JP7513490B2 - Method for detecting changes in degree of contact between turnouts and device for monitoring degree of contact between turnouts - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for detecting changes in the degree of contact between a base rail and a tongue rail at a turnout.

As part of maintenance work for railway turnouts, the adhesion force between the tongue rail and the base rail is measured to see if it is appropriate. This work is carried out by maintenance workers on-site, and various adhesion force measuring devices are known for use in this work (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2014-21033 A

Railway maintenance work is often carried out at night when trains are not running, and is therefore time-constrained. In recent years, progress has been made in building systems for remotely and centrally monitoring the condition of railway line facilities, and there is a desire to be able to constantly monitor the adhesion force of turnouts as well. The adhesion force itself needs to be measured on-site using a dedicated measuring device, but if it were possible to constantly monitor turnouts and detect changes in adhesion force, it would be possible to quickly discover abnormalities or signs of abnormalities in the turnouts, and this could be used for maintenance and restoration work.

The problem that this invention aims to solve is to provide a new technology that can constantly monitor turnouts and detect changes in adhesion.

The first invention for solving the above problem is:
a data acquiring step (e.g., step S1 in FIG. 9 ) of acquiring acoustic data for each switching operation of an electric point machine that switches a turnout from one of a normal contact state where the tongue rail is in close contact with the base rail on the normal side and an opposite contact state where the tongue rail is in close contact with the base rail on the opposite side to the other contact state;
a calculation step (e.g., steps S3 and S5 in FIG. 9 ) of calculating, based on the acoustic data, a separation period acoustic value indicating the magnitude of the sound in a separation period for separating one of the contact states and a contact period acoustic value indicating the magnitude of the sound in a contact period for bringing the other of the contact states;
a detection step (e.g., steps S7 and S9 in FIG. 9 ) of detecting a change in the degree of contact between the tongue rail and the base rail based on the separation period acoustic value and the contact period acoustic value;
The method for detecting a change in the degree of closeness of a switch includes the steps of:

In addition, as another invention,
a data acquisition unit (e.g., the data acquisition unit 202 in FIG. 5 ) for acquiring acoustic data for each switching operation of an electric point machine for switching a turnout from one of a normal contact state where the tongue rail is in close contact with the base rail on the normal side and an opposite contact state where the tongue rail is in close contact with the base rail on the opposite side to the other contact state;
a calculation unit (e.g., the acoustic value calculation unit 204 in FIG. 5 ) that calculates, based on the acoustic data, a separation period acoustic value indicating the magnitude of the acoustic in a separation period for separating the one of the close contact states and a close contact period acoustic value indicating the magnitude of the acoustic in a close contact period for bringing the other of the close contact states;
a detection unit (e.g., the contact degree detection unit 206 in FIG. 5 ) that detects a change in the degree of contact between the tongue rail and the base rail based on the separation period acoustic value and the contact period acoustic value;
In the above embodiment, a turnout contact degree monitoring device (for example, the turnout contact degree monitoring device 1 in FIG. 5) may be configured to include the above.

According to the first invention, etc., it is possible to detect a change in the degree of adhesion of the tongue rail to the base rail from the acoustic data for each switching operation of the turnout by the electric point machine. In other words, it is possible to constantly monitor the turnout and detect changes in the adhesion force. When the tongue rail is switched by the switching operation of the electric point machine, sound is generated, and this sound is acquired as acoustic data of the electric point machine. When the adhesion force between the base rail and the tongue rail changes, a change occurs in the sound generated when the tongue rail is switched and comes into contact with or separates from the base rail. As a result, it is possible to detect a change in the adhesion force between the base rail and the tongue rail of the turnout from a change in the acoustic data of the electric point machine.

The second invention is the first invention,
The calculation step includes calculating a separation period acoustic value and a contact period acoustic value for each of the localized side and the contralateral side based on a plurality of consecutive acoustic data,
The detection step includes:
A step of determining an abnormality in the degree of close contact on the localization side using the result of the detection based on the acoustic value of the separation period on the localization side and the result of the detection based on the acoustic value of the close contact period on the localization side (for example, step S7 in FIG. 9 );
A step of determining an abnormality in the degree of contact on the opposite side using the result of the detection based on the acoustic value of the separation period on the opposite side and the result of the detection based on the acoustic value of the contact period on the opposite side (for example, step S9 in FIG. 9 );
including,
A method for detecting a change in the degree of adhesion of a switch.

According to the second invention, since the turnout changes its turning direction with each turning operation, it is possible to detect changes in the degree of contact by distinguishing between the normal side and the opposite side of the turnout. In addition, since the change in the degree of contact is based on the change in sound when the tongue rail separates from and contacts the base rail for each of the normal side and the opposite side, it becomes possible to detect changes in the degree of contact more accurately.

A third invention is the first or second invention,
The calculation step includes extracting data portions of the acoustic data during a period that is predetermined as the separation period and the close contact period during one conversion operation, and calculating the separation period acoustic value and the close contact period acoustic value.
A method for detecting a change in the degree of adhesion of a switch.

According to the third invention, the separation period and the contact period are predetermined periods during the conversion operation, and the acoustic value can be easily calculated by extracting the data portion of each period.

An example of a system that uses a turnout adhesion monitoring device. An example of acoustic data. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of detection of a change in the degree of contact. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of detection of a change in the degree of contact. FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram of a switch contact degree monitoring device. 13 is an example of period setting data. 13 shows an example of a close contact degree change detection table. An example of detection result data. 4 is a flowchart of a turnout contact degree monitoring process.

Below, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described below, and the forms to which the present invention can be applied are not limited to the following embodiment. In addition, in the description of the drawings, the same elements are given the same reference numerals.

[System configuration]
Fig. 1 shows an example of a system to which a turnout contact degree monitoring device 1 according to the present embodiment is applied. According to Fig. 1, the turnout contact degree monitoring device 1 is communicably connected to a plurality of control terminals 20, each of which is installed in correspondence with a corresponding one of the points 10, via a communication network N.

The point machine 10 is an electric point machine that uses an electric motor 12 as a power source, and has the electric motor 12, a clutch, a switching gear group 13, an operating rod 14, a locking rod, etc. as its main components. The point machine 10 transmits the rotation output of the electric motor 12 to the switching gear group 13 via the clutch, and the switching gear group 13 converts it into a torque appropriate for driving the switching mechanism and the locking mechanism, thereby causing the operating rod 14 to move linearly. This causes the tongue rail connected to the operating rod 14 to move in a switching manner and switch the turnout to the normal position/reverse position. More specifically, as will be described later with reference to FIG. 2, after the locking mechanism performs an unlocking operation, the tongue rail is released from its contact with the base rail and the tongue rail is separated from the base rail, thereby moving into the switching direction. Then, at the end of the switching, the tongue rail is brought into contact with the base rail, and the operating rod 14 is fixed by the locking operation of the locking mechanism. This series of switching operations is performed. The switching operation of the point 10 is performed under the control of a control terminal for drive control according to a switching command output by an interlocking device (not shown). The switching command includes an instruction for the switching direction and an instruction to start switching. The control terminal for drive control performs drive control related to the rotation direction of the electric motor 12 and the start and stop of the rotation operation according to this switching command. When switching is complete, the control terminal for drive control notifies the interlocking device of the completion of switching with a signal.

The point machine 10 also has an internal or external acoustic sensor 16 for detecting sounds generated during switching operations. The acoustic sensor 16 may be installed in a nearby position such as around or near the point machine 10. However, if the surrounding environmental sounds are loud, the acoustic sensor 16 is installed inside the point machine 10. There are various types of sounds generated during the switching operation of the point machine 10, but except for impulse-like instantaneous sounds, the sound generated when the tongue rail separates from or contacts the base rail is particularly loud. The sound generated when the tongue rail separates from or contacts the base rail includes sounds caused by contact between the base rail and the tongue rail, as well as sounds caused by vibrations generated in the operating rod 14 due to the contact. The detection signal by the acoustic sensor 16 is output to the corresponding control terminal 20 at any time. If the surrounding environmental sounds and other noise sounds are loud, the acoustic sensor 16 is equipped with a filter circuit to remove signals other than those corresponding to the range (frequency) of the sounds related to the switching operation, and the removed signal is output to the control terminal 20.

The control terminal 20 is installed near the corresponding point machine 10 or inside the housing of the point machine 10. The control terminal 20 also has an acoustic data extraction unit 24, a transmission/reception unit 26, and a clock unit 28.

The acoustic data extraction unit 24 extracts acoustic data related to one switching operation of the point 10 from the detection signal of the acoustic sensor 16. One switching operation is the period from the start to the stop of the rotation operation of the electric motor 12, and the start and end timing of the period can be determined from information obtained from the interlocking device. The interlocking device outputs a switching command including a switching direction and switching start instruction to the point 10, and the point 10 outputs a signal to the control terminal 20 that this switching command has been input, so the start timing of the period can be determined by obtaining this signal from the point 10. In addition, when the switching is completed, the point 10 notifies the interlocking device of the completion of the switching or a signal of the switching state, and the point 10 outputs the signal to the control terminal 20, so the end timing of the period can be determined by obtaining this signal from the point 10. The extracted acoustic data is then associated with data such as the turning direction and the date and time when the turning operation was performed, and transmitted to the turnout contact degree monitoring device 1.

The transmitter/receiver unit 26 transmits and receives data to and from external devices such as the switch contact degree monitoring device 1 via the communication network N. The clock unit 28 measures the current date and time and the elapsed time from a specified timing.

The turnout contact degree monitoring device 1 is realized as one device or one function of a central device in a railway equipment monitoring system that centrally monitors railway equipment including points 10. For each point 10, the turnout contact degree monitoring device 1 monitors the contact degree, which indicates the contact force between the base rail and tongue rail of the turnout that the point 10 switches, based on the acoustic data for each switching operation of the point 10 acquired from the control terminal 20, and detects any change in the contact degree.

[principle]
The detection of the change in the degree of contact of the point based on the acoustic data of the point 10 by the turnout contact degree monitoring device 1 will be described. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an outline of the acoustic data related to one switching operation. In Fig. 2, the horizontal axis shows the outline of the waveform of the detection signal by the acoustic sensor 16. The switching operation of the point 10 includes: (1) an unlocking process, which is a period from when the operating rod 14 is locked and stopped to when the electric motor 12 starts rotating to unlock the locking mechanism; (2) a switching process, which is a period from when the operating rod 14 is locked and stopped to when the electric motor 12 starts rotating to when the switching mechanism starts the linear motion of the operating rod 14 by the switching mechanism to move the tongue rail away from the base rail to start switching, until the tongue rail on the opposite side is switched to the base rail, and until the tip of the tongue rail is brought into close contact with the base rail; and (3) a locking process, which is a period from when the locking mechanism is locked to when the operating rod 14 is stopped to when the electric motor 12 is stopped.

As shown in FIG. 2, a feature of the acoustic data for one switching operation is that the fluctuations in the signal waveform during the first and last periods of the switching process are larger than in other periods. This is because the acoustic sensor 16 installed on the point machine 10 detects the sound generated when the tongue rail separates from or contacts the base rail. During the separation/contact period, sound is generated due to the sliding of the tongue rail as it moves on the floor plate, but this is smaller than the sound generated during separation/contact.

In other words, during the first period of the conversion process (hereinafter, this period will be referred to as the "separation period"), the sound is generated when the tongue rail, which was in close contact with the base rail, starts conversion and separates from the base rail. Also, during the last period of the conversion process (hereinafter, this period will be referred to as the "contact period"), the sound is generated when the tongue rail, which was separated from the base rail, comes into contact with the base rail and is then pressed against it to make contact. In this embodiment, attention is focused on the sound generated when the tongue rail separates from and contacts the base rail, and a change in the degree of contact (i.e., whether the degree of contact has changed from the standard) is detected depending on whether the index value (in this embodiment, the acoustic value) of the signal waveform during the separation period and contact period of the acoustic data is within or outside a predetermined reference range.

For the same point machine, there is no significant difference in the length of the acoustic data period related to one switching operation, and the length of each of the unlocking process, switching process, and locking process can be considered to be constant. Therefore, it is possible to divide the acoustic data related to one switching operation into the unlocking process, switching process, and locking process. In the switching process, a period of a predetermined length from the start of the period is considered to be the separation period, and a period of a predetermined length from the end of the period is considered to be the close period. The lengths of the separation period and close period can be determined for each point machine from the results of measurements when the turnout or point machine is installed or during regular inspection.

The average amplitude of the signal waveform during each of the separation period and the contact period is taken as the acoustic value indicating the loudness of the sound during that period. The average amplitude representing the loudness of the sound during the separation period is called the separation period acoustic value, and the average amplitude representing the loudness of the sound during the contact period is called the contact period acoustic value.

When the adhesion between the base rail and the tip of the tongue rail changes (becomes weaker), the sound generated when the tongue rail comes into contact with or separates from the base rail changes, and as a result, the magnitude of the sound (acoustic value) detected by the acoustic sensor 16 changes. A proportional relationship is observed between the change in the degree of adhesion and the acoustic value. For this reason, a threshold range is set as the range of acoustic values that is considered to indicate no change in the degree of adhesion. If the acoustic value is within the threshold range, it is determined that there is no change in the degree of adhesion, and if the acoustic value is outside the threshold range, it is determined that there is a change in the degree of adhesion. This threshold range can be set, for example, from the results of measurements when a turnout or switch is installed or during a regular inspection.

At a turnout, one of the two tongue rails on the left and right is the close side that is in close contact with the base rail, and the other is the open side that is away from the base rail. When the tongue rail is turned, the close side and the open side are reversed, so that one tongue rail becomes the open side and the other tongue rail becomes the close side. For this reason, it is necessary to distinguish between the two left and right tongue rails and detect the change in the degree of contact. In addition, for each of the two left and right tongue rails, the change in the degree of contact is detected for the sound when they move away from the base rail and when they come into contact with the base rail, and from these detection results, an abnormality in the degree of contact of the relevant tongue rail is judged.

Figures 3 and 4 are diagrams for explaining the detection of changes in the degree of contact. Figure 3 shows the case where the turnout is switched from normal position to reverse position, and Figure 4 shows the case where the turnout is switched from reverse position to normal position. In both Figures 3 and 4, the upper side shows the positional relationship of the tongue rail with respect to the base rail, and the lower side shows an overview of the acoustic data related to the switching operation. In addition, the state in which the tongue rail 30a is in contact with the base rail and the tongue rail 30b is separated from the base rail is called normal position, and the state in which the tongue rail 30a is separated from the base rail and the tongue rail 30b is in contact with the base rail is called reverse position. The state in which the tongue rail 30a on the normal side is in contact with the base rail is called normal side contact state, and the state in which the tongue rail 30b on the reverse side is in contact with the base rail is called reverse side contact state.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the acoustic data when the turnout is converted from the normal position to the reverse position, the main component of the separation period is the sound when the tongue rail 30a on the normal position side, which was in a tight contact state, separates from the base rail. For this reason, this separation period is called the "normal position side separation period", and the acoustic value during the separation period on the normal position side (separation period acoustic value) is called the "normal position side separation period acoustic value". Also, the main component of the contact period is the sound when the tongue rail 30b on the reverse side, which was in a separated state, comes into contact with the base rail. For this reason, this contact period is called the "reverse side contact period", and the acoustic value during the reverse side contact period (contact period acoustic value) is called the "reverse side contact period acoustic value".

As shown in FIG. 4, in the acoustic data when the turnout is switched from the reverse position to the normal position, the main component of the separation period is the sound when the tongue rail 30b on the reverse side, which was in a tight contact state, separates from the base rail. For this reason, this separation period is called the "reverse side separation period", and the acoustic value during the separation period on the reverse side (separation period acoustic value) is called the "reverse side separation period acoustic value". Also, the main component of the contact period is the sound when the tongue rail 30a on the normal side, which was in a separated state, comes into contact with the base rail. For this reason, this contact period is called the "normal side contact period", and the acoustic value during the normal side contact period (contact period amplitude) is called the "normal side contact period acoustic value".

Then, for one tongue rail, a change in the degree of contact is detected using acoustic data relating to at least two turning operations with different turning directions. That is, for the tongue rail 30a on the normal side, the change is detected based on the acoustic value of the normal side during the separation period in the acoustic data when the turnout turns from normal to opposite position (see FIG. 3) and the acoustic value of the normal side during the contact period in the acoustic data when the turnout turns from opposite position to normal (see FIG. 4). Specifically, if both the acoustic value of the normal side during the separation period and the acoustic value of the normal side during the contact period are outside the predetermined threshold range, i.e., if there is a change, the degree of contact of the tongue rail 30a on the normal side is determined to be abnormal.

The opposite tongue rail 30b is detected based on the opposite side's close contact period acoustic value (see FIG. 3) in the acoustic data when the turnout changes from normal to opposite position, and the opposite side's separation period acoustic value (see FIG. 4) in the acoustic data when the turnout changes from opposite to normal position. Specifically, if the opposite side separation period acoustic value and the opposite side close contact period acoustic value are both outside the predetermined threshold range, i.e., if there is a change, the degree of close contact of the opposite side tongue rail 30b is determined to be abnormal.

The threshold range may be different or the same for the separation period and the close contact period. Also, the threshold range may be different or the same for the tongue rail on the position side and the tongue rail on the opposite side.

[Functional configuration]
Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the turnout contact degree monitoring device 1. According to Fig. 5, the turnout contact degree monitoring device 1 includes an operation unit 102, a display unit 104, a sound output unit 106, a communication unit 108, a processing unit 200, and a storage unit 300, and can be configured as a kind of computer.

The operation unit 102 is realized by an input device such as a button switch, a touch panel, or a keyboard, and outputs an operation signal corresponding to the operation performed to the processing unit 200. The display unit 104 is realized by a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or a touch panel, and performs various displays corresponding to display signals from the processing unit 200. The sound output unit 106 is realized by a sound output device such as a speaker, and performs various sound outputs corresponding to sound signals from the processing unit 200. The communication unit 108 is realized by a wired or wireless communication device, and communicates with each control terminal 20 via the communication network N.

The processing unit 200 is realized by an arithmetic device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and based on the programs and data stored in the memory unit 300, issues instructions and transfers data to each component constituting the turnout contact degree monitoring device 1, and performs overall control of the turnout contact degree monitoring device 1. The processing unit 200 also executes the turnout contact degree monitoring program 302 stored in the memory unit 300, thereby functioning as each of the functional blocks of the data acquisition unit 202, the acoustic value calculation unit 204, and the contact degree detection unit 206. However, these functional blocks can also be configured as independent arithmetic circuits using ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays), etc.

The processing unit 200 manages all points 10 monitored by the turnout contact degree monitoring device 1 using point management data 310 stored in the memory unit 300. The point management data 310 is generated for each point 10, and stores a point ID 312 that identifies the point 10, period setting data 314, a contact degree change detection table 316, and detection result data 318.

Figure 6 is an example of period setting data 314. According to Figure 6, the period setting data 314 defines the start and end points of each of the unlocking process, the converting process, and the locking process in one conversion operation, and each of the periods of the separation period and close contact period in the converting process, based on the start point of the conversion operation. In this embodiment, a common period setting data 314 is used regardless of the conversion direction, but different period setting data 314 may be defined depending on the conversion direction, and the period setting data 314 according to the conversion direction may be used.

Figure 7 is an example of the degree of contact change detection table 316. According to Figure 7, the degree of contact change detection table 316 is a data table that determines the threshold range of the acoustic value for determining whether or not there is a change in the degree of contact, and stores the acoustic value and the presence or absence of a change in the degree of contact in association with each turning direction. This threshold range can be determined, for example, from the results of measurements when a switch or point machine is installed or during a regular inspection.

FIG. 8 is an example of the detection result data 318. According to FIG. 8, the detection result data 318 is generated for each switching operation of the switch 10, and stores the switching date and time when the switching operation is performed, the switching direction, the acoustic data, the separation period acoustic value, the close contact period acoustic value, and the judgment result of the degree of close contact. The switching date and time, the switching direction, and the acoustic data are acquired by the data acquisition unit 202. The separation period acoustic value and the close contact period acoustic value are calculated by the acoustic value calculation unit 204. If the switching direction is from normal position to reverse position, the separation period acoustic value is the separation period acoustic value of the normal position side, and the close contact period acoustic value is the close contact period acoustic value of the reverse side. If the switching direction is from reverse position to normal position, the separation period acoustic value is the separation period acoustic value of the reverse side, and the close contact period acoustic value is the close contact period acoustic value of the normal position side. The judgment result of the degree of close contact is the judgment result by the close contact degree detection unit 206.

The data acquisition unit 202 acquires acoustic data for each switching operation of the point machine 10 from the control terminal 20, together with information indicating the switching direction and switching date and time of the point machine 10. When the data acquisition unit 202 acquires acoustic data relating to one switching operation, it generates detection result data 318 relating to the switching operation.

The acoustic value calculation unit 204 calculates a separation period acoustic value indicating the magnitude of the sound during the separation period and a close-contact period acoustic value indicating the magnitude of the sound during the close-contact period based on the acoustic data acquired by the data acquisition unit 202. In other words, the separation period acoustic value and close-contact period acoustic value are calculated by extracting data portions of the acoustic data for periods predetermined as the separation period and close-contact period during one switching operation and averaging the amplitudes. The periods of the separation period and close-contact period in the acoustic data are determined as the period setting data 314 of the corresponding point machine management data 310.

Because the switch changes the turning direction for each turning operation, the separation period acoustic value and close contact period acoustic value are calculated for each acoustic data related to one turning operation, and the separation period acoustic value and close contact period acoustic value for each of the normal side and the opposite side are calculated based on multiple consecutive acoustic data. In addition, the separation period acoustic value of the normal side and the close contact period acoustic value of the opposite side are calculated based on acoustic data when the close contact state changes from the normal side close contact state among multiple acoustic data with different turning directions, and the separation period acoustic value of the opposite side and the close contact period acoustic value of the normal side are calculated based on acoustic data when the close contact state changes from the opposite side close contact state.

The contact degree detection unit 206 detects a change in the degree of contact that the turnout brings the tongue rail into contact with the base rail, based on the separation period acoustic value and the contact period acoustic value calculated by the acoustic value calculation unit 204. That is, it determines whether the separation period acoustic value of the normal side and the contact period acoustic value of the normal side are outside a predetermined threshold range, and if both are outside the threshold range, it determines that the degree of contact on the normal side is abnormal. It also determines whether the separation period acoustic value of the opposite side and the contact period acoustic value of the opposite side are outside a predetermined threshold range, and if both are outside the threshold range, it determines that the degree of contact on the opposite side is abnormal. The threshold range of the acoustic value for determining whether the degree of contact has changed is defined as the contact degree change detection table 316 of the corresponding point management data 310.

The memory unit 300 is realized by a storage device such as a hard disk, ROM (Read Only Memory), or RAM (Random Access Memory), and stores programs and data for the processing unit 200 to comprehensively control the switch contact degree monitoring device 1. The memory unit 300 is also used as a working area for the processing unit 200, and temporarily stores the results of calculations performed by the processing unit 200 according to various programs, and input data via the operation unit 102 and communication unit 108. In this embodiment, the memory unit 300 stores a switch contact degree monitoring program 302 and point machine management data 310.

[Process flow]
9 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of the turnout contact degree monitoring process. This process is executed in parallel by the processing unit 200 in the turnout contact degree monitoring device 1 for each of the points 10.

First, the data acquisition unit 202 acquires acoustic data for each turning operation transmitted from the control terminal 20 (step S1). This acoustic data includes information indicating the turning direction of the switch and the turning date and time. Then, the acoustic value calculation unit 204 extracts the data portion of the separation period from the acquired acoustic data, and calculates the average amplitude to calculate the separation period acoustic value indicating the magnitude of the sound (step S3). If the turning direction is from the normal position to the opposite position, the separation period acoustic value is the normal position side, and if the turning direction is from the opposite position to the normal position, the separation period acoustic value is the opposite position side. In addition, the data portion of the close contact period is extracted from the acoustic data, and the average amplitude is calculated to calculate the close contact period acoustic value indicating the magnitude of the sound (step S5). If the turning direction is from the normal position to the opposite position, the close contact period acoustic value is the opposite position side, and if the turning direction is from the opposite position to the normal position, the close contact period acoustic value is the normal position side.

Next, the close contact detection unit 206 detects a change in the close contact of the branch based on the separation period acoustic value and close contact period acoustic value calculated from the currently acquired acoustic data and the separation period acoustic value and close contact period acoustic value calculated from the previously acquired acoustic data.

In other words, if the current change direction is from normal to opposite, the presence or absence of a change in the degree of contact is determined for the localized side separation period acoustic value calculated from the currently acquired acoustic data and the localized side close contact period acoustic value calculated from the previously acquired acoustic data. If the current change direction is from opposite to normal, the presence or absence of a change in the degree of contact is determined for the localized side close contact period acoustic value calculated from the currently acquired acoustic data and the localized side separation period acoustic value calculated from the previously acquired acoustic data. Then, regardless of the change direction, if the determination result for the localized side separation period acoustic value indicates that there is a change in the degree of contact and the determination result for the localized side close contact period acoustic value indicates that there is a change in the degree of contact, a final determination is made that there is a change in the degree of contact on the localized side (step S7).

If the current change direction is from normal to opposite, the presence or absence of a change in the degree of contact is determined for the opposite side close contact period acoustic value calculated from the currently acquired acoustic data and the opposite side separation period acoustic value calculated from the previously acquired acoustic data. If the current change direction is from opposite to normal, the presence or absence of a change in the degree of contact is determined for the opposite side separation period acoustic value calculated from the currently acquired acoustic data and the opposite side close contact period acoustic value calculated from the previously acquired acoustic data. Then, regardless of the change direction, if the determination result for the opposite side separation period acoustic value indicates that there has been a change in the degree of contact and the determination result for the opposite side close contact period acoustic value indicates that there has been a change in the degree of contact, a final determination is made that there has been a change in the degree of contact on the opposite side (step S9).

After performing the above processing, the processing unit 200 judges whether to end this processing, and if not (step S11: NO), returns to step S1. If it is to be ended (step S11: YES), this processing ends.

[Action and Effect]
In this way, according to the turnout contact degree monitoring device 1 of the present embodiment, the turnout can be constantly monitored to detect changes in the contact degree of the tongue rail against the base rail from the acoustic data of each switching operation of the turnout by the point 10. That is, when the tongue rail is switched by the switching operation of the point 10, sound is generated, and this sound is detected as acoustic data by the acoustic sensor 16 of the point 10. When the contact force between the base rail and the tongue rail changes, the sound generated when the tongue rail is switched to contact or separate from the base rail changes. As a result, a change in the contact force between the base rail and the tongue rail of the turnout can be detected from the change in the acoustic data of the point 10.

[Modification]
Incidentally, the applicable embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can of course be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

(A) Judgment of the presence or absence of change In the above embodiment, the degree of contact is judged to have "changed" when each acoustic value of the separation period and the close contact period is outside a predetermined threshold range, but this judgment of "changed" may be made in stages. Specifically, in the close contact change detection table 316 (see FIG. 7), the range of acoustic values that indicate "changed" in the degree of contact is defined as multiple stepped ranges, and the degree of "changed" is set to be higher, such as "slight change" or "big change", as the range moves away from the threshold range that determines "no change". Then, depending on the combination of the degree of "changed" judged for each acoustic value, the degree of "abnormality" of the close contact on the localization side or the opposite side is judged in stages, such as "signs of abnormality" or "inspection required".

(B) Acoustic Value In the above embodiment, the average value of the amplitude of the signal waveform during each of the separation period and the contact period is set as the index value of the signal waveform during the separation period and the contact period as the acoustic value indicating the magnitude of the sound during the period. However, instead of the average value of the amplitude of the signal waveform, another index value indicating the magnitude of the sound may be used. For example, the root mean square (RMS) of the amplitude, the effective value, the crest factor, etc. may be used as the index value.

(C) Final Determination of Change in Degree of Contact In the above embodiment, for example, in the case of the localization side, if the determination result of the acoustic value of the separation period of the localization side indicates that there is a change in the degree of contact, and the determination result of the acoustic value of the close contact period of the localization side indicates that there is a change in the degree of contact, it is described that the final determination is made that there is a change in the degree of contact on the localization side. However, instead of making the final determination by combining the determination results of multiple acoustic data, the final determination may be made based on one acoustic data. Also, the final determination may be made by combining the determination results of acoustic data related to three or more consecutive conversion operations.

(D) Removal of Unnecessary Acoustic Data The point machine 10 may have a plurality of acoustic sensors 16. By using the acoustic data of each of the plurality of acoustic sensors 16, the direction of the sound source can be determined, and unnecessary sounds can be removed as noise, thereby extracting only necessary sounds. The necessary sounds are sounds generated when the tongue rail separates from or comes into contact with the base rail, and include sounds caused by contact between the base rail and the tongue rail, sounds caused by vibrations generated in the operating can 14 due to the contact, and the like.

Reference Signs List 1... Switch contact degree monitoring device 200... Processing unit 202... Data acquisition unit, 204... Acoustic value calculation unit 206... Contact degree detection unit 300... Storage unit 302... Switch contact degree monitoring program 310... Point management data 312... Point ID, 314... Period setting data 316... Contact degree change detection table, 318... Detection result data 10... Point 12... Electric motor, 13... Switching gear group, 14... Operation rod, 16... Acoustic sensor 20... Control terminal 24... Acoustic data extraction unit, 26... Transmitting/receiving unit, 28... Clock unit

Claims (4)

a data acquiring step of acquiring acoustic data for each switching operation of an electric point machine for switching a turnout from one of a normal contact state where the tongue rail is in close contact with the base rail on the normal side and an opposite contact state where the tongue rail is in close contact with the base rail on the opposite side to the other contact state;
a calculation step of calculating, based on the acoustic data, a separation period acoustic value indicating the magnitude of the sound in a separation period for separating the one of the close contact states, and a close contact period acoustic value indicating the magnitude of the sound in a close contact period for bringing the other of the close contact states;
a detection step of detecting a change in the degree of contact between the tongue rail and the base rail based on the separation period acoustic value and the contact period acoustic value;
A method for detecting a change in degree of adhesion of a switch, comprising: The calculation step includes calculating a separation period acoustic value and a contact period acoustic value for each of the localized side and the contralateral side based on a plurality of consecutive acoustic data,
The detection step includes:
determining an abnormality in the degree of close contact on the localization side using a result of the detection based on an acoustic value during a separation period on the localization side and a result of the detection based on an acoustic value during a close contact period on the localization side;
determining whether the degree of contact on the opposite side is abnormal using the result of the detection based on the acoustic value during the separation period on the opposite side and the result of the detection based on the acoustic value during the contact period on the opposite side;
including,
The method for detecting a change in degree of adhesion of a turnout according to claim 1. The calculation step includes extracting data portions of the acoustic data during a period that is predetermined as the separation period and the close contact period during one conversion operation, and calculating the separation period acoustic value and the close contact period acoustic value.
3. A method for detecting a change in degree of adhesion of a branch or switch according to claim 1 or 2. a data acquiring unit for acquiring acoustic data for each switching operation of an electric point machine for switching a turnout from one of a normal contact state where the tongue rail is in close contact with the base rail on the normal side and an opposite contact state where the tongue rail is in close contact with the base rail on the opposite side to the other contact state;
a calculation unit that calculates, based on the acoustic data, a separation period acoustic value indicating the magnitude of the sound in a separation period for separating the one of the close contact states and a close contact period acoustic value indicating the magnitude of the sound in a close contact period for bringing the other of the close contact states;
a detection unit that detects a change in the degree of contact between the tongue rail and the base rail based on the separation period acoustic value and the contact period acoustic value;
A switch contact degree monitoring device equipped with the above.

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