Automated track surveying and ballast replacement
US8781655B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 17, 2012 |
| Grant date | Jul 15, 2014 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 17, 2032 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB61K9/00
- WIPO fieldTransport
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A method of surveying a section of a railway to determine amounts of ballast to be replaced keyed to position coordinates of track locations includes moving a survey vehicle along the railway, optically scanning the track at selected intervals to obtain optical data points with associated position coordinates, recording images at the intervals with position coordinates, recording position coordinates of no-spread zones, processing the optical data points to derive ballast unit weights associated with locations along the track, detecting anomalous unit weights, accessing images associated with the locations of the anomalous unit weights, accessing the anomalous unit weights to adjust as necessary, and loading the adjusted data into a computer of a ballast train to control the application of replacement ballast along the track according to the detected position of the ballast train.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.