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COMPUTER IMPLEMENTED METHOD FOR DETERMINING RAILWAY VEHICLE MOVEMENT PROFILE TYPE OF A RAILWAY VEHICLE MOVEMENT PROFILE AND CONTROLLER OF A TRACK CIRCUIT SYSTEM
20220396298 · 2022-12-15 ·

A computer implemented method is for determining railway vehicle movement profile type of a railway vehicle movement profile. The railway vehicle movement profile includes a sequence of measured transmitted currents of a transceiver of a track circuit with respect to the time. The method includes obtaining a railway vehicle movement profile, normalizing the railway vehicle movement profile, extracting one or more features from the normalized railway vehicle movement profile, determining the distance of the extracted features with respect to each centroid of a railway vehicle movement profile type determined in a classification process, and assigning the railway vehicle movement profile to the railway vehicle movement profile type with the closest centroid

COMBINED CROSSING TERMINATION SHUNT AND RAILROAD CROSSING CONTROL SYSTEM
20230143765 · 2023-05-11 ·

A railroad crossing control system includes a grade crossing predictor system or grade crossing motion system with a combined crossing termination shunt, the combined crossing termination shunt including a housing, a first printed circuit board (PCB) comprising first circuitry and first rail terminals, a second printed circuit board (PCB) comprising second circuitry and second rail terminals, wherein the first PCB and the second PCB are positioned inside the housing, and wherein the first circuitry and the second circuitry are configured for a same frequency.

Method and system for health assessment of a track circuit and/or of a track section

A method and system for health assessment of a track circuit and/or of a track section, the track circuit being configured for detecting the presence of a vehicle on the track section between a transmitting end and a receiving end of the track circuit. The method, implemented by an electronic device, comprises obtaining, from a sensor device placed near the receiving end, samples of an electrical parameter of an electric signal transmitted between the transmitting end and the receiving end of the track section, forming a temporal series of received samples, applying an automatic clustering algorithm to separate the received samples in a predetermined number of clusters, selecting one of the clusters and determining, for the selected cluster, a first peak value of the received samples classified within the selected cluster, and calculating a track circuit health indicator depending on the first peak value determined for the selected cluster.

Track circuit power supply vital monitor

A power supply vital monitor for track circuits for railway systems includes a track segment that is separated from adjacent segments by electric joints. Each track segment includes a signal transmitting unit and receiving units for transmitting and receiving train presence detection signals and/or transmitting or receiving communication signals between the train and the track segment. The transmitting unit and receiving units are connected to a common power supply line. To avoid an erroneous clearing of an occupied status caused by spurious signals on the power supply line affecting reception of the train detection signals, each receiving unit includes a first and a second channel, which connect the receiver with the corresponding track circuit and with a power supply sensor connected to the power supply line. Switches enable and disable connections of the receivers to the corresponding track circuit and to the corresponding power supply sensor.

BROKEN RAIL DETECTOR
20220234632 · 2022-07-28 · ·

A method and apparatus to detect breaks in tracks and/or detect the presence of a vehicle, which can include for example a train, in a monitored section of the track or rail. Embodiments of the present invention measure the change in amplitude and/or phase angles. Electrical shunts are connected between the rails at spaced-apart intervals. At least two different frequencies of alternating current are generated and fed into the segments of rail (for example at or near a mid-point between the shunts). If a rail break occurs, the total inductance of the rail at that segment will change. Using two or more frequencies allows a rail break to be differentiated from environmental rail-to-rail and rail-to-earth leakage.

Grade crossing control system
11827260 · 2023-11-28 · ·

A grade crossing control system includes a controller that receives start and end inputs corresponding to a train traversing an outer approach, determines the difference in time between the start and end inputs, and uses the difference in time to determine a delay period by which activation of a grade crossing warning system will be delayed following detection of the train by a track occupancy circuit in an inner approach in order to compensate for slow moving trains. The start and end inputs for the outer approach may be supplied in different ways including a separate track occupancy circuit for the outer approach, by train detection devices unconnected to the track at the start and end of the outer approach, or by overlapping track occupancy circuits positioned at the start of the outer and inner approaches.

DETERMINATION OF TRAIN DIRECTION FOR BI-DIRECTIONAL GRADE CROSSINGS
20220315071 · 2022-10-06 ·

A grade crossing control system includes a track circuit with a grade crossing predictor (GCP) system coupled to rails of a railroad track at a grade crossing, wherein a railroad vehicle travelling on the railroad track causes a change of impedance when entering the track circuit, and wherein the GCP system generates grade crossing activation signals in response to the change of the impedance of the track circuit, wherein, for detecting the change of impedance, the GCP system includes a first transmitter transmitting a first signal over the track circuit and a first receiver detecting a first response signal, a second transmitter transmitting a second signal over the track circuit and a second receiver detecting a second response signal, wherein the first transmitter and the first receiver are preprogrammed to a first frequency, and wherein the second transmitter and the second receiver are preprogrammed to a second frequency.

DEVICE, SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MONITORING CONDITIONS ON A RAILWAY TRACK
20220111878 · 2022-04-14 ·

A device 10 for a track bound monitoring system for monitoring conditions on a railway track 28 comprising a first rail 26 and a second rail 30 comprises a signal generation unit 12 having an output 13. The signal generation unit is configured to generate an electrical monitoring signal having a monitoring signal characteristic. The output is connectable to at least one of the first rail and the second rail. A sensing unit 16 has an input 17 which is connectable to at least one of the rails. A controller 20 is connected to the generation unit and the sensing unit and is configured to cause the generation unit to generate the monitoring signal which propagates in the first rail and to receive from the sensing unit a return signal. The return signal is derived from the monitoring signal and has a return signal characteristic. The controller is configured to utilize a time difference between the monitoring signal characteristic and the return signal characteristic to monitor conditions on the railway track.

SYSTEM FOR COMMUNICATING VEHICLE INFORMATION
20210323592 · 2021-10-21 ·

A system that may include a first route circuit that may be configured to be coupled with a first route section and may be configured to generate a first location coded signal that is unique to the first route section responsive to a vehicle being located on or within the first route section. A second route circuit may be configured to be coupled with a second route section and configured to generate a second location coded signal that is unique to the second route section and that is different from the first location coded signal, the second route circuit configured to generate the second location coded signal responsive to the vehicle being located on or within the second route section. A controller may be configured to receive the first location coded signal and the second location coded signal and determine a location of the vehicle based on the first location coded signal or the second location coded signal.

System and method for detecting a break in a railway track

The present invention refers to a method for detecting a break in a railway track, system for detecting a break in a railway track (1) and device for detecting a break in a railway track (500), in which a first track (101) and a second track (102) are connected defining measuring sections (302, 303) and electrical detection networks (M1, M2), in which a device for detecting a break in a railway track (500) is coupled to said tracks (101, 102) and arranged to measure at least one electrical parameter of at least one electrical detection network (M1, M2) and selectively promote an output (502) that indicates a state of at least one track (101, 102).