Did You Know...
...that Thomas Edison's patent application on his phonograph was approved by the Patent Office in just seven weeks? In contrast, it took Gordon Gould, the inventor of the laser, 30 years to obtain his patent -- finally awarded in 1988!
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8109474 | Dual ultrasonic train detector A train detector having dual ultrasonic sensors positioned adjacent to a rail for sensing the movement thereby of a train wheel and determining the direction and speed of the train for transmitting such information to nearby workers and signal devices and a method o... | 02/07/2012 |
| 7624952 | Safety system for railroad personnel A system for use by a railroad to warn railroad workers, track walker, railroad personnel and others of oncoming train(s) and to warn the train operator(s) of such train(s) of the presence of railroad workers, track walker railroad personnel, other train(s) and othe... | 12/01/2009 |
| 7398140 | Operator warning system and method for improving locomotive operator vigilance Provided is an operator warning system for use in connection with a locomotive having a horn system with a horn activation actuator and a horn device for producing a noise. The operator warning system includes an onboard computer system with a database having grade ... | 07/08/2008 |
| 7327249 | Barrier operator system having multiple frequency receivers A barrier operator system is disclosed that is capable of receiving different wireless signals. The system includes a primary controller that is connected to a first receiver which receives a first wireless signal. And the system includes a second receiver circuit t... | 02/05/2008 |
| 7263886 | Apparatus for and methods of stress testing metal components A tuning device (23) and an apparatus that incorporates the tuning device (23) for use in testing the integrity of a railway line (30) to obtain an improved test signal, the tuning device (23) including an elongate member (23) adap... | 09/04/2007 |
| 7148794 | Vehicle back-up alarm system, vehicle, transmitter module, and method A vehicle back-up alarm system includes a sensor capable of determining when a vehicle is at least one of in a reverse gear and moving backwards. The vehicle back-up alarm system also includes a transmitter module capable of transmitting a warning signal in response... | 12/12/2006 |
| 7098781 | Vehicle braking alert system A vehicle braking alert system installed in a vehicle comprises a receiver installed at a head portion of the vehicle for receiving signals from a front vehicle; and transferring the received signals; a transmitter at a rear end of a vehicle for emitting signals to ... | 08/29/2006 |
| 7071972 | Detecting device information including information about a device The present invention provides for detecting device information including information about a device. First ID information is obtained which is specific to the device via a digital interface after second ID information is assigned to the device, wherein the first ID... | 07/04/2006 |
| 6959233 | Automated voice transmission of movement authorities in railroad non-signaled territory A method and system to authorize a locomotive engineer to move a train along the track in a non-signaled territory wherein a non-verbal movement authority is generated, converted to verbal form via voice synthesis, communicating to the designated train, and accepted... | 10/25/2005 |
| 6951132 | Rail and train monitoring system and method A system and method for determining at least one parameter related to a train traversing on a railway track is provided. The system comprises a sensor coupled to a detection location and configured for sensing acoustic signals at the detection location on the railwa... | 10/04/2005 |
| 6824110 | Method and system for automatically activating a warning device on a train A method and system for automatically activating a train warning device that uses a positioning system such as a global positioning system (GPS) receiver or an inertial navigation system (INS) to determine the train's position. The system further includes a database... | 11/30/2004 |
| 6637703 | Yard tracking system A method for identifying and determining the position of rolling stock within a railyard using a system that includes an AEI reader, a plurality of elevated electronic imaging devices and a tracking computer. The rolling stock includes a plurality of rail... | 10/28/2003 |
| 6609049 | Method and system for automatically activating a warning device on a train A method and system for automatically activating a train warning device that uses a positioning system such as a global positioning system (GPS) receiver or an inertial navigation system (INS) to determine the train's position. The system further includes... | 08/19/2003 |
| 6511023 | Automated railway monitoring system A method and apparatus for determining the real time location of wheeled cars linked together in a train traveling on a fixed track. The method creates a wheel count and a location point for the train by counting the number of wheels on the train in a seq... | 01/28/2003 |
| 6471162 | Railroad maintenance-of-way personnel warning system apparatus and method therefor A railroad maintenance-of-way personnel warning system and method therefor provides advanced detecting and warning of oncoming trains encroaching the construction area. Magnetometer sensors detect an oncoming train whereby a warning signal is transmitted ... | 10/29/2002 |
| 6456937 | Methods and apparatus for locomotive tracking In one aspect, the present invention relates to identifying locomotive consists within train consists, and determining the order of the locomotives within the identified locomotive consists. By identifying locomotive consists and the order of locomotives ... | 09/24/2002 |
| 6377215 | Apparatus and method for detecting railroad locomotive turns by monitoring truck orientation An apparatus for determining the rotation of a wheel truck on a rail vehicle and further for determining the relative direction of motion of said truck with respect to said rail vehicle and further for determining the rate at which the truck moves with re... | 04/23/2002 |
| 6145792 | Railroad worker warning system for train conductors A warning system and method for warning a train operator that the train is approaching personnel at a railroad station includes a transmitter disposed at the railroad station for transmitting a radio frequency (RF) warning signal with a given power output... | 11/14/2000 |
| 6113037 | Railroad maintenance-of-way personnel warning system apparatus and method therefor A railroad maintenance-of-way personnel warning system and method therefor provides advanced detection and warning of oncoming trains encroaching the construction area. Magnetometer sensors detect an oncoming train whereby a waning signal is transmitted t... | 09/05/2000 |
| 6029103 | Method of checking train-announcement data sets via a composition of a vehicle At least one individual car that can be identified individually is contained in the consist. The configuration of an actually observed consist is determined and checked to see whether it matches relevant information data sets. If there is an exact match w... | 02/22/2000 |
| 5924651 | Tactile and audible warning system for railroad workers A train warning system and method for warning personnel in proximity to railroad tracks of an approaching train includes a train sensor operable with the railroad tracks for detecting passage of a train over the railroad tracks at a given location. The tr... | 07/20/1999 |
| 5907294 | Process for detecting sources of danger Proposed is a new early warning system for warning persons in a track building site of approaching trains, which receives the danger source consisting of a train by sensors and transmits the signals to alarm installations (8, 9, 10). The alarm installatio... | 05/25/1999 |
| 5735491 | Method and apparatus for detecting an approaching train by detecting a brake system status signal An apparatus for detecting the presence of an approaching train, includes a warning indicator, a receiver for receiving a brake system status signal transmitted from an approaching train, and a relay for coupling a voltage potential to the warning indicat... | 04/07/1998 |
| 5727758 | Tactile and audible warning system for railroad workers A system and method for warning personnel in proximity to railroad tracks of an approaching train is disclosed. A transmitter disposed on a train transmits a warning signal. The personnel are each provided with a portable Radio Frequency (RF) receiver (pa... | 03/17/1998 |
| 5680120 | Transportation safety apparatus and method A transportation safety apparatus and method for the detection of obstacles which lie off the line-of-sight or beyond the field of view of a moving vehicle entails shooting a laser beam through the air from a moving vehicle, capturing the beam and passing... | 10/21/1997 |
| 5541981 | Automated announcement system An automated announcement system allows messages to be played on a public address system and/or displayed on a display device in accordance with a predetermined schedule, which can be modified automatically to maintain a predetermined minimum interval bet... | 07/30/1996 |
| 5265831 | Arrangement for detecting an object by means of sound conducted through a solid body and method of using such arrangement A method and apparatus for detecting an impact sound, such as a sound caused by a railroad vehicle approaching a construction location. The apparatus comprises an arrangement for detecting impact sound or vibrations with a receiver mounted at the rail, fo... | 11/30/1993 |
| 5265538 | Track warning detonator A warning detonator for use on railway tracks or the like is disclosed. The detonator comprises a tube or cylinder (18) having disposed therein at spaced apart locations a length of elastomer (20) and a first explosive component (24, 25). A second explosi... | 11/30/1993 |
| 4307859 | Automatic message announcement system An automatic message announcement system for trains in the railroad station premises, including a train tracking circuit which tracks the location of approaching train, a trains information memory which stores information concerning each train, an edition... | 12/29/1981 |
