Call recovery process and apparatus for a remote monitoring system

• US 6,718,238 B1
• Filed: 10/26/2000
• Issued: 04/06/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Conrath, Carl Frederick, Laguer-Diaz, Juan
• Primary Examiner(s): Beaulieu, Yonel
• Application Number:
  US09/697,250
• Time in Patent Office: 1,258 Days
• Field of Search: 701/33, 701/36, 340/5.28, 340/5.5, 340/825.69, 340/825.72
• US Class Current: 701/33
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 2205/02 Global system for mobile communication - railways [GSM-R]
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 2205/04 Satellite based navigation systems, e.g. global positioning system [GPS]
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 27/57 for vehicles or trains, e.g. trackside supervision of train conditions
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 3/125 using short-range radio transmission

Abstract

An apparatus and method for re-synchronizing a communications link between an on-board monitor located aboard a vehicle and a remote site. The occurrence of certain events may render the establishment of a communication link between the on-board monitor and the remote monitoring and diagnostics center impossible. To avoid this problem, after a successful download of information to the remote site, the on-board monitor starts a timer. When the timer expires, and if the on-board monitor has not received a call or successfully downloaded information to the remote site since the timer was started, the on-board monitor attempts to call the remote site for providing certain re-synchronization information thereto. The remote site thereafter uses this re-synchronization information to establish communications with the on-board monitor.

Claims

1. For use with a vehicle comprising a plurality of operational systems controllably monitored by an on-board monitor for collecting operational information therefrom, wherein the on-board monitor communicates with a remote site during which information is transferred therebetween, and wherein the operational information is downloaded to the remote site, a method for establishing communications between the on-board monitor and the remote site, comprising:

determining the elapsed time since the last successful transfer of information between the on-board monitor and the remote site;

calling the remote site if the elapsed time reaches a predetermined value and the on-board monitor has not received a call from the remote site during the elapsed time; and

providing predetermined information to the remote site for use by the remote site to call the on-board monitor.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the predetermined information includes a unique vehicle identifier.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the predetermined information includes the on-board monitor communications system access number.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the predetermined information includes the geographical location of the vehicle.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the vehicle is a railroad locomotive.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the remote site is a monitoring and diagnostics service center.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a call from the remote site for downloading the operational data, wherein the call is made based on at least a portion of the predetermined information.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of calling the remote site after expiration of the elapsed time is conditional upon the results of a communications link test to the remote site.

9. For use with a vehicle comprising a plurality of operational systems monitored by an on-board monitor for collecting operational information therefrom, wherein a remote site periodically contacts the on-board monitor for downloading operational information therefrom, a method for establishing communications between the on-board monitor and the remote site, comprising:

attempting to contact the on-board monitor a number of times in a given interval from the remote site, wherein none of the contacts results in a successful exchange of information;

at the on-board monitor, determining the elapsed time since a successful exchange of information with the remote site; and

calling the remote site when the elapsed time reaches a predetermined value and the on-board monitor has not successfully exchanged information with the remote site.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the remote site makes a predetermined number of attempts to call the on-board monitor.

11. For use with a vehicle comprising a plurality of operational systems, an on-board monitor for controllably monitoring and collecting operational information, therefrom, wherein said on-board monitor communicates with a remote site during which information is transferred therebetween, and wherein the remote site calls said on-board monitor for downloading the operational information therefrom, said on-board monitor for establishing communications with the remote site, comprising:

a timer for determining the elapsed time since the last successful transfer of operational information with the remote site;

a transmitter for calling the remote site when said timer reaches a predetermined value and a call from the remote site has not been received;

a receiver;

wherein said transmitter provides predetermined information to the remote site for use by the remote site to call said receiver.

12. The on-board monitor of claim 11 wherein the predetermined information includes a vehicle identifier.

13. The on-board monitor of claim 11 wherein the predetermined information includes the on-board monitor communications system access number.

14. The on-board monitor of claim 11 wherein the predetermined information includes the current geographical location of the vehicle.

15. The on-board monitor of claim 11 wherein the vehicle is a railroad locomotive.

16. The on-board monitor of claim 11 wherein the remote site is a monitoring and diagnostic service center.

17. The on-board monitor of claim 11 the receiver receives a call from the remote site using at least a portion of the predetermined information, for the purpose of downloading the operational data.

18. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the transmitter places the call to the remote site when a predetermined communications link quality exists between the vehicle and the remote site.

19. An article of manufacture comprising:

a computer program product comprising a computer-usable medium having computer-readable code therein for use with a vehicle comprising a plurality of operational systems controllably monitored by an on-board monitor, for collecting operational information therefrom, wherein the on-board monitor communicates with a remote site during which information is transferred therebetween, and wherein the operational information is downloaded to the remote site, for establishing communications between the on-board monitor and the remote site, the computer-readable code in the article of manufacture comprising;

a computer-readable program code module for determining the elapsed time since the last successful transfer of operational information from the on-board monitor to the remote site;

a computer-readable program code module for calling the remote site if the elapsed time reaches a predetermined value and the on-board monitor has not received a call from the remote site during the elapsed time;

a computer-readable program code module for providing predetermined information to the remote site for use by the remote site for calling the on-board monitor.