SA517381746B1 - System and Method to Monitor Rails - Google Patents

Abstract

A system (1) for monitoring rails (100) of a railway line, tram line, underground train line or railroad tracks is described. The system comprises: - at least one first optical fibre cable (a) intended to be mounted in contact with a respective rail (201), and at least one second optical fibre cable (b) intended to be fixed on top of the ballast or the ground or the sleepers supporting the rail, the cables (a, b) being designed to detect continuously a plurality of signals (a1,..., a28, b1,..., b28) dependent on a temperature of the track or the ballast in a corresponding plurality of positions (R1,…, R28) along the track; - a processing system (4) intended to receive at its input the signals (a1,..., a28, b1,..., b28) from said optical fibre cables (a, b), determine temperatures (Ta1,…, Ta28, Tb1,…, Tb28) associated with said signals and output one or more positions (P1) affected by loss of performance of the rail and/or by obstacles (202) along the path of the track, said positio

Description

System and Method to Monitor Rails FULL DESCRIPTION BACKGROUND The present invention relates to System alan specifically for monitoring rails; The invention relates to the technical sector of control systems for railway sections; Which aims to detect obstacles and send a message of their presence along the section. The invention also relates to a method for controlling rods.

Monitoring systems are known to be used to detect obstacles and send a message of their presence along along rails; for example rails of a railway; tram or underground train line. These systems depend on stations; In some cases they are manned; Complete

0 installed along the line and equipped with electronic means to communicate with the control center. Electronic means may be controlled by an actuator; which detects the obstacle locally and transmits it in the form of a text or audio signal 3 f is preferred for two together with pictures or videos or specifically A that is programmed to detect the obstacle independently, for example, by means of sensors » digital photo cameras or alg video cameras Communication with control station » When an obstacle 0 is detected, communication is made via a network

5 Telecommunications known by themselves eg General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) General Packet Radio Service UMTS ( Universal Mobile Telecommunications ) or the Internet

Automated systems are useful because they allow the department to be monitored even in the absence of employees; And accordingly decrease

costs; While important information for section maintenance is still provided; For transportation of bulk equipment

Safe conditions or to speed up repair work and remove obstructions.obstacles

however; Known automated systems suffer from many drawbacks that occur especially in geographies that require frequent and widespread monitoring (sha) for example due to changes

Sudden weather conditions or dls work in track

These problems are particularly evident in the Arab countries, where train lines extend over several kilometers

It also passes through desert areas; In these sites» where the ability to detect any movement in

Sand immediately near the track helps avoid delays and interruptions in AS traffic

0 ferrous; Specifically, avoid serious accidents. The same problems occur along the sections of the rod, where snow can accumulate suddenly, or in some cities also affected by the rain for a long time; And the consequent flooding of sections of underground train lines or flooding of tram lines; And in some mountainous areas also where rocky blocks may fall on the path.

5 in all of these cases; Known automated systems are not sufficient to ensure effective monitoring since they are not capable of continuous coverage of the entire bar section and therefore are unable to detect incidents where there is no station installed. Furthermore it; The frequent transmission of text or voice data by many stations; together with digital data or video data; It cannot be handled by the telecommunications network due to the huge volume of data

0 mentioned. Furthermore it; Even if this much data could be transmitted through the central station; There will still be a problem of how to manage it efficiently” ie the immediate identification of critical points along the rod section and the consequent co-ordination of a rapid response on the job site. finally; Even assuming that the obstruction occurs in an area monitored by a station; With known systems, it is not possible to immediately determine the size of the said obstacle, for example, by indicating the height of the accumulated sand mass

on the track; So that coordination can be made in a timely manner to take the necessary decision to remove it from its place. In reality; Well-known stations do not directly measure the obstruction on the instrument but only provide rough estimates; for example based on recorded images or information provided by any of the site control personnel; With the inevitable increase in the time required to coordinate corrective actions and select appropriate equipment .removal of the obstacle ill aly A well known solution has been disclosed in US Patent No. 5,330,136 relating to a system and method for monitoring railroad tracks using a fiber-optic cable. however; This system does not propose any use of (gal) input signals to obtain a more reliable detection. The technical problem which forms the basis of the present invention is to design a system and method for monitoring a track, namely 0 railway track or underground train section, which is, on the one hand; capable of providing information to a central station regarding the working conditions of the class) in order to determine that it is in safe working condition and to allow normal transmission or whether there is a degradation in path performance; with corresponding quantification of performance loss; and be; On the other hand; Capable of checking and locating exact points in real time along the route where there might be any obstructions; eg sand, rocky JIS or flood; providing accurate and immediate direct measurement5 of these barriers; including for example height of sand or rock on the track or flood depth; This allows coordination to be carried out in an optimal manner to take any measures to repair the line and to reduce delays and risks to people; And to overcome to a large extent all the obstacles currently associated with the known monitoring systems. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 0 The idea which forms the basis of the present invention is to use optical fiber oe cables for real-time communication and measurement of track working conditions along an entire railway; tramway or underground train section» as well as identifying any obstacles on the track in real time and continuously along the entire section; For example sand, boulders or flood» with a measure

accurate to obstruction size” in terms of sand height, rock mass, or flood depth; or extent

They are along the section.

In the description given below the term "obstacle" is used to refer generally to any type of block

sedimented or conglomerate formed tangentially to the track; For example after certain weather conditions; or has been deliberately placed on the tracks; To modify the performance of the track to a certain degree or even to prevent

Transit.

however; to illustrate the image and provide a concrete example of the form; In the description in some cases

A case where the obstacle is formed by sandy ABS is expressly indicated; However this example does not

Limits the scope of protection of the present invention.

0 based on the proposed solution indicated above. (gal) the present requester has become an idea with more accuracy of the installation of fiber optic cables along the railway tracks; designed to continuously detect the temperature associated with the rails or the ground” whether it is the brake supporting the railway track, the road surface of the tram section or the underground track of a line Underground train; obtaining in real time “by means of track and ground temperature values” information about the suitability of the track

5 to travel considerably the entire length of the railway section. Temperature values are determined by several workstations; Each station connects to the cables at different connection points along the route and aims to collect the signals transmitted by the fiber-optic cables; along a predetermined section of cable. specifically; A cable may come into contact with the rod; In order to detect the signals that indicate the temperature of the rod and determine the operating conditions of the said rod. The signals sent by

0 route this cable to the workstation to determine whether the rail is capable of ensuring normal performance or whether it poses a hazard to rail traffic due to the abnormal temperature associated with the track. In this case; The magnitude of the dip is measured in cold) i.e. the increment of the difference between the detected temperature of the rods and their reference temperature under normal working conditions; It is sent to the controller which may order the animation to be immediately suspended or slowed down based on performance loss.

Another JS may come into contact with the stair and it will aim to detect the stair temperature. Based on the detected temperature of the brake; identifies an obstruction; for example sand; Lis together with the volume (Gl) i.e. the depth of the sand under which the bar is buried or the area covered by the sand block. This information is available in real time to the control unit which is thus able to coordinate remedial measures with a high degree of accuracy along the entire section of the bar; with precise instructions cde jung and is able for example to assign personnel and machinery closest to the obstacle location and most suitable for its removal.Also on the basis of this proposed solution the temperature values set at the workstations are sent to Lin along with the relevant signal detection positions to the Processing station built to identify said obstacles based on position and temperature values Beneficially, as a result of the monitoring system designed in this way, 0 can obtain a complete updated picture of the working status of railway sections, in real time to a large extent, and achieve an important advantage, especially in the country in which the sections are not manned or subject to rapid changes in climate or weather conditions which have an important effect on the morphology of the terrain”; for example in the Arab countries; as well as where the rod section extends for hundreds of kilometers across a desert area and where What might suddenly prevent the rapid movement of sand from crossing the train. 5 According to the proposed solution described above; The technical problem inherent in the present invention is solved by means of a system and method of control in accordance with the accompanying safeguards. Specifically, the cable tie to the rails and/or as under the rails allows monitoring of the rail section across a very wide geographic area and in a point-chiles fashion and transmission of the optical signal via fiber allows communication with reference workstations along the sections with virtually no delay 0 in the time. In fact, the obstacle is identified after the light signal is sent; based on the position and temperature values derived from the signal; And not through pictures, videos or large data that is very difficult to manage. usefully; The system of the present invention calculates the height of sand or indicates the presence of water or rocks based on temperature. Specifically, Lan is a relationship between temperatures and centimeters of obstruction mass

Claims (1)

protection elements 1- System (1) for monitoring monitoring rails of (100) rails; it is characterized by Includes: JS - optical fiber cable At least one (A) first to be installed in contact with Associated rod (201) and at least one second optical fiber cable 5 (b) installed on the top of the ballast (top of the ballast or ground) or sleepers supporting the rail (aig » sleepers supporting the rail) design of the cable for b) to continuously detect many signals (bl,... , b28) signals ,828,...,81) track or brake temperature in many corresponding (R1,..., R28) plurality of positions along the path; The processing system (4) aims to: 0 - receive signals (bl,..., b28) receive signals (328,...,21) as its cabled input Optical fiber cables mentioned (a; b); - Determine the temperatures (Tbl,..., Tb28) ,1828,...,181) associated with the mentioned signals and - Exit to one or more of the (P1) positions affected by loss of rod performance and/or Obstacles (202) along the caterpillar corridor and the aforementioned position (P1) is determined on the basis of the temperatures of the rail and/or brake (182, 152). 2- System according to claim 1; It is distinguished that the temperatures specified in the signals of the first cable (T) are related to the performance of the rail at the mentioned locations, and the performance loss of the mentioned rail is proportional to the difference between the temperatures of the rail. 0 and the normal operating degree of the rail at the mentioned positions. 3- System according to claim 1; It is characterized by the fact that the specified temperatures are indicated by cable signals The second (b) relates to the depth of the curb under the aforementioned obstruction in the aforementioned positions; Depth proportional mentioned with the difference between the set brake temperature and the normal brake temperature at the position. 4- System pursuant to claim 1; It is distinguished that the mentioned optical fiber cables (¢f) b) are designed to detect said signals (al,..., 828, bl,..., 8) along the entire path and are programmed Processing system (4) to receive the signals detected by the cables at a distance of less than 1 meter. 5- System pursuant to claim 1; It is distinguished that the aforementioned processing system (4) includes many workstations ((5X=52) each work dase (5X) aims to receive signals (b28) ....,01 ,828 ,...,21) as its input which is detected along section (66) predetermined for “dT” cables and is programmed to determine degrees (Tal, ..., 186, 151, ..., ThE) shall 0 and the detection positions (R1, ..., RE) corresponding to the signals (01, 86, ...81, 56) received from the cables along the mentioned predetermined section (*«6). 6 System pursuant to claim 5; It is distinguished that the aforementioned workstations (5% = 52) are arranged at a distance between 10 and 30 km from each other during use. 7- System pursuant to claim 5; It is characterized by the fact that it includes a post-processing and data collection station (7) aimed at receiving temperatures (Tal,..., 1828, Tbl,..., Tb28) as input from workstations (52-*5) and determining performance loss and /or positions (PL) affected by obstructions; said determination includes comparison of at least temperatures (182, 152) at the point of detection (R2) 0 and expected temperatures Th2att (,182811) at detection point (R2) and/or comparison of temperatures Th2 (,182) at detection point (R2) and degrees (Tal , 183, 101, shall Th3) at the detection point (R1) prior or the detection point (R3) subsequent to said detection point (R2); The aforementioned obstacle is determined if the difference between the temperatures during the aforementioned examination exceeds a predetermined threshold. 25 8- The System, according to protection element 7, is characterized by the mentioned temperatures (Ta2, Tb2) at the detection point (R2), the expected temperatures mentioned (Th2att), 182811) and the temperatures (Tal, 183, 191, Tb3) at which the previous detection point (R1) or subsequent detection point (R3) is taken into account with reference to multiple detection slots; The comparison is performed a corresponding number of times; Said performance loss and/or hindrance is determined if the average temperature differences during the test exceed a predetermined threshold. 9- System pursuant to claim 8; It is distinguished that the differences between the mentioned temperatures are related to the different dimensions or volume heights. 0 - System according to Clause 1 or Clause 9; It is characterized by the fact that said obstacles include a mass of sand, gravel, snow, water, dead animal carcasses, or dug material on the track. 1- System pursuant to claim 8; It is characterized by the number of different adjacent selection points 5 (01) associated with an area covered by the obstruction. 2- The System according to claim 1 is characterized in that it includes a third optical fiber cable (C) to be installed in contact with a second rod (204) for the track and a fourth optical fiber cable (D) to be installed on top of the ballast 0 or ground or beams; near the second penis mentioned (204); The third and fourth cables are designed to continuously detect several signals (cl,...,028, d1,...,d28) of track or brake temperature at several of the positions listed (R28,...41) along the path; Processing system (4) aims to receive signals (d28),...,01, 228,...,61) as its input from the third and fourth optical fiber cable, and uses signals (d28),.....,01,028 ,...,61) to determine the temperature 5 (Td1,..., Td28) ,1028,...,101) associated with E. The said treatment system has been programmed to identify the positions 0051000 (P1) affected by the loss of penile performance or obstacles (202) with a stretch strait path based on the degree Tbl,..., 1928, Tcl,..., shall ,1028) Td1,..., 1828 (Td1,..., Td28), 1828) of the specified rod or brake in conjunction with The four cables listed (cl,b,c,d). 13- System pursuant to claim 1; It is distinguished that the aforementioned workstations include: - A device for receiving a stream of the aforementioned signals, 628 (al,..., 328, bl,..., b28, cl,..., d28),..., 01 which is continuously sampled over time by cables; The said device has a sampling speed of ana order tens of millions of signals every second; and a processor to determine the degrees of all and the positions associated with the signals in the current taken due aie at the same moment in time ttime instant 10 4- System according to protection element 1; It is distinguished by the fact that the aforementioned post-processing and data collection station (7) includes a unit for archiving the collected data over time and a self-oleh Lams unit with the expected temperature value at a predetermined location along the path at a moment in time 11 based on the stored data 5 5. The System according to claim 1 is characterized by that said processing system includes Load a central control unit for receiving input data from the post-processing system and collecting said data Said control unit includes: 0 - Obstacle display mapping system; - Barrier Management System (dll) includes alarms that are activated automatically or manually after Gilad is detected .obstacle 6 - system pursuant to claim 5; It has the advantage that said workstations detect a Shall Degree of 5 with a margin of error of less than one tenth (one-tenth) of a degree Celsius. 7- A track that includes the monitoring system according to any of the previous protection elements. 8- Method (1) for monitoring the tracks of (100) railway lines; cal line an underground train line or railway tracks; It is characterized by the following steps: - Continuously detecting numerous (al,..., 828, bl,..., b28) signals of track or brake temperature at several corresponding positions (R28,...,41) along the tracks Said detection step shall be performed by means of at least one first optical fiber cable (a) fitted in contact with the relevant rod (201); and at least one optical SG fiber cable (b) to be installed on top of the baffle, floor or beams to support the penis; - Reception of the processing system (4) for signals (bl,..., b28, 828,...,81) as its input from optical fiber cables (b); Defines in System (4) the temperatures (Tal,..., 1328, Tbl,..., Th28) associated with the aforementioned signals and an output for one or more of the positions (P1) affected by loss of rod performance or obstacles (202) along the 5th Masra road and the said position (01) was determined on the basis of the temperatures of the rail and/or ballast (182, 152). 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Sued Authority for Intellectual Property RE .¥ + \ A 0 § 8 Ss o + < M SNE A J > E K J TE I UN BE Ca a a a ww > Ld Ed H Ed - 2 Ld, provided that the annual financial consideration is paid for the patent and that it is not null and void for violating any of the provisions of the patent system, layout designs of integrated circuits, plant varieties and industrial designs, or its implementing regulations. Ad Issued by + bb 0.b The Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property > > > This is PO Box 1011 .| for ria 1*1 v= ; Kingdom | Arabic | For Saudi Arabia, SAIP@SAIP.GOV.SA