On-board integrated vehicle control and communication system
First Claim
1. An on-board control and communication system for use on a vehicle, said vehicle being operable as a single unit or being coupled to at least one other vehicle to form a train, one of said vehicles in said train operating as a master for controlling the operation of said train and the other vehicles in said train operating as slaves responsive to said master, each of said vehicles including a control and communication system, comprising:
- at least one slave control means responsive to command signals and controlling a sub-system of said vehicle in accordance with said command signals;
master control means connected to said slave control means via a communication link, said master control means generating said command signals upon reception of an enabling signal and in response to desired vehicle operation information, said communication link being coupled to the communication link in other vehicles when vehicles are coupled to form a train;
detection means for detecting when said vehicle is coupled to another vehicle to form a train and for detecting the vehicle in said train designated as said master; and
conversion means in communication with said detection means for generating said enabling signal when said vehicle is designated and operates as said master, said slave control means on each of said vehicles further including pre-programmed sub-system operation information stored therein and executing said operation information upon loss of communications with said master control means to control the sub-system in the absence of command signals generated by the master control means.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A train comprising a plurality of interconnected revenue carrying vehicles is provided. Each of the vehicles includes a controller for controlling the various sub-systems in the vehicle. When the vehicles are coupled to form a train, the controller in one of the vehicles operates as a master and controls the operation of the other vehicles in the train. The controllers in the other vehicles operate as slaves and are responsive to control signals generated by the master. Software is included in the controllers to allow the master role to be transferred between vehicles without disabling the train.
106 Citations
31 Claims
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1. An on-board control and communication system for use on a vehicle, said vehicle being operable as a single unit or being coupled to at least one other vehicle to form a train, one of said vehicles in said train operating as a master for controlling the operation of said train and the other vehicles in said train operating as slaves responsive to said master, each of said vehicles including a control and communication system, comprising:
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at least one slave control means responsive to command signals and controlling a sub-system of said vehicle in accordance with said command signals; master control means connected to said slave control means via a communication link, said master control means generating said command signals upon reception of an enabling signal and in response to desired vehicle operation information, said communication link being coupled to the communication link in other vehicles when vehicles are coupled to form a train; detection means for detecting when said vehicle is coupled to another vehicle to form a train and for detecting the vehicle in said train designated as said master; and conversion means in communication with said detection means for generating said enabling signal when said vehicle is designated and operates as said master, said slave control means on each of said vehicles further including pre-programmed sub-system operation information stored therein and executing said operation information upon loss of communications with said master control means to control the sub-system in the absence of command signals generated by the master control means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A train comprising:
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at least two interconnected vehicles, one of said vehicles operating as a master and controlling the operation of said train, the other vehicles operating as slaves and being responsive to said master, each of said vehicles comprising; a communication link linking with the communication link in the other vehicles froming said train; control means operable to control the operation of said train when said vehicle is designated as said master and operable to control subsystems on said vehicle in response to commands generated by said master when said vehicle is designated as a slave; request means in communication with said control means and being enabled when said vehicle is operating as a slave, said request means generating a master request signal in response to a master role change request; detection means enabled when said vehicle is operating as said master and operable to detect a master request signal generated by the request means on a vehicle operating as a slave; and conversion means for converting said master to a slave upon detection of said master request signal and converting said slave to said master upon generating of said master request signal automatically without disabling said train, said control means further including pre-programmed sub-system operation information stored therein, said control means on said vehicles operating as slaves executing said operation information upon loss of communications with said master to control the sub-systems in the absence of commands generated by the master. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An on-board control and communication system for use on a vehicle comprising:
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operator control means operable to control the operation of said vehicle in response to commands received from an operator; automatic control means operable to control the operation of said vehicle in a pre-programmed manner; mode selection means in communication with said operator control means and said automatic control means, said mode selection means being operable between first and second conditions to enable one of said operator control means and automatic control means; monitoring means monitoring said mode selections means to detect actuation of said mode selection means from one condition to the other condition, said monitoring means automatically enabling the control means associated with said other condition and disabling the control means associated with said one condition without disabling said vehicle upon actuation of said mode selection means from said one condition to said other condition; and means to enable said automatic control means and disable said operator control means independent of said mode selection means upon malfunction of said operator control means. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A train comprising:
at least two interconnected vehicles, one of said vehicles operating as a master and controlling the operation of the train, the other of said vehicles operating as slaves and being responsive to said master, said master including control means generating commands addressed to particular slaves, each of said slaves including control means responsive to commands generated by said master which are addressed thereto, said master vehicle including monitoring means for continuously monitoring said train to determine the number of vehicles in said train and generating an address list including each of said detected vehicles in said train and update means for updating said address list automatically upon addition or subtraction of a vehicle to or from said train without impeding control of said train by said master. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25)
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26. An on-board vehicle control and communication system for use on a vehicle comprising:
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a master controller in the form of a microprocessor based circuit responsive to vehicle operation signals representing desired vehicle operation, said master controller generating command signals in response to said vehicle operation information; at least one slave controller in the form of a microprocessor based circuit and controlling the operation of a subsystem on said vehicle; a communication link interconnecting said master and said at least one slave controller, said slave controller being responsive to command signals generated by said master controller and controlling the operation of said subsystem in accordance with said command signals, said at least one slave controller further including sub-system pre-programmed operation information therein and executing said operation information upon loss of communications with said master controller. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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Specification