Railcar maintenance management method

• US 6,446,912 B1
• Filed: 11/29/2000
• Issued: 09/10/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Donahue, Timothy P., Barich, Daniel M., Barich, David J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Mark T.
• Application Number:
  US09/725,587
• Time in Patent Office: 650 Days
• Field of Search: 246/2.R, 246/1.C, 246/3, 246/7, 246/14, 104/27, 104/30, 104/32.1, 104/33, 104/48, 104/51, 104/26.1
• US Class Current: 246/2.00R
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 17/00 Switching systems for classification yards
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 27/57 for vehicles or trains, e.g. trackside supervision of train conditions

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system and a method for managing the repairing, cleaning, painting, or otherwise maintaining of railcars within a railcar maintenance facility. Specifically, the present invention relates to a railcar maintenance management system and method for maintaining railcars within a facility wherein the facility has an inbound track, an outbound track, and a plurality of maintenance stations for moving a railcar in and out of the facility and for repairing, cleaning, or painting the same. Further, the railcar maintenance management system and method allows for efficient movement of railcars through the facility by queueing the railcars at strategic locations within the railcar facility.

Claims

1. A method for managing a railcar maintenance facility comprising the steps of:

providing a railcar maintenance facility having a number of maintenance stations;

providing a first communication means associated with a first maintenance station wherein the first communication means indicates whether the first maintenance station is available to receive a railcar requiring services of the first maintenance station;

providing a first railcar requiring the services of a first plurality of maintenance stations including the first maintenance station;

providing a second railcar requiring the services of a second plurality of maintenance stations excluding the first maintenance station;

holding the first railcar outside the facility if the first communication means indicates that the first maintenance station is unavailable to receive the first railcar;

sending the second railcar into the facility to the second plurality of maintenance stations.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

providing an inbound railway connected to the railcar maintenance facility;

providing a communication receiving means at the inbound railway for receiving the communication from the first communication means;

receiving a signal from the first communication means at the inbound railway indicating that the first maintenance station is unavailable to receive the first railcar.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

inspecting the first railcar to determine maintenance requirements of the first railcar;

transferring the railcar through the facility to the first plurality of maintenance stations if the communication from the first communication means associated with the first maintenance station indicates that the first maintenance station is available to receive the railcar.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

providing an inbound queue area outside the maintenance facility;

transferring the first railcar to the inbound queue area if the first communication means indicates that the first maintenance station is unavailable to receive the first railcar.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

providing a second communication means associated with a second maintenance station;

providing a third communication means associated with a third maintenance station;

providing a third railcar in the second maintenance station requiring services of the third maintenance station;

holding the third railcar at the second maintenance station if the third communication means associated with the third maintenance station indicates that the third maintenance station is unavailable to receive the third railcar.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

providing a first queue area associated with the first maintenance station;

moving the first railcar to the first queue area if the first maintenance station is unavailable to receive the railcar.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

designating maintenance requirements on the railcar.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising the step of:

designating a routing pattern through the maintenance facility on the railcar based on the maintenance requirements of the railcar; and

routing the railcar through the facility based on the routing pattern.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

providing an inbound queue connected to the facility; and

holding the first railcar in the inbound queue if the first communication means indicates that the associated maintenance station in unavailable to receive the railcar.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

transferring a railcar from another maintenance station to the first maintenance station if the first communication means indicates that the first maintenance station is available to receive a railcar prior to allowing the first railcar to enter the facility; and

allowing the first railcar to enter the facility if not other railcars are transferred from other maintenance stations when the first communication means indicates that the first maintenance station is available to receive a railcar.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

transferring the first railcar to the first maintenance station if the first communication means associated with the first maintenance station indicates that the first maintenance station is available to receive the railcar;

performing maintenance on the railcar at the first maintenance station;

providing a second communication means associated with a second maintenance station; and

transferring the first railcar to the second maintenance station if the second communication means indicates that the second maintenance station is available to receive the first railcar.

12. The method of claim 10 further comprising the steps of:

transferring the first railcar into the facility if the first communication means indicates that the first maintenance station is available to receive a railcar and no other railcars inside the facility are available to be transferred to the first maintenance station.

13. A method of managing a railcar maintenance facility comprising the steps of:

providing a railcar maintenance facility having a number of maintenance stations and an inbound railway;

providing first communication means associated with each maintenance station wherein the first communication means indicates whether each respective maintenance station is available to receive a railcar requiring services of the respective maintenance stations;

providing a second communication means associated with a second maintenance station for sending a communication that communicates whether the second maintenance station is available to receive railcars requiring the services of the second maintenance station wherein the railcar maintenance facility will not accept railcars if the second communication means communicates that the second maintenance station is unavailable;

providing a communication receiving means at the inbound railway for receiving the communication from the second communication means;

providing a first railcar requiring the services of the maintenance facility;

inspecting the first railcar to determine maintenance requirements of the railcar;

transferring the railcar into the facility to a plurality of maintenance stations if the communication from the second communication means indicates that the associated maintenance station is available to receive the first railcar; and

transferring the first railcar to each respective maintenance station based on the maintenance requirements of the railcar and whether the first communication means indicates that each maintenance station is available to receive the railcar.