Method and apparatus for measuring the inclination of a railway track

Claim 1

A method for measuring the transverse inclination, with respect to a horizontal reference, of a railway track portion which is disturbed by the accelerations and vibrations of track adjusting tools, said method comprising: measuring the inclination of a stable portion of the track, displaced from the disturbed portion, by a gravity operated measuring instrument, said measuring instrument substantially unaffected by the vibrations of track adjusting tools; measuring the difference in inclination between the stable portion of the track and the disturbed portion of the track, said difference measurement being determined by a rigid shaft coupled between the two portions of the track; and indicating the results of said measurements so that a summation can be made and the inclination of the disturbed portion of the track determined thereby.

Claim 2

A method for measuring the transverse inclination, with respect to a horizontal reference, of a railway track portion which is disturbed by the accelerations and vibrations of track adjusting tools, said method comprising: measuring the inclination of a stable portion of the track, displaced from the disturbed portion, by a gravity operated measuring instrument, said measuring instrument substantially unaffected by the vibrations of track adjusting tools; measuring the difference in inclination between the stable portion of the track and the disturbed portion of the track, said difference measurement being determined by a rigid shaft coupled between the two portions of the track; and indicating the results of said measurements so that a summation can be made and the inclination of the disturbed portion of the track determined thereby.

Claim 3

A method for measuring the transverse inclination, with respect to a horizontal reference, of a railway track portion which is disturbed by the accelerations and vibrations of track adjusting tools, said method comprising: measuring the transverse inclination of a stable portion of the track, displaced from the disturbed portion, by an inclination measuring instrument which is sensitive to said vibrations and accelerations, said measuring instrument substantially unaffected by the accelerations and vibrations of the track adjusting tools due to the displacement thereof; measuring the difference in inclination between the disturbed portion of the track and the stable portion of the track, said difference in inclination being obtained by the detection of the warpage between said two track portions; and summing the results of said measurements.

Claim 4

A method for measuring the transverse inclination, with respect to a horizontal reference, of a railway track portion which is disturbed by the accelerations and vibrations of track adjusting tools, said method comprising: measuring the transverse inclination of a stable portion of the track, displaced from the disturbed portion, by an inclination measuring instrument which is sensitive to said vibrations and accelerations, said measuring instrument substantially unaffected by the accelerations and vibrations of the track adjusting tools due to the displacement thereof; measuring the difference in inclination between the disturbed portion of the track and the stable portion of the track, said difference in inclination being obtained by the detection of the warpage between said two track portions; and summing the results of said measurements.

Claim 5

An apparatus for measuring the transverse inclination, with respect to a horizontal reference, of a railway track portion which is disturbed by the accelerations and vibrations whch are transferred thereto by track adjusting tools, comprising: a. a main sensing base having two support members engaging opposite rails and displsed in a plane transverse to the rails, said main base secured to a rigid shaft and located in an area where the vibrations of the track adjusting tools disturb the support members; b. an auxiliary sensing base located at a distance from the main base, said auxiliary base also having two support members engaging opposite rails, and disposed in a plane transverse to the rails, said auxiliary base including a gravity inclination measuring instrument sensitive to vibration, and an indicator having one portion secured to said rigid shaft and another portion secured to the auxiliary sensing base for indicating the relative inclination of said bases; c. said gravity measuring instrument and said indicator for showing the results of the two measurements so that a summation of the results provides a value proportional to the inclination of the main base.

Claim 6

An apparatus for measuring the transverse inclination, with respect to a horizontal reference, of a railway track portion which is disturbed by the accelerations and vibrations whch are transferred thereto by track adjusting tools, comprising: a. a main sensing base having two support members engaging opposite rails and displsed in a plane transverse to the rails, said main base secured to a rigid shaft and located in an area where the vibrations of the track adjusting tools disturb the support members; b. an auxiliary sensing base located at a distance from the main base, said auxiliary base also having two support members engaging opposite rails, and disposed in a plane transverse to the rails, said auxiliary base including a gravity inclination measuring instrument sensitive to vibration, and an indicator having one portion secured to said rigid shaft and another portion secured to the auxiliary sensing base for indicating the relative inclination of said bases; c. said gravity measuring instrument and said indicator for showing the results of the two measurements so that a summation of the results provides a value proportional to the inclination of the main base.

Claim 7

An apparatus for measuring the transverse inclination, with respect to a horizontal reference, of a railway track portion which is disturbed by the accelerations and vibrations which are transferred thereto by track adjusting tools, comprising: a. a main sensing base and an auxiliary sensing base, said main base located at a point where track adjusting tools are operating to align the track in accordance with a desired program; b. said auxiliary base located at a distance from said main base where there are substantially no vibrations due to the adjusting tools; c. said main base having two support members engaging opposite rails and disposed in a plane transverse to the rails, said main base including a rigid shaft secured to the base and extending to the auxiliary base being terminated by a first indicating means; and d. said auxiliary base also having two support members engaging opposite rails and disposed in a plane transverse to the rails and supporting a gravity inclination measuring instrument, sensitive to vibration, said auxiliary base also supporting a bearing for rotatably mounting the rigid shaft, and supporting a second indicating means adjacent to the first indicating means for indicating the relative inclination of the two bases.

Claim 8

An apparatus for measuring the transverse inclination, with respect to a horizontal reference, of a railway track portion which is disturbed by the accelerations and vibrations which are transferred thereto by track adjusting tools, comprising: a. a main sensing base and an auxiliary sensing base, said main base located at a point where track adjusting tools are operating to align the track in accordance with a desired program; b. said auxiliary base located at a distance from said main base where there are substantially no vibrations due to the adjusting tools; c. said main base having two support members engaging opposite rails and disposed in a plane transverse to the rails, said main base including a rigid shaft secured to the base and extending to the auxiliary base being terminated by a first indicating means; and d. said auxiliary base also having two support members engaging opposite rails and disposed in a plane transverse to the rails and supporting a gravity inclination measuring instrument, sensitive to vibration, said auxiliary base also supporting a bearing for rotatably mounting the rigid shaft, and supporting a second indicating means adjacent to the first indicating means for indicating the relative inclination of the two bases.