Patent ID: 11858488
Assignee: PENNSY DIGITAL INC.
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC B  F  G | IPC B  F  G

Claim 0:
1. A rail monitoring method for monitoring a condition of a rail of a railway track comprising:
a) installing a monitoring sensor on a rail at a location of the rail to be monitored;
b) capturing with said monitoring sensor rail data comprising movements of the rail being monitored;
c) determining from captured movements a condition of the rail being monitored;
d) wherein said sensor comprises a radar unit, and wherein installing said sensor on said rail includes directing the aim of said radar unit to a fixed structure relative to said rail; and
e) wherein said radar unit is positioned on a rail having a rail face opposing a platform or portion thereof, wherein said radar unit has a detection range to detect the platform, wherein said platform is located within the detection range of said radar unit, wherein capturing with said monitoring sensor rail data comprising movements of the rail being monitored comprises movements of the rail relative to the platform, and wherein determining from captured movements a condition of the rail being monitored includes the distance between the rail and the platform, the method further including providing a threshold distance for a safe operation distance between said rail and said platform, and wherein when the condition does not meet or exceeds the threshold safety distance, communicating an alert.