Route examining system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10501100-B2
Application number	US-201715797086-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 30, 2017
Priority date	Nov 21, 2012
Publication date	Dec 10, 2019
Grant date	Dec 10, 2019

Abstract

Systems for examining a route inject one or more electrical examination signals into a conductive route from onboard a vehicle system traveling along the route, detect one or more electrical characteristics of the route based on the one or more electrical examination signals, and detect a break in conductivity of the route responsive to the one or more electrical characteristics decreasing by more than a designated drop threshold for a time period within a designated drop time period. Feature vectors may be determined for the electrical characteristics and compared to one or more patterns in order to distinguish between breaks in the conductivity of the route and other causes for changes in the electrical characteristics.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system comprising:
plural conductive bodies attached to a vehicle system that is configured to travel along a conductive route, wherein the conductive bodies are configured to inject plural electrical examination signals into the route from onboard the vehicle system and to detect plural electrical characteristics of the route based on the electrical examination signals; and
one or more processors are configured to determine feature vectors representative of different values of the electrical characteristics, the feature vectors including a combination of (a) a mean or median of the electrical characteristics and (b) a deviation of the electrical characteristics one or more of prior to, during, or subsequent to a decrease in the electrical characteristics by more than a designated threshold decrease, the one or more processors also configured to compare the feature vectors to one or more patterns of feature vectors associated with different conditions of the route, at least one of the patterns of feature vectors is associated with the break in the conductivity of the route,
wherein the one or more processors are configured to detect a break in the conductivity of the route responsive to one or more of the electrical characteristics decreasing by more than a designated drop threshold for a time period within a designated drop time period and responsive to the feature vectors more closely matching the at least one pattern of feature vectors associated with the break in the conductivity of the route.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the conductive bodies comprise one or more of a conductive shoe configured to conductively engage the route, a conductive brush configured to conductively engage the route, a wheel configured to conductively engage the route, or a device configured to inductively couple with the route.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to detect the break that is in a conductive rail of the route or that is in an insulated joint in the route.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the conductive bodies are configured to inject at least one of the electrical examination signals into the route with a first frequency, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to isolate a subset of the electrical characteristics of the route that occurs within a frequency range of interest by applying a filter to at least one of the electrical characteristics of the route that is detected.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to apply the filter to the at least one electrical characteristic by suppressing one or more of the electrical characteristics that occur at frequencies that are one or more of outside of the frequency range of interest or attributable to noise along the route.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to direct the conductive bodies to inject a first examination signal of the examination signals into a first conductive portion of the route with a first unique identifier and to inject a second examination signal of the examination signals into a second conductive portion of the route with a second unique identifier.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the first unique identifier comprises a modulation of the first examination signal that differs from a unique modulation identifier of the second examination signal.

8. A method comprising:
injecting a first electrical examination signal into a conductive route from onboard a vehicle system traveling along the route;
detecting a first electrical characteristic of the route based on the first electrical examination signal;
applying a filter to the first electrical characteristic to isolate a subset of the first electrical characteristic occurring at a first frequency range of interest; and
detecting a break in conductivity of the route responsive to the subset of the first electrical characteristic including feature vectors that match a pattern of feature vectors associated with the break in conductivity, the feature vectors including a combination of (a) a mean or median of the first electrical characteristic and (b) a deviation of the first electrical characteristic one or more of prior to, during, or subsequent to a decrease in the first electrical characteristic by more than a designated threshold decrease.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the break that is detected includes a break in a conductive rail of the route or a break in an insulated joint in the route.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein detecting the break includes detecting an opening in a circuit formed by wheels and axles of the vehicle system and segments of conductive portions of the route extending between the wheels of the vehicle system.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the first electrical examination signal that is injected into the conductive route has a first frequency, and wherein the filter that is applied is tuned to isolate the subset of the first examination characteristic occurring at the first frequency range of interest that includes the first frequency.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein applying the filter to the first electrical characteristic of the route includes applying at least one of a band-pass filter or a matched filter to the first electrical characteristic.

13. The method of claim 8 , wherein applying the filter to the first electrical characteristic includes suppressing the first electrical characteristic that one or more of occurs at frequencies outside of the first frequency range of interest or is attributable to noise along the route.

14. The method of claim 8 , wherein injecting the first electrical examination signal into the route includes injecting the first electrical examination signal having a first unique identifier into a first conductive rail of the route, and further comprising injecting a second electrical examination signal having a second unique identifier into a second conductive rail of the route.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the first unique identifier comprises a modulation of the first electrical examination signal that differs from a modulation of the second unique identifier.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the first electrical characteristic of the route is measured along the first conductive rail by one or more first conductive bodies of a route examining system onboard the vehicle system, and further comprising:
detecting a second electrical characteristic of the route based on the second electrical examination signal as measured along the first conductive rail by the one or more first conductive bodies and applying a filter to the second electrical characteristic to isolate a subset of the second electrical characteristic occurring at a second frequency range of interest;
detecting a third electrical characteristic of the route based on the first electrical examination signal as measured along the second conductive rail by one or more second conductive bodies of the route examining system and applying a filter to the third electrical characteristic to isolate a subset of the third electrical characteristic occurring at the first frequency range of interest; and
detecting a fourth electrical characteristic of the route based on the second electrical examination signal as measured along the second conductive rail by the one or more second conductive bodies and applying a filter to the fourth electrical characteristic to isolate a subset of the fourth electrical characteristic occurring at the second frequency range of interest.

17. A s

Assignees

• Gen Electric
• Ge Global Sourcing Llc

Inventors

• Plotnikov Yuri Alexeyevich
• Matthews Brett Alexander
• Kumar Ajith Kuttannair
• Fries Jeffrey Michael
• Noffsinger Joseph Forrest
• Poonacha Samhitha Palanganda
• Frangieh Tannous
• Wheeler Frederick Wilson
• Staton Brian Lee
• Brown Timothy Robert
• Boverman Gregory
• Nayeri Majid

Classifications

• B61L3/10

  using current passing between devices along the route and devices on the vehicle or train · CPC title

• B61L23/045

  Rail wear · CPC title

• B61L3/08

  controlling electrically · CPC title

• B61L23/34

  for indicating the distance between vehicles or trains by the transmission of signals therebetween · CPC title

• B61L23/044 Primary

  Broken rails · CPC title