WO2008099177A1 - Photographic recording of a rail surface - Google Patents

Photographic recording of a rail surface Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2008099177A1
WO2008099177A1 PCT/GB2008/000508 GB2008000508W WO2008099177A1 WO 2008099177 A1 WO2008099177 A1 WO 2008099177A1 GB 2008000508 W GB2008000508 W GB 2008000508W WO 2008099177 A1 WO2008099177 A1 WO 2008099177A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
rail
imaging system
defect
ultrasonic
ultrasonic imaging
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/GB2008/000508
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Robert Lye Crocker
Original Assignee
Sperry Rail (International) Limited
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Sperry Rail (International) Limited filed Critical Sperry Rail (International) Limited
Publication of WO2008099177A1 publication Critical patent/WO2008099177A1/en

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N29/00—Investigating or analysing materials by the use of ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves; Visualisation of the interior of objects by transmitting ultrasonic or sonic waves through the object
    • G01N29/04—Analysing solids
    • G01N29/043—Analysing solids in the interior, e.g. by shear waves
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B61—RAILWAYS
    • B61D—BODY DETAILS OR KINDS OF RAILWAY VEHICLES
    • B61D15/00—Other railway vehicles, e.g. scaffold cars; Adaptations of vehicles for use on railways
    • B61D15/08—Railway inspection trolleys
    • B61D15/12—Railway inspection trolleys power propelled
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B61—RAILWAYS
    • B61K—AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR RAILWAYS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B61K9/00—Railway vehicle profile gauges; Detecting or indicating overheating of components; Apparatus on locomotives or cars to indicate bad track sections; General design of track recording vehicles
    • B61K9/08—Measuring installations for surveying permanent way
    • B61K9/10—Measuring installations for surveying permanent way for detecting cracks in rails or welds thereof
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N29/00—Investigating or analysing materials by the use of ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves; Visualisation of the interior of objects by transmitting ultrasonic or sonic waves through the object
    • G01N29/04—Analysing solids
    • G01N29/048—Marking the faulty objects
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N2291/00—Indexing codes associated with group G01N29/00
    • G01N2291/04—Wave modes and trajectories
    • G01N2291/044—Internal reflections (echoes), e.g. on walls or defects
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N2291/00—Indexing codes associated with group G01N29/00
    • G01N2291/26—Scanned objects
    • G01N2291/262—Linear objects
    • G01N2291/2623—Rails; Railroads

Definitions

  • This invention relates to the application of ultrasonic techniques to the photographic capture of images of a rail surface.
  • the running surface is the
  • a known inspection scheme consists of two steps. In a first step, a moving inspection vehicle travels over the rails and uses established ultrasonic technology to identify rail defects. Once a defect has been identified, a marker is painted on the rail, which enables a maintenance team to check the section of track identified.
  • Inspection schemes currently in operation allow all the various defects that can occur in railway rails to be determined in real time using an inspection vehicle travelling at up to about 30 mph. Data is logged using computers and can be examined in a variety of ways after the recording run has finished. Inspection schemes exist that enable the paint markers to be positioned within a few millimetres of the identified defect.
  • a key element of existing systems for photographing rail surfaces is the ability to take photographic images of rails from a vehicle travelling on those rails. Such systems are well established and have reached such sophistication that records can be made from a train travelling at 300 kph.
  • a problem associated with prior art inspection schemes using markers is that skilled maintenance engineers are required to visit the site of each identified defect and perform a detailed analysis of the problems there and then to carry out the required remedial action, if any. No information other than the ultrasonic data is available to the engineer prior to arriving at the site of the defective rail .
  • a problem associated with prior art systems for making a visual record of rail defects is the large quantity of data that is collected. Even with the most advanced computers available at present, it is impractical to process the data that is collected. In most circumstances, the majority of rails that are photographed are in good condition. Clearly, data relating to rails in good condition is of little interest to an engineer examining defects in the rail. Consequently, in the existing systems, large amounts of data are collected, processed for many hours and then almost wholly discarded. The proportion remaining, containing images of rails having defects, is a tiny proportion of the original data set.
  • the present invention provides a method of taking images of a rail from an inspection vehicle travelling on said rail, the method comprising the steps of: emitting ultrasonic pulses into a portion of said rail and detecting any reflections of said pulses from said portion of said rail; processing said reflections to determine whether or not a defect is present at or near the surface of said portion of said rail; and taking an image of said portion of said rail upon detection of a defect at or near the surface of said portion of said rail.
  • the present invention also provides an ultrasonic imaging system for taking images of a rail, the apparatus comprising: an ultrasonic probe assembly for emitting ultrasonic pulses into a portion of said rail and for detecting any reflections of said pulses from said portion of said rail; a processing system for determining from the detected reflections whether or not a defect is present at or near the surface of said rail; and an imaging device arranged to take an image of said portion of said rail upon detection by said processing system of a defect at or near the surface of said portion of said rail.
  • the present invention makes use of existing defect- detection technology to detect defects at or near the surface of a rail or rails on which an inspection vehicle is travelling.
  • the present invention enables this established, reliable technology to be used to take photographic images of rails having surface defects.
  • This addresses a key problem associated with present photographing schemes, namely the generation of large quantities of redundant data, as described above.
  • the present invention enables the photographic record to be relevant and not to include large amounts of data that need to be processed but are eventually discarded.
  • the present invention can be used to provide a maintenance engineer with both ultrasonic and photographic information of those pieces of track where defects have been detected. This may be of use in identifying the nature of the fault and the resources that are likely to be required to remedy the fault. It may also be possible to prioritise the seriousness of the defects without visiting the sites.
  • the step of processing the reflections from the rail in order to determine whether or not a defect is present at or near the surface of said rail is preferably carried out in real time as said inspection vehicle travels over said portion of said rail. Detecting the presence of a defect in real time enables all of the processing to be carried out from a moving inspection vehicle. This is advantageous as it enables a large amount of rail to be checked using a single inspection vehicle in a relatively short amount of time.
  • Taking an image of the rail using an imaging device is preferably done in real time as said inspection vehicle travels over said portion of said rail. Taking the images of the rail in real time enables the images to be taken from a moving inspection vehicle. This is advantageous as it enables a large amount of rail to be checked using a single inspection vehicle in a relatively short amount of time .
  • the step of taking an image may be carried out in response to a trigger signal issued in said processing step.
  • the image taking step may be delayed by a first predetermined period such that the image taken in the imaging step is of the defective portion of said rail.
  • This delay may be introduced using a delay stage.
  • the delay may be introduced by delaying a trigger signal issued by the processing system.
  • the first predetermined period may be set by an operator. Clearly, enabling the delay period to be set by an operator adds flexibility to the system and enables the imaging system to be fine-tuned on- site.
  • a means for marking the said portion of said rail upon detection of a defect at or near the surface of said portion of said rail may also be provided.
  • the marking step is carried out using a paint gun, wherein said paint gun is activated upon detection of a defect at or near the surface of said portion of said rail.
  • the marking step may be delayed by a second predetermined period such that the marked portion of said rail is the defective portion.
  • This delay may be introduced using a delay stage.
  • the delay may be introduced by delaying a trigger signal issued by the processing system.
  • the second predetermined period may be set by an operator. Clearly, enabling the delay period to be set by an operator adds flexibility to the system and enables the imaging system to be fine-tuned on-site.
  • the ultrasonic probe assembly of the present invention is preferably mounted under an inspection vehicle and may be mounted in contact with one or more rails on which the inspection vehicle is travelling.
  • Fig. 1 shows a cross-section of a rail having an ultrasonic probe mounted thereon;
  • Fig. 2 is a block diagram of a first ultrasonic imaging system in accordance with the present invention.
  • Fig. 3 is a block diagram of a second ultrasonic imaging system in accordance with the present invention.
  • Acoustic waves are emitted by the ultrasonic probe 4 that propagate through the rail.
  • the waves generally propagate through the rail without reflection, but reflections are caused by cracks or other defects in the rail. If a crack causes the ultrasonic wave to be reflected, this can be detected at the ultrasonic probe, which is typically able to both emit ultrasonic signals and detect ultrasonic echoes .
  • Inspection vehicles have been developed to make use of ultrasonic probes, such as the probe 4, to detect a variety of defects that can occur in railway rails, in real time. Data is logged using computers and can be examined in many ways after the recording run has finished. It has been shown over many years that the defects which are in, or affect the surface of the rail, can be detected using ultrasonic techniques in real time as the rail inspection vehicle passes over the defect.
  • FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an ultrasonic imaging system, indicated generally by the reference numeral 6, in accordance with the present invention.
  • the ultrasonic imaging system 6 includes an ultrasonic probe assembly 8, a processing system 10 and an imaging device 12.
  • the ultrasonic imaging system 6 shown in Figure 2 is part of an inspection vehicle travelling along a rail 14.
  • the rail 14 is shown having a crack 16 in the surface of the rail.
  • the ultrasonic imaging system 6 is arranged so that the processing system 10 detects the presence of the crack 16 in time for the imaging system to be triggered to take an image of the defective portion of the rail 14.
  • the system 6 may also include an adjustable delay stage 18 located between the processing system 10 and the imaging device 12.
  • the delay stage 18 can be used to introduce a user-modifiable delay between an image trigger output being generated by the processing system 10 and an image being captured by the imaging device 12.
  • acoustic pulses having an ultrasonic frequency are emitted from the ultrasonic probe assembly 8 into rail 14 and reflections from any defects at or near the surface of the rail 14 are detected by the ultrasonic probe assembly 8.
  • the detected reflections are processed by the processing system 10 to determine whether or not a defect is present in the rail. If the processing system 10 determines that a defect is present, the imaging device 12 is triggered to take a photographic image of the rail 14.
  • Figure 3 shows an ultrasonic inspection arrangement indicated generally by the reference numeral 20 that is similar to the ultrasonic imaging system 6 shown in Figure 2.
  • the ultrasonic inspection arrangement 20 includes the ultrasonic probe assembly 8, processing system 10 and imaging device 12 of the ultrasonic imaging system 6, but also includes a paint gun 22. Adjustable delay stages 18 and 24 may be located between the processing system 10 and the imaging device 12 and paint gun 22 respectively. The delays stages 18 and 24 are used to introduce appropriate delays between the processing system 10 and the imaging device 12 and the paint gun 20.
  • the ultrasonic imaging system 20 shown in Figure 3 is part of an inspection vehicle travelling along a rail 14.
  • the rail 14 is shown having a crack 16 in the surface of the rail.
  • acoustic pulses having an ultrasonic frequency are emitted from the ultrasonic probe assembly 8 into rail 14 and reflections from any defects at or near the surface of the rail 14 are detected by the ultrasonic probe assembly 8.
  • the detected reflections are processed by the processing system 10 to determine whether or not a defect is present in the rail. If the processing system 10 determines that a defect is present, the imaging device 12 is triggered to take a photographic image of the rail 14 and the paint gun 22 is triggered to provide a visual marker of the location of the detected defect.

Abstract

A method and system for taking images of a rail from an inspection vehicle travelling on said rail is described. The invention includes emitting ultrasonic pulses into a portion of said rail and detecting any reflections of said pulses from said portion of said rail; processing said reflections to determine whether or not a defect is present at or near the surface of said portion of said rail; and taking an image of said portion of said rail upon detection of a defect at or near the surface of said portion of said rail.

Description

Photographic Recording of a Rail Surface
This invention relates to the application of ultrasonic techniques to the photographic capture of images of a rail surface.
There are a number of defect types that occur in railway rails that either exist in the running surface of the rail, or at least affect it. The running surface is the
"horizontal" top surface of the rail that vehicle wheels roll along. One aspect of the rail maintenance is checking rails for such defects. This takes a variety of forms, including visual inspections by skilled engineers and the use of ultrasonic testing equipment.
The large size of most railway networks and the high proportion of rail in good condition mean that automated rail inspection schemes are crucial if rail inspection is to be carried out in a cost-effective manner.
A known inspection scheme consists of two steps. In a first step, a moving inspection vehicle travels over the rails and uses established ultrasonic technology to identify rail defects. Once a defect has been identified, a marker is painted on the rail, which enables a maintenance team to check the section of track identified.
Inspection schemes currently in operation allow all the various defects that can occur in railway rails to be determined in real time using an inspection vehicle travelling at up to about 30 mph. Data is logged using computers and can be examined in a variety of ways after the recording run has finished. Inspection schemes exist that enable the paint markers to be positioned within a few millimetres of the identified defect.
In addition to being able to locate and attend to defects in rails, engineers have had a requirement for many years to create a record of these defects in their railway networks. Consequently systems have been built to photograph the rail surface.
A key element of existing systems for photographing rail surfaces is the ability to take photographic images of rails from a vehicle travelling on those rails. Such systems are well established and have reached such sophistication that records can be made from a train travelling at 300 kph.
A problem associated with prior art inspection schemes using markers is that skilled maintenance engineers are required to visit the site of each identified defect and perform a detailed analysis of the problems there and then to carry out the required remedial action, if any. No information other than the ultrasonic data is available to the engineer prior to arriving at the site of the defective rail .
A problem associated with prior art systems for making a visual record of rail defects is the large quantity of data that is collected. Even with the most advanced computers available at present, it is impractical to process the data that is collected. In most circumstances, the majority of rails that are photographed are in good condition. Clearly, data relating to rails in good condition is of little interest to an engineer examining defects in the rail. Consequently, in the existing systems, large amounts of data are collected, processed for many hours and then almost wholly discarded. The proportion remaining, containing images of rails having defects, is a tiny proportion of the original data set.
The present invention provides a method of taking images of a rail from an inspection vehicle travelling on said rail, the method comprising the steps of: emitting ultrasonic pulses into a portion of said rail and detecting any reflections of said pulses from said portion of said rail; processing said reflections to determine whether or not a defect is present at or near the surface of said portion of said rail; and taking an image of said portion of said rail upon detection of a defect at or near the surface of said portion of said rail.
The present invention also provides an ultrasonic imaging system for taking images of a rail, the apparatus comprising: an ultrasonic probe assembly for emitting ultrasonic pulses into a portion of said rail and for detecting any reflections of said pulses from said portion of said rail; a processing system for determining from the detected reflections whether or not a defect is present at or near the surface of said rail; and an imaging device arranged to take an image of said portion of said rail upon detection by said processing system of a defect at or near the surface of said portion of said rail.
The present invention makes use of existing defect- detection technology to detect defects at or near the surface of a rail or rails on which an inspection vehicle is travelling. The present invention enables this established, reliable technology to be used to take photographic images of rails having surface defects. This addresses a key problem associated with present photographing schemes, namely the generation of large quantities of redundant data, as described above. Thus, the present invention enables the photographic record to be relevant and not to include large amounts of data that need to be processed but are eventually discarded. Furthermore, the present invention can be used to provide a maintenance engineer with both ultrasonic and photographic information of those pieces of track where defects have been detected. This may be of use in identifying the nature of the fault and the resources that are likely to be required to remedy the fault. It may also be possible to prioritise the seriousness of the defects without visiting the sites.
The step of processing the reflections from the rail in order to determine whether or not a defect is present at or near the surface of said rail is preferably carried out in real time as said inspection vehicle travels over said portion of said rail. Detecting the presence of a defect in real time enables all of the processing to be carried out from a moving inspection vehicle. This is advantageous as it enables a large amount of rail to be checked using a single inspection vehicle in a relatively short amount of time.
Taking an image of the rail using an imaging device is preferably done in real time as said inspection vehicle travels over said portion of said rail. Taking the images of the rail in real time enables the images to be taken from a moving inspection vehicle. This is advantageous as it enables a large amount of rail to be checked using a single inspection vehicle in a relatively short amount of time .
Clearly, it is advantageous if both the defect detection steps and the image capturing steps are carried out in real time. The technology required to implement these steps in real time is established and available to the person skilled in the art, but have not previously been used together.
The step of taking an image may be carried out in response to a trigger signal issued in said processing step.
The image taking step may be delayed by a first predetermined period such that the image taken in the imaging step is of the defective portion of said rail. This delay may be introduced using a delay stage. The delay may be introduced by delaying a trigger signal issued by the processing system. The first predetermined period may be set by an operator. Clearly, enabling the delay period to be set by an operator adds flexibility to the system and enables the imaging system to be fine-tuned on- site.
There may also be provided a means for marking the said portion of said rail upon detection of a defect at or near the surface of said portion of said rail. Preferably, the marking step is carried out using a paint gun, wherein said paint gun is activated upon detection of a defect at or near the surface of said portion of said rail. The use of a paint gun in conjunction with a real-time defect- detection apparatus is known in the art and can therefore be readily incorporated into the ultrasonic imaging system of the present invention by a person skilled in the art.
The marking step may be delayed by a second predetermined period such that the marked portion of said rail is the defective portion. This delay may be introduced using a delay stage. The delay may be introduced by delaying a trigger signal issued by the processing system. The second predetermined period may be set by an operator. Clearly, enabling the delay period to be set by an operator adds flexibility to the system and enables the imaging system to be fine-tuned on-site.
The ultrasonic probe assembly of the present invention is preferably mounted under an inspection vehicle and may be mounted in contact with one or more rails on which the inspection vehicle is travelling.
An apparatus and a method in accordance with the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings in which: Fig. 1 shows a cross-section of a rail having an ultrasonic probe mounted thereon;
Fig. 2 is a block diagram of a first ultrasonic imaging system in accordance with the present invention; and
Fig. 3 is a block diagram of a second ultrasonic imaging system in accordance with the present invention.
The use of ultrasonic techniques to inspect railway rails is well established in the art. Conventional ultrasonic rail inspection uses ultrasonic probes mounted under an inspection vehicle and mounted in contact with the rail. A typical arrangement is shown in Figure 1, which shows a rail 2 and an ultrasonic probe 4 in cross-section.
Acoustic waves are emitted by the ultrasonic probe 4 that propagate through the rail. The waves generally propagate through the rail without reflection, but reflections are caused by cracks or other defects in the rail. If a crack causes the ultrasonic wave to be reflected, this can be detected at the ultrasonic probe, which is typically able to both emit ultrasonic signals and detect ultrasonic echoes .
Inspection vehicles have been developed to make use of ultrasonic probes, such as the probe 4, to detect a variety of defects that can occur in railway rails, in real time. Data is logged using computers and can be examined in many ways after the recording run has finished. It has been shown over many years that the defects which are in, or affect the surface of the rail, can be detected using ultrasonic techniques in real time as the rail inspection vehicle passes over the defect.
Figure 2 is a block diagram of an ultrasonic imaging system, indicated generally by the reference numeral 6, in accordance with the present invention. The ultrasonic imaging system 6 includes an ultrasonic probe assembly 8, a processing system 10 and an imaging device 12.
The ultrasonic imaging system 6 shown in Figure 2 is part of an inspection vehicle travelling along a rail 14. The rail 14 is shown having a crack 16 in the surface of the rail. The ultrasonic imaging system 6 is arranged so that the processing system 10 detects the presence of the crack 16 in time for the imaging system to be triggered to take an image of the defective portion of the rail 14. Optionally, the system 6 may also include an adjustable delay stage 18 located between the processing system 10 and the imaging device 12. The delay stage 18 can be used to introduce a user-modifiable delay between an image trigger output being generated by the processing system 10 and an image being captured by the imaging device 12.
In use, acoustic pulses having an ultrasonic frequency are emitted from the ultrasonic probe assembly 8 into rail 14 and reflections from any defects at or near the surface of the rail 14 are detected by the ultrasonic probe assembly 8. The detected reflections are processed by the processing system 10 to determine whether or not a defect is present in the rail. If the processing system 10 determines that a defect is present, the imaging device 12 is triggered to take a photographic image of the rail 14. Figure 3 shows an ultrasonic inspection arrangement indicated generally by the reference numeral 20 that is similar to the ultrasonic imaging system 6 shown in Figure 2. The ultrasonic inspection arrangement 20 includes the ultrasonic probe assembly 8, processing system 10 and imaging device 12 of the ultrasonic imaging system 6, but also includes a paint gun 22. Adjustable delay stages 18 and 24 may be located between the processing system 10 and the imaging device 12 and paint gun 22 respectively. The delays stages 18 and 24 are used to introduce appropriate delays between the processing system 10 and the imaging device 12 and the paint gun 20.
As in the example of Figure 2, the ultrasonic imaging system 20 shown in Figure 3 is part of an inspection vehicle travelling along a rail 14. The rail 14 is shown having a crack 16 in the surface of the rail.
In use, acoustic pulses having an ultrasonic frequency are emitted from the ultrasonic probe assembly 8 into rail 14 and reflections from any defects at or near the surface of the rail 14 are detected by the ultrasonic probe assembly 8. The detected reflections are processed by the processing system 10 to determine whether or not a defect is present in the rail. If the processing system 10 determines that a defect is present, the imaging device 12 is triggered to take a photographic image of the rail 14 and the paint gun 22 is triggered to provide a visual marker of the location of the detected defect.

Claims

CLAIMS :
1. A method of taking images of a rail from an inspection vehicle travelling on said rail, the method comprising the steps of: emitting ultrasonic pulses into a portion of said rail and detecting any reflections of said pulses from said portion of said rail; processing said reflections to determine whether or not a defect is present at or near the surface of said portion of said rail; and taking an image of said portion of said rail upon detection of a defect at or near the surface of said portion of said rail.
2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said processing step determines whether or not a defect is present at or near the surface of said rail in real time as said inspection vehicle travels over said portion of said rail.
3. A method as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said step of taking an image occurs in real time as said inspection vehicle travels over said portion of said rail.
4. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein said step of taking an image is carried out in response to a trigger signal issued in said processing step.
5. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4 , further comprising the step of delaying the image taking step by a first predetermined period such that the image taken in the imaging step is of the defective portion of said rail.
6. A method as claimed in claim 5, wherein said first predetermined period is set by an operator.
7. A method as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising marking said portion of said rail upon detection of a defect at or near the surface of said portion of said rail.
8. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein said marking step is carried out using a paint gun, wherein said paint gun is activated upon detection of a defect at or near the surface of said portion of said rail.
9. A method as claimed in claim 7 or claim 8, further comprising the step of delaying the marking step by a second predetermined period such that the marked portion of said rail is the defective portion.
10. A method as claimed in claim 9, wherein said second predetermined period is set by an operator.
11. An ultrasonic imaging system for taking images of a rail, the apparatus comprising: an ultrasonic probe assembly for emitting ultrasonic pulses into a portion of said rail and for detecting any reflections of said pulses from said portion of said rail; a processing system for determining from the detected reflections whether or not a defect is present at or near the surface of said rail; and an imaging device arranged to take an image of said portion of said rail upon detection by said processing system of a defect at or near the surface of said portion of said rail.
12. An ultrasonic imaging system as claimed in claim 11, wherein said processing system determines whether or not a defect is present at or near the surface of said rail in real time as said imaging system travels over said portion of said rail.
13. An ultrasonic imaging system as claimed in claim 11 or claim 12, wherein said imaging device takes said image in real time as said imaging system travels over said portion of said rail.
14. An ultrasonic imaging system as claimed in any of claims 11 to 13, further comprising a delay stage for delaying the taking of said image by a first predetermined period such that the image taken by said imaging device is of the defective portion of said rail.
15. An ultrasonic imaging system as claimed in claim 14, wherein said first predetermined period is set by an operator.
16. An ultrasonic imaging system as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 15, further comprising means for marking said portion of said rail upon detection of a defect at or near the surface of said portion of said rail.
17. An ultrasonic imaging system as claimed in claim 16, wherein said marking means is a paint gun and wherein said paint gun is activated upon detection of a defect at or near the surface of said portion of said rail.
18. An ultrasonic imaging system as claimed in claim 16 or claim 17, further comprising a delay stage for delaying the activating of said marking means by a second predetermined period such that the marked portion of said rail is the defective portion.
19. An ultrasonic imaging system as claimed in claim 18, wherein said second predetermined period is set by an operator.
20. An ultrasonic imaging system as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 19, wherein said ultrasonic imaging system is part of an inspection vehicle travelling on said rail.
21. An ultrasonic imaging system as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 20, wherein said ultrasonic probe assembly is mounted in contact with said rail.
22. An inspection vehicle comprising an ultrasonic imaging system as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 21.
PCT/GB2008/000508 2007-02-14 2008-02-14 Photographic recording of a rail surface WO2008099177A1 (en)

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