×

Vehicle control system

  • US 5,947,423 A
  • Filed: 12/22/1997
  • Issued: 09/07/1999
  • Est. Priority Date: 04/28/1995
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
Patent Images

1. A vehicle control system for issuing control signals to vehicles to control their movements along a route between a first location and a second location, the vehicles comprising a set of vehicles of a first type, to which the system can issue control signals at more than one location within the route to control the vehicles of the first type in a moving block manner and a set of vehicles of a second type to which the system cannot issue control signals at more than one location within the route, the system comprising:

  • sensing means which senses vehicles entering and leaving the route, and the type of these vehicles;

    storage means which stores a record of the number of vehicles within the route and a record of the type of vehicle that most recently entered the route;

    signalling means for signalling to vehicles whether they may enter the route by moving beyond the first location; and

    control means which receives information form the storage means and transmits signals to the signalling means, and which;

    1) in response to the storage means indicating that there is at least one vehicle within the route and that the vehicle that most recently entered the route was of the first type controls the signalling means to issue a signal of a first type indicating that only vehicles of the first type may enter the route;

    2) in response to the storage means indicating that there are no vehicles within the route controls the signalling means to issue a signal of a second type indicating that vehicles of the first type or the second type may enter the route; and

    3) otherwise controls the signalling means to issue a signal of a third type indicating that no vehicles may enter the route.

View all claims
  • 6 Assignments
Timeline View
Assignment View
    ×
    ×