Patent ID: 9297787
Filing Date: 2016-03-29
CPC Classification: G01N

Claim Text:
1. An automatic sonic/ultrasonic data acquisition system for collecting data from concrete railroad ties that support rails, comprising; a frame; a wheel carried by the frame and constructed and arranged to rotate relative to the frame such that the wheel can roll along the top of a rail; an axle suspended from the frame and adapted to be rotated relative to the frame via rotation of the wheel; one or more sensors coupled to the axle and constructed and arranged to contact the ties as the frame is moved along the rails; and an energy source for initiating in the ties compressional and/or shear/Rayleigh waves that are sensed by the sensors; wherein the axle is rotated by a drive belt that is driven by the wheel rotation and the drive belt is engaged with a sprocket carried by the wheel; and, wherein the sprocket is generally elliptical and has two opposed flatter sides and two opposed narrower ends.