1111111111111111 IIIIII IIIII 11111 1111111111 1111111111 111111111111111 111111111111111 11111111
`US 20070208841Al
`
`c19) United States
`c12) Patent Application Publication
`Barone et al.
`
`c10) Pub. No.: US 2007/0208841 Al
`Sep. 6, 2007
`(43) Pub. Date:
`
`(54) SELF-ASSEMBLING WIRELESS NETWORK,
`VEHICLE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM,
`RAILROAD WHEEL AND BEARING
`MONITORING SYSTEM AND METHODS
`THEREFOR
`
`Publication Classification
`
`(51)
`
`Int. Cl.
`G06F 151173
`
`(2006.01)
`
`(75)
`
`Inventors:
`
`Gerard A. Barone, Orlando, FL
`(US); Jason 0. Breitfeller,
`Rockledge, FL (US); David
`Andrew Jacobs, Winter Springs,
`FL (US); Charles W. Nyquist,
`Londwood, FL (US); Roger E.
`Rose, Orlando, FL (US)
`
`Correspondence Address:
`TIAJOLOFF & KELLY
`CHRYSLER BUILDING, 37TH FLOOR, 405
`LEXINGTON AVENUE
`NEW YORK, NY 10174
`
`(73)
`
`Assignee:
`
`L-3 Communications
`Corporation, New York, NY (US)
`
`(21)
`
`Appl. No.:
`
`11/655,672
`
`(22)
`
`Filed:
`
`Jan. 19, 2007
`
`Related U.S. Application Data
`
`(60)
`
`Provisional application No. 60/778,502, filed on Mar.
`1, 2006.
`
`(52) U.S. Cl. ....................................................... 709/223
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`A low power self-organizing network is made up of a
`plurality of wireless communication nodes communicating
`wirelessly with each other. The nodes each have a sensor
`providing a respective sensor data value indicative of a
`physical parameter in the environment of that node. The
`wireless network discontinues communication with any
`nodes in which the sensor data value is outside a range of
`network sensor data values. The network is preferably a
`group of vehicles moving together, especially a train in
`which each node is associated with a respective wheel of a
`railroad car. The nodes are low-power devices that commu(cid:173)
`nicate using wireless communications according to a Zigbee
`protocol. The nodes each have an additional sensor sensing
`a physical parameter the respective wheel thereof and deter(cid:173)
`mines from said electrical signal a degree of degradation of
`a bearing of the wheel, and transmits data of the degree of
`degradation to the main node. The main node communicates
`with another computer system using a higher power com(cid:173)
`munication system and transmits thereto data indicative of
`degradation of said bearings.
`
`110
`
`Zigbee
`comm. __ ..,......_,,
`to
`cars
`
`127
`
`Existing Cell Phone of Satellite
`
`✓ 111
`
`Satellite C/~---e WWW
`I
`~
`/1 Remote System
`
`113
`
`System Diagnostic
`115
`
`Normal Cell Phone/PDA
`
`Cell
`
`
`Page 1 of 59
`
`EX1007
`Petitioner Hum (223)
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
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`Zigbee
`comm.
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`
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`Patent Application Publication
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`Sep. 6, 2007 Sheet 9 of 35
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`
`Page 10 of 59
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`

`

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`
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`181
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`Page 11 of 59
`
`

`

`SYSTEM BLOCK DIAGRAM
`
`181
`
`Comparator
`Circuit With
`Adaptive Trip Point
`
`I ·
`
`~ 1
`
`Interrupt Input
`
`Temperature
`Sensor
`
`175
`
`Signal
`
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`Accelerometer
`.__ _ _ _ _ _ ____, Y Axis
`
`X Axis
`
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`Converter
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`Conditioning
`
`i-173
`Microphone
`
`ZIGBEE
`Transceiver
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`Accelerometer Phasing
`X = Og & Y = -lg
`
`FIG. 11
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`EARTH'S SURFACE
`/////////////
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`
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`Patent Application Publication
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`Patent Application Publication
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`Sep. 6, 2007 Sheet 31 of 35 US 2007/0208841 Al
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`Patent Application Publication
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`Sep. 6, 2007 Sheet 35 of 35 US 2007/0208841 Al
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`Page 36 of 59
`
`

`

`US 2007/0208841 Al
`
`Sep.6,2007
`
`1
`
`SELF-ASSEMBLING WIRELESS NETWORK,
`VEHICLE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM,
`RAILROAD WHEEL AND BEARING
`MONITORING SYSTEM AND METHODS
`THEREFOR
`
`RELATED APPLICATIONS
`
`[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. provi(cid:173)
`sional application 60/778,502 filed on Mar. 1, 2006, which
`is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`
`[0002] This invention relates to the field of networked
`wireless communications, and more particularly to wireless
`self-assembling networks that assemble communication
`nodes that each can sense some common environmental
`parameter. In an especially preferred application, this inven(cid:173)
`tion relates to the field of wirelessly networking vehicles,
`especially where the vehicles are railroad cars, and where
`the communications are part of a system for monitoring the
`degree of wear on the wheel bearings of railroad cars.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`[0003]
`In a typical wireless communication application,
`every active receiver and transmitter in range joins the
`network, although in some applications ID numbers are
`assigned to transmitter and receiver nodes so that only nodes
`with allowed ID numbers join the network. Consequentially,
`in prior art network schemes, the nodes of the network are
`defined either by range or by prior definition based on
`pre-assigned ID numbers for the nodes participating.
`[0004] Systems that access all nodes in range may include
`unnecessary nodes that use up bandwidth of the network.
`Bandwidth is an issue in common networks, which do not
`address wide bandwidth signal acquisition due to monitor(cid:173)
`ing hardware and wireless communication bandwidth limi(cid:173)
`tations. The common commercial communication bands,
`e.g., Bluetooth and Zigbee, do not support wide bandwidth
`transmission. Wide bandwidth transmissions are generally
`only provided by military wireless bands or by expensive
`commercial civilian bands.
`[0005] On the other hand, systems relying on node IDs are
`inflexible and may fail to pick up nodes that appropriately
`should be in the network due to various reasons, such as a
`failure to include a particular node ID in the list of nodes, or
`based on a lack of information that the node should be in the
`network.
`[0006]
`In the specific area of railroad cars, no suitable
`systems exist for properly monitoring them in real time,
`particularly in the area of monitoring wear and performing
`predictive maintenance of the bearings of the railroad cars.
`Bearing failures of individual railcars are responsible for
`expensive and potentially disastrous derailments.
`[0007] A number of trackside systems have been devel(cid:173)
`oped for monitoring bearing wear and other aspects of
`individual railroad car operation and movement of common
`rolling stock, including wayside monitoring systems such as
`Hot Box Detector (HBD), Trackside Acoustic Detection
`System (TADS) and Wheel Impact Load Detector (WILD),
`in which detectors adjacent the railroad track detects passing
`railroad cars and derives data from them that may indicate
`a problem with an individual railroad car. These systems can
`be said to work adequately for the vast majority of existing
`
`rolling stock applications, but, as speed of the passing
`railcars increases, there is less and less time to detect and
`react to potential problems, since these systems do not
`provide continuous real-time data. This could theoretically
`be improved by increasing the number ( and thus decreasing
`the distance) between wayside monitoring systems, allowing
`more communication with each railcar, but this involves
`substantial cost associated with installation and maintenance
`of the trackside detectors.
`[0008] As can be seen by the bibliography and references
`listed below, all of which are herein incorporated by refer(cid:173)
`ence, the possibility of onboard monitoring devices has been
`investigated. However, these earlier efforts or devices did
`not address:
`[0009] Ease of use and installation
`[0010] Long power life or power generation
`[0011] Onboard data processing yielding OK, Caution
`or Danger status
`[0012] Viable communication schemes.
`[0013] These attributes are necessary for a feasible, prac(cid:173)
`tical and economical end item product.
`[0014] A substantial problem is that wireless systems of
`the prior art that perform on-board monitoring require
`substantial amounts of electrical energy to power them. Due
`to the duration of use of railway cars, the long distances they
`cover, and the fact that they do not usually have their own
`source of electrical energy, these systems are not optimal.
`[0015] Literature of on-board monitoring of railway cars
`reveals the following:
`[0016] RR00-02, US Department of Transportation
`Federal Railroad Administration, "Developed Wheel
`and Axle Assembly Monitoring System to Improve
`Passenger Safety", www.fra.dot.gov/downlods/Re(cid:173)
`search/rr00-02.pdf, March 2000, incorporated herein
`by reference.
`[0017] The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
`sponsored test of two systems. The program was ini(cid:173)
`tiated in 1995 and the results published in 2000. (www.
`fra.dot.gov/downlods/Research/rr00-02.pdf), incorpo(cid:173)
`rated herein by reference.
`[0018] The FRA sponsored a program in 1999 with
`Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)
`as the prime contractor. The resulting publication, J.
`Donelson III and R. L. Dicus, "Bearing Defect Detec(cid:173)
`tion Using On-Board Accelerometer Measurements",
`Proceedings of 2002 ASME/IEEE Joint Rail Confer(cid:173)
`ence, Washington, D.C., 23-25 Apr. 2002, incorporated
`herein by reference, discusses advantages of onboard
`monitoring and the enveloping signal processing
`method which is widely acclaimed in other publica(cid:173)
`tions. Other discussions of the enveloping technique
`can be found in A. Y. Azovtsev and A. V. Barkov,
`"Improving The Accuracy Of Rolling Element Bearing
`Condition Assessment", www.vibrotek.com/articles/
`abcvi96/abcvi96.htm, Y. A. Azovtsev, A. V. Barkov and
`I. A. Yudin, "Automatic Diagnostics And Condition
`Monitoring Of Rolling Element Bearings Using Envel(cid:173)
`oping
`Techniques",
`www.vibrotek.com/articles/
`new94vi/index.htm, A. V. Barkov and N. A. Barkov,
`"The Artificial Intelligence Systems For Machine Con(cid:173)
`dition Monitoring And Diagnostics By Vibration",
`www.vibrotek.com/articles/intelect-englindex.htm, A.
`V. Barkov, "The Capabilities Of The New Generation
`Of The Monitoring And Diagnostic Systems", www.
`
`
`Page 37 of 59
`
`

`

`US 2007/0208841 Al
`
`Sep.6,2007
`
`2
`
`vibrotek.com/articles/metal-e/index.htm, D. Gluzman,
`"Recognizing Impending Bearing Failure", Reliability
`Magazine, June, 2001, Reliability Direct, Sales Tech(cid:173)
`nology, Inc., "Field Application Notes, Rolling Ele(cid:173)
`ment Bearings", www.reliabilitydirect.com/appnotes/
`reb.html, and I. Howard, "A Review Of Rolling
`Element Bearing Vibration, Detection, Diagnosis and
`Prognosis", Research Report DSTO-RR-0013, Aero(cid:173)
`nautical and Maritime Research Laboratory Airframes
`and Engines Division, Department Of Defense,
`Defense Science And Technology Organization
`(DSTO), to mention a few, all of which are incorpo(cid:173)
`rated herein by reference.
`[0019] The FRA web site, US Department of Transpor(cid:173)
`tation Federal Railroad Administration, Current
`Projects, Rolling Stock &Components, On-Board Con(cid:173)
`dition Monitoring System (OBCMS), www.fra.dot.
`gov/us/content/926, incorporated herein by reference,
`discusses the On-Board Condition Monitoring System
`(OBCMS) including a demonstration of data collected
`in 2004.
`[0020] Also of possible relevance is K. Bladon, D.
`Rennison, G. Izbinsky, R. Tracy, T. Bladon, "Predictive
`Condition Monitoring Of Railway Rolling Stock",
`Railway Technical Society Of Australasia, Conference
`On Railway Engineering, Darwin, 20-23 June 2004,
`also incorporated herein by reference.
`[0021] All of the above demonstrated successful monitor(cid:173)
`ing and bearing diagnostic capability using the available
`bulky power consuming technologies. It appears, however,
`that development of onboard monitoring systems was dis(cid:173)
`continued due to the success of the wayside monitoring
`systems and the inconveniences (large, power-consuming
`systems requiring cumbersome installation and logistics)
`imposed by the available onboard monitoring technology.
`[0022] There is consequently no system available that
`adequately provides a suitable system for on-board real-time
`monitoring of railway car bearings to alert the railroad of
`potential or imminent bearing failure that may create a very
`dangerous situation or derailment.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`[0023]
`It is accordingly an object of the present invention
`to provide a network system and method that overcomes the
`limitations of prior art networks.
`[0024] According to an aspect of the invention, a network(cid:173)
`ing system comprises a plurality of wireless communication
`nodes communicating wirelessly with each other so as to
`form a low power wireless network. The nodes each have a
`sensor providing a respective sensor data value indicative of
`a physical parameter in the environment of the node. The
`wireless network discontinues communication with any
`nodes therein in which the sensor data value is outside a
`range of network sensor data values.
`[0025] According to another aspect of the invention, a
`method of forming a wireless network comprises transmit(cid:173)
`ting a wireless communication signal from a first node
`responsive to an interrupt therein, receiving the wireless
`communication signal at a second node, determining
`whether a sensor data value obtained from a sensor of the
`second node equals a discrimination value or falls within a
`discrimination range of values, and making a determination
`at one of the nodes whether the sensor data value satisfies a
`network discrimination criterion. Responsive to a determi-
`
`nation that the sensor data value does not satisfy the network
`discrimination criteria, the second node is caused to discon(cid:173)
`tinue communications with the first node.
`[0026] According to still another aspect of the invention,
`a node comprises a mounting structure configured to be
`secured in engagement with a railcar wheel axle assembly so
`that the node turns when a wheel of the railcar wheel axle
`assembly turns. A housing is supported on the mounting
`structure, and the housing supports a generator configured to
`produce electrical power when the wheel turns as the railcar
`moves. Circuitry is supported in the housing and receiving
`the electrical power. The circuitry includes a microprocessor
`and a low-power wireless communication transceiver. A
`sensor assembly is operatively associated with the axle
`assembly. The sensor assembly has accelerometers detecting
`axial and radial accelerations of the wheel axle assembly.
`The circuitry receives electrical signals from the accelerom(cid:173)
`eters. The microprocessor has memory storing software
`configured to cause the microprocessor to analyze the elec(cid:173)
`trical signals and derive therefrom bearing condition data
`corresponding to a degradation condition of bearings of the
`associated wheel axle assembly. A rotation sensor is opera(cid:173)
`tively associated with the circuitry and supplies thereto a
`rotation frequency signal corresponding to the rate of rota(cid:173)
`tion of the wheel. The circuitry is configured to assemble the
`node into a network communicating wirelessly via the
`low-power transceiver wherein the network is made up of
`nodes traveling in a train together with a locomotive node to
`which the nodes transmit the bearing condition data, and the
`nodes are retained in the network only if the rotation rate of
`the associated wheel is consistent with the railcars moving
`together in the train.
`[0027] According to another aspect of the invention, a
`method for monitoring a wheel assembly of a railway car
`comprises providing a monitoring unit on an axle structure
`connected with the wheel so that an accelerometer of the
`monitoring unit detects radial accelerations of the axle and
`transmits a data signal corresponding thereto. Accelerometer
`data is obtained from the data signal over a period of time
`while the railway car is in movement and is analyzed so as
`to derive flat data indicative of whether the wheel of the
`wheel assembly has a flat, or bearing condition data corre(cid:173)
`sponding to a degree of degradation of the bearing of the
`wheel. The analyzing comprises screening the accelerometer
`data for characteristics of the flat or bearing component
`failure.
`[0028] According to an aspect of the invention, a method
`for monitoring a wheel assembly of a railway car having a
`wheel on an axle and a bearing on said axle comprises
`providing a monitoring unit on the wheel assembly so that
`a microphone of the monitoring unit detects ultrasonic sound
`of the axle and transmits a data signal corresponding to it.
`Acoustic data is obtained from the data signal over a period
`of time while the railway car is in movement, and the
`acoustic data is analyzed so as to derive condition data
`comprising flat data indicative of whether the wheel has a
`flat or bearing condition data corresponding to a degree of
`degradation of the bearing of the wheel. The analyzing
`comprises screening the acoustic data for characteristics of
`the flat or bearing component failure.
`[0029] A system is herein described that selects a subset of
`wireless communication nodes from a large number of
`available and active nodes for assembly onto a local net(cid:173)
`work. The selection or discrimination process is performed
`
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`Page 38 of 59
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`US 2007/0208841 Al
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`Sep.6,2007
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`3
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`by assembling only nodes that have a common parameter,
`such as a detected or sensed environmental condition or
`stimulus. A number of parameters may be used, including
`temperature, vibration, light, varying or constant magnetic
`or electrical fields, humidity, location (such as indicated by
`a GPS system or otherwise), acceleration, velocity, sound,
`shock, pressure, or the flow rate of a fluid or a gas.
`[0030]
`In one embodiment, the system forms part of a
`permanently-placed wireless monitoring system that allows
`processing (and a much higher power usage) and reporting
`by wireless communication nodes that share a common
`environment or stimulus. Preferably, the wireless nodes
`contain wide bandwidth sensors, fast analog-to-digital con(cid:173)
`verters, low power microcontrollers, high-speed and low(cid:173)
`power digital signal processors with sleep modes, and fast
`low power memory that allow wide bandwidth measure(cid:173)
`ments and signal processing on the nodes so that wide
`bandwidth communication, not possible in communication
`bands such as Bluetooth or Zigbee, is not necessary to
`support the network.
`[0031] According to another aspect of the invention, a
`network system is provided that self-assembles from a
`plurality of individual communication nodes or units, each
`of which transmits a respective data set representing some
`sort of sensed or detected environmental parameter or con(cid:173)
`dition expressed by at least one value using a limited-range
`communications protocol, such as Bluetooth or Zigbee.
`When the data value sensed or detected by a unit is within
`a range specified for the network, the unit is joined into the
`network with other units having data values in that range as
`well.
`[0032] According to another aspect of the invention, a
`method defines and limits network membership based on
`discriminators, such as common environments or stimulus.
`To determine a discriminator for wireless network member(cid:173)
`ship, a wide bandwidth, high-speed data acquisition is used
`that does not require wide bandwidth wireless communica(cid:173)
`tion with all the nodes. High-speed data sampling and
`distributed signal processing is maintained on the individual
`wireless nodes, and then low-bandwidth results of the on(cid:173)
`node processing are transmitted over the network, eliminat(cid:173)
`ing the need for high-bandwidth wireless communication or
`data compression.
`[0033] As another aspect of the invention, the inventive
`method is one in which any node that senses an environ(cid:173)
`mental parameter above a certain trip level, preferably
`implemented by a comparator circuit (with rectification if
`the signal of the detected environmental condition is an AC
`signal, such as the sound from a microphone), can "wake
`up" or initiate every node in communication range with it,
`and begin a process of "self-assembling" the network.
`[0034] A particularly preferred embodiment of the inven(cid:173)
`tion is its use in systems and methods for monitoring railway
`cars, especially with respect to the wear conditions of their
`wheel bearin