Fiber optic rail monitoring apparatus and method

Abstract

Systems and methods for are described for the detection of breaks in railroad track rails as well as other events. A plurality of fiber optic monitoring assemblies are located proximate a section of railroad tracks. The monitoring assemblies are capable of detecting and recognizing a rail break event. In an alternative embodiment, systems and methods are described for detection of flat spots on rail car wheels.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A method of detecting a break event in a rail segment comprising: 
 a) propagating energy from the break event to disturb a sensing fiber;    b) generating a signal in response to the disturbance of the sensing fiber, the signal being indicative of the break event.    
     
     
         2 . The method of    claim 1    further comprising the operation of detecting the break event disturbance by processing the signal.  
     
     
         3 . The method of    claim 2    wherein the signal processing comprises wavelet analysis.  
     
     
         4 . The method of    claim 3    wherein a template signal is created through the wavelet analysis.  
     
     
         5 . The method of    claim 4    further comprising the operation of comparing the template signal to a stored signal representative of a rail break to determine whether a rail break event is present in the template signal.  
     
     
         6 . A method of detecting an event of interest associated with a rail segment comprising: 
 a) disposing a monitoring apparatus having a particular length alongside and proximate a portion of the rail segment, the monitoring apparatus capable of determining the approximate location of an energy signature from an event of interest along the length of the monitoring apparatus; and    b) receiving at the monitoring apparatus an energy signature corresponding to an event of interest and detecting the energy signature.    
     
     
         7 . The method of    claim 6    further comprising the operation of generating an analog signal representative of the energy signature.  
     
     
         8 . The method of    claim 7    further comprising the operation of examining the analog signal to determine whether an event of interest is present in the energy signature.  
     
     
         9 . The method of    claim 8    wherein examination of the analog signal comprises the operations of deriving a template signal from the analog signal and comparing the template signal to a stored signal representative of the event of interest.  
     
     
         10 . The method of    claim 6    wherein a plurality of monitoring apparatuses are disposed alongside adjoining portions of the rail section so as to provide a substantially continuous monitoring assembly.  
     
     
         11 . A monitoring apparatus for detecting a disturbance associated with a rail segment, the apparatus comprising an intrusion detection device disposed alongside a rail section, the intrusion detection device being operable to detect energy released from an event of interest associated with the rail segment.  
     
     
         12 . The monitoring apparatus of    claim 11    wherein the intrusion detection device comprises a fiber optic sensing fiber.  
     
     
         13 . The monitoring apparatus of    claim 12    wherein the intrusion detection device further comprises a laser for directing a beam of laser light through the sensing fiber.  
     
     
         14 . The monitoring apparatus of    claim 12    wherein the intrusion detection device further comprises a signal generator for generating a signal indicative of a disturbance of the sensing fiber.  
     
     
         15 . The monitoring apparatus of    claim 14    wherein the intrusion detection device further comprises a comparator for comparing the generated signal to a prestored signal representative of the event of interest.  
     
     
         16 . The monitoring apparatus of    claim 15    further comprising a storage medium to contain a prestored signal representative of an event of interest.  
     
     
         17 . The monitoring apparatus of    claim 15    further comprising a signal analyzer to process the generated signal to create a template signal for comparison to the prestored signal.  
     
     
         18 . The monitoring apparatus of    claim 14    further comprising an analog to digital converter to convert the generated signal to a digital signal.  
     
     
         19 . The monitoring apparatus of    claim 14    further comprising a buffer for periodic storage of the generated signal.