Patent ID: 11919551
Assignee: TETRA TECH, INC.
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC B  G | IPC B  G

Claim 0:
1. A method for gathering, storing, and processing profiles of one or both rails on a railway track using a railway track assessment apparatus while the railway track assessment apparatus travels on a rail vehicle along the railway track, the method comprising:
locating a plurality of pixels using a railway track assessment apparatus, the railway track assessment apparatus comprising:
a processor;
a system controller in communication with the processor;
a data storage device in communication with the processor;
a power source for providing electric power to the track assessment apparatus;
a first sensor pod attached adjacent to an undercarriage of the rail vehicle, the first sensor pod comprising:
a first 3D sensor in communication with the system controller, the first 3D sensor configured in an orientation at an oblique angle β relative to a railway track bed surface supporting rails on which the rail vehicle is moving and configured in an orientation substantially perpendicular to the supporting rails to obtain a side view of a first side of a first rail of the railway track and obtain data from the railway track; and
a first structured light generator in communication with the system controller;

determining a distance between the 3D sensor and a center of a rail along the railway track using the processor; and
calibrating using the processor to determine the real-world width of a pixel from a scan made by the 3D sensor of the rail.