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Equipment control system

  • US 10,169,729 B2
  • Filed: 10/14/2016
  • Issued: 01/01/2019
  • Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2012
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A rail vehicle management system comprising:

  • plural rail vehicles within a facility; and

    an equipment controller comprising one or more processors and a communication unit operatively coupled to the one or more processors, wherein the communication unit is configured to receive first signals from first sensors associated with different materials, the first signals indicative of material locations of the different materials within the facility, the communication unit also configured to receive second signals associated with the rail vehicles, the second signals indicative of one or more vehicle locations of the rail vehicles within the facility, and the communication unit is configured to receive third signals indicative of allocation requests for at least one of the materials from different remote locations,wherein the equipment controller is configured to generate a map based on the material locations and the vehicle locations,wherein the equipment controller is configured to schedule enactment of the allocation requests based on designated times associated with one or more operations involved in the enactment of the allocation requests and to monitor capacities of the rail vehicles to carry the materials within the facility while the rail vehicles enact the allocation requests, andwherein the equipment controller is configured to generate fourth signals for movement control of the rail vehicles to combine the materials for the allocation requests of the different remote locations in at least one of the rail vehicles,wherein the rail vehicles move the materials within the facility and mix the materials to create one or more component products under direction of the fourth signals for movement received from the equipment controller to enact the allocation requests according to the enactment that is scheduled,wherein the equipment controller is configured to communicate the fourth signals to one or more of the rail vehicles to remotely control the one or more of the rail vehicles to mix the materials in at least one of the rail vehicles based on one or more of a loading time for loading the materials onto the rail vehicles or an unloading time for unloading the materials from the rail vehicles, andwherein the equipment controller is configured to communicate the fourth signals to one or more of the rail vehicles to remotely control the one or more of the rail vehicles to mix the materials and create the one or more component products in at least one of the rail vehicles based on a transportation cost at the capacity of at least one of the rail vehicles.

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