WE CLAIM:
1. A system comprising:
a fluid sensor (118) configured to be disposed onboard a vehicle system (104) and at least partially extend into a gearbox (300) of a traction motor (110) of the vehicle system (104), the fluid sensor (118) configured to output data representative of an amount of a lubricating fluid in the gearbox (300);
a positioning system (120) configured to output data representative of movement or an absence of movement of the vehicle system (104); and
one or more processors (106) configured to determine the amount of the lubricating fluid in the gearbox (300) based on the data that is output by the fluid sensor (118) responsive to the data output by the positioning system (120) indicating that the vehicle system (104) has not moved or has moved by less than a designated distance for at least a designated, non-instantaneous period of time.
2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the positioning system (120) is configured to output the data representative of a geographic location of the vehicle system (104) and the one or more processors (106) are configured to determine the amount of the lubricating fluid in the gearbox (300) based on the geographic location that is output by the positioning system (120) indicating that the vehicle system (104) has not moved or has moved by less than the designated distance for at least the designated, non-instantaneous period of time.
3. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fluid sensor (118) is configured to output the data representative of the amount of the lubricating fluid in
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the gearbox (300) to the one or more processors (106) at a sampling frequency, and the one or more processors (106) are configured to disregard the data representative of the amount of the lubricating fluid in the gearbox (300) that is output during a time period that the vehicle system (104) has moved by more than the designated distance.
4. The system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising temperature
sensors (118) configured to output data representative of temperatures of plural axles
(122) of the vehicle system (104),
wherein the one or more processors (106) are configured to compare the temperatures of the axles (122) with each other and identify at least one of the axles (122) as damaged based on comparing the temperatures of the axles (122) with each other.
5. The system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the temperature sensors
(118) are configured to measure the temperatures of the axles (122) at different
moving speeds of the vehicle system (104) and to output the data representative of the
temperatures of the axles (122) at the different moving speeds of the vehicle system
(104) to the one or more processors (106), and
wherein the one or more processors (106) are configured to examine the temperatures to identify the at least one of the axles (122) as damaged responsive to the temperatures of the at least one of the axles (122) increasing between at least two of the different moving speeds of the vehicle system (104) while other axles (122) of the axles (122) do not increase between the at least two of the different moving speeds relative to the at least one of the axles (122).
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6. The system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the temperature sensors
(118) are configured to measure the temperatures of the axles (122) at different
moving speeds of the vehicle system (104) and to output the data representative of the
temperatures of the axles (122) at the different moving speeds of the vehicle system
(104) to the one or more processors (106), and
wherein the one or more processors (106) are configured to examine the temperatures to identify the at least one of the axles (122) as damaged responsive to the temperatures of the at least one of the axles (122) not decreasing between at least two of the different moving speeds of the vehicle system (104) while other axles (122) of the axles (122) decrease between the at least two of the different moving speeds relative to the at least one of the axles (122).
7. A system comprising:
one or more processors (106) configured to determine whether a movement measurement of a vehicle (104) has changed by more than a designated, non-zero amount for at least a designated period of time, the one or more processors (106) also configured to one or more of obtain a fluid level measurement of a fluid onboard the vehicle (104) or use the fluid level measurement of the fluid onboard the vehicle (104) to determine how much fluid is onboard the vehicle (104) responsive to determining that the vehicle (104) has not moved by more than the designated, non¬zero distance for at least the designated period of time.
8. The system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the one or more processors
(106) are configured to repeatedly determine the movement measurement of the
vehicle (104) using a positioning system (120) onboard the vehicle (104).
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9. The system as claimed in claim 7 , wherein the movement measurement is a geographic location of the vehicle system (104) determined by a global positioning system (120) receiver.
10. The system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the one or more processors (106) are configured to obtain the fluid level measurement from a fluid level sensor (118) that extends into the fluid onboard the vehicle (104).
11. The system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the one or more processors (106) are configured to determine whether the vehicle (104) has moved by more than the designated, non-zero distance for at least the designated period of time by determining whether the vehicle (104) has remained stationary for a time period that is sufficiently long to ensure that the fluid has reached steady state onboard the vehicle (104).
12. A system comprising:
one or more processors (106) configured to determine temperatures of plural axles (122) onboard a vehicle (104) at different times, the one or more processors (106) also configured to compare the temperatures of the axles (122) with each other and identify at least one of the axles (122) as damaged based on comparing the temperatures of the axles (122) with each other.
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13. The system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the one or more processors (106) are configured to determine whether the at least one of the axles (122) is associated with the temperatures that deviate from the temperatures of other axles (122) of the axles (122) onboard the vehicle (104).
14. The system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the one or more processors (106) are configured to identify the at least one of the axles (122) as damaged responsive to the temperatures of the at least one of the axles (122) not decreasing when the temperatures of one or more of other axles (122) decrease.
15. The system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the one or more processors (106) are configured to automatically schedule one or more of repair, inspection, or replacement of the at least one of the axles (122) responsive to identifying the at least one of the axles (122) as damaged.
Dated this the 15th day of December, 2016
AZURRA
Agent for the Applicant [IN/PA -1472]
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