SCHEDULING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR A TRANSPORTATION NETWORK

• US 20120290185A1
• Filed: 11/30/2011
• Published: 11/15/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GE Global Sourcing LLC (Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Cooper, Jared, Wills, Mitchell Scott, Eldredge, David, Campbell, Kevin, McElroy, John, Li, Jian, Hancock, Bruce, Boyd, Sherri, Samuels, Mason, Denton, Paul, Dulmage, Scott
• Granted Patent: US 8,805,605 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/93
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 15/0027 Radio-based, e.g. using GSM-R
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 27/16 Trackside optimisation of vehicle or train operation

Abstract

A system is provided that includes a control unit configured to be disposed on-board at least one of a first vehicle or a second vehicle. The control unit also is configured to receive an updated time of an event involving the first vehicle and the second vehicle traveling in a transportation network. The control unit also is configured to change a speed of said at least one of the first vehicle or the second vehicle in response to the updated time to arrive at the event. A method is provided that includes, at one of a first vehicle or a second vehicle, receiving an updated time of an event involving the first vehicle and the second vehicle in a transportation network. The method also includes changing a speed of said one of the first vehicle or the second vehicle in response to the updated tune to arrive at the event.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a control unit configured to be disposed on-board at least one of a first vehicle or a second vehicle, the control unit configured to receive an updated time of an event involving the first vehicle and the second vehicle traveling in a transportation network; and

wherein the control unit is configured to change a speed of said at least one of the first vehicle or the second vehicle in response to the updated time to arrive at the event.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the event is a pass event that includes the first vehicle and the second vehicle traveling along a main line route in the transportation network along a common direction and the first vehicle pulling off of the main line route to a siding section route in the transportation network to permit the second vehicle to pass the first vehicle along the common direction on the main line route.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the control unit is configured to reduce the speed of the first vehicle such that arrival of the first vehicle at the event is delayed when the second vehicle is traveling to arrive at the pass event later than a scheduled time of the pass event.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the control unit is configured to reduce the speed of the second vehicle such that arrival of the second vehicle at the pass event is delayed when the first vehicle is traveling to pull off the main line route onto the siding section route after a scheduled time of the pass event.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the event is a convergence event that includes the first vehicle traveling along a first separate route section of the transportation network and the second vehicle traveling along a different, second separate route section of the transportation network with the first separate route section and the second separate route section converging into a converged route section of the transportation network.

6. The system of claim 5, further wherein the control unit is configured to decrease the speed of the first vehicle to allow the second vehicle to lead the first vehicle along the converged route section.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the event is a divergence event that includes the first vehicle and the second vehicle traveling in a common direction along a common route section of the transportation network, the common route section diverging into a first separate route section and a second separate route section at a divergence point.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the control unit is configured to decrease the speed of the first vehicle to allow the second vehicle to pull off of the common route section onto the second separate route section before the first vehicle arrives at the divergence point.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to decrease the speed of said at least one of the first vehicle or the second vehicle to arrive at the event later than the first vehicle or the second vehicle would have originally arrived at the event prior to decreasing the speed.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising an energy management system configured to be disposed on-board the at least one of the first vehicle or the second vehicle and to form a trip plan that dictates tractive efforts of the at least one of the first vehicle or the second vehicle, the energy management system configured to receive the updated time and revise the trip plan based on the updated time to form a revised trip plan,

wherein the control unit is configured to control movement of said at least one of the first vehicle or the second vehicle based on the revised trip plan.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to receive the updated time of the event from an off-board scheduling system.

12. The system of claim 1, further comprising an on-board scheduling system configured to be disposed on-board at least one of the first vehicle or the second vehicle, the scheduling system configured to change a scheduled time of the event to the updated time and to communicate the updated time to the other of said at least one of the first vehicle or the second vehicle.

13. A method comprising:

at one of a first vehicle or a second vehicle, receiving an updated time of an event involving the first vehicle and the second vehicle in a transportation network; and

changing a speed of said one of the first vehicle or the second vehicle in response to the updated time to arrive at the event.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the event is a pass event that includes the first vehicle and the second vehicle traveling in a common direction along a main line route of the transportation network and the first vehicle pulling off of the main line route to a siding section route of the transportation network to permit the second vehicle to pass the first vehicle along the common direction.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein changing the speed comprises decreasing the speed of the first vehicle such that arrival of the first vehicle at the pass event is delayed when the second vehicle is traveling to arrive at the pass event later than a scheduled time of the pass event.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein changing the speed comprises decreasing the speed of the second vehicle such that arrival of the second vehicle at the pass event is delayed when the first vehicle is traveling to pull off the main line route onto the siding section route after a scheduled time of the pass event.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the event is a convergence event that includes the first vehicle traveling along a first separate route section of the transportation network and the second vehicle traveling along a different, second separate route section of the transportation network with the first separate route section and the second separate route section converging into a converged route section of the transportation network.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein changing the speed comprises decreasing the speed of the first vehicle to allow the second vehicle to lead the first vehicle along the converged route section.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein the event is a divergence event that includes the first vehicle and the second vehicle traveling in a common direction along a common route section of the transportation network, the common route section diverging into a first separate route section and a second separate route section at a divergence point.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein changing the speed comprises decreasing the speed of the first vehicle to allow the second vehicle to pull off of the common route section onto the second separate route section before the first vehicle arrives at the divergence point.

21. The method of claim 13, wherein changing the speed comprises decreasing the speed of said one of the first vehicle or the second vehicle to arrive at the event later than the first vehicle or the second vehicle would have originally arrived at the event prior to decreasing the speed.

22. The method of claim 13, wherein changing the speed comprises providing the updated time to an energy management system disposed on-board said one of the first vehicle or the second vehicle, revising by the energy management system of a trip plan of said one of the first vehicle or the second vehicle based on the updated time to form a revised trip plan, and controlling movement of said one of the first vehicle or the second vehicle based on the revised trip plan.

23. A system comprising:

a control unit; and

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having one or more sets of instructions, the one or more sets of instructions configured to direct the control unit to;

receive an updated time of an event involving a first vehicle and a second vehicle traveling in a transportation network; and

change a speed of said one of the first vehicle or the second vehicle in response to the updated time to arrive at the event.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the event is a pass event that includes the first vehicle and the second vehicle traveling in a common direction along a main line route of a transportation network and the first vehicle pulling off of the main line route to a siding section route of the transportation network to permit the second vehicle to pass the first vehicle along the common direction.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the one or more sets of instructions are configured to direct the control unit to decrease the speed of the first vehicle such that arrival of the first vehicle at the pass event is delayed when the second vehicle is traveling to arrive at the pass event later than a scheduled time of the pass event.

26. The system of claim 24, wherein the one or more sets of instructions are configured to direct the control unit to decrease the speed of the second vehicle such that arrival of the second vehicle at the pass event is delayed when the first vehicle is traveling to pull off the main line route onto the siding section route after a scheduled time of the pass event.

27. The system of claim 23, wherein the event is a convergence event that includes the first vehicle traveling along a first separate route section of the transportation network and the second vehicle traveling along a different, second separate route section of the transportation network with the first separate route section and the second separate route section converging into a converged route section of the transportation network.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the one or more sets of instructions are configured to direct the control unit to decrease the speed of the first vehicle to allow the second vehicle to lead the first vehicle along the converged route section.

29. The system of claim 23, wherein the event is a divergence event that includes the first vehicle and the second vehicle traveling in a common direction along a common route section of the transportation network, the common route section diverging into a first separate route section and a second separate route section at a divergence point.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein the one or more sets of instructions are configured to direct the control unit to decrease the speed of the first vehicle to allow the second vehicle to pull off of the common route section onto the second separate route section before the first vehicle arrives at the divergence point.

31. The system of claim 23, wherein the one or more sets of instructions are configured to direct the control unit to decrease the speed of said one of the first vehicle or the second vehicle to arrive at the event later than the first vehicle or the second vehicle would have originally arrived at the event prior to decreasing the speed.

32. A system comprising:

a monitoring module configured to monitor plural separate vehicles traveling in a transportation network according to a movement plan of the network, the movement plan comprising plural schedules respectively associated with the separate vehicles for directing the vehicles to move through the network, the movement plan including an event between a first vehicle and a second vehicle of the separate vehicles;

a congestion module configured to calculate a throughput parameter of the network that is representative of a statistical measure of adherence to the movement plan by the separate vehicles;

a modification module configured to determine a confidence parameter representative of a probability that changing a scheduled time of the event would not reduce the throughput parameter of the network, the modification module configured to modify the scheduled time of the event to an updated time when the confidence parameter exceeds a predetermined threshold; and

a communication module configured to transmit the updated time to one or more of the first vehicle or the second vehicle as at least one of the first vehicle or the second vehicle is moving toward the location of the event for the one or more of the first vehicle or the second vehicle to change a speed of the first vehicle or the second rail vehicle to arrive at the event based on the updated time.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein the event is a pass event that includes the first vehicle and the second vehicle traveling along a main line route in the transportation network along a common direction and the first vehicle pulling off of the main line route to a siding section route in the transportation network to permit the second vehicle to pass the first vehicle along the common direction on the main line route.

34. The system of claim 32, wherein the event is a convergence event that includes the first vehicle traveling along a first separate route section of the transportation network and the second vehicle traveling along a different, second separate route section of the transportation network with the first separate route section and the second separate route section converging into a converged route section of the transportation network.

35. The system of claim 32, wherein the event is a divergence event that includes the first vehicle and the second vehicle traveling in a common direction along a common route section of the transportation network, the common route section diverging into a first separate route section and a second separate route section at a divergence point.