Patent ID: 7698028
Filing Date: 2010-04-13
Classification: B61L,G01K

Abstract:
1. A system for monitoring the neutral temperature of a railway rail, the system comprising: (a) a first field sensor system installed on a rail at a first railway site, where the first field sensor system is configured to collect data for use in calculating the neutral temperature of the rail at the first railway site, where the first field sensor system collects a first set of data for use in calculating the neutral temperature of the rail at the first railway site, and where the first field sensor system later collects a second set of data for use in calculating the neutral temperature of the rail at the first railway site; (b) a second field sensor system installed on a rail at a second railway site, where the second field sensor system is configured to collect data for use in calculating the neutral temperature of the rail at the second railway site, where the second field sensor system collects a first set of data for use in calculating the neutral temperature of the rail at the second railway site, and where the second field sensor system later collects a second set of data for use in calculating the neutral temperature of the rail at the second railway site; (c) a wireless network used by the first field sensor system and the second field sensor system to transfer data to a receiving apparatus, where the first field sensor system transfers over the wireless network the first set of data and the second set of data collected at the first railway site, and where the second field sensor system transfers over the wireless network the first set of data and the second set of data collected at the second railway site; and (d) an apparatus that evaluates the condition of the rail at the first railway site based on the first set of data collected at the first railway site and the second set of data collected at the first railway site, where the apparatus is not located at the first railway site and is not located at the second railway site, and where the apparatus is configured to evaluate the neutral temperate of the rail at the first railway site based on the first set of data collected at the first railway site and the second set of data collected at the first railway site, and carry out a notification function if the evaluation suggests that the condition of the rail at the first railway site is unsafe.