stock
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces reference markers as intermediary objects that are attached to the rolling stock. These markers serve as mediators between the moving rolling stock and the fixed inspection system, allowing the system to track and compensate for dynamic movements. By capturing images of these reference markers and calculating their positions relative to a coordinate system, the system can correct for rail and rolling stock movements, thereby maintaining measurement accuracy while enabling high-speed inspection.
2Measurement precision
If multiple sensors are arranged to provide additional dimensional information, then measurement completeness is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses optical-based systems with cameras to capture 2-dimensional images of rolling stock components, creating visual copies of the physical objects. These image copies contain dimensional information that can be analyzed without requiring complex physical sensor arrays. The reference markers in the images provide additional spatial reference points, enabling comprehensive measurement information to be extracted from the visual data while avoiding the complexity of multiple physical sensors.
Data Source
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AI summary
Reference markers (130 and 140 of fig. 1) are attached to rails (112 of fig. 1) and/or other dynamically moving components of railroad tracks, and/or located at fixed and stationary positions adjacent to the track. When images of railway rolling stock are obtained, the reference marker(s) appear in the image Accordingly, measurements of various aspects and parameters of various components of the railway rolling stock can be obtained at high precision and/or accuracy relative to the railroad track component to which the reference marker is attached and/or relative to the stationary position. The reference markers (130 and 140 of fig. 1) allow one or more images, obtained at some intervening time interval, to be accurately and precisely aligned relative to the reference marker(s) regardless of the dynamic motion of the railroad track component(s) (100 of fig. 1) and/or of the rolling stock that occurred as the images were captured. The reference markers can include optical, thermal or other indicia The indicia have known dimensions and/or known distances from an image capture device (120 of fig. 1 ).