System and method for wireless remote control of locomotives
First Claim
1. A system for remotely controlling a locomotive over a single wireless channel divided into a plurality of time slots, comprising:
- a first controller onboard said locomotive; and
a first control unit associated with said first controller, wherein said first controller is assigned a first time slot of said plurality of time slots to transmit polling messages to said first control unit and receive responsive transmissions therefrom over said single wireless channel.
12 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for remotely controlling an increased number of subsystems having an onboard locomotive control unit (LCU) and two associated operator control units (OCUs) on a single wireless channel. A time slot is assigned to each subsystem for making two-way transmissions to control the locomotive. A signal from an external timing source synchronizes each subsystem to minimize interference between transmissions from different subsystems. Time slots are assigned manually or automatically over a wireless network or by the LCU after monitoring the channel. The LCU automatically selects the direct or repeater transmission path depending upon whether or not it receives polling message responses from its associated OCUs. A GPS receiver in each subsystem receives the synchronization signal and provides geographic positioning data so the LCU can determine when to execute predefined, position-based commands. The secondary OCU may be turned off and rejoined to the subsystem without ceasing operation.
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Citations
93 Claims
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1. A system for remotely controlling a locomotive over a single wireless channel divided into a plurality of time slots, comprising:
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a first controller onboard said locomotive; and
a first control unit associated with said first controller, wherein said first controller is assigned a first time slot of said plurality of time slots to transmit polling messages to said first control unit and receive responsive transmissions therefrom over said single wireless channel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A system for remotely controlling a locomotive over a single wireless communications channel, comprising:
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a first controller on said locomotive; and
a first control unit associated with said first controller, wherein said first controller transmits a polling message to said first control unit and receives a responsive transmission therefrom over said single wireless channel. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A system for remotely controlling a locomotive over a single wireless channel, comprising:
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a first controller on-board said locomotive comprising means for synchronizing said first controller with an external timing source; and
a first control unit associated with said first controller wherein said first controller is capable of two-way communication with said control unit over said single wireless channel. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 69)
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34. A system for remotely controlling a locomotive over a single wireless channel, comprising:
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a first controller on-board said locomotive; and
a first control unit associated with said first controller, said first control unit comprising means for synchronizing said first control unit with an external timing source. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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42. A system for remotely controlling a plurality of locomotives on a single wireless communications channel comprising:
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a controller including a timing means on-board of each locomotive; and
a control unit associated with each controller, wherein each timing means is synchronized by a common clock and wherein each controller transmits a polling message to said control unit and receives a responsive transmission therefrom over said single wireless communications channel within a time slot. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80)
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81. A system for remotely controlling a plurality of locomotives via first and second half duplex wireless channels comprising:
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a controller comprising a transmitter and a receiver and a timing means on-board of each of the locomotives, first and second control units each comprising a transmitter and a receiver associated with each of said controllers for transmitting operating commands for controlling the locomotive, wherein each timing means is synchronized by a common clock and wherein each controller is assigned a time slot for sending a polling message to said associated control units and receiving responsive transmissions therefrom; and
a repeater which receives signals from said controllers and control units on said second half duplex wireless channel and transmits signals to said controllers and control units on said first half duplex wireless channel. - View Dependent Claims (82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87)
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88. A system for remotely controlling a plurality of locomotives on a single wireless channel comprising:
a locomotive control unit onboard of each locomotive comprising a transceiver for transmitting a command request signal to an operator control unit associated with said controller and for receiving a response to said command request signal over said single wireless channel within a time slot, wherein the time slot for each locomotive is part of an order of time slots. - View Dependent Claims (89, 90)
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91. A method for remotely controlling a plurality of locomotives on a single wireless communications channel, wherein each locomotive comprises a controller having a transceiver and said controller is associated with an operator control unit, comprising the steps of:
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establishing a plurality of sequential, recurring time slots;
assigning one of said time slots to each of said plurality of locomotives wherein each of said locomotives sends a polling request to its respective operator control unit and receives a response thereto within its assigned time slot. - View Dependent Claims (92, 93)
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Specification