Railway controller with improved application programming

• US 7,315,770 B2
• Filed: 01/20/2005
• Issued: 01/01/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/03/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Wade, David Justin, Clark, Shawn T., Murphy, Steve R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Beaulieu; Yonel
• Application Number:
  US11/039,643
• Publication Number:
  US 20050178928A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,076 Days
• Field of Search: 701 19- 20, 246/1.C, 246/14, 246/20, 246/122.R, 246/187.B, 246/1.R
• US Class Current: 701/19
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 29/00 Safety means for rail/road crossing traffic

Abstract

A multi-use wayside railway control system for installation and use in operating wayside railway equipment in a railway wayside application selected from among a plurality of differing railway wayside applications usable in the control system. The system includes detectors responsive to and generating data indicative of operating conditions of the selected wayside application A controller receives data from the detectors and is responsive to the data for operating the wayside equipment. A programmed processor associated with the controller includes a software program storage device for storing a plurality of separately selectable operating programs, each of the operating programs comprising application specific information for a selected wayside application and corresponding configuration of wayside equipment. A control display unit enables selection of one of the stored operating programs compatible with the selected wayside application and corresponding wayside equipment configuration for use by the controller.

Claims

1. A multi-use wayside railway control system for installation and use in operating wayside railway equipment in a railway wayside application selected from among a plurality of differing railway wayside applications usable in the control system comprising:

(A) detectors responsive to and generating data indicative of operating conditions of the selected wayside application, with the data being transmitted to a controller;

(B) the controller receiving data from the detectors and being responsive to the data for operating the wayside equipment;

(C) a software program responsive processor operatively associated with the controller;

(D) a software program storage device coupled to the processor and storing a plurality of separately selectable operating programs, each of the operating programs comprising application specific information for a selected wayside application and corresponding configuration of wayside equipment; and

(E) a control display unit connectible to the program storage device for displaying information indicative of and for enabling selection of one of the stored operating programs compatible with the selected wayside application and corresponding wayside equipment configuration.

2. The multi-use wayside railway control system of claim 1 wherein the control display unit is utilized at initial setup to select one of the stored operating programs and the controller thereafter uses the selected one of the operating programs for controlling the wayside equipment.

3. The multi-use wayside railway control system of claim 2 wherein the program storage device comprises an EPROM.

4. The multi-use wayside railway control system of claim 3 wherein the wayside equipment comprises crossing gates and warning signals at a railway crossing of a roadway.