Railroad vehicle accident video recorder
DCFirst Claim
1. A method for visually recording a potential accident of a railroad vehicle, comprising steps of:
- (a) continuously monitoring the status of an emergency brake of the railroad vehicle;
(b) continuously monitoring the status of a horn of the railroad vehicle;
(c) continuously viewing with a video camera the scene that the railroad vehicle approaches;
(d) continuously storing video information from the video camera;
(e) detecting at least, the application of both the emergency brake and blast of the horn within a predetermined time window; and
(f) capturing video information from the video camera for a predetermined period of time after detecting that, at least, the application of the emergency brake and horn blast occurred within the predetermined time window.
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Abstract
A method and monitoring unit for recording the status of a railroad vehicle prior to a potential accident. In a monitoring unit mounted in or on a railroad vehicle, such as a locomotive, a video camera is provided to continuously view a scene that the railroad vehicle approaches. The monitoring unit continuously monitors the status of an emergency brake of the railroad vehicle and the status of a horn of the railroad vehicle. Video signals from the video camera are continuously stored. A control unit in the monitoring unit detects the application of both the emergency brake and blast of the horn within a predetermined time window. Video signals from the video camera are captured for a predetermined period of time after detecting that the application of the emergency brake and horn blast within the predetermined time window.
162 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for visually recording a potential accident of a railroad vehicle, comprising steps of:
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(a) continuously monitoring the status of an emergency brake of the railroad vehicle; (b) continuously monitoring the status of a horn of the railroad vehicle; (c) continuously viewing with a video camera the scene that the railroad vehicle approaches; (d) continuously storing video information from the video camera; (e) detecting at least, the application of both the emergency brake and blast of the horn within a predetermined time window; and (f) capturing video information from the video camera for a predetermined period of time after detecting that, at least, the application of the emergency brake and horn blast occurred within the predetermined time window. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A data recorder for use on a railroad vehicle comprising:
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(a) an emergency brake sensor for detecting the application of an emergency brake on the railroad vehicle; (b) a horn sensor for detecting the application of a horn of the railroad vehicle; (c) a video camera suitable for mounting on the railroad vehicle to view the scene that the railroad vehicle approaches and continuously generate a video signal; (d) a video recording device coupled to the video camera for storing the video signal output by the video camera; and (e) a control unit coupled to, at least, the emergency brake sensor, horn sensor, and video recording device, the control unit detecting, at least, the application of the emergency brake and blast of the horn within a predetermined time window and in response thereto generating a signal to cause the video recording device to record the video signal for a predetermined period of time, and at the expiration of the predetermined period of time, terminating recording by the video recording device. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A data recorder for use on a railroad vehicle comprising:
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(a) an emergency brake sensor for detecting the application of an emergency brake on the railroad vehicle; (b) a horn sensor for detecting the application of a horn of the railroad vehicle; (c) a video camera suitable for mounting on the railroad vehicle to view the scene that the railroad vehicle approaches and continuously generate a video signal; (d) a frame grabber connected to the video camera for continuously digitizing the video signal; and (e) a control unit coupled to, at least, the emergency brake sensor, horn sensor, and frame grabber, the control unit detecting, at least, the application of the emergency brake and blast of the horn within a predetermined time window and in response thereto continuing to capture video information from the frame grabber for a predetermined period of time after the detection.
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16. A method for visually recording a potential accident of a railroad vehicle, comprising steps of:
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(a) monitoring the status of an emergency brake of the railroad vehicle; (b) monitoring the status of a horn of the railroad vehicle; (c) detecting, at least, the application of both the emergency brake and blast of the horn within a predetermined time window; and (d) capturing video information from a video device that view a scene that the railroad vehicle approaches, the video information captured for a predetermined period of time after detecting that, at least, the application of the emergency brake and horn blast occurred within the predetermined time window. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification