Remote monitoring of points based on effective power dissipation

^The Siemens points monitoring system detects deficiencies (e.g. wear) in points, point machines, and point machine power supplies before a points failure occurs. The system is based on the use of the point machine motor as the only track-side sensor by measuring the electric voltage(s) and current(s) at the interlocking´s points control unit when the points are thrown. From these data the effective power dissipation over time is computed which is proportional to the motor torque and throwing force, respectively. A LAN bus connects the monitoring devices of several point machines to a host PC which runs the analysis software