Data communication system and method

• US 8,935,022 B2
• Filed: 01/14/2014
• Issued: 01/13/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GE Global Sourcing LLC (Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Cooper, Jared Klineman, Goodermuth, Todd William, Smith, Eugene A.
• Primary Examiner(s): FREJD, RUSSELL WARREN
• Application Number:
  US14/154,373
• Publication Number:
  US 20140129061A1
• Time in Patent Office: 364 Days
• Field of Search: 701/1, 701/19, 375/219, 375/220, 375/258, 370/392, 370/401, 370/466, 370/467, 370/469, 180/14.1, 180/14.4, 105/26.05, 104/88.01, 104/88.04, 104/307, 246/167.R
• US Class Current: 701/19
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 13/665 the systems being specially adapted for transferring two or more command signals, e.g. railway systems B60T13/662 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 17/228 for railway vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B61C 17/12 Control gear; Arrangements for controlling locomotives from remote points in the train or when operating in multiple units control from points outside the train B61L3/00; fluid-actuated telemotors, servomotors F15B; control devices in general G05
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 15/0027 Radio-based, e.g. using GSM-R
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 15/0036 Conductor-based, e.g. using CAN-Bus, train-line or optical fibres
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 15/0072 On-board train data handling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/40169 Flexible bus arrangements arrangements for maintenance or administration involving management of faults; events, alarms H04L41/06; automatic restoration of network faults H04L41/0654
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4633 Interconnection of networks using encapsulation techniques, e.g. tunneling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/40293 the transportation system being a train
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0663 Performing the actions predefined by failover planning, e.g. switching to standby network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/58 Association of routers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/60 Router architectures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/741 Routing in networks with a plurality of addressing schemes, e.g. with both IPv4 and IPv6
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5038 for local use, e.g. in LAN or USB networks, or in a controller area network [CAN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/00 Network architectures or network communication protocols for network security cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for secret or secure communication H04L9/00; network architectures or network communication protocols for wireless network security H04W12/00; security arrangements for protecting computers or computer systems against unauthorised activity G06F21/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/04 Scheduled access hybrid access H04W74/02
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 30/00 Transportation of goods or passengers via railways, e.g. energy recovery or reducing air resistance

Abstract

A communication system for a vehicle consist may include a control module that interfaces with router transceiver units coupled to a cable bus, and can communicate network data between vehicles having a transceiver unit over a cable bus.

Claims

1. A router transceiver unit, comprising:

a network adapter module configured for electrical connection to a network interface unit, wherein the network adapter module is configured to receive high bandwidth network data from the network interface unit; and

a signal modulator module electrically connected to the network adapter module and comprising a physical layer and a data link layer, the signal modulator module comprising an electrical output and internal circuitry, wherein the electrical output is configured for electrical connection to a trainline, and wherein the internal circuitry is configured to receive the high bandwidth network data from the network adapter module, to convert the high bandwidth network data into modulated network data in a form suitable for transmission over the trainline, and to transmit the modulated network data, comprising the high bandwidth network data, over the trainline;

the data link layer comprises an application protocol convergence layer, a logical link control layer, and a medium access control layer, wherein the application protocol convergence layer is configured to accept network frames of the high bandwidth network data from the network adapter module and to encapsulate the network frames into medium access control service data units, the logical link control layer is configured to receive the medium access control service data units from the application protocol convergence layer for at least one of encryption, aggregation, segmentation, or automatic repeat-request, and the medium access control layer is configured to schedule channel access; and

the physical layer comprises a physical coding layer, a physical medium attachment layer, and a physical medium dependent layer, wherein the physical coding layer is configured to generate physical layer headers, the physical medium attachment layer is configured for scrambling and forward error correction coding, and the physical medium dependent layer is configured for interfacing with the trainline and for the conversion of the high bandwidth network data into the modulated network data.

2. The router transceiver unit of claim 1, wherein the signal modulator module comprises a digital subscriber line access multiplexer (DSLAM).

3. The router transceiver unit of claim 1, wherein the physical medium dependent layer is configured for the conversion of the high bandwidth network data into the modulated network data using orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) modulation.

4. The router transceiver unit of claim 1, wherein the signal modulator module is configured to transmit the modulated network data as internet protocol (IP) formatted data having one or more data packets with one or more network addresses.

5. The router transceiver unit of claim 1, wherein the signal modulator module is configured to filter high frequency interference from the high bandwidth network data.

6. The router transceiver unit of claim 1, wherein the signal modulator is configured to transmit the modulated network data as a video data stream.