Speed profile generation apparatus and driver assistance system

• US 9,457,820 B2
• Filed: 10/14/2014
• Issued: 10/04/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Kimura, Sae, Takahashi, Satoru, Ueda, Kenji
• Primary Examiner(s): Trivedi, Atul
• Application Number:
  US14/513,850
• Publication Number:
  US 20150120101A1
• Time in Patent Office: 721 Days
• Field of Search: 701/20
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 15/0062 On-board target speed calculation or supervision
• 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 27/16 Trackside optimisation of vehicle or train operation

Abstract

A speed profile generation apparatus includes: an input unit that receives train performance, route information, information regarding a landmark, a starting position and ending position of generating a speed profile, and a starting time and target ending time of the speed profile; and a speed profile generator that generates the speed profile based on the information inputted to the input unit, the speed profile switching a traveling mode of a train by taking a position of the landmark as a reference.

Claims

1. A speed profile generation apparatus comprising:

an input interface that receives train performance, route information, information regarding a landmark including position information, a starting position and an ending position for generating a speed profile, and a starting time and a target ending time of said speed profile; and

a speed profile generator that generates said speed profile based on the information received by said input interface, the speed profile switching between traveling modes of a train by taking in consideration

     1) a position of said landmark as a reference for implementing said speed profile switching and

     2) a target traveling time schedule between the starting position and the ending position.

2. The speed profile generation apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein said speed profile generator includes:

a drive operation plan generator that generates a plurality of drive operation plans including a drive operation plan taking the position of said landmark as a reference, and a drive operation plan switching a traveling mode to a brake pattern in which an ending position is defined as a starting point of the pattern at a point of time when a traveling position of the train applies to said brake pattern;

a simulator that generates a speed profile plan based on the train performance, the route information and said drive operation plans;

a speed profile evaluator that evaluates whether or not said speed profile plan satisfies generation conditions of the starting position and the ending position, and the starting time and the target ending time; and

an output interface that outputs, as a speed profile, said speed profile plan being evaluated to satisfy the generation conditions by said speed profile evaluator.

3. The speed profile generation apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein, in a case where said speed profile plan that satisfies the generation conditions is not present in said speed profile evaluator, said speed profile generators generates a drive operation plan in which a position for changing a drive operation is corrected and said speed profile evaluator re-evaluates the connected operation plan.

4. The speed profile generation apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein said speed profile plan includes a plurality of speed profile plans which are evaluated to satisfy the generation conditions by said speed profile evaluator, and

said speed profile generator evaluates said plurality of speed profile plans, by an objective function that is based on a predetermined evaluation index, and defines a speed profile plan having a smallest value of the objective function as the speed profile.

5. The speed profile generation apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein said predetermined evaluation index includes at least one of an amount of power consumption and a ride.

6. The speed profile generation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein whether or not the information regarding said landmark is used differs depending on time period information.

7. The speed profile generation apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein a skip traveling mode is further inputted to said input interface, and

said speed profile generator generates a speed profile allowing the train to travel in accordance with said skip traveling mode, from the starting position of the speed profile to a landmark apart from the starting position by a predetermined distance or more.

8. A driver assistance system comprising:

a database including train performance, route information, information regarding a landmark including position information and timetable information;

the speed profile generation apparatus according to claim 1, said input interface of said speed profile generation apparatus receiving the information of said database; and

a drive operation instruction generator that generates a drive operation instruction based on a speed profile generated by said speed profile generator.

9. The driver assistance system according to claim 8,

wherein a current position of a train is defined as the starting position of speed profile generation, a current speed of said train is defined as a starting speed of the speed profile, and the current position and the current speed are inputted to said input interface.