System and method for wireless remote control of locomotives
First Claim
1. A system for remotely controlling a locomotive comprising:
- a controller onboard said locomotive;
a control unit associated with said controller, said control unit capable of transmitting commands to and receiving data from said controller over a wireless communications channel; and
geographic position determining means, operably connected with said controller, for periodically providing coordinates of the geographic position of said locomotive to said controller.
3 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
40 Claims
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1. A system for remotely controlling a locomotive comprising:
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a controller onboard said locomotive;
a control unit associated with said controller, said control unit capable of transmitting commands to and receiving data from said controller over a wireless communications channel; and
geographic position determining means, operably connected with said controller, for periodically providing coordinates of the geographic position of said locomotive to said controller. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A controller for use in a system for remotely controlling a locomotive via a wireless channel comprising:
transmitter, a receiver, a timing means and a memory containing the coordinates of at least one geographic zone. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A system for remotely controlling a plurality of locomotives on a single wireless channel comprising:
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a locomotive control unit onboard of each locomotive comprising a transmitter for transmitting a command request signal to an operator control unit associated with said controller and a receiver for receiving a response to said command request signal over said single wireless channel within one of a sequence of recurring time slots, and means for synchronizing said controller with an external timing source, and wherein each operator control unit comprises a microprocessor, a timing device and a plurality of switches for issuing commands to be transmitted to its associated controller within its respective time slot. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A system for remotely controlling a plurality of locomotives on a single wireless communications channel comprising:
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a controller on-board of each locomotive; and
a primary control unit and a secondary control unit associated with each controller wherein each of the primary and secondary control units comprises a transmitter and a receiver for sending and receiving signals from said controller, switches for selecting settings for speed, direction of travel, brakes and wherein each control unit comprises dual-colored LEDs which exhibit a first color to show the switch settings of the primary control unit as transmitted to the controller. - View Dependent Claims (40)
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Specification