ES2605204B1 - DEVICE AND PROCEDURE FOR MEASURING THE HEIGHT OF CLUSTERS OF A SUBSTANCE IN RAILWAY ENVIRONMENTS - Google Patents

Abstract

Device and procedure for measuring the height of clusters of a substance in railway environments. # A device for measuring the height of clusters of a substance in railway environments and its associated measurement procedure is disclosed. The device comprises: a load cell (2); a presence detector (3), comprising at least two presence sensors (3 ') located in the same vertical plane at different heights, configured to activate when they detect the presence of the substance; and, processing means (5) configured to calculate: a first height of the substance cluster from the weight measured by the load cell (2); and, a second height from a reading of the presence detectors (3). The processing means are configured to select the first height as the cumulus height of the substance if there is consistency between the first and the second height, and select the second height as the cumulus height of the substance if there is inconsistency between the first and the second height.

Description

DESCRIPTION

DEVICE AND PROCEDURE FOR MEASURING THE HEIGHT OF CLUSTERS OF A SUBSTANCE IN RAILWAY ENVIRONMENTS

 5

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is a new device capable of determining the amount of substance accumulated in a certain place as well as its associated measurement procedure. The substance may be any substance known to be dense, and preferably, those substances found in railway environments such as water, sand, ice, cereals, etc.

The present invention pertains in general to the field of substance height measurement sensors. More preferably, the invention belongs to the field of 15 sand height measurement sensors used in the railway and communications environments in desert environments.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

  twenty

Currently, major projects in railway technology are being carried out both nationally and internationally. Among them are several high-speed lines that cross desert areas with extreme climates. For example, it is the case of the high-speed train that in Saudi Arabia will cover the 453 km that separate the cities of Medina and Mecca, where part of the route is made through a 25 sandy desert. The passage of the train through the desert greatly increases the requirements of both the tracks and the trains themselves, since both must be resistant not only to high temperatures but also to bear the technical inconveniences created by the sand.

 30

In fact, the invasion of the roads by sand coming from moving dunes or deposited by phenomena of sand and wind storms is one of the concerns that can affect both the use and maintenance of the facilities. In case of depositing on the roads a significant amount of

sand, it might be necessary to decrease the speed allowed temporarily, reaching in extreme cases to interrupt train traffic for safety.

Other natural phenomena such as water, ice or even cereals from crop fields near railways can also hinder the transit of trains.

In this context, it is necessary to use accumulation detectors or substance clusters capable of providing the railway line operator, in particular the high-speed line, information about the amount of substance (sand, water, etc.) which accumulates at certain times in certain points of the road.

Devices for measuring substance such as rain or snow are known in the state of the art, formed by a single sensor such as that disclosed in CN203444126 (U) and entitled "WEIGHING TYPE RAIN AND SNOW METER BASED ON WIRELESS 15 SENSOR NETWORK".

There are currently no known substance cluster detectors capable of performing this function, and therefore there is a need in the art that is not yet solved. twenty

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention describes a device capable of measuring substance clusters (sand, water, etc.) that solves the above problem by measuring the weight and height of the substance at a certain point and that transmits this information from the device to a center. control where the necessary actions will be taken at all times.

A first aspect of the invention is directed to a device for measuring the height of 30 clusters of a substance in railway environments. Therefore, within rail environments, the device of the present invention can be implanted in at least plate tracks, ballast tracks, sand traps, rail platform and retaining walls. The device basically comprises:

 - a load cell configured to measure a weight of the substance; 35

 - a presence detector, comprising at least two presence sensors located at different heights, configured to activate when they detect the presence of the substance; Y,

 - processing means that are connected to the load cell and to the presence detector and that are configured to calculate: a first height of the substance cluster from the weight measured by the load cell; and, a second height from a reading of the presence detectors. The processing means are configured to select the first height as the cumulus height of the substance if there is consistency between the first and the second height, and select the second height as the cumulus height of the substance if there is 10 inconsistency between the first and the second. second height; There is consistency between the first and second height when the absolute value of the difference between the two is less than a predetermined error, and incoherence in case said difference is equal to or greater than said predetermined error.

 fifteen

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the device additionally comprises a humidity sensor and a temperature sensor connected to the processing means to detect ambient humidity and temperature conditions, respectively. Humidity and temperature are factors that can greatly affect the density of the substance, which represents a fundamental variable 20 in the measure of the first height (see equation 1 below).

In another embodiment of the invention, the presence detector comprises a tilt sensor that will help correct the height measurements or detect changes in the presence detector position. Changes in the position of the presence detector may be due to a blow, vandalism or defects in the presence detector anchor. Therefore, by means of the inclination sensor, the processing means can generate an alarm signal that will be sent to the control center for processing. Preferably, the inclination sensor may be an accelerometer or clinometer. With respect to the positioning of the inclination sensor 30 in the presence detector, the location of the inclination sensor in the raised parts thereof on the lower parts is preferred since it increases the sensitivity and precision of the measurements taken by the inclination sensor.

In another embodiment of the invention, the device additionally comprises communication means connected to the processing means, so that the processing means can send at least the height of the substance clusters to a control center.

 5

In another embodiment of the invention, the device additionally comprises power means configured to provide power to the load cell, the presence detector, the communication means and the processing means. From among the current technologies, load cells of any type (of gauges, piezoelectric, hydraulic, pneumatic ...) are preferably chosen, although in a preferred embodiment of the invention a load cell based on a strain gauge connected to A Wheatstone Bridge

In another embodiment of the invention, the presence detector is selected from capacitive detectors, inductive detectors, ultrasonic sensors and laser sensors.

In another embodiment of the invention, the communication means are selected from: wired analog communication means; serial digital media by fiber optic; a serial media about 20 ZigBee; MiWi media; Wifi media; radio frequency communication means; and, any combination of the above. The communication means may comprise wired analog communication media, UART serial digital fiber optic communication media and wireless serial communication media over ZigBee, these three means of communication being redundant with each other.

In another embodiment of the invention, the processing means are selected from a microprocessor, a microcontroller, an FPGA, a DSP and an ASIC.

 30

In another embodiment of the invention, the feeding means are selected from the mains, solar panels, batteries, mini-wind turbines, geothermal power generation devices, kinetic energy production devices and electrical generation devices from gradient of salinity. The power means can be a connection to the mains, a battery that charges at 35

through the connection to the mains, and a solar panel that feeds said battery in case of failure in the mains.

In a second aspect of the invention, a method is provided for measuring the height of clusters of a substance in railway environments by means of the device 5 defined in any one of the previous embodiments referred to the first aspect of the invention. The procedure comprises the following phases:

a) calculate a first height of the substance cluster from the weight measured by the load cell, the sensor surface and the density of the substance; 10

b) calculate a second height from a reading of the presence detectors;

c) select the first height as cumulus height of the substance if there is consistency between the first and second height; there is coherence between the first and second height when the absolute value of the difference between the two is less than a predetermined error;

d) select the second height as cumulus height of the substance if there is inconsistency between the first and second height; there is inconsistency between the first and second height when the absolute value of the difference between the two is equal to or greater than the predetermined error. twenty

In an embodiment of the invention, step a) additionally comprises the following phases:

 - determine the existence of errors in the load cell reading; Y,

 - select the second height of the substance cluster when 25 errors are detected in the load cell reading.

In another embodiment of the invention, step b) additionally comprises the following phases:

 - determine the existence of errors in the reading of the presence detectors; Y,

 - select the first height of the substance cluster when errors are detected in the presence detector reading.

In another embodiment of the invention, the method further comprises informing an error control center in the presence detectors, in the load cell, or both.

In another embodiment of the invention, the method further comprises taking an alternative density of sand in case repetitive errors are detected in the measure of the height from the mass measured by the load cell, the density of the substance and a rainfall condition.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 10

Fig. 1 shows a block diagram of the elements that make up an exemplary embodiment of the device according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of an example of implementation of the device of the present invention on a train track.

Fig. 3 shows an example of implementation of the load cell in the train track.

 twenty

Fig. 4 shows an elevation view of an embodiment of the presence detector according to the present invention.

Fig. 5 shows a plan view of the embodiment example of the presence detector shown in Fig. 4. 25

Fig. 6 shows an example of the presence detector implementation shown in figure 4 on the train track.

Fig. 7 shows an elevation view of the embodiment example of the presence detector shown in figure 4 and the different positions (heights) of the capacitive sensors with respect to the train track elements.

Fig. 8 shows a flow chart of the measurement procedure carried out by the device of the present invention. 35

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

An example of embodiment of the device of the present invention is detailed below. For the present embodiment, sand has been chosen as a substance whose accumulation (cumulus) in height is intended to be measured. Therefore, the device of the present invention according to the present embodiment will measure the height of sand accumulated in a train track. The height measurement of any other substance is carried out in a similar way since the device of the present invention is manufactured in a sealed and resistant way at high and low temperatures.

 10

An example of the device 1 for measuring the height of accumulated sand is described below with reference to the attached figures. Specifically, Fig. 1 shows a diagram of the device 1 where the different elements that make up the device 1 are appreciated. The device 1 of this example has been robustly constructed to ensure its operation, so that most of the 15 elements they are redundant, with two different elements of accumulated sand detection, specifically a load cell 2 and a presence detector 3. The device 1 additionally comprises the communication means 4, the processing system 5, the feeding system 6 , humidity sensor 7 and temperature sensor 8. 20

The communication means 4 communicate the device 1 with the control center 26. The communication can be carried out by analog communication, serial communication via fiber optic, and serial communication over ZigBee. On the other hand, the power system 6 is double, specifically the power supply 6´ of 24 V and 25 the solar panel 6´´ supported by the battery 6´´´.

On the other hand, the processing means 5 comprise a microcontroller, which normally has the following components:

 Processor or CPU (Central Processing Unit). 30

 RAM to contain the data.

 Memory for the ROM / PROM / EPROM type program.

 I / O lines to communicate abroad.

 Various modules for peripheral control (timers, Serial and Parallel Ports, CAD: Analog / Digital Converters, CDA: Digital / Analog Converters, etc.).

 Clock pulse generator that synchronizes the operation of the entire system. 5

All of the above because there will be a considerable amount of sensors whose data must be collected, processed, and communicated.

The device 1 shown in FIG. 1 can be implemented on the train track as shown in FIG. 2. In the implementation shown in FIG. 2 two load cells 2 associated with two presence detectors 3 are shown and all connected to a single box where the rest of the elements (4 to 8) that comprise the device 1 are installed. As shown in FIG. 2, each load cell 2 and each presence detector 3 are associated with a rail 9 seated on its corresponding rail support 10 which in turn is connected to the plate 21.

FIG. 3 shows in greater detail the load cell 2 and its implementation on the train track. Specifically, the load cell 2 is inside a recess made in the plate path 21 such that the sensor surface 2´´ is flush with the upper part 20 of the plate path 12. In this way, the reading of the height obtained by the load cell 2 is directly the height of the sand accumulated on the load cell 2. The load cell 2 functions as a scale such that by means of the pressure sensor 2 ', the load cell 2 calculates the weight of the sand accumulated on the sensor surface 2´´. Load cell 2 sends the measured weight reading to the 25 processing means, which know the surface of the sensor surface 2´´ and the density of the sand. The processing means calculate the height of the sand by applying the equation:

d (kg / m3) = m (kg) / V (m3) = m (kg) / [S (m2) * harena load (m)]; 30

harena load (m) = m (kg) / [S (m2) * d (kg / m3)] (equation 1)

being "d" the density of the sand, "m" the mass, "V" the volume, "S" the surface of the sensor surface 2´´ and harena cload (m) the height of the sand column located on the 2´´ sensor surface. 35

In the example shown in FIG. 3, the pressure sensor is an strain gauge connected to a Wheatstone bridge, which is the most commonly used configuration for the use of load cells.

As mentioned above, the processing means 5 know the density of the sand in order to calculate its height. To calculate the height with greater precision, the processing means 5 are connected to the humidity sensor 7 and the temperature sensor 8 and thus know the possible variations in the density of the sand due to the humidity and temperature factors. Any other meteorological factor (e.g., rain) can be measured by a meteorological station 10 and sent to the processing means 5 by the control center 26 for the correction of the measurements.

On the other hand, Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 show an embodiment of the presence detector 3 composed of twelve capacitive presence sensors 3 'arranged in three heights. 15 That is, four capacitive presence sensors 3 'by height arranged at 90 ° with respect to each other (see Fig. 5) and fixed to a sensor holder 16, which is fixed to a fastening plate 20 anchored to the plate track 21 by anchoring the detector 19. The maximum sensor height can be variable, choosing a maximum height of 20 cm for the present embodiment. The capacitive presence sensors 20 3 'are protected by a removable tube 15 and a tight cover 14. The presence detector 3 has a wiring 18 for communication with the processing means. Said wiring 18 crosses the removable tube 15 where the towing press 17 is placed, which ensures the presence detector 3 is sealed. The capacitive presence sensors 3 'are activated when they are buried underground 25 and are not activated by wind-blown sand. .

The presence detector 3 shown in Figures 4 and 5 is also shown in FIG. 6 placed on the plate track 21 on which the rail 9 and the rail holder 10 are also located. The presence detector 3 is separated a distance "d" from the rail 30 where said distance "d" can be variable. As can be seen in FIG. 6, the presence detector 3 is composed of three planes at different heights between the base of the rail 9 and the top of it. In each of the planes there are four capacitive presence sensors 3´. Therefore, if you want to monitor the amount of sand that is deposited near lane 9, the sensors

3´ capacitive presence located in the lower plane will be activated first, then those located in the intermediate plane to end with the activation of the 3´ capacitive presence sensors of the upper plane.

Alternatively to the presence detector 3 implementation shown in 5 figures 4 to 6, in FIG. 7 shows an implementation of the presence detector 3 composed of four height adjustable support plates 25 and an upper plate 27. The rods 24 support both the height adjustable support plates 25 and the upper plate 27, joining them to the plate fastener 20 that is fixed to the concrete slab 22 by means of the anchors 19. A capacitive presence sensor 3 'is mounted on each of the support plates 10 25 adjustable, and an inclinometer 23 is mounted on the top plate 27 The inclinometer 23 or inclination detector is an accelerometer or a clinometer that detects changes in the position of the device. The inclinometer 23 is located in the highest part of the presence detector and allows to detect changes in its position (inclination), either by the effect of a blow, vandalism, defect in the anchorage of the device, etc., which allows the Processing means send an alarm signal to the control center. The inclinometer 23 calculates the inclination of the surface of the concrete slab 22, where the presence detector 3 is fixed. Therefore, the inclinometer 23 also helps correct the height measurements taken by both the presence detector 3 and by the cell of 20 loads 2, since the corrections are carried out by the processing means 5.

An example of the procedure for measuring the height of sand clusters in railway environments according to the present invention is detailed below. The combination of the two sensors (the load cell and the presence detectors) is intended to ensure the calculation of the height of the sand in hostile environments for electronic devices such as sand in desert areas. The load cell is intended to provide an accurate measure of the height of the sand cluster, while the presence detectors try to provide a less accurate measure where the combination and comparison according to the method of the present invention ensures the obtaining a measure of the height of the sand in any circumstance. The procedure that controls the operation of the device 1 described above is detailed in the flow chart of FIG. 8. The

The procedure comprises that the processing means carry out the following phases:

a) calculate a first height of the sand cluster from the weight measured by the load cell 2, the sensor surface 2 'and the density of the sand;

b) calculate 31 a second height of the sand cluster from the readings of 5 presence detectors 3;

c) determine 32 if there is an error in the readings of the presence detectors 3; if so, skip to step f); otherwise, continue;

d) determine 33 if there is a weight error measured by load cell 2; if so, skip to step g); otherwise, continue; 10

e) calculate 34 the absolute value of the difference between the first and second height and compare it with a predetermined error; If the absolute value is less than the default error, continue; otherwise, skip to step g);

f) select 35 as the height of the sand cluster, the first height calculated in step a); fifteen

g) select 36 as the height of the sand cluster, the second height calculated in step b).

The procedure ends in step f) or step g) since in both cases the height of the sand cluster is calculated. If the procedure is applied iteratively, step f) or g) skips to step a).

When the absolute value of the difference between the first and second height is less than the predetermined error, it is defined as that both (first and second) means made of the height are consistent, and inconsistent in case the absolute value of the difference is equal to or greater than the default error.

In detail, step a) is carried out as defined for device 1, that is, the load cell calculates the weight of the sand and the processing means apply equation 1. On the other hand, in the step b), when a presence sensor 30 detects the presence of the sand, it sends a signal (read) to the processing means containing at least one presence sensor identification. The height of each presence sensor and its identification are previously stored in the processing means. In this way it is known the height of the sand coincides with the height of the presence sensor, except for correction factors that are

They could apply. On the other hand, in step c), when the processing means detect the activation of a presence sensor but the activations of the presence detectors placed below have not been detected, it is considered that there is an error in the presence detectors. Activated detectors can also be stored in time for possible faults. On the other hand, in step 5 d), when the processing means detect a correct activation sequence of the presence sensors, that is from the bottom of the sensor to the top, but do not detect significant variation of the weight calculated by the load cell, the processing means consider the measurement provided by the load cell as erroneous. With respect to step e), the predetermined error will depend on the space between each two consecutive presence sensors placed vertically. The smaller the distance between them, the smaller the default error.

To help minimize errors, the device 1 communicates with the control center 26 to exchange data that could affect the calculations (determination of the first and second height) made by the processing means such as existence or not. of rains, which will affect the density of sand. Other data that help minimize errors are the humidity and temperature data from the humidity and temperature sensors, respectively. twenty

Claims (16)

1. Device (1) for measuring the height of clusters of a substance in railway environments, characterized in that it comprises:  - a load cell (2) configured to measure a weight of the substance; 5  - a presence detector (3), comprising at least two presence sensors (3 ') located at different heights, configured to activate when they detect the presence of the substance;  - processing means (5) are connected to the load cell (2) and the presence detector (3) and are configured to calculate: a first height of the cumulus of the substance from the weight measured by the cell of load (2); and, a second height from a reading of the presence detectors (3); wherein said processing means are configured to select the first height as the cumulus height of the substance if there is consistency between the first and the second height, and select the second height as the cumulus height of the substance if there is inconsistency between the first and the second height; There is consistency between the first and second height when the absolute value of the difference between the two is less than a predetermined error, and incoherence in case said difference is equal to or greater than said predetermined error.  twenty 2. Device (1) for measuring the height of clusters of a substance in railway environments, according to claim 1, characterized in that the device (1) additionally comprises a humidity sensor (7) and a temperature sensor (8) connected to the processing means (5), to detect environmental conditions of humidity and temperature, respectively. 25 3. Device (1) for measuring the height of clusters of a substance in railway environments, according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the presence detector (3) additionally comprises an inclination sensor (23).  30 4. Device (1) for measuring the height of clusters of a substance in railway environments, according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the device (1) additionally comprises communication means (4) connected to the means of processing (5), so that the processing means (5) can send at least the height of the clusters to a control center (26). 35 5. Device (1) for measuring the height of clusters of a substance in railway environments, according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the device (1) additionally comprises feeding means (6) configured to provide electrical power to the load cell (2), the presence detector (3), the communication means (4) and the processing means (5). 6. Device (1) for measuring the height of clusters of a substance in railway environments, according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the load cell (2) is based on a strain gauge connected to a 10 Wheatstone bridge . 7. Device (1) for measuring the height of clusters of a substance in railway environments, according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the presence detector (3) is selected from capacitive detectors, inductive detectors, 15 ultrasonic sensors and laser sensors. 8. Device (1) for measuring the height of clusters of a substance in railway environments, according to claim 4, wherein the communication means (4) are selected from:  - wired analog communication means;  - serial digital media for fiber optic communication;  - a serial media about ZigBee;  - a MiWi media;  - Wifi media; 25  - means of radio frequency communication; Y,  - any combination of the above. 9. Device (1) for measuring the height of clusters of a substance in railway environments, according to claim 8, wherein the communication means (4) 30 comprise wired analog communication means, UART series digital communication means by optical fiber and Wireless serial media over ZigBee, these three media being redundant with each other. 10. Device (1) for measuring the height of clusters of a substance in railway environments, according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the processing means (5) are selected from a microprocessor, a microcontroller, an FPGA, a DSP and an ASIC.  5 11. Device (1) for measuring the height of clusters of a substance in railway environments, according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the feeding means (6) are selected from the power grid (6 '), solar panels (6) ´´), batteries (6´´´), mini-wind turbines, geothermal power generation devices, kinetic energy production devices and 10 electrical generation devices from salinity gradient. 12. Method for measuring the height of clusters of a substance in railway environments by means of the device defined in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the method is characterized in that it comprises the following 15 phases: a) calculate a first height of the substance cluster from the weight measured by the load cell (2), the sensor surface and the density of the substance; b) calculate a second height from a reading of the presence detectors (3); c) select the first height as cumulus height of the substance if there is consistency between the first and second height; there is consistency between the first and second height when the absolute value of the difference between the two is less than a predetermined error; 25 d) select the second height as cumulus height of the substance if there is inconsistency between the first and second height; there is inconsistency between the first and the second height when the absolute value of the difference between the two is equal to or greater than the predetermined error.  30 13. Method for measuring the height of clusters of a substance in railway environments, according to claim 12, wherein step a) additionally comprises the following phases:  - determine the existence of errors in the load cell reading (2);  - select the second height of the substance cluster when errors are detected in the load cell reading (2). 14. Method for measuring the height of clusters of a substance in railway environments, according to claim 12, wherein step b) additionally comprises the following phases:  - determine the existence of errors in the reading of presence detectors;  - select the first height of the substance cluster when errors are detected in the presence detector reading (3). 10 15. Method for measuring the height of clusters of a substance in railway environments, according to claim 13 or 14, which further comprises informing an error control center in the presence detectors (3), in the load cell (2 ), or both. fifteen 16. A method for measuring the cumulus height of a substance in railway environments, according to any one of claims 12 to 15, which additionally comprises taking an alternative sand density in case repetitive errors are detected in the measure of the height a from the mass measured by the load cell (2) 20, the density of the substance and a precipitation condition.