WALK-BEHIND RAIL CONDITION MONITORING APPARATUS
A walk-behind rail condition monitoring apparatus is provided, including a frame; at least one handle on the frame; a processor mounted to the frame; a couplant tank mounted to the frame; and a rail capture unit mounted to the frame. The rail capture unit is constructed and arranged for retaining an ultrasonic sensing wheel and including a plurality of rotating guides for maintaining alignment of the monitor on a railroad rail.
1 . A walk-behind rail condition monitoring apparatus, comprising:
a frame;
at least one handle on the frame;
a processor mounted to the frame;
a couplant tank mounted to the frame; and
a rail capture unit mounted to the frame, constructed and arranged for retaining an ultrasonic sensing wheel and including a plurality of rotating guides for maintaining alignment of the monitor on a railroad rail.
2 . The monitoring apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said rail capture unit includes at least one retractable roller engageable on each side of the rail.
3 . The monitoring apparatus of claim 2 , further including a pair of retractable rollers engageable on each side of the rail, and a pair of guide wheels, one located ahead and one behind the ultrasonic sensing wheel.
4 . The monitoring apparatus of claim 2 , wherein each said retractable roller is connected to a biased arm that biases the arm to an operational position.
5 . The monitoring apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said processor has a GUI display.
6 . The monitoring apparatus of claim 5 , wherein said display is configured for enabling operator control of a pump that distributes couplant from said couplant tank.
7 . The monitoring apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the rate of couplant dispensed is a function of at least one of the velocity of the apparatus, and the ambient temperature.
8 . The monitoring apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the preconfigured on/off interval of couplant dispensed is a user selectable function.
9 . The monitoring apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said processor is programmed for providing both A-Scan and B-Scan data, and has GPS.
10 . The monitoring apparatus of claim 1 , further including a mountable side handle for engagement by the operator on either a left or right side of the apparatus.
11 . The monitoring apparatus of claim 1 further including a supplemental hand testing probe operable on a 12 th channel of the processor.
12 . A walk-behind rail condition monitoring apparatus, comprising:
a frame;
at least one handle on the frame;
a processor mounted to the frame, said processor having a GUI display, is programmed for providing both A-Scan and B-Scan data, and has GPS;
a couplant tank mounted to the frame; and
a rail capture unit mounted to the frame, constructed and arranged for retaining an ultrasonic sensing wheel and including a plurality of rotating guides for maintaining alignment of the monitor on a railroad rail.
13 . The monitoring apparatus of claim 12 , further including a mountable side handle for engagement by the operator on either a left or right side of the apparatus.
14 . The monitoring apparatus of claim 12 further including a supplemental hand testing probe operable on a 12 th channel of the processor.