Remote control system for a locomotive
First Claim
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1. A remote control system in connection with a locomotive including a main tank with compressed air under pressure, a pneumatic brake line in which compressed air flows, and a member applying tractive power, said remote control system comprising:
- a) a transmitter for generating an RF signal; and
b) a slave controller mounted on-board the locomotive, said slave controller having a first sensor responsive to the pressure of the compressed air in the main tank of the locomotive and a second sensor responsive to the flow of compressed air in the pneumatic brake line, said slave controller being responsive to outputs of said sensors to enable application of tractive power to the locomotive only when the pressure in the main tank is above a predetermined level and the flow of air in the pneumatic brake line is below a predetermined level.
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Abstract
A locomotive control system comprising a remote transmitter issuing RF binary-coded commands and a slave controller mounted on the locomotive that decodes the transmission and operates in dependence thereof various actuators to carry into effect the commands of the ground based operator.
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Citations
60 Claims
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1. A remote control system in connection with a locomotive including a main tank with compressed air under pressure, a pneumatic brake line in which compressed air flows, and a member applying tractive power, said remote control system comprising:
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a) a transmitter for generating an RF signal; and
b) a slave controller mounted on-board the locomotive, said slave controller having a first sensor responsive to the pressure of the compressed air in the main tank of the locomotive and a second sensor responsive to the flow of compressed air in the pneumatic brake line, said slave controller being responsive to outputs of said sensors to enable application of tractive power to the locomotive only when the pressure in the main tank is above a predetermined level and the flow of air in the pneumatic brake line is below a predetermined level. - View Dependent Claims (56, 57, 58)
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2. A remote speed control system in connection with a locomotive that includes a main tank with compressed air, a pneumatic brake line in which compressed air flows, a throttle having a plurality of settings allowing tractive power regulation, and a brake system having a plurality of settings allowing braking power regulation, said speed control system comprising:
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a transmitter generating an RF signal indicative of a desired speed of travel of the locomotive; and
a slave controller mounted on-board the locomotive, said slave controller having;
a) receiver means for sensing said RF signal and providing data relative to the desired speed of travel of the locomotive, b) a first sensor responsive to the pressure of the compressed air in the main tank of the locomotive, c) a second sensor responsive to the flow of compressed air in the pneumatic brake line of the locomotive, and d) processor means for receiving said data relative to the desired speed of travel of the locomotive from said receiver means, said processor means responsive to said first sensor means, to said second sensor means, and to said data relative to the desired speed of travel for generating a throttle setting signal causing the throttle of the locomotive to acquire a selected setting only when the pressure of the compressed air in the main tank is above a predetermined level and the flow of compressed air in the pneumatic brake line is below a predetermined level. - View Dependent Claims (59, 60)
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3. A remote speed control system in connection with a locomotive that includes a throttle having a plurality of settings allowing tractive power regulation and a brake system having a plurality of settings allowing braking power regulation, said speed control system comprising:
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a transmitter generating an RF signal indicative of a desired speed of travel of the locomotive; and
a slave controller mounted on-board the locomotive, said slave controller having;
a) receiver means for sensing said RF signal and providing data relative to the desired speed of travel of the locomotive, b) velocity sensor means for generating data representative of an actual speed of travel of the locomotive, and c) processor means for receiving data relative to the desired speed of travel of the locomotive from said receiver means and generating a throttle setting signal causing the throttle of the locomotive to acquire a selected setting and a brake setting signal causing the brake system of the locomotive to acquire a selected setting, said processor means being responsive to said velocity sensor means and to said data relative to the desired speed of travel and generating one of said throttle setting signal and said brake setting signal correlated to a difference between the desired speed of travel and the actual speed of travel of the locomotive to change the actual speed of travel of the locomotive and diminish that difference. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A remote coast control system in connection with a locomotive that includes a throttle having a plurality of settings allowing tractive power regulation and a brake system having a plurality of settings allowing braking power regulation, said coast control system comprising:
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a transmitter generating an RF signal providing a coast command to the locomotive;
a slave controller mounted on-board the locomotive, said slave controller having;
a) receiver means for sensing said RF signal and providing said coast command, b) means for generating data representative of a velocity variation of the locomotive with relation to time, and c) processor means receiving said coast command from said receiver means and generating in response to said data representative of a velocity variation of the locomotive with relation to time one of (i) a brake setting signal causing the brake system of the locomotive to increase braking power when said velocity variation denotes a positive acceleration, and (ii) a brake setting signal causing the brake system of the locomotive to decrease braking power when said velocity variation denotes a negative acceleration, said processor means controlling the velocity of the locomotive without effecting any application of tractive power. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11)
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12. A remote control system in connection with locomotive that includes a throttle allowing tractive power regulation and a brake system allowing braking power regulation, said remote control system comprising:
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a transmitter generating an RF signal providing a drive command that signals the locomotive to move in a first direction of travel;
a slave controller mounted on-board the locomotive, said slave controller having;
a) receiver means for sensing said RF signal and providing data indicative of said drive command, b) sensor means for generating data representative of a direction of travel of the locomotive, and c) processor means receiving said data indicative of said drive command from said receiver means and generating a throttle signal causing application of tractive power to the locomotive, said processor means also receiving said data representative of a direction of travel of the locomotive from said sensor means and generating a brake signal causing application of the brakes when the locomotive moves in a direction other than said first direction of travel. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
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15. A remote drive control system in connection with a locomotive with rollback protection, the locomotive including a throttle allowing tractive power regulation and a brake system allowing braking power regulation, said remote drive control system comprising:
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a transmitter generating an RF signal providing a drive command that signals the locomotive to start moving in a first direction of travel;
a slave controller mounted on-board the locomotive, said slave controller comprising;
a) receiver means for sensing said RF signal and providing data indicative of said drive command, b) sensor means generating data representative of an actual direction of travel of the locomotive, and c) processor means receiving said data indicative of said drive command from said receiver means and issuing a throttle signal causing application of tractive power to the locomotive, said processor means also receiving said data representative of an actual direction of travel of the locomotive from said sensor means and generating a brake signal causing application of the brakes when the locomotive moves in a direction other than said first direction of travel and a predetermined period of time has elapsed from the application of tractive power to the locomotive. - View Dependent Claims (16)
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17. A remote speed control system in connection with a locomotive that includes a throttle having a plurality of settings allowing tractive power regulation and a brake system having a plurality of settings allowing braking power regulation, said speed control system comprising:
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a transmitter generating an RF signal indicative of a desired speed of travel of the locomotive; and
a slave controller mounted on-board the locomotive, said slave controller having;
a) receiver means for sensing said RF signal and providing data relative to the desired speed of travel of the locomotive, b) velocity sensor means for generating data representative of an actual speed of travel of the locomotive, c) a first sensor responsive to pressure of compressed air in a main tank of the locomotive, d) a second sensor responsive to a flow of compressed air in a pneumatic brake line of the locomotive, and e) processor means for receiving data relative to the desired speed of travel of the locomotive from said receiver means and generating a throttle setting signal causing the throttle of the locomotive to acquire a selected setting and a brake setting signal causing the brake system of the locomotive to acquire a selected setting, said processor means being responsive to said velocity sensor means and to said data relative to the desired speed of travel and generating one of said throttle setting signal and said brake setting signal correlated to a difference between the desired speed of travel and the actual speed of travel of the locomotive to change the actual speed of travel of the locomotive and diminish that difference; and
wherein said slave controller is responsive to outputs of said first and second sensors to enable application of tractive power to the locomotive only when the pressure in the main tank is above a predetermined level and the flow of air in the pneumatic brake line is below a predetermined level. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55)
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30. A remote speed control system in connection with a locomotive that includes a throttle having a plurality of settings allowing tractive power regulation and a brake system having a plurality of settings allowing braking power regulation, said speed control system comprising:
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a portable transmitter generating an RF signal indicative of a desired speed of travel of the locomotive; and
a slave controller mounted on-board the locomotive, said slave controller having;
a) receiver means for sensing said RF signal and providing data relative to the desired speed of travel of the locomotive, b) velocity sensor means for generating data representative of an actual speed of travel of the locomotive and an airflow sensor responsive to a flow of compressed air in a pneumatic brake line of the locomotive, and c) processor means for receiving data relative to the desired speed of travel of the locomotive from said receiver means and generating a throttle setting signal causing the throttle of the locomotive to acquire a selected setting and a brake setting signal causing the brake system of the locomotive to acquire a selected setting, said processor means being responsive to said velocity sensor means and to said data relative to the desired speed of travel and generating one of said throttle setting signal and said brake setting signal correlated to a difference between the desired speed of travel and the actual speed of travel of the locomotive to change the actual speed of travel of the locomotive and diminish that difference; and
wherein said processor means initiates a brake line check to enable application of tractive power by the locomotive only when the flow of air sensed by said airflow sensor is below a predetermined level.
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Specification