Configurable locomotive

• US 20050120904A1
• Filed: 12/09/2004
• Published: 06/09/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GE Global Sourcing LLC (Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Wolf, Daniel, Daum, Wolfgang, Kumar, Ajith, Kellner, Steven Andrew, Hill, Leonard, Corry, James Glen, Shaffer, Glenn
• Granted Patent: US 7,302,895 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 105/35
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 15/32 Control or regulation of multiple-unit electrically-propelled vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/26 Rail vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 15/0072 On-board train data handling
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 15/0081 On-board diagnosis or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 2205/04 Satellite based navigation systems, e.g. global positioning system [GPS]

Abstract

A locomotive (10) is operable in two or more distinct configurations, with the change in configuration being response to a configuration input signal (35). A locomotive configuration is represented by the set of end use device control signals (13) that are generated by the locomotive control systems (22) in response to the respective set of operational input values (27). For a given set of operational input values, a first set of end use device control signals is generated when a configuration input has a first value, and a second set of end use device control signals is generated when a configuration input has a second value. The configuration input variable may be responsive to the locomotive location, a wayside device signal, an operator action or the health of the locomotive, for example. Locomotive configuration changes may include peak horsepower rating, number of engine cylinders fueled, number of throttle notch settings, adhesion limits, mission priorities or emission profile, for example.

Claims

1. A configurable railroad locomotive having operating characteristics that may be selectively chosen to correspond to a mission objective of the locomotive comprising:

a computing device carried on the locomotive;

a plurality of locomotive operational input devices in communication with the computing device for generating operational signals for transmission to the computing device;

a plurality of end use devices on the locomotive controlled by the computing device for performing locomotive operations;

a configuration input device in communication with the computing device for generating a configuration signal different from the operational signals for transmission to the computing device;

a first set of instructions accessible and executable by the computing device to control the end use devices in a first mode in response to the locomotive operational input devices when the configuration signal has a first value for establishing a first set of operating characteristics of the locomotive, and a second set of instructions accessible and executable by the computing device to control the end use devices in a second mode different than the first mode in response to the locomotive operational input devices when the configuration signal has a second value for establishing a second set of operating characteristics of the locomotive different from the first set of operating characteristics.

2. The configurable railroad locomotive of claim 1 wherein the operational input signals generated by the operational input devices are the same in both the first and second modes, but the computing device recognizes and responds to a different set of the operational input signals in the first mode than in the second mode.

3. The configurable railroad locomotive of claim 1, wherein the computing device controls a set of the end use devices in the first mode that is different from a set of the end use devices that the computing device controls in the second mode.

4. The configurable railroad locomotive of claim 1, wherein the configuration signal is responsive to locomotive location.

5. The configurable railroad locomotive of claim 4, wherein the configuration signal is responsive to a GPS signal

6. The configurable railroad locomotive of claim 1, wherein the configuration signal is responsive to a signal received from an AEI tag.

7. The configurable railroad locomotive of claim 1, wherein the configuration signal is responsive to an operator input.

8. The configurable railroad locomotive of claim 1, wherein the configuration signal is indicative of a measurement of health of the locomotive.

9. The configurable railroad locomotive of claim 1, further comprising instructions executable by the computing device to provide fuel to all cylinders of an engine of the locomotive when the configuration signal has the first value and to provide fuel to less than all cylinders of the engine of the locomotive when the configuration input has the second value.

10. The configurable railroad locomotive of claim 1, further comprising instructions executable by the computing device to recognize a first number of notch settings in a throttle input device when the configuration signal has the first value and to recognize a second number of notch settings different than the first number of notch settings in the throttle input device when the configuration signal has the second value.

11. The configurable railroad locomotive of claim 1, further comprising instructions executable by the computing device to operate an engine of the locomotive at a first peak horsepower rating when the configuration signal has the first value and to operate the engine of the locomotive at a second peak horsepower rating less than the first peak horsepower rating when the configuration signal has the second value.

12. The configurable railroad locomotive of claim 1, further comprising instructions executable by the computing device to operate an engine of the locomotive below a first adhesion limit when the configuration signal has the first value and to operate the engine of the locomotive below a second adhesion limit different from than the first adhesion limit when the configuration signal has the second value.

13. The configurable railroad locomotive of claim 1, further comprising instructions executable by the computing device to control the end use devices in accordance with a first set of mission priorities when the configuration signal has the first value and to control the end use devices in accordance with a second set of mission priorities when the configuration signal has the second value.

14. The configurable railroad locomotive of claim 1, further comprising instructions executable by the computing device to operate an engine of the locomotive within a first emission limit when the configuration signal has the first value and to operate the engine of the locomotive within a second emission limit different from the first emission limit when the configuration signal has the second value.

15. The configurable railroad locomotive of claim 14, wherein the first emission limit is a first acoustic emission limit and the second emission limit is a second acoustic emission limit different from the first acoustic emission limit, and further comprising instructions executable by the computing device to operate the locomotive within the first acoustic emission limit when the configuration signal has the first value and to operate the locomotive within the second acoustic emission limit when the configuration signal has the second value.

16. The configurable railroad locomotive of claim 14, wherein the first emission limit is a first electromagnetic emission limit and the second emission limit is a second electromagnetic emission limit different from the first electromagnetic emission limit, and further comprising instructions executable by the computing device to operate the locomotive within the first electromagnetic emission limit when the configuration signal has the first value and to operate the locomotive within the second electro-magnetic emission limit when the configuration signal has the second value.

17. The configurable railroad locomotive of claim 14, wherein the first emission limit is a first product of combustion emission limit and the second emission limit is a second product of combustion emission limit different from the first product of combustion emission limit, and further comprising instructions executable by the computing device to operate the locomotive within the first product of combustion emission limit when the configuration signal has the first value and to operate the locomotive within the second product of combustion emission limit when the configuration signal has the second value.

18. The configurable railroad locomotive of claim 1, further comprising instructions executable by the computing device to permit the powering of a first set of traction motors of the locomotive when the configuration signal has the first value and to permit the powering of a second set of traction motors of the locomotive different from the first set when the configuration signal has the second value.

19. The configurable railroad locomotive of claim 1 wherein at least one of said first and second set of instructions comprises fuzzy logic accessible and executable by the computing device to control the end use devices during a respective one of the configuration modes.

20. The configurable railroad locomotive of claim 1 wherein said computing device comprises a neural network processor configured to adjust over a period of time at least one of said first and second set of instructions

21. The configurable railroad locomotive of claim 1 wherein said computing device comprises a processor selected from the group consisting of a fuzzy logic processor, a neural network processor, an optimal estimator processor, a Kalman filter processor, and a combination of said processors.

22. The configurable railroad locomotive of claim 1 when used as a first locomotive in a consist, wherein the configuration signal is responsive to operation of a second locomotive in the consist.

23. The configurable railroad locomotive of claim 22, wherein the configuration signal is responsive to a measurement of health of the second locomotive.

24. The configurable railroad locomotive of claim 22, wherein the configuration signal is responsive to a measurement of a power rating of the second locomotive.

25. The configurable railroad locomotive of claim 1 wherein the operational input signals generated by the operational input devices are the same in both the first and second modes, but wherein the first set of instructions and the second set of instructions comprise different transfer functions operable to control the end use devices in the respective different first and second modes in response to the same operational input signals.

26. The configurable railroad locomotive of claim 1, wherein the configuration signal is responsive to identity of an operator of the locomotive.

27. The configurable railroad locomotive of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first set of instructions and the second set of instructions is responsive to identity of an operator of the locomotive.

28. The configurable railroad locomotive of claim 1, wherein the configuration input device is located off-board the locomotive.

29. A configurable railroad locomotive having operating characteristics that may be selectively chosen to correspond to a mission objective of the locomotive comprising:

a processor performing a first transfer function for relating input signals to output control commands in a first configuration mode of the processor, and performing a second transfer function different from the first transfer function for relating input signals to output control commands in a second configuration mode;

a plurality of operational input devices providing a respective plurality of operational input signals to the processor;

a plurality of end use devices responsive to respective output control commands from the processor for performing locomotive operations;

a configuration input device providing a configuration input to the processor different from the operational input signals; and

the processor receiving the plurality of operational input signals and the configuration input and operable to execute the first transfer function to produce a first set of output control commands for controlling the respective end use devices in the first configuration mode when the configuration input has a first value, and operable to execute the second transfer function to produce a second set of output control commands for controlling the end use devices in the second configuration mode when the configuration input signal has a second value.

30. The configurable railroad locomotive of claim 29, wherein said processor comprises a fuzzy logic processor configured to generate at least one of said first and second transfer functions for relating the input signals to the output control commands during a respective one of the configuration modes.

31. The configurable railroad locomotive of claim 29, wherein said processor comprises a neural network processor configured to adjust in response to a training pattern at least one of said first and second transfer functions for relating the input signals to the output control commands.

32. The configurable railroad locomotive of claim 29, wherein said processor comprises a processor selected from the group consisting of a fuzzy logic processor, a neural network processor, an optimal estimator processor, a Kalman filter processor, and a combination of said processors.

33. A method of operating a configurable railroad locomotive, the locomotive comprising a processor controlling end use devices in response to operational input signals from operational input devices, the method comprising:

providing a configuration input signal different from the operational input signals; and

programming the processor to execute a first transfer function to control the end use devices in response to the operational input signals in a first mode when the configuration input signal has a first value and to execute a second transfer function to control the end use devices in response to the operational input signals in a second mode different than the first mode when the configuration input signal has a second value.

34. The method of claim 33, further comprising programming the processor to enable full power output from an engine of the locomotive at a full throttle notch setting when the configuration input signal has the first value and to limit the power output from the engine at a full throttle notch setting to a value less than the full power output.

35. The method of claim 33, further comprising programming the processor to control an engine of the locomotive to a first emission profile when the configuration input signal has the first value and to control the engine to a second emission profile when the configuration input signal has a second value.

36. The method of claim 33, further comprising using a signal responsive to a location of the locomotive as the configuration input signal.

37. The method of claim 33, further comprising providing the configuration input signal from off-board of the locomotive.

38. The method of claim 33, further comprising providing the configuration input signal from an operator-controlled input device.

39. The method of claim 33, wherein said programming comprises programming fuzzy logic for generating at least one of said first and second transfer functions for relating the input signals to the output control commands during a respective one of said configuration modes.

40. The method of claim 33, further comprising training a neural network to adjust at least one of said first and second transfer functions for relating the input signals to the output control commands.

41. The method of claim 33, further comprising recording fuel consumed by the locomotive in the first mode and in the second mode.

42. The method of claim 33, further comprising recording time elapsed with the locomotive in the first mode and in the second mode.

43. The method of claim 33, further comprising recording a location of the locomotive during operation in the first mode and in the second mode.

44. A computer-readable medium containing program instructions for causing a computer system to control a configurable railroad locomotive by:

receiving a plurality of operational input signals and a configuration input signal different from the operational input signals;

executing a first transfer function to produce a first set of output control commands in response to the operational input signals for controlling a plurality of locomotive end use devices in a first configuration mode when the configuration input has a first value; and

executing a second transfer function different from the first transfer function to produce a second set of output control commands in response to the operational input signals for controlling the locomotive end use devices in a second configuration mode when the configuration input signal has a second value.

45. A computer program product for operating a configurable railroad locomotive having operating characteristics that may be selectively chosen to correspond to a mission objective of the locomotive, the computer program product comprising:

a computer usable medium comprising computer readable code for controlling at least one locomotive end use device in a first mode in response to a set of operational input signals when a configuration input signal distinct from the operational input signals has a first value; and

a computer usable medium comprising computer readable code for controlling the at least one locomotive end use device in a second mode different than the first mode in response to the set of operational input signals when the configuration input signal has a second value.