Method and System for Providing Redundancy in Railroad Communication Equipment

• US 20100299006A1
• Filed: 08/02/2010
• Published: 11/25/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GE Global Sourcing LLC (Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Wheeler, Mark, Staton, Brian Lee, Foy, Robert James, Peltz, David Michael, Kraeling, Mark Bradshaw
• Granted Patent: US 8,112,189 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/19
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 3/127 for remote control of locomotives remote control of locomotives within a train consist B61C17/12

Abstract

A railway communication system (10) includes a transmitter (12) receiving an input and producing a communication signal (18). The communication signal (18) includes at least two different portions (20,22) for separately encoding respective indications (38,40) of the input. The system also includes a receiver (14) coupled to a controlled device, the receiver (14) extracting at least one of the respective indications (38,40) from the communication signal (18). The receiver controls the device responsive to the at least one extracted indications (38,40).

Claims

1. A communication system comprising:

a transmitter comprising a first and a second transmitter processor, each transmitter processor separately receiving independent inputs responsive to operator control of an actuator, the transmitter processors operating together producing a communication signal comprising first and second different data areas, each data area separately encoding indications of the independent inputs, wherein each processor operates independently to encode the respective first and second data areas of the communication signal responsive to the independent inputs;

the communications signal transmitted from the at least two different transmitters over a free-space communications link;

a receiver for receiving the communications signal and comprising at least two receiver processors, each receiver processor coupled to a respective and independently controlled device, a first one of the receiver processors extracting one of the respective indications from the first data area and controlling a first device responsive thereto and a second one of the receiver processors separately extracting one of the respective indications from the second data area and controlling a second device responsive thereto; and

the first and the second data areas, the first and the second transmitter processors and the first and the second devices comprising independent parallel data paths from the communications link.

2. The communication system of claim 1 wherein the communications signal comprises a radio message packet, the first data area comprising a first layer of the radio message packet and the second data area comprising a second layer of the radio message packet.

3. The communication system of claim 1 wherein the first data area comprises a condition of a first switch and the second data area comprise a condition of a second switch.

4. The communication system of claim 3, wherein the condition of the first switch is indicated by a first bit and the condition of the second switch is indicated by a second bit.

5. The communication system of claim 3 wherein the first and the second switches comprise a ganged switch assembly having first and second switch wipers.

6. The communication system of claim 3 wherein the first and the second data areas each further comprise respectively a first and a second CRC 16 error detecting code.

7. The communication system of claim 1 wherein the first and the second devices respectively comprise a first and a second emergency control valve.

8. The communication system of claim 1 for use with a railroad train, wherein the transmitter comprises an operator control unit and the receiver comprises a locomotive control unit.

9. The communication system of claim 8 wherein the operator control unit comprises a portable operator control unit and the locomotive control unit is disposed onboard the locomotive.

10. In a communication system utilizing multiple processors for encoding both media access information and application information into a single message data stream, a method of providing redundancy for a safety-critical function, the method comprising:

using a first of the multiple processors but not a second of the processors to encode first safety critical data into the message wherein the first safety critical data is encoded within the media access information, the first safety critical information generated by a first switch controlled by an operator control unit; and

using the second of the multiple processors but not the first of the processors to encode second safety critical data redundant with the first safety critical data into the message, wherein the second safety critical data is encoded within the application information, the second safety critical information generated by a second switch controlled by the operator control unit, the first switch parallel with the second switch, the first and the second switches simultaneously operable responsive to operation of the operator control unit;

transmitting the message over an over-the-air communications link;

receiving the first safety critical information at a first receiver;

receiving the second safety critical information at a second receiver;

a first device responsive to the first receiver for responding to the first safety critical information;

a second device responsive to the second receiver for responding to the second safety critical information; and

the first and the second receivers and the first and the second devices comprising two independent parallel data paths from the communications link.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the media access information comprises a first layer of the message data stream and the application information comprises a second layer of the message data stream.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the first safety critical information comprises a condition of the first swatch and the second safety critical information comprises a condition of the second switch.

13. The method of claim 10 wherein the first and the second switches comprise a ganged switch assembly having first and second switch wipers.

14. The method of claim 10 wherein the media access information and the application information each further comprise respectively a first and a second CRC 16 error detecting code.

15. The method of claim 10 wherein the first and the second devices respectively comprise a first and a second emergency control valve.

16. The method of claim 10 wherein the application information is encapsulated within the media access information.

17. The method of claim 10 wherein the first safety critical data comprises a single bit indicating the condition of the first switch and the second safety critical data comprises a single bit indicating the condition of the second switch.

18. The method of claim 10 wherein the media access information further comprises first additional data bits representing a first error detecting code and the application information further comprises second additional second data bits representing a second error detecting code.

19. The method of claim 10 for use with a railroad train, wherein the first and second processors comprise an operator control unit and the first and second receivers comprise a locomotive control unit.

20. A communication system comprising:

a communication signal comprising at least two different portions for separately encoding signal identification information; and

a receiver comprising at least two processors, each processor separately responsive to a respective one of the at least two different portions of the communication signal;

each processor measuring a predetermined time period from a detection of respective signal identification information and each processor determining if subsequently received respective signal identification information is detected within the predetermined time period to confirm that the receiver is receiving communication signals at a desired reception rate.