Method and system for ensuring that a train does not pass an improperly configured device

• US 20040073342A1
• Filed: 10/10/2002
• Published: 04/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/10/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens Mobility, Inc. (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Quantum Engineering, Inc. (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Shockley, James Francis, Kane, Mark Edward, Hickenlooper, Harrison Thomas
• Granted Patent: US 6,996,461 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/19
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 15/0092 Memory means reproducing during the running of the vehicle or vehicle train, e.g. smart cards
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 2205/04 Satellite based navigation systems, e.g. global positioning system [GPS]
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 29/22 electrically
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 3/125 using short-range radio transmission
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 3/22 using magnetic or electrostatic induction; using electromagnetic radiation

Abstract

A train control system includes a positioning system and consults a database to determine when the train is approaching a configurable device such as a switch or grade crossing gate. The system continuously interrogates the device to determine its status as the train approaches the device, and forces an engineer/conductor to acknowledge any detected malfunction. The train is forced to come to a complete stop before proceeding past the device or may be slowed down to a speed that will allow the engineer/conductor to visually determine whether it is safe to proceed past the device if the engineer/conductor acknowledges a message warning of the malfunction and will stop the train if the engineer/conductor fails to acknowledge the warning message.

Claims

1. A system for controlling a train, the system comprising:

a control unit; and

a transceiver, the transceiver being located on the train and being in communication with the control unit;

wherein the control unit is configured to perform the steps of

transmitting an interrogation message to a configurable device near the train;

listening for a response from the configurable device, the response including a configuration of the configurable device;

allowing the train to continue if a response with a correct configuration is received within a period of time; and

stopping the train otherwise.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the device is a grade crossing gate.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the device is a switch.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the response includes an identification number of the device and wherein the control unit is further configured to perform the step of confirming that identification number received in the response corresponds to the device to which the interrogation message was directed.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the interrogation message includes an identification number of a device for which the interrogation message is intended.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a positioning system, the positioning system being in communications with the control unit and being configured to provide position information to the control unit; and

a database, the database including a plurality of locations for a plurality of configurable devices;

wherein the control unit is further configured to perform the steps of

identifying a configurable device in the database which is a next device which the train will pass based on information from the positioning system; and

obtaining an identification number from the database associated with the device identified in the identifying step.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the control unit is configured to transmit the interrogation message when a distance between the train'"'"'s location and the configurable device identified in the identifying step is below a threshold.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the threshold is a predetermined number based at least in part on an expected worst case distance required to stop the train.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the threshold is determined dynamically based at least in part upon the current speed of the train.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the threshold is further based on a weight of the train.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the database further includes a grade of a track between the train and the device and the threshold is further based on the grade of the track between the train and the device.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the threshold is further based on distribution of weight in the train.

13. The system of claim 1, further comprising a warning device connected to the control unit, wherein the control unit is further configured to activate the warning device when a response with a correct configuration is not received.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the control unit is further configured to perform the step of preventing the train from moving until an acknowledgment of the activated warning device has been received.

15. A method for controlling a train comprising the steps of:

transmitting an interrogation message to a configurable device near the train;

listening for a response from the configurable device, the response including a configuration of the configurable device;

allowing the train to continue if a response with a correct configuration is received; and

stopping the train otherwise.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the device is a grade crossing gate.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the device is a switch.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising the steps of storing route information from a dispatcher in a memory and determining whether the switch is properly configured by comparing an actual direction of the switch to a desired direction of the switch based on the route information.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the response includes an identification number of the device and the method further comprises the step of confirming that identification number received in the response corresponds to the device to which the interrogation message was directed.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the interrogation message includes an identification number of a device for which the interrogation message is intended.

21. The method of claim 15, further comprising the steps of:

identifying a configurable device in a database which is a next device which the train will pass based on information from a positioning system located on the train; and

obtaining an identification number associated with the device identified in the identifying step from the database.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the interrogation message is transmitted when a distance between the train'"'"'s location and the configurable device identified in the identifying step is below a threshold.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the threshold is a predetermined number based at least in part on an expected worst case distance required to stop the train.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the threshold is determined dynamically based at least in part upon the current speed of the train.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the threshold is further based on a weight of the train.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the database further includes a grade of a track between the train and the device and the threshold is further based on the grade of the track between the train and the device.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the threshold is further based on distribution of weight in the train.

28. The method of claim 15, further comprising the step of activating a warning device when a response with a correct configuration is not received.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising the step of preventing the train from moving until an acknowledgment of the activated warning device has been received.

30. A system for controlling a train, the system comprising:

a control unit; and

a transceiver, the transceiver being located on the train and being in communication with the control unit;

wherein the control unit is configured to perform the steps of

transmitting an interrogation message to a configurable device near the train;

listening for a response from the configurable device, the response including a configuration of the configurable device;

allowing the train to continue if a response with a correct configuration is received;

if no response is received or if a response with an incorrect configuration is received,

activating a warning device to provide a warning to a train operator;

stopping the train if an acknowledgment of the warning is not received or if a speed of the train is not reduced within a period of time; and

if an acknowledgment of the warning is received within the period of time, maintaining the speed until the device has been passed or a verification that passing the device is acceptable has been received.

31. The system of claim 30, wherein the device is a grade crossing gate.

32. The system of claim 30, wherein the device is a switch.

33. The system of claim 30, wherein the response includes an identification number of the device and wherein the control unit is further configured to perform the step of confirming that identification number received in the response corresponds to the device to which the interrogation message was directed.

34. The system of claim 30, wherein the interrogation message includes an identification number of a device for which the interrogation message is intended.

35. The system of claim 30, further comprising:

a positioning system, the positioning system being in communications with the control unit and being configured to provide position information to the control unit; and

a database, the database including a plurality of locations for a plurality of configurable devices;

wherein the control unit is further configured to perform the steps of

identifying a configurable device in the database which is a next device which the train will pass based on information from the positioning system; and

obtaining an identification number from the database associated with the device identified in the identifying step.

36. The system of claim 35, wherein the control unit is configured to transmit the interrogation message when a distance between the train'"'"'s location and the configurable device identified in the identifying step is below a threshold.

37. The system of claim 35, wherein the threshold is a predetermined number based at least in part on an expected worst case distance required to stop the train.

38. The system of claim 35, wherein the threshold is determined dynamically based at least in part upon the current speed of the train.

39. The system of claim 38, wherein the threshold is further based on a weight of the train.

40. The system of claim 38, wherein the database further includes a grade of a track between the train and the device and the threshold is further based on the grade of the track between the train and the device.

41. The system of claim 40, wherein the threshold is further based on distribution of weight in the train.

42. The system of claim 30, further comprising a warning device connected to the control unit, wherein the control unit is further configured to activate the warning device when a response with a correct configuration is not received.

43. The system of claim 42, wherein the control unit is further configured to perform the step of preventing the train from moving until an acknowledgment of the activated warning device has been received.

44. The system of claim 30, wherein the period of time is based on a worst-case assumption that the train is traveling at a maximum speed and weighs a maximum amount.

45. The system of claim 30, further comprising a positioning system in communication with the control unit and located on the train, wherein the period of time is based on an actual speed of the train based on information reported by the positioning system and a weight of the train. track.

46. The system of claim 45, further comprising a track database in communication with the control unit, wherein the period of time is further based on a grade of a section of track between the train and the device.

47. A method for controlling a train comprising the steps of:

transmitting an interrogation message to a configurable device near the train;

listening for a response from the configurable device, the response including a configuration of the configurable device;

allowing the train to continue if a response with a correct configuration is received;

if a response with a correct configuration is not received or if no response is received,

activating a warning device to provide a warning;

stopping the train if an acknowledgment of the warning is not received or if a speed of the train is not reduced within a period of time; and

if an acknowledgment of the warning is received within the period of time, maintaining the speed until the device has been passed or a verification that passing the device is acceptable has been received.

48. The method of claim 47, wherein the device is a grade crossing gate.

49. The method of claim 47, wherein the device is a switch.

50. The method of claim 47, wherein the response includes an identification number of the device and further comprising the step of confirming that identification number received in the response corresponds to the device to which the interrogation message was directed.

51. The method of claim 47, wherein the interrogation message includes an identification number of a device for which the interrogation message is intended.

52. The method of claim 47, further comprising the steps of:

identifying a configurable device in the database which is a next device which the train will pass based on information from a positioning system; and

obtaining an identification number associated with the device identified in the identifying step from a database.

53. The method of claim 52, wherein the interrogation message is transmitted when a distance between the train'"'"'s location and the configurable device identified in the identifying step is below a threshold.

54. The method of claim 52, wherein the threshold is a predetermined number based at least in part on an expected worst case distance required to stop the train.

55. The method of claim 52, further comprising the step of calculating the threshold based at least in part upon the current speed of the train.

56. The method of claim 55, wherein the threshold is further based on a weight of the train.

57. The method of claim 55, wherein the database further includes a grade of a track between the train and the device and the threshold is further based on the grade of the track between the train and the device.

58. The method of claim 57, wherein the threshold is further based on distribution of weight in the train.

59. The method of claim 47, further comprising the step of activating a warning device when a response with a correct configuration is not received.

60. The method of claim 59, further comprising the step of preventing the train from moving until an acknowledgment of the activated warning device has been received.

61. The method of claim 47, wherein the period of time is based on a worst-case assumption that the train is traveling at a maximum speed and weighs a maximum amount.

62. The method of claim 47, wherein the period of time is based on an actual speed of the train based on information reported by the positioning system and a weight of the train.

63. The method of claim 62, wherein the period of time is further based on a grade of a section of track between the train and the device.

64. The method of claim 63, wherein the configurable device is a switch and further comprising the steps of storing route information from a dispatcher in a memory and determining whether a configuration received from the switch is correct by comparing a direction of the switch to a desired direction of the switch based on the route information.

65. A method for controlling a train comprising the steps of:

obtaining a position of a train from a positioning system;

determining a location and identification number of a next configurable device that will be passed by the train from a database;

sending an interrogation message including the identification number of the next configurable device;

waiting a period of time based in part on a speed and a weight of the train and a grade of a section of track between the train and the device;

listening for a response during the period of time;

if the response is received, comparing an identification number included in the response to the identification number of the next configurable device;

stopping the train if a response from the device indicates that the device is not properly configured or if a response is not received within the period of time.

66. The method of claim 65, further comprising the step of transmitting a command to the next configurable device, the command instructing the next configurable device to assume a proper configuration.

67. The method of claim 65, wherein the configurable device is a switch and further comprising the steps of storing route information from a dispatcher in a memory and determining whether the switch is properly configured by comparing a direction of the switch to a desired direction of the switch based on the route information.

68. A computerized method for controlling a train comprising the steps of:

obtaining a position of a train from a positioning system;

determining a location and identification number of a next configurable device that will be passed by the train from a database;

sending an interrogation message including the identification number of the next configurable device;

waiting a first period of time based in part on a speed and a weight of the train and a grade of a section of track between the train and the device;

listening for a response during the first period of time;

if the response is received, comparing an identification number included in the response to the identification number of the next configurable device;

providing a warning to an operator if a response from the device indicates that the device is not properly configured or if a response is not received within the first period of time;

stopping the train if the operator does not acknowledge the warning and slow the train to a reduced speed within a second period of time; and

if the warning is acknowledged and the reduced speed is achieved within the second period of time, maintaining the reduced speed until the operator verifies that the device is configured properly or until the train has passed the device;

69. The method of claim 68, further comprising the step of transmitting a command to the next configurable device, the command instructing the next configurable device to assume a proper configuration.

70. The method of claim 68, wherein the configurable device is a switch and further comprising the steps of storing route information from a dispatcher in a memory and determining whether the switch is properly configured by comparing a direction of the switch to a desired direction of the switch based on the route information.