System and method for remote inbound vehicle inspection

• US 20040073324A1
• Filed: 10/09/2003
• Published: 04/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GE Global Sourcing LLC (Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Pierro, Michael James, Schneider, William Roy, Bliley, Richard Gerald
• Granted Patent: US 6,850,869 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/90
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 2205/02 Global system for mobile communication - railways [GSM-R]
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 2205/04 Satellite based navigation systems, e.g. global positioning system [GPS]
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 27/50 Trackside diagnosis or maintenance, e.g. software upgrades
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 27/57 for vehicles or trains, e.g. trackside supervision of train conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/006 Indicating maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0841 Registering performance data recording measured values G01D; information storage G11B

Abstract

A system and method for reducing the shop time of a vehicle, e.g., a locomotive, at a maintenance facility by obtaining onboard systems parameter data during a period when the vehicle is inbound to the maintenance facility for required periodic scheduled maintenance, and by determining, at the maintenance facility and prior to arrival of the vehicle at the maintenance facility, from the data received from the inbound vehicle, whether any of the data is out of a predetermined range or is trending to be out of range.

Claims

1. A method of reducing the shop time of locomotives at a locomotive maintenance facility comprising:

providing data gathering systems onboard a locomotive and a historical data base of locomotive system data on a plurality of similar locomotives, said data base being stored off-board of said locomotive, and said locomotive system data being selected from the group consisting of ambient air temperature, train notch, total track and force power, total voltage, total amps, software versions, engine RPM, engine temperature, crankcase pressure, dynamic braking, battery voltage, and voltage and amperage for all auxiliary motors;

obtaining onboard locomotive systems data with said onboard data gathering systems during operation of said locomotive, prior to arrival of said locomotive at a locomotive maintenance facility for scheduled maintenance;

transmitting said onboard systems data via wireless communications to a remote data center prior to arrival of said locomotive at said maintenance facility;

prior to arrival of said locomotive at said maintenance facility, comparing said onboard system data with said historical data base to determine whether any of said onboard system data is out of a predetermined range or is within said predetermined range, but exhibiting a trend toward being out of said range;

prior to arrival of said locomotive at said maintenance facility, assigning at least one fault code corresponding to at least one system fault based on said onboard systems data being either out of said range or exhibiting a trend toward being out of said range, said at least one fault code being selected from the group consisting of overcurrents, flashovers, crankcase overtemperatures, crankcase overpressures, communication failures, electrical ground failures, air conditioner converter failures, propulsion system faults, auxiliary system faults, propulsion motor faults, auxiliary motor faults, auxiliary system charging faults, engine cooling system faults, oil system faults, control wiring faults, and microelectronics faults;

prior to arrival of said locomotive at said maintenance facility, determining any maintenance and repair operations to be performed when said inbound locomotive arrives at said maintenance facility, in response to said at least one fault code; and

communicating said determination of maintenance and repair operations to said maintenance facility before said locomotive arrives at said maintenance facility.

2. The method recited in claim 1, further comprising classifying each said maintenance and repair operation into a classification selected from the group consisting of required, advisable, and optional operations, prior to arrival of said locomotive at said maintenance facility.

3. The method recited in claim 1, wherein said onboard systems data is determined to be within said predetermined range, but exhibiting a trend toward being out of range, by comparing a series of values for a given parameter over a period of time.

4. The method recited in claim 1, wherein said historical data base is comprised, at least in part, of data collected from prior downloads of onboard systems data.

5. The method recited in claim 1, wherein said remote data center is located at said remote maintenance facility.

6. A system for reducing the shop time of locomotives at a locomotive maintenance facility comprising:

a plurality of data gathering systems onboard a locomotive, said data gathering systems being adapted to obtain onboard locomotive systems data during operation of said locomotive, prior to arrival of said locomotive at a locomotive maintenance facility for scheduled maintenance;

a computer off-board of said locomotive, said computer storing a historical data base of locomotive system data on a plurality of similar locomotives, said locomotive system data being selected from the group consisting of ambient air temperature, train notch, total track and force power, total voltage, total amps, software versions, engine RPM, engine temperature, crankcase pressure, dynamic braking, battery voltage, and voltage and amperage for auxiliary motors;

a wireless communication system, said wireless communication system being adapted to transmit said onboard systems data to a remote data center prior to arrival of said locomotive at said maintenance facility;

data comparison software adapted to compare said onboard system data with said historical data base prior to arrival of said locomotive at said maintenance facility, to determine whether any of said onboard system data is out of a predetermined range or is within said predetermined range, but exhibiting a trend toward being out of said range;

fault code assignment software adapted to assign, prior to arrival of said locomotive at said maintenance facility, at least one fault code corresponding to at least one system fault based on said onboard systems data being either out of said range or exhibiting a trend toward being out of said range, said at least one fault code being selected from the group consisting of overcurrents, flashovers, crankcase overtemperatures, crankcase overpressures, communication failures, electrical ground failures, air conditioner converter failures, propulsion system faults, auxiliary system faults, propulsion motor faults, auxiliary motor faults, auxiliary system charging faults, engine cooling system faults, oil system faults, control wiring faults, and microelectronics faults; and

diagnostic software adapted to determine, prior to arrival of said locomotive at said maintenance facility, any maintenance and repair operations to be performed when said inbound locomotive arrives at said maintenance facility, in response to said at least one fault code;

wherein said wireless communication system is adapted to transmit said determination of maintenance and repair operations to said remote data center prior to arrival of said locomotive at said maintenance facility.

7. The system recited in claim 6, further comprising classification software adapted to classify each said maintenance and repair operation into a classification selected from the group consisting of required, advisable, and optional operations, prior to arrival of said locomotive at said maintenance facility.

8. The system recited in claim 6, wherein said data comparison software determines that said onboard systems data is within said predetermined range, but exhibiting a trend toward being out of range, by comparing a series of values for a given parameter over a period of time.

9. The system recited in claim 6, wherein said historical data base is comprised, at least in part, of data collected from prior downloads of onboard systems data.

10. The system recited in claim 6, wherein said remote data center is located at said remote maintenance facility.