Railroad Signaling and Communication System Using a Fail-Safe Voltage Sensor to Verify Trackside Conditions in Safety-Critical Railroad Applications
First Claim
1. A system for verifying whether an electrical component is energized comprising:
- a sensor electrically connected to a circuit adjacent to an electrical component, said sensor powered by voltage applied to said circuit such that said sensor is energized only when said electrical component is engaged.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for verifying trackside conditions in safety critical railroad applications by reporting the status of trackside signals and switches to a remote train control system. The system comprises at least one sensor for providing trackside conditions electrically connected to a circuit for providing trackside conditions to a railroad, said sensor being powered by voltage applied to the circuit such that the sensor is energized only when said electrical component is engaged. The system and method further comprises a method and system which is failsafe and which enables the control system to independently verify signals from each sensor.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A system for verifying whether an electrical component is energized comprising:
a sensor electrically connected to a circuit adjacent to an electrical component, said sensor powered by voltage applied to said circuit such that said sensor is energized only when said electrical component is engaged. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A railroad signaling and communication method for verifying trackside conditions which are used to control train movement in safety critical railroad applications comprising:
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pre-programming at least one sensor for providing trackside conditions to a remote train control system with a unique key and an authentication code generation algorithm; electrically connecting each sensor to a trackside electrical circuit for providing trackside conditions to a railroad interlocking associated with a trackside signaling electrical component, said circuit including the electrical component and the railroad interlocking, said sensor positioned electrically intermediate to said electrical component and said interlocking; powering said sensor by voltage applied to said circuit such that said sensor is energized only when said electrical component is engaged; pre-programming a remote train control system for verifying the status of trackside electrical components indicating track conditions with the unique key assigned to each of the at least one sensors, an identification for the electrical circuit which each of the at least one sensors is connected, and the authentication code generation algorithm; requesting sensor status by transmitting a challenge message from a remote train control system which is received by energized sensors;
generating an authentication code, in each of the energized sensors, using the unique key for that sensor and authentication code generation algorithm;creating a response message from each energized sensor containing the authentication code; transmitting the response message from each energized sensor to the remote train control system; independently calculating, in the remote train control system, a calculated authentication code for each of the sensors along a particular route using the unique keys, circuit identification, and authentication code generation algorithm pre-programmed into the remote train control system; validating the response message by matching the calculated authentication codes to the received authentication codes; and
translating the validated response message into a track status message. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A fail safe method for sensing the status of an electrical component by powering the sensing means with voltage applied to a circuit when the electrical component is engaged comprising:
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electrically connecting a sensor to an electrical circuit associated with an electrical component, said circuit energized when said electrical component is engaged, said sensor adjacent to said electrical component; powering said sensor by voltage applied to said circuit such that said sensor is energized only when said circuit is energized; and indicating that said electrical component is engaged when sensor is energized by transmitting sensor status to a remote train control system. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
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Specification