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A traction enhancing system detects and corrects wheel slip and enhances wheel traction in a railroad locomotive having a plurality of wheel pairs for engaging a pair of rails and a traction motor operatively associated with each wheel pair. The locomotive includes an electrical source responsive to

A traction enhancing system detects and corrects wheel slip and enhances wheel traction in a railroad locomotive having a plurality of wheel pairs for engaging a pair of rails and a traction motor operatively associated with each wheel pair. The locomotive includes an electrical source responsive to an applied level of excitation and is operatively coupled to the traction motors for controlling the power applied thereto. The traction enhancing system includes a plurality of current measuring devices adapted to measure current drawn by each traction motor, and a plurality of voltage measuring devices adapted to measure a voltage of each traction motor. A computer receives the current and voltage measurements and is configured to detect wheel slip between the wheel pairs and the rails by calculating a change in the current and voltage measured over a predetermined period of time. The change in current and voltage over time is compared to predetermined values and a reduction factor representative of the severity of the wheel slip is determined. The computer then reduces the level of excitation to the electrical source by an amount proportional to the reduction factor to eliminate the wheel slip. Power is then reapplied to the electrical source according to an S-shaped curve so that wheel slip does not reoccur.

대표청구항 ▼

A traction enhancing system for eliminating wheel slip and enhancing wheel traction in a railroad locomotive having a plurality of wheel pairs for engaging a pair of rails, a traction motor operatively associated with each wheel pair, an electrical source responsive to an applied level of electrical

A traction enhancing system for eliminating wheel slip and enhancing wheel traction in a railroad locomotive having a plurality of wheel pairs for engaging a pair of rails, a traction motor operatively associated with each wheel pair, an electrical source responsive to an applied level of electrical excitation and operatively coupled to the traction motors for controlling the power applied to the traction motors, said traction enhancing system comprising: a plurality of current measuring devices adapted to measure a current drawn by each traction motor; a plurality of voltage measuring devices adapted to measure a voltage of each traction motor; a computer for receiving the current and voltage measurements, said computer adapted to detect wheel slip between the wheel pairs and the rails by calculating a change in the current and voltage measured over a predetermined period of time and comparing the current and voltage changes to predetermined values; said computer calculating a reduction factor and saving the reduction factor in a memory of the computer, the reduction factor corresponding to the change in the current and voltage over the predetermined period of time and representative of the magnitude of the wheel slip; said computer reducing the applied level of electrical excitation to the electrical source by an amount proportional to said reduction factor to eliminate the wheel slip; and said computer reapplying a level of electrical excitation to the electrical source according to an S-shaped curve so that wheel slip does not reoccur, said S-shaped curve having a first segment such that the level of electrical excitation reapplied is gradually increased, said S-shaped curve having a second segment following the first segment such that the level of electrical excitation reapplied is sharply increased, and said S-shaped curve having a third segment following the second segment such that the level of electrical excitation reapplied is gradually increased until the level of excitation attains a maximum value.