Railroad in-cab signaling with automatic train stop enforcement utilizing radio frequency digital transmissions

• US 5,415,369 A
• Filed: 09/29/1993
• Issued: 05/16/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation
• Original Assignee: Rockwell International Corporation
• Inventors: Hungate, Joe B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Oberleitner, Robert J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Morano, S. Joseph
• Application Number:
  US08/128,400
• Time in Patent Office: 594 Days
• Field of Search: 246/167 R, 246/176, 246/193, 246/220, 246/253, 246/62, 340/901, 340/905
• US Class Current: 246/167.00R
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 3/125 using short-range radio transmission

Abstract

A railroad in-cab signaling system which includes transceivers disposed at signals where various transceivers are operating on different frequencies and addresses so as to provide for easy identification and highly secure communication to the signal transceiver and a tunable transceiver disposed on the locomotive, the locomotive transceiver being coupled to an interrogator which interrogates transponders disposed in the tracks, the transponders providing a message containing the predetermined frequency and address of the signal transceiver thereby allowing the locomotive transceiver to tune to the appropriate frequency and established a connection for the signal which it is approaching. The locomotive transceiver and the signal transceiver are then capable of exchanging information along the entire distance from the transponder to the signal.

Claims

1. A railroad in-cab signaling system, for communicating information regarding switches and signals to locomotives, the system comprising:

a signal coupled to a rail switch;

an RF signal transceiver coupled to the signal, for transmitting high secure messages to an approaching locomotive on a predetermined radio frequency and address;

a transponder, disposed a predetermined distance from the signal for transmitting a predetermined signal frequency and address message, when interrogated;

an interrogator, disposed on the approaching locomotive, for interrogating the transponder, and receiving the predetermined signal transceiver frequency and address message;

an RF transceiver, disposed on the approaching locomotive, for transmitting messages to and receiving messages from the signal transceiver; and

,

the RF transceiver is tunable to various predetermined frequencies in response to the predetermined signal frequency message received by the interrogator.

2. A railroad signaling system comprising:

a railroad signal, disposed at a predetermined location along a railroad track;

a first radio transceiver coupled to the signal;

a second radio transceiver, disposed on a rail vehicle, for communicating with said first radio transceiver;

a transponder disposed at a predetermined distance from the signal;

an interrogator disposed on said rail vehicle for interrogating the transponder; and

wherein said first transceiver operates at a predetermined frequency;

wherein said second transceiver is tunable to various frequencies including the predetermined frequency of the first transceiver, the second transceiver tuning to different frequencies in response to signals transmitted by the transponder.

3. A system of claim 2 wherein the transponder further transmits address information representative of a signal aspect of a particular track.

4. A system of claim 3 wherein the first transceiver is coupled to a plurality of signals disposed on a plurality of railroad tracks, each track having assigned thereto a unique track address.