Locomotive wireless video recorder and recording system

• US 8,913,131 B2
• Filed: 05/17/2011
• Issued: 12/16/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/04/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: GE Global Sourcing LLC (Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Chung, Wing Yeung, Ballesty, Daniel Malachi, Shaffer, Glenn Robert, Kisak, Jeffrey James
• Primary Examiner(s): Rao, Andy
• Application Number:
  US13/109,209
• Publication Number:
  US 20110216200A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,309 Days
• Field of Search: 348 82- 86, 348115-120, 348142-160
• US Class Current: 348/148
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 15/0027 Radio-based, e.g. using GSM-R
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 15/0081 On-board diagnosis or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 15/009 On-board display devices
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 2205/04 Satellite based navigation systems, e.g. global positioning system [GPS]
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 25/021 Measuring and recording of train speed
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 25/023 Determination of driving direction of vehicle or train
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 25/025 Absolute localisation, e.g. providing geodetic coordinates
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 25/026 Relative localisation, e.g. using odometer
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 27/53 for trackside elements or systems, e.g. trackside supervision of trackside control system conditions
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 27/57 for vehicles or trains, e.g. trackside supervision of train conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/183 for receiving images from a single remote source

Abstract

An imaging system for generating images taken from a rail vehicle, the system including a camera configured to generate video data associated with a rail vehicle, and a processor configured to control recording of video data according to at least one of a variable frame rate or a variable resolution based on operating conditions of the rail vehicle. A method and non-transitory computer readable medium with instructions are also included.

Claims

1. An imaging system comprising:

a camera configured to generate video data associated with a rail vehicle; and

one or more processors configured to control continuously recording of the video data according to at least one of a variable frame rate or a variable resolution that changes as operating conditions of the rail vehicle change, the one or more processors configured to increase the at least one of the variable frame rate or the variable resolution responsive to the operating conditions of the rail vehicle increasing and to decrease the at least one of the variable frame rate or the variable resolution responsive to the operating conditions of the rail vehicle decreasing.

2. The imaging system according to claim 1, further comprising a data storage device configured to store the video data for later retrieval.

3. The imaging system according to claim 1, wherein the operating conditions of the rail vehicle comprise one or more of a time of day that the video data is generated or recorded, or environmental conditions experienced by the rail vehicle.

4. The imaging system according to claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to control recording of the video data by increasing at least one of the variable frame rate or the variable resolution of the video data responsive to a speed of the rail vehicle increasing, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to control recording of the video data by decreasing at least one of the variable frame rate or the variable resolution of the video data responsive to the speed of the rail vehicle decreasing.

5. The imaging system according to claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to control recording of the video data by increasing at least one of the variable frame rate or the variable resolution responsive to the rail vehicle approaching a crossing, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to control recording of the video data by decreasing at least one of the variable frame rate or the variable resolution if responsive to the rail vehicle not approaching the crossing.

13. The imaging system of claim 3, wherein the environmental conditions include one or more of weather conditions, topology of the track being traversed by the rail vehicle, or elevation of the rail vehicle.

14. The imaging system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to direct communication of the video data to an off-board location based on the operating conditions.

15. The imaging system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to direct communication of the video data to an off-board location responsive to the rail vehicle at least one of approaching or reaching a designated location other than the off-board location.

16. The imaging system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to include landmark tags in the video data at geographic locations of the rail vehicle that correlate to the video data generated at the geographic locations, the landmark tags indicative of landmarks along a track being traversed by the rail vehicle.

6. Non-transitory computer readable medium with instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to control continuously recording of video data associated with a rail vehicle at one of a variable frame rate or a variable resolution that changes as operating conditions of the rail vehicle change, the instructions also causing the one or more processors to increase the at least one of the variable frame rate or the variable resolution responsive to the operating conditions of the rail vehicle increasing, the instructions also causing the one or more processors to decrease the at least one of the variable frame rate or the variable resolution responsive to the operating conditions of the rail vehicle decreasing.

7. The non-transitory computer readable medium with instructions according to claim 6, wherein the instructions cause the one or more processors to control storing the video data for later retrieval.

8. The non-transitory computer readable medium with instructions according to claim 6, wherein the instructions cause the one or more processors to control a camera associated with the rail vehicle to generate the video data.

9. A method comprising:

generating video data associated with a rail vehicle with a camera attached to the rail vehicle; and

controlling recording of the video data according to at least one of a variable frame rate or a variable resolution based on operating conditions of the rail vehicle, while the video data is being continuously generated, such that the at least one of the variable frame rate or the variable resolution increases responsive to the operating conditions of the rail vehicle increasing and such that the at least one of the variable frame rate or the variable resolution decreases responsive to the operating conditions of the rail vehicle decreasing, wherein the recording is controlled by one or more processors.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising storing the video data for later retrieval.

11. The method according to claim 9, comprising:

increasing the at least one of the variable frame rate or the variable resolution of the video data responsive to a speed of the rail vehicle increasing; and

decreasing the at least one of the variable frame rate or the variable resolution of the video data responsive to the speed of the rail vehicle decreasing.

12. The method according to claim 9, comprising:

increasing the at least one of the variable frame rate or the variable resolution of the video data responsive to the rail vehicle approaching a crossing; and

decreasing the at least one of the variable frame rate or the variable resolution of the video data responsive to the rail vehicle not approaching the crossing.

17. The method of claim 9, wherein the operating conditions of the rail vehicle comprise one or more of a time of day that the video data is generated or recorded, or environmental conditions of the rail vehicle, the environmental conditions including one or more of weather conditions, topology of the track being traversed by the rail vehicle, or elevation of the rail vehicle.

18. The method of claim 9, further comprising communicating the video data to an off-board location based on the operating conditions.

19. The method of claim 9, further comprising communicating the video data to an off-board location responsive to the rail vehicle at least one of approaching or reaching a designated location other than the off-board location.

20. The method of claim 9, further comprising inserting landmark tags in the video data at geographic locations of the rail vehicle that correlate to the video data generated at the geographic locations, the landmark tags indicative of landmarks along a track being traversed by the rail vehicle.