Operator location tracking for remote control rail yard switching
First Claim
1. A system for generating a rail yard switch list of switch positioning activities for efficient movement of a railyard operator, the system comprising:
- a first operator control unit (OCU) having a locator for determining a location of the OCU and an associated operator using the OCU during rail yard switching activities;
a first processor for correlating the rail yard switching activities with a respective location of the OCU in the rail yard to establish a knowledge base of respective preferred locations in the rail yard;
a memory for storing said knowledge base of preferred locations in the railyard for a library of the switching activities; and
a second processor for receiving a request for a switch list, accessing the memory and processing the request based on the knowledge base to generate a switch list having a sequence of switching activities organized to consider the physical movement required of an operator to implement the switch list.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system (10) for generating a rail yard switch list (e.g., 30) of switch positioning activities for efficient movement of a railyard operator (12). The system includes a first operator control unit (14) (OCU) having a locator (16) for determining a location of the OCU and an associated operator using the OCU during rail yard switching activities. The system also includes a first processor (28) for correlating the rail yard switching activities with a respective location of the OCU in the rail yard to establish a knowledge base of respective preferred locations in the rail yard, and a memory (e.g. 26) for storing the knowledge base of preferred locations in the railyard. The system further includes a second processor (27) for receiving a request (32) for a switch list, accessing the memory, and processing the request based on the knowledge base to generate a switch list.
54 Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A system for generating a rail yard switch list of switch positioning activities for efficient movement of a railyard operator, the system comprising:
-
a first operator control unit (OCU) having a locator for determining a location of the OCU and an associated operator using the OCU during rail yard switching activities;
a first processor for correlating the rail yard switching activities with a respective location of the OCU in the rail yard to establish a knowledge base of respective preferred locations in the rail yard;
a memory for storing said knowledge base of preferred locations in the railyard for a library of the switching activities; and
a second processor for receiving a request for a switch list, accessing the memory and processing the request based on the knowledge base to generate a switch list having a sequence of switching activities organized to consider the physical movement required of an operator to implement the switch list. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
-
-
11. A method for generating a rail yard switch list of switch positioning activities for efficient movement of a railyard operator, the method comprising:
-
tracking locations of a first operator control unit (OCU) and an associated operator during rail yard switching activities;
correlating each switching activity with a respective location of the operator to establish a knowledge base of respective preferred locations in a rail yard for a library of the switching activities;
storing the knowledge base in memory;
receiving a switch list request;
accessing the knowledge base; and
processing the request based on the knowledge base to generate a switch list having a sequence of switching activities organized to consider physical movement of an operator implementing the switch list. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
-
-
15. Computer readable software code for generating a rail yard switch list of switch positioning activities for efficient movement of a railyard operator, the software comprising:
-
a software code module associated with an operator control unit (OCU) for tracking locations of a first OCU and an associated operator during rail yard switching activities;
a software code module associated with a first processor for correlating each switching activity with a respective location of the operator to establish a knowledge base of respective preferred locations in a rail yard for a library of the switching activities;
a software code module associated with memory for storing the knowledge base; and
a software code module associated with a second processor for accessing memory and generating a switch list having a sequence of switching activities organized to consider physical movement of an operator implementing the switch list. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
-
-
18. An operator control unit (OCU) for controlling movement of locomotives and/or positioning of switching in a railyard comprising:
-
an OCU tilt sensor for sensing an inclination of the OCU;
a locator for determining a location of the OCU; and
a transmitter, coupled to the tilt sensor and the locator for transmitting a signal indicative of the location of the OCU at times associated with when the inclination of the OCU exceeds a predetermined value. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
-
Specification