APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING REMOTE TRAIN OPERATION
First Claim
1. A method of verifying clearance of a rail crossing, comprising:
- (a) detecting the presence of a rail vehicle near the crossing, the rail vehicle being equipped with a rail vehicle control unit;
(b) in response to detection of the rail vehicle near the crossing, generating a unique code;
(c) capturing an image of the crossing;
(d) transmitting the unique code along with the image to a remote operator control unit;
(e) at the rail vehicle control unit, waiting for a response from the operator control unit containing the unique code; and
(f) if the response containing the unique code is received by the rail vehicle control unit, permitting farther operation of the rail vehicle and, if the unique code is not received by the rail vehicle control unit, carrying out an automatic response which prevents movement of the rail vehicle through the crossing.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of verifying clearance of a rail crossing includes: (a) detecting the presence of a train near the crossing, the train being equipped with a locomotive control unit; (b) in response to detection of the train near the crossing, generating a unique code; (c) capturing an image of the crossing; (d) transmitting the unique code along with the image to a remote operator control unit; (e) using the locomotive control unit, waiting for a response from the operator control unit containing the unique code; and (f) if the response containing the unique code is received by the locomotive control unit, permitting further operation of the train and, if the unique code is not received by the locomotive control unit, carrying out an automatic response which prevents movement of the train through the crossing.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method of verifying clearance of a rail crossing, comprising:
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(a) detecting the presence of a rail vehicle near the crossing, the rail vehicle being equipped with a rail vehicle control unit; (b) in response to detection of the rail vehicle near the crossing, generating a unique code; (c) capturing an image of the crossing; (d) transmitting the unique code along with the image to a remote operator control unit; (e) at the rail vehicle control unit, waiting for a response from the operator control unit containing the unique code; and (f) if the response containing the unique code is received by the rail vehicle control unit, permitting farther operation of the rail vehicle and, if the unique code is not received by the rail vehicle control unit, carrying out an automatic response which prevents movement of the rail vehicle through the crossing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of controlling operation of a rail vehicle, comprising:
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(a) generating a unique code using a rail vehicle control unit carried on-board the rail vehicle; (b) capturing an image of track ahead of the rail vehicle; (c) transmitting the unique code along with the image to a remote operator control unit; (d) at the rail vehicle control unit, waiting for a response from the operator control unit containing the unique code; and (e) if the response containing the unique code is received by the rail vehicle control unit, permitting further operation of the rail vehicle and, if the unique code is not received by the rail vehicle control unit, carrying out an automatic response which restricts movement of the rail vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
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15. A method of verifying clearance of a rail crossing, comprising:
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detecting the presence of a rail vehicle approaching the rail crossing, the rail vehicle being equipped with a rail vehicle control unit; in response to detection of the rail vehicle approaching the rail crossing, generating a unique code; capturing an image of the crossing; transmitting the unique code along with the image to a remote operator control unit; and if a response containing the unique code is received by the rail vehicle control unit from the operator control unit within a predetermined timeout period, permitting further operation of the rail vehicle and, if the response containing the unique code is not received by the rail vehicle control unit within the predetermined timeout period, carrying out an automatic response which prevents movement of the rail vehicle through the crossing.
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Specification