An adapter assembly for an electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) manifold system includes a housing having a mounting face that includes a plurality of ports. The housing also has a brake cylinder passageway, a reservoir passageway, and a brake cylinder exhaust passageway that are in fluid communication with the ports. The adapter assembly also includes an adapter valve configured to be in fluid communication with the brake cylinder passageway, the reservoir passageway, and the brake cylinder exhaust passageway. The adapter valve has a first position where the brake cylinder passageway and the reservoir passageway are in fluid communication while the brake cylinder passageway is isolated from the brake cylinder exhaust passageway. The adapter valve also has a second position where the brake cylinder passageway is isolated from the reservoir passageway while the brake cylinder passageway is in fluid communication with the brake cylinder exhaust passageway.

A power control system for a vehicle system identifies coupler nodes in the vehicle system for travel of the vehicle system along a route. The coupler nodes represent slack states of couplers between vehicles in the vehicle system. The system also determines combined driving parameters at locations along the route where a state of the coupler nodes in the vehicle system will change within the vehicle system during the upcoming movement of the vehicle system. The system determines a restriction on operations of the vehicle system to control the coupler nodes during the upcoming movement of the vehicle system and to distribute the combined driving parameters among two or more of the vehicles.

A brake control system includes first and second brake control units for controlling braking of first and second bogies of a rail car. The brake control units include relay valves for controlling pressurized air flow from a main reservoir to brake cylinder pipes. A bypass conduit connects an outlet of a first brake control module to an outlet of a second brake control module. A fail-safe valve moves between open and closed positions. In the closed position, the fail-safe valve prevents a flow of the pressurized air between the brake control units. The fail-safe valve provides a first pilot pressure to a first relay valve upon a failure of the first brake control unit and provides a third pilot pressure to the second relay valve in response to a failure of the second brake control unit.

A system and method includes determining, with a sensor assembly disposed onboard a first aerial vehicle, a direction in which a fluid flows within or through the first aerial vehicle, and determining an orientation of the first aerial vehicle relative to a second aerial vehicle based at least in part on the direction in which the fluid flows within or through the first aerial vehicle.

A system for identifying whether the braking system of a train is functioning properly such as during a train terminal test. A monitor on a rail car is used to detect abnormalities in the braking system and can report problems to a handheld terminal or a central controller in the locomotive. The monitor has a pressure sensor for measuring brake pipe pressure, auxiliary reservoir pressure, emergency reservoir pressure, and brake cylinder pressure at the rail car. The monitor also has a controller that can calculate whether brake pipe reduction resulted in the appropriate amount of brake cylinder pressure. The monitor can then provide the results locally via a visual indicator or remotely to a handheld terminal used by a train inspector or the controller in the locomotive. Testing data over time may be stored for future reference or transmitted remotely to assist with maintenance and service scheduling.

A supervising device for monitoring the operation of an anti-slip device is described; the supervising device is arranged to: acquire estimated instantaneous linear speeds associated with axles controlled by the anti-slip device; compare the estimated instantaneous linear speeds with a linear reference speed; monitor the state of the pressures to the brake cylinders; determine whether the anti-slip device is working correctly, depending on predetermined trends of each of the estimated instantaneous linear speeds associated with the axles in the slipping phase, with respect to the reference linear speed, in association with each of the pressures to the brake cylinders associated with the axles adjust the preloaded time value in at least one of the timing devices when the supervising device determines that the anti-slip device is not working correctly.

A braking system for a vehicle includes an indicator device provided to reliably indicate a state of a parking brake of the system, while being simple, convenient, and economical. The system includes a body that delimits a service brake pressure chamber and/or a parking brake pressure chamber, a parking brake movable relative to the body, an unlocking part for unlocking the parking brake connected to the parking brake pressure chamber and accessible from outside the body, and a parking brake indicator device. The indicator device is configured to receive a position of the unlocking part via a state pipe and an indicator of supply and/or the venting of the service brake pressure chamber and/or of the parking brake pressure chamber. This information is processed in to detect and indicate an engaged state or a disengaged state of the parking brake.

A set and release retainer valve assembly of an air brake system engages and releases an air brake while retaining a designated pressure within a brake cylinder. The pressure is retained within the brake cylinder to generate a higher brake cylinder pressure on a subsequent brake application and/or prevent movement of the vehicle system after release of the air brake system. The air brake is subsequently re-engaged to re-set the retaining valve assembly and exhaust the designated air pressure out of the brake cylinder, where the air brake of the vehicle system is released to permit the movement of the vehicle system after re-setting the retaining valve assembly.

The invention relates to a brake system of a rail vehicle having at least one pneumatic brake actuator, a pneumatic braking device for generating a brake pressure, an electro-pneumatic braking device for generating a brake pressure, and a controller. In the event of rapid, forcible, or emergency braking, the pneumatic braking device or the electro-pneumatic braking device provides a basic brake pressure, and the brake pressure is changed by the electro-pneumatic braking device, starting from the basic brake pressure provided, depending in particular on a load and/or a speed.

A brake system, brake regulating method and device for a rail vehicle use an input for a target deceleration value (ä.sub.set), an input for an actual deceleration value (a.sub.train), and an output for a deceleration control variable value. The deceleration control variable value (a.sub.OUt) is set by a regulating unit to minimize a deviation between the actual deceleration value (a.sub.train) and the target deceleration value (a.sub.set). The brake regulating device uses a limiting device, which limits the deceleration control variable value (a.sub.out) independently of the regulating unit such that the deceleration control variable value (a.sub.out) deviates from the target deceleration value (a.sub.set) maximally by a maximum negative control stroke to lower values or maximally by a maximum positive control stroke to higher values. The invention additionally relates to a braking method and a brake system for a rail vehicle.