Patents by Inventor Bernhard Lichtberger
Bernhard Lichtberger has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Patent number: 7979995Abstract: Measurement of a track position is carried out in successive measurement sections (15), wherein the relative track position is registered in each case with the aid of a long chord (17), formed by a laser beam (16), which serves as reference line of a measuring system (9). During this; an angle enclosed by the two long chords (17) of two successive measurement sections (15) is measured in order to thereby obtain a spatial curve reproducing the actual position of the track.Type: GrantFiled: June 16, 2008Date of Patent: July 19, 2011Assignee: Franz Plasser Bahnbaumaschinen-Industriegesellschaft m.b.H.Inventors: Josef Theurer, Bernhard Lichtberger
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Publication number: 20110168675Abstract: A welding unit for welding rails of a track includes two unit bodies that can be moved in relation to each other by displacement cylinders along unit guides running parallel to the rails. The displacement cylinders are connected both to pull rods and to a crossbeam. Thus a simple design having high tensile forces is possible.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 4, 2011Publication date: July 14, 2011Applicant: FRANZ PLASSER BAHNBAUMASCHINEN-INDUSTRIEGESELLSCHAFT MBHInventors: JOSEF THEURER, BERNHARD LICHTBERGER, HEINZ MÜHLLEITNER
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Publication number: 20100154233Abstract: Measurement of a track position is carried out in successive measurement sections (15), wherein the relative track position is registered in each case with the aid of a long chord (17), formed by a laser beam (16), which serves as reference line of a measuring system (9). During this; an angle enclosed by the two long chords (17) of two successive measurement sections (15) is measured in order to thereby obtain a spatial curve reproducing the actual position of the track.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 16, 2008Publication date: June 24, 2010Inventors: Josef Theurer, Bernhard Lichtberger
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Publication number: 20100018432Abstract: For the controlled lowering of a track, a longitudinal inclination of the track is determined at a rear tracing point of a measuring system and stored. For a length reaching back at least 10 meters, a current vertical profile is formed, and a rear compensation straight line is calculated which is superimposed upon the vertical profile and renders a target track position. The rear tracing point is guided by calculation along the rear compensation straight line, so that a compensation value for the position of the measuring chord ensues at a middle tracing point positioned between the rear tracing point and a front tracing point.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 8, 2009Publication date: January 28, 2010Applicant: FRANZ PLASSER BAHNBAUMASCHINEN-INDUSTRIEGESELLSCHAFT M.B.H.Inventors: Josef Theurer, Bernhard Lichtberger
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Patent number: 7523707Abstract: A machine for welding the rails of a track includes a rail pulling device that grips the rail ends and pulls them together so that they can be welded to one another. Two rail clamps provided for gripping the rails are fastened to the rail pulling device. The rail clamps are each vertically adjustable in their position relative to the rail pulling device by way of a respective adjustment drive in a direction extending perpendicularly to a pulling device plane formed by hydraulic drives of the rail pulling device. With this, the rails can be lifted from ties in a simple manner in order to enable the clamping members of the rail pulling device to grip the rails.Type: GrantFiled: May 3, 2006Date of Patent: April 28, 2009Assignee: Franz Plasser Bahnbaumaschinen - Industriegesellschaft m.b.H.Inventors: Josef Theurer, Bernhard Lichtberger
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Patent number: 7470871Abstract: A machine for welding rails of a track extending in a longitudinal direction includes a rail pulling device for gripping the rails to be welded to one another. The rail pulling device is connected to a machine frame of the welding machine by way of guides and coupling devices. The rail pulling device is designed for displacement in the longitudinal direction or transversely to the longitudinal direction by means of longitudinal displacement drives and transverse displacement drives, and is also vertically adjustable by means of drives. By means of tilting drives, the rail pulling device can additionally be pivoted about an axis extending in the longitudinal direction.Type: GrantFiled: June 9, 2006Date of Patent: December 30, 2008Assignee: Franz Plasser Bahnbaumaschinen Industriegesellschaft m.b.HInventors: Josef Theurer, Bernhard Lichtberger
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Publication number: 20080230520Abstract: The invention relates to a method for welding two rails (8, 10, 14) of a track using a welding unit (1) of a welding machine (20). According to the method, two rails (8,10,14) each caught by a pair of clamping jaws (6) of the welding unit (1) are moved and welded together while subjecting them to crusher cylinders (3) in the longitudinal direction of the rails. A rail anchor (16) is produced in a so-called terminal-welding step in a working direction (11) upstream of the machine (20) by linking a section of the rail (14) with ties (15) in a non-positive manner. If the actual rail temperature differs from the local neutral temperature, tensions are passed into the rails to be welded together.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 4, 2004Publication date: September 25, 2008Inventors: Bernhard Lichtberger, Heinz Muhlleitner
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Patent number: 7181851Abstract: In a method of tracing a track geometry immediately ahead of a ballast pick-up device of a cleaning machine in a working direction, a first and a second measuring chord are guided on the track by a respective front and rear end point. A versine measured by a first versine sensor of the first measuring chord is stored, in connection with a distance measurement, for registering the rear end point of the first measuring chord as a desired position with respect to a local track point. After the rear end point of the second measuring chord has reached the local track point, the rear end point is displaced until a measurement value corresponding to the stored versine is reached by a second versine sensor, and thus the desired position has been attained.Type: GrantFiled: August 17, 2005Date of Patent: February 27, 2007Assignee: Franz Plasser Bahnbaumaschinen Gesellschaft mbHInventors: Josef Theurer, Bernhard Lichtberger, Herbert Wörgötter
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Publication number: 20060288899Abstract: A machine for welding rails of a track extending in a longitudinal direction includes a rail pulling device for gripping the rails to be welded to one another. The rail pulling device is connected to a machine frame of the welding machine by way of guides and coupling devices. The rail pulling device is designed for displacement in the longitudinal direction or transversely to the longitudinal direction by means of longitudinal displacement drives and transverse displacement drives, and is also vertically adjustable by means of drives. By means of tilting drives, the rail pulling device can additionally be pivoted about an axis extending in the longitudinal direction.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 9, 2006Publication date: December 28, 2006Inventors: Josef Theurer, Bernhard Lichtberger
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Publication number: 20060261044Abstract: A machine for welding the rails of a track includes a rail pulling device that grips the rail ends and pulls them together so that they can be welded to one another. Two rail clamps provided for gripping the rails are fastened to the rail pulling device. The rail clamps are each vertically adjustable in their position relative to the rail pulling device by way of a respective adjustment drive in a direction extending perpendicularly to a pulling device plane formed by hydraulic drives of the rail pulling device. With this, the rails can be lifted from ties in a simple manner in order to enable the clamping members of the rail pulling device to grip the rails.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 3, 2006Publication date: November 23, 2006Inventors: Josef Theurer, Bernhard Lichtberger
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Patent number: 7050926Abstract: In a method of surveying a track (9), a first or mobile measuring vehicle (1) and a second or stationary measuring vehicle (2) are placed at a distance apart from one another on a track section to be measured. A reference line (14) is formed by a laser beam emitted from the stationary measuring vehicle (2). At the start of each measuring cycle, by using a GPS receiver (19), the relative position of the stationary measuring vehicle (2) with reference to a fixedly installed GPS reference station (29) located adjacent to the track section is determined, the said GPS reference station being known within a terrestrial coordinate system. The reference line (14) is aligned with the mobile measuring vehicle (1) on the basis of the determined position data, and the track surveying operation is carried out by advancing the mobile measuring vehicle (1) while changes of the actual track position relative to the reference line (14) are registered.Type: GrantFiled: February 10, 2000Date of Patent: May 23, 2006Assignee: Franz Plasser Bahnbaumaschinen-Industriegesellschaft m.b.H.Inventors: Josef Theurer, Bernhard Lichtberger
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Publication number: 20060090666Abstract: In a method for tamping ballast supporting sequentially arranged ties of a track extending in a longitudinal direction, which comprises a tamping cycle at each one of the ties, the tamping cycle comprises lowering a tamping head carrying tamping tools hydraulicallly reciprocable in the longitudinal direction to immerse the tamping tools in the ballast, reciprocating the tamping tools to tamp the ballast, vibrating the tamping tools in a first tamping cycle phase, discontinuing vibration of the tamping tools in a second tamping cycle phase, raising the tamping head to lift the tamping tools out of the ballast, and moving the tamping head from tie to tie.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 21, 2005Publication date: May 4, 2006Inventors: Josef Theurer, Bernhard Lichtberger
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Publication number: 20060059697Abstract: In a method of tracing a track geometry immediately ahead of a ballast pick-up device of a cleaning machine in a working direction, a first and a second measuring chord are guided on the track by a respective front and rear end point. A versine measured by a first versine sensor of the first measuring chord is stored, in connection with a distance measurement, for registering the rear end point of the first measuring chord as a desired position with respect to a local track point. After the rear end point of the second measuring chord has reached the local track point, the rear end point is displaced until a measurement value corresponding to the stored versine is reached by a second versine sensor, and thus the desired position has been attained.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 17, 2005Publication date: March 23, 2006Inventors: Josef Theurer, Bernhard Lichtberger, Herbert Worgotter
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Patent number: 6976324Abstract: A method for the contactless scanning of a track bed profile extending perpendicularly to a longitudinal extension of the track, comprises the steps of simultaneously effectuating the scanning and a measurement of any deviation from a desired track level at a location of the scanning, recording the scanned track bed profile, and calculating an amount of ballast required for raising the track to the desired track level and for uniformly distributing the ballast in the track bed in dependence on the measured track level deviation and the recorded scanned track bed profile.Type: GrantFiled: October 10, 2003Date of Patent: December 20, 2005Assignee: Franz Plasser Bahnbaumaschinen-Industriegesellschaft m.b.H.Inventors: Josef Theurer, Bernhard Lichtberger
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Patent number: 6925366Abstract: A control system for monitoring a work train for performing track maintenance operations has a computer connected to receive information from a multitude of work vehicles constituting the work train. A respective vehicle identifying device is associated with each work vehicle, the vehicle identifying device being connected communicate with the computer (e.g., via a control line) and configured for storing vehicle characteristics defining the respective work vehicle. The computer connected to the control line includes a display for visually indicating, in the case of a malfunction report concerning a particular work vehicle, the respective vehicle characteristics in connection with the position of the respective vehicle within the work train.Type: GrantFiled: May 10, 2004Date of Patent: August 2, 2005Assignee: Franz Plasser Bahnbaumaschinen-Industriegesellschaft m.b.H.Inventors: Josef Theurer, Bernhard Lichtberger
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Publication number: 20040230355Abstract: A control system for monitoring a work train for performing track maintenance operations has a computer connected to receive information from a multitude of work vehicles constituting the work train. A respective vehicle identifying device is associated with each work vehicle, the vehicle identifying device being connected communicate with the computer (e.g., via a control line) and configured for storing vehicle characteristics defining the respective work vehicle. The computer connected to the control line includes a display for visually indicating, in the case of a malfunction report concerning a particular work vehicle, the respective vehicle characteristics in connection with the position of the respective vehicle within the work train.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 10, 2004Publication date: November 18, 2004Applicant: Franz Plasser Bahnbaumaschinen- Industriegesellschaft mbHInventors: Josef Theurer, Bernhard Lichtberger
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Publication number: 20040088891Abstract: A method for the contactless scanning of a track bed profile extending perpendicularly to a longitudinal extension of the track, comprises the steps of simultaneously effectuating the scanning and a measurement of any deviation from a desired track level at a location of the scanning, recording the scanned track bed profile, and calculating an amount of ballast required for raising the track to the desired track level and for uniformly distributing the ballast in the track bed in dependence on the measured track level deviation and the recorded scanned track bed profile.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 10, 2003Publication date: May 13, 2004Applicant: Franz Plasser Bahnbaumaschinen- Industriegesellschaft m.b.H.Inventors: Josef Theurer, Bernhard Lichtberger
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Patent number: 6662728Abstract: For detecting a tie position in a track, a non-contact scanning device on a track-bound machine is associated with an odometer for recording a distance travelled by the machine. The scanning device is configured as distance measuring device for registering vertical distance measurement values between the machine and track, and is operatively connected to a control unit. The control unit is designed for continually and sequentially subdividing a measuring span, correlated to the distance travelled, into a succession of tie detection sections and adjacent ballast detection sections, which are associated with a ballast region situated between the ties. The tie detection section includes distance measurement values differing only slightly from one another, while the ballast detection section contains a sequence of abruptly fluctuating distance measurement values. As a result of detecting the tie position, a working unit, such as a tamping unit, can be centered over the tie automatically.Type: GrantFiled: August 6, 2002Date of Patent: December 16, 2003Assignee: Franz Plasser Bahnbaumaschinen-Industriegesellschaft m.b.H.Inventors: Josef Theurer, Bernhard Lichtberger
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Patent number: 6640725Abstract: A track work machine for mobility on a track extending in a longitudinal direction and supported on ballast, includes a machine frame extending in the longitudinal direction and having a front end and a rear end. An excavating device is mounted on the machine frame at the rear end and has a leading ballast pick-up unit arranged underneath the track and a trailing discharging end. A conveyor belt is associated with the discharging end and provided for receiving and transporting excavated ballast. A front undercarriage and a rear undercarriage are provided for supporting the machine frame on the track, the rear undercarriage being mounted on the machine frame for displacement in the longitudinal direction from a transit travel position, in which the rear undercarriage is situated between the discharging end and the ballast pick-up unit of the excavating device, in the direction towards the front undercarriage.Type: GrantFiled: June 11, 2002Date of Patent: November 4, 2003Assignee: Franz Plasser Bahnbaumaschinen-Industriegesellschaft m.b.H.Inventors: Josef Theurer, Bernhard Lichtberger
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Publication number: 20030097235Abstract: In a method of surveying a track (9), a first or mobile measuring vehicle (1) and a second or stationary measuring vehicle (2) are placed at a distance apart from one another on a track section to be measured. A reference line (14) is formed by a laser beam emitted from the stationary measuring vehicle (2). At the start of each measuring cycle, by using a GPS receiver (19), the relative position of the stationary measuring vehicle (2) with reference to a fixedly installed GPS reference station (29) located adjacent to the track section is determined, the said GPS reference station being known within a terrestrial coordinate system. The reference line (14) is aligned with the mobile measuring vehicle (1) on the basis of the determined position data, and the track surveying operation is carried out by advancing the mobile measuring vehicle (1) while changes of the actual track position relative to the reference line (14) are registered.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 10, 2000Publication date: May 22, 2003Inventors: Josef Theurer, Bernhard Lichtberger