JOSEPH F DOLAN
Vehicle Board in Philadelphia, PA

5883337, Mar 16, 1999

Mar 24, 1997

8/823814

Joseph F. Dolan - Philadelphia PA
Daniel G. Niemiec - Canton MI
Lawrence J. Davis - Collingswood NJ

Consolidated Rail Corporation - Philadelphia PA

G01L 100

177163

The present invention provides a system and method for measuring weight and speed of a moving railcar through dynamic processing of a voltage signal from at least one strain gauge embedded into a rail on the railroad track. The system comprises at least one strain gauge, an amplifier circuit, a converter circuit, and a first processing means. The method performed by the first processing means is a state machine expert system algorithm which dynamically determines the baseline non-stressed voltage level and the peak voltage level upon the strain gauge being stressed by a moving railcar passing over the strain gauge. The method further provides for eliminating the effects of debounce on the weight calculations by continuously monitoring the voltage signal from the strain gauge for a predetermined period of time after an initial peak is detected and updating that value if a greater peak is detected within the predetermined period of time. Other aspects of the present invention include a second processing means which performs fault tolerance and weight calculations based on the baseline voltage level and peak voltage level of each operating strain gauge. The system also provides for transmitting control signals to external braking devices located on the railroad track for improved control in coupling of the moving railcars.

5358202, Oct 25, 1994

Jul 21, 1992

7/918847

Terry H. Tse - Ambler PA
Roger M. St. Martin - Willingboro NJ
Donald C. Oltmann - Sewell NJ
James P. Miccolis - Upper Darby PA
James M. Harris - Richboro PA
Joseph F. Dolan - Philadelphia PA
James F. Brady - Tyrone PA

Consolidated Rail Corporation - Philadelphia PA

B61L 2300

246 34R

A track code analyzer is disclosed that measures the duty cycle, carrier frequency, modulation frequency, and amplitude of track code signal and determines when these parameters are outside predetermined limits. The system also detects and records transient anomalies in the track code. The track code analyzer of the present invention is either mounted on a railway vehicle or used as a portable, wayside troubleshooting device. In a preferred embodiment, apparatus for processing a track code signal for indicating track conditions is provided that comprises a pickup for inductively receiving and decoding an analog track code signal. The signal is preferably received and processed by a conditioning circuit for processing the analog track code signal and transmitted to an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter for creating a digital track code signal. The digitized signal is then input to a first processor for computing a value from the digital track code signal and transmitting an output signal indicative of the value. The first processor is preferably a microprocessor for taking data from the analog-to-digital converter and determining signal level, carrier frequency, modulation frequency, and duty cycle of the track code.