Patents by Inventor Brian Eric Smith

Brian Eric Smith 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).

  • Controlled Impact Portable Rail Device
    Publication number: 20250354896
    Abstract: A portable device for removable attachment to a rail has a thin upper surface contoured to conform with the head of a rail, and a simulated defect in the upper surface to exert a predetermined impact load on the wheel of a rail vehicle rolling over the device on a rail. An attachment mechanism removably secures the device to a rail with the upper surface of the device covered a selected portion of the rail head.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 5, 2025
    Publication date: November 20, 2025
    Applicant: Transportation Technology Center, Inc. d/b/a MxV Rail
    Inventors: Brian Eric Smith, Matthew Ward Witte, Yuqing Zeng, Nathan Jeremiah Stoehr
  • System and method for detecting broken rail and occupied track from a railway vehicle
    Patent number: 9162691
    Abstract: A method is provided for detecting broken rail, unintentionally misaligned turnouts, and track occupancy ahead of or behind a railway vehicle traveling on a railroad track. Shunts extend between the rails at intervals along the railroad track. Each shunt has electrical signal transmission characteristics differing from those of adjacent shunts. A test unit on the railway vehicle induces a test signal in a first rail to create a track circuit in which the test signal propagates along the first rail, through at least one of the shunts, returns to the railway vehicle along the second rail, and through the wheels and axle of the railway vehicle. The test signal has electrical properties selected to interact with at least one of the shunts. The received test signal on the second rail is analyzed to identify predetermined conditions concerning the status of the railroad track.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2015
    Assignee: Transportation Technology Center, Inc.
    Inventors: Alan Lee Polivka, Jerome J. Malone, Jr., Brian Eric Smith, Steven Mark Renfrow
  • SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETECTING BROKEN RAIL AND OCCUPIED TRACK FROM A RAILWAY VEHICLE
    Publication number: 20130284859
    Abstract: A method is provided for detecting broken rail, unintentionally misaligned turnouts, and track occupancy ahead of or behind a railway vehicle traveling on a railroad track. Shunts extend between the rails at intervals along the railroad track. Each shunt has electrical signal transmission characteristics differing from those of adjacent shunts. A test unit on the railway vehicle induces a test signal in a first rail to create a track circuit in which the test signal propagates along the first rail, through at least one of the shunts, returns to the railway vehicle along the second rail, and through the wheels and axle of the railway vehicle. The test signal has electrical properties selected to interact with at least one of the shunts. The received test signal on the second rail is analyzed to identify predetermined conditions concerning the status of the railroad track.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 24, 2013
    Publication date: October 31, 2013
    Applicant: Transportation Technology Center, Inc.
    Inventors: Alan Lee Polivka, Jerome J. Malone, Jr., Brian Eric Smith, Steven Mark Renfrow