METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR POSITIONING A VEHICLE
First Claim
1. A method for remotely controlling a plurality of vehicles, said method comprising:
- receiving at an external control system, under an indexing mode of operation, a first signal from off-board vehicle indexing equipment;
in response to the first signal, establishing in the external control system a positioning mode of operation; and
,under the positioning mode of operation, and in response to actuation of an interface of the external control system, sending from the external control system a second signal to a first vehicle of the plurality of vehicles, the second signal comprising a first command to adjust a throttle setting of first vehicle and a second command to idle a throttle of at least one second vehicle of the plurality of vehicles.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for remotely controlling a plurality of vehicles includes receiving at an external control system, under an indexing mode of operation, a first signal from off-board vehicle indexing equipment. The method further includes establishing in the external control system a positioning mode of operation in response to the first signal. Further, under the positioning mode of operation, and in response to actuation of an interface of the external control system, the method includes sending from the external control system a second signal to a first vehicle of the plurality of vehicles, the second signal comprising a first command to adjust a throttle setting of first vehicle and a second command to idle a throttle of at least one second vehicle of the plurality of vehicles.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method for remotely controlling a plurality of vehicles, said method comprising:
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receiving at an external control system, under an indexing mode of operation, a first signal from off-board vehicle indexing equipment; in response to the first signal, establishing in the external control system a positioning mode of operation; and
,under the positioning mode of operation, and in response to actuation of an interface of the external control system, sending from the external control system a second signal to a first vehicle of the plurality of vehicles, the second signal comprising a first command to adjust a throttle setting of first vehicle and a second command to idle a throttle of at least one second vehicle of the plurality of vehicles. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A control system comprising:
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an off-board control unit configured for communication with an on-board transceiver that is mounted in a vehicle and operatively connected with at least one power system of the vehicle, said off-board control unit further configured for receiving a first signal from off-board vehicle sensing equipment disposed proximate the vehicle; and an operator control unit operatively connected with the off-board control unit and including a selector manually movable to a plurality of pre-determined positions, such that in response at least to movement of the selector among the pre-determined positions, the off-board control unit is configured to establish corresponding modes of operation, wherein the off-board control unit is configured to establish a positioning mode of operation, corresponding to one of the pre-determined positions of the selector, in response to the first signal received from the off-board vehicle sensing equipment, and wherein when operating in the positioning mode of operation the off-board control unit is configured to transmit to the on-board transceiver second signals for positioning the vehicle independently from a plurality of vehicles of which the first vehicle is in proximity to. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A control system comprising:
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an off-board control system configured for communication with a plurality of vehicles and to receive a first signal from vehicle environment equipment, the off-board control system comprising an interface; and wherein the off-board control system is configured to transition from an indexing mode of operation to a positioning mode of operation responsive to receiving the first signal, and wherein the off-board control system, when operative in the positioning mode of operation and in response to actuation of the interface, is configured to send from the off-board control system a second signal to a first vehicle of plurality of vehicles, said second signal comprising a first command to adjust a throttle setting of the first vehicle and a second command to idle a throttle of any other vehicle of the plurality of vehicles.
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23. A control system comprising:
an on-board transceiver mounted in a vehicle and operatively connected with at least one power system of the vehicle, said on-board transceiver configured to receive from an off-board control unit, not mounted in said vehicle, command signals for positioning the vehicle independently from a plurality of vehicles that the first vehicle is proximate to, said command signals comprising a signal for setting a throttle control of the vehicle, a signal for adjusting a braking parameter of the vehicle, and a signal for discontinuing a distributed power control mode of the vehicle.
Specification