System for monitoring the temperature of wheel bearings in railroad cars

Abstract

A system is described for automatic detection of overheated wheel bearings of railroad cars and carriages. Signals representing the temperature of such bearings are generated by temperature sensors that are installed in close proximity of the wheel bearings. The signals are amplified, digitized and, to prevent false indications, averaged for each individual bearing. The averaged signals from each bearing are than compared to the averaged signals from the other three bearings of the same car or vehicle. If the signal from any bearing deviates by a present magnitude value, an alarm signal is generated and transmitted to a central monitoring location. The signals from each bearing are uniquely identified by a code. Light emitting diodes are installed close to the bearings and light up to indicate overheating. The electric power for the system is generated by an electromagnetic generator, which responds to the vibrations of the moving car.

1 . A system for detection of overheating in wheel bearings of vehicles having a plurality of bearings comprising temperature sensors situated in close proximity of said plurality of wheel bearings, said temperature sensors responding to the temperature in said bearings and generating electrical signals representative of said temperature, means for processing said signals, and for generating alarm signals identifying overheated one or more of said bearings when the temperature of one or more of said plurality of bearings as compared to the averaged temperature representing signals from other of said plurality bearings of the same vehicle exceeds a preset value, and means responsive to said alarm signals for identifying the location of the bearings responsible for said signals exceeding preset value.  
   
   
       2 . A system according to  claim 1  in which said means for processing signals comprise: 
 means for amplifying said temperature-representing signals,    means for temporarily storing a plurality of said temperature representing signals from each said bearing and computing the average value of the magnitudes of said stored temperature representing signals    means for comparing said average value of said temperature representing signals with value of temperature representing signals originating in said temperature sensors signals from all other wheel bearings, generating an alarm signal when the difference between said values of said temperature representing signals from any said sensors in proximity to said one or more of said bearings exceeds by a preset value said average value,    means for generating a unique code identifying the specific location of said overheated bearing, and    means for utilizing said code with said alarm signal to identify overheating in one or more of said plurality of bearings.    
   
   
       3 . A system according to  claim 1  in which a central monitoring station receives the information from said identifying means and generates a display of the fault location and also generates a visual and audio signal to alert the responsible personnel to the fact that a fault in one or more of said wheel bearings has been detected.  
   
   
       4 . A system according to  claim 1  in which said temperature sensors are selected from the group consisting of thermocouples, thermistors, fiber optic temperature sensors, resistance temperature sensors, and diode temperature sensors.  
   
   
       5 . A system according to  claim 1 , further comprising means for transmitting said signals as alarm indicating data.  
   
   
       6 . A system according to  claim 5  wherein means responsive to said data facilitates visual indication of a said overheated bearing is installed in close proximity of said bearings.  
   
   
       7 . In a system according to  claim 6  wherein said means, which facilitate visual indication are light emitting diodes included in proximity of each of said bearings.  
   
   
       8 . A system according to  claim 1  further comprising means for providing the electric power for energizing said system including electromagnetic generator electromagnetic generator in which a magnetic core is vertically suspended by springs within a solenoidal coil, said core moves up and down in response to the vibrations incurred by said cars as they travel over the rails, said coil in response generating electric current, or piezoelectric means used to generate electric current to power said system components.  
   
   
       9 . A system for detection of overheating in wheel bearings in a railroad car or other vehicle having a plurality of wheel bearings comprising individual temperature-sensing modules situated in close proximity of each of said wheel bearings, said temperature-sensing modules responding to the temperatures of said bearings and generating electrical signals representative of said temperatures, called temperature responsive signals hereinafter TRS, means for processing said TRS and for generating alarm signals when the TRS for one or more of said plurality of bearings exceeds a preset value as compared to the TRS from the other of said plurality of bearings thereby providing data identifying overheating one of said plurality of bearings and their location and for display or transmission.  
   
   
       10 . A system according to  claim 9  in which said means for processing said signals comprise 
 means for amplifying said signals.    means for digitizing said signals    means for generating codes identifying a particular module and attaching said code to said digitized signals thus producing a composite digital signal    means for transmitting said composite signal to a central monitoring station and activating said display comprising light-emitting diodes situated near each of said temperature-sensing modules.    
   
   
       11 . A system according to  claim 9  in which each said temperature-sensing module includes a electromagnetic generator or a piezoelectric generator which provides power to said modules.  
   
   
       12 . A system according to  claim 10  in which said central monitoring station comprises 
 means for receiving and transmitting signals from and to said temperature-sensing modules,    means for processing said signals, and    means for displaying said alarm signals.    
   
   
       13 . A system according to  claim 9  in which said means for processing said signals temporarily stores said signals from each said temperature-sensing modules, computes averages of said stored signals, compares the magnitudes of said averaged signals to each other, and generates said alarm signal if one of said averaged signals exceeds the other averaged signals by a preset value of their magnitude.