System and method for monitoring braking effort
First Claim
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1. A method comprising:
- monitoring fluid pressures of a braking system with one or more pressure sensors and modeled braking efforts of the braking system in a vehicle system traveling along a route, the modeled braking efforts representing one or more calculated values of a braking force expected to be provided by the braking system based on one or more measured parameters of the vehicle system, wherein the modeled braking efforts may be different from a braking force that is generated by the braking system;
identifying, with one or more processors, one or more time periods before a brake event of the braking system and one or more time periods after the brake event;
calculating, with the one or more processors, residual forces exerted on the vehicle system during at least one of the one or more time periods before the brake event or the one or more time periods after the brake event, the residual forces including one or more forces exerted on the vehicle system other than the braking force generated by the braking system;
determining, with the one or more processors, at least one of an estimated braking effort of the braking system or an estimated propagation rate at which the estimated braking effort changes using the residual forces that are calculated; and
responsive to determining the at least one of the estimated braking effort or the estimated propagation rate, one or more of;
changing a time at which a braking notification is provided to an operator of the vehicle system to instruct the operator to engage the braking system,revising a trip plan of the vehicle system using the at least one of the estimated braking effort or the estimated propagation rate, wherein the trip plan designates operational settings of the vehicle system as a function of one or more of time or distance along the route,notifying the operator of the vehicle system that the at least one of the estimated braking effort or the estimated propagation rate differs from at least one of the braking force that is expected to be provided by the braking system or a propagation rate that is expected to be provided by the braking system, ornotifying an off-board location that the at least one of the estimated braking effort or the estimated propagation rate differs from the at least one of the braking force that is expected to be provided by the braking system or the propagation rate that is expected to be provided by the braking system.
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Abstract
A method (e.g., for monitoring a braking system of a vehicle system) includes monitoring fluid pressures of a braking system and modeled braking efforts of the braking system in a vehicle system traveling along a route, identifying one or more time periods at least one of before a brake event of the braking system or after the brake event, calculating residual forces exerted on the vehicle system during the one or more time periods, and determining at least one of an estimated braking effort of the braking system or an estimated propagation rate at which the estimated braking effort is applied by the braking system using the residual forces that are calculated.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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monitoring fluid pressures of a braking system with one or more pressure sensors and modeled braking efforts of the braking system in a vehicle system traveling along a route, the modeled braking efforts representing one or more calculated values of a braking force expected to be provided by the braking system based on one or more measured parameters of the vehicle system, wherein the modeled braking efforts may be different from a braking force that is generated by the braking system; identifying, with one or more processors, one or more time periods before a brake event of the braking system and one or more time periods after the brake event; calculating, with the one or more processors, residual forces exerted on the vehicle system during at least one of the one or more time periods before the brake event or the one or more time periods after the brake event, the residual forces including one or more forces exerted on the vehicle system other than the braking force generated by the braking system; determining, with the one or more processors, at least one of an estimated braking effort of the braking system or an estimated propagation rate at which the estimated braking effort changes using the residual forces that are calculated; and responsive to determining the at least one of the estimated braking effort or the estimated propagation rate, one or more of; changing a time at which a braking notification is provided to an operator of the vehicle system to instruct the operator to engage the braking system, revising a trip plan of the vehicle system using the at least one of the estimated braking effort or the estimated propagation rate, wherein the trip plan designates operational settings of the vehicle system as a function of one or more of time or distance along the route, notifying the operator of the vehicle system that the at least one of the estimated braking effort or the estimated propagation rate differs from at least one of the braking force that is expected to be provided by the braking system or a propagation rate that is expected to be provided by the braking system, or notifying an off-board location that the at least one of the estimated braking effort or the estimated propagation rate differs from the at least one of the braking force that is expected to be provided by the braking system or the propagation rate that is expected to be provided by the braking system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A control system comprising:
a vehicle controller configured to monitor fluid pressures of a braking system and modeled braking efforts of the braking system in a vehicle system traveling along a route, the modeled braking efforts representing one or more calculated values of a braking force expected to be provided by the braking system based on one or more measured parameters of the vehicle system, wherein the modeled braking efforts may be different from a braking force that is generated by the braking system, the vehicle controller also configured to identify one or more time periods before a brake event of the braking system and one or more time periods after the brake event, the vehicle controller further configured to calculate residual forces exerted on the vehicle system during the one or more time periods before the brake event and during the one or more time periods after the brake event and determine at least one of an estimated braking effort of the braking system or an estimated propagation rate at which the estimated braking effort changes using the residual forces that are calculated, the residual forces including one or more forces exerted on the vehicle system other than the braking force generated by the braking system. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method comprising:
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measuring, with one or more pressure sensors air pressures of an air braking system of a vehicle system before and after a brake event representing activation of the air braking system; modeling, with one or more processors, braking efforts provided by the air braking system before and after the brake event, the braking efforts that are modeled representing one or more calculated values of a braking force expected to be provided by the air braking system based on one or more measured parameters of the vehicle system, wherein the modeled braking efforts may be different from a braking force that is generated by the air braking system; identifying, with the one or more processors, a pre-brake event time period and a post-brake event time period when both the air pressures do not vary by more than a first threshold amount and the braking efforts that are modeled do not vary by more than a second threshold amount; calculating, with the one or more processors, pre-brake event residual forces exerted on the vehicle system during the pre-brake event time period and post-brake event residual forces exerted on the vehicle system during the post-brake event time period, the pre-brake event residual forces and the post-brake event residual forces including one or more forces exerted on the vehicle system other than the braking force generated by the braking system; estimating, with the one or more processors, at least one of an actual braking effort of the air braking system or a propagation rate at which the actual braking effort is applied by the air braking system using one or more of the pre-brake event residual forces or the post-brake event residual forces that are calculated; and responsive to estimating the at least one of the actual braking effort or the propagation rate, one or more of; changing a time at which a braking notification is provided to an operator of the vehicle system to instruct the operator to apply engage the air braking system, the estimated braking effort being less than an assumed braking effort or the estimated propagation rate being slower than an assumed braking rate. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A control system comprising:
a vehicle controller configured to monitor fluid pressures of a braking system and modeled braking efforts of the braking system in a vehicle system traveling along a route, the modeled braking efforts representing one or more calculated values of a braking force expected to be provided by the braking system based on one or more measured parameters of the vehicle system, wherein the modeled braking efforts may be different from a braking force that is generated by the braking system, the vehicle controller also configured to identify one or more time periods that are one or more of before or after a brake event of the braking system, the vehicle controller further configured to calculate residual forces exerted on the vehicle system during the one or more time periods and determine at least one of an estimated braking effort of the braking system or an estimated propagation rate at which the estimated braking effort is applied by the braking system changes using the residual forces revising a trip plan of the vehicle system using the at least one of the actual braking effort or the propagation rate that is estimated, wherein the trip plan designates operational settings of the vehicle system as a function of one or more of time or distance along the route, notifying the operator of the vehicle system that the at least one of the actual braking effort or the propagation rate that is estimated differs from at least one of the braking force that is expected to be provided by the air braking system or a propagation rate that is expected to be provided by the air braking system, or notifying an off-board location that the at least one of the actual braking effort or the propagation rate that is estimated differs from the at least one of the braking force that expected to be provided by the braking system or the propagation rate that is expected to be provided by the braking system.
Specification