FIBER OPTIC TRACK CIRCUIT
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A fiber optic track circuit, comprising:
- a light source, a first fiber Bragg grating (FBG) unit, and a first receiver all connected by optical fiber;
said light source to provide a light beam and said optical fiber to convey said light beam to first FBG unit;
said first FBG unit being mountable on a first portion of a railway system directly effected by the weight of a passing train;
said first FBG unit to receive said light beam and to provide a first reflected beam to said first receiver;
said first receiver to provide a first receiver signal based on said first reflected beam; and
a processor to determine based on pre-set criteria and said first receiver signal whether to communicate and what to communicate as a track circuit signal to an external device.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A fiber optic track circuit including a light source, a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) unit, and a receiver all connected by optical fiber. The light source provides a light via the optical fiber to the FBG unit. The FBG unit is mountable on a portion of a railway system directly effected by the weight of a passing train, and it receives the light beam and provides a reflected beam to the receiver. The receiver then provides a receiver signal based on the reflected beam. And a processor then determines, based on pre-set criteria and the receiver signal, whether to communicate and what to communicate as a track circuit signal to an external device.
8 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A fiber optic track circuit, comprising:
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a light source, a first fiber Bragg grating (FBG) unit, and a first receiver all connected by optical fiber;
said light source to provide a light beam and said optical fiber to convey said light beam to first FBG unit;
said first FBG unit being mountable on a first portion of a railway system directly effected by the weight of a passing train;
said first FBG unit to receive said light beam and to provide a first reflected beam to said first receiver;
said first receiver to provide a first receiver signal based on said first reflected beam; and
a processor to determine based on pre-set criteria and said first receiver signal whether to communicate and what to communicate as a track circuit signal to an external device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A process for determining information about a train passing through a railway system, the process comprising:
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conveying a light beam to a first fiber Bragg grating (FBG) unit mounted on a first portion of the railway system that is directly effected by the weight of the passing train;
producing a first reflected beam at said first FBG unit based on said light beam;
conveying said first reflected beam to a first receiver;
producing a first receiver signal at said first receiver based on said first reflected beam; and
processing said first receiver signal based on pre-set criteria to obtain the information. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A system for determining information about a train passing through a railway system, comprising:
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first Bragg means for reflecting a first particular light wavelength based on the Bragg effect, wherein said first Bragg means is mountable on a first portion of the railway system that is directly effected by the weight of the passing train;
first producing means for producing a first receiver signal based on said first particular light wavelength;
means for processing said first receiver signal based on pre-set criteria to obtain the information; and
means for conveying a light beam to said first Bragg means, for conveying said first particular light wavelength to said first producing means, and for conveying said first receiver signal to said means for processing. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification