System and method for communicating data in a vehicle system

• US 9,580,091 B2
• Filed: 04/06/2015
• Issued: 02/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GE Global Sourcing LLC (Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Kraeling, Mark Bradshaw, Daum, Wolfgang, Staton, Brian Lee, Goodermuth, Todd William
• Primary Examiner(s): Olszewski, John R
• Assistant Examiner(s): MERLINO, DAVID P
• Application Number:
  US14/679,462
• Publication Number:
  US 20150210302A1
• Time in Patent Office: 694 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 15/0058 On-board optimisation of vehicle or vehicle train operation
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/22 Platooning, i.e. convoy of communicating vehicles

Abstract

A system includes a first communication module and a second communication module. The first communication module is configured to be disposed onboard a first vehicle of a vehicle consist, and the second communication module is configured to be disposed onboard a second vehicle of the vehicle consist. The first and second communication modules are communicatively coupled by first and second communication paths. The first and second communication modules are configured to communicate first information over the first communication path and second information over the second communication path. At least a portion of the first information includes a first command corresponding to a first operation of at least one of the first or second vehicles. At least a portion of the second information includes a second command corresponding to the first operation.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a first communication module comprising a first at least one processor and a first memory, the first communication module disposed onboard a first vehicle of a vehicle consist;

a second communication module comprising a second at least one processor and a second memory, the second communication module disposed onboard a second vehicle of the vehicle consist;

the first and second communication modules communicatively coupled by first and second communication paths;

the first and second communication modules configured to communicate first information over the first communication path and second information over the second communication path, wherein at least a portion of the first information comprises first command information corresponding to a first operation of at least one of the first or second vehicles, and at least a portion of the second information comprises second command information corresponding to the first operation of the at least one of the first or second vehicles, wherein the first command information comprises identical commands transmitted to plural vehicles of the consist and the second command information comprises a tailored command corresponding to the first operation of the at least one of the first or second vehicles, wherein the first command information does not include identifying information for which vehicle the first command information is intended, and wherein the tailored command is different than the identical commands; and

a control module comprising a third at least one processor, the control module disposed onboard the at least one of the first or second vehicles and configured to control the at least one of the first or second vehicles to perform the first operation pursuant to at least one of the first command information or the second command information.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first communication path comprises a multiple unit (MU) line, and the first and second communication modules are configured to communicate the first information using industry standard MU signals over the first communication path.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the first and second communication modules are configured to communicate the second information using modulated signals overlayed on the MU line.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the first command information comprises command information at a first fidelity, and the second command information comprises command information at a second fidelity, and wherein the second fidelity is higher than the first fidelity.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the first and second communication modules are configured to communicate timing information identifying a timing corresponding to the second information communicated over the second communication path.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein at least one of the first or second communication modules is configured to disregard the second information based on an elapsed time corresponding to the timing information exceeding a threshold.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein at least one of the first or second communication modules is configured to disregard the first information and use the second information to perform a vehicle control operation when an elapsed time corresponding to the timing information does not exceed a threshold.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the second information includes error checking information configured to allow the integrity of a message including the second information to be checked.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the first vehicle is configured as a lead powered vehicle of the consist, and the second vehicle is configured as a remote powered vehicle of the consist.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the second information includes status information describing a status of the second vehicle communicated from the second communication module to the first communication module.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the second information includes information identifying the second vehicle as at least one of an intended recipient or a source of the second information.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the second information includes command information for use by the second vehicle but not for use by any other vehicles.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the control module is configured to adjust one or more commands to be communicated over the first or second communication paths based on information received over the second communication path.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the control module is configured to be disposed onboard the second vehicle, the control module configured to select a selected command from between the first command information received via the first communication path and the second command information received via the second communication path, wherein the control module is configured to select the second command information when the second command information is able to be implemented and to select the first command information when the second command information is not able to be implemented, the control module configured to control the second vehicle using the selected command information.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the control module is configured to select the selected command information based on a timing of the second information.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the control module is configured to select a less restrictive command of the first or second command information as the selected command information if the timing of the second information satisfies a threshold.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the first communication module is configured as a lead communication module configured to be disposed onboard a lead powered vehicle of the vehicle consist, the system further comprising:

plural remote communication modules configured to be disposed onboard corresponding plural remote powered vehicles of the vehicle consist, wherein the second communication module is configured as one of the plural remote communication modules;

wherein the lead and plural remote communication modules are communicatively coupled by the first communication path and the second communication path; and

wherein the lead and remote communication modules are configured to communicate the first information over the first communication path and the second information over the second communication path, wherein the first command information corresponds to a given operation of at least one of the remote powered vehicles, and the second command information corresponds to the given operation of the at least one of the remote powered vehicles.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the plural remote communication modules include at least one alternate path communication module and at least one legacy communication module, the at least one alternate path communication module configured to extract the second information from a message sent via the second communication path, the at least one legacy communication module not configured to extract the second information from the message sent via the second communication path, wherein a legacy vehicle on which the at least one legacy communication module is disposed may be controlled using the first information but not the second information.

19. A system comprising a first communication module and a control module, the first communication module disposed onboard a first vehicle of a vehicle consist, the first communication module comprising a first at least one processor and a first memory, the control module comprising a second at least one processor and a second memory, wherein the first communication module is configured to be communicatively coupled by first and second communication paths to a second communication module configured to be disposed onboard a second vehicle, wherein the first communication module is configured to communicate, with the second communication module, first information over the first communication path and second information over the second communication path, wherein at least a portion of the first information comprises first command information corresponding to a first operation of at least one of the first or second vehicles, and at least a portion of the second information comprises second command information corresponding to the first operation of the at least one of the first or second vehicles, wherein the first command information comprises identical commands transmitted to plural vehicles of the consist and the second command information comprises a tailored command corresponding to the first operation of the at least one of the first or second vehicles, wherein the first command information does not include identifying information for which vehicle the first command information is intended, and wherein the tailored command is different than the identical commands, the control module disposed onboard the at least one of the first or second vehicles and configured to control the at least one of the first or second vehicles to perform the first operation pursuant to at least one of the first command information or the second command information.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the control module is configured to be disposed onboard the first vehicle and is configured to adjust one or more commands to be communicated over the first or second communication paths based on information received over the second communication path.

21. A method for controlling operations of a vehicle consist, the method comprising:

communicating first information comprising a first command corresponding to a first operation via a first communication path to plural communication modules of plural respective remote powered vehicles, the first command comprising identical commands transmitted to the plural communication modules of the plural respect remote powered vehicles, wherein the first command is communicated from a lead communication module of a lead powered vehicle of the consist to the plural remote communication modules, wherein the first command does not include identifying information for which vehicle the first command information is intended;

communicating second information comprising a second command corresponding to the first operation via a second communication path that communicatively couples the lead powered vehicle and the remote powered vehicles, wherein the second command is communicated from the lead communication module of the lead powered vehicle of the consist to at least one of the remote communication modules, the second command tailored for a particular one of the remote powered vehicles, wherein the second command is different than the identical commands; and

controlling at least one of the plural remote powered vehicles to perform the first operation pursuant to at least one of the first command or the second command.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

determining, at a control module disposed on board the lead vehicle of the consist, the first information; and

determining, at the control module disposed on board the lead vehicle of the consist, the second information.

23. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

communicating status information from at least one of the remote powered vehicles via the second communication path.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the status information comprises confirmation information confirming that the at least one of the remote powered vehicles has received the second command.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the status information comprises identification information describing the particular one of the remote powered vehicles to which the status information corresponds.

26. The method of claim 21, wherein the second information includes timing information corresponding to a timing of the second command.

27. The method of claim 21, further comprising selecting a selected command from the first command and the second command based upon an elapsed time corresponding to the second information.

28. The method of claim 21, wherein at least one of the remote powered vehicles performs the first operation pursuant to the first command, and the particular one of the remote powered vehicles performs the first operation pursuant to the second command.

29. The method of claim 21, wherein the second information includes identification information identifying the particular one of the remote powered vehicles for which the second command has been configured.