Track database integrity monitor for enhanced railroad safety distributed power
First Claim
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1. A distributed power system for remotely controlling a locomotive, said system comprising:
- a position-determining device for determining a position of said locomotive;
a pre-stored track database comprising terrain and contour data about a railroad track;
a track database integrity monitor for detecting errors with said pre-stored track database;
a processor comprising an algorithm to determine a distributed power for said locomotive and to use said track database integrity monitor to determine if errors exist in said pre-stored track database; and
a memory device connected to said processor.
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Abstract
A distributed power system for remotely controlling a locomotive, the system comprising a position-determining device for determining a position of the locomotive, a pre-stored track database comprising terrain and contour data about a railroad track, a track database integrity monitor for detecting errors with the pre-stored track database, a processor comprising an algorithm to determine a distributed power for the locomotive and to use the track database integrity monitor to determine if errors exist in the pre-stored track database, and a memory device connected to the processor.
116 Citations
39 Claims
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1. A distributed power system for remotely controlling a locomotive, said system comprising:
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a position-determining device for determining a position of said locomotive;
a pre-stored track database comprising terrain and contour data about a railroad track;
a track database integrity monitor for detecting errors with said pre-stored track database;
a processor comprising an algorithm to determine a distributed power for said locomotive and to use said track database integrity monitor to determine if errors exist in said pre-stored track database; and
a memory device connected to said processor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for remotely controlling a locomotive, said method comprising:
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determining a position of said locomotive with a position-determining device;
providing a pre-stored track database comprising track terrain and contour information;
providing coupler sensor data;
processing said position of said train, said coupler sensor data and comparing said position with said pre-stored track database to determine a distributed power to apply to said locomotive;
applying a track database integrity monitor to determine whether said pre-stored track database and said position correlate;
if said track database integrity monitor corresponds with said pre-stored track database, calculating and applying a distributed power to said locomotive; and
creating a second track database based on applying said track database integrity monitor. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
providing a car connected to said locomotive;
providing a coupler connecting said car to said locomotive;
determining a force at said coupler using said processor; and
optimizing said force based on a calculated distributed power.
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23. The method of claim 19 wherein said processing step further comprises providing environmental data and factoring in said environmental data when determining said distributed power.
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24. The method of claim 19 wherein said processing step further comprises providing situational data and factoring in said situational data when determining said distributed power.
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25. The method of claim 19 wherein said track database integrity monitor comprises applying a disparity algorithm for integrity monitoring.
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26. The method of claim 19 wherein said track database integrity monitor comprises a dimensional locomotive profile.
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27. The method of claim 19 wherein said track database integrity monitor comprises a plurality of dimensional train profiles.
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28. The method of claim 19 further comprising saving said second track database in a memory device.
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29. A distributed power control system for controlling a train having a master locomotive and a slave locomotive where a car separates said master locomotive and said slave locomotive, said system comprising:
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a position-determining device for determining a position of said train;
a pre-stored track database comprising terrain and contour data about a railroad track;
a track database integrity monitor for detecting errors with said pre-stored track database based on a position of said train;
a coupler separating each said locomotive from said car;
a coupler sensor to determine force applied to each said coupler;
a processor comprising an algorithm to determine a distributed power for said locomotive based on data received from said coupler sensor and to use said track database integrity monitor to determine if errors exist in said pre-stored track database;
a memory device connected to said processor; and
wherein said processor controls said train based on a calculated distributed power. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A method for distributing power in a (training) train with a master locomotive and a slave locomotive, said method comprising:
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providing a position-determining device;
determining a position of said locomotive with a position-determining device;
providing a pre-stored track database comprising track terrain and contour information;
providing coupler sensor data;
processing said position of said train, said coupler sensor data and comparing said position with said pre-stored track database to determine a distributed power to apply to said master locomotive and said slave locomotive;
applying a track database integrity monitor to determine whether said pre-stored track database and said position correlate;
if said track database integrity monitor corresponds with said pre-stored track database, calculating and applying a distributed power to said master locomotive and said slave locomotive;
creating a second track database based on applying said track database integrity monitor;
providing couplers in said train;
determining a force at each said couplers using said processor;
optimizing said force based on a calculated distributed power; and
saving said second track database in a memory device. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39)
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Specification