Remote monitoring of points based on effective power dissipation
M. Pabst · 1998
The Siemens points monitoring system detects deficiencies (e.g. wear) in points, point machines, and point machine power supplies before a points failure occurs. The system is based on the use of the point machine motor as the only track-side sensor by measuring the electric voltage(s) and current(s) at the interlocking's points control unit when the points are thrown. From these data the effective power dissipation over time is computed which is proportional to the motor torque and throwing force, respectively. A LAN bus connects the monitoring devices of several point machines to a host PC which runs the analysis software. (3 pages)