Displacement detecting apparatus for railroad rails

摘要

A displacement detecting apparatus is provided with a self-position detector for detecting a position and an orientation of the apparatus relative to a preset reference position and a preset reference orientation. Displacement of a rail at an upper surface reference point and a side surface reference point relative to a preset reference position is calculated from imaged image data of the surfaces of the rail using an optical cutting method, and the calculated displacement of the rail is corrected using data obtained from the self-position detector, thereby compensating for errors caused by differences in position and orientation of the apparatus associated with a vehicle running motion. By doing so, the displacement detecting apparatus is superior in maintenance and unlikely to cause measurement errors.

主权项

1. A displacement detecting apparatus operable to detect displacement of a rail relative to a preset reference position to calculate irregularities of right and left rails of a railroad, the displacement detecting apparatus comprising:
a self-position detector operable to detect a position and an orientation of the apparatus relative to a preset reference position and a preset reference orientation; an irradiator operable to irradiate an upper surface and a side surface of the rail with slit light; an image pickup camera operable to image the surfaces of the rail that are irradiated with the slit light by the irradiator; and a controller operable to calculate the displacement of the rail at an upper surface reference point and a side surface reference point relative to the preset reference position from image data of the surfaces of the rail imaged by the image pickup camera using an optical cutting method, and to correct the calculated displacement of the rail using data obtained by the self-position detector, thereby compensating for errors caused by differences in position and orientation of the apparatus associated with a vehicle running motion, wherein the controller determines an outline of the rail based on a cross-sectional shape of the rail detected, calculates an upper surface line and a side surface line of the rail from a plurality of points on the outline of the rail determined, obtains an intersection of the upper surface line and the side surface line calculated, and sets a point on the upper surface line and another point on the side surface line each a predetermined distance away from the obtained intersection as the upper surface reference point and the side surface reference point, respectively, thereby calculating the displacement of the rail relative to the preset reference position.