Catenary Safety Monitoring System (CSMS) Patent Pending

IMPulse NC LLC is pleased to announce its newest technology that will lower maintenance costs and provide greater reliability for electric commuter rail and light rail transit systems through an automated Catenary Safety Monitoring System (CSMS).

Overhead constant tension transit systems utilize balance weight assemblies (BWA's) to insure proper contact with wire operation. Due to the critical role that BWA's serve in maintaining a safe and healthy line, they must be monitored visually and maintained frequently. CSMS is a patent-pending product that remotely and constantly monitors the overhead contact wire system at the balance weight assemblies. The CSMS identifies potential maintenance problems, increases the saefty and reliability of a transit system, while saving time and money.

The CSMS uses a highly accurate magnetic linear position sensor to monitor the wire movement and the actual BWA position. The CSMS programmable logic controller calculates teh predicted position of the BWA position. The CSMS programmable logic controller calculates the predicted position of the BWA using characteristics of the wire run and the temperature of the wire via resistance temperature detectors. The CSMS compares the actual position against the predicted position. If there is a variance, the system automatically sends alerts of a site-specific location to proper personnel.

The alerts are sent via wireless text message and identify all anomalies, including catastrophic-type failures such as a line break or cut wire due to theft. All information is stored for maintenance records and easily accessible through a password-protected website. Real-time data can be observed at any time.