Systems and methods for predictive maintenance of crossings
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- monitoring an electrical characteristic of a first route when an electric current is injected into the first route, the first route having a crossing intersection with a second route and a crossing signal at the crossing intersection, the electrical characteristic monitored to detect when a vehicle is approaching the crossing intersection on the first route and to determine when to activate the crossing signal at the crossing intersection;
identifying one or more changes in the electrical characteristic of the first route; and
based on the one or more changes that are identified, predicting a failure mode of the first route that interferes with detection of the vehicle approaching the crossing intersection,wherein the failure mode of the first route that is predicted includes a foreign object shunt conductively coupling the conductive rails of the first route, and wherein the foreign object shunt is predicted as the failure mode responsive to a relationship between the electrical characteristic of the first route and the different locations of the moving shunt created by the vehicle along the first route having a linear portion joined to a non-linear and curved portion of the relationship.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for predicting failure of a crossing warning system is disclosed. The method includes monitoring an electrical characteristic of a first route when an electric current is injected into the first route. The first route has a crossing intersection with a second route and a crossing signal at the crossing intersection. The electrical characteristic is monitored to detect when a vehicle is approaching the crossing intersection on the first route and to determine when to activate the crossing signal at the crossing intersection. The method also includes identifying one or more changes in the electrical characteristic of the first route, and, based on the one or more changes that are identified, predicting a failure mode of the first route that interferes with detection of the vehicle approaching the crossing intersection.
65 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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monitoring an electrical characteristic of a first route when an electric current is injected into the first route, the first route having a crossing intersection with a second route and a crossing signal at the crossing intersection, the electrical characteristic monitored to detect when a vehicle is approaching the crossing intersection on the first route and to determine when to activate the crossing signal at the crossing intersection; identifying one or more changes in the electrical characteristic of the first route; and based on the one or more changes that are identified, predicting a failure mode of the first route that interferes with detection of the vehicle approaching the crossing intersection, wherein the failure mode of the first route that is predicted includes a foreign object shunt conductively coupling the conductive rails of the first route, and wherein the foreign object shunt is predicted as the failure mode responsive to a relationship between the electrical characteristic of the first route and the different locations of the moving shunt created by the vehicle along the first route having a linear portion joined to a non-linear and curved portion of the relationship. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A crossing warning system comprising:
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a crossing controller operably coupled to a crossing signal located at a crossing intersection of a first route and a second route, the crossing controller comprising; a detection module configured to inject an electric current into the first route and monitor an electrical characteristic of the electric current in the first route to determine when a vehicle is approaching the crossing intersection on the first route and to determine when to activate the crossing signal; and a failure prediction module configured to identify one or more changes in the electrical characteristic of the first route and predict a failure mode of the first route that interferes with detection of the vehicle approaching the crossing intersection based on the one or more changes identified in the electrical characteristic, wherein the failure mode predicted by the failure prediction module includes a foreign object shunt conductively coupling the conductive rails of the first route, and wherein the foreign object shunt is predicted as the failure mode by the failure prediction module responsive to a relationship between the electrical characteristic of the first route and the different locations of the moving shunt created by the vehicle along the first route having a linear portion joined to a non-linear and curved portion of the relationship. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification