Autonomous ballast unloading consist
First Claim
1. A method for autonomously dumping material along a railway comprising:
- assembling a consist including a plurality of hopper cars containing a material to be dumped and at least one control car that includes a master controller and a navigation unit, the master controller controlling hopper doors on each of the hopper cars and including a track survey file indicating a location of a dump zone along a track in which to dump at least a portion of the material and indicating a quantity of the material to dump in the dump zone, and the navigation unit usable to determine a perceived geographic location of the control car;
selectively placing, by the master controller, each of the hopper cars in one of an active state in which the hopper doors can be opened to dump ballast on command, a wait state in which the hopper doors are restricted from opening until the master controller determines that a fault condition is remedied, and a disengaged state in which the hopper doors are restricted from opening until the master controller receives an input from an operator, the master controller placing each of the hopper cars in the active state, wait state, and disengaged state based on an operational status of the respective hopper car and a perceived geographic location of the respective hopper car and independent of the location of the respective hopper car relative to the dump zone;
querying each of the hopper cars by the master controller to determine the position of each hopper car in the consist;
moving the consist along the track;
determining that the geographic location of at least one of the hopper cars is within the dump zone and that the quantity of material is not fulfilled, the geographic location of the at least one of the hopper cars being determined based on the position of each hopper car in the consist relative to the perceived geographic location of the control car, the at least one hopper car being in the active state;
opening the hopper door on the at least one hopper car to dump the material in the dump zone; and
closing the hopper door when the at least one hopper car leaves the dump zone or when the quantity of material has been dumped.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An autonomous ballast consist for unloading ballast along a railway and methods for unloading ballast thereby. The consist includes a plurality of ballast cars and at least one control car. The control car includes a controller, a navigation system, and electric, hydraulic, or pneumatic generators that power the hopper cars. The controller employs the navigation system to determine the location of the consist relative to a track survey indicating locations and amounts of ballast to be unloaded. The controller instructs the hopper cars to open/close ballast doors to dump appropriate amounts of ballast in desired locations. The controller also monitors the status of the hopper cars and the accuracy of the navigation system to automatically adjust the operational state of the consist relative thereto. The unloading operation is carried out automatically, without need for operator intervention, and without risk of damage to railroad facilities.
34 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method for autonomously dumping material along a railway comprising:
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assembling a consist including a plurality of hopper cars containing a material to be dumped and at least one control car that includes a master controller and a navigation unit, the master controller controlling hopper doors on each of the hopper cars and including a track survey file indicating a location of a dump zone along a track in which to dump at least a portion of the material and indicating a quantity of the material to dump in the dump zone, and the navigation unit usable to determine a perceived geographic location of the control car; selectively placing, by the master controller, each of the hopper cars in one of an active state in which the hopper doors can be opened to dump ballast on command, a wait state in which the hopper doors are restricted from opening until the master controller determines that a fault condition is remedied, and a disengaged state in which the hopper doors are restricted from opening until the master controller receives an input from an operator, the master controller placing each of the hopper cars in the active state, wait state, and disengaged state based on an operational status of the respective hopper car and a perceived geographic location of the respective hopper car and independent of the location of the respective hopper car relative to the dump zone; querying each of the hopper cars by the master controller to determine the position of each hopper car in the consist; moving the consist along the track; determining that the geographic location of at least one of the hopper cars is within the dump zone and that the quantity of material is not fulfilled, the geographic location of the at least one of the hopper cars being determined based on the position of each hopper car in the consist relative to the perceived geographic location of the control car, the at least one hopper car being in the active state; opening the hopper door on the at least one hopper car to dump the material in the dump zone; and closing the hopper door when the at least one hopper car leaves the dump zone or when the quantity of material has been dumped. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for autonomously dumping material along a railway comprising:
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assembling a consist including a plurality of hopper cars containing a material to be dumped and at least one control car that includes a master controller and a navigation unit, the master controller controlling hopper doors on each of the hopper cars and including a track survey file indicating a location of a dump zone along a track in which to dump at least a portion of the material and indicating a quantity of the material to dump in the dump zone, the navigation unit usable to determine a perceived geographic location of the control car, and a first hopper car of the plurality of hopper cars including a second navigation unit usable to determine a perceived geographic location of the first hopper car, the first hopper car being spaced apart from the control car in the consist; querying each of the hopper cars by the master controller to determine the position of each hopper car in the consist; determining an amount of coupler slack between the each of the hopper cars based on the perceived locations of the control car and the first hopper car indicated by the navigation unit and the second navigation unit, respectively; adjusting a calculated track location of each of the hopper cars to account for the amount of coupler slack; moving the consist along the track; determining that the geographic location of at least one of the hopper cars is within the dump zone and that the quantity of material is not fulfilled, the geographic location of the at least one of the hopper cars being determined based on the position of each hopper car in the consist relative to the perceived geographic location of the control car; opening the hopper door on the at least one hopper car to dump the material in the dump zone; and closing the hopper door when the at least one hopper car leaves the dump zone or when the quantity of material has been dumped.
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18. A method for autonomously dumping material along a railway comprising:
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assembling a consist including a plurality of hopper cars containing a material to be dumped and at least one control car that includes a master controller and a navigation unit, the master controller controlling hopper doors on each of the hopper cars and including a track survey file indicating a location of a dump zone along a track in which to dump at least a portion of the material and indicating a quantity of the material to dump in the dump zone, and the navigation unit usable to determine a perceived geographic location of the control car; querying each of the hopper cars by the master controller to determine the position of each hopper car in the consist; moving the consist along the track; adjusting a calculated track location of each of the hopper cars to account for a respective coupler slack distance between adjacent ones of the hopper cars; determining that the calculated track location of at least one of the hopper cars is within the dump zone and that the quantity of material is not fulfilled, the calculated track location of the at least one of the hopper cars being determined based on the position of each hopper car in the consist relative to the perceived geographic location of the control car and the respective coupler slack distance; opening the hopper door on the at least one hopper car to dump the material in the dump zone; and closing the hopper door when the at least one hopper car leaves the dump zone or when the quantity of material has been dumped. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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20. A method for autonomously dumping material along a railway comprising:
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comparing a perceived geographic location indicated by a navigation unit disposed on a material delivery consist comprising a plurality of hopper cars to an expected geographic location of the consist, the consist including a master controller storing a track survey depicting dump zones along a track and a geographic location of the track, and the expected geographic location of the consist being on the track; when the perceived geographic location is within a first drift range, placing the hopper cars in an active state in which the hopper cars are operational and are enabled to open their hopper doors as instructed by the master controller, the first drift range being a predetermined allowed variance between the perceived geographic location and the expected geographic location; when the perceived geographic location is outside the first drift range, placing the hopper cars in a wait state in which the hopper cars are operational but with hopper doors thereon closed and restricted from opening; determining a track distance between the expected geographic location and a railroad asset, the track distance being a distance measured along the track from the expected geographic location to the railroad asset; and when the track distance is less than a predetermined safe distance, determining that the perceived geographic location is within a second drift range from the track, the second drift range being less than the first drift range, and maintaining the hopper cars in the active state, or determining that the perceived geographic location is not within the second drift range, and placing the hopper cars in the wait state. - View Dependent Claims (21)
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Specification