Remote locomotive control

• US 20030036368A1
• Filed: 08/16/2002
• Published: 02/20/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Control Chief Corp. (Control Chief Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Control Chief Corp. (Control Chief Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Higgs, David B.
• Granted Patent: US 7,120,428 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/92
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 3/127 for remote control of locomotives remote control of locomotives within a train consist B61C17/12

Abstract

A remote locomotive control system includes a slave controller configured to receive data strings from remote transmitters. The slave controller is responsive to an acquire signal received from one of the remote transmitters for configuring the slave controller to control one or more control functions of the locomotive as a function of one or more data strings received exclusively from the one remote transmitter. However, the slave controller is configured so that any remote transmitter can control safety functions of the locomotive via the slave controller.

Claims

1. A remote locomotive control system comprising a slave controller configured to receive data strings from a plurality of remote transmitters, the slave controller responsive to an acquire signal received from one of the remote transmitters for configuring the slave controller to control one or more control functions of the locomotive as a function one or more data strings received exclusively from said one remote transmitter.

2. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the slave controller is responsive to data strings received from any of the plurality of remote transmitters for controlling one or more safety functions of the locomotive as a function thereof.

3. The system as set forth in claim 2, wherein each remote transmitter is responsive to an operator control thereof for transmitting one of said data strings to the slave controller.

4. The system as set forth in claim 2, wherein each data string includes one or more bits related to one or more safety functions of the locomotive, one or more bits related to one or more control functions of the locomotive and one or more bits related to the acquire signal.

5. The system as set forth in claim 4, wherein the acquire signal is an acquire bit.

6. The system as set forth in claim 5, wherein:

from a quiescent state where the slave controller is not responsive to the one or more bits related to the one or more control functions of the locomotive, in response to receiving from a first remote transmitter the acquire bit thereof in a first binary state, the slave controller commences controlling the one or more control functions of the locomotive as a function of the receipt by the slave controller from the first remote transmitter of the one or more bits related thereto; and

in response to receiving from the first remote transmitter the acquire bit thereof in a second binary state, the slave controller returns to its quiescent state.

7. The system as set forth in claim 6, wherein, between the time the slave controller receives from the first remote transmitter the acquire bit thereof in its first and second binary states, the slave controller is not responsive to the receipt from a second remote transmitter of an acquire bit thereof or one or more bits related to one or more control functions of the locomotive.

8. The system as set forth in claim 7, wherein the slave controller is responsive to the one or more bits related to safety functions received from at least one of the first and second remote transmitters regardless of the states of the acquire bits thereof.

9. A remote locomotive control method comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a first transmitter, a second transmitter and a slave controller;

(b) receiving at the slave controller from the first transmitter a first data string that includes a first acquire bit in a first binary state and one or more control function bits related to one or more control functions of the locomotive;

(c) in response to step (b), causing the slave controller to control one or more control functions of the locomotive as a function of the one or more control function bits of the first data string;

(d) receiving at the slave controller from the first transmitter a second data string that includes the first acquire bit in its second binary state and the one or more control function bits; and

(e) in response to step (d), causing the slave controller to withhold controlling one or more control functions of the locomotive as a function of the one or more control function bits of the second data string.

10. The method of claim 9, further including, between steps (b) and (d):

receiving at the slave controller from the second transmitter a data string that includes a second acquire bit in a first binary state and one or more control function bits related to control functions of the locomotive; and

in response to receiving the second acquire bit in its first binary state, causing the slave controller to withhold controlling one or more control functions of the locomotive as a function of the one or more control function bits of the data string received from the second transmitter.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein:

the first and second data strings each include one or more safety function bits related to safety functions of the locomotive; and

the slave controller controls one or more safety functions of the locomotive as a function of the one or more safety function bits of at least one of the first and second data strings.

12. A remote locomotive control system comprising:

a first transmitter configured for radio transmitting a first data address and first acquire data;

a second transmitter configured for radio transmitting a second data address and second acquire data, the first and second transmitters also configured for radio transmitting control data regarding control functions of the locomotive and the safety data related to safety functions of the locomotive; and

a slave controller for radio receiving the data addresses, the acquire data, the control data and the safety data from the first and second transmitters, the slave controller responsive to;

the first acquire data received from the first transmitter for controlling control functions of the locomotive as a function of control data received from the first transmitter and for blocking control of control functions of the locomotive as a function of control data received from the second transmitter; and

safety data received from at least one of the first and second transmitters for controlling safety functions of the locomotive.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the slave controller is responsive to:

a change in the first acquire data received from the first transmitter for terminating control of the control functions of the locomotive as a function of control data received from the first transmitter; and

the second acquire data received from the second transmitter for controlling control functions of the locomotive as a function of control data received from the second transmitter and for blocking control of the control functions of the locomotive as a function of control data received from the first transmitter.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the slave controller includes:

a first receiver storing the first data address;

a second receiver storing the second data address;

a first image table coupled to receive first acquire data, control data and safety data from the first receiver; and

a second image table coupled to receive second acquire data, control data and safety data from the second receiver, wherein;

the first receiver is responsive to the first data address for passing the first acquire data, the control data and the safety data received by the first receiver to the first image table; and

the second receiver is responsive to the second data address for passing the second acquire data, the control data and the safety data received by the second receiver to the second image table.

15. The system of claim 14, further including:

an OR'"'"'ed safety functions block coupled to receive and logically OR the safety data received from each image table and to pass said OR'"'"'ed safety data to a safety functions drivers block; and

a steering logic block coupled to receive the acquire data and the control data from each image table and configured to (i) pass control data received from the first image table to a control function drivers block when the first acquire data is received by the steering logic block in the absence of the second acquire data being received thereby and (ii) pass control data received from the second image table to the control function drivers block when the second acquire data is received by the steering logic block in the absence of the first acquire data being received thereby.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the steering logic block is configured:

to block the passage of control data received from the second image table when the second acquire data is received after receipt of the first acquire data; and

to block the passage of control data received from the first image table when the first acquire data is received after receipt of the second acquire data.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the steering logic block is configured:

to block the passage of control data from the first image table to the control function drivers block in response to a change in the first acquire data; and

to block the passage of control data from the second image table to the control function drivers block in response to a change in the second acquire data.

18. The system of claim 12, wherein each transmitter includes:

operator controls for setting and changing the data address, the acquire data, the control data and the safety data transmitted thereby;

a data encoder for combining the data address, the acquire data, the control data and the safety data received thereby into a multi-bit data string; and

a radio transmitter for modulating and radio transmitting the multi-bit data string to the slave controller.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the slave controller includes first and second receivers, each receiver having:

a radio receiver operating at a unique frequency for receiving radio transmissions from one of the transmitters operating at the same unique frequency and for demodulating the multi-bit data string from each radio transmission; and

a processing unit programmed with one of the data addresses, the processing unit comparing the data address included in the multi-bit data string to its programmed data address and passing the acquire data, the control data and the safety data of the multi-bit data string to one of the image tables for further processing when the data addresses match and blocking the passage of the acquire data, the control data and the safety data of the multi-bit data string to the one image table when the data addresses do not match.