Method and apparatus of monitoring a railroad hump yard

• US 6,856,865 B2
• Filed: 01/07/2004
• Issued: 02/15/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: New York Air Brake Corporation (Knorr-Bremse GmbH)
• Original Assignee: New York Air Brake Corporation (Knorr-Bremse GmbH)
• Inventors: Hawthorne, Michael J.
• Primary Examiner(s): ARTHUR JEANGLAUDE, GERTRUDE
• Application Number:
  US10/751,945
• Publication Number:
  US 20040138789A1
• Time in Patent Office: 405 Days
• Field of Search: 701/19, 701/20, 701/1, 701/212, 701/213, 246/187.A
• US Class Current: 701/19
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 17/00 Switching systems for classification yards
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 2205/04 Satellite based navigation systems, e.g. global positioning system [GPS]

Abstract

A method of monitoring a railroad hump yard, including storing a profile of the hump yard. The commands sent to one or more of the retarding devices and track switches are determined. The telemetry of a car at at least one point after release over the hump is obtained. Finally, the telemetry of the car for the remainder of the path in the hump yard is calculated. The calculated telemetry of the car over the path in the hump yard may be displayed real time or may be stored and subsequently displayed. A remote control locomotive device includes operator input, a display, a data base of at least a track profile and a program to drive the display with the location of the train on the track profile.

Claims

1. A portable remote control locomotive device comprising:

an operator input for generating locomotive commands;

a transceiver for transmitting the locomotive commands to a locomotive;

a display;

a data base of at least a track profile stored on the device; and

a program on the device for determining and driving the display to show the location of the locomotive on the track.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the program determines and drives the display to show the location and the forces in a train including the locomotive.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the transceiver receives and provides locomotive telemetry to the program.

4. The device according to claim 3, wherein the telemetry includes global positioning data.

5. The device according to claim 4, including a global positioning system communicating with the program.

6. The device according to claim 3, wherein the transceiver receives and provides locomotive telemetry from other transmitters to the program, and the program drives the display to show the locations of the other transmitters.

7. The device according to claim 3, wherein the program stores the location and other information of the locomotive for later playback.

8. The device according to claim 7, wherein the transceiver transmits the stored locomotive location and information to a central base.