INTEGRATED RAIL EFFICIENCY AND SAFETY SUPPORT SYSTEM

• US 20120290251A1
• Filed: 07/27/2012
• Published: 11/15/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Concaten Inc.
• Original Assignee: Concaten Inc.
• Inventors: Groeneweg, Kevin K., Rennie, Christopher J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,979,363 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/130
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 23/042 Track changes detection
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 27/53 for trackside elements or systems, e.g. trackside supervision of trackside control system conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 13/00 Thermometers specially adapted for specific purposes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks

Abstract

The present invention is directed to the use of mobile sensors to collect temperature information used to control, inter alia, rail vehicle speed, acceleration, or scheduling.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a server operable to;

(a) receive over a network, from a plurality of consists, each consist comprising at least one rail vehicle, a plurality of sets of collected information, each of the sets of collected information comprising a consist physical location and weather conditions and rail temperatures in an area of the respective consist;

(b) wherein the server is operable to process a predictive rail temperature algorithm for predicting a rail temperature and/or a trend in rail temperature for a selected section of track; and

(c) wherein the predictive rail temperature algorithm factors the information provided to it and provides a predicted rail temperature and/or trend in rail temperature for the selected section of track.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the network is a cellular network.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the network is a radio network.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein a user of the system is at least one of an operator of one of the plurality of consists and a supervisor.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sets of collected information are sent to the server over a first network, and the predicted rail temperature and/or trend in rail temperature for a selected section of track are sent to the consist over a second network.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the predicted rail temperature and/or trend in rail temperature for a selected section of track are communicated to an operator of one of the plurality of consists orally via a radio signal.

7. The system of claim 4, wherein the supervisor is not located in any one of the plurality of consists.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the predicted rail temperature and/or trend in rail temperature for a selected section of track are communicated to the supervisor.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the supervisor transmits one of the predicted rail temperature and an instruction determined from the predicted rail temperature to a display in at least one of the plurality of consists.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the supervisor transmits one of the predicted rail temperature and an instruction determined from the predicted rail temperature to the operator of at least one of the plurality of consists orally via a radio network.

11. A method, comprising:

(a) receiving over a network, from a plurality of consists, each consist comprising at least one rail vehicle, and by a server, a plurality of sets of collected information, each of the sets of collected information comprising a consist physical location and weather conditions and rail temperatures in an area of the respective consist;

(b) processing, by the server a predictive rail temperature algorithm for predicting a rail temperature and/or a trend in rail temperature for a selected section of track; and

(c) wherein the predictive rail temperature algorithm factors the information provided to it and provides a predicted rail temperature and/or trend in rail temperature for the selected section of track.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the network is a cellular network.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the network is a radio network.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein a user of the method is at least one of an operator of one of the plurality of consists and a supervisor.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the plurality of sets of collected information are sent to the server over a first network, and the predicted rail temperature and/or trend in rail temperature for a selected section of track are sent to the consist over a second network.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the predicted rail temperature and/or trend in rail temperature for a selected section of track are communicated to an operator of one of the plurality of consists orally via a radio signal.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the supervisor is not located in any one of the plurality of consists.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the predicted rail temperature and/or trend in rail temperature for a selected section of track are communicated to the supervisor.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the supervisor transmits one of the predicted rail temperature and an instruction determined from the predicted rail temperature to a display in at least one of the plurality of consists.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the supervisor transmits one of the predicted rail temperature and an instruction determined from the predicted rail temperature to the operator of at least one of the plurality of consists orally via a radio network.