Apparatus and method for tracking reporting and recording equipment inventory on a locomotive
First Claim
1. An apparatus for tracking, reporting and recording equipment inventory on a railroad field unit equipped with a mobile communications package (MCP) operatively connected to on-board intelligent devices and operative to transmit and receive information to and from at least one remote base communications unit, the intelligent devices operatively connected in a local communications network, said apparatus comprising;
- processing means operative to broadcast a Query for Health Report to on-board intelligent devices and receive Health Report messages from on-board intelligent devices, wherein said Query for Health Report comprises a request for equipment identification information and said Health Report messages comprise the requested equipment identification information;
equipment identification information storage means in information transmission connection with said processing means, said storage means operative to receive and store equipment identification information received by said processing means via said Health Report messages;
polling means operatively connected to said processing means for periodically initiating broadcasting of said Query for Health Report to on-board intelligent devices on a railroad field unit;
temporary information storage means in information transmission connection with said processing means for initially receiving and storing recently received equipment identification information from a locomotive via Health Report messages received in response to said Query for Health Report;
comparing means in said processing means for comparing equipment identification information in said temporary information storage means to equipment identification information in said equipment identification information storage means for a particular field unit to determine additions and deletions of intelligent equipment on the field unit; and
reporting and notifying means in information transmission connection with said processing means for reporting intelligent devices on-board a field unit and for notifying an operator of a change of intelligent devices on a field unit.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for tracking reporting and recording equipment inventory on a locomotive equipped with a mobile communications package (MCP) operatively connected to on-board intelligent devices and operative to transmit and receive information to and from at least one remote base communications unit, the intelligent devices operatively connected in a local communication network, the apparatus including a processing device operative to broadcast a Query for Health Report to on-board intelligent devices and receive Health Reports Messages from on-board intelligent devices, wherein the Query for Health Report is a request for equipment identification information and the Health Report Messages are the requested equipment identification information. A database in information transmission connection with the processing device is operative to receive and store equipment identification information. A polling device periodically initiates Queries for Health Reports to the on-board intelligent devices, and the updated Health Reports are stored in a temporary information storage database. The equipment identification information in the first database is compared to the most recent equipment identification information stored in the temporary database by a comparison device which determines changes in devices on the locomotive. Finally, reporting and notifying devices in information transmission connection with the processing device report equipment on-board the locomotive and notify an operator of a change of equipment on a locomotive.
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Citations
13 Claims
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1. An apparatus for tracking, reporting and recording equipment inventory on a railroad field unit equipped with a mobile communications package (MCP) operatively connected to on-board intelligent devices and operative to transmit and receive information to and from at least one remote base communications unit, the intelligent devices operatively connected in a local communications network, said apparatus comprising;
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processing means operative to broadcast a Query for Health Report to on-board intelligent devices and receive Health Report messages from on-board intelligent devices, wherein said Query for Health Report comprises a request for equipment identification information and said Health Report messages comprise the requested equipment identification information; equipment identification information storage means in information transmission connection with said processing means, said storage means operative to receive and store equipment identification information received by said processing means via said Health Report messages; polling means operatively connected to said processing means for periodically initiating broadcasting of said Query for Health Report to on-board intelligent devices on a railroad field unit; temporary information storage means in information transmission connection with said processing means for initially receiving and storing recently received equipment identification information from a locomotive via Health Report messages received in response to said Query for Health Report; comparing means in said processing means for comparing equipment identification information in said temporary information storage means to equipment identification information in said equipment identification information storage means for a particular field unit to determine additions and deletions of intelligent equipment on the field unit; and reporting and notifying means in information transmission connection with said processing means for reporting intelligent devices on-board a field unit and for notifying an operator of a change of intelligent devices on a field unit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of tracking, reporting and recording equipment inventory on a locomotive equipped with a mobile communications package (MCP) operatively connected to on-board intelligent devices and operative to transmit and receive information to and from at least one remote base communications unit, the on-board intelligent devices operatively connected in a local communications network, said method comprising the steps;
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providing processing means, equipment identification information storage means, monitoring means, polling means, temporary information storage means, comparing means and reporting and notifying means; connecting said processing means to on-board intelligent devices, said processing means, said equipment identification information storage means and said temporary information storage means in information transmission connection with one another; broadcasting a Query for Health Report through said processing means to on-board intelligent devices, said Query for Health Report comprising a request for equipment identification; receiving Health Report messages through said processing means from the on-board intelligent devices, said Health Report messages comprising equipment identification information for intelligent devices operatively connected to the processing device; storing said Health Report messages in said equipment identification information storage means; monitoring on-board intelligent devices through said monitoring means to determine activation status of devices operatively connected to said processing means; initiating broadcast of a Query for Health Report through said polling means to the on-board intelligent devices in response to said monitoring means registering one of the addition and deletion of an intelligent device; receiving said updated Health Report messages by said processing means and storing said updated Health Report messages in said temporary information storage means; comparing said Health Report messages stored in said equipment identification information storage means and said updated Health Report messages stored in said temporary information storage means through said comparison means; reporting any differences in said updated Health Report messages as compared to said Health Report messages such that equipment changes are reported to an operator at a remote location; and replacing said Health Report messages in said equipment identification information storage means with said updated Health Report messages in said temporary information storage means such that said equipment identification information storage means stores the most recent updated Health Report messages. - View Dependent Claims (13)
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Specification