Railway cab signal

• US 5,330,134 A
• Filed: 05/13/1992
• Issued: 07/19/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ansaldo STS SPA
• Original Assignee: Union Switch & Signal, Inc. (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Ehrlich, Anthony G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Huppert, Michael S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): LOWE, SCOTT
• Application Number:
  US07/882,605
• Time in Patent Office: 797 Days
• Field of Search: 246/34 R, 246/34 A, 246/34 B, 246/34 CT, 246/58, 246/59, 246/60, 246/62, 246/63 R, 246/63 C, 246/122 R, 340/825.18
• US Class Current: 246/34.00R
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 1/188 Use of coded current
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 3/24 employing different frequencies or coded pulse groups , e.g. in combination with track circuits

Abstract

An improved railway cab signal transmitter for transmitting a cab signal onto a pair of rails for reception by a railway vehicle on said rails. A tuning arrangement is connected across the rails to generally resonate with the leaving end impedance bond at a preselected cab signal frequency. The cab signal is coded at the preselected frequency such that the resonant circuit acts in conjunction with the code signal generation to act as a constant current signal source feeding the rails. A reduction in the maximum cab signal rail current is achieved thereby mitigating runby cab signal currents which might be available for reception by following trains. Embodiments of the tuning arrangement use a capacitor on the primary winding of the feed transformer. Other embodiments include inductance in series with a capacitor. Receivers for wayside displays that also use the cab signal current include embodiments having a capacitor or a capacitor/inductor across the wayside receiver transmitter secondary.

Claims

1. An improved railway cab signal transmitter for transmitting a cab signal onto a pair of rails having an impedance bond between said rails at a transmitter end of a track circuit, the transmitter comprising:

a transmitting circuit in parallel arrangement with said impedance bond and having reactance to generally resonate with said impedance bond at a preselected cab signal frequency;

code means for providing a cab signal of said preselected frequency to said transmitting circuit; and

said reactance having a value to produce such cab signal having a current generally independent of the position of a track vehicle in said track circuit.

2. The improved railway cab signal transmitter of claim 1 wherein said transmitting circuit includes:

a transformer having a secondary winding in parallel with said impedance bond and a primary winding having a capacitor and said code means in series therewith.

3. The improved railway cab signal transmitter of claim 2 wherein said transmitting circuit further includes an inductor in series with said capacitor and said primary winding.

4. The improved railway cab signal transmitter of claim 1 wherein said transmitting circuit includes a capacitance in parallel with said impedance bond.

5. The improved railway cab signal transmitter of claim 4 wherein said transmitting circuit further includes an inductor in series with said capacitor with such series inductor and capacitor arrangement being in parallel to said impedance bond.

6. An improved railway cab signal transmitter for transmitting a cab signal onto a pair of rails having an impedance bond between said rails at the transmitter end of a track circuit, said transmitter comprising:

a transmitting circuit in parallel to said impedance bond;

a code means for providing an electrical voltage cab signal at a preselected frequency to said transmitting circuit; and

the reactance of said transmitting circuit being of a value such that said transmitter supplies said rails as a constant current source to said rails generally independent of the varying electrical load on said rails by the position of a track vehicle.

7. The improved railway cab signal transmitter of claim 6 wherein said transmitting circuit includes:

a transformer having a secondary winding in parallel with said impedance bond and a primary winding with a capacitor and said code means in series therewith.

8. The improved railway cab signal transmitter of claim 7 wherein said transmitting circuit further includes an inductor in series with said capacitor.

9. A railway track cab signal apparatus for connecting to a pair of rails in a track section having a first impedance bond at one end and a second impedance bond at a second end, said track circuit comprising:

a cab signal transmitter connected at said one end having a transmitting circuit in parallel arrangement with said first impedance bond, said transmitting circuit to resonate with said first impedance bond at a preselected cab signal frequency and to produce such cab signal having a current level generally independent of the position of a track vehicle in said track section;

said cab signal transmitter having a code means coupled to said transmitting circuit for providing a cab signal of said predetermined frequency; and

a wayside receiver means coupled to said rails at said second end for receiving track signals from said rails.

10. The railway track cab signal apparatus of claim 9 wherein said transmitting circuit includes:

a transformer having a secondary winding in parallel with said first impedance bond and a primary winding with a capacitor and said code means in series therewith.

11. The railway track cab signal apparatus of claim 10 wherein said transmitting circuit further includes an inductor in series with said capacitor and said primary winding.

12. The railway track cab signal apparatus of claim 11 wherein said receiver means includes a receiver transformer having a first winding connected across said second impedance bond and a receiver capacitor connected across a second winding of said receiver transformer.

13. The railway track cab signal apparatus of claim 12 wherein said receiver means further includes a receiver inductor connected in series with said receiver capacitor across the second winding of said receiver transformer.

14. The railway track cab signal apparatus of claim 10 wherein said receiver means includes a receiver transformer having a first winding connected across said second impedance bond and a receiver capacitor connected across a second winding of said receiver transformer.

15. The railway track cab signal apparatus of claim 14 wherein said receiver means further includes a receiver inductor connected in series with said receiver capacitor across the second winding of said receiver transformer.

16. The railway track cab signal apparatus of claim 9 wherein said receiver means includes a receiver transformer having a first winding connected across said second impedance bond and a receiver capacitor connected across a second winding of said receiver transformer.

17. The railway track cab signal apparatus of claim 16 wherein said receiver means further includes a receiver inductor connected in series with said receiver capacitor across the second winding of said receiver transformer.

18. An improved railway track signal transmitter for transmitting a signal onto a pair of rails at a transmitter end of a track circuit, the transmitter comprising:

a transmitting circuit connectable across said rails, said transmitting circuit having a capacitance element and an inductive element connected in parallel, the values of said capacitance element and said inductive element being such that said transmitting circuit is generally resonant at a preselected signal frequency and such that the current value of said signal in said rails is generally independent of the varying load imposed upon said rails by the position of a rail vehicle in said track circuit; and

a code means for providing a track signal of said preselected frequency to said transmitting circuit.