Patent classifications
B61L25/025
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR RAILROAD PERSONNEL SAFETY ASSURANCE
A system for enhancing personnel safety on a railroad track is presented. The system can receive data from sensors and/or a PTC system to determine positions of clients/worker and/or vehicles, and further utilize such data to determine if a vehicle is within a certain proximity of the client/worker location. The system can further generate geofences around clients/vehicles to and determine when such geofences intersect one another. Additionally, the present disclosure can assign severity levels and generate alerts with the assigned severity levels, and such severity levels can indicate how close a vehicle is to a particular location. It is an object of the invention to provide a system for generating alerts to notify personnel when they much retreat to a place of safety.
Method and controller for determining the relationship between a track-circuit transmitted current signal and a railway vehicle location on a railway track
Disclosed is a method for determining the relationship between a track-circuit current signal and a railway vehicle location, including: sending, by a track circuit, current signal across a railway track block; measuring the current signal for different railway vehicles running successively on the railway track block; aligning the measured current signals and calculating a reference curve as the average value of all the aligned curves by using a Dynamic Time Warping algorithm, this reference curve representing the relationship between the track-circuit current signal and the railway vehicle location on the railway track block.
METHODS AND DEVICES FOR DETERMINATION OF POSITION AND CONTROL OF LOCATION-BASED BEHAVIOUR ON A MODEL RAILROAD
A method to determine the position of a locomotive (100) by having a first device (306) measuring the electromotive force from a propelling motor (105) and calculating the speed; combined with detection of fixed reference points by measuring of the magnetic field generated by permanent magnets (106) at known positions. At regular intervals this information is passed to a second device (108). By use of a pattern recognition algorithm the second device estimates the position and operates the locomotive according to location-based behavior. The first device characterized by having a magnetic field sensor (302) integrated on an ordinary model railroad decoder, which already supports motor measurement and packet transmission. The second device characterized by having a data packet receiver (403) and an Ethernet interface (405) for communication with a command station (109). A microcontroller (402) utilizes a parameterized representation of the model railroad layout to determine the position of the locomotive. From the position proper behavior is determined and corresponding speed commands are sent to the command station. Other methods and embodiments are described and shown.
RAILYARD TRAIN DETECTION AND EARLY WARNING SYSTEM
The train detection system comprises a wireless communication network further comprising train detection modules attached to catenary poles at the entrance and exit of the railyard. Each train detection module is equipped with a plurality of diverse sensors configured to detect trains and other on-track vehicles. The diverse sensors are simultaneously active and work together for detecting an approaching or leaving train. The train detection modules generate train alerts which are transmitted wirelessly over the wireless communication network. Each of the railyard workers wears a personal alert device capable of wirelessly connecting with the train detection modules and receiving the train alerts over the said wireless communication network. The train alert modules are capable of transmitting alerts wirelessly to personal alert devices and other train alert modules. Train alert modules are capable of generating audio visual warnings for any personnel which may not be equipped with personal alert module.
TRAIN-INFORMATION MANAGEMENT DEVICE AND TRAIN-INFORMATION MANAGEMENT METHOD
A train-information management device mounted on a train, includes: an intra-block position calculator to convert information on a kilometrage that indicates a position of the train into information on a block number and an intra-block position of a plurality of blocks into which a route of the train is divided and that are used when a train position is specified by a train radio system; and an on-board router to communicate the information on the block number and the intra-block position to a ground side by using a system that is different from a system that is used for communication between the ground side and a train side via a radio base station in the train radio system.
TRAIN POSITION DETECTING DEVICE
A train position detecting device includes: a GPS position guarantee range calculation part for calculating, based on a result of measurement of a position of a train by GPS signals; a tachogenerator-position guarantee range calculation part for calculating, based on a result of measurement of a position of the train by a tachometer generator that measures a relative distance from a measurement carried out previously; and a position determination part that determines, between an end part of the GPS position guarantee range in the first-direction and an end part of the tachogenerator-position guarantee range in the first-direction, a position of an end part on the positive side of the second direction to be a position of the end part of the train in the first-direction.
Detecting and optimizing the stopping-point accuracy of a vehicle
An apparatus for sensing and optimizing the stopping-point accuracy of a vehicle. The apparatus includes at least one sensor unit, which can be arranged on the vehicle, and at least one evaluation unit connected to the sensor unit. The at least one sensor unit is configured to measure a distance relative to a gap profile arranged at a stopping point to which the vehicle travels and to transmit the measurement result to the evaluation unit connected to the sensor unit. There is also described a corresponding system including the apparatus and the distance profile, and also a vehicle with such an apparatus.
Vehicle orientation determination system
A vehicle orientation determination system includes one or more processors configured to determine a first distance between a reference device disposed on a first vehicle and a front device disposed on a second vehicle. The first and second vehicles are both disposed on a route. The one or more processors are further configured to determine a second distance between the reference device disposed on the first vehicle and a rear device disposed on the second vehicle. The front device is located more proximate to a front end of the second vehicle than a proximity of the rear device to the front end. The one or more processors are configured to determine that the second vehicle has a common orientation as the first vehicle relative to the route based on the first distance being less than the second distance.
PORTABLE SAFETY TERMINAL BASED METHOD FOR PROCESSING RAIL TRANSIT RESOURCES, AND SYSTEM FOR METHOD
The present disclosure relates to a portable safety terminal based method for processing rail transit resources, and a system for the method. The method includes: in a degradation mode, performing interaction between a portable safety terminal and a wayside controller; providing a driver with safety display of an environment where a train is located, and obtaining a location of the train and information of a relationship between a front train and a rear train; and providing the driver with a means to apply for line resources, such that the driver can, according to the train environment, autonomously apply for the line resources, and release the resources for use by subsequent trains after driving the train to pass through a zone. Compared to the prior art, the present disclosure has the advantages of improving the safety of train driving and field maintenance operation, etc.
Methods for forming 3D image data and associated apparatuses
A method for forming 3D image data representative of the subsurface of infrastructure located in the vicinity of a moving vehicle. The method includes: rotating a directional antenna, mounted to the moving vehicle, about an antenna rotation axis; performing, using the directional antenna whilst it is rotated about the antenna rotation axis, a plurality of collection cycles in which the directional antenna emits RF energy and receives reflected RF energy; collecting, during each of the plurality of collection cycles performed by the directional antenna.