Communications system and method for a rail vehicle
First Claim
1. A method for communicating data for a rail vehicle, the method comprising:
- determining a first location of the rail vehicle;
determining a first control setting of a communications device based on the determined first location of the rail vehicle, the communications device being located on the rail vehicle and configured for communications off board the rail vehicle;
automatically controlling the communications device based on the first control setting, wherein the first control setting comprises a designated first communication channel for use in communicating with rail vehicles in a particular geographic region;
automatically determining that the rail vehicle is traversing and/or has traversed from the first location where the first control setting is used for communicating with the rail vehicle, to a second location where a second control setting is used for communicating with the rail vehicle, wherein the second control setting comprises designated second communication channel for use in communicating with rail vehicles in a region comprising the second location; and
controlling the communications device by automatically switching the communications device from the first control setting to the second control setting.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A rail vehicle includes of one or more locomotives and may further include one or more rail cars, and the rail vehicle further includes a locator element, a communications device and a control module located on the rail vehicle. The locator elements provide a location information of the rail vehicle to a control module. The control module is coupled to the communications device and the locator element. The control module determines control settings for controlling the operations of the communications device based on the location of the rail vehicle. The communications device sends and/or receives data, including communications data, off-board the rail vehicle.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method for communicating data for a rail vehicle, the method comprising:
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determining a first location of the rail vehicle; determining a first control setting of a communications device based on the determined first location of the rail vehicle, the communications device being located on the rail vehicle and configured for communications off board the rail vehicle; automatically controlling the communications device based on the first control setting, wherein the first control setting comprises a designated first communication channel for use in communicating with rail vehicles in a particular geographic region; automatically determining that the rail vehicle is traversing and/or has traversed from the first location where the first control setting is used for communicating with the rail vehicle, to a second location where a second control setting is used for communicating with the rail vehicle, wherein the second control setting comprises designated second communication channel for use in communicating with rail vehicles in a region comprising the second location; and controlling the communications device by automatically switching the communications device from the first control setting to the second control setting. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 14)
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2. A method for communicating data for a rail vehicle, the method comprising:
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determining a first location of the rail vehicle; determining a new control setting of a communications device based on the determined first location of the rail vehicle, the communications device being located on the rail vehicle and configured for communications off board the rail vehicle; automatically providing the new control setting to the communications device, wherein the new control setting comprises a designated communication channel for use in communicating with rail vehicles in a first geographic region; informing a human operator of the new control setting; if the operator actuates a designated user interface, automatically switching the communications device from a current control setting of the communications device to the new control setting; and determining that the rail vehicle has transitioned from a second, previous location to the first location, wherein the current control setting is a designated communication channel for use in communicating with rail vehicles in a second geographic region that encompasses the second, previous location.
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7. A method for communicating data for a rail vehicle, the method comprising:
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determining a first location of the rail vehicle; determining a new control setting of a communications device based on the determined first location of the rail vehicle, the communications device being located on the rail vehicle and configured for communications off board the rail vehicle; automatically providing the new control setting to the communications device, wherein the new control setting comprises a designated communication channel for use in communicating with rail vehicles in a first geographic region; automatically switching the communications device from a current control setting of the communications device to the new control setting; and determining that the rail vehicle has transitioned from a second, previous location to the first location, wherein the current control setting is a designated communication channel for use in communicating with rail vehicles in a second geographic region that encompasses the second, previous location. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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8. A method for communicating data for a rail vehicle, the method comprising:
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determining a first location of the rail vehicle, wherein the first location is determined by comparing a first concurrent location information from a first locator element and a second concurrent location information from a second locator element; determining a first control setting of a communications device based on the determined first location of the rail vehicle, the communications device being located on the rail vehicle and configured for communications off board the rail vehicle; and automatically controlling the communications device based on the first control setting, wherein the first control setting comprises a designated first communication channel for use in communicating with rail vehicles in a particular geographic region; wherein determining the first control setting comprises; determining the first control setting based on the first concurrent location information; determining a second control setting based on the second concurrent location information; and determining that a conflict has occurred if the first control setting is not the same as the second control setting. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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Specification