SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR LOCATING A GUIDED VEHICLE ON A RAILWAY NETWORK

Abstract

A method and system locate an unlocated guided vehicle moving on a track of a railway network. The system contains a positioning system installed on-board the unlocated guided vehicle. The positioning system acquires first position information which provides information about a first position occupied by the unlocated guided vehicle. A control system contains a register for registering each located guided vehicle of the railway network via an identifier assigned to the located guided vehicle, and for monitoring its current position and its current direction of travel. The control system is further configured for determining a current position and a current travel direction of the unlocated guided vehicle, and registers in the register the unlocated guided vehicle as a newly located guided vehicle on the railway network. The positioning system uses the first position information for determining the current position and current travel direction of the unlocated guided vehicle.

Claims

1. A system for locating an unlocated guided vehicle moving on a track of a railway network, the system comprising: a positioning system configured for installation on-board the unlocated guided vehicle, said positioning system configured for acquiring first position information providing information about a first position occupied by the unlocated guided vehicle on the railway network; a control system containing a register for registering each located guided vehicle of the railway network via an identifier assigned to the located guided vehicle, and for monitoring a current position and a current direction of travel of the located guided vehicle, said control system further configured for determining a current position and a current travel direction of the unlocated guided vehicle, and for registering in said register the unlocated guided vehicle as a newly located guided vehicle on the railway network; and said positioning system configured for acquiring the first position information directly from the located guided vehicle moving on a neighboring track with respect to the track and called hereinafter a first neighboring guided vehicle, said positioning system further configured for using the first position information for determining the current position and the current travel direction of the unlocated guided vehicle.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein: said control system is further configured for assigning an identifier to the newly located guided vehicle; and said positioning system is configured for automatically emitting the identifier at least when the newly located guided vehicle crosses or passes another said unlocated guided vehicle.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein said positioning system is configured for acquiring the first position information from the first neighboring guided vehicle when they pass or cross each other, and for registering a first neighboring time, at which the first position information has been acquired from the first neighboring guided vehicle, the first position information containing a first neighboring identifier of the first neighboring guided vehicle, said positioning system further configured for acquiring track identification information configured for enabling an identification, by said control system, of the track on of the unlocated guided vehicle is currently moving, said positioning system further configured for acquiring travel direction information configured for enabling a determination, by said control system, of the current travel direction of the unlocated guided vehicle on the track, said positioning system further configured for determining the first position from the first neighboring time, the identifier of the first neighboring guided vehicle, and the track identification data.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein said control system is configured for using the first neighboring identifier for identifying the first neighboring guided vehicle in said register and finding its first neighboring position at the first neighboring time, wherein the first neighboring position is used by said control system for assigning to the first position a position on the track identified by the track identification data and located within an area defined around the first neighboring position.

5. The system according to claim 3, wherein: said first positioning system having a camera system; and the track identification information and/or the travel direction information is/are comprised in the first position information, or acquired from a balise, or from a driver of the unlocated guided vehicle, or from said camera system of said positioning system.

6. The system according to claim 3, further comprising a first neighboring positioning system configured for being installed on-board the first neighboring guided vehicle and configured for emitting the first neighboring identifier when the first neighboring guided vehicle passes or crosses the unlocated guided vehicle.

7. The system according to claim 3, wherein, for acquiring the travel direction information, said positioning system is configured for acquiring second position information configured for providing information about a second position occupied by the unlocated guided vehicle on the railway network.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein, in a case of acquiring the second position information, said control system is configured for assigning to a current position, a position, from among the first position and the second position comprised in the second position information, which is reached a latest by the unlocated guided vehicle, and for defining a current travel direction as the direction followed by the unlocated guided vehicle when moving towards the current position.

9. The system according to claim 7, wherein said positioning system is configured for acquiring the second position information directly from another located guided vehicle, called hereafter a SN guided vehicle, moving on a same or another neighboring track with respect to the track on which the unlocated guided vehicle is currently moving.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein said positioning system is configured for acquiring the second position information from the SN guided vehicle when they pass or cross each other, and for registering a SN time, at which the second position information has been acquired from the SN guided vehicle, the second position information comprising an SN identifier of the SN guided vehicle, wherein said control system is configured for using the SN identifier and the track identification information for determining the second position of the unlocated guided vehicle occupied at the SN time on the track, and for using the first position and the second position for determining the current position and the current travel direction.

11. The system according to claim 10, further comprising another positioning system, called a SN positioning system, configured for installing on-board the SN guided vehicle and configured for emitting the SN identifier when the SN guided vehicle passes or crosses the unlocated guided vehicle.

12. A method for locating an unlocated guided vehicle moving on a track of a railway network, which comprises the steps of: acquiring, by a positioning system, first position information configured for providing information about a first position occupied by the unlocated guided vehicle on the railway network; sending, by the positioning system, the first position information to a control system configured for registering located guided vehicles in a register, wherein, for each located guided vehicle, a current position, a current travel direction, and an identifier are registered in the register; determining, by the control system a current position of the unlocated guided vehicle on the railway network and a current travel direction; registering, by the control system and in the register, the unlocated guided vehicle as a newly located guided vehicle; and acquiring the first position information directly from the located guided vehicle, hereafter a first neighboring guided vehicle, moving on a neighboring track with respect to the track, and using the first position information for determining the current position and the current travel direction of the unlocated guided vehicle.

13. The method according to claim 12, which further comprises: acquiring the first position information from the first neighboring guided vehicle when they pass or cross each other, and for registering a first neighboring time, at which the first position information has been acquired from the first neighboring guided vehicle, the first position information containing a first neighboring identifier of the first neighboring guided vehicle; acquiring track identification information configured for enabling an identification of the track on which the unlocated guided vehicle is currently moving; and acquiring travel direction information configured for enabling a determination of the current travel direction of the unlocated guided vehicle on the track, the positioning system being configured for determining the first position from the FN time, the identifier of the FN guided vehicle, and the track identification data.

14. The method according to claim 13, which further comprises using the first neighboring identifier for identifying the first neighboring guided vehicle in the register of the control system and finding a first neighboring position at the first neighboring time, wherein the first neighboring position is used by the control system for assigning to the first position a position on the track identified by the track identification data and located within an area defined around the first neighboring position.

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein for acquiring the travel direction information, acquiring second position information configured for providing information about a second position occupied by the unlocated guided vehicle on the railway network.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0024] FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a preferred embodiment of a system according to the invention;

[0025] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a preferred embodiment of a method according to the invention;

[0026] FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of an example of an implementation of the invention at a first time T1; and

[0027] FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of an example of an implementation of the invention at a second time T2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0028] Referring now to the figures of the drawings in detail and first, particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, there is shown preferred embodiment of a system 100 according to the invention. The system 100 contains a positioning system 110 and a control system 120. The positioning system 110 is installed on-board an unlocated guided vehicle 1 configured for moving on a track 21 of a railway network and whose location with respect to the railway network has to be determined, and in particular its travel direction F. The control system 120 might be installed on-board the unlocated guided vehicle 1 or it can be a remote system. The control system 120 and the positioning system 110 are configured for communicating with each other, and comprise for this purpose known in the art communication means, notably wireless communication means like a radio communication system, or might be connected to each other by wires if the control system 120 is installed on-board. The positioning system 110 further comprises a communication system 111 for exchanging (sending to and/or receiving from) data with another guided vehicle, in particular with a communication system of a positioning system installed on-board the another guided vehicle. Preferentially, the communication system 111 of each positioning system according to the invention uses a BLE communication technique for communicating with another communication system according to the invention. This means that each guided vehicle equipped with a positioning system according to the invention may directly communicate data to another guided vehicle equipped with such a positioning system. As explained in more detail when describing the method according to the invention, the exchanged data comprises at least an identifier of the located guided vehicle that is sent to any unlocated guided vehicle that is crossed or passed. Optionally, any unlocated guided vehicle may send a request to any located guided vehicle that is crossed or passed for receiving the located guided vehicle identifier, in response of what, the located guided vehicle automatically sends its identifier. Preferentially, such a request is only sent as long as the unlocated guided vehicle is not yet registered as a located guided vehicle in a register of the control system 120.

[0029] The positioning system 110 may further comprise a camera system 112 for acquiring images of a scene upfront the guided vehicle 1, and/or a back scene of the guided vehicle 1, wherein each of the scenes shows a portion of track (respectively an upfront portion of track for the upfront scene and a back portion of track for the back scene) and a surrounding environment with respect to the portion of track so as to enable an acquisition of images of neighboring tracks and guided vehicles moving on the neighboring tracks.

[0030] The control system 120 is in charge of registering each located guided vehicle in a register that enables to monitor and/or track each located guided vehicle on the railway network. In the register, each located guided vehicle is assigned an identifier by the control system 120. For each located guided vehicle identified by such an identifier, the control system 120 monitors its current position and current travel direction, and may store past data (i.e. past positions and travel directions) in a memory.

[0031] The principles of the present invention for locating an unlocated guided vehicle will be described in more detail hereafter through the method of FIG. 2, together with the illustrations provided in FIGS. 3 and 4.

[0032] At step 201, the positioning systems 110 acquires a first position information configured for providing information about a first position occupied by the unlocated guided vehicle 1 on the railway network. According to the present invention, the first position information is directly acquired from a located guided vehicle, called hereafter the FN guided vehicle 2, that is moving on a neighboring track 22 with respect to the track 21 on which the unlocated guided vehicle 1 is moving. This is illustrated in FIG. 3 that is a schematic picture of the crossing of the two guided vehicles taken at a time T1, while FIG. 4 is a schematic picture of the crossing of the unlocated guided vehicle with another located guided vehicle, called the SN guided vehicle 3, taken at a time T2. The current travel direction F of the unlocated guided vehicle 1 might be opposite to the current travel direction G of the FN guided vehicle 2. In other cases, the current travel direction F might be the same for both the unlocated and located guided vehicles, as illustrated in FIG. 4 with the current travel direction H of the SN guided vehicle 3.

[0033] The first position information comprises an identifier of the FN guided vehicle 2. Preferentially, it comprises also the FN time at which the identifier has been acquired. Preferentially, a positioning system of the FN guided vehicle is configured for sending the identifier to the positioning system of the unlocated guided vehicle 1, notably upon reception of a request from the latter. Typically, the positioning system of both the unlocated and FN guided vehicle comprises a communication system 111, notably a radio communication system using BLE technology for their communication with one another.

[0034] At step 202, the positioning system 110 sends the first position information to the control system. As explained earlier, the latter comprises a register for registering each located guided vehicle moving on the railway network with an identifier, and for further monitoring the current position and current travel direction of each registered located guided vehicle.

[0035] At step 203, the control system 120 determines the current position of the unlocated guided vehicle on the railway network and its current travel direction from the received first position information. For this purpose, the control system 120 uses the identifier comprised in the first position information for determining the FN position, i.e. the position of the FN guided vehicle at the time it crossed or passed the unlocated guided vehicle, i.e. at the FN time. As explained earlier, the FN time might be embedded in the first position information provided by the positioning system 110, or might be considered as the time at which the first position information is received by the control system 120 if the FN time is not comprised within the first position information, notably in case the control system 120 is an on-board system. Preferentially, the control system 120 stores the position of each located guided vehicle in function of the time, which enables an easy retrieval of any past position. Then, the control system 120 assigns to the guided vehicle 1 a position that is located on the track currently occupied by the unlocated guided vehicle 1 and within an area defined around the FN position, preferentially, the position on the track that is the nearest to the FN position. The assigned position corresponds to the first position, and in the present case, is also the current position of the unlocated guided vehicle 1. Alternatively, the first position information may comprise a current value of the range of communication of the communication system of the FN guided vehicle 2 and/or of the unlocated guided vehicle 1, wherein at least one of the current range values (notably the one characterizing the communication system of the FN guided vehicle) is used by the control system 120 in the calculation of the first position from the knowledge of the FN position.

[0036] For determining on which track the unlocated guided vehicle 1 is currently moving, the control system 120 is configured for acquiring, from the positioning system, a track identification data. The track identification data might be acquired by the positioning system 110 from a balise, or from an operator, or from the camera system 112, and sent together with the first position information to the control system 120. Preferentially, the track identification data is automatically acquired by the camera system 112 in the form of images of a scene that is at the front and/or rear of the unlocated guided vehicle 1 and which shows a portion of the track 21 comprising other tracks 22, 23 and other guided vehicles. An acquisition of the images preferentially starts at the reception of an identifier of a located guided vehicle, stops as soon as the FN guided vehicle is out of the communication range of the communication system 111 of the positioning system 110, and the acquired images are automatically sent in real time to the control system 120. The latter comprises then an algorithm configured for automatically determining the track on which the unlocated guided vehicle 1 is currently running by comparing or matching the acquired images to a map of the railway network tracks, focusing on the FN position on said map.

[0037] For determining the current travel direction of the unlocated guided vehicle, the control system 120 is configured for acquiring a travel direction information from the positioning system 110. The positioning system 110 may acquire the travel direction information from one or several balises, from an operator, from the camera system 112, or by acquiring a second position information. Preferentially, the travel direction information is provided by the positioning system 110 to the control system 120 together with the first position information.

[0038] In particular, if the camera system 112 is used for acquiring the travel direction information, then the control system 120 is able to determine a current direction of travel of the unlocated guided vehicle 1 from the images, notably by comparing the direction of travel of the unlocated guided vehicle 1 and the direction of travel of the FN guided vehicle at said FN time. Known in the art image processing techniques might be used for this purpose.

[0039] FIG. 4 illustrates an acquisition of the travel direction information from a second position information which is acquired from another located guided vehicle, i.e. the SN guided vehicle 3, moving on another track 23. The process used for acquiring the first position information from the FN guided vehicle 2 applies here mutatis mutandis when acquiring the second position information from the SN guided vehicle. However, in this case, i.e. if the second position information is used by the control system 120 for determining the current travel direction of the unlocated guided vehicle 1, then the control system 120 will automatically select, as current position, the position among the first position and the second position, that has been reached the temporally the latest by the unlocated guided vehicle, the current travel direction being defined by the motion of the unlocated guided vehicle 1 towards the current position.

[0040] At step 204, i.e. after having determined the current position and current travel direction, the control system 120 assigns an identifier to the unlocated guided vehicle 1 and registers the latter as a newly located guided vehicle in its register. Once registered, the current position and travel direction of the newly registered guided vehicle is monitored by the control system 120.

[0041] At step 205, the control system 120 communicates to the positioning system 110 of the newly located guided vehicle its identifier.

[0042] At step 206, the positioning system 110 of the newly located guided vehicle emits the identifier via its communication system 111, at least when it crosses or passes an unlocated guided vehicle. For instance, it can continuously emit the identifier, or it can emit it upon request, for instance after reception of a request for receiving the identifier that has been sent by an unlocated guided vehicle.

[0043] To conclude, the present invention proposes a new way of locating an unlocated guided vehicle on a track of a railway network, wherein position information is received from already located guided vehicles that are crossed or passed by the unlocated guided vehicle when moving on the railway network, which avoids having to pass over two balises, and enables a more efficient localization of unlocated guided vehicles.